#OH NO I DREW THE WRONG AMOUNT OF FINGERS D:

[blorbobutworse]

A quick little ms paint snufkin

[inky-blinky]

Sick:

Wren is sick. She refuses to acknowledge it. Jack takes care of her. It’s cute.

I might edit this later to a y/n thing later. Idk.

Warnings: Uhh… none? Sick protag, and a little bit of Whump? It’s cute.

Wren shuffled into her office, a bottle of cough medicine in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. Yrsa followed behind her, staring up at her mistress with concern. Wren set her things down onto one of the tables and took a shot of cough syrup. Her throat aches from coughing, her chest was crackly and tight from the sheer amount of congestion… then there was the fever…

She drew a breath, bracing herself on the table before pushing off towards her desk. She fell into her desk chair, leaning back into the cushion heavily as she stared at the amount of paperwork she had. Bills, sign-offs, blah, blah, blah…

Easy stuff. No effort. No wrestling any creatures into cages or stabbing anyone with needles… paper and pen.

Easy. She could do this.

She sighed, which triggered a coughing fit. Tears sprung to her eyes as the pain from coughing stabbed at her throat.

She dug around in her pockets for her stash of cough drops, and fished one out of the depths. She popped the nasty thing into her mouth and took a small swig of her tea. The warmth spread through her chilled body, making her shiver.

Wren grabbed a pen and pulled her sweater tighter around herself, scooting closer to the desk. So much to do, but god did she feel awful.

Yrsa whined at her side.

“I’m fine, puppy. Just a little cold,” she smiled, sniffling, “I’ll be better by noon, I bet,”

There was a quick tapping at the door and Jack stepped inside, “Hey, kiddo, I’m making a coffee run, d’you want— oh my god, you look fucking awful,” he laughed, “Holy shit, did a vampire come and steal all your color? Goddamn,”

Wren scoffed, “‘m fine,” the congestion snubbed the end of the word, giving it a distinct “d” sound at the end.

Jack strode into the room, “Anyone who can’t pronounce fine correctly isn’t find,” he mocked her pronunciation, “You should be at home,” he stopped at her desk, hands in his pockets.

She shook her head, “No, I’m f— I’m good,” she clicked her pen impatiently, “Just a little cold,”

“Mmmhm sure, princess, whatever you say,” he studied her, an amused smile on his lips.

“Goddamn right whatever I say,” she mumbled, “But thank you for the coffee offer. I’ve got tea,” she gestured to her cup.

Jack reached over, pressing the back of his fingers to her cheek, “Yeah, you’ve got a fever too,” he said, ignoring her, “Seriously, sweetheart. Go to bed,”

“I’m perfectly capable of working today,”

He shrugged, “Fine, but I’m not carrying your dumb ass home,”

“I won’t need you to carry me home. It’s just a paperwork day, so—“

“It’s never just a paperwork day,”

“Don’t you have your own job to do?” Wren snapped.

“I do, but this is more interesting,”

“Get out,”

“Fine,” he looked down at Yrsa, “Come get me if she gets worse,” he winked.

Yrsa cocked her head to the side.

“Don’t order Yrsa around, asshole. Go do something productive,” she pointed to the door, “Out, Jack,”

Jack laughed and strolled out, “I’m across the hall if you wanna admit I’m right and you’re wrong,” he called before shutting the door behind him.

Wren scowled and started back on her paperwork.

She moved slowly and methodically, her mind not at all processing what she was actually doing. She moved in a fog, whether it was the cough medicine or her fever, she wasn’t sure, but damn. Maybe Jack was right—

Wren pushed the thought aside. No, Jack was not right. He’s never right, and she refused to let him be right. Especially about this.

Her Echo chimed, and Wren set her pen down before picking up the device.

Saw you come in. You look like shit, Dove. You good?

—KeenWeen

I’m FINE. Just a cold.

—WW

Uhuh. Sure. I can cover for you? Seriously.

—KeenWeen

Oh my gods, I’m fine. Seriously. Jack tell you to convince me to go home? Honestly. -_-

—WW

If Jack’s trying to get you to go home, girl you must be doing awful.

—KeenWeen

I’m ignoring you, Peach.

—WW

Wren sat the Echo down and checked the time. It’s only been a little over an hour. Ugh.

She clicked into her email and scanned her inbox for anything important. There was one from Tassiter, and Wren internally groaned. He wanted an update on the bullymong study.

Fuck.

She typed out an email, attaching the file and sending it off, hoping it would be enough.

Actually, this reminded her of something she needed to check on in their enclosure.

Wren sighed and pushed away from her desk and stood, immediately falling back into her chair as her head swirled.

Woah.

She braced herself on her desk before trying again. She stood and waited a moment before moving away from the desk. She pulled her sweater tighter around herself and moved out to the hall with Yrsa at her side.

Jack’s door was open, but he wasn’t paying attention to the outside.

Wren tiptoed out of her office, not wanting to attract his attention. Unfortunately, that’s when a coughing fit triggered in her throat.

She covered her mouth and hurried past as Jack poked his head out of the office.

“Go home!”

“Never!”

She headed down to the containment unit, waving at Keen as she passed. Keen gave her a disappointed look, which Wren ignored.

Wren scanned her badge at the door and waited as they slid open, revealing the kid-mong’s enclosure. She stepped into the barrier portion of the frigid room and closed the door behind her.

The room was long and short, giving the little creature enough room to wander through its snowy enclosure. This was one of the many creatures Wren was raising for study.

“Hi, Tremor,” Wren said kindly, “Just checking in,”

The ugly thing looked up at her, showing nothing but indifference. Wren understood— poor thing was taken from her colony. Wren had hoped to find an abandoned one, or simply an orphan, but this was what she was brought.

She didn’t protest, as she knew they’d just kill the colony and then say that the beast was abandoned now, since that’s how Hyperion did business.

Wren crouched down before the shield, watching.

The beast growled at her, lunging towards the shield and bouncing off it painfully.

Wren sighed, “Alright, maybe next time,” she straightened up, momentarily losing balance.

Yrsa butted her head into Wren’s side to help keep balance.

“Thanks,” she muttered, patting the Skag’s side.

The pair headed back to her office. Wren plopped back into her chair, exhausted from the small walk. She leaned onto her desk, pen poised over the papers.

Everything hurt, and now her stomach was starting to twist uncomfortably. Great.

She took a sip of her tea, hoping that would settle her stomach some.

It did not.

She stared down at the words in front of her, trying to focus on what they said but only saw a jumble of nonsense. Wren laid her head onto the desk, groaning. This was stupid. Her head pounded, her throat ached, her muscles were achy, her stomach was… god. She didn’t want to think about it. It made it worse.

Wren never got sick. Ever.

It was one of her stupid things she took pride in. Healthy, and always looking put together.

She shut her eyes, forehead resting on the desk. Gods, she was so tired. Maybe just… a little nap?

She pushed herself up off the table abruptly. No.

No, she would not— she couldn’t. Too much to do— she should not have pushed herself up so fast.

Her head swirled, adding to the nausea. She stumbled out of her chair and headed for the bathroom, where she profusely vomited into the toilet— just barely making it.

She collapsed there beside the porcelain toilet, feeling like an idiot. She puked again, throwing up all the water and tea she had in her system.

What a prideful idiot.

Yrsa whined, nudging her head into Wren’s arm.

Wren sighed deeply with defeat. She was sick. Jack was right. Keen was right.

She needed to go home.

“Go get Jack,” Wren mumbled, her eyes closed as she leaned against the toilet with her forearm.

Yrsa snorted and trotted off, her claws clicking against the tile floor as she did as she was told. The claws retreated down the hall and faded away, leaving Wren alone.

It was a good minute before she heard footsteps enter the bathroom.

“God, you look awful,” Jack said mockingly, “Seriously, kiddo,”

“Shut up and help me,”

He laughed softly, “C’mon, I’ll take you home,” he held out his hands for her to take. She took them, and he helped her to her feet.

She smiled weakly, “Thanks,”

“Let’s go, pumpkin,” he led her out of the bathroom, his arm around her waist for support.

Wren said nothing, using all of her willpower to stay awake.

“Man… You’re burning up,” He said as he walked her to her apartment, where she promptly collapsed. He caught her before she hit the ground.

“Yeah, that’s about what I expected,” he mumbled as he moved to carry her. He took her inside, carrying her bridal-style to her bedroom. He took off her shoes and sweatshirt before tucking her into bed. He smoothed her hair and pulled the blanket up over her shoulder. He pressed his hand to her forehead again, and cussed silently in search of a thermometer. He dug around in her bathroom cabinets and drawers until he found one.

He came back to Wren sitting up in bed.

“No, you lay your ass down right now,” he ordered, “And stick this in your mouth,”

“Why? We both know I have a fever,“

“I need to know if I should take you to the doctor or not,” he held out the thermometer, looking at her seriously.

She sighed and stuck the stupid thing in her mouth. Jack watched the numbers rise all the way to 102.9 before it beeped.

“102.9, kiddo. That’s… have you taken anything for your fever?”

She shook her head and Jack laughed dryly.

“No wonder you passed out,” he grumbled, “I’ll be back,” he moved to leave the room, once he reached the door he turned and pointed at her, “Stay,” he ordered.

Wren set the thermometer on the table and settled into bed, laying on her back, her pillows stacked behind her. Yrsa hopped up into bed with her and curled up beside Wren, her head resting on her friend’s leg.

It was a long time before Jack returned. He carried a couple bags— one was Wren’s work bag, and the other was from the corner store nearby.

He sat on the edge of the bed beside her, “‘Kay, so, I got you… some fever stuff, and… I know you’re coughing and there’s obviously some shit in your lungs so I got more cough syrup since you were basically out…” he took each one out as he spoke, “I got you… this book, because it’s got a sexy dude on the front, and I thought you might want a little spice if you’re not feeling good…” he set the book onto the table beside her and winked.

Wren laughed, “Because that’s the only criteria for reading,”

“Exactly. Then… I know you’re probably not hungry but I got you some soup and this… drink…” he shrugged, looking at it, “I dunno, you like blue, right?”

“I do,”

“Good because I wasn’t going back,” he teased.

Wren reached for the fever meds and popped a couple tabs and washed it down with the blue mystery drink.

“Good, take the other shit too,” he ordered, pointing at the cough medicine, “And then get some sleep. I’ll check on you around lunch, alright?”

“You don’t have to do that,”

“Yes, I do. As your boyfriend, I am legally obligated,”

“You’re not my boyfriend,”

“Not yet. It’s practice for later,” he winked.

Wren rolled her eyes, “You’re wasting your time,”

“Nah, it’s… an investment,” he shrugged, “Besides, if you die from this cold or whatever, then I might get some asshole across the hall rather than someone fun,”

She scowled, “I’m not fun,”

“Not right now, yeah,” he patted her leg and stood, “See you in…” he checked his watch, “Three-ish hours. Don’t die,”

Wren snorted, unscrewing the cough medicine’s cap, “I’ll try not to,” she knocked back a shot of the nasty stuff and made a face.

Jack laughed at her expression before he left the room.

Wren looked down at the spread he had brought her and smiled to herself.

“Guess he’s not such an ass, huh?” Wren murmured to Yrsa, stroking the Skag’s hide along her face. Yrsa let out a soft sound in her throat almost as though in agreement. Wren settled deeper into bed and closer her eyes as the meds washed over her mind, sending her off into a dreamless sleep.

Wren woke to the scent of something wonderful and warm. Something clattered in the kitchen, followed by Jack’s voice.

“Son of a bitch,” he cussed, “No, Yrsa— Goddamnit, get that out of your mouth!”

Wren laughed quietly, but her laughter morphed into a coughing fit. She plucked a tissue from the box and spit a wad of nastiness into it before tossing the offensive thing into the trash can beside her bed—

She frowned.

That wasn’t there before. Nor were the tissues.

How long has Jack been here? How long was she asleep?

She checked her Echo and relaxed. Four hours. It wasn’t so bad.

Jack was welcome in her home, of course, especially since they were… friends with benefits now but… the idea of him being in her place so long entertaining himself was… oddly comforting, but strange all the same. She trusted Jack… mostly.

“Yrsa,” Wren called weakly, “C’mere, puppy. Leave him alone,”

“Go back to sleep!” Jack called.

“Yeah, go back to sleep!” Keen said.

“Keen?” Wren said, surprise coloring her voice.

“Don’t get up, I’ll come to you,” Keen called, then she spoke quieter to Jack, “Keep stirring that or it’ll burn,” she ordered before her footsteps sounded down the hall.

Keen smiled brightly, holding a glass of orange juice, “Hey, Dove,” she held the glass out to Wren.

“Hi,” she took the cup.

“Take some meds,” she ordered, pointing at the table, “We’re almost done with your lunch,”

Wren smiled wryly, “We, huh?”

Keen laughed, “I know, I know, but… he wanted to make you something good but apparently he’s,” she raised her voice so he could hear, “practically useless in the kitchen,”

“Suck my dick, Keen!” Jack called back.

Wren laughed and began coughing again. She took a sip of the juice and made a face. Gods, she hated orange juice. At least there was no pulp.

“I thought you liked OJ?”

Wren popped a couple of fever tabs and took another drink, finishing the glass with a disgusted face, “No, I hate it,”

“Told you so!” Jack called, “Apple juice and white grape!”

“At least you didn’t get the pulp kind,” Wren supplied.

“Man knows you better than your bestie does at this point,” Keen muttered with annoyance, “Gotta step up my game,”

“It’s not a competition,”

“It is now,” Keen said sourly.

Wren sighed, “Either way, thanks,”

“Anything for you, girlie. You can always count on Keen,” she winked and sat down beside Wren, “Besides, today was really easy, even with your load on top of mine. Tassiter wanted to see your little Mong, so I showed him Tremor and explained you basically passed out in the bathroom,”

Wren buried her face in her hands, “Why?” She had been prepping for a demonstration for weeks now. Why today?

“Because he wanted to know why I was the one showing him your project,” Keen patted Wren’s leg sympathetically, “You’re allowed to get sick, Wren,”

“Yrsa! No, you can’t— Wren control your Skag! She has my shoe!”

Wren watched Yrsa tear down the hall, running into the bathroom at full speed with Jack running behind her. Yrsa skidded and turned on a dime, leading Jack back out into the living room. Poor thing just wants to play. There was the distinct sound of Jack sliding into the cabinets as he tried to keep up with Yrsa.

“She needs a walk,” Wren said to Keen, “I’ll take her,” she moved to get up.

“No, no, we can get it. Just relax, alright?”

Wren sighed, “Fine. Yrsa, drop it,” she ordered.

Yrsa, now standing outside Wren’s door, dropped the sneaker with shame.

Jack snatched the shoe up, bonking the Skag on the head with it lightly, “A bitch just like your mom,” Jack grumbled, pushing his hair back into place and lumbering back out to the kitchen.

Keen pressed her lips together, “I’ll take her. Food should be done anyway,”

“Thanks,” Wren watched her friend leave, “Yrsa, be good for Keen,”

The Skag huffed a breath and followed the woman out. Keen said something to Jack, and he grumbled something in return. It was funny, hearing them work together for Wren. Two polar opposites coming together for one prideful idiot.

There was a bit of clattering before Wren heard Jack’s footsteps approaching. She pushed herself up, fixing the pillows. She scooted a little so Jack could sit beside her if he wanted.

“‘Kay, so this… is hot as balls, so give it a minute,” He said as he set the two bowls down on the now-crowded table and sat beside her, “How’re you feeling?” He pressed his fingers to her cheek again.

“Like garbage,” Wren shrugged, “But a little better than before,”

“Good, good,” he said awkwardly.

This was so not Jack’s strong suit. The fact he was taking care of her at all was… incredibly sweet. He didn’t have to come back to check on her, but he did. He didn’t have to make her food or get her the necessary supplies, but he did.

“Thank you,” Wren said simply, “You didn’t have to come back and check on me, or… make me soup,”

He shrugged, “Keen did the hard parts,”

“Still,”

“Thing is, princess, you still don’t get that I want to do these things for you,”

She made a face, “Why?”

“Because I like you?”

“Gross,”

“Wow, alright, fuck me I guess,” he laughed.

“Been there, done that,”

“Man, you’re an asshole when you’re sick,”

“I’m an asshole all the time,” she countered.

“True, dunno why I expected any different,”

Wren shrugged, watching the steam rise up from the soup, “I appreciate it though,” she said quietly, “I’m… not good at accepting help,”

“Really? Coulda fooled me,” a thick layer of sarcasm colored his voice.

“I guess… I just don’t get it, y’know? Why you care?” She picked at the loose thread on her comforter, not looking at him, “I’ve been nothing but unavailable and mean… and that’s on a good day,”

Jack shrugged, “I’ve always liked a challenge,”

Wren frowned, “Oh, so I’m just a prize?”

“Yep. A nice shiny trophy to put on my shelf,”

She scowled.

“Have you ever thought that maybe just maybe I like what I see behind the impossible walls you put up?”

“No,”

“Yeah, that tracks,” he picked up his bowl and tested the temp, “Should be cool enough now, pumpkin,”

Wren took the bowl and tested the temp before taking a bite of the thick, creamy soup. Potatoes, carrots, and some meat… she couldn’t taste it very well with her stuffed nose, but she could tell it would be fantastic.

“Alright, Keen makes good food,” Jack admitted, “She’s still a bitch though,”

She laughed, taking another bite. Wren and Jack sat in silence for a while as they ate their food.

Jack set his empty bowl down and looked at Wren, “So, is… is it okay if I stay the night? In case you need me? I’ll stay on the couch,”

“On my shitty couch? You’ll mess up your back,”

“So?”

Wren sighed, “Do you want to stay? Or do you think I want you to?”

“Both? I think?”

Wren laughed quietly, scraping up the last bite, “If it makes you feel better, then yes, you may,”

“Good, because I…” he hesitated, “don’t wanna have to break in just to check on you,”

She studied his face. There was more that he wanted to say. She could tell. She watched over and held his hand, conveying the same words through her touch. He smiled softly as he ran his mismatched eyes over their fingers intertwined together. He didn’t have to say it, and Wren didn’t have to either. It was a silent understanding— a silent confession.

And all it took was Wren to get sick. Go figure.

[whataperfectwasteoftime]

Am I? (Part of the Born to Run 'Verse)

Pairing: Marcus Pike x Marathon Runner f!reader (no y/n)

Rating: E (SMUT, 18+ only)

Word Count: 3.9k

Warnings: BDSM, established D/s relationship, mention of collars. BUTT STUFF: anal fingering, rimming, anal sex. Use of vibrators, squirting, overstimulation. Marcus ‘King of Aftercare’ Pike, good aftercare practices, discussions of kink and BDSM dynamics.

Summary: Anal, but make it soft.

"I'm ready."

"Oh, are you now?" came the teasing response.

"Yes, dammit."

"Hmmmm," was the only reply.

You'd been at this for what had felt like hours--Marcus methodically working you open with his fingers and tongue in preparation for his cock after you had all but begged him to fuck your ass during yet another vicious round of teasing your tight little hole with his tongue.

You had noticed that Marcus seemed to spend an above average amount of time there whenever he was eating you out, always moving to swirl his tongue around it or dip his tongue just inside and delighting in the gasps it always drew from you.

He seemed to love it, love how tight you felt around his fingers or tongue, loved how you always whimpered when you felt him try to open you up.

He knew it was one of your kinks from the beginning--it was obvious from the first time he had caught a glimpse of the butt plugs in your bedside table drawer--but he had never broached the subject of taking you himself, until one day you had suddenly begged him to do it.

He pressed his thumb to your entrance, wet with his spit, and your arms had collapsed onto the bed, gasping, "Oh, shit, Marcus, fuck me," without a second thought.

"Oh yeah?" he laughed. "You want me to stretch you open, sweet little thing?" His lips ghosted down the small of your back, his thumb still circling your entrance, but not quite pushing in. "You'd be so fucking tight," he murmured, almost to himself.

"Please," you whispered. "I want you to."

"Have you ever, before?" he asked.

You bit your lip. "Once, but--um--I wasn’t really ready, and it really hurt. I-I've never tried again."

Marcus frowned, and pulled at your shoulder to get you to roll over onto your back.

"What was his name?" he asked softly. "I'll find him and cut his dick off."

You laughed. "I don’t think that's a good use of FBI resources, Marcus."

"Says you," he said with a mock-pout. "I say he's a menace to society."

You smiled and pressed your palm to his cheek. "You're cute when you get all dangerous and protective."

He moved his head to press a kiss into your palm. "You'd let me try it?" he asked.

"Of course I would. I'd let you do anything," you confessed. "You make everything feel good."

He smiled. "I'd make it feel so good for you, baby," he whispered huskily. "I'd want you to be so fucking ready that I'd just slide right in. So ready that you'd be begging me to do it."

Now, in response to said begging, Marcus's hand came up to stroke the silver collar at your neck.

"Remind me what this means?" he asked quietly.

It was something he asked often, to the point where you automatically knew the response--almost like a mantra. "Y-you will care for me above all things," you repeated.

"So why are you not trusting me to do that now?" You could hear the playful smile in his voice.

"Because I'm impatient," you groaned.

He laughed. "You're not wrong about that," he quipped. "It's just that I don't want to hurt you, little love."

He dipped his tongue into you again, the muscle so relaxed from one, two, even three of his large fingers, that he slid right in, lathing along your tight walls.

"Marcus!" you squeaked, still desperate for him to just do it already.

He huffed out a little laugh and reached for the bedside table drawer and rummaged inside it. "You see this?" he asked, holding up your largest butt plug. "Look at this and then look at me," he directed, gesturing at the size difference between his cock and the plug.

It wasn't that Marcus was unnaturally large, exactly--he was certainly above average, especially when it came to how thick he was, but his cock wasn't out of proportion with the rest of his body: the broadness in his shoulders, his height, the circumference of his damn arms.

Still, the size difference between you and Marcus meant that sometimes you struggled to take him on days where you were overly sensitive, like when you were on your period. He would enter you so slowly then, letting you feel every ridge and vein drag against your aching walls as he whispered soothing words against your temple.

You bit your lip as you looked at Marcus’s girth compared to the plug. He was right--taking him there was going to be a struggle if you weren't ready. But you were. You were ready and you wanted him to do it now.

"I still want it," you countered, jutting your chin up in defiance. "I trust you."

He huffed. "That's exactly why I'm trying to go slow, you know."

You knew. Marcus was always incredibly conscientious in bed, and you had been together long enough that he instinctively knew your body, your limits, and how much you could take. It still amazed you sometimes, how he seemed to know exactly how to take you apart, how to take you right up to the line without ever crossing it.

"Fuck me," you pouted. You wiggled your hips back and forth for emphasis.

Marcus chuckled and reached back over to the drawer, dropping the plug back in and retrieving a bottle of lube instead. You watched as he slicked it over his cock, then brought his hand back to you and spread the remainder between your cheeks.

"Turn over," he directed quietly.

"Huh?" You had assumed he'd want you like this--on your knees, face down on the bed, your head resting on a pillow--his favorite way to see you spread out and waiting for him.

"I want to see your face when I take you here for the first time," he murmured. "I want to look in your eyes."

You shuddered at his words as he placed a pillow under your hips. He covered your body with his and touched his forehead to yours gently. Then he reached down and lined himself up with your little hole, and slowly, slowly started to sink into you.

You whimpered at the sensation of him breaching you. He had prepared you enough so that it didn't hurt exactly, but it was still incredibly overwhelming–more so than you expected. You could feel him everywhere at once, all your nerve endings laser-focused on the feel of him breaking you open on his cock. Your eyes fluttered shut of their own accord.

"I don't think so," he growled playfully. "I said I wanted to see your eyes."

You forced yourself to meet his eyes again.. The two of you had shared hundreds of intimate and intense sexual experiences by now, but somehow the act of looking into his eyes as he slowly pushed his way into your ass was one of the most intimate things you had ever shared with him. The look in his eyes--dark with passion, but full to the brim with that intense brand of care you associated with him--left you breathless.

Literally--you were forgetting to breathe.

You sucked in a ragged breath as Marcus finally bottomed out. Your whole body was a raw nerve, he was splitting you open, there was nowhere to hide, you felt truly vulnerable, you--

"Breathe, honey," he reminded you.

You took in a few shuddering breaths, and you felt your body relax around him a little more.

"How does it feel?" he murmured, searching your eyes for any hint of discomfort.

"I--fuck, just--just full, it's so much, it's--" you rambled.

"Good--can you take it?" Marcus asked, his voice strained.

"Yes," you whispered. "Oh, God, yes."

He experimentally rocked his hips into you and you whimpered for him. He slowly started to fuck you with shallow thrusts--hardly pulling out at all before sinking into you--letting you adjust. All the while, his eyes raked over you, taking in every quiver of your lips, every gasp, every cry, every furrow of your brow, still watching for any sign of discomfort, but also greedily categorizing every single reaction that he was pulling from you.

He lowered his lips to yours again for a shockingly tender kiss--a slow, intimate drag of mouths, breaths intermingled--and then he ground his hips down into you, thrusting deeper, harder, making you cry out an ugly, broken sound into his mouth.

"Fuck, you feel so good," Marcus groaned. "So fucking good, baby."

He continued fucking you with deep, slow strokes of his cock, his hands never stopping their exploration of you--grasping at your shoulders, your neck, palming your cheek, smoothing your hair back. He kept his head close to yours, not really kissing anymore, but sharing the same space, the same breath, occasionally sliding his lips over yours, your cheek, your jaw. Swallowing each and every broken, desperate sound you made.

You couldn’t explain why it felt so good. The pull of his cock inside you, dragging against your tight walls, was overwhelming to the point of overstimulation. It was all you could concentrate on–every cell in your body enraptured with how he was fucking you. Every gentle roll of his hips was devastating, hitting something deep inside you that had never been reached before. You could almost describe the feeling as painful, but you also felt as if you’d die if he stopped.

You were dimly aware that he was speaking, but you could barely concentrate on anything else but the girth of him inside you. You blinked up at him, mouth open, eyes wide, watching his face as he completely took you apart.

“Fuck, you’re taking me so well,” he was saying, his voice already hoarse with pleasure. “Letting me fuck you like this. You’re doing so good,” he praised, his breath still ghosting against your lips. “Being such a good girl for me, letting me fuck you everywhere.”

You were incapable of forming real words, only able to gasp and whimper and cry out as he husked out soft praises above you. The shock of it was starting to wear off, but it still felt as if he was everywhere inside you, taking over your entire body, overwhelming every inch of it.

“Tell me how it feels, with my cock buried in this tight little ass,” Marcus demanded gently.

“S-so… so good…” you murmured. “S’big… fuck–”

“I want to feel you come like this,” he said. He pushed one of your bullet vibrators into your hand and switched it on. When had he grabbed it? You couldn’t think, you could barely move. Marcus must have realized that your brain was currently offline, and guided your hand down to your clit himself. Your back arched, and you keened at the vibrations.

“There you go, pretty thing,” he said with a little smile. “Keep your hand right there.”

When he was satisfied that you were doing as he asked, he moved his hand back up to continue stroking your face, your hair, your cheek, as he pistoned into you.

"Now I have every. single. piece. of you," he grunted, punctuating each word with a roll of his hips.

The vibrations on your clit combined with the overwhelming fullness-verging-on-too-much were quickly starting to send you spiraling higher. You could feel it already building at the base of your spine--still elusive, but definitely making its presence known.

You still couldn't take your eyes off of Marcus, his dark eyes boring into yours with such a stunning intensity that you couldn't quite meet them, focusing instead on the cute little crease on the bridge of his nose. The crease that meant--oh God--that meant he was definitely holding something back, wanting to fuck into you with abandon but keeping himself at bay for you.

"Marcus," you managed to gasp out. "Don't hold back."

"This is an exercise in restraint, baby," he chuckled breathlessly.

"Don't," you repeated. You reached up to brush a lock of damp hair from his forehead. "Show me."

You wanted everything he could give you, even if you were already struggling to take him, you always wanted more, more, more.

Marcus let out a broken groan and sat up on his heels, placing your legs over either shoulder. He started giving you his cock the way you knew he liked, with sharp, deliberate thrusts that moved you up the bed with each apex.

Your mouth fell open in shock the moment he began fucking you with his full strength. You didn't have a word in your vocabulary for the sensations he was pulling from you. Overwhelming was the word you had used to describe the slow roll of his hips, and this was… more. Just… more. In every. Single. Way.

What was stronger than overwhelming? Each rough snap of his hips was fucking debilitating. The push-pull of his cock somewhere deep, so deep inside you was devastating. He had taken everything--every thought, every feeling, every movement of your body belonged to him in this moment. It was too much. It was not enough. You couldn't take it but you couldn't bear the idea of him stopping.

You could barely even feel the vibrator against your clit anymore, but somewhere in the recesses of your mind, you realized you were about to come.

You couldn't speak to warn him, but you squeezed your eyes shut and turned your head to the side, just laying there feeling as the wave started to overtake you.

Marcus must have felt your core tightening around him, because he suddenly dipped two fingers into your cunt and pressed them upwards, pressing right against the spot he knew would make you break for him.

"That's it," he gasped, his voice no longer having the gentle, teasing lilt he always used with you no matter how hard he fucked you. He was too far gone for that. "Come for me. Come with my cock in your ass and my fingers in this perfect little pussy."

You weren't really aware of your own body when you did. You didn't hear the broken sob that came from your lips as you shook around Marcus's cock. You didn't feel the few errant tears that were squeezed from your eyes. You didn't see how your release splashed all over Marcus’s hand and onto his belly as he rubbed his fingers over that perfect spot in your cunt.

But Marcus did.

He drank in all the involuntary reactions your body had as you pulsed around him, squeezing his cock hard.

You didn't hear him repeating, "Fuck. Fuck! Shit, oh, shitshitshit--"

He followed shortly after you, hips stuttering and slamming back into you one last time with a sound that, if you had been coherent enough to hear it, would have sounded to you like a broken sob that perfectly matched your own.

Everything was suddenly quiet, then. Still. Marcus dropped back down to his elbows over you, resting his forehead against yours as you both took your own shuddering breaths.

He waited a few moments like this, listening to your gasps and watching your face as you lifted your eyes to him again, staring at him with blown pupils. Wide, and so vulnerable.

"Are you with me?" he asked gently.

You nodded. "Yeah." Your voice was hoarse.

"I'm going to pull out now, okay?"

You nodded again. "Yeah," you whispered. Your brain was still offline; it was the only word currently in your vocabulary.

You gasped again as you felt him leave you. You felt… empty, without him. You knew you were in a haze of submission, but you still couldn't help but whimper when you felt the bed dip as Marcus left your side. You knew you were being unreasonable, but you needed him, you needed him, you needed--

"Shhh, I'm right here," he said, reappearing back at your side, and you felt the damp of a warm cloth gently cleaning you. Your eyes fluttered closed in relief as you surrendered to the dizzying sensation of him caring for you, swiping the warm cloth over your thighs, through your folds and then back, being unbearably tender.

"I'm running a bath, too," he murmured, and you suddenly registered the sound of the running water coming from the bathroom. Jesus, you really were out of it.

"Marcus," you whispered, repeating his name like a mantra. "Marcus, Marcus."

"I know," he whispered back. "I know."

He stayed there with you, whispering assurances and praise in your ear, helping you come down, until the bath was ready.

"Put your arms around my shoulders," he directed quietly.

You obeyed without thought, and he scooped you up and carried you through to the bathroom, not stopping until he was standing in the bath, then slowly set you down, your legs suddenly blissfully warm in the water. He guided you to sit in front of him and wrapped himself around you, and you were surrounded by warmth and care and Marcus.

He ran his hands up and down your arms, cupping the warm water and letting it cascade down your skin.

He huffed a little, quiet laugh. "That was, ah, intense," he said.

You laughed too. "Yeah," you agreed.

The two of you sat quietly for a few moments, then Marcus spoke softly in your ear.

"Did I hurt you?"

You smiled and shook your head. "Yes and no. But you know I love it like that."

You thought it was funny and strange that he was asking you this after years of mind-blowing sex that brought you right to the edge of what you could take over and over again--but sometimes after an intense scene, you knew that he could feel just as vulnerable as you.

"Why?" he suddenly asked.

"Are you asking me why I like anal sex or why I like pain with my pleasure?"

Marcus snorted. "The latter."

You tipped your head back to rest on his shoulder, reveling in the safety of his arms.

"It feels kind of like I'm in free-fall," you began. "I like the thrill of it. I always have. But--" you swallowed. "From the very first time with you, I felt that I could go even higher and fall harder, because I knew implicitly from the get-go that you would catch me at the bottom."

His arms tightened around you.

You continued, quieter. "And even if you break me--you put me back together. And so… there's pleasure in both those things--pleasure in the breaking and in being put back together."

"It scares me sometimes," Marcus said softly.

"What does?" you asked.

"How much I want to break you, just so I can put you back together."

You shuddered with desire from his words, despite the fact that you were definitely fucked out at the moment. But God, to hear him say it out loud--

"I've never--well, I never thought I'd have something like this," he continued. "I don't always understand it--why it works so well for us." He smiled to himself. "Why question something that's already perfect?"

He reached for a washcloth and some soap, and started to gently wash you, almost meditatively, running the cloth first over your chest and neck, as if trying to demonstrate the fact that what he loved most about the relationship you had was the aftercare.

You sighed happily. "Why do you like being a dom?" you asked him, as he ran the soapy cloth over your shoulders.

Marcus huffed. "I hate it when you call me that."

"No, you don't."

"No, I don't." You could hear the fond smile in his voice. He sighed. "You said it makes you feel like you're falling. I can imagine that's… exhilarating, yeah?"

You nodded your assent, as Marcus ran the soapy cloth down one arm, lifting your hand out of the water and absentmindedly massaging little circles into your palm as he washed you.

"What's exhilarating for me is to see you rely so completely on me, to see you put so much trust in me to give you what you need, trusting me to never give you more than you can take, knowing that I could do anything, I--"

He broke off, shaking his head in disbelief. "I could break you. I could let you fall. But I never will."

He turned his head to kiss your temple, smoothing your hair back and letting his lips linger there. The washcloth traveled down, to gently pass over your folds, making you whimper softly. You were more than a little sore, especially below your folds, and you gripped his arm as he tended to you, soothing you with comforting sounds when you winced slightly.

"What I love best is what happens after I take you apart. When you're helpless, trembling for me, needing me to take care of you," he murmured against your skin. "It's a--a heady feeling, being responsible for someone like that--I love that feeling. I-I'm not sure what that says about me."

"It says you're a good dom," you told him quietly.

"Am I?"

You turned to look at him. His eyebrows were upturned, that cute little crease on the bridge of his nose that meant he was worried about something. He wanted reassurance. Your heart clenched with affection for him.

"Yes," you said emphatically. "No one has ever made me feel the way you do, and I love that it's not just about sex for us, anymore. I've never trusted anyone enough to do that. What we have is--" you swallowed past the growing lump in your throat. "It's so special. And it's special because you make me feel safe in every situation, in everything we do, no matter how intense."

Marcus surged forward to press his lips to yours fervently, suddenly overcome with emotion and passion. You met him with equal intensity. You were overflowing with love for him, for your sweet, sensitive husband who could in one moment take you apart with the perfect mixture of pleasure and pain until you were a blubbering mess, and in the next moment hold you like this in the bath and ask you if he was doing a good job.

"What about me? Am--am I--" your mouth almost couldn't form the words, but suddenly you needed to ask, needed him to reassure you, too.

"Am I a good sub?" you finally whispered.

"You're perfect," Marcus answered, subconsciously bringing his hand to your neck to rub his thumb softly over his collar around your throat. "So willing to be vulnerable for me, to trust me enough to give your control over to me, to let me give you what you need. I love that you don't need me to do any of it--you're not a helpless person; I only get to take care of you because you let me--i-it's a privilege."

He chuckled. "You have the strength to run twenty-six miles at once, not to mention the hundreds of miles you do in training, but you'll still rely on me to wash your hair, just because you know how much it means to me to take care of you."

"I like it too," you whispered.

"Speaking of," Marcus said with a smile, reaching for the shampoo bottle. "Tip your head back, little love."

-

Taglist: @honestly-shite @thirddeadlysin @deepstarsco @221bshrlocked @mando-amando @frenchyjuju @farfromjustordinary @chronic-nosebleed @stilettoforbeginners @leslie-lyman @gaiuswrites @absurdthirst @ezrasbirdie @mandocrasis

[impaladolan]

Capture - Grayson Dolan [9/-]

summary: after a wild night, and an amazing slumber, you agree to have a “normal” day with him.. in which you found out his name.. finally..

warnings: smut, kinda fluff-ish, & swearing

a/n: sorry that it takes me literally years to come out with new capture parts. i’ve just been very unmotivated and i just haven’t been able to put my thoughts into words lately. BUT this is finally part nine and i hope you enjoy ! <3

You braced your body for a hard fucking.

Even in the hazed state of drunkenness, where you could hardly make out the few feet in front of you, your body ached and shivered for his touch. Just feeling the warmth of his tall stature standing behind you created some sort of barrier of relief, like you could feel safe within his arms.

Which should be far from the truth...

You heard the echoing sound of his pants falling to the ground with a thud, while his shirt flew over your head and landed on the floor in front of you. Still, even in the weakness of want and need, you contemplated an escape. You knew you'd never succeed, but it was a thought trapped in the back of your mind at all times.

It felt like it had been forever since he last touched you, when in reality, mere seconds.

You almost cried out for him, but you soon felt the coolness of his hand travel down your spine, eliciting a soft whimper to cascade from your lips. His finger pulled the brim of his shirt up your body, just enough to fully examine your backside like it was a precious artifact. You arched your back to his touch, sighing as both of his hands slid up your sides.

Not a word slipped from his mouth as he slipped his hands beneath your thighs, aligning his hard cock with your drenched pussy, roughly pulling you closer to him.

“What made you think you could get into Daddy’s alcohol?” He questions as he finally sinks in, filling your center’s walls until he no longer could. You held your breath as he stretched your pussy achingly slow, a groan escaping his mouth as his girth becomes surrounded with your warmth.

“And snoop around my office like a fucking bad girl?” Just a slow as before, he retracts his hips from yours, watching as your breathing becomes erratic. “D-Daddy!” You scream when he roughly thrusts into you without warning, beginning a quick pace that made you squeal.

He drew his hand back and laid a harsh slap against your ass, guiding his other hand to your shoulder to hold onto for stability. His own breathing became ragged as his cock reached depths into your pussy, unlike any other guy ever had. His reddened tip brushed just delicately over that body-numbing spot that made you squirm and want to shriek with pleasure.

“God, you’re so fucking tight.” He murmured breathlessly to himself, which only furthered him to want you more. He travels his free hand back down to your slick folds, adding quick circles with his thumb to the hood of your clit. Your mind was too slow to comprehend the amount of ecstasy the man behind you was bringing, but you knew you had to be close to combusting around his sunken cock— and you could hardly wait.

He was close too, his movements became ragged and he too was in a state of euphoria where he couldn’t decipher what’s wrong from right.

“I-I’m so fucking close, Daddyy.” You drug out, hiccuping when he brushes over that spot over and over, like he knew that that’s where it made you shiver and yelp for him. You didn’t wait for a response. Instead, you came all over him— falling apart in his grasp.

And he did the same.

He breathed a soft moan as he came undone, shooting his hot spurts of cum up into you, his chest heaving up and down from exertion. Soon enough, he pulled away from you. The warmth of him and his body leaving you sprawled out upon his desk like it had never happened.

You turned over to lay on your back, exhaustion tightening upon your heaving body. If allowed so, you would've fell asleep right on his desk. Possibly even lay down on the floor, for your room seemed like miles away and your legs weren't stable enough to balance on anyway. Your eyes were already shut and your mind became clear, unbothered by anything surrounding you.

Even he had escaped your mind, all until you felt your shirt unravel down your body, shielding the bareness of your skin. He cleaned up the mess that the two of you had made, and tucked a piece of lose hair behind your ear.You didn't care to open your eyes, but your heart seemed to beat a little quicker as he picked you up. His touch was delicate, like you were a priceless piece of art. And he even walked gracefully, slow and simple steps until the warmth of another room struck your frozen face.

His embrace was so comfortable, soothing even, and you couldn't help the heaviness of your eyelids. You were halfway asleep before he laid you down on his bed and lifted the silky smooth covers over your body.

"Goodnight, G." You weren't sure how, but you were capable enough whisper that little phrase. His heart fluttered, a smiling drawing his lips and he just had to bend down and leave a sweet kiss on your cheek.

"Sweet dreams." His once harsh voice was softer than he had ever used it, something familiar that you seemed to have known a long time ago..

Your dreams swept over your fulfilled mind, and a deep sleep fell over you.

-

Your eyes fluttered open and a golden splash of sun had seeped ever so quietly through the window of the room in which you were peacefully sleeping in. You were sunken into the pillowy surface of a gigantic bed, the fluffy duvet covering you entirely and some more. In the imaginary book titled "Top Five Sleeps I've Ever Had," you'd have to say that waking up like this had to at least be pulling in the top three. It was so warm and comfy, and the likelihood of you ever moving from such a position, was very rare.

Now, the man, snoring like an angel would, beside you, shouldn't feel oh-so normal. In fact, anyone with morals and common sense would be outraged and have thrown a fit. After all, he's a stranger— who's gone as far as to kidnap you and hold you captive for however long it's been. But, if we're being honest, you've lost all sense and mindfulness by now. You're flatly surviving with your emotions at this point.

He is pretty attractive though...

Your eyes had nothing else to do except roam his exposed backside, the sunlight sculpting all the creases of his uniformly patterned muscles. And his soft hair, placed angelically upon the pillow where the rest of his head laid. If only it were under different circumstances, would you then and only then consider his affection and presumably put it into a relationship.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's rude to stare?" His hoarse voice rose just a little above a whisper, a temporary chuckle flooding from his lips as well. "I'm admiring, not staring. There's a difference." Although you followed with an eye roll, your lips were twisted into a giddy grin and the roundest part of your cheeks became a rosy pink.

"Still quick-witted, huh?" He began as he rolled his body over to face you. His lips were a swollen red, just enough to leave a small peck upon— only if you could. His hazels were glistening after a long yawn emptied from his mouth, which unfortunately you're extremely contagious to. You open your mouth to replicate what he had just done, but your yawn is stopped short when his soothing words seeped from his lips.

"I wish it were back to normal, like the old days. With me, waking up right next to you." He began as a cheesy smile curved his lips. "Talking, laughing, deep conversations, debating, arguing— everything that we used to do, I want it back. I want you to remember who I am, to remember us."

"Then show me." You subtly demanded. His eyes flickered wider as his cheeks turned into a pinkish-red. Within an instant, he threw the covers off of the two of you and quickly scrambled out of the comfortable bed.

"C'mon." He held out his hand for your own, and with a nice smile you took it. He pulled you up from the bed and onto the chilling floor with ease, soliciting a short giggle as you stabilized your aching body upon your feet.

No matter how peculiar this situation is, you wanted to at least try to have one normal encounter with him.

You kept your hands intertwined as he led you from the room and down the hall towards the kitchen. He only let go when he was in reach of the coffee machine that he as nicely set atop the counter of his large kitchen. “Coffee, M’lady?” He curved one of his brows as he turned on the high tech machine as you happily nodded.

You haven’t had a warm cup of coffee in a long time, it seems...

-

Your stomach began to hurt from all the endless laughing you've been submerged in, reminiscing on your own childhood stories as well as his college adventures for the past couple hours. The two of you left the kitchen and your empty mugs awhile ago, and now you both were comfortably settled upon the expensively clothed couches that were strategically placed in the large living area.

Your mind is at such an ease, talking to a man you’ve somewhat grown to know in this morning.

The way he talked and expressed himself reminded you of someone you used to know, a long time ago. And it made your head fuzzy and clueless, irritated that you couldn't exactly pinpoint who he really was. Once the laughter had subsided, and the never-leaving question once again clouded your mind— you just had to ask.

"Who— Who are you?" Your voice was so curious, so innocent and in need of an answer from the man you've been so desperate to know for ages.

He didn't reply straight away. Instead, he focused his glistened orbs on the likes of yours, reaching depths it never had before. He intakes a large, deep breath, blowing his exhale out through his nose as his chest fell in a relaxed sigh.

"Grayson," He solemnly began, standing from his former seat and taking a few steps towards you, "Dolan." He crouched down before you as his lips sealed, his shaking hands falling onto your shoulders and gracefully sliding up your neck, resting upon the warmth of your cheeks.

You mind tumbled as your tongue wouldn't lather a word to permit from your mouth. You froze, unable to move or even think clearly as realization courses through you.

"It can't be.." You were eventually able to stutter, bringing your hands up to lay flat on his own. A single tear fell from you eye, and Grayson shuttered..

-

He's dead.

And so am I.

to be continued...

[sapphiewritesandstuff]

Long Awaited

Pairing: Hanako x F!Reader, slight Nene x F!Reader Warnings: Slight spice (nothing NSFW tho) Word Count: 2,170 I wrote this 2-3 months (?) ago, but never finished. I revamped it and finished it to keep you guys entertained while I work on the Teru + Kou x Reader content <3

The sound of the bell signaling the end of your last class sounded, prompting everyone to rush out of the class as quickly as humanly possible, all the while creating a solid wall of human that is virtually impossible to pass through.

“What’s gotten into them?” You muttered, raising an eyebrow at your classmates' antics. The blonde boy besides you paused in his rambling, brows furrowing as he too noticed the flood of human bodies between them and the door.

“Oh no,” Kou groaned, slapping a hand to his face in a gesture that suggests helpless frustration. “What’s wrong?” You asked, amused at Kou’s dramatic display.

“We were late yesterday and Hanako threatened to—” he wiggled his fingers with a menacing face that looked nothing like the amber-eyed apparition, “do things to Yashiro.”

You sweatdropped, giggling at Kou’s panic. “Don’t worry, we can exorcise him together if he tries anything.” Your tone dropped at the end of your sentence, eyes darkening a tad. It was Kou’s turn to sweatdrop.

Seeing that the people by the door had lessened a considerable amount, he grabbed your arm, pulling you out the door at a brisk pace. “Come on, (Name)-san!”

---

The two of you stopped, panting as you reached the entrance of the girl’s bathroom. 

“Hanako-kun!” You declared, kicking open the door. “If you touch one hair on Nene-senpai—” The sight that greeted you left you speechless. 

Your radish friend knelt with her back towards the mirrors, a hand held to her head with a confused expression on her face. Hanako, on the other hand, sat collapsed across from her, hands clutching at his face.

“Nene-senpai?!” You exclaimed, rushing over to Nene’s side, cupping her cheeks gently. Her amber eyes widened with surprise, a slight flush visible on the apples of her cheeks. 

Kou rushed to Hanako’s side, hauling him up by his collar. “Oi, Hanako! What did you do to Senpai?!” Hanako let out an uncharacterized squeak of surprise, ruby eyes widening.

“Wha-What?” Hanako asked, eyes darting around the room. “Hanako-kun? What do you mean, I—” Before she could finish, Nene interrupted quickly, pulling you to her chest in one smooth motion.

“Hanako-kun! Are you okay? When that apparition came, I was so scared…” She sobbed, but ‘Hanako’ caught a smug glint in ‘Nene’s’ eyes. 

He sighed internally. Why did I even get myself into this?

A few minutes prior…

“Hey, Yashiro.” Nene looked up from her work to give Hanako a look of distrust. “I know that voice, Hanako-kun. Whatever you’re trying to rope me into, it’s not going to happen.” 

Hanako pouted, giving Nene his best look of utter devastation. “You haven’t even heard what I was going to say yet~”

Nene eyed him warily, taking a step back for good measures. Hanako floated a pace closer, amber eyes practically sparkling. “Pleeaase~? Just hear me out.”

The ombre haired girl sighed, lifting a hand to her face. No, Nene. Don’t fall for his tricks— “Fine. I suppose I could listen.” What are you doing? Refuse before he could go on!

“Well…” Hanako trailed off, scratching his cheek sheepishly. “You know about my, uh, fondness for (Name), right?” Nene paused for a second, mind swirling with thoughts. 

This is perfect blackmail material! Hanako-kun, you’re going to regret all those times you teased me about my legs.

She hummed smugly, giving the ghost a knowing smirk. “Oh, it was obvious. Except (Name)-chan seems to always reject you~”

Ouch, she hits hard. Hanako winced, chuckling awkwardly. “About that—” Before he could finish, a thud could be heard by the window. A moment after, the window snapped open, and smoke poured into the room. 

Hanako’s head snapped up, thoughts of you momentarily put off as he drew his knife and summoned Hakujoudai. “Who’s there?!”

No one replied, but the smoke kept creeping towards them. “Yashiro! Don’t breathe in the smoke,” he started, but trailed off when Nene’s unconscious form slumped onto the floor behind him. He cursed under his breath, kneeling down besides her. 

“Yashiro!”

---

Yes. The smoke had caused the two to switch bodies. Which, in turn, translated to the current events to unfold as the real Hanako and fake Nene hugged you closer to her. She even managed to shed a few real tears, hoping you would comfort her the way you usually comforted the real Nene.

“It’s okay,” you murmured, tugging ‘Nene’ forward to give her a hug, to which she responded with another sob. ‘Hanako’ shot a glare at ‘Nene’, which prompted Kou to ask, “Er, Hanako, are you okay?” ‘Hanako’ sighed, annoyed at having to act like the annoying, and on top of that, perverted spirit. 

“I’m fine,” he replied flatly. He scowled, debating whether he should bail out on the apparition, until a sudden idea popped up in his mind. It was now ‘Hanako’s’ turn to smirk. 

“Hey, Yashiro,” ‘Hanako’ started, strolling towards the two still embracing on the floor. “You’ve been clinging to (Name) for quite a while now~” he made sure to add the little sing-song tone Hanako often used when teasing them. 

‘Nene’ gave him a glare to which he responded with a smug smirk. Have a taste of your own medicine, Hanako-kun!

You stood up, ignoring ‘Hanako’s’ comment and giving your friend an encouraging smile. “Just ignore him, Nene-senpai.” 

‘Nene’ nodded, still half-glaring at her real body. 

Gotta step up your game, Hanako-kun. The real Nene thought, sticking out her tongue at ‘Nene’. 

‘Nene’ gave ‘Hanako’ a forced smile and casually pinned you against the wall, effectively trapping (and confusing) you. She twirled a strand of her long, cream colored hair around a finger while her other hands kept yours against the wall.

“Ne, (Name)-chan,” she started, giving you a look that can only be described as sultry. “Don’t you think my lips are a little dry today~?”

You gave her a look of confusion, eyeing the hand trapping your wrists above you. “Um, I guess? They do look a little chapped.”

The amber-eyed girl leaned closer to you, lips dangerously close to your own. “Why don’t you help me moisturize them a bit?” She purred. 

‘Hanako’ sidled up beside you, slipping a finger under your chin and bringing it towards him, ruby eyes gazing into yours under half-lidded eyes. “Now, now, Yashiro,” he purred, “Don’t be such a dirty radish~”

Internally, the real Nene cringed at her own words. I can’t believe I just said that about myself. But her determination to outdo Hanako in this contest of… whatever this was overwhelmed her sense of shame and embarrassment. 

In the real Hanako’s mind, he was currently cursing Nene, glaring at her the best he could while still maintaining the mood.

Meanwhile, Kou stared at the trio from his position by the door. He stared, not exactly sure what he was looking at. He decided to speak out, seeing the evident confusion and discomfort on your face. 

“Uh, Hanako, Senpai. I think (Name)-san needs her space.” Nene, remembering that she was currently supposed to be Hanako, spoke up, waving a hand dismissively and trying her best to make Hanako look bad when they returned to their real bodies. “Butt out, kid. Can’t you see I’m trying to tease my dear little (Name)-chan here?” 

‘Nene’ pulled you away from ‘Hanako’, wrapping her arms smugly around your form and resting her chin on your shoulder. “Stay away from (Name)-chan, you pervert!”

The real Nene irked, eye twitching at how hypocritical this was. You’re the real pervert here!

Instead, he pouted, grabbing one of your hands and placing a soft kiss on the back of it. “I’m the pervert? Says the naughty radish with the wandering h-a-n-d-s~”

Sure enough, one of ‘Nene’s’ hands had wandered up right below your chest. Blushing bright red, you struggled out of the amber-eyed girl’s arms, spinning around to face them.

“What is wrong with you today, Senpai?” You asked, arms held protectively over your chest area. ‘Nene’ shrugged, sliding her hands into her skirt pockets. “Whatever do you mean, (Name)-chan?”

You squinted at her cautiously. It was still Nene’s sweet voice and her small frame, yet somehow, she managed to pin you to a wall with seemingly no effort. Processing the information, your heart jumped and your flaming scarlet cheeks darkened a tone. 

Arms surrounded you gently and you were pulled into yet another embrace, although this time it was more warm and friendly than flirtatious. Hanako’s voice whispered by your left ear, “I’ll protect you, (Name)-chan.”

As much as Nene had wanted it to sound like she was Hanako, she also genuinely wanted to protect you from getting hurt, so her words had no qualities of playfulness to them.

You gazed back at her as she said those words, eyes glistening and lips slightly agape. “Hanako-kun…”

‘Nene’ gritted her teeth. She wanted to shout at the real Nene, to remind her, you’re supposed to be helping me. But with the starstruck look you had in your eyes, the real Hanako felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. He wanted you to look at him like that, not Yashiro in his body!

‘Nene’ slowly relaxed her jaws, letting her pursed lips melt into a dark smirk. 

“If you’re so determined to brand me as the villain…” She started towards the two, honey toned eyes darkening, “Then, I’ll play the role of the bad boy~”

Shoving you onto the bathroom floor, she smirked at your widened eyes and once again pinned your wrists to the floor, successfully straddling you. 

“Ne-Nene-senpai—” Holding her finger to your lips, she shushed you. Despite that, you continued to speak, panic evident in your dilated pupils, “What are you doing?!”

‘Nene’ narrowed her eyes, reaching out to swipe her thumb across your bottom lip.

“Shhhh, (Name)-chan,” she murmured, leaning down closer to you, long hair brushing your cheeks. “If you can’t learn to be quiet, then maybe I’ll have to seal your lips for you~”

Closing the distance between the two of you, her lips brushed against yours.

Right before Kou hauled her up by the collar of her uniform. “S-Senpai. I don't know what's wrong with you today, but that’s enough.”

Having been discovered, Hanako tried to play it cool. “Kou-kun?” He used Nene’s large, watery ruby eyes to his advantage, watching as the blonde exorcist’s face turned red as he released the apparition.

Sitting up from the floor, you groaned, wiping a hand over your face. “Wow, Hanako-kun. I knew you were a pervert but I never thought you’d actually take it that far.” 

Kou’s eyes widened. “That’s Hanako?” He asked, jabbing a finger at Nene’s form. You nodded, dusting off your skirt as you stood up to stand beside the real Nene, who was currently residing in Hanako’s body. 

The blue-eyed boy once again plucked ‘Nene’ up from her position on the floor. “Wait. You’re Hanako?!” ‘Nene’ stuck out her tongue at him, rolling her amber eyes at him mockingly. “You’re stupid to not have noticed earlier, kid.” 

Kou froze, looking over at ‘Hanako’ who gave him a sheepish wave. “So… That’s really Senpai?” You once again gave a nod of confirmation, slightly sullen. The real Nene gave you a comforting pat on the back. 

“That means… you blackmailed Senpai into helping you harass (Name)-chan!”

Just as the blonde exorcist finished his declaration, a puff of smoke surrounded the two, and moments later, Kou held not Nene, but Hanako by the scruff of his black gakuran. 

Before anyone could say anything, Nene clutched at her cheeks with a sudden gasp, eyes shining with panic. “Ah, Hanako-kun!” She cried, sending a deadly glare towards the amber-eyed ghost. “You almost stole my first kiss!”

At her accusation, Kou released Hanako, who dropped to the floor with a wince, also giving the toilet ghost a disapproving glare. “Explain yourself, Hanako.”

Hanako shrugged lightly, floating up to face the three of you. “Weeelllll,” he drawled, edging closer to you.

You shot him an unimpressed look, but didn’t move away as Hanako latched on to your shoulders, hiding behind you like a nervous child. “It’s fine Kou, I don’t really mind what he did.”

Hanako froze, eyes widening. You didn’t mind his obvious attempt to kiss you? Does that mean- Could that mean-? Your stern voice brought him back to his senses. “But you do have to apologize to Nene-senpai for dragging her into this.”

Sulleningly, the black-haired ghost crept out from behind you, pouting a little. “Sorry, Yashiro~” The cream-haired girl sighed, but acknowledged the apology with a nod.

The four of you were quiet for a few seconds after that, content with the comfortable silence. 

Until Hanako’s arm curled around you, pulling you closer to him while simultaneously pulling off his hat in front of your face to prevent Kou and Nene from seeing anything.

And finally, his cold, but soft lips caressed yours, in a kiss that had been long awaited by the both of you.

[rouiyan]

𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘞𝘏𝘌𝘕 𝘐 𝘍𝘈𝘓𝘓 [ 𝘭.𝘫𝘯 ]

⧏ the fourth volume of rouiyan’s debut series, till death do us part ⧐

synopsis: and when i fall, will you be there to catch me by the waist?

✧ prince!lee jeno x crown princess!reader ✧ royalty au

✧ genres : angst, fluff ✧ word count : 7.4k ✧ disclaimers : disclaimers — violence in the form of attempted assassination/murder, bloody/gory scenes, mentions and allusions to character death, malintent

✧ author’s note — this is the one where i romanticize everything.

read volume three here: dearly departed.

prince donghyuck is running. he's sprinting almost, and his strapped bow and quiver hits his back with each of his coming strides. his hands are furious in breaking away the tall grasses that surround him on all sides with a blunt blade. cutting through them with swift flicks of his wrist. the dirt beneath his feet crunch and the blades of grass he's cut sway to the ground with slow and deliberate motions, avoiding the drag of gravity like paper in the wind. donghyuck is aware that he's leaving an obvious trail but there isn't time to spare if he doesn't want to meet death at his destination. he wished he'd been smart enough to take a horse, though he knows he would have had to abandon it as he drew close. 

the skies are clear today, rare for the winter that has made itself evident in the past few weeks. there are no clouds to stir up a storm, and no threat of rain to muddle his sight. donghyuck pulls a compass from beneath his armored chest. his feet are still moving fast though his arms are now pulled in to read the display on the device. the grass that's no longer pushed back springs up and brushes the skin of his forehead, the skin under the cut of his hair, obtrusively. the needle points south albeit a tad east. he continues forth. the sun is just about setting, flakes of purple beginning to bleed into the blue and donghyuck swears he can hear the ocean. he swears it's near. 

he breaks out into an open expanse, sudden in the way the grass stops short, but he sees soon enough that it stops short at the curb of a trodden dirt path. his hand against the ground, he feels the soil fine in between his fingers, sifting almost as finely as sand does. donghyuck's face tinges with the slightest annoyance in the realization that thin soil meant that tracks were covered up all the more easily, something that'd indeed be in his favor, if only there were tracks left to follow in the first place. the compass resurfaces again, the fine chain on which it hangs sloshing in the wind in conjunction with his hurried movements. lee donghyuck bites the bullet and recedes back into the mass of grassland, this time hurrying along the edge of the road whilst ducking once again in the cover of the reeds.

the sun is fast in waning and it's as if the prince is chasing it. he is on the descent of the hill himself when he begins to hear it clearly, the sounds of waves crashing against rocks, sputtering along the shore. he wishes he had time to go down and relish in the feeling of the water lapping between his toes, the salt and sand it carries shrugging off his dead skin. the sight he's first met with is the thatching of the roof, worn down and sodden through days of heavy rainfall. it sits like a weight upon the rest of the structure that soon forms in his line of vision. a decrepit shack, almost, or a sizable shack. the shiplack that holds the siding in place is doing the exact opposite, lifting off of its holds and fraying downwards into the ground, carrying pieces of the inner insulation of the walls with it. the shutters are absent in barricading the gaping holes the windows have abated to, the awning of the porch creases earthwards, blocking most of the front door. the visage reads, 'seaside home succumbs to the inexorable confines of loneliness and lack of care.' there is no other way to describe the forces that keep the assembly upright except the willfulness of a wicked hand.

donghyuck pauses and crouches to the roots of the turf. he peers between the strands to see a guard, no, two placed just before the widest cavity in the side of the house, the only way in he supposes. his fingers are quick to pluck the end of an arrow, to slot it in its place, to draw and arm back, an eye squinting. he's quick to duck under the cover of the grass once again when the arrow pierces the left of a guards' eye. he's quick to avoid ruffling the grass that would otherwise be giving away the whereabouts of his presence away to the other, frantic, guard. prince donghyuck is crouched at the foot of a tree when he draws another arrow, slots it, draws back, releases. he knows that death meets wherever the point of his arrows land, he's accustomed to it, he feels pride in knowing that one shot is all he needs to become the greater version of him, to decide who lives and who doesn't. one shot is all he needs to play god. at least, that is what you had told him on a lonely day of his fifth summer, the first summer he had spent at the northern palace but definitely not the last. 

"and you'll keep staring from afar, will you? you in the creepers," you turned your head in exact to where he'd been crouching, "as if i wouldn't know." young donghyuck removed himself effectively from the brush, dusting off bracts from his trousers in effort to present himself with a little more ease. sheepily, he treaded across to a few yards behind where you were stood, stance rigid and facial muscles pulled taut when staring into the bullseye. you plucked an arrow, turned it over in your hands, fingers running along the ridges to inspect. prince donghyuck knew that you were the same age as him, he'd been taught of the four, of which he was one, who were birthed in the same year, in each of the kingdoms. he knew this, yet with the aura you're giving off, he couldn't help but think that you've been around for much longer. the arrow split the previous arrow in a clean half. both lodged into the red-marked center, fifty or so meters away and barely visible to the eye at such distance. 

prince donghyuck stumbled to take a bow from the stand beside you. he placed an arrow clumsily between his fingers, strangely he felt the need to prove himself though he does just the opposite by fumbling. the arrow launched after his third try, but rather than taking on a straight course, it gave a feeble arc and lodged itself into the soil before him. the prince was a sight of vexation at this point, "my instructor said- he said…"

you crossed your arms over your chest, bow tucked neatly in between. "oh, i bet he said a whole bunch."

you taught him all you know and he learned with a newfound respect, though he was unwilling to admit to himself. you had him practice on a bird first, a bigger target than the red dot, so tiny that frustrations would surely be easy to come if he'd started there. donghyuck gave you an apprehensive glance behind his shoulders but you nudged him along with a nod of your head. it's the first time he hasn't missed. he never misses a shot after that. "is- is it dead?" donghyuck didn't dare peer over, afraid of what he might see.

"of course it is."

the five-year old boy was rendered a stuttering mess at this point, "d- did i just commit a felony?" shrugging, you plucked a stone from the shore of the creek, tossing it light across the water, "hunting is legal, if that's what you're asking."

"but i just killed a- a living thing!" he exclaims as if you hadn't said what you had said moments before. sighing, the next thing that comes from you left the boy in confoundment and annoyance at how curt you were, like an grown up he thought. "well, there are times where we are left with no choice but to comply with the blurred lines of right and wrong. there are times where we are left with no choice but to play god.”

his snappy attitude is all too quick to arise, no clue as to even what you were referring to and only in the knowledge that he disliked talking to you. "you're only five, just like me. what do you know?"

"i know a great deal," you turned abruptly to face the boy. you stepped in slow, paced motions, eyes strong and unwavering. he gulps as you spoke though unsure of why. "i know because i look for all my answers from what's put before me, not from my instructors."

prince donghyuck bites down on his lip, he wasn't nearly done with you yet, "so you're saying that you've learned all you know? then when will you learn that you don't have to act all high and mighty when you're already crown princess."

"i don't act. i am not an entertainer." he could not count the amount of times you've rendered him unable to process his thoughts. donghyuck can only retort back, "then what are you?"

"i am crown princess y/n, just as you've said it."

it's years later when he realizes why the earth seems to quiver beneath you, it's years later when he understands that it's because unlike the earth, soil that is bound by the pull of gravity, you've never allowed yourself to be limited to what something, someone, anything else subjects you to. you are a subject to no one, and that is why you will be queen one day. 

he thinks this even as the second of the guards drop dead. he thinks this because he has never had less of a reason to carry out a task, yet he finds himself doing so with attentiveness to detail. donghyuck by no means could categorize you as manipulative, nor persuasive. he simply understands the way you work, the things you desire, the people you need by your side. even he, as much as he disagrees with the likes of prince jeno, he knows that only he can be your king.

the dust settles thick as he crosses through the threshold, one leg after another. he doesn't need to breathe to know that the air could suffocate if he didn't have his arm sleeve pressed into his nose. the inside of the cottage, the wreck that it is, seemed to be intact, for the most part. donghyuck even thinks that if you were to run a thick duster across the tapestries, the carpet, the counters, the armoire,  most everything, that the place could live up to the coziness of just about a decade ago, minus the blatant hole in the wall and the condition of the walls itself.

donghyuck does his best, he's sure, but the halls twist in ways meant to confuse and he ends up at the same stairwell all too many times to count. he finds it soon enough, just as the sun regresses into night. the one stairwell that led down in the midst of all the ups. the absence of light is the only noticeable thing by sight, the moon isn’t nearly upon the horizon, but he uses all that he knows to make out the shine of the door at the foot of the steps. 

skipping the last few steps, he rams into it with all his body weight. the brass, weakened through weather and age, cripples beneath him revealing the darker of night. 

the first thing donghyuck does is cough, there is no way around that. his arm is back by his nose but this time his mouth also clamps tight onto the roughened fabric of his sleeve. he has a short blade in hand, his least favorite weapon of choice but a sword would have been too inefficient and a single arrow too thin. besides the heavy air that hangs, the room is also dead silent. four paces in and his foot hits a solid, a clang, a metal. he drags it along in the same direction, clang, clang, clang. bars. metal bars. a cage, an imprisonment of sorts.

the last bar he's hit escapes him, it swings open. the door, he supposes though he wonders why it hadn't been locked, why the door to the very basement hadn't been locked, why the whole vicinity was put under the supervision of two, poorly trained guards. donghyuck understands when his eyes do their part in adjusting to the dimness of the room and he sees the prince, slumped and unconscious, out cold. 

perhaps, death really was waiting for him at his destination.

time is running thin as donghyuck dismisses his urge to check for a pulse, he figures he'd have to bring the body back anyways, alive or dead, and furthermore he has a deadline. long gone is the dagger, tucked away on the side of his left thigh, replaced with a metal arrow that clangs itself with each time it strikes the wall adjacent to it. to prince donghyuck, picking a lock with a sharpened point of an arrow is second nature; he's done it as many times as little boy scouts practice their square knots and soprano's run through their warmups. but even then, he hates the feeling of picking a lock that binds two wrists, he hates the feeling of how the wrists fall when they are no longer bound, and he hates the feeling of the chains as they clatter and clump at his feet. more than that, the dead weight of a man on his shoulders, void of all vicarious pretenses, is the worst among all feelings.

the sun carries with it shadows as it sets. it draws them like a coachman and his horses, a dog on its leash, a flock of baby geese and their mother. the shadow of the cottage, in particular, is seven feet from where it was when donghyuck entered. he doubts he'll have much time to get back into town on foot, running wouldn't work well with his already depleted stamina and the hunk of a man on his shoulders. he plays it safe with a jog and his compass in hand, the shine of the needle becoming harder to decipher in the fast-coming shadows that drown out his sight.

the first break he takes under a tree a little ways down from the cottage, shoving the weight of jeno under the cover of a few tendrils of vines. he almost wants to kick his figure in annoyance but under the guise that he was trying to wake him. prince jeno is very poor company when he's knocked out, or dead, he supposes now is as good of a time as any to check. fingers against his wrist, he feels the faintest of a pulse and is relieved in the most concealed way, though there is no one around for him to be concealing from. donghyuck thinks, with sureness, that if he were to let the boy wilt in his arms, to deliver him dead when he might as well have been alive, he himself would be dead in your eyes. he shakes his head and brings his flask to the lips of the older, slightly older.

the first few drops of water do nothing except sit in his dry mouth but the rest is gurgled, choked, swallowed. the prince, and soon to be king, lunges at donghyuck with his eyes still shut closed. he has his fingers tight around the eastern prince's neck when he finally regains the will to peel open his lids. the sun is long gone at this point and the moon has still yet to appear over the horizon. jeno is startled when he realizes that the ground his knees are rubbing against isn't dusted concrete but thick soil and stones. he draws back at that though his arms wind back as well, as if to drive into his unknown captor's cheek, to knock him out. donghyuck is a whirlwind of coughs as he barely registers the fist that's approaching fast, he's glad he still has it in him to roll to the side and croak out an, "it's me."

two princes are panting under the span of a tree, the roots that jut out slashing the backs of one of them and the twigs that litter the ground cutting into the kneecaps of the other. their breaths alternate, loud sighs and sharp inhales, as they regain their bearings enough to acknowledge each other. two princes sit side by side under the span of a tree, glancing at each other, or what they believe to be each other, in the shroud of darkness that envelops them. they wait for the moon.

jeno finds himself reaching for the flask that lays discarded a few feet away. he chugs and donghyuck eyes him in disgust, feeling how his own throat is clenching up with the same thirst. jeno must sense this because he holds it out for him when he's had his fill, "how much time has passed?" donghyuck throws back the rest of the water. they are bound to come across a freshwater stream on the long way back, he's sure and he swallows, "a week in approximation."

a week, he's sure a lot of things could've happened in the week he was gone. possibly, you'd know of his absence. surely, you know of the death of your father. no doubt were you in mourning and he was halfway across the region and in no state to comfort you. his brows furrow, "anything notable that's happened?"

there are many things donghyuck could say in response. he hasn't left your side since the day after your father's body was found, the day he'd arrived at the palace, ready to comfort. he'd never have expected you to lash out in rage with no one to blame. he'd been there when the maid had delivered news of the anonymous tip that'd made your knees go weak in an instant. a hell of a week it had been, indeed. he prefaces with the general. "the coronation has been moved up, three days from now you will be crowned king."

jeno nods in understanding. it's all his parents have ever wanted from him, to marry off into golden blood, to become golden blood, for their immediate family to bathe in golden blood. he sighs knowing that he feels it's fine if it's with you, that your presence in his life simply mocks that of his parents. but he needs answers, the yearning to see you is set alight in the pits of his stomach. "and how is she holding up?" 

disgruntled, prince donghyuck answers curt and vague, the exact opposite of what jeno needs to soothe his worries, "she's holding up just fine." neither of them are in high spirits when they set off into the night. they suffice with the silence and when they come across the expected stream, donghyuck fills the flask, they bathe. the moon is kind that night, outshining all nights before and illuminating the compass needle, the guide into the outskirts of the southern kingdom.

the sun is on the rise when the two princes are met with the sight of buildings in the distance, small shacks, roofs thatched but unkempt and messy unlike that of the seaside cottage for royalty. the people bustling about are donned in the plainest of clothing and donghyuck is sure that his combat gear and jeno's days old and crinkle suit would draw unwanted attention from the commoners, after all, he's almost sure that they wouldn't recognize the faces of two royalty if they were dressed down, not here in the southern kingdom where the prospects of royalty are told like a fairy tale.

like how any disguise is gained, donghyuck sneaks through the bushels of the nearest house and snatches two pairs of trousers, two plain cotton tops, and a tweed satchel, leaving four golden coins under the back awning. they change before the sun arrives to clear the air of fog  and mist and they bustle and weave within the crowd with ease when the sun peeks over diagonal, mid-morning.

they don't make it far on foot, there is still a ways to go before they can safely make it past jeno's homeland without being noticed. the farther they delve into the heart of the kingdom, the closer they mingle with the nobles, the higher-ranking families, those who would recognize them almost immediately. 

a first of many close calls come when they are at the back end of a manor, a huge estate, spanning about half the palace itself. whoever the owner was, the individual jeno was rambling on about, wouldn't suffer the loss of two horses. that is, if they could be stolen in the first place. the stables were a mile into the plot of land from the back and though donghyuck could be so efficient in simply shooting dead all the guards that lined the outer premises, he really did not wish to cause a ruckus, not when he's sure the officials of the southern kingdom are aware of the escape of their second prince. and if jeno is correct in labeling this very estate as the abode of the capital governor, he wouldn't be keen in taking chances where it could hurt most. 

night falls for a second time and, under the cover of darkness, jeno slashes the calves of two of the guards, a stroke that could easily be mistaken to be of a running and wild badger if timed correctly. he ducks between the electrical cords of the fencing, donghyuck just behind him, as he gets on all fours to survey the grounds. the guards that are left mill around the stables, the only structure that'll provide them light during their break. they are jolly and big-bellied when they laugh and jeno finds it all too easy to slip past the commotion to the back of the stables where the gates open onto the track. donghyuck moves with practiced stealth to the opposite end, foot looping on the edge of a table where kegs of beer are stood tall. he steadies himself, centering his movements around his breaths and not his impulses. retrieving his compass, he doesn't stop to crack it open this time, angling the sleek alloy cover in such a way that it glints in accordance with the glass of the window, left side of the stables that's illuminated inside out. 

they count to three. the kegs meet the earth and while some roll, others simply spill. donghyuck leaves a mess in his wake. he'd like to stay back, admire his work, the looks of shock on their faces and the realization that'll come when they check the stables a little later. he gets this feeling each time he completes a mission, and very rarely is a prince allowed to do so. prince donghyuck loves the rush, the adrenaline, the anticipation and the satisfaction of completion. he knows that jeno feels the same. although as much as he would love to linger in the shadows to bathe in his victory, he knows that if he doesn't remove himself from the scene he will have a great deal more things to be worrying about. perhaps, his head on a stick.

with the horses accompanied by night, an ever-so-welcome friend, they are able to make haste. their course deviating the slightest to avoid the boundaries of the royal palace. jeno is familiar with the towns that lay just a little beyond and just a little before the middle glade. his familiarity means he knows where to book a rest for the night, where to get the needed replenishments for themselves and the horses and where to stock up for the coming day that will be spent entirely in the middle glade. his familiarity is helpful, but deemed futile when they arrive to see that each stall, selling food or goods, has a banner hung on the overhead. the prince's face is printed on each one, a lost prince, help needed! captioning each notice.

the pitstop, originally jotted to span a whole of two hours becomes a series of laborious tasks that involve intricate planning of thievery, indirect thievery as they make sure to leave, in their ructions, the rest of their gold coins, distributed evenly. they enter the middle glades with relieved and wearied hearts and sacks upon sacks of provisions.

the middle glade is the right place for any wearied heart. the grass is knee-length here, and it stays that way for a day's trip worth of land. the edges are crowded by a thick forest of trees with trunks too wide to hug and roots so big that traversing the land on foot is treacherous enough. but just beyond the thickets of trees and boughs that hang low is the glade itself. the four kingdoms were built to accommodate the livelihood of the grasses, wildflowers, gentle ponds that stretched only a few feet deep. the glade is a sight for sore eyes, and a marvel for all traveling through. it's where the four kingdoms diverge, and also where they meet.

rays of sun are harsh on their backs, it's been a little over an hour and though the looming threat of the southern kingdom has been left in the dust, the road ahead proves bleak, grasses the run along the horizon and, seemingly, endlessly beyond. jeno thinks of what he'll say when he sees you. he thinks of the smile that's sure to grace your features and he thinks of your warm embrace. jeno is patient when he thinks of you.

"she's been troubled."

jeno looks over in surprise at the sound of his companions voice, he notes the lilt and remains silent for him to go on. 

"the princess and i, as i'm sure you know, we've been well-acquainted for a long time now." donghyuck steals a glance of his own and finds that jeno's sights are held to the front but his brows are drawn in consideration, deliberation. "and i've always known her the best, loved her the best, been the best for her. we've both been, for each other i mean. we both also knew that there would be a day where the same would be said for someone besides the other. i don't mean harm when i say that i didn't think it'd be this soon, not for her."

"why not for her, distinctly?"

prince donghyuck gives a moment to think of an answer that he knows all too well from being by your side for the good majority of his life, "because she's not one to talk. she prefers to listen." nudging his point along, jeno makes it known, "she talks to me."

"that's how i know you're the one for her." jeno smiles to himself. he lets himself relish in the feeling of your love, even indirectly. his lips stay turned upwards, even when he wills them back down. he can't help but feel a little silly so he disguises his countenance with another question,  "did she ask this of you? to come for me?" a question that he already knows the answer to.

"of course," a playful grin spreads with ease across donghyuck's face. he supposes that the taut strings between them have loosened up ever so slightly, either that or the dreariness of traveling for days on end with only each other's company have done the trick, "i'd have never gone out of my way for you." jeno's expression is gruff but his tone is light when he quips back in agreement, "neither would i."

"i'll have you know though, she's beyond excited about the wedding preparations. the coronation as well but i can sense that she's more apprehensive to take the throne so early on. it's a relief to know that you'll be by her side when the time comes."

"as i should be."

"you know, i've heard some rumors about you, just picked them up here and there. and while i have made sure of your sincerity by means of this," he gesticulates, "this trip of ours, i would like to confirm that you're not...after her for the throne, are you?"

"not i, but i wouldn't put it past you to see it as so. much of my family sees her for only her blood," he doesn't bother to palliate the resentment in his expression as he spits out the last half. the other in the conversation is thrown into thought, once again. the moments he gives himself to respond are filled with the sounds of horse hooves fast on the crimpling grass.

"the death of her father, were you aware that it was dawning upon us?" donghyuck airs prudently, "in the assumption that it was of your lineage's doing."

jeno replies dismissively, not in the context that he is avoiding the inquiry, but more so that he found the case scenario obvious, "i was not aware, no. it had certainly been staged so that i could not have been there to prevent it, unfortunately." his eyes slide from the grassy hills ahead to his friend beside him, he lets new information fall from his lips in the face of someone he has come to trust, "i'm also apprehensive about her taking the throne so young, and not because of her duties. i have an inkling that she might be stolen before her throne is."

"another scheme of your parents, the king and queen? or is that past my bounds to be asking?"

the dismissive tone laces his voice again, but only for a few cumulative seconds, "not at all, there are many times a day where even i find it hard to identify as one of them." a turning point is reached where he gazes grows stern and the dismissiveness is replaced with an air of officiality, "but yes, i believe it to be one of their schemes to place a crown atop my head."

donghyuck considers jeno's words with heavy thought and a heavily-ladened question, "would you take it if it was offered?" he takes his answer with an equally heavy understanding.

"at the cost of her, i would give it up in a heartbeat."

you've lost count of the nights you've spent staring at the same ceiling you were faced with now. even turning onto your sides you know that you'll be met with all too familiar scenes. your mind, instead of relenting to the rest it needs, replays the same track over and over of prince jeno asking for you not to stay up too late, ironic in the sense that that's simultaneously exactly what you've succumbed to. you miss the way his locks bunch in between your fingers, something you haven't quite grasped the reasonings behind your liking of. it's just hair, but it being his hair supposedly makes all the difference. would it be foolish for you to be thinking of his hair when he might as well be taking his last breaths in the same second? there wouldn't be a way to know, the wall that you've encountered each time you venture down the glum alleyways of 'what if.'

"acceptance disempowers fear, darkness, shame." (my co--star day at a glance 1119).

you wallow in acceptance because the fear, the darkness, the shame stands too tall against your thin spears of hope. they've dwindled with each day that you've spent circulating between those three emotions in a hopeless and never-ending circle of self-induced torture. somewhere in between your fourth and fifth hour of intermittent lapses between sleep and wakeful exhaustion, the inner door of your chamber is burst open and you swear under your breath. murder is in the night.

or rather, it's your lady-in-waiting, her eyes bugged out and a coat haphazardly thrown over her nightgown. "your highness!" that's when you see the smile on her face, that's when a similar one begins to light your own. "the guards down in the valley, they say they've seen them!"

legs kicking up the blankets that hold you down, you scramble out of bed, even slipping on a coat is deemed too much a time-consuming task when the raptures that have enveloped you for the past weeks are now coming to a close. your fingers barely catch onto the door frame just as you skid out, peering back in to get another word for your maid, "them, them as in two. both lively and well?"

"i've been told of two men, both on horseback."

a grin splits your cheeks wide as your bare feet clap down hard on the frigid marble flooring. it echoes unlike the sound of your nightgown flitting between your form with each step, the whistling of wind curling your insides with warmth and joy. your heart sings like a village girl, whose love has just returned safe from the battling seas. perhaps you were a juliet, in the pretense that 'star-crossed' meant that you and him were written in the stars, not torn apart by them. your lungs welcome the morning air as you inhale as much as you can, replenishing the depths of your spirit, invigorating you down to each cell that you were built of.

the guard at the foot of the steps implores you not to go any further, the crisp winds that sift through the orchard would be far too dangerous with how little you are wearing. he sends for your lady-in-waiting, who had just arrived behind you, panting with all her might, to head back in to retrieve a coat or two for you. you tell her to take her time.

you're on your knees weeping when they come into view, the sight is unsuitable for the weak-hearted. head in your hands, you're making frantic motions to swipe away the furious tears that trace down your cheeks when the soiled dust from a sudden break of hooves lifts into the air before you. prince jeno dismounts as if it were his life's duty, his strides are long, as they have always been, and when he takes you in his arms, collecting your listless limbs and wearied bones in place, you find home within his embrace.

at the crack of dawn, on the bottom steps of the northern palace, a man clad in plain white and a woman in a silk nightgown rejoice in the name of love. his fingers never let the goosebumps on your skin stay for as long as he smoothes them over, you are absent of the wintry weather on your bare skin. at the crack of dawn, on the bottom steps of the northern palace, the up and coming king and queen of the northern kingdom rejoice in the names of each other, alive and so, so full of life.

you're looking up in curiosity at him as he crosses the room to the side of the bed, opposite of yours. jeno has a book in his hand, and rather than looking at you, his sights are on the pages, a finger skimming along with his eyes. he's by your side when he looks up, satisfied, "i brought something to read to you, love."

your eyes sparkle in the moonlight that slips undisturbed through your open balcony doors, "and what might it be?"

"you'll know when you hear, i assure you." he extends an arm and your back is pressed against his chest without a question, his arms encircling your frame, both hands converging to hold the book in front of the two of you. he spoke the truth when he said you'd recognize it. a smile makes its way to your face before you can even take notice. and when you do indeed notice, you mouth the words along with his voice.

“i will love you if i never see you again, and i will love you if i see you every tuesday. i will love you as the starfish loves a coral reef and as kudzu loves trees, even if the oceans turn to sawdust and the trees fall in the forest without anyone around to hear them. i will love you as the pesto loves the fettuccini and as the horseradish loves the miyagi, and the pepperoni loves the pizza. i will love you as the manatee loves the head of lettuce and as the dark spot loves the leopard, as the leech loves the ankle of a wader and as a corpse loves the beak of the vulture. i will love you as the doctor loves his sickest patient and a lake loves its thirstiest swimmer. i will love you as the beard loves the chin, and the crumbs love the beard, and the damp napkin loves the crumbs, and the precious document loves the dampness of the napkin, and the squinting eye of the reader loves the smudged document, and the tears of sadness love the squinting eye as it misreads what is written.

i will love you as the iceberg loves the ship, and the passengers love the lifeboat, and the lifeboat loves the teeth of the sperm whale, and the sperm whale loves the flavor of naval uniforms. i will love you as a drawer loves a secret compartment, and as a secret compartment loves a secret, and as a secret loves to make a person gasp…i will love you until all such compartments are discovered and opened, and all the secrets have gone gasping into the world. i will love you until all the codes and hearts have been broken and until every anagram and egg has been unscrambled. i will love you until every fire is extinguished and rebuilt from the handsomest and most susceptible of woods. i will love you until the bird hates a nest and the worm hates an apple. i will love you as we find ourselves farther and farther from one another, where once we were so close…i will love you until the chances of us running into one another slip from slim to zero, i will love you until your face is fogged by distant memory. i will love you no matter where you go and who you see, i will love you if you don’t marry me. i will love you if you marry someone else–and i will love you if you never marry at all, and spend your years wishing you had married me after all. that is how i will love you even as the world goes on its wicked way.”

(Lemony Snicket, The Beatrice Letters)

the book is discarded, but unforgotten, to the side when the curtains are pulled back. the moon is at its height. renjun has a lot of work to do.

the scene is as expected, the princess, inseparable from her prince is on the bed and clasped on all sides by his form. he regrets that he did not have the guts to ask for the murder of them both. his orders strictly called for the death of one, a much more tedious task when a possible witness, such as the prince, could hold a hefty punishment over his head if he were to be caught. renjun knows that isn't likely to begin with.

his first mistake is waking the prince. perhaps going in for a knife to the heart was the most efficient but the least accessible, seeing as the man clung to you like no other. renjun doesn't bother hiding though he knows his face covering and hood aren't enough to cover his unmistakable stature. the prince charges at him once he's gained a sense of his surroundings. renjun dodges his sleepful fit easily and uses this opportunity to strike at you. a quick blow to the side should do enough damage for his job to be considered completed.

his second mistake is misconstruing the sheer amount of power the prince possesses. in truth, the prince does not know himself, especially if that power is being drawn by the prospects regarding your safety and wellbeing. renjun is pulled back with veined arms that encase as if to wrestle him into surrender. he's experienced enough to worm his way out and to position himself opposite of the bed where you're now beginning to stir from all the commotion, the prince standing in front of him, shaking his head in disgruntledness as he tries to fight off the waves of post-awakening exhaustion and strain.

renjun knows a lot of things. he knows much about caged animals, he knows even more about greedy men, specifically greedy and powerful men, he knows of hierarchies and classes and exactly how to get what he wants from them, but in this moment, he knows nothing more than the fact that prince jeno will duck. and that he will regret.

when one is young and naive and still in the belief that their blanket will shield them from the monsters in the dark, they simply disregard that it will not. the flimsy, flimsy blanket, made of nothing more than woven, and likely processed, fabrics will do nothing against the demons that await, under your bed, in your shadows, from your ceiling. you are not young, nor are you naive, and it's in your understanding that these demons, they are a breed of sorts, fallen angels. perhaps, you will never understand. and in their line of work, they have never halted at the sight of a blanket. you toss it aside and you charge even as your prospects of living dim as the dagger parts the air, the air that scampers away and leaves an open trail for the dagger to the dead center of your abdomen, the very spot your father had been punctured with.

there is a part of renjun that wishes he missed.

the man in the moon frowns as the beams that foam and froth and bubble behind him are poured down from the heavens onto the west wing of the palace solely, the west-facing windows, a specific west-facing, wrought iron traced door that gives into the expanse of your room, your bed. it illuminates you, it bares its shine upon you, unabashedly, unashamedly. and it is also the sole reason jeno can see, with such clarity, the shank that slits your silk nightgown with ease, that embeds itself within your now-withering body, that in turn, makes his blood run cold.

renjun is long gone when jeno begins his cry for help. there are guards just outside but it would take a miracle for a medic to arrive before you bleed out your internal organs completely. the white of your sheets is stained with your blood, the strands of your hair are strung together with the stickiness of the substance, jeno's hands, the beds of his fingernails are deluged in the blood that spurts from where he is desperately trying to press down on. the hole in your front gushes with each breath you take and jeno could only wish that he could breathe for you, in your stead. 

prince jeno cries, in the most literal and figurative senses, for help, for someone to wipe away his tears and to tell him that you're alright. to shake him awake as he dissolves further into the abyss of his fears. to kneel by his bedside and tell him that it was all a nightmare, that you're fine, really, that you've just gone to get a cup of earl grey with honey, that when you come back, there will be no dagger struck between your intestines and no red staining your nightgown. lee jeno cries because as time drags, and the guards that scramble about, fruitlessly counting on a distant and frankly unprepared medic, you are in his arms taking your last breaths.

"acceptance disempowers fear, darkness, shame."

and so he accepts.

volume five, the final installment: heaven belongs to you will be updated whenever the author sees fit.

copyright © 2020 rouiyan all rights reserved.

✧ end note — i hope this piece brought back some cherished memories of 'a series of unfortunate events,' personally, such a great memory of my childhood, reading-wise. i say this a lot but, this has got to be one of my most favorite things i've ever written. i think i did quite well with this. it makes me happy. i hope it made you happy, i love you, have a nice day.

[glimmerglanger]

(Fighting the urge to apologize for horniness) Can I request to see more of the scene where they ~make love~? (right at the end of chapter 9). The sex scenes in slo!au were so visceral, even if they weren’t affected by the heat they still would be out of their minds just because of how much they want each other. The idea of them making love, stretching it out for hours slow and sweet- I’ll probably start tearing up before the horniness even kicks in 😅

YOU CERTAINLY MAY! :D I know there was a bit of a delay in this one, as I decided right away I wanted it for spicy week because it was so good. :D

SPICY AND NOT SAFE FOR WIZARDS, but not warnings.

~~~~~~~~~

Cody pulled Obi-Wan closer, still not quite believing that he’d been so wrong. They had more to talk about - so much more to discuss - but it was hard to think about that with Obi-Wan melting into his embrace, mouth soft and welcoming as Cody kissed him. 

They’d never kissed outside of a heat, before, and Cody found that it was not, really, so different. Obi-Wan always kissed with a stunning amount of focus, giving and sweet and unhurried. Cody had no idea how other people kissed, and no real desire to find out; he couldn’t imagine that anyone did it better than Obi-Wan, currently cupping both sides of his face and sucking on his lower lip.

He’d awoken that morning aware that Obi-Wan was about to fall over into a heat and he’d gone to - to offer what assistance he could, because the thought of Obi-Wan having to go find some stranger to help him, after all he’d gone through, had cut inside his chest. He’d been willing to ignore the pain of - of having something so close to what he wanted, of having Obi-Wan’s body but not his heart, but--

“Force,” Obi-Wan murmured, against his mouth, as Cody nudged him back one step and then another, and another, until they reached the bed. 

The sheets were still a mess from earlier. Most of the blankets were, in fact, on the floor. Cody avoided them, breaking the kiss just long enough to sit on the mattress, tugging Obi-Wan after him.

He ended up sprawled across a damp spot on the sheets, and didn’t even care. In fact, he felt a little kick of pride in his gut as Obi-Wan stretched out beside him, arm curled around his shoulders, falling right back to kissing him.

Cody would have, happily, kissed Obi-Wan for the rest of the night, if that was what he’d wanted, but he couldn’t suppress a little shiver of relief when Obi-Wan started tugging at his belt. He’d been hard for what felt like an age, since the moment they’d fallen into an embrace, despite all of their… earlier activities.

He shifted up, pulling off the white tunic - he liked it much better than the armor he’d grown used to wearing - and grabbing his black undershirt. Obi-Wan made a thick little sound, and Cody found him staring, openly, after he threw his shirt to one side.

Cody couldn’t help a quirk of his mouth, a swell of pleasure at the glazed look in Obi-Wan’s eyes and the want written across his expression. “I want to touch you,” Obi-Wan said, in the same tone he’d used before he - he licked across Cody’s cock, earlier, and Cody shivered, because that was a memory he was going to cherish for the rest of his life.

“By all means,” he said, and Obi-Wan moved towards him, all predatory grace, pushing him onto his back and leaning down to kiss his mouth, his jaw, further back. Obi-Wan’s skin was cooler than his - always was - and his hands were strong, his fingers roughened with calluses and scars, but he was infinitely gentle.

Obi-Wan touched him so carefully, running his palms across Cody’s chest, out to his shoulders, his breath escaping in a little stuttering rasp against Cody’s throat, his beard a rasp against tender skin.

Cody pulled him a little closer, a hand in the small of his back, delighted to feel how hard Obi-Wan was, pressing against his leg, groaning when Obi-Wan rocked against him, with a hungry little sound.

“Let me see you, too,” he murmured, tugging at Obi-Wan’s tunics. It would feel so much nicer, he thought, if they were all skin to skin. Obi-Wan made a little sound, agreeable, pulling at his clothes while shifting up to kiss Cody’s mouth again.

Cody knew so many of the scars across Obi-Wan’s body; he’d been there when the injuries that left them behind occured. The majority he didn’t know; they’d been set against skin before he’d ever met Obi-Wan. He had questions about a hook of raised flesh at Obi-Wan’s side, and a series of jagged lines over his back, but…

But they’d spoken enough, for one day. He only traced them with his fingers, feeling Obi-Wan shiver against him, arching into the touch. Obi-Wan had not, he thought, ever been touched enough. Cody planned to fix that, he’d already developed strategies, and--

And they fell out of his head when Obi-Wan worked free the closures on his pants and slid his hand past the waistband. 

“Force,” Cody gritted out, because Obi-Wan’s hands always felt so good on him, most especially wrapped around his cock. He shoved at the waistband, trying to give Obi-Wan more room to work, feeling him smile. 

Obi-Wan kept touching him as he kicked his own blasted pants off, kept touching him as Cody pushed him back on the bed and tugged at his Force-damned trousers. It was… distracting. But Cody knew how to focus through distraction, through the ache of want in his blood, making a victorious sound when he managed to make Obi-Wan utterly naked.

There were a few marks, here and there, across Obi-Wan’s skin. He’d left them behind earlier, with his mouth and his hands. Seeing them left a shivery little feeling in his gut. Every time they’d shared a heat before, he’d only imagined the marks he left behind. There’d been no chance to look on them, and his cock twitched in Obi-Wan’s grip.

“You’re so kriffing beautiful,” he rasped, pressing closer all at once, needing to kiss Obi-Wan again. Obi-Wan made a surprised, pleased sound, arching up against him. His hand caught between them for a moment, before he slid it around Cody’s hip, gripping at his back, instead.

There was no rush to touching him. Cody just... shifted against him, slow and steady, enjoying the drag of skin on skin, the wet smears of Obi-Wan’s slick on his legs, which tightened his gut and made him groan in the back of his throat.

Nothing in the kriffing galaxy felt quite as good as tangling together with Obi-Wan, and the sense memory of sinking into him was so sharp and clear in his mind. Obi-Wan shifted against him, arm slung across his shoulders as he drew a leg up, welcoming Cody to press a little closer, cock sliding on slick skin and--

“I want you,” Obi-Wan panted out, right against his mouth, canting his hips up, all red and flushed across his cheeks and throat, “Please, would you--”

And Cody saw no reason to make him ask twice. He curled fingers around Obi-Wan’s thigh, hitching his leg a little higher and, oh, sinking into him felt like coming home. He went slow - well aware of how tender Obi-Wan had to be, from his earlier heat - and careful, Obi-Wan gasping against his mouth as he settled.

They rocked together, slowly. Cody braced an elbow on the bed, staying close to trade shivery kisses. Obi-Wan held onto him, tightly, his cock caught between their stomachs, shifting against skin with each slow, deep thrust.

Time - the entire rest of the world - slipped out of focus. Cody couldn’t bring himself to care about anything outside of their bed, anything but the taste of Obi-Wan’s mouth and the way his eyes were glazed, the way he held on and started to cry out, sharp, with each movement.

Obi-Wan’s orgasm took him by surprise - perhaps it took Obi-Wan by surprise, too, for he groaned loudly as his cock jerked between them, making a mess all over them both. Even that felt far away as his body clenched and squeezed, sudden pressure that dragged Cody after him all in a rush.

He swore, dazed, pushing in one last time, his knot swelling, leaving them together, which was, he thought, perfect.

[yandere-daze]

62,30, 6 with doppio

Yes!!! Of course!! Thank you for requesting the boy!! I was so happy to get a request for him!! <3

62. “ You want to see your friends? They aren’t worthy of your kindness.”

30. “ Only you can make me feel alive.”

6. “Please don’t ever leave me!”

Yandere! Doppio with prompts 62, 30 and 6

Small rays of sunshine were streaming through the closed blinds, illuminating the otherwise completely dark room. It was still early morning but your eyes hurt from the light they were attacked by. They weren´t used to it anymore, not after months of being in the same stuffy and cramped room. As you shielded your eyes with your right hand you slowly scanned the bedroom for any sign of life. After carefully looking around for what must have been several minutes you let out a shaky sigh of relief, your shoulders slightly sagging as the weight of apprehension fell from them. You weren´t being paranoid, you reasoned with yourself, there was a reason for your fear. A reason why you were so on edge all the time. And as if fate was trying to play a cruel trick on you, right at that moment you heard a soft knock on the door as a gentle voice called out to you.

“Y/n darling are you awake? I made you breakfast!” The person on the other side of the door, seemingly not patient enough to wait for an answer to their question, promptly pushed open the door so their whole form was revealed. You were greeted by the sight of a man you knew all too well. Pink hair and eager hazel eyes that were directed right at you, widening by just a tiny amount as they settled onto your awake form as a grin spread across his face. “Ah y/n! I hope you slept well. You seemed kind of upset yesterday so I thought I could make it up to you!”, he exclaimed while stepping closer and balancing a tray with a wide range of breakfast items on top of it.

Doppio was your boyfriend of several months and you had really loved him a lot. He was willing to give you as much love and attention as you could have ever hoped for, always being so gentle and comforting to you. And you had to admit, for some time you really enjoyed all of the attention you were getting from him, it´s wasn´t something you were used to and it felt nice to see someone care so much about you. Your boyfriend always wanted to be close to you, peppering your face in soft kisses while holding you close, comforting you when more and more friends of yours started to push you away. You felt so utterly hopeless in these moments, wanting to know what you did wrong, just wanting to see them again and joke around like you always did. Doppio had always reassured you when you had these self-doubts, whispering in your ear how he´s so lucky to have you by his side, how they were missing out and never truly appreciated you like he did. He loved you so much more than they ever could, his love for you ran so deep it started to consume his entire being.

“You want to see your friends? They aren’t worthy of your kindness. They aren´t treating you right. They were so quick to abandon you, can you really call them your friends?”, he whispered into your ear, his words feeding poison to your mind. “But don´t worry tesoro,” he looked you directly in the eye while his tone of voice shifted a bit again, “I would never abandon you! I love you so much! I think of you every waking moment and you appear in my dreams when I´m asleep. You´re so wonderful and I can´t believe how lucky I am to have you. You wouldn´t leave me either, would you?”

Back then you didn´t realize the true consequences to your words. Back then you doomed yourself, you altered your fate into a state of no return. When you promised him you would never leave him on that fateful cold winter evening, you sold yourself to the devil. Because he kept your promise so close to his heart, just as close as when he pulled you into his arms, holding on so tight after you let the words leave your mouth, pressing you against his chest. His eyes widened significantly, an odd expression appearing on his face, looking somewhere between extremely lovesick and extremely content. You had never seen that sort of look cross Doppio´s face before and you didn´t know what to think of it as he kept whispering words of affection and love into your ear, muttering how you´re the one for him, how he´s so glad that you agreed to be his, how it made everything so much easier. How glad he feels, knowing that you are his, his, his.

“Please don´t ever leave me darling! My heart wouldn´t be able to handle the heartbreak!” He then looked directly into your eyes, his grin stretching even further as his grip on your shoulders tightened, lightly shaking you back and forth in what seemed to be excitement of some sorts. “But you wouldn´t think of that, right? You would never leave me, right? You love me way too much! Nothing could ever come between our love. No one can separate us. I won´t let them. Do you remember these people that called themselves your friends? They said I wasn´t good for you, that I was too clingy, too possessive but what do they know? Nothing that´s what! So, I took care of them! They won´t interrupt us anymore, isn´t that lovely darling?”

“D-doppio what are you talking about? You´re starting to scare me, please calm down! And what happened to my friends?”, you were starting to shake in uncertainty now. The loving boyfriend you once knew sounded more and more deranged by the second. Despite your former promise of never wanting to leave him, you now wanted to leave more than ever before. This wasn´t the same person anymore, something was wrong.

“I´m scaring you? Oh no y/n, there´s nothing to be scared of! I just made sure that nothing could get between our love, we´re safe now. You´re safe here. Only you can make me feel alive so I won´t let anyone take you away!”

“You´re mine! Mine you hear that?! So please don´t ever think of leaving me, you can´t!”

 “Y/n are you listening to me? Y/n? Your coffee is growing cold.”

You snapped out of your thoughts to see Doppio staring at you worriedly while nudging a mug towards you. “S-sorry about that”, you stuttered and gently took the mug from his hand, lifting it towards your face and inhaling the comforting aroma.

“Geez y/n, you´ve been spacing out more and more, is everything okay? Are you not getting enough sleep? I´m starting to get worried.” With a concerned gaze he drew closer and promptly set beside you on the bed, getting the long metal chain connected to your foot out of the way in one swift motion. “You know you can tell me anything right?”, he leaned down and kissed the elegant ring on your finger in what you assumed must have been meant to be a comforting gesture. It was a very beautiful right you had to begrudgingly admit, the golden material and the bright emerald green gems that decorated it harmonized perfectly.

“I will do whatever it takes to make you happy tesoro, to keep you with me. So just say the word and I´d get rid of anyone that would try to keep us apart!”

“I love you so much”

[perriewinklenerdie]

Uncharacteristically happy (Ethan Ramsey x MC)

Open Heart, Ethan Ramsey x MC

A/N:  Hello, hello, hello! How we holding up, fam? I really hope you are all okay and taking care of yourselves <3 The idea for this fic came up after the last fic I posted, so I started playing with it and this is what came out of it :D

AO3 link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23808175

Tag list:   @paleweasels, @hopelessromantic1352, @kittykatchoices, @valiantlychaoticbarbarian , @radlovedreamer , @usuallyamazinglyaverage, @strawberrwess @palestazure, @cordoniaqueensworld, @universallypizzataco, @princess-geek, @faithhasnowords, @mightyfangirlofthefandoms, @drakewalkerfantasy, @timmagicktoad, @laceandlula, @greywitchyshots, @llamasgrl, @gingerjane15, @bucket-harrington , @marywrites-things , @ethanplaysfavorites , @mfackenthal , @betelgeusebee , @simsvetements,  @i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction, @buzz-bee-buzz, @owleyes374, @cora-nova, @aworldoffandoms, @l822, @cream-ray, @ughhhxjazzy, @silverlitskies, @justendlesssummerfeels, @togetherwearerapture, @desmaranj, @edgiestwinter, @friedherringclodthing, @daisy-ashton, @waytooattuned, @choicesgremlin , @lapisreviewsstuff, @the-soot-sprite, @writerapprentice, @chasingrobbie, @choicesobsessedd, @x-kyne-x, @thisperfectmemory, @drakewalker04, @rookie-ramsey, @jlynn12273, @thepinknymph @dr-brianna-casey-valentine, @a-i-n-a-a-s-h 

  Enjoy! <3

----------

It’s three in the morning when the darkness is annihilated by his bedside lamp. He should still be sleeping, but the turmoil in his mind kept him awake for the better half of the past hours. With a heavy sigh, he sat up, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

After his father went to his room, Ethan practically threw himself towards his phone. He was greeted with her voice, making his pulse jump. She would tease him if she knew just how strong her hold on him was, so he was glad that she couldn’t see him in that moment.

“How was the chicken?” Claire asked, letting out a sigh he heard multiple of times when she finally relaxed after a long day.

“You’ll see for yourself tomorrow. I managed to save you a serving, Dad ate most of it.” he laughed, thinking about how much crap he would get from Alan if he heard him admitting that to her.

“Stop talking about food, it’s too late for me to sneak into the kitchen and grab a snack. Change the subject.” She laughed, scolding him the same amount as she was scolding herself for even bringing it up in the first place.

“What were you up to this evening?”

“Sienna baked cookies- dammit! We’re walking in circles.” Her laugh put a smile on his face, her words ringing in his mind, as they were about more than their conversation topics and they both knew it. “I will steal a couple and bring them to you tomorrow.”

“Those cookies of hers must be stellar if there are legends about them, circling around the hospital… and I know that from Naveen.” He rushed to explain, unsure how he felt about her being aware he knew a rumor or two.

Claire giggled shortly. “I’m sure you do. Anyway, it’s getting late and we both have an early shift in the morning. I’ll see you tomorrow, Ethan.” Her voice wrapped around his name, a tender caress that made his heart skip a beat, as cliché as that sounded.

“We’ll talk in the morning. Sleep well, Claire.”

He tried to occupy himself with something, anything to not think about her. The way her eyes sparkled when they moved around his kitchen with an ease of two people who were familiar with each other. The way she fit into his arms like she was made for him to hold her. How her lips moved against his, wiping his mind blank and leaving only the feeling of her. How she pulled him back inside and they made out against the wall like a pair of teenagers.

Yeah, she was definitely a good influence on him.

So that’s how he got to where he was now. Dead of the night, wide awake and getting out of bed. Sure, we went to work around 4.30 in the morning quite often, but it didn’t require him to wake up that early.

However, preparing a lunchbox for Claire, purely because he was an overachiever and he made his point to see a smile on her face, apparently required him to wake up at the break of dawn and move around his apartment as quietly as he could, because if his dad woke up and saw him putting so much effort into preparing food for her, he would not hear the end of it.

He rummaged through his cabinet, taking out a container for food, then took out the leftover chicken and placed it on the counter. Taking the knife into his hand, he proceeded to chop and transfer neatly cut pieces into the box, trying to make as little noise as he could. But even that turned out to be impossible.

“Ethan, is everything okay? It’s so early, you don’t have to leave for work for another hour, so why are you- oh.” Alan’s tired voice shattered the tranquility of the early morning, then the sleepy figure of an older man appeared in the doorway. He was about to ask further questions but was stopped when he saw what exactly it was that got his son out of the bed so early. “Oh.”

“Don’t ‘oh’ me. I’m just-“

“You’re just preparing food for her, because she is important to you. Because you care about her. We’ve been over this, Ethan.” The doctor sighed deeply, shaking his head at the easy smile that pulled on his lips.

“Okay, yes. I woke up an hour early to prepare food for her. Because I want to see her smile. There, happy?”

“Immensely.”

--------------

Ethan used to be one of a few doctors that started his work this early. It was not the case, at least not anymore. He parked his car by the employee’s entrance and turned the engine off, taking a deep breath. He then reached for his bag, lunch box inside, and grabbed the door handle when he heard soft knocking on the window.

At first, all he heard was incoherent mumble; once he got out of the car, he could hear her clearly. “Good morning, Dr. Ramsey.” Claire greeted him lightly, leaning against the hood of his car with a cheeky grin.

“You are uncharacteristically happy this morning, Dr. Herondale. Did something happen?” he kept up their teasing banter, allowing himself to let his guard down just a little. She nodded her head from side to side, scrunching her nose as she pretended to think. Then her face lit up like she just remembered what happened between them the previous evening, and her cheeks flushed.

“I seem to remember a man walking me out of his apartment and some… activities that took place afterwards. He did also promise me we would talk about it… just didn’t say when.” She tapped her finger on her chin, then took a step towards him, dropping her voice to a whisper. “So… got any suggestions?”

His gaze dropped to her lips for a fraction of a second before he composed himself, clearing his throat. “Maybe… after work… it’s a rather long and personal conversation that he wants to have with you.”

Claire nudged his arm with her hand, smiling at him brightly. “Sounds like a plan.” Her eyes ran to the bag in his hand. “What do you have in there?”

“Your lunch.” He reached for the lunch box and handed it to her, smiling shyly. That prompted her to dig through her own bad, taking out a neatly folded pouch and placing it in his hand.

“And here are your cookies. Sienna will be amused to say the least when she wakes up and finds a few missing, but I’m willing to shoulder that burden.” She winked at him, then began walking backwards. “Come on, we have a new patient coming in today, Baz got their file yesterday.”

---------

Throughout the day, he would see her in the corridors or walking out of the patient’s rooms. Each time, an effortless smile made its way onto his lips, despite his best efforts to disguise it. It made him think about the reasons that made him decide to push her away in the first place. He remembered, very vividly, the moment he said to himself that they would be a distraction to each other, that any relationship between them other than that of being coworkers would put their jobs, their patients in jeopardy. As it turned out, it wasn’t necessarily a case, and he was being proven wrong every single day since he put distance between them.

Trying to stay away only made him notice her more. It’s a classic case of ‘the more you say you can’t do something, the more you want to do it anyway’. His eyes followed her around the room, his mind stopped for a moment every time she was near him, his focus was on every word she said. His whole being was tuned to her and her only, and while the quality of his work didn’t suffer, most of his energy was spent on him focusing on her, then him realizing that he was doing it and trying his best to stop himself from doing it. Needless to say, it became clear pretty much immediately that it was a futile effort, but Ethan Ramsey was a stubborn man who was convinced that with enough time and practice, he could learn to ignore her.

He couldn’t. And he didn’t.

Now, he had another point of view to consider. His meticulously crafted self-control broke like a fragile twig in one moment, and in the next, he had her in his arms, and he was kissing her, exactly like he wanted to do so many times. She didn’t push him away, he didn’t go back on his decision, and the air was lighter once more.

There was the creeping feeling of dread that followed him for the first few hours of his shift; the feeling of unease as to what their work together would look like, now that they stepped on the line he drew for them, and were one move away from leaving it behind them. All the insecurities he had, had vanished in the instant when they were diagnosing a patient and he realized that it has never been easier to do his job before. He knew that if they chose to start a relationship, they would have difficult moment, disagreements and full-blown arguments, so not that different than what they were doing now. The most important difference was that there would be much more at stakes, and that is what terrified him.

Claire’s steps seemed lighter, her demeanor brighter and her smile wider. She was working more efficiently, putting all of her focus on the patient when it was required of her, and crossed the boundaries with teasing him only slightly.

Before he knew it, lunch time rolled around, and he was alone in his office. His contemplation on what to eat was interrupted by an incoming message. Claire’s name flashed on the screen and there was a photo of her lunch attached to the message.

“Want some? I’ll trade you for one of the cookies.”

He looked at the pack of treats, sitting on his table, and replied, smirking.

“I’ll get the coffee started.”

Not even five minutes later, Claire walked into the room, closing the door behind her. She had already reheated the chicken and was now holding the box with one hand, two forks with the other. Sitting down on the couch, she waited for him to join her with two cups of coffee.

“I admire your willpower to not eat the cookies right away.” She said, handing him the fork. Ethan scoffed, shaking his head.

“Some of us can control themselves, Claire. It’s called willpower.”

“Sure they do.” Claire mused, taking her first bite. Her eyes grew wide, looking over to him quickly. “This is ridiculously good.” A wide grin grew on her face and he smiled triumphally, having achieved his goal.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“I’m not sure if you understand, Ethan. Now that I know you can cook, I’m not sure if I can survive without it.” She leaned towards him, nudging his arm with hers.

“Oh really.”

“I would have to be stupid to not use the knowledge of you being a genius in the kitchen somehow.” Shrugging her shoulders, she ran the tip of her finger around the rim of her coffee cup.

They ate in silence for a bit, enjoying the comfort of each other’s company. She stole one last piece of chicken, right from underneath his fork, and ate it while looking straight at him with a satisfied grin.

“How did the talk with your dad go?”

“You were right, I really needed to talk to him. Avoiding him was the worst decision.” Ethan wrapped his hands around the cup, the glass almost burning his skin. Claire took a bite out of her cookie, deep in her thoughts. “We’re not out of the woods yet, but we’re getting there.”

“You have no idea how happy for you I am.”

She finished her cookie and subconsciously started eyeing the one he was eating. He noticed her staring, cocking his eyebrow in a silent question.

“Wouldn’t you like to have another one, huh?” he teased her, trying to resist the playfully pleading look in her eyes. When she batted her eyelashes, he sighed, extending his hand towards her, offering her his cookie. She took a bite, their gazes firmly on one another. Nodding her head in a silent ‘thank you’, she finished eating. Ethan’s eyes dropped to her lips, like he was hypnotized. “You’ve got, uh… here…”

His thumb brushed the crumbs away from her skin, his touch lingering on her chin; he was now staring blatantly at her. The intensity of his gaze caused a shiver to run through her. She didn’t have time to ask him what he was thinking, though.

Ethan dove forward, grabbing her face with his both hands and pressing his lips to hers. He kissed her with wild abandonment, forgetting where they were, who they were and what they were supposed to be doing. She responded after a moment, placing one hand on his shoulder and the other one on his side, keeping her touch light.

He leaned away suddenly, realizing what was happening. His eyes were wide, a sliver of panic crossing his features. Claire moved away from him, then looked towards the door, checking to see if anyone was watching them, but the corridor was empty.

“Claire?” his voice was deep and hoarse. When she looked back at him, she noticed how dark his irises had gotten.

“Yes?”

“Come back here.” He pleaded, wrapping his arms around her and hauling her onto him, tilting her back against the couch slightly. This time round, she was kissing him back with just as much passion as he had for her, her fingers tangling into his hair and pulling with gentle force, drawing out a long moan from him.

He moved one hand beneath her coat, smoothing the material of her shirt with his hand. Claire lowered herself entirely onto the couch, pulling him on top of her. A giggle slipped past her lips when her fingers glided down the column of his neck and he broke the kiss, fidgeting away from her tickling. His laughter mixed with hers, ringing around them.

He was breathing heavily, allowing himself a moment to just stop everything and look at her. Her pupils were wide, cheeks flushed. Lips bruised from assaulting his repeatedly. He held himself up with one arm, tracing the lines of her face with his fingers. Memorizing her, imprinting the in his mind. He outlined her lips, his breath catching in his throat when she bit his fingertip playfully.

“My god, you’re addictive.” Ethan growled lowly, pulling her back to him. Her hold on him tightened, their kisses turning from slow and unhurried to rushed and hard, every touch fleeting, sending a hot flame through their bodies.

Claire moved her lips along the line of his jaw, traveling to his pulse point and staying there for a long while, slowly driving him crazy. Ethan’s hand, that up until this point was running up and down her side delicately, has now stopped at her thigh, gripping it tightly, a last-ditch effort to hold in a desperate sound that threatened to escape him. To contain the overwhelming desire that threatened to consume him whole, right there and then, on the couch in his office, where they were in a very public eye.

She brought her lips to his ear, breathing hotly against it as she whispered. “Maybe it’s not the best time and place for that kind of a conversation.” His kiss on the skin of her collarbone interrupted her trail of thought, a small moan slipping past her open lips. “Don’t you think?”

Ethan sighed heavily, sitting upright, pulling her up along with him. He brushed her hair behind her shoulders, caressing the skin on her cheek tenderly. Smiling seemed easier to him, now that he wasn’t carrying the heavy burden of his choice with him everywhere.

“You’re right. How about we try the dinner again?” he murmured, twisting a lock of her blonde hair between his fingers. Claire scrunched her nose, pretending to think about his offer.

“Are we going to get interrupted again?”

He laughed, shaking his head. “No surprise visits this time, I promise.”

She nodded slowly, looking at him for a long moment. Her hand rested on his thigh and her lips touched his in a soft kiss. Leaning away for just an inch, she whispered. “Okay.”

[reneeofthestars]

At What Cost

A D&D short story

*       *       *

Another fissure split the stone wall to the left, sand spilling into the vast chamber. The slanted slate floor had disappeared completely as sand burst from the crumbling walls of the temple, cascading towards the center of the chamber, where it tumbled into a yawing pit.

Malnissa spat out sand and pulled her bandana over her mouth and nose as she stumbled again. Coarse grains rubbed against her skin, caught in the folds of her dark clothes and held beneath her studded armor. It was taking all her concentration not to be swept away, but her limbs moved like lead. The fight with the scorpion construct had exhausted her, and there’d been no time to rest.

She tried to call out, but the rushing sand was so loud, she could barely hear herself think. Three of her companions had galloped past on the sand striders they’d stolen. None of them bothered to stop their mechanical horses and help her. She cursed them, then cursed again as she lost her footing. She scrambled to right herself, briefly touching the rapier at her hip.

Her bag and bow could be replaced. But the rapier – with the open eye on its pommel – was irreplaceable. A burning bush had given it to her. She hadn’t thought anything of it until the weapon started speaking in her mind, calling itself Watcher.  

Of course, the rapier itself might not be necessary anymore.

She could barely make out the archway across the chamber that indicated the exit. There was still one hallway after this door – or was it two? She couldn’t remember. Ahead of her, a dark, flailing shape caught her eye. Dug. The scrawny half-orc was making as much progress as she was. So, their companions had abandoned both of them. She would remember that. If she made it out of here alive, that is.

One of the remaining pillars was a little ways off, and Malnissa struggled towards it. If she could just reach it, she could rest for a minute, come up with a plan. Her vision blurred as she lurched through the rushing sand, her muscles ached. It may have taken minutes, or seconds – all Malnissa knew was the moment her hands hit stone, and her fingers dug into the grooves of the carved pillar.

Gasping, she hauled herself to the side of the structure, so the cascading sand pushed her into the stone. It was the only thing keeping her from being sent tumbling into the abyss. Why there was a pit in the middle of a chamber, Malnissa didn’t want to know.

Dug’s green skin stood out against the yellow sand, still trying to high-step to the exit. Malnissa’s gut twisted as she saw just how far the archway still was. Her legs burned with exhaustion, and the sand was still tumbling from ever-growing fissures in the walls. There was no way she could make it.

Well… no way she could make it alone.

She felt the rapier at her side, its weight a reminder, an offer. She’d already called on him once today, and wasn’t sure if he’d appreciate being bothered a second time; she still wasn’t quite sure what being fiend-pact involved.

But Malnissa was desperate.

“Any bright ideas?” she spat, directing her attention inward.

There was a moment of silence, then a voice spoke. It was the strangest feeling; it sparked in her mind like a lit coal, and her mind felt crowded. I do have an idea, yes, it said. The voice was less friendly than when he had called himself Watcher, but he had no reason to deceive her anymore. He was K’dol; a pit fiend, a powerful entity of the Nine Hells. At least, that’s what he’d told her, right before she agreed to give him part of her soul and to act as a vessel, in exchange for his power and protection. He’d proved useful time and again; so far, it was a fair exchange.

I can get us out. But I used most of my strength to fight the scorpion guardian of the temple. I need to draw more power.

“Then what are you waiting for?”

I need you to secure the power I need.

“Okay, sure, good!” Malnissa yelped as she almost lost her grip on the pillar. “What do I do?”

Kill the one called Dug.

Malnissa froze, her feet almost swept out from under her. “What?”

He is useless. He will not make it out of this temple, no matter what happens. We may as well use his death to our advantage.

Malnissa held on to the pillar as she watched Dug flounder in the sand ahead of her.

You are an assassin. Consider this another job.

Yes, she was an assassin. But the blundering half-orc hadn’t wronged her. In fact, he’d proved quite useful in numerous situations. And he was the only one who knew of her pact with K’dol. Malnissa didn’t have many morals, but she drew the line on killing people she considered friends.

She gritted her teeth. “No. Thanks for the offer, but I’ll figure out something myself.”

Hm. Interesting. Something in K’dol’s voice made her hair stand on end. He sounded… displeased.

Malnissa took a deep breath, eyeing the distance between herself and the next pillar, wondering if she could tie a rope to an arrow, then shoot –

Unfortunately, K’dol hissed, I am not willing to be trapped down here for the next thousand years waiting for the next adventurer to find your corpse.

Suddenly her mind split with fire, a searing presence forcing its way into her consciousness, she felt herself being pushed aside, she lost her grip on the pillar, everything went white –

Then there was darkness.

  K’dol awoke again.

This time, though, he felt drained. Taking control used an absurd amount of energy. Or perhaps it was the half-elf that was exhausted; she was being pushed to her physical limits in this place.  He had already controlled her once today, with her permission, to help slay the temple guardian. Taking possession by force – though his will was far stronger than the mortal’s – had drained him even further.

Now, there was no choice. Dug must die.

Buffeted on all sides by sand, K’dol hauled himself – Malnissa’s body, but it was his, for now – a bit higher onto the pillar. Bringing his fingers to his lips, he whistled; a shrill, piercing sound, muffled by the sand.

The moments ticked by, and K’dol began to wonder if any remained, when a stand strider finally trotted into view. The horse-like construct easily crossed the terrain, halting beside him. K’dol mounted it easily and took the reins, and the cascading sand no longer bothered him. The construct galloped forward, and K’dol drew the rapier. It had served as an adequate vessel, but Malnissa served better.

Dug must have sensed him coming. He twisted around, his thin face screwed in concentration. His beady eyes travelled from the rapier in K’dol’s hand to his face. Almost drowned out by the sound of falling sand, Dug uttered a knowing, “Oh.” before K’dol plunged the blade into his chest.

Immediately, the half-orc’s lifeforce snapped out of his body, and K’dol seized it, drawing it in as it crackled through his essence, invigorating him. It was a fraction of the power he could possess, but it would do for now.

He withdrew the rapier, the blade stained with blood. Dug’s lifeless body keeled over, immediately swallowed by the sand and swept away into the pit.

K’dol raised a hand to his head, adjusting the hood, and bumped against two small horns protruding from the skull. Malnissa kept them hidden beneath the cowl, but they had grown. It felt as though they mimicked his own horns – when he was in his true form, that is.

He smirked. She had been so willing to accept his offer. It had been clear from the beginning that she had no experience with the arcane, or with anything beyond this plane. Malnissa had no idea of the power he was capable of. And K’dol had every intention of using that to his advantage.

K’dol took the reins and swung the sand strider’s head around. He couldn’t maintain control of his host indefinitely, but he had a little while left, and he was interested in one of her companions. The warlock seemed keen to invoke old powers, and K’dol had some old friends among the Elemental Lords that would pay dearly to have a living host. He intended to offer the warlock an introduction. And if he refused, K’dol would simply take his lifeforce.

K’dol had waited long enough. It was time to begin putting his plan into motion.

[philip-seville-archive]

You’re My Number One || Tap

Summary: Tad comforts Pip post Phinnip beach fight and it inspires a teeny tiny talk about the future. 

@i-am-obnoxious​

Pip Seville

It did not take long to find Tad-- though they had not been dating long, naturally his boyfriend would not be far from the beach. And indeed, there he was, wading in the water, doing...something. Pip didn't care actually, he just needed to vent hardcore and that was exactly what a boyfriend was for.

"Oh my god, Tad, you will not believe the weird fucking conversation I just had with Phineas!" he launched right into it, kicking off his sandals so he could let the edges of the water roll over his toes. "UGH he's like so fucking infuriating I could scream right now!"

Samwise Theodore Tad Fiske

Tad had mostly been splashing around in the water, yeah. He didn't go far in, mostly cause people were still weird about some Jaws situation or whatever. He wasn't that worried though. Shark attacks were like super rare and stuff.

His head jerked up as Pip came rushing over, eyes wide as he moved closer to his boyfriend, arms up. "Woah woah babe. Your vibes are like off the chart." He reached out to tug Pip in for a hug. "You wanna like breathe for a sec my d- babe? It's like a big puff in and out. It's seriously...super good when like the vibes of the universe are off balance."

Pip Seville

Pip appreciated the hug. Tad was warm and his clothes always had this lingering scent of chlorine from his swim practices, which Pip always found relaxing, like...Tad's aura was a spa or something.

He did not, however, appreciate being told to breathe.

"I know how to breathe," huffed Pip a bit impatiently. "I don't need to breathe, I need to rant. Out of nowhere, he just started attacking my life choices. Actually--it wasn't out of nowhere, I remember now. It was exactly right after I complimented him. How messed up is that? And he was like, oh going to NYC is so selfish and you're abandoning all your friends. Like what the fuck?"

Samwise Theodore Tad Fiske

Woah. The vibes were way harsh for his babe, which was seriously not chill. It made Tad's vibes like the sea on a stormy day. He didn't want his babe to be upset and stuff. Though he also...didn't quite get why Phineas would harsh Pip's vibes like this.

"So like...." Tad looked like he was struggling to process a difficult math problem. A lot of computing was going on and it took him a moment to try to connect. So Phineas didn't like NYC. Or he didn't vibe with Pip going because Pip was awesome and who would want Pip to leave? That'd be sad vibes sure...

But why would Phineas get all ragey vibes? Unless he was like Tad, and totally vibed with how super mega foxy and awesome Pip was. "Woahhhhhh.....Phineas totally likes you babe."

Pip Seville

Pip did not need much to comfort him, so he liked to think. A soothing hand on the back. A shoulder to cry on, if crying was necessary. A promise to commit murder against the one who wronged him. Tad could even have said 'Dude, that sucks," and Pip would have nodded vigorously, feeling seen.

 He was not expecting whatever the HELL just came out of Tad's mouth.

"What?!" Pip blurted, loud. "Wh-- no. No, aw, you're-- that's actually kind of sweet, I think, I don't know, because I marvel at how your brain works but-- no, trust me he definitely does not. This is not Mindy-Danny energy, this is more like..." what pop culture reference would Tad understand best? "Golem and Frodo. We both are very passionate about similar things, and would bite off each other's fingers to get said thing. Phineas is just trying to get under my skin."

Samwise Theodore Tad Fiske

"Aww but babe it's like...I get it kinda cause I'd be super sad to see you go but like...you're gonna be a rockstar and like sing and make everyone go woahhhh...." He squeezed Pip lightly. "But like that's your dream and stuff. Me I'd vibe in NYC and stuff. Y'know? Like...there are probably waves there somewhere..." He was pretty sure there was an ocean on that side of the states.

"But maybe Phineas gets like ragey instead of sad longingness vibes or something." He shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't say it made sense to be ragey vibes you know? But like...you're hot stuff babe."

Pip Seville

This was the most confusing, surreal pep talk that he'd ever had. And it was... turning him on?

Please see it from Pip's perspective: the moon behind Tad, as Tad held his hand and said all the right things and then some. That he was talented and destined for greatness, that Tad understood his dream, that Tad-- wait, he'd vibe in NYC? Wait, like...with Pip? As well? Together? At the same time? In the beautiful-ugly brownstone of Pip's wildest fantasies, where they'd host dinner parties and share a closet and he'd give Tad shoulder massages?!

You're hot stuff babe, said Tad, but it might as well have been a marriage proposal.

Wait. He was angry. Angry, not-- confused-overwhelmed-horny. Wow, having a boyfriend was a form of mind control, huh.

"I--" Pip was blushing deeply and stuttering now. "I...I really don't think he likes me but... so you're totally okay with me going to NYU?" was what he finally managed to get out of his mouth. Wow, he had forbid himself from talking about this until at least October, when early applications happened. Wtf Tad Fiske.

Samwise Theodore Tad Fiske

Maybe Pip didn't see how Tad saw things, at least about Phineas' weird crush energy. But Tad wasn't a super cool star in the making and stuff. Pip like sparkled dudes. He had sparkle lights around him. Every time he saw him, Tad felt even more of the gooey good vibes. It was impossible not to.

"I mean you were like totally planning it before we even started dating right babe? Would be kinda chaos energy vibes to be all mad about it." Which really didn't fit in with Tad's vibes at all. And anyway, New York seemed dope. Even if New Yorkers had this weird anti-LA vibe that LA people just...did not have. Whatever man. Tad vibed wherever he went.

 Tad shrugged his shoulders. "If it makes you happy babe like yeah. Long distance people have vibed before. But like...I don't really feel the college vibe for me anyway so like...if we were still together and stuff I could go wherever. Open a hot dog stand...heard the hot dogs are seriously sick there, or like go pro surfer...woah imagine..."

Pip Seville

Okay, some of the NYC fantasies were dashed, drifting further and further with every word that Tad said and so Pip really had to stop him speaking. This was precisely why he had not wanted to talk about the big U word (uni) before October. For one, maybe he and Tad would break up! And another, why worry about it!

Why worry about the fact that Tad didn't want to go to college!

Why worry about the fact that Tad's dreams apparently amounted to open a hot dog stand.

One freak-out at a time please and-- wasn't it way sweeter to focus on the whole, Tad wanting to come to NYC for him and also his very open and generous statement about how getting mad at Pip was clearly crazy people behavior?

And so Pip just-- kissed Tad to stop him from imagining hot dog stands. And also to calm himself down-- kissing was infinitely better than breathing, so he leaned into Tad, let his arms wrap around his neck for just a few more moments before pulling away. "Thank you for being you," he said sincerely.

...Though he'd leave the parts of Tad that stressed him out for another time.

Samwise Theodore Tad Fiske

Pip kissed him and fireworks went off in Tad's head. It was awesome as always, and his arms drew Pip a little closer to him as they kissed. Man but no vibe was better than kissing Pip he was sure about it.

A smile spread across his face. "You're welcome babe. Thanks for being the best babe," he added, leaning in to kiss his nose. "My brain is all swirly every time you kiss me." He laughed. "What were we talking about?"

Pip Seville

Pip's brain also went swirly when he kissed Tad-- swirly like paint colours running down a canvas, all his usual worries drenched in rainbow so he didn't, well, worry at all. He emerged with fluttering eyes and the world a little kinder. So that weird fight with Phineas... it didn't seem like THAT big a deal. They'd probably just forget about it. Cuz like, fighting was what they did, right? Pip would pretend it never happened and he was sure Phineas would be happy to do the same thing; he hated actually talking about anything real.

Pip shrugged. "Oh nothing. Just Phineas being a dick to me. I don't care though, because his opinion doesn't matter to me. Yours does though. And you support me, because that's what you do when you care about someone." Pip grinned and kissed Tad's cheek.

Samwise Theodore Tad Fiske

"Oh yeah." Tad had kind of stopped caring about Phineas as soon as Pip kissed him. Sure, did he still think the dude had weird crush vibes? Yeah, but whatever. Pip was kissing Tad and stuff not him so it was all good.

"Yeah babe. I've got your back." He grinned, reaching up with one hand to stroke Pip's cheek. "You're like...my number one."

Pip Seville

You're like...my number one.

And Second Gen Legend BoA's song "Number One" burst through Pip's head, giving him the energy and confidence to do a drop-split in this second if he wanted. He wasn't going to because he'd mess up his trousers, but that's where he was emotionally.

And he decided then and there. He was going to help Tad. Yes. It was his job, because Tad was also his number one, and so he would clear a path to uni for Tad-- preferably to a school in an NYC area code! But hey, community colleges were great too!

He squeezed Tad's hand, his eyes wide and bright. "You're mine too. I--" LOVE YOU SO MUCH I THINK WE SHOULD RUN AWAY TOGETHER WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADOPT A LITTLE GAY DOG WITH ME

"--am so glad you're my boyfriend." Whew, crisis averted. "C'mon, let's like, go play flip cup or something."

[lov3nerdstuff]

Elysian

*Tom Hiddleston x reader*

Words: 7.1k

Warnings: none (minor mention of blood)

Summary: You're an aspiring actress who has landed a minor role in the newest Marvel production. What could possibly go wrong in a scene including you, Tom and a real golden dagger? Maybe what seems like one giant mistake to you is all it takes to change your life forever. And definitely not in the way you anticipated.

Request: by @lady-of-lies , you definitely get some villain vibes here, dear 😁💗 hope you like it even though I changed some stuff 🙈

Also check out my Masterlist!

______________________________

"You have no idea who you are up against… I'm a god!" He roared, black hair tickling his neck as he dodged a sharp shred of reality-shaking energy. The young woman in front of him stared right into his soul with her incredibly piercing eyes as she strode closer with a threatening elegance that made him shudder as he stumbled backwards.

"It is the gods who created mortals, and who taught them how to fear. I am who created the gods." Her velvet voice wrapped around his senses as he tripped over a helmet lying on the blood soaked battlefield. He fell backwards, landing first on his butt and then on his back, seeing stars once his head hit the hard ground a little too forcefully for his own good. A brief glimmer of irritation flashed through her eyes, but passed as quickly as it had appeared.

Just as he was about to scramble back onto his feet, she had closed the distance between them and he knew it was over now. It was done, there was nothing he could do but stare up at her with wide, frightened eyes.

In a slowness that bordered on torture, she drew a golden dagger from beneath her bloodied garments, taking her time as she sat down on his torso to keep him pinned to the ground. Not that he could've moved anyway… it was as if she had bewitched him, caught him in the trap that was her beauty, only to finally grand him the honor to find his master at her own hands.

The heavy, sleek metal of her dagger met the heated skin of his neck as she softly drew the blade along his throat, with too little pressure to cause serious harm and yet with too much to leave the skin unharmed. She let out a sigh, a moan that lay on the thin line between alluring and insane, tracing the thin bloody line she had left on his throat with one single finger.

His chest rose and fell faster than the seconds that passed as he couldn't help but watch her, parted lips, breathing in the lethal aura of danger that radiated off her like the sweetest perfume.

His heart skipped a beat as she lifted her fingers to her lips, licking his dark crimson blood off her fingertips as her eyes remained fixed on his. Maybe the line between alluring and insane was even more narrow than he had known…

The dagger lay heavy against his throat yet again, and he closed his eyes with a wicked grin of his own. "Do it, darling… I am ready to meet my creator."

He didn't see it, but heard it clear as day, as night in your sweet and gentle voice, the same grin, the same twisted sense of humor. "Oh, but sweet god of mine… You already have."

_______________

"Cut!" A loud voice bellowed through the open air of the current set, followed by an overwhelming silence that was nerve wrecking in its depth. Then a sheer incredible amount of people erupted in chattering and talking. Bright lights came into focus, white reflective screens, fuzzy microphones…

You let out a shivering breath, closing your eyes for a second. That… had been more intense than expected, deeper, more difficult to come back from. Then you gazed down at Tom, your scene partner on whose chest you were still sitting, as he looked at you like a deer in the headlights. A deep blush came onto your cheeks immediately as you moved off his torso as quickly as possible, standing next to his large frame on the ground in awkward silence.

After a second of being overwhelmed by the intensity of the previous scene, you finally offered him a hand to get up, which he took reluctantly at first, but then with certainty. God, that Loki costume was heavy as hell… and Tom was too freaking tall.

After helping him onto his feet, you looked at his overwhelmingly handsome yet stunned face for a second longer, then quickly down to your feet. Slowly you came back to your right mind, becoming Y/n once more instead of your nameless character in the movie.

You'd clearly overdone it with the scene, you realized that only now… oh gosh, you'd literally hurt him! Physically cut his real skin with that stupid dagger! Who on earth had deemed it a good idea to give you a real fucking dagger?! Oh no… you'd actually hurt Tom! The cut on his throat was still bleeding a tiny bit, and your lips parted in shock at what you had done. This was your first major movie, and even though you only played a minor character that literally had only this one appearance, you had managed to screw up even that and cut a fellow actor with a dagger. Tom, of all people! The main character of this movie, and the sweetest human being in existence. Going by the unusually loud chattering around you, you had severely screwed up. Did Tom even know your name…? There were so many minor roles in this movie, so many extras… He would need your name in order to make an official complaint.

Your eyes snapped back up to meet his wide ones as your mouth opened and closed a few times, no sound coming out.

"I… I'm so sorry!" You finally breathed as tears welled up in your eyes, threatening to spill down your cheeks in small rivers. Then a swarm of assistants came rushing to his side, tending both to his costume and the small wound you had caused. Everyone was ignoring you for now, everyone but Tom, whose eyes were still fixed on yours intently. You opened your mouth to say something, to apologize over and over again, but by the time your mind had caught on, someone had taken a hold of your arm and dragged you off the current set, and out of Tom's earshot.

"I'm so sorry!" You rambled over and over again, not allowing yourself to cry just yet. "I'm so incredibly sorry! Please, let me talk to Tom… Or at least let me do the scene again, I promise I won't screw up this time!"

Yet, the middle aged assistant remained in silent indifference as he accompanied you to the costume department to get your garments and makeup removed. Only once the two of you reached his destination, he turned around to you once more with a sigh in resignation. "Your job is done, Miss L/n."

"What?" You frowned in irritation as your head spun a million miles a minute. "Am… am I getting kicked out?"

"The director said we're moving on to the next scene while we still have Mr. Hiddleston on set. He asked you to please wait here until further notice." The man looked at you so neutrally that you wondered if he had even been around to witness your disaster of a scene. At least he didn't seem to judge… but your own mind was doing enough of that already for a good dozen of people. Without another word he turned on his heels and headed back to where you had come from, while you tried your best to keep from crying as you stepped into the department.

Honestly, you didn't even care much for the three women working to turn you back into yourself, nor for their attempts at aimless chattering. Your mind was stuck trying to analyze what had happened, when things had taken a turn for the worse… how you could've gone THAT much into character to even turn the simplest scene into… whatever it had become now.

Probably because of Tom. Acting with him was like stepping into an entirely different world where being someone else was so incredibly easy… and being yourself was the hardest thing in existence. Not because you were scared of him, or insecure about yourself, but because you hadn't even spoken to the man in question up until two minutes before your scene. And you probably wouldn't be able to talk to him again, to apologize for what you had done… It wasn't like the extras got to spend a lot of time with the main cast anyhow, but now that you'd hurt him they probably would make sure to not let you close to him ever again.

Gosh, you'd screwed up big time. Nobody would ever give you a role again if the industry got notice of your failure here… Your career would be over before it had even started properly. Maybe your only defense was that they didn't prepare you in acting school, for the overwhelming package that was Tom. That was the poorest excuse ever, and just thinking about him brought a blush onto your cheeks and tears to your eyes. You just wanted to talk to him… to apologize a million times and maybe even get some advice on how to improve your acting so that this wouldn't happen again.

Once you had changed back into your own clothes, once you were ready to leave the role and this movie behind for good, the door was opened and another assistant stuck her head inside. "Is someone called Y/n here?"

"Yeah..." You almost yelled towards her from the other end of the huge hall, wondering just how many people were working on this set. Probably hundreds, at the same time. But this woman was younger than most others, closer to your own age, you saw that as you made your way towards her.

She looked at you with a bright smile. "Wow, YOU are Y/n? I could've guessed… You look all different without your costume and makeup… less scary!"

"Thanks, I guess..." You snorted as you packed up the few belongings you'd left here earlier this morning.

"Oh no, I meant it as a compliment!" She grinned excitedly, clicking her pen a few times too often. "Your scene was absolutely amazing! I was so scared just watching it from afar… but it was also kinda hot, really, I've never seen something like it! I honestly can't wait to see it on the big screen! I think the whole crew was stunned to silence for a moment back there, you scared the living daylights out of them!!!"

"Really?" You frowned at her deeply while a small blush crept onto your cheeks. "You enjoyed the scene?"

"Of course I did! You're an incredible actress! I feel so honored to work with you, even if only this briefly now." She kept grinning as she skipped on her heels in excitement and you couldn't help but give her a small smile in return. Maybe the scene hadn't looked too bad from the outside, after all, and your only fault was that you'd overstepped your boundaries in terms of both creative freedom and with the thing about the dagger… you still felt most wretched about that.

"You flatter me way too much… I think the producers didn't like that I improvised quite a bit. And I think Tom didn't like that I… cut his throat." You said in a twisted sigh as you nodded towards the makeup crew in acknowledgement before stepping outside, next to the nice assistant. "I'm fairly certain that everyone but you hates me now."

"Unlikely." She grinned even more, if that was even possible. "Mr. Hiddleston asked his assistant to ask you to wait in his trailer."

"You're his assistant?" You blurted out in order to keep your mind from registering the rest of the sentence.

"NO! I mean… no. His assistant asked their assistant, and they asked me to find you and tell you. I'm just a directorial trainee." She shrugged with a smile. "No one important."

"That explains it…" You gave her a half smile, and only continued once she frowned in irritation. "It explains why you're talking to me. Everyone else seems to be too important to be bothered with such a minority that is me."

"I'm sure that's not true…" She gave you another encouraging smile, and you found yourself really liking her indeed. Too bad you wouldn't be seeing her again.

"What's your name?" You asked out of sincere curiosity. Maybe once you'd been officially kicked out, you could at least bribe someone on set to get her contact info so you could buy her coffee sometime. For being nice to you, and for making you feel a little better in this moment of despair.

"Oh, I'm Emma." She chuckled. "Basically no one, compared to you guys. Just the girl who's sent to fetch coffee."

"I'm sure you're not no one!" You replied, feeling the odd need to comfort her as well. "Everyone starts out small… Believe me, in no time you'll be a director of your own. I mean at least YOU won't get kicked out for cutting anyone's throat today. You still have an entire career ahead of you! Nobody will want to talk to ME after this..."

"You're too kind, Y/n… For now I can only hope, dream, to move up the career ladder and become some famous actor's personal assistant. And I doubt that you will be fired though. Mr. Hiddleston seems fairly interested in talking to you, once he is done shooting for the day."

"Why?" You asked, a little too slowly for your own liking. While you really wanted to make things right with him, you also couldn't help but wonder why he would want to talk to you, out of all people. He didn't seem like the revenge kinda guy...

"Well, I have no idea. I'm only supposed to accompany you to his trailer now and make sure you have everything you need." She giggled as you followed her through the maze of the trailer city built a little offside the main set. It was still under construction, for this was only the first week of shooting. "Have you talked to him a lot?"

"I haven't talked to him at all outside of the scene." You sighed. "I mean I tried to apologize for what I did, but I didn't get to."

"Looks like you're going to talk to him now. Well, later today." She shrugged again, stopping in front of one of the most plain trailers on the whole ground, unlocking the door and holding it open for you. "He said you're welcome to make yourself at home."

_______________

It was odd at first to be alone in Tom's trailer, and you felt like you were severely intruding in his privacy. But he'd asked you to wait here, and you would not disappoint the man you admired so much yet again. Thus you had the smallest look around, eyes lingering longest on the small collection of books he kept stacked in a dainty shelf. With an unyielding curiosity that fought its way to the front of your mind, you picked out the most worn out looking book and flipped it open on the first page as you sat down on the small couch.

You didn't know how much time passed as you were completely absorbed into the story, the scenes and chapters playing out in your head like a movie on its own. It was so captivating that you completed forgot about the messed up scene, about your worries and about where you were, leaving you raw and open only to the world of the book.

Up until the door was ripped open, making you jump badly and drop the book into your lap with a small gasp. With a start everything came rushing back to you, the fear, the anxiety, the guilt, the request for you to wait here... but the person who was currently staring at you in equal confusion was neither blond nor tall. And definitely not informed that you'd been asked to be here.

"Hi." You blurted out in nervousness, staring at the bald man in the doorway.

"Who are you and what are you doing here? Where's Tom?" He rasped with a deep frown, scanning the trailer with his eyes before they basically dug into your forehead.

"Y/n; reading; I have absolutely no idea." You answered quickly, and he seemed fairly irritated at your answer for a second, then his eyes widened in recognition.

"You're the girl from the battle scene! The one everyone's talking about!" He uttered in surprise. "Almost didn't recognize you without all the makeup."

Once more you blushed upon hearing that for the second time of the day. Being recognized by anyone wasn't something that happened to you… You'd only ever been in very small productions after finishing acting school, and even if people like Tom Holland were roughly the same age as you, you were nowhere near as famous. You doubted you'd ever be. But this guy at least seemed to have seen your scene, and you didn't know if being recognized for THAT was really an achievement.

"Uh, yeah…" You finally managed to say, blushing even more. "That's me. Sorry."

"Sorry for what, dear?" He laughed, shaking his head to himself. "I must say… You did scare the crew quite a bit. And you scared poor Tom a very large bit! Didn't see that coming, and neither did he probably."

You opened your mouth to reply, but yet again didn't find the right words to express how sorry you were for scaring Tom, and everyone else. How incredibly sorry you were for hurting him, for changing the scene without talking about it. So you put on the best half smile you could manage and just looked at the man in hopes that he would leave soon.

"And… You're waiting for Tom?" He asked after a moment of awkward silence, leaning in the doorway as if he owned the place. But who were you to judge, reading Tom's books and all… However you didn't like that he was blocking the only exit, it was making you more nervous by the second.

"Yes." You replied in mostly faked certainty, wondering who exactly he was and what he wanted.

"Are you two… well acquainted?" He inquired further and you weren't sure if you were comfortable with where this conversation was headed.

"No, we… we actually haven't talked to each other much on set. Outside of the scene, I mean." You replied nonetheless, playing nervously with the zipper of your hoodie.

"So… You're not dating or anything? Good… I mean, uhm… Because whew, that scene you put on back there was pretty hot." He shrugged with a nervous laugh. "You… you played the little tease really well."

"I didn't play a tease, I played a goddess." You replied earnestly, giving him a deep frown. "I take my characters very seriously, and you might consider doing the same."

A deep crimson colored his cheeks a short moment later and he looked to the ground, then back at you with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I… I didn't mean to insult you. I was just honestly surprised that someone so young could have such an intense energy on stage."

"I will take that as a compliment, so thank you." You replied politely and returned a small smile. Maybe he was odd, but politeness was just one of the things you had trained yourself to show in any situation, no matter what. In the end, kindness always pays off.

After another short moment of uncomfortable silence, exchanged glances in awkwardness, you picked up the book in your lap once more and the man started pacing back and forth outside, in front of the trailer. The cold wind that blew through the open door chilled you in an uncomfortable way, covering your skin in goosebumps as you tried reading the words on the page… But you couldn't focus with that guy walking up and down outside the door. So your thoughts went back to Tom, to the scene… You wondered if the cut had stopped bleeding by now.

However you didn't get to dwell on these thoughts, or on the cruel emotions that followed, as the velvet voice of none other than Tom rang out to your ears. Immediately your head snapped towards the door, but you could see neither him nor the man who'd been waiting here for his arrival. But you could hear them talking about something you didn't quite understand.

"What are you doing here, Jerry?" That was Tom… So Jerry was the name of the odd chap who had been so ineloquent in telling you that he fancied you.

"David sent me… I'm supposed to let you know that your proposition has been thought through and calculated." He said in a hushed voice that clearly told you that you weren't supposed to hear about this. Obviously that made it all the more interesting.

"And? What do they think about the idea?" Tom inquired, and you could practically hear his frown. You smiled… just because he didn't know you, didn't mean you also didn't know him.

"I don't know what exactly the whole thing is about, they said it's under closure until the whole thing is officially through the books, so don't expect me to give you any information about that… but I was told that after 'serious contemplation', your proposal has been deemed appropriate and will be put into action upon your notice." Jerry said in one single breath and you could hear him breathing heavily afterwards. Weird man.

"That is absolutely amazing!" Tom said with such a joy in his voice that you had to smile as well, despite not having any clue as for what he was excited about. But knowing him happy, for whatever reason, made you feel happy yourself.

Jerry whispered something after that, and you couldn't understand anything but your own name. A second later he excused himself, and Tom came into sight as he stepped through the door and closed it behind himself.

You jumped to your feet immediately, hiding the book in your hands behind your back as you looked at him with a slightly worried expression. You had no idea what to expect…

The cut on his throat was still faintly visible, now that he'd taken off his makeup and costume too. You felt your heart sink upon the sight.

"Hello Y/n…" He smiled at you as he closed the door behind himself and moved to stand in front of you. "I'm very sorry for the long wait, and yet glad you waited for me nonetheless."

"I…" You started, lips parting as you looked at him in a search for the right words. He didn't look angry at all, and it irritated you a great deal. "Of course I waited. You asked me to."

"I did indeed. We didn't get the time to chat before, and I wanted to get to know the woman who made my legs shake." He smiled down at you, then peaked over your shoulder. "What do you have there?"

With a small blush you showed him the book you'd almost finished reading by now. Maybe you should've put it back before he had come here…

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snoop at all! But I was waiting for so long, and started reading… and somehow lost track of time." You confessed, still finding nothing but amusement and happiness in his face.

"It's a great read for sure… One of my favorites." He chuckled softly and your racing heart relaxed a little. Why was he being so nice to you after what you'd done to him? "Would you like some tea?"

"What?" You blurted out, completely irritated.

"Tea… You know, dried herbs and boiling water? I'm making tea." He smirked ever so slightly, moving towards the small kitchenette. "Earl grey or green vanilla?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?!" You asked instead of answering his question, for the tension building up within you was just becoming unbearable. "I hurt you, and I ruined the scene… and you want to make me tea like we're friends."

"I surely hope we can get to the point of being friends soon." He leaned his head to the side with the softest smile. "Now, black or green?"

"Green please." You sighed in resignation, sitting back down on the couch as you watched Tom boiling water and setting up two mugs. Only once he placed your cup on the coffee table and then sat down on the couch next to you, you finally dared speaking your mind once more. "Tom, I'm so incredibly sorry… For just everything! For changing the scene without talking about it first, for just letting them drag me off afterwards and especially for hurting you! I still can't believe they gave me an actual dagger! I'm so sorry, I don't know how I could get so carried away… I'm really, sincerely sorry. Does it hurt much?"

"Please, you don't have to be sorry for anything. It doesn't hurt at all, don't worry. I've had far worse accidents on set." He offered you a reassuring smile that actually fulfilled its purpose in calming you down. "One time, I had Chris punch me in the face in order to make the scene look real. We had to repeat that a couple times… And it hurt way more than the little scratch I got today."

"So you're not angry with me? Not even slightly upset?" Your eyes widened as they were fixed on his curious ones intently. There really was nothing but genuine curiosity and kindness in his face, and it made your skin crawl.

"You almost sound like you want me to be upset." He chuckled, carefully removing his tea bag from the mug and placing it on a saucer. "But I'm most definitely not. I'll have to wear a scarf or a turtleneck for a couple days, but it's winter after all. I'm all good."

You let out a long and quite shaky breath, closing your eyes for a second. Then you moved to follow his example in removing your tea bag from the steaming water.

"You still seem quite distraught…" He commented after a short moment of silence, without a smile this time, but with honest concern. "Is there anything I can do to ease your mind?"

"Well, I'm honestly glad that I didn't hurt you all too much, and that you're not mad at me… but I still screwed up my only scene in the movie. And I need to get accustomed to the idea of getting kicked out now." You replied honestly, finding it oddly easy to talk to him. Really, it was as if he just radiated some enchanting sense of comfort, a magnetic field you couldn't help but respond to.

"Oh dear, you really do think you messed up our scene, don't you?" He asked in a sigh, giving you another smile that made your cheeks flush and your skin burn up.

"I did think so, yeah… but then I had two people telling me that somehow, I scared the entire crew… And that I scared you." You admitted the last part rather quietly, looking down to the tea in your hands.

"Oh, you definitely scared everyone on set! And you really did scare me as well." He laughed, making you look back up at his face. "It was absolutely amazing. I mean, it doesn't happen every day that the director is perfectly happy with the very first take! Especially not with younger actors. That's maybe the biggest compliment he could've given you… not having us redo the scene. It really speaks volumes about the quality of your acting."

Your eyes widened for a second, then you couldn't help but snort in return. "Yeah, sure…" You laughed in sarcasm. "He probably loved me cutting you open with a dagger and going all psycho on you."

"Well, I loved it for sure." He grinned, taking a sip of his tea in amusement. "As Loki and as Tom. But probably for different reasons."

"You…" You started, but the words stopped on your lips as they just parted in honest surprise. At least you didn't blush yet again, like a silly schoolgirl. "You LIKED what I did with the scene? But… it wasn't scripted or anything. I mean you weren't supposed to trip over that helmet, and I wasn't supposed to even come that close to you. Leave alone actually sit on you… oh god, I actually did that. Well, my character did. I kinda let her take the lead a little too much." You groaned, hiding your face in your hands. "I'm sure you'll laugh at me for preparing such an in-depth character for such a minor role…"

"Do you want me to laugh? Because I most definitely could, but that wouldn't be very sincere at all." Tom still smiled at you so fondly that you were slowly believing him that he really did like your performance indeed. "No, in all seriousness, I think your skill is remarkable. You are an amazing actress, and I loved working with you."

"Thank you. Really, it means a lot to me." You finally allowed yourself to smile back. "It has been such a pleasure to work with you too. I mean, I probably wouldn't have done what I did if I hadn't been comfortable with you."

"Well, I'm honestly glad to hear that." He chuckled softly, looking down to his tea now. "And as for the director and the crew, I think they were immensely impressed with your acting as well. Of course, going off script isn't something most newcomers are expected or appreciated to do, but you just did so remarkably well that I think no one will believe you were new to the art in the first place."

"You flatter me way too much." You smiled at him, feeling truly comfortable and appreciated for the first time today. Well, maybe it was the second time you were appreciated. "It's rather easy to shine in your light."

"Now you're the one doing the flattering." He laughed and finally looked at you again with such a joyous twinkle in his eyes that you started grinning involuntarily. Tom was every bit the man you had thought him to be, and even more than that.

"Just telling the truth…" You shrugged. "You're kind and funny and smart AND talented, and I'm…"

"The perfect match for that." He smiled at you in an almost teasing friendliness that only made you grin even more.

"Too bad we only had one single take together. I'm sure we would've had a good time." You sighed, feeling greatly disappointed now that you had been forced to see your scene in a different light. And getting to know Tom wasn't making it any better, the man was freaking amazing. "But I'm sure you have a great deal of nice extras to drink tea with in the future."

Tom rose an eyebrow at you in amusement as he took another sip of his tea, badly hiding his grin with the mug. You closed your eyes for a second, cringing internally at how wrong that last statement had come out.

"Sorry, that didn't really sound like anything I meant to say at all." You groaned, hitting your head against the backrest behind you in annoyance at yourself. "I only meant to say that I won't be coming back, now that my only scene is done. I'm just silly for being sad about it now."

"You're not silly at all! It's always sad to let a character go, especially if one developed it on their own, like you did. Did your character have a name, by the way?"

"Not in the script, no…"

"I read the script, Y/n… I know that. But I would like to know the name you gave the character."

"Yeah… of course." You sighed at your own stupid mind, rolling your eyes at yourself and making Tom chuckle with the small gesture. Well, at least you were amusing him. "I called her Ivy, in my head."

"That's a great name." He replied softly, finishing his tea a moment later. "Ivy and Loki… flows fairly well, wouldn't you say?"

For rest of the afternoon, Tom and you remained sitting on his couch, drinking tea and talking about the movie, about your character development, your previous works… But once the evening rolled around, you also started talking about Tom's and your interests, your hobbies and preferences, anything that came to your minds. Conversation was so easy between you that once you found yourself wondering why he was even bothering to get to know a random minor actress such as yourself, you actually asked him without hesitation.

"You're really intriguing, Y/n. Special. I would like to be your friend." Was all he answered to that, with the brightest smile. So you just let it go and enjoyed the fact that you got to spend time with him.

Yet, once the early evening had made way for late nighttime, you realized that you might actually have to get going. But leaving now meant quite possibly never seeing Tom again, and the thought left a pretty painful sting in your guts, heart and soul. Well… you shouldn't be surprised. He was a top scale celebrity, and you were at the point where even your relatives forgot your name at times. Friendships spanning over such an enormous social gap were rare, if even possible at all.

Tom seemed just as reluctant to let you go, for you could tell he had been enjoying the conversation, your time together, just as much as you had. But once you had gotten up and walked to the door, put on your jacket and taken your bag, he just stood towering in front of you with a kind smile.

"I really enjoyed today. It was a surreal experience to be here, to be in a scene with you, but a very fun one." You smiled back up at him with a bittersweet feeling in your entire being.

"I did too. Seriously. Maybe we will see more of Ivy in the future, who knows… I will see more of you for sure, if you allow me." He grinned and you rolled your eyes with a small smirk and a nod, making him chuckle. "Friends?"

"Definitely friends."

_______________

It had been a week and a half since your rather out-of-this-world-amazing experience on set, when you got a text message from an unknown number, asking you to come to the studios' executive office for a change in your contract.

In the sincere belief that they would cut your payment, now that you'd only been on set for one single day, you decided to wear the most professional dress you owned in hopes to seem somewhat more experienced in these things than you really were. Then you made your way to the office.

Upon your arrival, you were ushered into a conference room full of people you had mostly seen only once before, but never spoken to due to your simple insignificance in this production.

A second after you had taken a seat at the far end of the table, the door opened once more and in strolled Tom alongside the director of the movie. The deep frown that showed on your face as they moved to sit down next to you spoke volumes of the deep unsettlement rooted within your mind, and you silently looked at Tom in question, for you didn't dare to disrupt the silence of the room with words. He gave you a reassuring smile, which eased your nerves only slightly. What the hell was all of this about? Surely they wouldn't ask Tom to come in if it was only about cutting down your payment.

"Thanks for coming, everyone, I hope we can make this quick and go back to production." A woman at the other end of the table took up the word and went on about how production was going well thus far. Your attention was only partially on her though, as you couldn't stop glancing at Tom next to you, who kept grinning widely behind his strategically placed hand covering his mouth. What did he know that you didn't? Very unsettling indeed. But if it amused Tom, it couldn't be all too much to your disadvantage.

"Due to some serious convincing from various people in the producing crew – I'm looking at you, Tom – there has been a slight alteration made to the cast and the script." She stated more or less neutrally, but you could tell that she was most likely annoyed by whatever was going on. Everyone else seemed rather pleased nonetheless.

"As discussed before, we will expand Miss L/n's part in the movie and make her character a regular." The woman stated and went on talking about how that would mean they had to redo most of the previous week's work, but your mind was still stuck at her first sentence. They were bringing your character back for more scenes? Even as one of the mains?! How the heck…. Hiddleston. Your eyes snapped to the man next to you only to find that he was already looking at you in both happiness and amusement. Oh, this had to be his work… you just knew it. You wanted to smack and kiss him for it at the same time.

"Miss L/n will get a new contract for the entire duration of this production. If she agrees to become part of the main cast, that is…" The woman's words made your head snap back towards her in an instant, drawing your mind out of its own depth once more.

"Yes! Of course, I… I'm honored! I'd love to." You spluttered the words in an unnecessary haste, as if this amazing opportunity could be taken away from you any second that passed without your agreement.

A little while later, as most of the people had left and only the guys for the legal stuff remained, along with Tom who was patiently waiting for you to finish signing the thick pile of papers, the woman from before came stalking back into the room on her way too high heels.

"Miss L/n…" She started, rising her eyebrows as she spoke in a slightly condescending way that made you frown in return as you signed the last of the pages. "I assume you do not have your own assistants, trailer or security as of yet…?"

"No." You replied easily, polite as ever. Hopefully you wouldn't have to see much more of her in the future.

"I didn't expect so… It is unusual for such not-at-all known actors to be added to the main cast of a major production." She chirped and you hid your distaste for her behind a polite smile.

"Oh, she will be known everywhere by the end of the day, most likely. Don't worry about that." Tom commented from the side and you gave him a quick but sincere smile. Somehow, you got the feeling that even though you were new to this world of fame and setwork, you would be fine, for Tom would be there to help you.

"Alright, then we will assign you any of our own people for this production… do you have a preference of gender?" She sighed, not even trying to bother with Tom. That was a fight anyone was doomed to lose, after all.

"Can I have Emma?" You asked out of instinct, for once not caring that making direct requests wasn't something you could allow yourself in your position. But maybe it would be, now…

"Who?" The woman frowned, then rose an eyebrow at you.

"Emma… a directorial trainee?" You asked with an insecure frown of your own, looking at Tom for help.

"Curly black hair, rather tall, bronze skin?" He asked, furrowing his brows in thought.

"Exactly!" You smiled at him.

"She's David's assistant's assistant's assistant." Tom shrugged, giving you an amused smile. "She's always been too scared to talk to me."

"You want a trainee as your assistant?" The woman asked in disbelief. "We have better qualified personnel for that."

"Well, everyone starts small. And as you put it so very accurately, I'm not one of your A-listers. So a trainee will be just fine for me." You replied politely and Tom snorted quietly off to your right, making it even harder for you to suppress a devious smirk.

"If that's what you wish for, then you will get it." The woman smiled in disgusting politeness. "And for a trailer…"

"Put hers somewhere close to mine." Tom commented yet again and now you had to bite your lip to keep from laughing.

"Of course." She replied in a breath. "Here's your new script, Miss L/n. Please be on set tomorrow morning for a runthrough with the writers." Then she turned to leave in as much composure as she still could manage.

Once the door fell closed behind her, you let out a loud snort and rose to your feet, picking up the script and flipping through the pages. "This thing is freaking huge!"

"Yeah." Tom chuckled, watching you as you sauntered towards him. "Looks like the producers liked some Ivy to their Loki."

Right at his words, your eyes fell upon a random scene right in the middle of the movie. They really had named your character Ivy… You took some very much unnecessary pride in it.

"How on earth did any of this happen?" You laughed incredulously, looking at a widely smiling Tom.

"I told you I wasn't the only one impressed by your marvelous acting." He shrugged, and together you made your way out of the conference room and towards the elevators. "But I might have made a few suggestions to a few people here and there…"

"You're unreal, Tom… absolutely incredible." You shook your head to yourself as you clutched the script tightly to your chest with the happiest smile on your face. "Thank you."

"Hey, I did it for entirely selfish purposes." He laughed, placing a gentle hand on the small of your back as he followed you into the elevator. "I get to work with you every day now. That was worth the trouble."

"Are you looking forward to me making your legs shake again?" You teased with a smirk, knowing full well that today marked the beginning of something very great yet to come.

"Absolutely, darling."

______________________________

Story tags:

@lokixme @catsladen @anxiousdreamersworld @nonsensicalobsessions @runningawaywithloki @letoursilencebreaktonight @miruwen @crystal-28 @thats-what-i-call-british @randomlokifan

General tags:

@its-remy-not-ratatouille @wegingerangelica @thidls12333 @tomstoobeautiful @dreary-skies-stuff @averyhill4445 @wiczer @lotus-eyedindiangoddess @theweirdlunatic @caretheunicorn @kthemarsian @lady-of-lies @sadly-falling-through-wonderland @strawberrysandcream @noplacelikehome77 @theoneanna @mishaandthebrits @mygodisloki @i-am-a-mes @nonsensicalobsessions @exygon @hiddles-lobotomy @rjohnson1280 @annwhojumps @spookycatqueen @salempoe @headoverhiddleston @fanfiction-and-stress @createdfromblue @halszka-potter @thecreatiivecorner @themusingsofmany @inthemarvelvoid @from-hel-i-with-love @kinghiddlestonanddixon @scorpionchild81 @foodthatsgoodforyoursoul

Hope you guys enjoyed it 💗✨☺️ please let me know what you think 😁 I'm always so curious for your thoughts 🥰

[redxblueihateloveyou]

I was asked to put the continuation of the Rinharu 3x10 meet on AO3 by several sweet people, so I finally decided to do it. Here is the link. I’ll post it here, too, anyways. Careful, it's explicit after the ***.

_________

“You… you didn’t even bother to text me about the races.” Haru whispered. “You didn’t have to write me long letters, anything would be enough.”

Rin couldn’t even look him in the eyes.

“It wouldn’t be enough for me. I can’t just… casually text you.”

“You have no problems with everybody else. Why does it have to be me? Don't I mean anything to you?”

You mean too much. Rin wanted to say, but the words got stuck in his throat. Faced with silence, Haru felt his eyes starting to water.

"I thought everything was different this time. I told you back there... when you asked me to see the sakura before you left. But now you don't even think of me as a friend?"

“I.. I d-do.” He stuttered, “I didn’t mean to do this. It’s just you’re.. you…”

“Is this supposed to make me feel special?” There wasn’t even a real bite in his words. “We keep doing this over and over again, you’re leaving, you’re coming back without saying a word… Do you know how it made me feel when Gou mentioned that you were home on holidays for years and didn’t even want to see me?! Do you know how…” His voice broke when he realized that he was crying and saw the absolute horror on Rin’s face. For the first time in all these years he was really crying in front of somebody and it had to be Rin. Of course it had to be Rin.

He quickly turned away in embarrassment having an urge to run as far away from here as possible, when he felt strong arms enveloping around him, warm breath on his neck, wet drops sipping through the collar of his shirt. Haru wanted to move, but Rin only tightened his hold.

“I’m so in love with you, I can’t even think straight.”

Haru froze, it was barely a whisper, maybe he heard it wrong.

“I’m such an idiot, I’m sorry, please don’t cry. I can’t handle seeing you cry.” But Haru only felt himself starting to shake even more.

“Let go of me, Rin.” His voice hoarse.

He practically felt the man behind him panic so he raised his hand, tangled his fingers in maroon hair and pulled, turning around to meet with the red pair of eyes. He gently wiped the trace of tears on Rin’s cheek, really looking at him for the first time after all these months.

“You are such an idiot.” He barely whispered.

They were standing so close to each other, Haru's hand caught Rin's palm, trying to bring it to his face, but Rin suddenly drew his hand back, squeezing Haru's wrist and lightly nuzzling it with the tip of his nose.

"Wait... just a second." Rin's voice was shaking, when he lowered himself on the pool tile, pulling Haru with him.

Seven years these feelings burned inside of him, seven years he tried to deny them, unbearable and almost painful at times, that started to blossom from that first damn tournament when he looked into those clear as water blue eyes. He just knew that now that he got what he was longing for for so long, his knees would surely give out. His hand got under Haru's shirt, tightly grasping his waist and he felt him shiver. Haruka softly squeezed Rin's earlobe, catching a strand of his hair. His every move was so fluid and effortless that Rin inadvertently remembered how enraptured he was when he saw him in the water the first time. And ever since.

Haru's tongue lightly grazed Rin's lower lip and he felt them both tremble in anticipation. His hand clutched Haru's side so firmly he was sure, it will leave bruises. He thought it would be slow like a rising tide, but after Haru got a taste, he let out a shuddering breath and his mouth completely covered Rin's lips. All that he remembered was the smell of the chlorinated water, the burning movements of the tongue, something sharp grazing his skin, trying to make him bleed and the sudden blast of never-ending raindrops, flowing over them. But even the downpour couldn't tear them away from each other.

Rin's wet palms slid up Haru's spine, pushing his shirt higher and higher, water was dripping between their lips, mixing with their saliva and cooling each scalding brush of the tongue. It was the most intoxicating feeling Haru has ever felt in his life, he couldn't describe it with any words. He remembered how every time he saw Rin he was annoyed when the fever spread throughout his body, but now he gladly accepted it.

Don't resist the water, embrace it. Then it will let you in and envelop you. Rin was everywhere: in his every breath and every move, and nothing could compare to this feeling.

***

Rin couldn't even remember how they got to the apartment, only that Haru didn't let go of his hand the whole way. While Rin tried to peel off the soaked shirt from his body, Haru somehow managed to shed all of his clothes. Cold and wet after the rain skin clung to his, one of Haru's hand went down his spine and under his boxers, another unbuttoned his jeans trying to pull them down.

He remembered how Haru for a moment left his arms to take something from the nightstand, remembered long graceful fingers opening and touching the most sensitive places inside of his body, remembered how he was ready to scream when he felt Haru's lips on his inner thigh and how he pulled his hair so he would stop... Later... later he wants to play out all of his fantasies that haunted him all these years. But not now. Now Rin wanted to feel him in the closest way possible, the way he dreamt about the most.

Haru filled him up torturously slow, but then as if he couldn't hold back anymore abruptly pushed his hips forward. Rin cried out and felt his muscles tremble and tighten. He felt hot wetness on his stomach.

"S-stop..." His whole body was shaking. Did he just... he felt his cheeks flush. To be honest Rin was surprised that he didn't lose it back at the pool when Haru painfully moved on top of him. He whined as if completely giving up.

"God, I feel like I can't breathe even when I'm looking at you. I feel like I'm losing it." Rin's voice broke. "You... I... I can't think..."

Haru tried to fight the pleasure that was clutching at the bottom of his stomach to control his voice, but it was still hoarse when he spoke.

"I can't either." Rin could almost feel actual pain in his soft voice. Haru's fingers were shaking when they removed wet hair from Rin's cheek "God, I've wanted you for too long." Unable to bear the burning look in his blue eyes, Rin brought his lips to the slightly-opened mouth and bit Haru's tongue, then grazing it with the tip of his own. At the same time he pushed his hips up, silently asking for him to start moving. He almost heard "finally" in Haru's lingering moan, when he started to move.

Rin desperately tried to string a few words, but it felt like his brain melted, all his thoughts were focused on the heady feeling of want that were piercing his whole body. He knew that the first time should be painful, especially if you're both inexpirienced (and even if was Rin thought that he still wouldn't care.. he dreamt about it for too long) ... but then why everything that Haru did to him only made him feel the almost unbearable pleasure?

"You.. I thought you said you never..."

Haru never lied, Rin knew that, but at the same time with the amount of Nanase's admirers it was hard to imagine that nobody made a move yet. Haru furrowed his brows, blue eyes looked at him strangely, it seemed like it took a lot of effort for him to part his tightly-pressed lips. A soft moan that slipped from them made Rin shiver, Haru froze inside of him.

"I never wanted anyone else." he whispered, his hand slowly went down Rin's chest, stopped on his stomach and slightly pushed. "I just feel you, that's all."

Rin frantically swallowed. Ignoring his hard agitated flesh, Haru's fingers glided along his ribs, then under him stopping on the curve of his spine.

"You just never saw yourself in the water. When you dive in, you curve your back and the water bends and caresses you right here." He touched the sensitive skin and Rin forgot how to breathe, he thought he'd lose his mind from this torture.

"And when you turn, you push away so hard that the wave softly hits you here." Haru's hand went down Rin's thigh and touched the back of his knee making his body tremble.

Rin choked from another viscous move of Haru's hips and quetly moaned "oh god", trying to cover his mouth with his palm. But Haru's hand suddenly pushed his shoulder into the bed so hard, that Rin shuddered and sharply exhaled. Haru froze in fear and quickly put his hand away, gripping the sheet in his fist.

"S...Sorry."

"Put it back. I like it..." Rin's voice was very quiet. "I like it, when you lose control because of me."

Hearing that made Haru smile. All of his childhood he thought that everything Rin did was to piss him off. But the problem was that it's not what he did made Haru lose his cool, it was the fact that Rin was the one who did it, that made Haru react so strongly. And Haru didn't even try to hold it in, he just let the emotions run free, letting them both enjoy these moments of chaos in their regular lives.

Haruka found Rin's hand and weaved their fingers together, carefully shifting his weight. The warm smile that appeared on his face has made Rin's heart beat in a wild rhythm. His another hand Haru propped up the bed. Letting out a shaking breath he pulled back and Rin immediately locked his legs around his hips, as if he was afraid that Haru's going to disappear. But Haruka just pulled Rin's lower lip between his making him open his mouth, his tongue circled his gums, when he firmly pushed inside of Rin, filling him to the brim. Rin cried out, but the sound drowned in the kiss. Haru's hips started to move.

Rin always thought that there was something almost sinful in Haru's swimming, and he couldn't fathom what his unbelievably sensual movement of his hips looked like... but now under the powerful, maddening thrusts he realised... god, he never wanted anyone to look at Haru during swimming anymore.

It was like Haru knew all the ways to make him lose his mind. Thrusts became even harder and faster and in the back of his mind Rin already was wishing even for a glimpse of pain, so it would clear his head for a second, but each time Haru somehow curved his spine and filled him up so sweetly and so right, as if he was doing it his whole life.

Rin clawed at Haru's back not even trying to hold back the loud moans, that was falling from his lips.

"Ha.. Haru, I can't... It's too..."

The words got cut, when he felt his muscles spasm around the hot flesh, he was shaking violently when he spilled, letting himself immerse in pleasure. Haru let out a strained moan, pressing his head to Rin's chest. Rin's hand got entangled in his hair trying to bring him even closer. God, he wanted to hear this sound forever. It was better than any of his wet dreams. He would've been embarrassed that he didn't even need to touch himself, but now the only regret he had was that he was so absorbed in his own passion that he could even see Haru's face in that last moment.

All the thoughts flew away though when he felt that despite the fact that he felt the hot wetness inside of him, he also realized that Haru was still hard inside of him. Then Rin thought that he would probably not survive this night. The only thing he couldn't beat Haru at was his unbelievable stamina. Clouded eyes looked at him for a second, then Haru licked the drop of sweat flowing down Rin's neck and touched his earlobe with the tip of his nose.

"More." he whispered barely audible and Rin let out a low moan. *** They didn't want to let go of each other for a very long time. Only when Rin's legs refused to listen to him anymore, he agreed to turn onto his stomach. Haru just pushed his knee up the sheet, almost lazily pushing inside of him. Rin would've complained about not seeing his face, but Haru covered him with his body so fully, that he was even closer to him now, his breath was hot near his ear, and the sheet created the friction that made Rin bite into the pillow so he wouldn't scream.

Haru cooled down only when the sky started to lighten up. He settled them both on their sides, plastered to Rin's back. They couldn't keep their eyelids open anymore, but Haru still got to murmur something that sounded "also wanted to do it in the shower". Rin couldn't even find a strength to laugh. It's good that there was no practices tomorrow. He didn't think he could move even for an inch now, but he didn't regret even a bit. To be honest, Rin would be happy to spend the whole month like this. And even then it wouldn't be enough to settle down all the want that built up during all the years.

Haru was pressed so close to his back that his warm breath tickled Rin's sensitive skin. He suddenly remembered the night in the hotel in Australia when he first felt Haru's nose on his neck when he probably accidentaly cuddled to him during the night. Back then Rin was scared to even breathe.

Now Haru's whole body was glued to his, his arm wrapped around him laying on his abs, bended knee was brazenly pushed between Rin's legs. Rin squeezed Haru's hand tightly. He didn't need to painfully hold his ragged breath in fear that Haru would wake up and push away from him. He can no longer be afraid to fall asleep thinking that this one night is the only touch he will ever get. He can no longer fear that when the morning comes it will be the last time he falls asleep with him in one bed.

Rin brushed his hand to Haru's elbow and back, his body still refused to move properly and he felt the weakness in all of his muscles, but he didn't want to close his eyes. Some part of him still thought it was more like a dream. The best dream he has ever seen in his life.

***

First thing that Rin felt when he woke up was the tastiest smell of the fried bacon... from the window?

The sunlight blinded him, way too bright for a 6 o'clock in the morning. Did he slept through his jogging time? He brought his hand up to find the clock to see what time it is, but he didn't feel his nightstand and his hand limply dangled alongside the bed.

When his consciousness finally caught up with his awakening body, Rin's eyes flew wide open and he abruptly sat down on the bed. Hissing fell from his lips. God, his neck and his back didn't hurt that much even during his first training in Australia.

A long string of pictures flashed before his eyes: the pool, Haru crying, Haru licking the water from his lips, Haru... wasn't next next to him, but the sticky skin and disobidient body proved that it wasn't a dream. Somehow making his legs work, Rin got up from the bed. With great difficulty he put on his jeans, that were lying on the floor, and started to walk down the stairs thinking that his heart wouldn't survive if Haru wasn't there.

But what he saw knocked him down even harder and Rin even rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times. Haru standed in the kitchen not in his usual apron and swim trunks, but in only one t-shirt, barefoot, his hair was all out of place as if he just got out of bed and missed his holy regimen of being in a bathtub. His usual calm gaze was fixed on the pan where something loudly spluttered.

Rin let out an indistinct sound, and Haru immediately turned his head to him. After a second Haru's hands were already full of Rin, saying something unintelligible, the only word Haruka could make out was "dreaming".

"Why did you put on the pants?" Haru kissed the tip of his nose and Rin was on the verge of crying. He was really here, he was with him all night, and he still wanted him to stay. "It'll get burned." Haru flinched to the pan, still holding Rin's hands aroung his waist and making him follow. Rin dropped his chin on Haru's shoulder looking from behind and made a surprised noise. His stomach loudly growled and Haru softly chuckled.

"I thought you didn't eat bacon." Rin murmured. There's no way Haru went to the store looking like this.

He thought he saw Haru's cheek flush a bit.

"I was waiting for you, you know." It seemed like he could've described his whole life that way.

Rin froze. He realized that Haru didn't just wait for him, he was planning to offer Rin to stay with him, when he gets to Tokyo. He felt like something fluttered in the pit of his stomach.

"Did.. did you want me to stay with you?"

"I just thought that your home is far away, and Sousuke lives with his brother, and to find a new apartment here you need a lot of time, Makoto also had a hard time of finding something close to his university when he wanted to move from campus."

Haruka said all this in his usual calm and emotionless voice, as if it was something self-evident, but all Rin could think about was that Haru wanted him to stay with him even before he got back home and he felt something warm spread thoughout his body.

Rin gripped him tightly in his arms, while Haru caressed his neck without turning around. Home.

[maaaaaatryoshka0325]

As Above, So Below - Kim Seungmin Paranormal Investigator AU Part 1

(Next Part ->)

I’m finally posting it ya’ll! :D

The reader's abilities are based off of those of Lorraine Warren's. She and her husband, Ed, were paranormal investigators. If you need an insight on her abilities, watch 'the conjuring'. It's great movie, hands down one of my faves.

“These pictures were taken during the exorcism last year." Seungmin's voice rang throughout the large classroom.

Kim Seungmin, the well renown paranormal investigator, stood before you in a classroom in your town. You watched his videos all the time, followed his social media. He was a big inspiration for you, someone you knew would understand you.

You have a gift, you see. One not many people would understand. You had gotten into a car accident when you were younger, leaving you not only with PTSD, but with an unnatural gift. You could see and hear things no one else could, you could be brought into almost another dimension, the other side showing you things from the past. You were known as a clairvoyant.

You watched Seungmin’s presentation in awe, excitement filling you every time he showed something new, something you didn’t see on his blog. Your eyes kept meeting his, but every time they met, the girls behind you would squeal, especially the one in the middle. 

The girl in the middle used to be your best friend, until a few years ago. Kim Eunmi , now one of the most popular girls in your college/university. She always walked around with two other girls, Lim Hyuna and Song Inhye. They were your “bullies” if you’d call it that. They wouldn’t say much to you, usually a sly remark here and there, but they would always openly giggle behind your back or whisper almost loud enough for you to hear; and it all came from an incident a few years back, the incident where Eunmi abandoned you as a friend then spread rumors about you, making your high school career a living Hell. You were labeled a “freak” and spent your high school years by yourself.

“Here is another slide from the case of Go Jinjoo, the man who was possessed and kill thirteen women in a span of three months.” Seungmin’s voice broke you out of your thoughts, your eyes landing on the pictures of the man on the screen.

He had blood covering his shirt, his teeth grit and blood splattered across his face. His iris’ were completely black, his veins popping out of his face and neck. He looked possessed, to say the least. Your eyes searched the picture, your eyes sensing the dark aura around him. Your eyes scanned every detail you can, and you felt someone’s eyes on you.

You peeled your eyes from the screen and made direct eye contact with Seungmin, his eyes staying on you longer than you could never believe. You heard a squeal behind you, and your heart dropped, thinking he could’ve just been admiring Eunmi. Eunmi was very attractive, with her silky dark hair, large eyes, and beautiful face. She was much more to look at, or that’s what you thought at least. You remembered all the boys would gawk and stare at her when you two would hangout, and it got worse in high school. You tried not to pay attention to it, but it was hard when every time you went to your locker, which was straight across from hers, a guy was either trying to confess or give her something. You were shocked and disappointed when Seungmin ended the presentation, cursing yourself for not paying enough attention. Oh well, there’s always a next time. Seungmin looked at you, and your heart fluttered, then quickly dropped as you felt someone bump your shoulder, and realized Eunmi was walking down the stairs. Her eyes were mocking towards you, and you knew she was going to purposely try to flirt with Seungmin right in front of you. Eunmi knew she was naturally pretty, and she flaunted it a lot. You never understood why she wore the amount of makeup that she did, she was effortlessly and naturally stunning. She bat her false eyelashes at Seungmin, pressing her arms closer to her chest to make her boobs pop out more. You rolled your eyes and packed your notebook in your bag, having had taken notes while listening.

“Hi Seungmin-ahhh!” Eunmi greeted him in a sweet voice.

“Oh, hello.” He greeted with a pretty smile.

“I’m Eunmi, and I’m a huge fan. That presentation was something else!” She giggled.

“Ah, thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He said with a polite bow.

“Now Seungmin-ahhh.” She giggled, leaning close to him.

You wanted to snap your pencil in half. Eunmi knee how much you had loved his documentaries, you had started watching his videos when you were in middle school together, and she always told you it was lame. Seungmin has the gift since he was younger, and you had admired him ever since your accident.

“Saw you looking at me this whole lecture.” She purred, fixing the buttons on his white button up. “Is there something you wanted to say?”

You quickly made your way out of the room, and Eunmi watched you walk out with a smirk, but another set of eyes were on you as well.

“Actually… Uh… That girl that was sitting in front of you, what’s her name?” He asked.

“Who? Y/N?” She scoffed. “Just some weirdo. She thinks she can see and sense ghosts. She just does it for attention.”

“I see. Well, it was nice meeting the three of you.” Seungmin said with a smile before grabbing his bag and walking away.

“Wait, Seungmin!” Eunmi called, grabbing his shirt sleeve.

“Weren’t you looking at me?” She asked, her eyes big.

“You’re very pretty, but it wasn’t you I was looking at. And I don’t look at petty women.” He said casually, pulling his sleeve out of her grasp. “Have a nice day, ladies.”

You walked into the courtyard, the pink trees of the garden glowing in the soft spring sunlight. You sat on the stone bench and opened your notebook, going through the notes you took and sighing.

“I should’ve paid better attention.” You groaned, dropping your head into your notebook. “Stupid stupid stupid.”

“I think you’re pretty smart, actually.”

Your head shot up at the voice, your nose almost brushing Seungmin’s. Shock was in your eyes as he smiled down at you.

“Mind if I sit?” He asked, pointing to the empty spot on the stone bench.

“Oh, sure!” You said in a voice a little too high pitches for your liking, making you almost cringe.

He sat down beside you, his eyes going to your notebook.

“You took notes on the session?” He asked, his eyes full of admiration.

“U-Um yeah… I love what you do.” You said shyly.

“I see… You seemed very interested in the whole thing. Almost like you knew how it felt to have these abilities.” He said, looking directly at you.

Although he had such a sweet looking face, his eyes held a ferocity that you have never seen before. It was breathtaking to look into massive orbs you’ve only ever saw on a screen.

“I… I guess you can say I have a gift.” You said lowly, your eyes not leaving his.

“What kind of gift is that?” He asked, his eyes still searching yours.

You slid him the notebook that you had written your notes down in. He looked at the notebook and slowly went to the first page, reading what you wrote and drew sketches of, all of your experiences on the finely outlined pages. His long finger tips followed where he was reading, his eyes quickly scanning the pages as he continued to flip through it. He stopped at one, an amused smile on his face.

“So you know, huh?” He asked.

“What?” You asked.

“Most of the episodes of Ghost Hunters is staged and acted out.” He said with a light chuckle.

“Even if I didn’t have this ability, it’s painfully obvious.” You pointed out, scrunching your nose in distaste. 

“How else do you know? And how can you tell when it isn’t staged?” Seungmin asked.

“Well, for starters, their reactions. When it’s fake, you can tell when they over dramatize it, like it’s too much. I also don’t see anything when it’s fake.” You said.

“See anything?” He asked.

“I can see shadows… Morphs… Whole spirits.” You said hesitantly. 

His eyes searched yours, seeing the sincerity in them.

“You can just see shapes and figures?” He asked.

“No…” You said lowly. “I can see them… Usually when they just want to be seen.”

“What if they don’t want to be seen?” He asked.

“I can see their shapes and figures, and I can feel them.” You responded.

Silence fell over the two of you, Seungmin’s eyes going back down to your notebook and flicking through the pages, stopping at a certain one.

“What’s this?” He asked.

It was from the last night you and Eunmi had spent the night together as friends. The night she got scared away, the night she held a grudge against you for. You slid it out of his hands and closed it, a sigh leaving your lips.

“An experience I wish I could forget.” You sighed.

He went on to say something, when you gave him a sad smile.

“They show me things.” You said.

“They show you things?” He asked.

You nodded and played with your fingers.

“They show me what happened to them… Or what could happen to other people.” You whispered.

His eyes were soft as he laid a gentle hand on your shoulder, giving it a soft rub.

“You’re a clairvoyant Y/N.” He said.

You nodded and sighed when he lightly grabbed your chin and turned your head towards him.

“There’s nothing wrong with that, nothing at all. I know what it’s like to have a gift no one understands, I know it’s lonely, but I’m here for you now, okay?” He said with a bright smile.

“You’re only in town for a couple of days.” You giggled with a small blush.

He fell silent for a moment, biting his lip and thinking.

“Why don’t you come for an investigation? We’re also here to investigate a house about an hour away from here.” He suggested with a smile.

“Will that really be okay?” You asked.

“Of course!” He laughed. “It’s just me and three other people.”

“O-Okay.” You nodded with a shy smile.

“Perfect! We have to leave in an hour, do you need to get changed or anything?” He asked.

“No, I think I’m okay.” You laughed. “Why? Is my outfit bad?”

“Not at all, just don’t want you to catch a cold.” He laughed.

You put your notebook back in your bag as he stood up and stretched his hand out to you, a smile on his face. You smiled back and lightly took his hand as he helped you up, and you felt something in that little touch. It was like a spark, a small fire emitting itself in through your hand and all throughout your body, warming your heart as you walked step for step beside him. His light brown hair caught the sun in a beautiful way, his hair shining brightly. He glanced at you, giving you the whitest smile you’ve ever seen, and you swore it could blind anyone with how white his teeth were.

He lead you to a small, hippie fashioned Volkswagen (if ya’ll know, ya’ll know.) Two men and a woman were standing outside of it, and the one turned and gave you a friendly smile.

“Hi there.” He greeted you.

“Hi.” You greeted him and the others with a polite bow.

“Seungmin, who is this?” The woman asked.

“This is Y/N, she’ll be joining us today.” He said, introducing you.

“I’m Hyunjin.” The one who smiled at you said.

“I’m Felix.” The other said with a big smile. “And that little ball of sunshine over there is Haru.”

You looked over at the woman, who scowled at you and Felix.

“Why is she coming?” Haru asked.

Wow, rude.

“She has talents that we need.” Seungmin said, putting his stuff in the back.

Haru scoffed and eyed you up.

“And what talent is that? Taking up space?” She asked.

“Haru, stop being so rude.” Hyunjin gasped. “Seungmin doesn’t invite just anybody.”

Haru went to open her mouth, when Seungmin shot her and look, making her purse her lips.

“She’s a clairvoyant. I’m curious about her, and she’s welcome to come with us. Don’t make this hard on her, she doesn’t deserve that.” Seungmin said, his voice serious.

Haru rolled her eyes and turned away, stalking towards the back of the SUV. Felix gave you a friendly smile and took you to the front seat.

“You’ll ride up front with Seungmin so you won’t have to deal with our little ball of sunshine in the back.” He said with a smile.

You nodded and slid into the front seat, catching the glare from Haru. Eunmi was already a lot to deal with, but now this girl? You only have known her five minutes! Seungmin sat next to you, flashing you a smile as he pulled out his GPS.

“So, what exactly is going on at this home?” You asked.

Haru scoffed in the back seat, and Felix elbowed her.

“A couple has been hearing strange noises around their home, and we’re just going over to see what exactly is happening.” Seungmin said.

“Most likely nothing too exciting.” Hyunjin said, getting the camera he had in his hands ready.

“Do you record before you even find out if it’s haunted or not?” You asked.

“Of course, I wanted to start a vlog where we post the most stupidest encounters and how goofy the residents look when they realize their house isn’t haunted.” Hyunjin giggled.

“Why didn’t you?” You asked with a laugh.

He pouted and looked at Seungmin. “Seungmin said it’s unprofessional.”

“And it is.” Seungmin said as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“I don’t know, I’d love to watch them.” You laughed. “It might attract more viewers.”

“We’re not doing this for viewers.” Haru snapped.

“Lose the attitude Haru.” Hyunjin said, looking at her. “The more viewers we get, the more recommendations we’ll receive.

“People like horror and humor, if you give them both, they’ll be all over you guys.” You said.

“Or attract people who just want the attention.” Haru said.

You fell silent, not wanting to say anything else. Seungmin flicked a look at Haru through the rearview mirror and she huffed, shoving her headphones in. 

“I’m sorry about her, she doesn’t take to people easily.” Seungmin sighed.

“It’s okay, it’s no big deal.” You said with a small reassuring smile.

When you pulled up to the house, you noticed the roof looked a little caved in, probably from the recent storm. You followed Seungmin out of the SUV and up to the house as the other three grabbed their cameras and setup. The couple who owned the property came out, and you noticed the two of them were fairly young.

“Mr. Im, Mrs. Im.” Seungmin greeted both of them with a bow, and you followed suit.

“We’re so glad you’re here, we haven't been able to sleep for days.” Mrs. Im sighed.

“What seems to be keeping you up?” Seungmin asked.

“There’s this terrible creaking sound that usually happens at night, and it sounds like there’s footsteps coming from the attic.” Mr. Im said, his eyes wide.

“We’ll take a look.” Seungmin reassured them.

He beckoned you to follow him, Hyunjin coming in directly behind you both with the camera on the both of you. Seungmin stopped at the top step, turning towards the camera and smiling. He bumped you with his elbow, and you turned and smiled as the camera started rolling.

“This is Seungmin back with another video, and today we’re investing a couples house. Mr. Im says there’s been strange creaking and what sounds like footsteps coming from the attic. Today we have with us a new friend of mine, Y/N.” He said, giving you a smile.

You bowed to the camera and smiled brightly as you followed Seungmin up the stairs. Your eyes scanned the hallway and rooms you passed by, hoping to catch something on this case.

“I’ll show you guys the attic.” Mr. Im said.

“Stay here for a moment.” Seungmin whispered to you as he walked up behind Mr. Im, Haru walking by you and giving you a petty smirk as she did.

You rolled your eyes and turned to see Mrs. Im, a small smile on her face.

“Are you new?” She asked.

“Um- sorta? I mean, I was at one of his sessions and he invited me to come here.” You said with a smile.

You turned your head and saw a picture on the wall, Mr. Im holidng Mrs. Im up in the air, the both of them smiling brightly.

A scene of the two of them running through the autumn leaves filled your vision. Mr. Im tackled Mrs. Im in a hug and they toppled over into a big pile of leaves. They both laughed like crazy as Mr. Im covered Mrs. Im in kisses, her bright white smile glistening in the sunlight. Another flash and he was on one knee, a beautiful ring in a carefully crafted box in his hand.

“What a beautiful fall day to propose.” You said as you held the picture in your hands.

“What? How could you tell?” Mrs. Im asked in shock.

“It’s called an insight, you get to see little pieces of someones life.” You said with a smile.

You heard something and turned to see Seungmin standing there, a smile on his face.

“Was she right?” He asked.

“She was.” Mrs. Im breathed, her eyes full of curiosity. 

His smile grew wider as he walked over to you.

“Why don’t you come upstairs and help us get this figured out.” He said.

You nodded and followed him up the stairs and into the attic, scanning the room. You couldn't’ feel or detect anything, it felt normal.

“And we just keep hearing THUD THUD THUD THUD!” Mr. Im explained to Felix and Haru.

“Seems like you’ve got an annoying one on your hands.” Haru said, then turning to you and arching brow. “And what do you think, little miss clairvoyant?”

“Not sure yet.” You said flatly, looking around.

The place wasn’t haunted, obviously. But you needed to show them that it was something else. You pressed your foot on a board that looked worn out.

THUD.

Bingo.

“I found your ghost.” You said.

“Who is it? Is it an old man? A woman? GASP! Is it a little girl?!” Mrs. Im squealed.

“No, no, and no.” You replied, pushing on the board as it thud.

“Was that the sound you were hearing?” You asked.

“Oh my god, it was! But doesn’t that mean something had to be stepping on it?” Mr. Im asked.

“By the looks of it, you keep that old rocking chair on it.” You said, tilting your head to the rocking chair in the corner.

“The wind or draft push the rocking chair, which creaks.” You said, moving the chair over top of the board.

You rocked it, and it thumped and creaked. Sighs of relief left the couple, then embarrassment washed over both of them.

“We are so sorry for wasting your time!” Mr. Im gasped.

“It’s okay!” Seungmin laughed. “Usually these places aren’t haunted, there’s always a logical explanation, and it looks like Y/N found it.”

“I’ll get that old board fixed right away.” He reassured everyone and his wife.

The couple walked you both out, and Mrs. Im held your hand.

“Thank you so much, you really impressed me with that insight. I hope they keep you.” She said.

“No, thank you for that experience! I’ve always loved Seungmin’s adventures, and being on one was a dream come true.” You said with a smile.

“I hope you get to stay. You really are talented.” She said, waving goodbye to you.

Seungmin drove to a small diner as you all sat down to eat.

“I’ll cover yours.” Seungmin said.

“No its fine-”

“Listen, that investigation went so quick because of you. And that insight? You’re very talent Y/N.” He said.

As you ate, you kept feeling Haru’s glare, and it was starting to make you uncomfortable.

“Haru, look at your food.” Felix said, glancing at her.

She slammed her fork into her food and continued eating, chewing angrily.

“I need to use the restroom.” She said, abruptly getting up and walking away.

“She’s just made because she believed it was haunted, and you knew it wasn’t and proved her wrong.” Hyunjin reassured you.

You nodded awkwardly and Seungmin rubbed your shoulder.

“You were amazing back there Y/N.” He said.

“Thank you, it was nothing really.” You bowed with a blush.

When Haru got back, you all ate quietly then left. Before you made it to the SUV, Seungmin turned to you, Felix and Hyunjin smiling brightly. Haru narrowed her eyes, anger on her face.

“No.” She growled.

“This isn’t your decision.” Seungmin said.

She stormed off to the SUV, slamming the door. You looked at them in confusion, and Seungmin gently held your hand.

“Y/N, I have a huge question.” He said.

Your heart hammered through your chest as he smiled at you.

“Will you be apart of our crew?”

[gold-eyes-vengeful-heart]

Warrior and Dragon

((Runya meets the G-Warrior.

Spoilers for the Sapphire Weapon portion of the Weapon questline! Contains moar Sorin ( @aetherstitch​ ) :D

Also includes a good few screenshots as a heads-up!))

===

Runya walked right on past the cluster of people talking in low, earnest tones. He walked right on past Baelsar. He walked right on past Sorin, even with the other Miqo’te greeting him. He walked right past even the two guards of Baelsar’s, and just stared up at the big white and blue thing that dominated the space in the Alliance’s compound, making it look positively tiny in comparison.

He just stared.

This. This was what they were going to use to fight the VIIth Legion’s Weapons?

“Runya.”

Sorin physically tapping his shoulder finally got him to look over, but he just pointed with one claw-gloved finger at the hulking (obviously-)Allagan contraption.

“And what, exactly, is this?” 

Sorin blinked at the tone of voice, but kept his own level and matter-of-fact. “...The Ironworks calls it the ‘G-Warrior’, Runya. In fact, I’ve just finished testing it for them.” 

“Was something wrong with what I was doing, dear Sorin?”

But Sorin just raised his brows and folded his arms, visibly unimpressed. “...After what happened with the Ruby Weapon, you’re really going to ask?” He didn’t seem to know whether Runya was joking or actually being serious, either, judging by the strange tilt to his ears. “You need backup.”

“And you,” Runya retorted, turning to tap Sorin on the nose, “need to stop thinking you can save everyone.”

Ah. That got to him. Sorin’s tail thrashed and his ears very much went flat against his skull and his shoulders set in a hard line.

“...And you need to stop acting like no one should try?”

“Now, now, we’re getting stares.” Even Baelsar was doing it, and Cid didn’t look as if he knew whether to intervene or stay back. “And unless they have another Nael somewhere, or unless they’ve somehow dragged Legatus Merceus or his children back to life, I believe we won’t have the little problem we had with the Ruby Weapon again.”

He still hadn’t found out why Blue was so...antagonistic about that Weapon in particular. And it had been something about the Ruby Weapon--on that, he was very very sure; or at least, about the Ruby Weapon’s final form, once the Oversoul had been activated. But no amount of demanding or just asking or trying to coax the reason why Blue had panicked out of him really bore any fruit; Blue just enigmatically mumbled something about meteors and not liking them and that was all Runya would ever get by way of response. 

Regardless, it was fine. It probably wouldn’t happen again, and Runya was fine continuing to be the one to take on the VIIth Legion’s monsters.

It was fine.

“Runya, I am helping you.” Sorin still flicked his tail and pinned his ears back, but it was a little less fierce than the last time. In fact, he stated his words as simple incontrovertible fact. “You’re not able to stop me. And you know it.”

But at that, Runya just sighed and drew his hand over his face. “Must we be so dramatic about this, dear Sorin?” All the same, though, it was an admittance on his part. No, indeed he could not stop Sorin. The last time Sorin had gotten in his way, it hadn’t gone well for himself. And the both of them knew it--or Sorin wouldn’t have threatened him with it in the first place.

“But I would have preferred,” Runya continued, dropping his hand, “if you had something a little more...Hmmm, what’s the word I’m looking for?” He lightly tapped the side of his head, as if in thought. “Oh, better.” And he already caught the Ironworks engineers bristling, so he just turned his head to affix them with a stare. “Come now, you’re dealing with gigantic superweapons--much larger than that thing--and I see...hmm, a sword, and what is possibly a small gun. It looks fast, certainly, but that armor leaves...much to be desired.” 

Maybe a bit of a reflex. He had, after all, been subjected to much Allagan technology, and Angerona had at least listened to him when he had opinions on it. (And if anyone thought he cared about what the Ironworks engineers thought, they were sorely mistaken. He, after all, had been forced to rely on it for survival.)

But as much as him acquiescing to Sorin had placated the other Miqo’te, Sorin still looked mildly mortified at the blunt assessment. “Runya, they’ve spent a long time restoring this--”

“It doesn’t change my assessment of it.”

“Let me finish,” Sorin continued with a frown. “And as much as I do respect your experience with Allagan artifacts, I’m going to ask you to respect my tactics. Something like what you described I can still work with. And it’s infinitely better than just leaving you by yourself while the rest of us just watch,” he added in a firmer tone that Runya fully recognized as the one that meant Sorin was a bit mad at him. All the same, Runya just turned his head to glance at Baelsar, a sly smile crossing his face.

“So the Sapphire Weapon is up next, is it?”

The former Legatus blinked. “How--”

“I have ways.” Runya waved his hand idly, walking as he did towards the gates of the Alliance compound--where Blue had just then landed, with a heavy thump and a gust of wind that rattled the wood in the walls. “But anyway, Sorin dear,” he called back over his shoulder, “if you insist on accompanying me even if it means having to smack me, you’re going to have to be quick. I don’t intend on letting that thing escape, or have any more time to prepare than it’s already had.” As if remembering something, Runya turned and then bowed.

“I’m sure you’ll see the results of our expedition shortly, dear Legatus.” And though the man said...something or another to him, Runya genuinely did not care what the man had to say and just left, hopping into Blue’s already-extended cockpit ladder and clambering up in. The IXth Legion’s Weapon immediately filled his thoughts and their minds molded into one another’s out of reflex--apart yet still the same. 

{Runya-friend?} The question plicked into his head like a raindrop. {Are we fighting?}

“But of course.” Saying it out loud was mere formality, his response filtering into Blue’s head much faster than any speaker ever could. The hatch hissed shut and he sent Blue flying into the sky with a simple thought of up. 

{Hm.} The discordant noise rushed around his head for a few seconds longer than it should have. But Runya, as always, had the answer, as he turned Blue in the direction of...Terncliff, he had seen it called.

“Oh, I know, dear Blue.” Runya chuckled, setting his sights on the distance as Blue’s thrusters hummed and roared. “You’re not terribly fond of fighting. But if we don’t finish it, the VIIth Legion will. You know as well as I do what the Empire’s capable of...and how eagerly they would be to capture us and use us for their own ends. How easily they would harm Sorin, too, for being close to us.”

Anger, at that, that wasn’t his own. Good. He had been hoping that Blue would realize, after the Ruby Weapon, that they couldn’t just leave this matter alone. As much as Blue wanted to simply keep away from the Empire, the Empire would never allow him to. (And even if the Empire magically, and illogically, ever stopped being the Empire...well, it was doubtful that Runya would allow him to, either, if he had anything to say about it.)

(He would see them burn for what they had done. He was simply going to start with the ones that Sorin was also fine with seeing dead, was all.)

The Weapon flew in a shimmering arc into the distance, further from home, and closer towards their foe. None of the circumstances around dear Gaius and the pilots of these enemy Weapons really mattered to him in the long run, even if he had listened keenly enough when Sorin had explained. All that mattered was killing them, and kill them he would, with or without Sorin’s help.

[jae-canikeepyou]

| day-off | j.jh

pairing: jaehyun x fem!reader genre: au + idol!yn a/n: again, it’s not proof read. i don’t think i even do that anymore omg hahaha! :D ~j.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“this is.. the building, right?” mark’s eyes trailed the new developed apartment estate, looking back and forth from the hand-drawn map.

doyoung rolled his eyes in frustration, “stop taking the map, mark.” he grabbed the already crumpled paper. the map wasn’t clear; it had been an hour since they arrived at the area, however with the directions drawn out, they couldn’t find the apartment jaehyun recently moved in to.

mark’s guilty conscience started to kick in when everyone surrounding him to look to doyoung; who was now tapping his fingers chronologically onto his waist in impatience. “okay i admit i was in the wrong for losing jaehyun‘s map.. but i clearly remember it, that’s why i drew it!”

“yeah while walking- *coughs*” donghyuck teased.

“well your map probably brought us to the other side of the city! we’ve been walking non-stop!” doyoung took an umbrage to mark’s response. all kinds of profanities jumbled in his head yet he was too tired to even deliver to the young man.

“johnny, tell doyoung he’s exaggerating!” mark whined monotonously. not that he was ignored, it took awhile for the lad awhile to realize johnny was looking elsewhere with headphones on.

a truck honked its horn and as it parked by the building they stood at, then the men lifted the metal door of the compartment. piles of boxes were placed at the front. hunch caused doyoung to walk up to the men. few nods and scratches of the head made the rest of the boys to tilt in question.

immediately taeyong knew what it meant when doyoung gave the raised brow. “we have to carry these up to jaehyun’s place.” he said. “they were sent to a wrong address, but this building is definitely jae’s.”

deep sighs went on for a good minute before they obliged with his orders. they, for sure had no energy to even complain after the unplanned walkathon; thanks to mark’s careless mistake.

whilst they waited for the lift, the out-of-place instrumental echoing the lobby created an awkward air dwelling amongst them. ultimate silence and pure exhaustion were cut short when they arrived at the door. taeyong had his palms onto the unlocked door knob and to their surprise they heard you both bickering and arguing like parrots.

“get off me y/n!” jaehyun’s voice startled the rest of them. a thud was heard. “seriously, you chose him?!”

“who cares if i did?!” you butt back and taeyong pursed his lips, making everyone mirror the same expression. “he’s way more practical!”

at this point, the only thing that went through their minds was the possibility of you.. cheating. it was finally their day-off after the tour and jaehyun was kind enough to offer a sleepover at his place. little did they know that they’d encounter such private matters today; like literally they were right outside his door.

“i think we shouldn’t enter just yet.” taeil suggested as he placed down a box.

“maybe they’ll stop if we messaged one of them.” yuta started to press letters onto the screen. a hand grabbed his phone, telling him to not do it.

“we’ll wait for them to stop.” johnny removed his headphones where your argument with jaehyun was louder than the blasted music in his ears.

mark yet again whined in a whisper, “i don’t wanna eavesdrop though. we can leave the box-”

“see you’re always like this!” jaehyun yelled in a much louder tone. “can you use your brain for once?!”

their heads all shot up at the amount of volume their bud gave.

awkward.. their eyes said it all.

“i am using it! you’re just too blind to even see it!” you let out a groan. the guys heard a multiple stomps your tiny feet ever did. they had never encountered you like this before.

as you both continued the probably endless argument, jungwoo found himself sitting onto the carpeted floor of the hallway. his share of box right beside him. the rest of the followed, all hesitant to even doorbell or bothering to knock when jaehyun started to yell again.

“i don’t have to see your brain! i’ll know your hardwork if you acted!”

“well your hardworking girlfriend’s doing everything for you! you’re the reliant one!”

“reliant?! reliant?! look whose talking! are you even hearing yourself?!”

“shut up! you should hear yourself! if i died, you wouldn’t have someone to depend to!”

“i don’t care if you died!”

the door slammed open, revealing the nine boys with boxes in their hands. taeyong was clearly pissed at the behaviour. “hey jung jaehyun. what you told her is way out of line-”

“hey guys.” you both seated so comfortably onto the giant bean bags, you and jaehyun greeted simultaneously with eyes so innocent and child-like. the tone was completely different compared to what they heard just minutes before. “great i was waiting for those!” your boyfriend stood up to help his friends.

you soon did the same, grabbing the home slippers to let them wear. as you talked, your brothers, a.k.a jaehyun’s friends, were very dumbfounded to the point they all remained quiet. you waved to them several times before you snapped your fingers, jolting them back to reality. “hello? i’m not talking to the air, am i?”

jaehyun sneeked his palms to support your waist, giving you a kiss on the cheek as you headed to the kitchen. “why didn’t you ring the bell?” he asked.

sicheng gulped at a volume before speaking. “we thought you were about to end things with y/n. we didn’t want to interfere.” he walked to the sofa and made themselves home.

“ah, you heard us arguing?” the chuckle jaehyun gave was rather genuine, as if nothing happened. “sorry about that. we were playing super mario bros on nintendo wii.” he took out a dirtied ivory white controller from this hoodie pocket.

oh what the..

“bubs saw it as we unpacked his things. been working for two straight days and we decided to take a break.” you had a glass tupperware and reusable plastic cups in your hands.

“yeah you had no idea how much nostalgia hit me when i saw it.” jaehyun laughed as he gestured you to sit beside him.

“i made lasagna~” you singsonged, passing the utensils around the center table.

the boys dove into the delish meal you prepared for them. as imaginary as it sounded, you could almost feel your shoulders heightening in pride when they complimented on how good it tasted. jaehyun reminded you to make two more batches because he knew his friends— and including himself, are pretty big eaters.

the recent comeback song of your group began to play as the playlist shuffled. they all stopped eating and used their forks as mics to mimic you. it hyped up everyone when your part came; you were the rapper. you gave in and went along with them.

noticing how the food was close to being devoured, you stood up and grabbed the rest to be reheated.

“hey jaehyun, have you ever heard y/n sing before?” johnny asked the blushing boy after he took a glance of your waiting figure at the kitchen.

“nope.” he popped his lips. “hold on, just hums i guess.” he replied.

“good thing i brought this!” donghyuck whispered, rummaging his bag for an item. few sighs of expectation came out from all of them as they knew what he meant.

they sang as if they’ve had countless of beer rounds. the jolly noise was getting louder as your song played. closing the door of the oven, you brought the last batch of your lasagna. taeil told you they wanted you to sing, and with immediate hesistation, you declined.

“why not? i bet you have a beautiful voice.” taeil complimented, and you couldn’t help but blush.

the bridge of the song was about to come when yuta passed the mic to you. in all honesty this part of the whole song was completely out of your range, but you’d be lying if you didn’t attempt this with your group’s main vocalist; rina.

they thought you had a voice of an angel, though you haven’t sung in public since your debut. as you hit belting and prolonging note, the boys cheered and nudged each other, signalling any of them to record your boyfriend.

jaehyun was speechless with his lips parted.

you blushed and hid your face right after it ended, grabbing a pillow nearby and collapsing backwards. “stop cheering!”

“why aren’t you the main vocalist?!”

“i have high hopes that you’ll be having a solo in your group’s next comeback!”

“y/n you’re really good!”

the pillow you were holding against to was removed from your hands. jaehyun smiled with beetroot coloured ears. “can you sing me to sleep later?”

“no.” you butt back, embarrassed that your boyfriend’s asking will be frequent now that he knows you sing well.

jaehyun whined and put his weight onto your small frame, squishing you so you wouldn’t escape. “i’m gonna tickle you.” he warned whilst his hands grabbed you.

“i’m not ticklish.” you defended with a straight face.

“we’ll see about that.” he leaned down where his chin was visible with stubble, attempting to squish his face to yours.

“jung jaehyun! stop! your face is oily!”

“blame it on your lasagna!”

“you eat like how a baby eats!”

“but i’m your baby!”

“yah get a room!” mark yelled, disgusted at the pda you both showed. well it was only jaehyun anyway. you were the victim of a playful act of your boyfriend.

you sat up with face all red from the chin upwards. “this is how i suffer everyday ever since dating your bro.” you told the rest of them.

“jaehyun did say he’s a romantic.” johnny made a teasing expression, earning a fake gag and sour faces from the others.

“and a forward person.” taeyong chuckled with his arms crossed.

“he said he’s very affectionate.” doyoung

yuta hopped in his seat. “he loves skinship too.”

“specifically holding hands.” taeil joined the tease.

jaehyun stuttered. “i- i didn’t mean it in a way yo-you’re all thinking of.” he threw a pillow.

“or did you?” johnny teased.

you looked at your boyfriend whose lips pursed to a flat line. he was so flustered and it was really cute.

“one more word i’ll kick you out of my house.”