#One day I'll be driven crazy

[chentailai]

别让我想起这段令人高血压的剧情(此处删去限制级攻击性内容)，我记得我在几乎狂躁的状态下急促地为这件事情写了一篇变态的作品(当然不会放到正经博客上摆弄)。Jaime和lorena他们就像出轨的人一样没有好下场，Traci被搞成了复仇女神一样的角色(在惩罚Jaime的方面做的相当出色以至于有些过头)。这件事给我震撼感不亚于在我虚弱的时候，编剧给我脑门上打了一拳。这个三观败坏的臭东西，我一直在骂他，他就像是个流氓突然拿出棍棒揍了你一下然后说:“哦抱歉，我下次再也不会这样干了！你误会了！我没有那个意思！不要误解我呜呜呜呜呜呜呜呜呜别攻击我”。这段令人作呕的剧情对我来说就是一片核弹区，任何一点细微的触碰都足矣让人直接迎来核爆末日。*深呼吸 希望这种纯属是编剧做出来折磨粉丝的东西不会再出现了 ，不然下次会有人为故意恶心人而付出代价

他算是成功了，鉴于我因为这件烂事浪费了太多时间和精力。这就是编剧们在���的事，压榨粉丝的剩余情绪价值。

我要埋了他，哈哈

...Why are you doing this? Of all the things you could have found for Aquagirl (a character who is already deeply underutilized) to DO on this team. You made her "the other woman" trying to tempt Jaime of all people? What is your intention? To make her come off as a bitch WHILE overcomplicating one of the sweetest young love stories in comics?

[ddejavvu]

Deadpool talks you through it, sort of

this post is 18+, minors dni.

Deadpool likes to talk to you while you're sucking him off, purely for the fact that you can't answer him. He'll look down at you, watch the way your cheeks hollow while you bob on his dick, and he'll ask you what you want for dinner.

"I'm feeling Italian," He muses, clicking his tongue like he's thinking, "Or Indonesian, maybe? What about you, honey?"

You make a strangled noise, cut off and muffled by the way you're gagged with his cock.

"Was that a 'Chinese'? I think I definitely heard 'Chinese'." He nods, shifting briefly in his seat so that his cock is driven into the back of your throat. You gag, and your throat contracts around him.

He'll grab the back of your head, keeping his cock firmly buried in your mouth, "Say something coherent if you don't want to order fast food. Aw, no?" He asks, ignoring the way you struggle against him for a breath of air and an unobstructed tongue. All that escapes is jibberish, blabbering around his thick cock that can't be made out.

"Nope, got nothin' from that. Wings, then? Or pizza, a really big greasy one that I'll eat most of and you can have, like, two slices from. Maybe one and a half? Or just everything. Wings, pizza, and that cookie pie for dessert. Yeah?"

You want to shake your head no, because you've told Wade you really need to cut back on your calorie intake, but he's got you pinned, and it's a hopeless case.

"Perfect, just what I was hoping for," He grins, you can hear it in his voice, "I'm so glad we're on the same page. Great minds think alike, huh babe?"

Your only answer is a strangled gag.

--

"So how was your day?"

You glare at Wade where he's staring down at you, and he lets out an indignant scoff, "No need to be rude. I asked you a simple, conversational question. How was your day?"

You say something, certainly something around his heavy cock on your tongue, but the words are incomprehensible.

"Oh. I don't know what that means. Try again?" He offers, though he adjusts his hips to jam his cock further down your throat.

This next attempt of yours is worse, and he shakes his head, tutting lightly.

"Wow. Incredible. Absolute nonsense. I should get you checked, honey. I think you're losing it. One last try?"

You spit a fuck you around his cock, but if he recognizes the curt phrase, he doesn't say anything. He only smirks, thumbing your cheekbone.

"You're crazy." He decides, "You're completely nonsensical. You're lucky that mouth is good at sucking dick, 'cause it's hopeless at talking."

[captain-bubble-wrap]

I'm over winter. I need sundress obsessed Quinn back in my life, k thanks! 🤤

Gods, you and me both! 🙂‍↕️ Mild content warning//implied sexual interactions.

"I want to take you somewhere," Quinn smirked, watching you put your makeup on. He hadn't been standing there very long, however long enough that he was obviously up to something. You had flown to Florida yesterday morning, so you had spent the day with him at the lake house. Today, it seemed, someone was suffering from cabin fever.

"Like where?" You asked, focused on setting your false lashes in the right spot. 

"I dunno. Just...somewhere."

With a soft laugh, you'd shoot him a cute, sideways glance. "That sounds slightly ominous, babe."

Quinn smirked a second time, "I just want to take you out for the day, show you around."

"Show me around or show me off?" You teased, making him laugh at your quick whit. 

"Both?"

"Quinny!" You replied in comedic shock, in that whiny tone he loved. You knew what he meant, but you couldn't miss the opportunity to tease him. 

"You know I love you," he reassured, leaving the doorframe he was leaned against to come up behind you. His hands found your waist while you found your mascara. 

"I love you too, Quinn." You tried to ignore him after that, but as you leaned forward, to get closer to the mirror, you couldn't help but press into his hips and see him smile over your shoulder. 

"What are you trying to do?" He said, trying to contain a wider smile, one brow arched slightly. 

"I'm trying to do my makeup, Quinn! I don't know what it is you're doing!" Try as you might, you'd break first. Your giggles instantly melting away your once determined facade. 

Quinn would pull you a little closer, "I'm just standing here."

You stood up, turning around to ruin whatever fun he was trying to have. His pout the clear indication, like taking a toy away from a child. "I'll make a deal with you, baby."

Catching his attention, that bottom lip would quickly retract, "Yeah?"

"Mhm, how about you go pick me something to wear while I finish my makeup? Then you can show me off, or around," you winked, giving him a quick kiss.

Quinn's expression brightened, like he wasn't expecting you to say anything like that. It was clear that he was excited to have such permission. "Really?"

He could be so ridiculously adorable, especially when his emotions were genuine. "Really."

"Anything?" He pressed, that devious tone you forgot he had, painting his reply. 

"Within reason, Quinn." You said, giving him one of "those looks". "I'm sure there are enough options for you to pick from. I know I over-packed like always."

He'd give a playful look on his face before leaving you to finish getting ready. You could have watched him dig through your suitcase, but you really did want to be finished just incase he was much quicker than anticipated. Thankfully, your over-night curls just needed let down, so once he came back, you'd be ready within ten minutes, if he could keep his hands off of you long enough to do so. 

Lashes done, lipstick on, and after a quick spritz of some setting spray, you just needed to be given your chosen outfit. Finding it odd that you had actually finished before him, you made your way back into his adjoining bedroom to see what was keeping him. There, on the bed, Quinn had two sundresses laid out, standing before him like he was making a ground-breaking decision. 

"Problems?" You asked, wrapping your arms around his waist. 

"No...," he lied, pausing for a moment. "I like this one for today, I think."

You'd let go of him to see what he had picked, and honestly, you weren't surprised which ones had made the final selection. There was a reason you had packed so many sundresses, not just because it was Florida in the summertime, but because you remembered how a few of them had driven him crazy the first time you had wore them. The one he was holding was black and covered with orange and yellow sunflowers. It had a fuller skirt; one meant for twirling around, and just low-cut enough in the front that the girls could be seen if he wanted a tasteful peek. 

"I love this one," you commented, taking it from him and slipping away to the bathroom once more. It wouldn't take long to get into it, or to let your hair down. Quinn had patiently waited for you to come out instead of asking you if you needed him. In reality, you'd have to ask him to help you with the zipper. You could have done it yourself, but it was more fun if you included him, knowing it would make his heart race just a little. 

"Baby, can you help me?" You asked, standing in the doorway. 

"Of course."

You pulled your hair over your shoulder, the black satin hairbow affixed at the back of your head had been sprayed with your perfume and it was now near his nose.

"You smell wonderful," he added, his shaky fingers fumbling with the zipper for a moment. 

"Thank you. It's the perfume you got me for my birthday," you said, turning around once he was done.

"And you look beautiful." Quinn couldn't take his eyes off your body, it taking him a moment to return his gaze to your face. It didn't bother you, because you knew Quinn never put your looks before the real reasons he loved you so much. 'How you look is just a bonus,' he always reassured you, and you knew he meant it. 

"Thank you, baby," you smiled, arms falling around his neck as he held you; his hands tracing the curves of your body lightly. "I love you."

"I love you, too. I love you so much," he grinned, finding your mouth for a soft kiss that developed into a deeper one. 

"Careful, or you'll be wearing more of my lipstick than I am." 

His lips would trace your jawline then down your neck. You'd squirm slightly against the feeling of his stubble against your body as he moved to dot the lightest kisses atop your exposed cleavage, you smiling the whole time.

"I don't want to go anywhere, just yet. Maybe in a little bit. I think there might be a storm coming in or something," he smirked, picking you up to take you over to the bed. Quinn would lay you down gently, his delicate fingers sliding up your thighs as he urged you just to lay back and relax. "There's plenty of time to go out later."

[jadeylovesmarvelxo]

🎄 Under The Mistletoe 🎄

Someone in Hellfire plays matchmaker between you and Eddie ❤️ Featuring mischievous Hellfire members, pesky mistletoe and lots of fluff 🎄

Going to open my requests for a little while so if you have any holiday requests then let me know. 💌

🎄❄️

There's a very good reason. Why the holiday season is a wonderful time. For a boy and girl to fall in love.

Cause Santa and Cupid, planned exactly what you did, When you kissed me by the mistletoe above.

We stood there kissin' by the mistletoe. Tingle, tingle. Muah, muah, muah, and away we go, jingle, jingle.

Kissin' by the mistletoe, love came to stay and now it's Christmas every day.

Aretha Franklin - Kissing by the mistletoe 🎄

❄️🎄

Christmas had arrived in Hawkins. The snow was falling casting in the town in an image of a perfect winter wonderland. All Eddie had heard for the last couple of days was festive tunes and jingles, he did like Christmas but this was a bit much.

He couldn't exactly say that he had the best Christmas growing up, when his mom was around it felt special to him, she adored Christmas and Eddie loved that it made her happy.

Then he was left with just his old man and those were the worst times, Uncle Wayne was his bubble of safety and normality then and now. Thanks to uncle Wayne his love of Christmas has returned slowly.

Did that mean he wanted to be driven crazy by hiliday tunes? No. Then there was his enemy of the season. Mistletoe.

All week he had seen giggly, kissing and loved up couples, they were driving him mad. It made him grumpy and twitchy and he avoided the cursed plant like the plague.

At least when he was in the drama club and safely ensconced in all things Hellfire Club related he could relax. He had spent some time earlier setting up for the campaign and it was a good one, a mini adventure which was Christmas themed of course and very exciting.

For a few hours he could be in total DM mode and nothing mistletoe related could happen...

🎄⛄

At five o'clock on the dot Dustin arrived with Lucas and Mike, then everyone else hurried in. Eddie ignores the way his heart skips a beat when he sees you.

"Gentlemen and ladies welcome to this special edition of Hellfire, where we can enjoy the delights of our new festive themed quest and avoid the evil plants of doom... I swear If I see one more hint of mistletoe I'll..."

"Eddie" you say softly and that captures his attention as you point up to the ceiling, he stops mid-rant and his eyes bug out as he sees the mistletoe hung above him. No. Jesus H Christ, no.

The mistletoe was directly above you and Eddie.

His eyes narrow and he looks around the room immediately suspicious, Jeff and Gareth are sniggering to themselves but stop at the look on his face.

"Who did this?" he hisses to the rest of the group and looks at each of them in turn. No one is owning up to putting the mistletoe there and that frustrates him even more because that dreaded thing wasn't there at any other point of the day.

It wasn't there when he was setting up earlier, no pesky mistletoe was in sight and yet now it was just casually hanging above his head, directly above his chair. "That wasn't here earlier, so one of you little shits did this" he snaps.

He could feel himself sweating as you peered up at him, fuck. It's not like he didn't want to kiss you, he really wanted to but he highly doubted that you wanted to kiss him. Why would you?

"We don't have to do this" he says to you, he would never want you to feel pressured into kissing him. He was going to kill (the character) of whoever did this in the most violent way possible.

"Eddie" the way you say his name makes his knees turn to jelly, his usual confidence and don't give a fuck attitude is long gone and now he's terrified.

You see Eddie was totally smitten with you but didn't realise you were equally smitten with him. Which is what brings us to mischievous elves (Hellfire members) plotting this escapade.

Then your lips meet his and he swears his brain short circuits just for a second, he melts into the kiss and then he's kissing you back and you let out a soft moan that goes straight to uh...places and he wants nothing more than to just keep kissing you.

"Ugh that's enough dude, gross" Mike groans and Eddie reluctantly pulls away from you, feels pleased with himself that your lips are all kiss bitten and your eyes mirroring his in complete lust and adoration.

"About time" Gareth sags in relief, now the two of you could stop tiptoeing around your feelings for one another. Eddie sends him a death glare but completely softens when you take his hand and lean across to whisper in his ear.

"We're totally doing more of that later" your gaze is full of need and a tiny bit of mischief and it may be the first time that Eddie has ever wanted to speed run through a campaign. He couldn't wait for later but for now he had to get into DM mode.

If only you would stop looking at him like that, all impish and beautiful then he might be able to concentrate.

While he's making moon eyes at you for a few seconds Dustin, Erica, Lucas and Mike huddle together and discreetly high five.

"Mission accomplished" Dustin beams until Erica frowns and lets out an exasperated huff. "Yeah sure, like you bunch of nerds could have done this without me" Lucas is about to argue but Erica stops him.

"Nope, don't say a word dumbass. I hung the mistletoe because I'm not afraid of Munson like you three are, so this is down to me" She takes a mini bow and leaves the three boys gawking at her as Eddie finally starts the session.

🎄❄️⛄

[artsymeeshee]

Been in a weird headspace lately and I wanted to put my thoughts and feelings out to give a better idea of what's been happening. Putting under a read more/feel free to ignore.

I've talked about my struggles mentally on and off for a while and this one has been an ongoing thing for me and it's one I feel has begun to stick out more as time goes on.

I don't see myself as a good person. Most of the time I feel like I'm a bad person. And there's a lot of factors that play into this. One, is the things that I draw, which sounds absolutely crazy. Even I think it is as well.

It's no secret that my main priority has always been familial/platonic themes because that's how I've always viewed Gravity Falls as. And I know a lot of people do as well. It's one of the main themes of the show for crying out loud. And it's not to say I'm getting tired of it. That's a thing that has never crossed my mind, ever. It's more so along the lines of thinking it's too boring or falling back to that feeling of feeling bad because I don't make ship art. And I know I shouldn't feel bad about it and there's plenty of others that gladly do it. It's just one of those things that I'm not sure I'll really accept. And I'm always always grateful for the ones that tell me they appreciate all the family bonding/themes in my art. I guess the feeling of loneliness plays a part in that as well. I'll still make all the family things as long and as much as I can, but I won't deny the feeling of loneliness I get sometimes.

I do have that strong feeling that I am made to do something more and actually be someone and not the usual husk of a terrible individual I fall back on so many times. I won't deny anxiety and fear has taken a big hold on me lately. And it's also driven me to isolate myself in a sense and made me a cold person. I was so much more open years ago and now I've closed a good part of me away because... maybe I realized my "correctness" of myself being a bad person and who would even want to be around someone like that, so it's easier to hide. And I'm always afraid that one day I'll do or say something to no longer make me feel like I'm safe to approach. I've gone through so many people I've found that I've grown to like only for them to be an awful person and it sucks. I never want to be like that.

It's also been hard to not fall back to up and leaving. Whether that be online or real life. Last year was a time I fought with staying or leaving and it was always hard to decide to stay because leaving seemed like the only option I deserved.

I'm aware my ongoing battle with depression has hindered me a lot and it's a main factor for all of my negative feelings and thoughts about myself. And I don't want it to always resort to being the final say of who I am. I would like to find and show that part of me I feel people deserve to see.

I'm going to be honest, putting my raw emotions and thoughts like this is always scary. I'm sorry for the unexpected and serious post. I hoped I didn't make it too annoying or bring the mood down, but I needed to clear an ongoing struggle I've had for a long while. Thank you all for the constant support. Thank you for liking my silly, dumb, wholesome, sometimes feelsy art. Wanted to state another serious thing because life is so unexpected and you never know what will happen, but if something were to happen to me, I really can't explain how grateful I am for the love I've gotten from my time sharing my art. Thank you. Truly. 💜

[nemesis-writer]

Crybaby

Masterlist TW- neglect, almost-suicide, suicidal thoughts

She stood on the bridge In silence and fear, For the demons of darkness Had driven her here.

So close to falling yet so far from succeeding, I latched on to the bar hoping to make my self let go from the shivering rain. But no, I just held on wishing that a brother or father of mine could save me.

They cut her heart Right out of her chest, Making her believe That the demons knew best.

They depth of my hatred for them goes farther than the deepest oceans and the farthest galaxies. I guess from this you can tell that my life has always been described as a poem from the darkest poets such as Edgar Poe, or darker than the ebony that coats the outside of the unknown galaxy.

I've always loved myself for it, yet I've always been hated for it. The Waynes could also be mentioned as the Addams' family with a loyal butler, multiple suicidal kids, and 'loving parents'. Yet unlike the Waynes, at least the Addams family aren't full of rage and loathesome creatures.

The demons of my life have come from the very same family that held me, hurt me, neglected me, and despised me for the rest of my days.

They were always there, Sometimes just out of sight, Waiting in the background Till the time was right.

Damian was always the one I expected to push myself through the buildings that were made for despair my whole life. Jason, would be considered the first one to have memories with since he's trying to avoid showing the wretched hatred my father has for me.

Tim, Cassandra, Stephanie, and Barbara considered me useless, unintelligent, and fatally naive to the outside world. Then there's Dick, the eldest, the role model, the possibly apple of dear old dad's eye, he on the other hand found me as a means to an end, who wouldn't?

Bruce, I was stupid to assume that we could connect as a father-daughter would. Every day he wished to send me back to the adoption center and nullify all the papers that was supposed to make me a Wayne.

These demons were destructive, Knocking down the life she knew, Hating everything about her; She hated herself, too.

The family that I was inured to, has stabbed, beaten, and thrown me away like an animal. I was considered more as a stray animal begging for love and attention. The human beings that I consider myself to be connected to is Alfred and Jesse. Alfred is the Lurch of this family while Jesse is another being that has kept me from losing sanity in this jail they call home.

I got lucky to graduate just in time before I let myself drown from neglect. But sadly we can't simply run away from the demons we bear.

These demons can't be seen, But they're far from fairy tales. They live inside your mind; Their evilness prevails.

People thought I'm crazy for being ungrateful of this life, my words are deemed fraudulent. But my appearance is out of order, my clothing is ragged, my hair remains dry and bristling, my body now shows malnourishment and scars from my demons. Yet, my eyes remained the same, broken, in front of the face I was gifted to be beautiful became a mask for the truth, my face was meant to be scarred.

I've never felt the scars go deeper yet I never minded of it. But as I was about to let go of the bars that held my fear in it I heard a voice.

"Hello lady what are you doing?"

It was a voice of a little five year old girl.

"Just enjoying the rain little one. Where are your parents at?"

"I don't have any, I just like being alone."

I jumped over the bar back to the bridge, looking at her with sadness.

"Want me to take you back to the center?"

"Suree, Thank youuu!", She giggled.

And we went on our way back.

So on the bridge she stood, About to end the fight. Then she stopped and thought I'll fight them one more night.

Taglist

@lunayaps, @not-aya, @iluvcatzz, @vanessa-boo, @ivyrose9194,@thesehandsarerated-e

[flemingology]

Biggest Little Fan | Jessie Fleming x Reader

In which: you take your daughter to her mum's football game for the first time

Warnings: none

WC: 1.6k

A/N: based on this request. Realized I am not good at writing the kid dynamic. I don't know if I'll do it again but I still hope you enjoy!

Divider: @cafekitsune

Amelia, you and Jessie's 5-year old daughter, had started picking up an interest for football the last couple months. It was almost inevitably really, seen the household in which she grew up. You and your wife had kept your daughter away from football in her first couple years, wanting to avoid that she became a thing in the media – like you had seen happen before to other players and their children.

Nonetheless, she had been nothing but nagging the both of you to go see one of Jessie's games. "I want to see mama kick the ball," she would claim excitedly. As much as you were fond of the idea, it took a little convincing to get Jessie on board. Although she loved the idea of her wife and her daughter coming to watch her games, both adorning shirts with number 17 and Fleming on the back, it was more the whole footballing environment that worried her. The noise, the people, it could get really busy and loud in a stadium and she knew her daughter was prone to be overwhelmed.

A couple weeks after it was initially mentioned, though, you'd finally been able to convince her. You had pushed her out the door the morning of matchday with the promise of bringing earplugs for Amelia, the koala teddy she brought everywhere with her that Jessie got her after she came back from Australia from the World Cup and a couple toys just in case she would get bored in the family box.

Your wife and you had struggled quite a bit with getting pregnant before it eventually worked out. After 3 failed IVF rounds, you were ready to give up, but Jessie convinced you to go for one more try. And as she promised, the fourth time was successful. You couldn't have wished for a better, more caring partner than Jessie during the 9 months. Now, though, it was like you fell in love with her again and again every other day. Jessie caring for you was one thing, but seeing Jessie care for your daughter had you feeling ways you don't think would ever be replicated by anyone or anything else.

Jessie would get quite insecure from time to time about how much time she spent away from home. Before Amelia was born, you two had grown accustomed to spending time away from each other, but ever since you had your little girl Jessie seemed to struggle with it a lot more. Endless Facetime calls from across the world would never ever come close to the real thing, but they would have to make do for the time being.

That's why, even though she only reluctantly agreed to the plan of bringing Amelia with you for the first time, she couldn't contain her excitement about the prospect of having her daughter in the stands for the first time. Occasions like these didn't come around too often, especially since you didn't travel around the world anymore to watch your wife now that you had a daughter. So to have a game in Portland on a time and day that worked out perfectly for you as a family, you really couldn't let the opportunity pass.

Your usual routine of getting ready for Jessie's matches now included getting your daughter ready too. Instead of bringing Amelia to your or Jessie's parents, she stayed with you throughout the day. You were both wearing matching Portland kits, your wife's name on the back. You knew how much Jessie loved seeing you wearing her last name on your back, let alone her daughter of 5.

Before you knew it, it was time to leave and you and your daughter found yourselves in your car, making your way to Providence Park. You'd left quite early, not wanting to be stuck in Portland traffic, which you knew would have driven your daughter crazy. Forever impatient – a trait she'd definitely taken over you –, it was never a good idea to be on a drive with Amelia during rush hour.

You parked in your usual spot in the family car park, making your way over to Jessie's family box. Her parents and sister were already there, neither would they miss the opportunity to watch their daughter and sister play football, especially now that they didn't have to watch Amelia for once. You held your daughter comfortably on your hip, her outstretched arms immediately looking for her grandmother when you said hello to Jessie's mum. You let her take Amelia while you said hello to everyone else, mingling a little and having a drink before you made your way over to your seat and waited for the match to begin, Amelia sitting proudly on your lap.

Your daughter couldn't contain her excitement when the teams walked out and she saw Jessie, jumping up and down in your lap and clapping her hands when the league anthem sounded in the stadium. As part of her routine, Jessie looked up towards her family box before she walked to her spot on the field, shooting the five of you a small wave before taking her concentration back for the following 90 minutes.

The game went by quick, your daughter asking you questions every now and then about what was happening. She was surprisedly interested, not sparing her koala teddy or toys a single glance – up until Jessie was subbed off in the 80th minute, then she found it a little harder to keep still. Elysse proposed to take her off you for a while, entertaining Amelia for the remaining couple minutes of the game. Not long after, the referee blew the whistle, signaling the end of the match that ended in a 2-1 win for Jessie and her teammates. She didn't get a goal or an assist, but she had been instrumental in her team's build-up play and you knew that she would be happy with her performance.

The team made the lap around the pitch and made sure to thank the fans that had come out to see them, signing a shirt or taking a picture every now and then. You were enamoured with the way Jessie interacted with kids, it had always been a topic of conversation between the two of you before you had Amelia. She was so good with kids and whenever you would see her interacting with her mascot, or children that had come to see the game, you felt a strong sense of domesticity overcome you and simply couldn't wait to have one of your own. Standing here, Amelia on your hip animatedly telling you about how she thought her mama was so cool playing football, you couldn't really believe that this was life.

Before long, Jessie and her teammates arrived at the family section and players started to climb over the bars to make their way to their family and friends. Jessie lingered a little with Janine's family before she made her way over to her family, engulfing her parents and Elysse in a big group hug. She hadn't seen them for quite some time, football wasn't a particularly forgiving job so she was happy that she got to see them whenever she could. Amelia grew restless quite quickly and kept poking you and asking to be put down, but you knew Jessie liked the little moment of peace with her parents so you relented.

After a couple more moments Jessie managed to wriggle herself out of the conversation and eagerly made her way over to you both, a big grin forming on her face when she noticed Amelia sitting on your hip. Your daughter stuck her arms out for Jessie to grab and you let her, your wife smoothly taking her from you and settling her on her hip. "Mama, I watched you the whole game!" Amelia exclaimed, looking on with wide eyes at your wife, proudly telling her everything about the game that she noticed and remembered. You watched on as they interacted, your feelings overcome with pride as you thought about the little family you and Jessie had created.

A couple minutes later, Jessie put Amelia back down as she asked to go play with Elysse, the both of them now running around the family box as Amelia's giggled could be heard throughout the whole block. Jessie moved closer to you and pressed a quick, sweet kiss on your lips. "Thank you for coming, thank you for bringing Amelia. I loved it more than I thought I would," she exclaimed, leaning her head on your shoulder as you affectionately rubbed her back.

You pressed a kiss against her crown before speaking up. "I knew you'd like it. I loved it too, it's really nice to think about the little family we've created together."

Jessie looked up at you and you couldn't miss the unshed tears in her eyes, quickly wiping them away before they could spill. "I'm proud of this. Of us. We did so good," Jessie said, intertwining her fingers with yours. You both watched as Elysse was now running around with Amelia on her shoulders.

"We did very good. I love our family and I love you, Jess." Jessie squeezed your hand. "Forever."

[a-simple-imagine]

Too Cute to be Angry

Synopsis: A night spent talking to politicians and alt right superheroes is enough to drive anyone crazy but it's sister sage that puts you over the edge

Pairing: Victoria Neuman x fem!supe!reader (feline shifter)

Words: 3k+

A/N - self ingulgent little cat girl fic with my favourite supe written entirely for myself :)

WARNINGS - swearing, brief mention of murder and homophobia

Victoria Neuman was the busiest woman you know. if she wasn't spending her days in meetings or on Zoom calls, she was attending interviews or making speeches. she was a very driven woman. had big goals. ones you could hardly even fathom but not from lack of trying. you wanted to be part of her world but at the same time, it was so difficult to comprehend. it's not as simple as black and white. the people she surrounded herself with weren't always the best and for the most part, it's clear she tries to keep you out of it. possibly some misguided attempt to protect you.

it was a rare afternoon that was cleared just for you. nobody else around. no work calls or meetings. just the two of you sharing a quiet moment. laying on the couch with your head in her lap.A delicate hand scratches behind the feline ears that live upon your head. it feels good; and calming.a sluggish but continuous rhythm that was drawing you to drowsiness. She wouldn't mind. it wouldn't be the first time nor the last that you fell asleep on her.

"babe,"

"yeah?"

"how would you feel about going out tonight?" the answer was no. it was always going to be no. you were too content with a quiet evening to suddenly have plans thrust upon you.

"Where?" you question anyway and her hand slows.

"Tek knights." a mumbled answer that your ears pick up loud and clear. she couldn't be serious right now. there is absolutely zero reason why she would be going to see Tek Knight for anything but business and she already promised you no business tonight. it was just gonna be the two of you.

"Are you... serious?"

"some fancy party."

"no," replied snappily. "dude is creepy."

"When have you ever met tek knight?"

"once actually," you state, moving yourself up to look at her. "and he was fucking weird- asked inappropriate questions about my tail." you swish your tail, gently grazing it against her cheek.

"Well, you can just avoid him all night," Victoria insists, shoving your tail away. "I'd really like you to come."

"no thank you, can you go back to scratching behind my ears now." you lay back down.

"no,"

a heavy sigh. "Victoria," whined softly, as you nuzzled into her lap. you're tempted to gently bite her thigh but you don't. that would not help your case right now. "please?"

"if you agree to come I'll give you all the ear scratches you want."

"that's not fair."

"I need a buffer for when I can't take it anymore and that's you," she gives your side a firm pat. "I got you something pretty to wear."

"how pretty," mumbled against her legs.

"very," that meant expensive. you groan, stretching your arms and legs before sitting up. she raises a curious brow that makes you roll your eyes. She wasn't going to let this go.

"fine but you owe me," she places her hand on your head, ruffling your hair, making sure to get behind the ears. you naturally lean into her touch. this was gonna be a very long night.

Tek Knight lives in a mansion. like an actual massive mansion that's old and creepy but also kind of cool. gothic in nature and not an ounce of homeliness to its name. Victoria annoyingly leaves you alone pretty quickly and you're forced to find your own source of amusement. music plays as background noise and there really isn't anything to do here other than touch ornaments or talk with Republicans. She didn't tell you this was gonna be a party filled with right-wing nuts but here you are anyway. conversing with old white men about reproductive rights and how gay people are fine but need to stop shoving their lifestyle down Americans' throats. you observe the party from the corner of the room. helping yourself to the hors d'oeuvres as trays rush by. It's always a wonder why they don't just have actual food at these events or at least something a little less fancy. something actually tasty.

"you're Neuman's girl, right?" it's not inherently wrong so you allow the nickname especially when you realise who it comes from. she has never tried to hide your relationship but she hardly advertised it either. can't scare off the voters or whatever. you don't mind. you're not exactly in a rush to be hounded by the general public. Homelander stands beside you; strong and tall in his red, white and blue super suit. You've never been next to such a powerful supe before excluding Neuman. he was intimidating in real life.

"homelander," you declare obviously. you're not sure what else to say here. Victoria speaks about him a lot. he's also in the news all the time. you very recently watched him on TV. "I saw your trial," blurted out before you thought of the consequences. he probably didn't like to talk about him murdering a man.

"so you saw that I was found innocent,"

you nod a little. he'd been found not guilty despite the overwhelming evidence which was kind of insane but also expected. "Vicky says you should have been locked up," you agreed.

"and what do you think?" he turns his whole body towards you and you do the same. such intense eyes it's almost like he's looking right through you. you may be a supe but you were hardly on his level. Victoria says he's kinda unstable these days and anything can set him off so you try to think of something safe to say.

"I think... your eyes are really fucking blue- no wonder fascists love you," he smiles. you don't know if it's amusement or menacing but surely he understands you're joking. and if not, he likely won't attack at this fancy little party.

"calm down, I'm not going to hurt you."

"What makes you think I'm worried." he wasn't a mind reader that you knew for sure.

"your heartbeat," he replies. "but mostly the ears," the blonde points to the cat ears on the top of your head. "anyone else would call it cute," and with that, he walks away. he was a... confusing man. even from that short interaction, you can tell he can be elusive. alone once more you decide to go in search of a drink but it isn't long before Victoria is at your side.

"hi baby," you're happy to see her. you hope it means you can go home soon.

"hey,"

"What did he want?"

"Who? homelander?" why did she care? "just chatting about his trial and how cute I am."

"how cute you are?" she repeats back slowly.

"Hmm it's no surprise- everyone is obsessed with me so."

"you are adorable,"

a very bright exaggerated smile, showing your canines before your face immediately falls. "can we go yet?"

"you promised you'd hold out a couple of hours," and it was starting to feel like a lifetime.

"and I have," you groan dramatically.

"It's barely been an hour,"

"y'know, I literally got told women have too many rights," you reply. "too. many. rights- what does that even mean?"

Victoria sighs softly. "I know they can be... opinionated but just suck it up for me okay? it'll be over before you know it,"

"I wanna go now,"

"I know," she runs a gentle hand along your back. "but this is important."

"why is it so important?"

"I- I can't tell you that right now," Victoria replies. She never told you anything. it was always just important calls or important meetings or important parties. it made you want to roll your eyes. "just please behave for me," you put on a pout. "and I'll take you to the nice restaurant with the fancy cakes you love,"

"Really?" said cautiously. when in doubt she'll bribe you. not because she doubts you'll do it for free but rather as an insurance policy. better safe than sorry.

"Always so easy," she chuckles. "you gotta work on keeping your ears in check. perked right up when I said that,"

you frown a little, reaching up to cover your ears with your hands. "stupid ears."

"It's cute," she hums softly, a kiss placed against your temple.

"I hate you," said sharply.

"Just... mingle or something." Victoria pats your shoulder before leaving you alone again. you follow her with your eyes as she walks up to some old man. you decide to go for a walk and find that drink you were after.

"you arrived with Neuman," stated matter of factly. sister sage walks up from behind you. you cover your mouth as you finish the little pastry you stole off a tray.

"Sister Sage," mumbled through a mouthful before you swallowed. "newest member of the seven- I heard you're like the smartest woman ever."

"smartest person," she corrected.

"smartest person," you repeat. "what's someone so smart doing in a place like this?"

"we're surrounded by some of the most powerful people in the United States of America right now," Sage explains. you know on some level that should mean something to you but you hardly feel excited or proud. quite the opposite. you were in a room with some of the worst people in the United States of America. Almost all of them are against the very things you are.

"but not the nicest," you grab a champagne flute as it passes by, taking a long-needed sip of bubbly liquid.

"nice only gets you so far," she continues. "you're probably the nicest person here but also the least important."

wow. okay. rude. "I wouldn't call myself the least important."

"I would," she replies. "even the waiters are of more value right now. you're just Neuman's basically pet, cute but useless."

you're not sure what to say to that. is that why Victoria never shared anything with you? didn't think you were important? just a pet to be paraded about like some cute little mascot in her parade for power? "I'm not her pet."

"how do your ears and tail work? they're biological right?" the question catches you a little off guard. such a change.

"uhhhh shouldn't the smartest person alive be able to figure that out?"

"you're a shifter but only into a feline," her eyes trail over you like this was some sort of interview or examination. "do you keep the ears for aesthetic purposes? surely, you can get rid of the cat ears and tail."

"you'd think," you shrug. "but no, I'm cursed to be every nerdy incels wet fantasy." the cat ears and tail were considered cute by many, disgusting by others and a fetish by too many. for a long time, vought used you in a lot of advertisements and commercials until you quit. you still occasionally do some ads and stuff for extra cash. Not often do people see a real-life cat girl. a hand snakes across your back and you instinctively jerk away before realising it's Victoria. "hey,"

"Can we talk?" she wears the fakest smile ever.

"hmm," sage hums. you quirk your brow.

"What?"

"Nothing," she insists. "you have the exact dynamic I would expect. don't mind me." you'd ask what she meant but she is already walking away and Victoria is leading you in the opposite direction.

"what's up?" you wonder.

"I don't want you talking to sister sage."

"why?".

"Can you listen to me for once?"

"for once?" all you do is listen to her. this whole night was for her. "I'm here listening to old men tell me I deserve to go to hell for you. this is worse than that political banquet where that man followed me around the whole night and kept trying to pet me." you huff.

"you don't think I haven't thought about popping my own head every time one of these rich idiots tries to talk to me about reproductive health?" her voice is quiet but stern. she's trying not to cause a scene. "but I put up with it so just suck up. it's important."

"oh really? never would have guessed." you roll your eyes. "I'll just go sit in the corner and stare at the wall since I'm not important enough."

"That's not what I said,"

"no I get it, don't worry," you force a smile and brush past her. "I'll be a good kitty."

it's a quiet ride home. silent even. staring out the window as bright lights zoom past. you can hear Victoria chatting on the phone. much too busy to take note of your angry brow or vacant stare. you're angry at her. Sage's words weren't helping either. playing over and over in your mind. cute but useless. you couldn't necessarily disagree. Even Vought just wanted you because of how you looked. sure you had enhanced strength and senses but that was only compared to humans. there were plenty of much stronger supes. there were even more useful shifters. you just became a cat. agile. sneaky. but ultimately just a common house pet.

"Are you gonna pout all night?" Victoria eventually asks as you pull up outside her home. it pissed you off more.

"I'm sorry, I thought I wasn't allowed to speak." replies sharply as you exit the vehicle; a quick slam of the door. you hear her get out the other side and follow behind.

"I didn't say you couldn't speak,"

"semantics," you huff back. maybe she didn't say you couldn't talk but she did try to control every conversation. who you could and couldn't speak to. always checking in to make sure you weren't saying the wrong thing. "I don't feel like talking."

"We need to."

you just ignore her. That was much better than an argument right now. all you wanted was a hot shower and to go to bed. As soon as you get inside, you march upstairs. She doesn't follow, instead heading towards the kitchen.

the hot water was a welcomed distraction from your otherwise terrible evening. it was supposed to just be about you too and she just couldn't help but make it all about herself. propping herself up to important people. sneaking off for private meetings that you weren't allowed to attend. you go to bed alone. she was probably downstairs working like always. you don't know how long it is before she joins you.

"you have to talk to me eventually," Victoria hums. "can't sulk in your other form forever."

whenever you fought you liked to shift. being a cat was simpler. nobody had any expectations for cats. it was like the perfect excuse to not have difficult conversations. She couldn't understand you after all but you could understand her. loud and clear. "just tell me what's wrong."

you stretch out. fluffy kitty paws morph into human hands and legs sprawled out in the darkness. you sigh softly following on to your back. Victoria is sitting on the edge, looking down at you. "I'm not your pet," growled quietly.

"I never said you were,"

"that's all anyone sees me as," you reply. "Neuman's girl. neuman's pet. cute but useless/ that's what sage said."

"that is why I didn't want you talking to her," she replies.

"but she's right," you express. "you don't treat me like we're equals. you hide stuff from me. tell me it's too important and I won't understand. I'm not a fucking child or your silly little house cat, Victoria."

"Baby," a gentle hand moves to your arm but you shake her off. Moving onto your side and away from her.

"don't."

"Okay," she retracts her hands slowly. there's a moment of silence before she continues. "I don't see you as a child or some silly cat."

"Sure you do,"

"I don't," she insists. "I'm a politician there are some things I just can't share with you-"

"but you don't tell me anything," you interrupt

"but I admit I could share with you more," she proceeds with. "I just... I try to keep you out of all that bullshit. not because I think you're stupid or useless but because it's just easier. I don't want them tearing you down to get to me,"

"But I'm willing to take it,"

"you shouldn't have to. I don't want that for you- for us." she urges. "Sage can say whatever she wants but I don't believe those things about you. You're smart, beautiful and adorable sure but you're not useless. I'm so lucky to have someone as caring and wonderful as you."

"gross," said playfully after a moment. a small smile tugs at your lips though. "Victoria?"

"mhmm?"

"I'm sorry for acting like a spoilt brat tonight,"

"I'm sorry I made you spend an evening with all those awful people," you chuckle lightly as you roll over to look at her. they really were awful people. and maybe you weren't one of the most important people in America but you were a good person. a nice person. and that was much more interesting.

"World's worst and most boring party," you voice. "how did your private meeting go?"

she hesitates. probably a debate on whether to tell you or not. "...pretty well I think."

"Vice President Neuman has a nice ring to it," you tease. smiling up at her in the darkness. a strip of moonlight crosses her face. twinkling in her pretty eyes. it was a wild thought. one day soon you could be dating the vice president of America.

"how do you feel knowing you'll be the second lady?"

"oooh so official. so important."

"you're already so important,"

"to you maybe." you huff.

"does anyone else matter?"

"you of all people saying that is crazy," you semi-tease. it was kinda true. she cared a lot about her image. about how the world saw her. "let's just go to sleep."

Victoria doesn't answer but she does lie down, shuffling up behind you. there's a slight hesitation like she's not sure if you've truly forgiven her. you move closer to her, resting your head against her chest. listening to the way her heart thumped in her chest "night."

"good night," you hum softly as you let your eyes flutter closed. "I'm gonna get so many fancy cakes tomorrow."

[m-ayo-o]

what abt ichigo + bunny reader for the emoji event?? loveddd ur kisuke one!

ty kisuke is a fave 😌 -evidently since i couldn't keep him out of this... emoji event : 🐇🧡 bunny!reader x 21+ ichigo 18+ needy f!reader, sending nudes! thigh riding, fingering, sex- he feels bad for leaving his grl :( wc .7k

You watched your man leave three days ago now. You just can't stand the heat between your legs any longer. Driven by your crazed, horny desires, you get dolled up in some pretty clothes- the shortest skirt you can find, a skimpy top, with no underwear. And, although you know your man is working hard, on some serious mission... protecting the soul society or whatever he's doing up there... you stand in front of the mirror and take the sluttiest photos you can muster.

You slowly start stripping off pieces of clothing, feeling turned on by your own seductive actions, until you're bending and spreading that pretty bunny pussy for him to see.

Satisfied with your work, you open up his contact and send away your beautiful images. You know they'll drive him crazy.

He opens his phone carelessly, tapping on your icon and-

"Ah-"

You take his breath away.

"Kurosaki, who- who is that?" Kisuke ogles over his shoulder as they stand together in the R&D lab.

Not for much longer.

"A girl?? With, with bunny ears? W-w-where-" but Ichigo is already turning to leave.

"I, uh," his face is bright red, "I have to go."

He didn't realise you were quite in this state. He tries to stay by your side as much as possible, but this time it just couldn't be helped. He can't help but feel guilty- he knows how much you struggle by yourself.

⋆

And minutes after your messages were read, you have your gorgeous owner back, apologising for leaving you, telling you how much he loves you and that he'll never do it again.

"Please, baby bunny, let me make you feel good," he strokes your floppy ears and takes you to the bed, where he gets you sitting on his lap.

You feel his fiery hot touch over your body, his hands starting to pull and drag your heat over his leg.

"That's it, bunny, please use me," he whispers and kisses you hungrily, loving how you're starting to hump him.

"Want you to get off right here," he watches the way your hips move, leaving that wet slick on his clothing.

"uuh, huh" you hum and moan, getting closer with his hot encouragements.

And once you've got his leg all messy, it's his fingers. They give you that dizzying stretch that you can't manage with your own.

"Baby, I'll make it up to you, I promise," he's desperate to make you feel good, holding you close while he slots his thick fingers in and out of your needy pussy.

Your mouth hangs open with another silent scream, feeling his thumb push on your clit, getting you buzzing again.

Now your perfect body is ready for him, he strips, and you stare at the way his muscles are illuminated in the soft light.

And he pushes you down on the bed, laying you flat on your stomach so he can play with that soft little tail.

"I can't believe I left you feeling like this..." he pushes your legs nice and wide as he mounts you, getting his cock all covered in your cream.

"hnn, Ichi- Ichigo, it, it's ok, please, please, just-"

Before you can even finish he's gliding in.

"Don't worry, baby, 'm back now."

He's so glad, to see your face overwhelmed with that satisfied, fucked out expression already. His heart fills up, watching your toes curl with the first orgasm from his cock. The guilt of leaving you eases with every thrust, until you're gripping at the sheets and begging him to fill you with his cum.

He knows he wants to. You know he eventually will.

"Not yet, baby." But Ichigo doesn't do things by halves, and he has endless stamina.

"After those pictures- bunny, I, I'm gonna need a bit longer, ah, with you tonight, ok?"

"mmmh- yeah, please, Ichi," you hum, loving the sound of that.

"Good, good, because I love you and need to treat you better," he hums and moans, bending over your body to press kisses to your temple while he fucks you softer.

And your body sinks into the mattress, letting yourself relax and enjoy the overwhelming pleasure of him.

i love him, he's so intense and cute :c

bleach | m.list

[jetblack4realz]

lake days vi - jake "hangman" seresin x reader

summary - jake and rooster have always had it out for each other, except now they have even more reason to

pt i , pt ii , pt iii , pt iv , pt v

warnings - as per usual nah but anticipate some tension haha

word count - 5.2k

______________________________________________________________

you were sad to leave your family, of course, but as you sat in the back of an uber you really missed your truck. jake had driven his own back to california and while you could've driven yours, you'd wanted the last few days before the mission with jake - able to kiss him and hug him and tease him all you wanted.

you started to regret that decision.

the driver was an older woman with a love for chewing her gum extremely loud and a strict rule against the radio. you scrolled your phone awkwardly, all too ready to jump out when she finally pulled up to the hard deck.

"thank you!" you cheered as you jumped from the vehicle, bolting for the front door.

you pulled it open with a wide grin, eyes searching for your favorite sailor gal.

"penny!"

she turned with a smile as you approached the bar. you sat in front of her, the woman pulling out some whiskey for your usual old fashioned.

"how are you, sweetheart?" she asked, mixing your drink up expertly.

"wonderful," you answered, catching the glass when she slid it over to you. "glad to be back in fightertown."

"well, i'm sure glad you're back too," she said with a gentle smile. "amelia's gonna want to see you."

"i wanna see her too! how old is she now?" you asked.

"15," penny said.

"crazy," you drawled. "how in the hell is she 15 years old?"

"i have no clue," she breathed a laugh.

a whoop caught your attention and you looked over at the pool tables to see jake with coyote.

"looks like i ain't the first one here," you remarked.

"nope," penny said.

"i suppose i'll go say hello," you said, hopping off the stool. you shot penny a grin. "i'll be back later."

"sure you will," she nodded, laughing as you shook your head at her and approached the boys.

"yoti!" you called, walking up to the two with a grin and open arms. "how's my favorite backseater?"

"aw, i'm still your favorite?" he asked, accepting your embrace with a chuckle.

"of course you're still my favorite," you told him. you pulled away, leaning back against the table behind you. you looked at jake, a thin, polite smile on your lips. "hangman."

"bronco," he reciprocated, but the grin on his lips was all too different from yours. you bit back your smile as he continued. "you look as good as ever."

"must be refreshing for you," you told him. "all those times you look in the mirror have gotta be awfully disappointing."

coyote laughed loudly. "you two still at it, huh? even after being stationed together for a year?"

"we weren't on missions together, thank the heavens," you grumbled. jake looked amused at your words, stepping towards you slowly.

"nah, but i did get to see her pretty face around base all the time. highlight of my day, sweetheart," he said.

you really wanted to smile, to flirt back, to kiss him right on the mouth because you knew he was being truthful, but you couldn't give up your game so quickly.

"i'm sure it was, bagman," you answered.

suddenly, phoenix entered the room and you were all too happy for the attention to turn to her and the two men she'd brought along.

"phoenix!" you cheered as coyote and jake stared down the men by her sides.

"bronco!" she echoed with a grin, approaching you quickly. you threw your arms around her shoulders, letting one hang off after you pulled away and turned to stand by her side, facing jake and coyote.

"boys, this here's bronco. that's coyote, and there's bagman," she introduced.

"hangman," jake corrected.

"whatever," she said with a slight grin and shake of her head. "this is fanboy and payback."

you tuned out as they all continued to talk, instead turning your attention to a khaki-clad man sitting next to you, munching on something. when had he gotten here?

"who's this?" phoenix seemed to be on the same page as you, glancing at the man.

"don't know," coyote hummed, looking to the man. "when did you get in?"

"oh, i've been here the whole time," he said with a sheepish smile, looking a bit surprised he'd been addressed at all.

"my man's a stealth pilot," jake said.

"literally," you agreed.

"a weapons systems officer, actually," the guy corrected.

"who can't take a joke," jake breathed out, rolling his eyes slightly as he stood from his place at the pool table. phoenix stepped towards the unknown man, you sliding your arm off of her to let jake slip in between you, a wink shot in your direction.

"what do they call you?" she asked.

"bob," he answered.

"no, your callsign," you said.

he hesitated, his adam's apple bobbing as he gulped slightly. "bob."

the bell rang, a gentleman in front of penny having been caught with his phone on the counter. she smiled mischievously at him as jake whooped and quickly made his way to collect beers for the lot of you - on the old timer's tab of course.

the doorbell jingled behind you, catching your attention as phoenix made the sudden connection that he was her backseater. you turned to see bradley bradshaw enter with the same swagger he'd had since flight school. with aviators on his nose and a hawaiian shirt on his shoulders, he didn't look a blink different from how you remembered.

apparently you didn't either.

he beelined for you as coyote joined your side, eying the man carefully.

"bradley bradshaw," you hummed, a smile rising to your lips. out of the corner of your eye, you could see jake making his way back towards you after setting a new song on the jukebox - his favorite, his pace quickening at the sight of rooster. "you finally make your way back to fightertown."

"and so do you," he said, a soft smile on his lips as he looked you up and down. he held a hand out, the two of you slapping your hands together and then pushing off with a simple snap of your fingers - a little shake you'd come up with at the academy. "good to see you y/n."

"you too," you answered. jake was on the scene in a flash, walking to your side.

"rooster bradshaw," he said. "as i live and breathe."

he strolled passed you, coming to bob's side and stealing the pool cue from him. he lined up his shot as bradley took his place next to you, arms crossing over his chest.

"hangman," bradley said. "you look good."

"i am good," jake agreed, shooting his shot and landing the yellow ball into the corner pocket. he stood up, a grin on his lips as he looked at his fellow aviator. "i'm very good, rooster."

"i'm not sticking around for y'all to flirt some more," you told them with a wave of your hands. "i need a drink."

just as jake went to offer you one he'd grabbed, rooster squeezed your shoulders.

"i got something better for ya."

he made his way to the jukebox jake had just set and unplugged it. patrons groaned in annoyance, but rooster ignored then, instead sliding onto the seat of the piano and beginning the first chord of the song everyone knew him for.

phoenix called the guys to follow her to join his side, leaving you with jake and coyote.

"here he goes," you hummed.

"always the show off," jake said.

"he's called rooster for a reason," coyote told him.

the sound of the bell ringing caught your attention next, penny smiling at the leather-jacket-clad man in front of her who's card had evidently declined when he attempted to pay.

hangman and coyote approached him quickly, payback following behind them to scoop him up under his arms and carry him to the door.

"thanks for the drinks, pop!" he yelled as they tossed him into the sand. you laughed from where you were at, phoenix glancing back you. she furrowed her brows, nodding her head to beckon you towards her.

you arrived at her side just as rooster began singing, a laugh erupting from your lips as he went all out as per usual. he glanced up at you with a wide grin as he continued, his fingers dancing over the keys in effortless memory. you rested a hand on his shoulder, beginning to sing the song you'd grown to love along with him. it all reminded you of old times in school and you sorta loved it.

rooster was smiling up at you as he sang, glancing down at the keys occasionally but always returning to you, shooting you a wink at certain parts of the song and earning a laugh from you.

jake was watching you with a grimace, not loving the way rooster was looking at you one bit.

"you good, hangman?" coyote asked.

"fine."

when you all agreed it was time to head out, you weren't surprised to find jake by your side.

"i could take you back, bronco," he offered with a sly grin.

"that's alright, hangman, i'm taking her," rooster said, eying the man down.

"no, really. it's no problem," jake said, looking at you intently. "i'll buy you french fries and ice cream."

"sorry roo, i'm going with bagman," you announced, clapping the man on the shoulder with a laugh. "i'll see you guys later!"

"goodnight!" rooster called, looking a bit perplexed for a moment.

"be good!" coyote yelled with a laugh.

phoenix didn't look all too surprised as she bid you a farewell and waved you off. standing next to her, bradley's perplexity had morphed into a bit of frustration.

"who would say no to french fries and ice cream?" natasha asked him, grinning.

"or hangman?" coyote teased, laughing when phoenix whacked him in the shoulder.

"it's not like that. they're barely even friends," she told him.

"yeah, sure. you see the way he looks at her?" rooster asked, eyes still on the two aviators as you strolled away.

"the same way he looks at every pretty girl," phoenix said. "he's a manwhore who's desperate for attention, same as always."

"and she isn't falling for it," coyote added, looking at rooster with his brows pulled inward. "no need to worry, man."

"i just don't want her getting hurt," he said. "she's been my best friend since flight school."

"yeah, well she's my best friend too. and i know she won't. she's smart," phoenix hummed. she patted bradley's bronco, pulling the handle to open the passenger door. "now come on, i wanna go home before training tomorrow."

jake and you were nearly back to his apartment when he finally said something. you were sat next to him, hand in his as you dipped your french fries in your mcdonald's soft serve, extremely content with how the night had gone.

"i don't like how bradshaw was looking at you."

you eyes flashed to his, brows furrowed. "what do you mean? it's just bradley."

"and i don't like that you call him that. it's too personal," he huffed.

"what are you talking about? i've known him since i was 18, of course i'm gonna call him by his name. he didn't even have a callsign when we met," you explained.

"look, i get it. i do. i just - i don't like how he was looking at you and how he got more attention than me. and i get it, we're doing this thing, playing this game, but i don't want bradshaw thinkin' he's got a chance with you when he doesn't."

if there was one thing you appreciated about jake, it was his honesty. and frankly, he was damn good at articulating exactly what and why he felt things. it always made you wish you were better at doing that yourself.

"you're right, he doesn't. i'll make sure he knows," you told him, squeezing his hand with a soft smile before returning to your ice cream cone. "and frankly, this mission will be over and done before he even has a shot to shoot."

"you sure?" he asked, glancing at you as he pulled into the parking lot.

"completely sure," you affirmed, smiling at him again.

"alright then. come on, i'm dead tired," he said, hopping out of the truck and coming to your side, helping you out before you both entered the house.

the next several weeks were filled with tricky situations where you both struggled to maintain your false identities. between getting paired up to dogfight maverick (the man he and coyote had thrown out of the hard deck a few nights before), you getting paired with rooster, and a particularly inspiring game of dogfight football, you feared that some of your teammates were onto you.

"why are you looking at him like that?"

your eyes snapped to phoenix, brows up in surprise. "who?"

"hangman," she told you, nodding towards where he was wrestling around with coyote on the shore. "why are you watching him?"

"i'm not," you told her.

but, you knew you were wrong and you knew you'd been caught. but, how could you help it? he was out there in the sun, water glistening on his abs as he ran around, his perfectly tanned skin just screaming for you to touch it and you couldn't. and you couldn't kiss him or talk to him even semi-normally either. so instead, you watched him. a lot.

"sure you're not," she said, nodding with a grin on her lips.

"i'm not watching him!" you objected.

"yes you are!" she laughed. "don't deny it."

"why are you watching rooster?" you asked in response.

"i'm not, and i'm not lying about it," she replied with a smug smile. she glanced at the mustached man in question before returning her gaze to you. "though, i'm pretty sure his eyes haven't left you this whole time."

"that's bull."

"it's not."

"sure is."

"he likes you, i think," she told you, leaning back onto the beach towel you were sharing with a smirk. "how do you feel about that?"

you turned your eyes to where he was hanging around with bob and payback, football in hand before he chucked it to fanboy. you then looked at jake who'd just managed to knock javi into the water. he laughed loudly, running a hand through his wet, messy hair.

you sighed. "not great at all."

"hey bronco!" your attention snapped to your fiance, a slow smile making its way onto your lips. he grinned at you. "come play!"

"i'm good right here, thank you!" you called back. phoenix gave you an unimpressed look.

"you know he's not taking no for an answer right?" she asked. you watched as jake approached you quickly, praying that he wouldn't do what you knew him to.

"well, what's he gonna do, come and- shit!"

you were thrown over his shoulder in a quick pull, the man quickly making his way to the shore and chucking you into the ocean. you stood as quick as you could, the chill of the water seeping into your skin as you gasped for breath.

you looked at him with wide eyes. "i'm gonna kill you, seresin!"

he only grinned at you, tilting his head to the side. "game on, l/n."

just as you went to splash him, he was tackled into the sea. you laughed loudly when none other than bradley bradshaw rose from the water, a grin on his lips and water dripping from him hair. when jake sat up, rooster only pushed his head back under, grinning at you.

"problem solved," he told you as jake stood, a glare in his eyes.

"thanks brad," you laughed.

"of course sweetheart," he said, grinning at you widely. "do you wanna-?"

your eyes widened as another laugh left your lips. "watch out-!"

he was tackled back into the water and suddenly there was an all-out brawl. coyote exchanged a grin with fanboy and payback and they quickly jumped into it, water and limbs flying all over the place. with a chuckle, bob offered you a hand and carefully guided you away from the mess of it all.

"thanks bob," you said with a giggle as you watched him get dragged in by jake, the man shooting you a wink as you walked backwards towards phoenix. you rolled your eyes, still smiling when you collapsed next to her again.

she didn't seem impressed, eyebrows raised and lips pursed as she attempted to not smile. "really?"

"what can i say?" you breathed out, grabbing your beer bottle next to you to take a swig. "i can't control it."

you were put in the air with rooster three separate times, two of which were solo where coyote wasn't instructing you from behind.

all of them ended in disaster.

"we gotta get him, bronco!" he said over comms and you could almost feel his eyes on you as you soared through the air, frantically looking for your teacher on the navigation system in front of you. you spotted him.

"watch my back, alright?"

"what?"

"follow him!"

you dropped low, completely out of rooster's vision. you managed to get behind maverick, following him closely as he began pulling his usual moves to evade your attempts. he dipped right and you followed. left and you were on his tail.

"cut him off!" you yelled to rooster.

"i can't, he's going too fast!"

"go faster!"

you were jetting through the air faster than you were used to dogfighting and without rooster moving to intercept, you didn't know if you could get an adequate lock.

"rooster, i need you!"

mav pulled up and you lost sight, dipping down and flipping around to search for him again. but he was behind you.

"breaking left!"

you grunted as you broke left, then straight up, hoping the sun would throw him off.

"rooster, do something!"

"i'm gonna try to come up behind him!"

you pulled a move you'd never tried - mostly because it was risky. insanely risky. especially during a hands-on dogfight training.

the cobra.

you floated backwards, mav zipping under you in surprise. you dropped lower, your weapons system beeping as you tried to lock on him.

"rooster, where the hell are you?!"

"i'm comin'."

maverick broke right and you followed, hoping desperately that rooster was flying around somewhere trying to get a lock on him so you could go get a drink of water.

you shrieked when maverick turned sharply and dropped, nearly skimming your wing before he ended up behind you.

"breaking right!" you cried, but everyone heard the steep beeping that caused you to slow down your efforts.

"that's tone," maverick said.

he left you to find rooster and the two messed around for a while, rooster getting increasingly frustrated until maverick finally killed him.

when you returned to base, you were livid.

you climbed out of your jet, ripping off your helmet with a grunt as you made your way down the tarmac and back to the break room where everyone was listening to the battles. harvard, yale, and halo were up next, but you didn't give two shits to know how they did. you wanted redemption.

"i want up!" you yelled, marching towards where maverick had begun sipping on a bottle of water.

"bronco!"

your steps hastened in pace, your eyes on your instructor as he watched you curiously.

"give me phoenix or hangman, i want back up!"

"bronco!"

a hand on your shoulder had you spinning around, something bradley was surprised to see you were all too prepared for. he shrunk at the glare in your eyes and flinched when your fist connected with his arm.

"what the fuck was that?" you cried. "where the hell were you?"

"look, bronco, i'm sorry-"

"no, rooster! you're not. if you were sorry you would've covered my back and we wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place. what got into you?!" your volume hadn't dropped and his eyes were still wide.

"i don't know. i just... he got into my head and-"

"don't blame this on maverick because you know damn well it wasn't his fault what happened out there," you said with a scowl. "we're trained to stay out of our heads. the enemy tries to throw us off, live missions, live bogies, they all try to throw us off! this isn't on mav, this is on you, bradshaw."

he flinched at the use of his surname.

"you've never done this to me before! what changed in the last few years i've been gone? i don't understand why-"

"look, y/n i'm sorry. it won't happen again-"

"you're damn right it won't," you said. your brows came unknitted and your breathing slowed, the tension in your shoulders releasing as you peered up at your wingman, a breathy, sarcastic laugh slipping passed your lips. "one hell of a wingman you are, rooster. you gave me no support up there. none!"

you brushed passed him, but he caught your wrist.

"i'm sorry," he tried again, sounding sincere in his words but you didn't have the mind to care.

"this is the third time, rooster. the third!" you pulled away from him with a frown. "imagine if we were in the air for real. you can't do this. you can't leave me hanging."

as you stepped away more, you raised your brows at him.

"and they call jake 'hangman'?"

you stalked off without another word, heading straight for the locker rooms.

jake caught your arm on your way in, glancing around quickly to see if anyone was around. "darlin'? what's wrong?"

"bad run," you breathed out, a glare still etched in your brows and eyes.

"with bradshaw?" he seemed genuinely shocked, which was exactly how you felt the first two times. now you were just pissed.

"yep," you said, popping the 'p'. "now if you'll excuse me, i need a shower."

"if you wait 'til we're home, i'd be happy to join ya," he teased, leaning closer to you.

"no thanks, seresin," you said. "i'll see you later."

"hey," he said, pulling you back so you faced him again. he looked at you intently, a small smile on his lips. "i love you."

you sighed, letting a tiny smile of your own through. "i love you too. i'll see you later."

out of the corner of your eye, you noticed that coyote had entered the hangar, and it seemed jake noticed too. after shooting him a quick, apologetic look, you pulled your arm from his grasp.

"just go away, hangman!"

and with that, you left to finally cool off and take a break.

when you were put up with jake the next day, you were extremely relieved. on your way out of the hangar, you high-fived him with a laugh, not looking to where bradley was watching you closely.

"watch and learn, bradshaw," jake taunted, smirking at the man before jogging up next to you and throwing an arm around your shoulders, to which you shrugged him off.

rooster wasn't pleased and phoenix could tell.

"what's your deal?" she asked, coming up next to him with her arms crossed over her chest. she followed his train of vision and smirked when she spotted you and jake. "ah, upset that she got paired up with bagman instead of you? just watch, it'll end up the same way every training ends with him - in disaster."

"i hope so," rooster breathed.

except it didn't.

when you landed back on the ground, the whole dagger squad saw exactly why you and him had been placed on so many missions together.

you'd flown perfectly, complimenting each other's flying style and managing to pin maverick to the hard deck. with jake trying to catch him from behind, your teacher had completely no time to process your strike coming in from the side and had lost for the first time since you'd arrived back at top gun.

"ladies and gentleman, that's how it's done," jake said over the comms, very much knowing that the rest of your squad was listening in on your conversation.

"fuck yeah!" coyote cheered as you let out a whoop.

"headin' home, prep the casket," jake said and you laughed.

"alright, alright," maverick said, but you could hear the slight smile in his voice. "good job. head back to base."

rooster felt like shit. how had he not been able to fly like that with you?

you laughed as you fistbumped jake and javi, walking back to where the rest of the crew was waiting for you.

"that was some flying, guys," payback told the lot of you, fanboy high-fiving coyote next to you.

"thanks," you said with a smile.

"how'd you do it?" bob asked.

your eyes flashed to rooster momentarily. "we had each others' backs."

you walked off then, calling something over your shoulder about needing some food as you did so.

"it was all me," jake said, purposefully loud so you'd hear. he watched you as you flipped him off above your head. "it was!"

"was not, douche-tard!"

"and we're back," phoenix breathed with a slight laugh. "good flying though. seriously."

"well thank you, phoenix," jake said with a slight bow. "i do my best."

phoenix was an inquisitive lady, you discovered when she approached you after training that day.

"why does he only work with you?"

"what?" you asked, pulling your shirt over your head and furrowing your brows.

"hangman leaves everyone hanging - everyone but you," she pointed out. "why is that?"

"we work well together," you shrugged. "the only time i can stand him is when we're in the air. surprisingly enough, he's been the best wingman i've had over the past three deployments."

"he's never left you?"

"just once. i chewed him out for it after, made him swear he'd never do it again. i guess he gained some respect for me or something because he didn't." you shut your locker, throwing your bag over your shoulder with a thin smile and a shrug. "i dunno, nat."

"well, you can keep him. i much prefer rooster," she told you, following you as you headed out of the woman's locker room.

"you can keep him," you answered with a short laugh. "he's too slow for me."

"aw, you don't mean that, do you y/n?" phoenix laughed. "aren't you guys supposed to be best friends?"

"sure," you shrugged. "he still says we are?"

"yep," she answered. she looked at you quizzically. "do you not think so?"

"haven't seen him in years," you told her truthfully. "if i'm being completely honest, i think i'm closer to hangman than i am to rooster." her wide eyes and furrowed brows made you stumble, backtracking quickly. "not that i like him any better. he's still a douchebag." she didn't look convinced. "and rooster is... well, he's rooster."

"is that a good thing?" she laughed.

"i think so," you nodded. "he's a good guy."

"so, him liking you-" you shot her a look. "potentially liking you... you wouldn't mind?"

"he's a great guy, nix. he's just... not for me," you relented.

"oh, what and hangman is?" she asked with raised brows.

"no! he's a jerk to me. i'm not lookin' for a guy right now, okay? okay." you were done with this conversation, and luckily too, for both of the men you were just discussing rounded the corner, a heated conversation on their tongues.

their faces fell when they spotted you, phoenix smirking.

"hello boys," she mused.

"hey phoenix," rooster said. "bronco."

"rooster," you nodded. "hangman. what are you fellas up to?"

"nothing," rooster replied quickly. he looked like he was about to continue, but jake decided this was where he needed to butt in.

"currently we're just admiring your beauty, bronco," he said with a smirk. "i like the casual look a lot better than your uniform. your jeans fit you well."

he didn't shy away from looking you up and down, his smirk turning hungry as he eyed you. you wanted to smile and kiss him and go home and make some dinner, but you had this stupid appearance to keep up. so instead, you rolled your eyes.

"you're a prude, seresin," you told him. you grabbed phoenix's wrist, beginning to slip passed the men. "see you tomorrow gentlemen."

whenever you arrived at home, sometimes nearly an hour after jake did and only on days where you could explain away to phoenix why you weren't in your own apartment, jake was there waiting for you.

with a grin on his lips and his arms opened wide, he would hug you so tight you could barely breathe and then kiss you until all your remaining breath was gone.

"jake," you laughed, trying to pull away, but he continued, holding your face in his hands to keep you close to him. "jake!"

you pulled away enough for you to stumble backwards into the kitchen, turning around to search the fridge for something to throw together for tonight's dinner.

he was behind you in a second, arms wrapped around your middle and chin on your shoulder.

"i think i've got some rotinni, we could do mostaccioli," you said.

"that sounds good," he mumbled into your hair.

"then i'll get started on it-"

a knock at the door had you both standing straight. jake looked at the door with furrowed brows, hands still ghosting on your hips. the knock repeated itself and you quickly broke apart.

"shit," he muttered and you quickly fled into the bedroom. once the door was closed and you were sat on the bed, you heard jake open the door.

you couldn't hear exactly what he was saying or who he was talking to, but the more you tuned your ear, the more you wondered if it was coyote. you assumed it was by the relaxed way that jake was speaking.

you waited patiently for him to resolve the conversation and return to you.

soon enough he did, opening the door and collapsing on top of you with a sigh. you ran a hand through his hair, kissing the side of his head.

"who was it?" you asked.

"rooster."

"rooster?"

"yeah, the shit's been turning up everywhere."

"why?"

"he was askin' about you," he told you. you furrowed your brows.

"what about me?"

"if anything had happened on our deployments. that you seemed different."

"and he thought 7 o'clock on a thursday night was the proper time for this conversation?"

"i think he's still pissed about how y'all flew together. seems more mad at himself than anything. can't say i wasn't thrilled to be able to shut him up today though."

"well, what'd you tell him?"

"that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. time changes people as much as he wants to think everything is supposed to revolve around him and everyone's supposed to be how he wants them to."

"you can't say that jake, that's mean."

"i didn't," he sighed, burrowing his head into your shoulder and pressing a kiss to the soft skin there. "i just said that time goes on, people change. and that it's none of his business."

you let out a tired, but slightly amused breath. "there's the jake i know."

[kyokutsu-sama]

Happy birthday Nemi!

Sanemi x reader| fluff birthday fic

A/n- Since today is my husband's birthday, I wrote something cute for him❤️🎂

Happy birthday Sanemi Shinazugawa. I love you🤍🖤

Tw: little suggestive at the end

🔸️✨️🔸️✨️🔸️✨️🔸️✨️🔸️✨️🔸️✨️🔸️✨️🔸️

Today would be Sanemi's birthday. He personally didn't want to have a big party, but you couldn't let that date go by unnoticed. whether he liked it or not. So you made him an offer to go out with him and have dinner somewhere. Just the two of you. He rolled his eyes but ended up accepting. Besides, he wouldn't turn down an invitation from you because he loved you.

"You're really stubborn, huh?"He said after sitting at the table with you

"I learned from you! You winked, giving him a playful smile." Baby, come on, today is your birthday. Do you really think I would forget that day? Master Ubuyashiki even made a point of giving you a day off. You should take advantage of it since it's not every day that you have a free night, you spend a lot of nights at work and during the day you just train and don't do much about it. Just try to relax for now, okay?" You grabbed his hand and squeezed it lightly and he sighed heavily

You were right and he couldn't hide it. His job wasn't like other people's. He couldn't take vacations whenever he wanted or days off, he couldn't pretend that everything was fine. It was serious and dangerous, you could lose your life for a second of distraction. He was quite competent but he also had to let go of that posture from time to time to avoid going crazy even more.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's just relax then." He said

And so it was, you ordered a lot of food and drinks. You knew that Sanemi wasn't much of a drinker, but seeing him drink made you challenge him. Besides, the night was just beginning and you still wanted him to have a little more fun.

"Hey Nemi?" You called while he was arranging the bowls

"What?"

"Do you think you can drink a little more or have you already reached your limit with only two glasses?" You smiled, teasingly

He stopped what he was doing when it starting sounding like a challenge. Sanemi was a man driven by challenge and by taking risks, whenever you challenged or tease him he felt the need to teach you a lesson. It was then that your boyfriend looked up from the empty bowls to meet your eyes, with a smirk. Oh you were crossing the boundaries of this man's patience, playing dangerous games like this one with him.

"Are you trying to tease me, brat?" He narrowed his eyes

"Me? I was just wondering what your limit would be."

"My limit? Girl, you should know by now that your man has no limits."

"Well, in that case, why don't we go to the bar down the street?"

"If you insist, I'm in. And then don't say I didn't warn you, you stubborn idiot." He said, getting up from the table and you followed right behind

You entered the establishment and there were a lot of people there having fun too. You followed him to the counter and then you started choosing what to drink.

You then decided to order a bottle of sake to share between the two of you. You looked at him, still with the challenging smile that was starting to make him uspet. You could tell just by the veins bulging in his neck and also on his face, that meant your provocations were having an effect on him and that was a point for you.

"I'll make sure to wipe that stupid smile off your face when I prove to you that I can handle this bottle and a few more." He said before bringing the glass to his lips and drinking straight away

"We'll see then, sweetheart." You said, drinking after him

Result: You both got drunk, however, you seemed more sober than him since he was the one who supported you all the way home and after he also almost got into a fight because of some idiot who was looking at you too much. For a stubborn man like him who said he wouldn't get drunk, he wasn't sober at all. And it all started after the second bottle. Not after all the others he said he could handle.

"Nemi, why did you have to punch him like that? That man almost die. You'rea beast!" You said as you staggered holding him on the way home

"He was looking at you and you're my girlfriend and I don't like it when other fuckers look at what's mine, do you got it now?" He grumbled, looking at you and you just shook your head

"You're always so jealous, man." You giggled and he frowned

"You don't usually complain about this, what is it now? You don't like it?"

"Forget it. Our house is right there." You pointed out

"Finally!"

You entered the house with him and closed the door, placing your boyfriend on the couch in the living room. He gave a long sigh as his body fell into the comfort of the couch. This man only needed two things at that moment, the comfort of home and a hug from you.

"Stay here for a while, I just need to go to get some--" You were about to finish the sentence but he pulled you onto his lap, making you hold onto his shoulders to balance yourself

"Don't you dare, stay still here for a moment and shut up. I just need your hug for a fucking minute, okay?" He said in a deep, husky voice. You felt a shiver run through you, the drink really did things to him.

"Does drinking leave you wanting cuddles and attention? What a needy boy you are." You smile, arranging the bangs that fell in his face.

"Yes, that does." He said placing his head in the crook of your neck and kissing all over that corner. "And I need you to stay here with me. I love having you in my arms. Just for me." He whispered

"Oh yeah? Alright then, I'll stay here with you until you fall asleep then." Your fingers caressed the white strands of his hair as he hugged you tightly, making sure you weren't going anywhere.

"You were my best gift today, you know?" He confessed, moving his face away from your neck and looking at you and you smiled at you

"Thank you. I just wanted you to have a good day and have fun."

"You really did, brat."

"When are you going to stop calling me that?"

"When you stop acting like one and when you stop being a stubborn ass." He said, slapping your ass and you whimpered, caressing that area

"Babe, don't be mean, you idiot." You pinched his cheek and he gave a little smile.

"You're the idiot here. MY idiot, by the way." He placed his head on your chest and rested it there

You just laughed at him for the way he was acting at that moment, after all it wasn't just you who was a brat, he also seemed to be acting like one but you didn't say anything. Taking the opportunity to point this out later when he was sober.

Oh yeah, because you were going to tell him how needy he seemed when he was drinking. His arms wouldn't let go of you for a minute and his lips wouldn't stop spreading kisses all over you. He wasn't usually so clingy when sober but when he drank a little too much, he would reveal that side of himself and it was cute, very cute considering he was always rough and tough. After all, even the Wind Hashira had a soft side. A soft side that he only showed to you. His pretty girlfriend.

"I love you Nemi." You placed small kisses on the top of his head and then cupped his cheeks with your hands. "Happy birthday, baby!"You kissed his lips and his hands grabbed your waist

"I love you so much too." He confessed kissing you and pulling you for a tight hug."But you know? I think we can still enjoy a few more hours until dawn." He whispered close to your lips, giving a suggestive look that you already knew well

"Well, today is your day, so I will not oppose my love's wishes." You said, winking at him

"Good."

[babiesdreams]

Advent Calendar

Day 10 : Jaemin- Jeno. +18

Content Warning: Very kinky. A lot of degradation and humilliation. Praise kink. Slave-like treatment. Possesive. Threeome. Sub reader.

Your arms start shaking, begging for you to release them from the pain the weights are causing. You're crouching, with your legs open, completely naked and dripping wet. "It hurts" You moan out, seeking compassion, thought all you receive is a slap. "It's called a punishment for a reason darling" Jeno's voice was so deep that it melted you eardrums.

"You better say sorry bitch" Jaemin's voice was more calmed, still demanding, but calm. His finngertips were fixing your hair softly. "I-I'm sorry" You mumble. "What are you sorry about?" Jeno asks lifting your chin with his fingers. "About cumming without permission" Another slap crosses your face. "I told you, you have to call me Sir" You whine softly out of pain, though it feels somewhat rewarding and even exciting.

"I'm sorry Sir, I'm sorry I came without your permission" The weight dissapears when his arms lift the trays of your hands. You don't move an inch, scared that the lack of permission could mean another punishment. "You can rest" He orders and you instantly fall to the ground. There was no way for you to actually know how much time you were in that position, but it was definetely way too long.

As you fall, Jaemin's arms cover you in a sweet hug. Although his actions were always soft and sweet, his words were rough and degrading. It was a perfect balance between humiliation and praise, which had always driven you crazy. "I'm sure you've learnt your lesson, whore" You nod, head against his chest. "Speak" He orders, running his fingertips along your back.

"I've learnt my lesson Si- Master" You instantly regret speaking, your face buries itself deeper on Jaemin's chest. He chuckles. "I'll let it slide, since it's your first time being used by another dom" His voice is sweet and slow, it's followed by tender kisses on your neck. "Just remember you're mine" He whispers on your ear, the hot air sending shivers across your spine.

While you're busy nodding in agreement you feel a firm grip on your wrist, pulling you off the warm hug, right onto the cold floor. Jeno lifts your face by pulling your hair. Your eyes lock on his length, which had grown significantly since the punishment started. "It's okay to be afraid at first" He starts speaking, your eyes travel upwards, until they reach his face, decorated by a growing smirk. "With a new dom, that brings new kinks, and definetely new experiences. And, besides your punishment, you're doing exceptionally great darling"

You feel your cheeks burst with heat which, you are sure, is accompanied by a redish color. "And you must be grateful for my words, since I rarely praise my pets" You smile softly at him. "Thank you Sir" His right hand keeps grabbing your hair while the left one caress your blushed cheek. "Now be a good slut and suck on Sir's cock" He orders, although his hand had already moved your head towards his hardness.

His hand guides your moves up and down his length. Jaemin's caress your hot body, trying to broadcast your mind with mute praises. Jeno's hand get rougher with every thrust, he notices you gag when his tip enters your throat and now everytime that happens, he keeps you holding that position for torturous seconds.

When his length leaves your mouth it feels so suddenly empty that it keeps you wondering where it'd go next. "Since you've been nice tonight" His deep voice starts speaking in the distance. "I'll let you decide how you want to fully satisfy your Master and me" You gulp, there's a sudden feeling of pressure invading your whole body. "No need to panic. Your words will be taken as a mere suggestion" He assures you, combing your hair with his digits.

"I want you both in" He tilts his head. "How?" Your eyes wander, not being able to hold his intimidating look. "Both in my pussy" He nods while his hand restrains your chin, forcing you to look to him. You notice almost instantly Jaemin's fingers entering your hole. It feels definetely slippery, dripping even. There's no real need on preparing your pussy for his length, so it was brief.

When his hardness enters you, your walls hug it, contracting under his every move. You were sat on to of him so your body started to move freely. "Look at you" Jeno spits out, ees locked on yours. "You're so needy that you can't control yourself" You slowed down, ow aware of your actions. "Such a nice whore" The whispered praise sets you off again, hips moving faster.

Jeno slowly sits down on the floor just in front of you. His hand caress your face, then goes down your neck, where he stops to choke you briefly, then down to your breasts. He plays with your nipples ever so slowly. "What a dirty pet" He whispers against your neck. His length pressing over your entrance. When he's fully in you stop, letting your walls adapt to the wider shape.

You can clearly feel both of his dicks throbbing inside of you, touching and provocking each other. "Move pet. Or you'll be punished again" Jeno's advice forces you to slowly move your hips forward, closer to him and then backwards, closer to Jaemin. You pick up the pace pretty fastly, since the pleasure it causes drives your body into an automatic state you were unknown to ever had possesed.

The friction quickly takes his part on setting you off. Your orgasm is waiting to be released, you wouldn't commit the same crime twice on the same night. "Can I cum?" You ask, moaning desperately. Jeno's fingers recollect the sweat bathing your skin. "You may cum slut" He replies, and it's an instant reaction, your body shakes and slowly you calm down, staying still.

"I didn't say you could stop" He says, demanding and your body continues its actions slowly. It is so slow, due to the overstimulation that Jeno loses his patience and pushes you towards Jaemin, both of you lay down on the floor, while he thrsts in and out your pussy. Jaemin clearly suffers from this, since his dick get worked up. He cums shortly after, tho he doesn't pull out. A second wave brushes over your body when you feel the hot cum getting spreadinside of you and dripping down your folds.

Jeno cums almost at the same time as you do, leaving a nice creampie inside of you.

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

Hii, I wanted to inform you all that I'll be testing a new format with the advent calendar fics, so if you leave a comment, I'll reply portraying the characters of the fic. If you want someone specific to answer you write his name, if you don't I'll choose for you. Have a nice day and comment if you want to test this <3

Advent calendar masterlist

Masterlist

[sequinsmile-x]

You and Me, Forevermore

Three consecutive New Years Eve's that Emily and Aaron spend together.

-x-

Hi besties!

This is very soft, sweet, largely pointless and just a way of me saying thank you for all the love and support from you all this year. This fandom may be small, but it's lovely and wonderful and I adore every single one of you. This is my favourite corner of the internet <3

Writing is my favourite thing to do in the world, and anytime anyone tells me a fic of mine has made them smile, or cry or it's simply provided a distraction in this increasingly horrid world we live in, it makes my day.

Thank you for being here, and I'll continue to be here writing about our favourite idiots for years to come.

For the last time in 2024, please let me know what you think <3

-x-

Warnings: some alcohol consumption, largely just them being soft idiots in love

Words: 4.5k

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

Emily had never been a fan of New Year's parties. 

Of all the parties she’d grown up going to do they had been her least favourite. Long nights where she’d been nothing but an ornament her mother put on display so her friends could tell Emily how much she’d grown in a year, how much she looked like her mother as they asked questions they didn’t care about the answer to just to pass the time. 

She loved the holidays, she always had, but New Year's itself had always felt like an anticlimax. All the promises of being a better person, of making better choices, were gone before January was over. It only ever seemed to feed into the artificial life she’d grown up in where no one said what they actually thought, and no one spoke about anything that felt genuinely important. 

This year felt different. 

She smiles as she looks around Dave’s house, at the team scattered amongst his other friends and acquaintances, and she thinks this might be the first New Year’s party she’d truly enjoy. 

“Princess,” Derek says, getting her attention as he approaches her and Penelope, his smile wide and posture relaxed, “Where’s your guy? I thought you two were glued at the hip these days.” 

She rolls her eyes but can’t fight her smile, and she looks over her shoulder and smiles as her eyes catch Aaron’s where he’s standing at the bar, and she gives him a small wave, “He’s getting me a drink.” 

Penelope squeals, like she always did when she encountered Emily and Aaron’s relationship outside of work, and she quickly clears her throat, “Sorry, I’m still not used to how cute you two are.” 

“Please don’t call Hotch cute,” Derek replies, faking a shudder as he sips his beer and winks at Emily, “I can’t picture him that way.” 

If Derek had made that comment even a few months ago, Emily would have felt her shackles rise. Out of everyone, he’d been the one to take the news of her and Aaron’s relationship the hardest. It took him several weeks to get used to the idea, for his snide comments to slowly give way, and it had driven her crazy. She’d talked to him about it more than once, and had come away from that conversation upset each time. She’d had to tell Aaron to not get involved, sure that the two men butting heads would only make matters worse, and she knew it had been hard for him to see her upset by one of her closest friends not accepting a relationship that made her happier than she had ever been. 

She still didn’t know what had truly got through to Derek. If he finally saw that both she and Aaron deserved this after everything they’d been through with Ian and Foyet respectively, if he saw that she was a different person when she came back from Paris and Aaron helped her find herself again, or if he’d taken the time to watch them together when they thought no one was looking. If he’d seen the way they cared for each other and understood each other. 

Or if, what Emily thought was the most likely, Penelope had finally called him out on his bullshit and told him to get himself together. 

“But they are cute,” Penelope says, turning to look at Emily, “Right?”

She chuckles and shrugs, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as she tries to answer in a way she knows won’t embarrass her boyfriend. Because they were cute. Sickeningly in love with each other in a way that would make her turn her nose up if she read about it in a book or saw it in a movie, and the worst part was she loved it. She loved him and knew she always would. 

“Here you go, sweetheart.” 

She smiles and turns as Aaron’s hand skims her lower back and lands on her hip. He hands her a glass of champagne and she kisses him, “Thanks, honey.” 

“Oh god,” Derek says, scrunching his nose up in mock disgust, “I think I preferred it when you were pretending you weren’t in love with each other.” 

“I didn’t,” Penelope quips, her smile wide as she watches them, “I think it’s sweet.” 

Emily feels Aaron tense next to her, any progress that he’d made on relaxing around their friends, with the help of alcohol and her insistence that everything was fine, undone in a matter of seconds. She makes a point of leaning further into him, her arm looping around his waist as she kisses his jaw and then his cheek, smiling against his skin when it’s enough to relax him a little. She pulls back and looks at their friends, her eyebrow raised in a mix of amusement and defiance at the contrasting looks on their faces.

“Derek, it’s New Year's Eve, this is a party,” she holds up her glass of champagne, “This is my…” 

“Fourth,” Aaron offers as she trails off, and she smiles up at him again, the soft smile she gets in return mixed in with the alcohol enough for her to briefly forget the point she was trying to make.

“Right, thanks honey,” she looks back at Derek and Penelope again, “This is my fourth drink. I’m going to get a little drunk and a little handsy with my boyfriend, okay?” She can’t deny that she doesn’t get a kick out of how Aaron briefly tightens his hold on her or how Derek scrunches his nose up, “If you don’t like that, I think thats your problem.” 

“Chill out, princess, I was only joking.” 

She sticks her tongue out at him and smiles, letting him know that she is too, mostly. Then she turns in Aaron’s embrace and smiles at him, cupping his cheek and pulling him in for a kiss. It was almost midnight, almost the start of a year she was looking forward to for once, and she wanted some time alone with the man she loves. 

“Let’s go find the guy with the tray of those mini desserts,” she says, grateful when he immediately nods, his smile soft and loving as he reaches for her hand and links their fingers together. 

He looks at Derek and Penelope, “Happy New Year.” 

“Happy New Year, sir. Hotch.” Penelope replies, her smile sparkling with mischief as she looks at Emily directly “Don’t desecrate Dave’s home office. Again.” 

Emily widens her eyes and ignores Aaron’s gaze burning into her side, “Pen. What happened to what is said on girl's night, stays on girl’s night?” 

Penelope has the decency to look embarrassed and she holds her glass higher, “Sorry, it’s the champagne, it’s like truth serum.” 

“Come on, sweetheart,” Aaron says, his hand on Emily’s hip as he leads her away from their friends, his smile and the spark in his eyes letting her know he isn’t mad at her, “Let’s go before any more details about our sex life come out.” 

She nods and lets him lead her away, leaning into his side as they weave through the pockets of people all scattered around Dave’s house, “Sorry, baby,” she says, stamping a kiss against his jacket, “Pen and her big mouth.” 

He hums, his eyes soft and loving as he comes to a stop and wraps his arms around her, “Do I even want to know how our sex life came up in conversation?” 

“You know what she’s like, she wants to know everything,” she replies, hooking an arm around the back of his neck, “And she knows how to get me to talk,” she says, pressing her lips together when he simply raises an eyebrow at her, “She tried to imply that you’re…,” she looks around them and makes sure no one can overhear them, her cheeks warm with the alcohol thrumming under her skin and embarrassment that Penelope had played her so well, “Vanilla in the bedroom.” 

He laughs, loud and bright and beautiful, and he shakes his head lovingly at her before he kisses her, “Sweetheart, it’s sweet that you want to defend me, but I think I can live with Garcia thinking I’m boring in bed.” 

Her response is cut off as someone yells that the ball in Times Square is dropping, and that the countdown has begun. She smiles as Aaron tugs at her hand and pulls her into the empty hallway, the sound of the crowd counting down from ten following them. She leans against the wall and encourages him closer, her hand on his shoulder as his nose knocks against hers, something that draws a sound she refuses to call a giggle out of her as the countdown continues. 

“Three, two, one. Happy New Year!”

She kisses him, sighing into it as she tastes champagne and her future on his tongue, and she smiles when they break apart, her forehead resting against his as his breath skips across her face. 

“Happy New Year, sweetheart.” 

She cups the back of his neck and tugs him in for another kiss, her reply lost against his lips, “Happy New Year, honey.” 

___

She’s making a cup of tea when the doorbell rings. She walks out of the kitchen and calls up the stairs, smiling when she already hears a door being thrown open. “Jack, that will be your Aunt Jess. Say goodbye to your dad and then come down here.” 

“Coming, Emily!” 

When she answers the door Jess pulls her into a hug, “Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year,” she replies, stepping back to let Jess into the house, “Jack is on his way.” 

“How’s the patient?” Jess asks, smiling when Emily groans and rolls her eyes. 

“Hard work, as you’d expect,” Emily replies, shaking her head as she thinks of Aaron, “He was insistent that we go to our friend’s New Year party until about 30 minutes ago when he almost passed out getting out of bed.” 

Aaron had woken up not feeling well a couple of days ago. At first, he’d tried to play it off, say it was just a cold, but it quickly became clear it was the flu. Somehow, they’d managed to make sure Jack hadn’t caught it so he was still able to go and spend New Year’s with Jess and Roy like he always did. Emily was just grateful that the flu had waited until after Christmas to take down her giant, cuddly, whiny man, because it meant that they’d been able to enjoy the day in their new home. They’d moved in back in November, a busy time of year anyway in amongst Aaron’s birthday and Thanksgiving, and she loved it. It was a home, the first one she’d ever truly had, and she knew that had nothing to do with the house that they knew was perfect for them the moment they first saw it. 

“Good luck to you then,” Jessica replies, and Jack runs over, sliding in his socks on the hardwood floor towards them. 

“Hi, Aunt Jess!” He says excitedly, handing his bag to her as he slips on his shoes, “Is Grandpa excited? I want to tell him all about Christmas and what Dad and Emily got me.”

Jess nods and exchanges a look over the top of his head with Emily. Roy’s feelings about Aaron moving on, about him starting a new life when Haley couldn’t, were well known. He wasn’t particularly polite to Emily whenever he spent time with them as a family, something that she knew embarrassed Jess to no end. 

“He’s so excited to see you, buddy,” she replies diplomatically, “Now, say goodbye to Emily.” 

Jack nods and hugs Emily, his arms tight around her as she leans down to hug him back. When he pulls back to look at her, the excitement he’d had moments ago is gone, replaced with concern that makes her ache. 

“What’s wrong, kiddo?” She asks, pushing his hair from his forehead, smiling when it flops right back down. 

“Is Daddy going to be okay?” He asks, his gaze drifting to the stairs, “He looked sick and I don’t have to go.” 

She smiles at him, his endless empathy and kindness, despite everything he’d already been through, one of the many, many things she loved about him, “I’ll look after him, I promise,” she says, kissing his cheek, “You know he wants you to go have fun.” 

Jack nods, still looking unsure, “And you’ll be okay?” 

“I’ll be okay,” she replies, hugging him again, exchanging a smile with Jess over his shoulder when she looks up at her, “I promise.” 

“Okay,” he replies, “I love you, Emmy.” 

She squeezes him tightly for a moment, overwhelmed by a type of love that she never thought she’d get to feel before she pulls back to look at him, “I love you too, Jack.” 

He hugs her one more time before he leaves, and she and Jess exchange one too as they discuss when she’ll bring Jack back home the following day. As soon as she closes the door she locks it behind them and blows out a slow breath. Her phone beeps, letting her know it is time for Aaron to have more meds, and she goes to the kitchen to get them and finish making his cup of tea. 

When she walks into their bedroom her heart feels like it’s in a vice when she sees him. He’s curled around her pillow, the sheets twisted around his legs, and he looks sick. He’s pale and miserable and she knows she’d do anything to make him feel better. 

“Here you go honey,” she says, sitting on the edge of the bed and turning on the lamp on his nightstand, wincing when it makes him groan, “Sorry, baby. I brought you some more meds. They’ll make you feel better.” 

He groans again as he sits up and takes the glass of water she offers him and the meds. He takes the medication without question - a true sign of how awful he must be feeling, “You really should go to Dave’s party you know,” he says, sniffing in a futile attempt to clear his nose, “It will be more fun than sitting here with me on my death bed.” 

She chuckles and takes the glass from him before she settles next to him in bed, sitting up against the headboard whilst he lays back down, “That really would earn me the title of fiancée of the year if I left you here by yourself on New Year’s Eve.” 

He laughs, or tries to, the sound dying in his sore throat as he shifts closer to her, his head on her stomach and his arm over her hips as he snuggles against her. He’d always been tactile with her, had always been all over her at any given opportunity, but when he was sick it was another level. It was something he’d passed on to his son, who also insisted on sleeping pressed up against her when he was sick, and she loved it. Loved being the source of their comfort, and she couldn’t help but picture a world where a kid who was half her and half Aaron did the same. They’d started trying for a baby recently, hope pressed into every corner of their home, and the thought of it made her giddy. 

“Well, at least it’s New Year’s Eve,” he says, his skin warm even through the barrier of her t-shirt, “The criteria resets tomorrow.”

She smiles and runs her fingers through his hair, “I’m not going anywhere,” she says, smiling when he looks up at her, “I always want to spend New Year with you.” 

“I always want to spend New Year with you too.” 

He slips in between sleep and being awake for hours whilst pressed up against her side. She only gets out of bed to make dinner for them, the empty places now on her nightstand.  She turns on the TV and keeps the volume low, making sure she doesn’t disturb him whilst he rests. She eventually switches the channel to watch the news at Times Square, smiling at the crowds of people huddled together in the freezing cold to watch the ball drop in person. 

“What time is it?” 

She smiles down at him and pushes his hair away from his forehead, “Almost midnight.” 

He nods and sits up, blinking repeatedly to clear his head before he stands up, “Okay.”

“Honey,” she says, raising her eyebrow at him, “What are you doing?” 

“Going to brush my teeth,” he mutters, leaning against the wall as he walks to the ensuite. She rolls her eyes and gets out of bed to follow him. 

“Why?” 

“So I can kiss you at midnight,” he says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “My breath sucks.”

She hums and crosses her arms over her chest, pressing her lips together as she tries to suppress a smile, “Yeah,” she says, looking him up and down, the palour of his skin almost worse in the light of the bathroom, “That’s the problem with kissing right now.” 

He pauses, furrowing his brow as he stops squeezing toothpaste onto his toothbrush as if he’d just remembered he was sick.

“Oh, yeah, sorry sweetheart-” He says, and she leans in and kisses him, stamping her lips against his, smiling when he frowns in confusion when she pulls back. “You’ll get sick.” 

“Worth it,” she presses her thumb against his lower lip, “But you’re right, you should brush your teeth, your breath sucks.” 

He shakes his head at her lovingly and she winks at him and walks back out to their bedroom. She settles back into bed and pulls the covers over her lap, smiling as she takes the chance to look at her engagement ring. She was going to marry him next year, and hopefully expand their family too. The excitement of it all makes her skin tingle, and as Aaron slips back into bed next to her, it feels infinitely better than any evening drinking expensive champagne ever could have. 

They watch the ball drop on the TV and share a kiss at midnight, his skin warm against hers as he settles against her afterwards. 

“Happy New Year, Em.”

She kisses the top of his head, smiling against his hairline as she thinks of all they have to come, “Happy New Year, Aaron.” 

___

She hums a tune she can’t name as she paces back and forth in her bedroom, one hand under the 4-month-old against her chest, and one rubbing soothing circles on his back. Issac gristles against her, grumbling as he rubs his face against her chest. She kisses the top of his head and sighs, suppressing a yawn as she breathes in his sweet scent. 

“You’ll feel so much better if you get some sleep, sweet boy,” she says, falling to suppress her yawn this time as she carries on, “We all need some sleep.” 

Isaac hadn’t been a great sleeper from the start, but in the last couple of weeks, he’d barely slept for more than one hour at a time. She knew it was normal, she knew that he’d grow out of it, but it was hard. She was more exhausted than she’d ever been in her life but she was also the happiest she’d ever been. It was overwhelming sometimes and would spill out of her in the form of what felt like constant tears on her cheeks because somehow this was her life now. She had a husband and two little boys she loved more than she ever thought possible, and it was beautifully, achingly normal. 

It was strange to think how much had changed in the space of a year. Last New Year’s Eve, when Aaron had been sick and she’d stayed home to look after him, this was exactly where she hoped she’d be now. In early January, when she suddenly found herself feeling awful she convinced herself that she’d caught the flu from Aaron. It took almost a week before she let herself even consider that it might be something else, before she dared to take a pregnancy test. She still had it in a drawer in the bathroom, the digital screen that once displayed the word pregnant now faded, because she couldn’t bring herself to throw it away. 

She looks up as the bedroom door opens and she smiles at Aaron as he walks in and closes the door behind him, “Jack’s settled in his bed.”

“He’ll be so mad in the morning,” she says, smiling softly as she continues to pace the room, “He was hoping he’d make it to midnight this year.” 

Jack surprised them when he asked to stay home this New Year instead of going to his grandfather’s like he usually did. He explained that he wanted to spend it with them and Issac, and he’d been insistent that he’d stay awake until midnight. He’d fallen asleep in their bed just a few minutes ago and Aaron had taken him back to his room so he’d get a better night’s sleep than he would in the same room as his little brother who woke up several times a night. 

“I know,” Aaron says, walking over to them, “How is the littlest Hotchner doing?”

“He might make it to midnight,” she replies dryly, “I think Zaccy thinks sleep is for the weak,” she says, tilting her head to look at her still wide-awake son, “Huh, kiddo?” 

“Want me to try?” 

She nods and kisses the top of Issac’s head as she passes him over, “Yes please, my arms are starting to ache.” 

“He just loves his mommy so much that he wants to be in your arms all the time.” 

“I think it might be because I smell of milk,” she hums and sits on the bed, her back against the headrest as she rubs her eyes, “But that’s a sweet thought.” 

Aaron smiles at her as he sways side to side, Issac secure against his chest, “You know as well as I do that you are the centre of the world for every Hotchner who lives in this house.” 

She feels her cheeks go warm, still not used to his love and affection even after all this time, and she is distracted by her phone as it vibrates on her nightstand. She smiles as she picks it up, a selfie of the team at Dave’s annual New Year’s Eve party starting up at her, their smiles and slightly dazed eyes letting her know they were all several drinks in. 

“Dave sent a picture of the team,” she says, turning her phone to show him, “With the caption ‘What will be your excuse to miss next year’s party?’” 

Aaron laughs and looks down to see Issac is now sleeping, “He’s asleep.” 

Emily huffs out a breath and watches as he places the baby in the bassinet on her side of the bed and stamps a kiss against his forehead. 

“I’d be pissed you got him off so quickly,” she says, wrapping her arms around one of Aaron’s the moment he’s in bed, “But I am far too tired to care about that right now.” 

He kisses the top of her head and then rests his cheek there, yawning himself as they settle against each other. He looks at the clock on her nightstand and hums, “Only one hour until the new year. I wonder what it will bring us” 

She turns her head to kiss him, “Hopefully more sleep,” she quips, smiling against his lips, “But I’d be happy with more of what we’ve already got.” 

“Me too.” 

She lets herself enjoy the silence that was so rare in their home these days, and she settles into his warmth. She doesn’t remember falling asleep, she isn’t even aware she has until she feels small hands on her face and shoulder. 

“Mom,” Jack whispers, his eyes wide as she opens hers to meet them, “Mom, we all fell asleep.” 

“We fell asleep?” She groans as she blinks a few times and she looks over at the clock to see it is now 12.30 am, “We fell asleep.” She looks over at Issac, panic racing through her until she sees he’s still fast asleep, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. She looks at Aaron and realises they are both still sitting up, that they’d slumped against each other in bed with the light still on and fallen asleep without realising. She looks at Jack and smiles at him, opening her arms up to him and encouraging him in for a hug. He crawls into her arms and she rearranges the covers around them both “I don’t think I’ve fallen asleep before midnight on New Year’s since I was your age, sweet boy.”

“I woke up in my bedroom but I don’t remember going to bed,” he says, resting his head on her shoulder. 

“Dad took you to bed,” she replies, smiling as she looks at her still sleeping husband.

“Should we wake him up?” 

She’s about to say no, to try and figure out how she can get them all lying down without waking him up, but then Issac cries, loud and sharp in the otherwise quiet room and Aaron shocks awake. 

“I’ll get him,” he mutters, wiping his eyes with the heels of his hands as he stands up. She watches with amusement as he walks a few paces and then realises she’s sitting up and Jack is with them too, “What time is it?” 

“It’s the new year Dad!” Jack exclaims, and Emily smiles at him, her nails scratching lightly at his scalp. “Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year, buddy!” 

Emily turns to look at Aaron, a familiar swooping in her gut as she watches him lift Issac into his arms. She’d always known he was an amazing father, but watching him with their infant son had taken it to a new level. She wanted more kids with him, a thought that wasn’t even dulled by the bone deep exhaustion of having a baby right now, and part of her wondered if, by the end of the year, she’d once again be missing the opportunity to be drunk at Dave’s party. 

“We fell asleep.” She says simply, smiling as he hums in response, Issac against his chest as he starts to settle down, clearly just wanting to be part of the fun.

“I’m not surprised. We’ve barely slept in weeks,” he smiles at Emily and leans in to kiss her, his lips quickly stamped against hers, “Happy New Year by the way.” 

She kisses him back, “Happy New Year,” she then smiles at Jack and kisses the top of his head,  “You too, Jack,” she reaches out and runs her knuckles down Issac’s cheek, “You too, sweet boy.” 

“Happy New Year, Mom and Dad,” Jack beams at her before he leans in and kisses Issac’s cheek, “Happy New Year, Zaccy.” 

Issac blows a spit bubble and it makes Jack giggle, and Emily wipes Issac’s mouth with the sleep of her shirt. 

“I think that’s his way of saying it back, kiddo.” 

Aaron smiles at his eldest, “What do you want to happen this year, Jack?” 

He furrows his brow as he thinks about it for a second before a delighted smile spreads across his face, “I’d like a baby sister!” 

[nightsdreamgates]

I need to know what will NiGHTS, reala and jackle what will sceared off?

There are many factors that would make them scared, is obvious to think that it would be mainly of Wizeman, the one who created them, althought, there are other types of fears we can explore further — funny enough, even if they are nightmarens, with a purpose to bring fear to visitors, all of them can also have fears.

— A Nightmaren's Fear: NiGHTS, Reala and Jackle

— NiGHTS

Having his freedom taken and return to the old norm, which is being under Wizeman's eyes again;

But besides that, there are much more to it. Often times, NiGHTS has these strange, shivering paranoia sensations, of being watched;

Being watched of something he cannot see, as Wizeman's last words before his run away haunts him till' this day: "Foolish child, your essence belongs to me, your eyes belongs to me, everything I've made of you is based of myself; Even at your strongest points, I'll always be watching upon you. I'll always will find you."

When there isn't a ideya or courage to sustain his exposed core, his mind is flooded by the reminds of his old master;

Also, NiGHTS as a phobia for tiny spaces, which is why he tries to cope by dancing inside of the Ideya Palace and desperately tries to get the visitor's attention;

The thought of also losing his whole identity and being controlled once again by Wizeman, is what gets him by the lowest. Losing his own control as Wizeman would take over him, is a vivid nightmare for even a folk that is created from one.

— Reala

Dissapointment. The idea of being what she can never reach to be, equal as her sibling's golden achievements, Reala struggles with a sense of unsatisfaction of self-fulfillment in terms of bringing pride to Wizeman;

She blames deeply NiGHTS for the curse he had pulled towards her, and all the weight she has to now endure being not only a general, but the future ruler of Nightmera, once she manages to proof fully, by capturing NiGHTS and absorb his essence to become fully one greatest being;

Althought even if driven by the rage, a similar fear that Reala shares with NiGHTS, is the fear of losing her own identity. The originality of her own being;

She fears Wizeman as a consenquences of her loyalty and recognition of Wizeman's ancient wisdom — One of the punishments that Wizeman does whenever Reala would show similar "signs" as NiGHTS did of his "early rebellious arc", Wizeman would harshly punish Reala by isolating her inside of a dark room;

This caused for Reala develop a phobia for dark areas, unironically enough. Even if she tries to show indiferrence, it's clear that the memories, rising anxiety, gives up the inner conflict and scars Reala got from these punishments;

Besides that she also worries of not being good enough, not only for Wizeman, but also for her subjects.

— Jackle

Now Jackle, as crazy and insane he shows to be at times, he uses this clown facade to cope and hide the inner conscience of his failed attempt of being a first level, lowering to only as a second all because of a defective detail from lack of his well... Everything apparently and metaphorically;

Jackle as a identity crisis at times, changing demeanor whenever he feels like a different style. Similar to a teenage girl changing her hair colour at every new sensational trend;

But what he is doing, is attempting to fill his never ending hole, to feel like he is also important and powerful by his own ways;

The cards is one of his coping mechanism, as a nightmaren with a unique ability to read the future, past and even the present;

Jackle has a irrational phobia of being left behind, forgotten or alone;

He knows that for Wizeman he isn't as important as Reala and NiGHTS. And Jackle keeps living on that thought, not caring much but at same time caring, is confusing, but it is what it is.

Woah I've been receiving a lot of quick asks recently, but I like that! This way I can keep feeding the fandom with new headcanons, oneshots and more writting content of NiGHTS besides the fanarts I make. Thank you anon for another ask and hope you like it!

[sunnyie-eve]

19 | Annoying Triplet

Series: Unexpected

Paring: (Matt Sturniolo x OFC Brock!) (Chris Sturniolo x OFC Brock!)

Word Count: 1.1k

Warnings: none

| MASTERLIST |

"Hey hey, it's me Dani and as you can tell by my title, I have a guest today." Dani smiles over at Chris.

"Chris Sturniolo!" He shouts throwing his arms up.

"Yeah, I'm with the most annoying triplet today." Dani looks over at Chris, who throws a straw's paper into her backseat, "Chris! Why are you throwing trash in my backseat? There's literally a bag right there for trash! That's how you repay me by being the first on my channel?"

"Sorry," He laughs, "Sorry Dani," He sings to her, "I'll make you a song." He starts so pretends to make music, "Like it?" He laughs more.

"I'm regretting my decision having you." She looks over at him, "And I want you here."

"Yes?" He asks with a playful look.

"Eww, the way you said yes." They both laugh, "Yes." She mocks how he said it making him laugh more, "That's how you sounded. A creepy old man."

"Oh sweetheart." He says in the same tone.

"Ahh! I'm having flashbacks to a man Nick and I walked past the other day. He was so creepy and he followed us to." Dani whines thinking back.

"He did?"

"Yeah, he did." She nods her head, "So Nick talked about my boyfriend."

"Should've called and I would've ran to save you from that situation." Chris tells her.

"Yeah?"

"I'd be like; Sir, I know my beautiful girlfriend is good looking." He explains to her so she tries not to blush.

"That's actually crazy." She covers her mouth. "You would run not even have Matt drive you?" She asks, "We were far from the house."

"Matt would have not driven me to save the day. Only because the he would want to save the day." Chris explains.

"That's true,"

"He always does." Chris huffs.

"He's done it twice." Dani laughs at him being moody.

"But it seems like he's done it more times."

"Not to me." She tells him.

"Seriously? Really?"

"Yeah, the phone and bowling." She explains the two times.

"And inviting you to move in." He adds.

"If you count that then you have to count all the times he's had my back in the podcast too. If that's the case, you have saved the day at times too." She explains to him, "Which I appreciate but you don't literally have to run to help me out. Saying your girlfriend is not gonna stop a creepy old man."

"We don't know that for sure so let's go test it out." He laughs then sees Tanner in the distance walking to his car and he sees them as well. "Oh shit, it's T-Clown." Chris says so Dani looks up to see him as well.

Dani flips him off as she starts the car, "Can you get the camera for me please. We gotta find a new stop to finish up."

"Bye bye till we cut back." Chris goes to grab the camera.

"Jackass." Dani groans.

Once they find an another parking lot with less cars they park and continue for Dani's video, "Excuse you." She says as he burps.

"You know he still gives me shit." He says then burps again.

"Excuse you," She says again for him.

"I just read them and laugh." He adds.

"Why haven't you blocked him?" She asks confused a little not understanding why he hasn't if he constantly sends shit.

"Because it's my daily routine to read and laugh. He's so stupid like it's ridiculous." He tells her.

"I have him and her both blocked. I don't need stalkers. Unlike you loving the attention." Dani makes Chris laugh.

"You aren't successful if you don't have haters." He says trying to make a point to her and something catches her eye.

"Something is on your face." She reaches over trying to get it off for him.

"Yeah attractiveness." He smiles causing her to laugh super hard, "But to asshole, I'm ugly like him. Dude, I just have a bad hairline." Chris says about himself.

"You have edits so..." Dani points out giving him a smile.

"And he doesn't."

"Exactly." She says so he laughs a bit.

"Do you have a favorite edit or one that sticks out?" He asks trying to catch her so she looks at him with a smile.

"I do actually." She pulls out her phone, "Let me show you my favorite one of each of y'all." She goes to her bookmarks and he sees each one of then had their on folder.

"You have more than one?" He laughs as she nods her head playing his first.

"This is my number one out of all of yours I like." She turns her phone towards him more so gently can watch it.

"The song is a choice..." He gives her a look with a cocky smile.

"Shut up before I throw you out of my car." She glares at him.

"Okay, now show me Matt's."

Dani goes to her Matt folder but doesn't play the one she favored the most and Chris catches her skipping that one.

"No, no! You skipped one." He takes her phone from her.

"Chris stop it!" She tries to get it back as he watches it. "And no, I'm not showing y'all which ones." Dani looks up at her camera.

"You got secrets." Chris laughs at her.

"No I do not!" She snatches her phone back. "They don't mean anything in that way." She explains getting embarrassed.

"Oh really?" He leans towards her.

"Yes, really." She smacks his forehead, "Most of my Nick one are funny edits. I fucking love them." She shows them to him and he laughs as well.

Getting back home, Chris follows Dani into her room, "You know you can tell me if you have a thing for Matt right."

"Well I don't so." She turns to face him, "A stupid edit means nothing so don't overthink it." She tosses her stuff onto her bed. "And I don't know why you think that either because your edit was very similar. So why aren't you asking the same about yourself?"

"Because I don't think you have a thing for me." He laughs at himself.

"And if I secretly did?" She crosses her arms.

"Well do you?" He steps closer to her.

"No, but why do you think I wouldn't like you like that?" She steps back from him.

"Because I'm super annoying. We have the least amount in common. I don't seem like your type." He uses what mostly sticks out to him personally.

"Yeah, we have the least amount in common but that doesn't matter. And yes, you're super annoying at times but that's what I love about you. You can always lighten up the mood and just by your laugh too. And you have no idea what my type is so don't say you're not it."

"You love that I'm annoying?" He gets a stupid smile.

"At times I do. So don't push it." She points her finger at him, "Now get out of my room."

[fourthwingfan]

Madness - Chapter 20

Hi, my dearest readers! I'm alive. The wedding was fantastic, but I'm soo tired. I barely slept the last few days. We decorated for 13 hours on Friday. Then the wedding on Saturday and we packed up everything on Sunday. And for some reason I thought that I didn't need to take a day off on Monday, I'll be fine. Well, I thought wrong. But thank you for your patience! ❤️ Here comes the new chapter. Enjoy! :)

Accusing a wingleader of wrongdoing is the most dangerous of all accusations. If you’re right, then we’ve failed as a quadrant to select the best wingleaders. If you’re wrong, you’re dead.

—My Time as a Cadet: A Memoir by General Augustine Melgren

„Jackson Marlowe.” Captain Fitzgibbons finishes reading the death roll and closes the scroll as we stand in formation the next morning, our breath creating clouds in the chilled air. “We commend their souls to Malek.”

There’s no room for sorrow in my heart for six of the eight names, not when I’m shifting my weight to soothe the ache of black-and-blue along my ribs and ignoring the way other riders stare at my face.

I went to Nolon this morning, and he mended my nose, but I wanted to keep my bruises. One of those who attacked Violet is alive. I want them to know I will not forgive. Never.

If Xaden won’t do anything about it, then I will. I’m a Melgren after all, I’m allowed to be a little crazy.

The two others on today’s list are third-years from Second Wing, killed on a training operation near the Braevick border, according to breakfast gossip, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s where Xaden had been before coming to our rescue last night.

“I can’t believe they tried to kill you while you were sleeping.” Liam’s still seething, at breakfast we told our table what happened.

“Even worse, I think I’m getting used to it. Either I have kick-ass compartmentalization skills or I really am acclimating to always being a target.” Violet says.

Captain Fitzgibbons makes some minor announcements, and I tune him out as someone strides our way, cutting through the space between the Flame and Tail Sections of our wing.

Just like it always does, my stupid, hormone-driven heart stutters at the first sight of Xaden. Even the most effective poisons come in pretty packages, and Xaden’s exactly that—as beautiful as he is lethal. He looks deceptively calm as he approaches, but I can feel his tension as if it’s my own, like a panther prowling toward his prey. The wind ruffles his hair, and I sigh at the completely unfair advantage he has over every man in this courtyard. He doesn’t even have to try to look sexy…he just is.

Oh shit. This feeling right here—the way my breath catches and my entire body draws tight when he’s near—is why I haven’t taken anyone to bed or celebrated like the rest of my perfectly normal friends. This feeling is why I haven’t wanted anyone…else.

Because I want him.

There aren’t enough curse words in the world for this.

He stops next to us and he looks toward Liam then nods in Violet’s direction.

Oh shit. Violet will be sooo angry when she realizes…

„I do not need a bodyguard!” she snaps at Xaden.

He ignores her, still looking at Liam.

“Switch places with me.” Liam whispers to me.

I look at him questioningly but he doesn’t say another word.

“Fine.” I sigh and now he stands behind Violet.

„I. Do. Not. Need. A. Bodyguard!” she repeats, a little louder this time.

One of the first-years behind me gasps, mortified by her audacity, no doubt.

Imogen snorts. “Good luck with that approach.”

Xaden stands directly in front of Violet, leaning into her space. “You do, though, as we both learned last night. And I can’t be everywhere you are. But Liam here”—he points back to the blond Tyr—“he’s a first-year, so he can be in every class, at every challenge, and I even had him assigned to library duty, so I hope you get used to him, Sorrengail.”

“And what about Aelin?” She asks with a raised eyebrow. “She was with me too.”

“I don’t care about her.” Xaden replies without hesitation.

Ouch. It hurts.

Liam quickly grabs my hand and squeezes it before letting it go.

“And I don’t know if she will protect you at all costs.” Xaden continues.

“Now, that’s just a fucking excuse.” I mutter.

I will protect Violet. She’s one of the most important person in my life. And he knows it too. He’s not stupid.

“You’re overstepping.” Violet hisses at him.

“You haven’t begun to see overstepping,” he warns, his voice dropping low. “Any threat against you is a threat against me, and as we’ve already established, I have more important things to do than sleep on your floor.”

Heat flushes up her neck and stains her cheeks. “He is not sleeping in my room.”

Oh, Vi. I knew it that you like Liam.

“Of course not.” He freaking smirks. “I had him moved into the one next to yours. Wouldn’t want to overstep.” He turns on his heel and walks away, headed back to his place at the front of our formation.

“Fucking mated dragons,” Dain seethes, keeping his eyes forward.

“What? Did you move? When?” I ask Liam in shock.

“This morning. And I won’t be far. Just on the other side of Violet.” He smiles at me with a boyish grin and I can’t help it, I smile back.

“Fiinee. But I warn you, do not replace me with her.” I mock glare at him.

“How could I do it, Snappy? You’re my best friend.” He winks at me.

“Snappy? You didn’t call me that since… I don’t know.” I try to remember when was the last time.

“I call you that because you’re talking nonsense. Now pay attention.”

Fitzgibbons finishes his announcements and steps to the back of the dais, which would usually signal the end of formation, but Commandant Panchek takes the podium. He makes it a habit to avoid morning formation, which means something is up.

“What’s going on with Panchek?” Rhiannon asks at Violet’s side.

“Not sure.” I shrug.

“It has to be something big if he’s fumbling with a Codex up there,” Rhiannon says.

“Quiet,” Dain orders, glancing back over his shoulder at us for the first time this morning. He does a double-take, his eyes flaring wide as he catches sight of Violet’s neck. “Vi?”

„I’m fine,” she assures him, but he’s still staring at her throat, locked in shock. “Squad Leader Aetos, people are staring.” We hold way more than our share of the attention as Commandant Panchek begins to speak at the podium, telling us that there’s another matter to handle this morning, but Dain won’t look away. “Dain!”

He blinks, jerking his gaze to hers. “Is that what Riorson meant by last night?”

She nods.

“I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m fine,” she repeats, nodding toward the dais. “Later.”

He turns, but the motion is reluctant.

“It has been brought to my attention as your commandant that a breach of the Codex has occurred,” Panchek calls out over the courtyard.

“As you know, breaches of our most sacred laws are not to be tolerated,” Panchek continues. “This matter will be addressed here and now. Will the accuser please step forward.”

“Someone’s in trouble,” Rhiannon whispers. “Think Ridoc finally got caught in Tyvon Varen’s bed?”

“That’s hardly against the Codex,” Ridoc murmurs from behind us.

“He’s the executive officer for Second Wing.” I send a pointed look over my shoulder.

“And?” Ridoc shrugs, grinning without a touch of remorse. “Fraternizing with command is frowned upon, not unlawful.”

I sigh, facing forward. “I miss sex.” I really do, and it’s not just the physical gratification, either. There’s a sense of connection in those moments that I crave, a momentary banishment of loneliness.

The first is something I’m sure Xaden would be more than capable of providing, if he ever thought of me that way, but the second? He’s the last person I should be craving, but lust and logic never seem to go hand in hand.

“If you’re looking for a little fun, I’m happy to oblige—” Ridoc starts, shoving his floppy brown hair off his forehead with a wink.

“I miss good sex,” I counter, smothering a smile as someone walks from the front of formation toward the dais, indistinguishable through the rows of the squads ahead of us. “Besides, apparently you’re spoken for.” Have to admit, it feels good to tease a friend about something so trivial. It’s a tiny slice of normalcy in an otherwise macabre environment.

“We’re not exclusive,” Ridoc counters. “It’s like Rhiannon and what’s-her-name…”

“Tara,” Rhiannon offers.

“Will you all shut the hell up?” Dain barks in his superior-officer voice.

Our mouths snap shut, and I roll my eyes.

Mine drops open again when I realize it’s Xaden climbing the steps to the dais. “This is about you,” I whisper to Vi.

Dain glances back at me, confusion furrowing his brow before whipping his attention toward the dais, where Xaden now stands at the podium, somehow managing to fill the entire stage with his presence.

From what I remember reading, his father had that same magnetism, the ability to hold and capture a crowd with nothing but his words…words that led to Brennan’s death.

“Early this morning,” he begins, his deep voice carrying over the formation, “a rider in my wing was brutally, illegally attacked in her sleep with the intent of murder by a group primarily composed of unbondeds. When another rider rushed to her aid after hearing the commotion, she were attacked too.”

A collection of murmurs and gasps fills the air, and Dain’s shoulders stiffen.

“As we all know, the first act is a violation of Article Three, Section Two of the Dragon Rider’s Codex and, in addition to being dishonorable, is a capital offense.”

I feel the weight of a dozen glances, but it’s Xaden’s I feel most of all.

His hands clench the sides of the podium. “Having been alerted by my dragon, I interrupted the attack along with two other Fourth Wing riders.” He dips his chin toward our wing, and two riders—Garrick and Bodhi—break formation, then climb the steps to stand behind Xaden, their hands at their sides. “As it was a matter of life and death, I personally executed six of the would-be murderers, as witnessed by Flame Section Leader Garrick Tavis and Tail Section Executive Officer Bodhi Durran.”

“Both Tyrs. How convenient,” Nadine, one of the new additions to the squad, says from the row behind Ridoc.

I look back over my shoulder and pin her with a glare.

Liam keeps his eyes forward.

“But the attack was orchestrated by a rider who fled before I arrived,” Xaden continues, his voice rising. “A rider who had access to the map of where all first-years are assigned to sleep, and that rider must be brought to swift justice.

Shit. This is about to get ugly.

“I call you to answer for your crime against Cadet Sorrengail, and indirectly against Cadet Melgren.” Xaden’s focus shifts to the center of the formation. “Wingleader Amber Mavis.”

The quadrant draws a collective breath before an uproar rips through the crowd.

“What the hell?” Dain bites out.

Every rider in the courtyard’s attention pivots between Xaden, Amber, me…and Violet.

I squeeze her shoulder. She hates the attention.

“She’s a Tyr, too, Nadine,” Ridoc says over his shoulder. “Or are you only biased against marked ones?”

Amber’s family stayed loyal to Navarre, so she wasn’t forced to watch her parents executed and wasn’t marked by a rebellion relic.

“Amber would never.” Dain shakes his head. “A wingleader would never.” He turns completely to face us. “Get up there and tell everyone that he’s lying, Vi.”

“But he’s not,” I say as gently as I can. I know he cares about her.

“It’s impossible.” His cheeks flush a mottled shade of red.

“I was there, Dain.” Violet confirms it.

„Wingleaders are beyond reproach—”

“Then why are you so quick to call our own wingleader a liar?” My brows rise in challenge, daring him to say what he’s so careful to keep quiet.

Behind him, Amber steps forward, separating herself from the formation. “I have committed no such crime!”

“See?” Dain swings his arm, pointing toward the redhead. “Put a stop to this right now, Violet.”

“She was with them in my room,” she says simply. Shouting won’t convince him. Nothing will.

„That’s impossible.” He lifts his hands, as though ready to cup her face. “Let me see.”

I quickly grab Violet’ shoulder and pull her back toward me, farther away from Dain.

After the Jeremiah incident she told me about Dain’s signet, that he can read memories.

I can’t let him see the memory of Amber’s participation, it will also show him that Violet stopped time.

I can’t let that happen!

“Give me the memory,” he orders.

“Touch me without permission, and you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting it.” She glares at him.

Maybe Violence is a fitting nickname, after all.

Surprise ripples over his features.

“Wingleaders.” Xaden projects his voice over the chaos. “We need a quorum.”

Both Nyra and Septon Izar—the wingleaders for First and Second Wing—climb the stairs to the dais, passing by Amber as she stands utterly exposed in the courtyard.

A familiar chaos fills the air, and we all look toward the ridgeline as seven dragons curve along the mountain, flying straight for us.

In a matter of seconds, they reach the citadel and hover over the courtyard walls. Wind from the strong beats of their wings blasts through the courtyard.

Then, one by one, they land on their perch, Tairn at the center of the grouping, Aon is next to him.

Every line of his frame exudes menace as his talons crush the masonry under his grip, and his narrowed, angry eyes focus on Amber.

Sgaeyl is perched to Tairn’s right, taking her position behind Xaden. She’s just as terrifying as she was that first day, but I still find her beautiful. Nyra’s Red Scorpiontail looms behind her as well, and Septon’s Brown Daggertail mirrors the stance to the left. On the ends, puffing blasts of steam, are Commandant Panchek’s Green Clubtail and Amber’s Orange Daggertail is next to Aon.

“Shit’s about to get real,” Sawyer says, breaking formation to stand at Violet’s side, and I feel Ridoc at my back as he steps closer.

“You can stop this all right now, Violet. You have to,” Dain implores. “I don’t know what you saw last night, but it wasn’t Amber. She cares too much about the rules to break them.”

“You’re using this to get your revenge on my family!” Amber shouts at Xaden. “For not supporting your father’s rebellion!”

That’s a low fucking blow.

Xaden doesn’t even acknowledge it as he turns to the other wingleaders.

He isn’t demanding proof like Dain. He believes her, and he’s ready to execute a wingleader on nothing more than her word. As surely as if they’re a physical structure, I feel my defenses crack on Xaden’s behalf.

Tairn chuffs and every dragon besides Sgaeyl stiffens on the wall, even Amber’s. The riders are quick to follow, silence filling the courtyard.

I know what they see.

Aon showes me what happened last night, in Violet’s point of view.

Amber, the fight before I arrived, and then I see… myself. It’s really strange. I can see myself but in someone else point of view. I was pretty…terrifying. Blood all over my face, my cold gaze.

„That’s why I chose you, little one. You’re ruthless, and you protect those who are weaker than you.”

„Thanks, you know how to compliment someone.” I laugh. Yep, he’s definitely a big softie.

“That spineless wretch,” Rhiannon seethes in front of me.

Dain pales.

“Believe me now?” Vi hurles it like the accusation it is. “You’re supposed to be my oldest friend, Dain. One of my best friends. There’s a reason I didn’t tell you.”

He staggers backward.

“The wingleaders have formed a quorum and are in unanimous agreement,” Xaden announces, flanked by Nyra and Septon while the commandant hangs back. “We find you guilty, Amber Mavis.”

“No!” she shouts. “It is no crime to rid the quadrant of the weakest rider! I did it to protect the integrity of the wings!” She paces in panic, looking to everyone—anyone for help.

As a whole, the formation moves backward.

“And as is our law, your sentence will be carried out by fire,” Nyra states.

“No!” Amber looks to her dragon. “Claidh!”

Amber’s Orange Daggertail snarls at the other dragons and lifts a claw.

Aon swivels his massive head toward Claidh, his roar shaking the ground beneath my feet. Then he snaps his teeth at the smaller orange, and she retreats, her head hanging as she grips the wall again.

“Please don’t,” I hear Violet as she begs.

I can feel the sadness inside me. She’s too merciful.

She turns to Xaden and begs again, her voice breaking by the end. “Please give her a chance.”

He holds her gaze but doesn’t so much as show a flicker of emotion.

Justice is not always merciful.

„Claidh,” Amber whimpers, the courtyard so unbelievably silent that the sound carries.

The formation splits at the center.

Tairn leans low, extending his head and neck past the dais toward where Amber stands. Then his teeth part, he curls his tongue, and he incinerates her with a blast of fire so hot, I can feel it from here. It’s over in a heartbeat.

A gruesome scream rends the air, shattering a window in the academic wing, and every rider slams their hands over their ears as Claidh mourns.