#Or having to walk three minutes down a hall and up a flight of stairs to get to the one unlocked bathroom in the building

[nopeleavemealoone]

Modern day school AU!!!

Chuuya was just homeschooled under an adoptive scientist father until high school and joins Sheep High(??? ig) but some circumstances ill flesh this out later lead him to change to Yokohama’s Port High.

also Odasaku is one of those assistant teachers who are like still in college and just show up sometimes to test-run be a teacher or take notes about teaching. Dazai is just that one wierdo who hangs out with the teacher assistant and that one guy in admin (ango) and doesnt make other friends until chuuya joins

[intheemptymirror]

drunk dazed !

drunk-roommate!sunghoon x roommate!reader

summary: you never would’ve expected sunghoon— resident ice prince— to be the clingy type of drunk

genre: fluff

warnings: mentions of drinking, sunghoon is drunk (duh), sunghoon and reader aren’t dating but they definitely have a crush/lil somethin goin on, you and sunghoon are roommates, you take sunghoons clothes off but it’s in a non sexual manner, he asks you to help him change, ooc sunghoon

a/n: i would consider myself an engene but i think they’re one of the groups i’m more of a casual fan about if that makes any sense? like i like their music and i consume their content and i have a bias and everything but they’re not one of my MAIN-main groups yknow? but i still love them and wanted to write something for them and i got this idea about how cute it would be if sunghoon was like clingy n stuff so here we are. tbh i don’t love this fic but i just wanted it done and i thought that even if i don’t like it maybe someone out there will. i have a jay fic idea in the works too so if you like enhypen that’ll be out eventually too ;)

if somebody bet you twenty bucks that sunghoon was the clingy type drunk, you would’ve paid them right then and there.

but here you were.

for the past few years you guys had been friends, you don’t think you could remember a time you ever saw him drunk. a little tipsy, sure, but never drunk. and then after you became roommates— which meant spending even more time around each other than before— you still hadn’t seen him get to that state. you had always just assumed he either had a scary high tolerance to alcohol or just didn’t like alcohol all that much.

sunghoon had gone out with the rest of the enhypen boys for a couple of drinks that night, which wasn’t anything unusual or new. what was unusual and new was the extent to which sunghoon drank himself. when he walked out the door three hours ago you weren’t expecting to get a phone call from jay telling you to come pick up your very drunk, very clingy best friend. having to carry a practically incapacitated grown man down the streets of seoul for fifteen minutes and then up a flight of stairs wasn’t a scenario you thought about very often but it was as hard as you would’ve originally imagined.

“y/nnie!” sunghoon whined out into your ear, his weight heavy against your back. a feeling that you would normally find comfort in was now a bit of an inconvenience. you huff out a bit of air and incoherently grumble a bit in what most would consider barely a response, but sunghoon didn’t seem to pay much mind as he pressed himself impossibly further into you. it felt like his whole goal was to make this as difficult as possible, as if gravity was dragging his body down to the ground and wanted to take you with him. you trip over your feet but manage to stay somewhat upright, which only makes sunghoon giggle.

you finally managed to stumble your way down the hall to your apartment door, stopping to catch your breath for a moment. as you stood still and panted with your eyes mindlessly locked onto the small apartment numbers on the door, sunghoon took the opportunity to nudge his nose into your cheek, his dark hair tickling the soft skin of your face. the sensation suddenly snapped you out of whatever trance you were in, making your body jolt slightly before you started the process of trying to open the door. you’re not sure why you were so eager to get sunghoon physically away from you while at the same time wanting him to stay attached to you forever. maybe your fast beating heart was from the physical exertion sunghoon put you through; maybe it was from the emotional. you didn’t have time to dwell on it now.

you grunted as you tried to shift sunghoon’s weight on your back so you could reach the keys sitting in your back pocket. he must’ve thought you were trying to get him off when you started to move because he let out a whine before gripping onto the front of your shirt in his large hands and tightening his arms around your neck to keep himself on you, which only threw your balance off and made you stumble back. you caught yourself before letting out an exasperated groan. “you’re making this really difficult, yknow.” sunghoon simply giggled in response and poked your cheek with his pointer finger, moving his head to press his face flat into the side of yours.

“you’re making this really difficult,” he slurs out his words. you rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t help the small smile and soft laugh that escaped your lips.

“that makes no sense,” you say more to yourself than to him as you finally manage to slide your hand into your back pocket to fish out the apartment keys before unlocking the door and stumbling into the entry way, the sound of your bodies knocking into the wall disturbing the serenity of yours and sunghoon’s (and probably your neighbors) apartment. you somehow managed to slip your shoes off without falling to the wood floor before hauling sunghoon off to his room.

you turn your back to the mattress and completely let go of his weight, letting him flop onto the bed unceremoniously. he let out a grunt as his back hit the sheets, his arm pathetically coming up to try and reach for you once more. you huffed and turned to watch over him for a moment with your hands on your hips while you caught your breath. you watched him paw at the air in search for you before you grasped onto his hand to gently sit him up. he went silent as he tiredly blinked up at you, his pretty, brown eyes practically staring you down.

his intense gaze started to make you nervous, reminding you of a cat watching its owner. his eyes never wavered as he watched you walk over to his closet and rummage around it for a moment before pulling out a plain white t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants before dropping it onto the bed next to him. “get changed, i’ll leave the room.” as you start to walk away, sunghoon gently grasped your wrist in his hand, stopping you in your tracks. your eyes widen and lips part in surprise as you look between his half-lidded eyes, then to where his hand is making contact with your skin, then back again.

“help me,” he mumbles out. you open your mouth to deny his request, but upon seeing how he slightly sways side to side from intoxication and exhaustion you decide it would just be easier (and probably safer) to help him. “please.”

you study his face for any sign of hesitation before you slowly nod. “okay.” you step closer, standing between his legs as he stares up at you. your heart rate spikes at the sight of his flushed face and cute moles and messy hair and gorgeous eyes with their attention completely on you. you blink a few times to snap yourself out of the trance he’s put you in before your shaky hands hesitantly reach for the hem of the shirt he has on.

“lift your arms up.” you direct him once you’ve taken the fabric in your grasp to which he complies immediately, limply throwing his arms up into the air. you tug the shirt up— it gets stuck to which he thrashes around a bit to get it undone— and over his head before tossing it into the laundry basket sat in the corner of his room. you try not to stare too hard at the expanse of bare skin suddenly available to you, averting your eyes and swallowing harshly to calm yourself down. you choose not to say anything else before reaching for the black jeans he has on, hooking your fingers through the belt loops to tug him to a standing position. he stumbles slightly before balancing out and giggling, standing like a mannequin waiting to be dressed. which in a way, he kind of was.

you unhook his belt and tug his pants off gently before quickly grabbing the pair of sweats and crouching down to help him step into each leg of the pants. you’re glad you were too focused on getting him into them without him falling to focus on the fact that he had been practically naked in front of you for a few moments. you stand back up and tell him to lift up his arms once more, slipping the shirt on— without getting it stuck this time— and watching the moles that dotted his body disappear underneath the cloak of white fabric. throughout this whole process, his eyes hadn’t left your figure even once.

finally having him dressed in clean clothes, you usher him to get into bed, pulling back the covers and gently nudging him onto the mattress. he follows your direction with little resistance, little hums escaping his mouth here and there as he watched you pull up the soft covers and tuck him in gently. “comfortable?” he does a close eyed nod and smiles softly in response. you smile and nod in return. “good,” you whisper.

“i’m gonna go get you some water,” you brush his hair off of his forehead and make barely any moves to leave the room, but are stopped by him sitting upright so fast it was as if he was coming back from the dead and his hands shooting out to grab your arm.

“no!” sunghoon lets out a whine of protest, his eyebrows furrowed and eyes starting to gloss over with tears, his bottom lip jutted out in a pout as it starts to tremble. you’re completely caught off guard by his reaction, even more so when he starts to tug you back towards him until your knees are knocking against the bed. “don’t go, don’t leave me,”

you think you can hear your heart breaking at the sight, the feeling of it clenching uncomfortably in your chest overwhelming. you smile softly at him and reach out your free hand to pet his head in an attempt to soothe him, his lashes fluttering and head leaning into your palm at the sensation. “i’m just gonna go get you some water. you won’t even notice that i’m gone.”

“i always notice when you’re gone.” sunghoon’s voice rings out so clear and suddenly he looks the most sober he’s been the entire night. his vulnerability; it catches you off guard, but you can’t help but like the way it feels coming from him. it’s silent for a few moments more as you let the words he’s said sink into your brain. “just stay with me,” he whispers, as if afraid that if he speaks too loud, the fragile, glass-like state of whatever it is you two are in will shatter under his words.

you blink at him a few times before nodding softly. “okay,” you whisper back. sunghoon pulls back the covers before he guides you onto the open space he’s left you, laying down and tugging the blanket over your shoulders. after he deems you properly tucked in, he rests his cheek on his hands and stares. you both study each other in the moonlit room, your features somehow more ethereal in the soft glow. “you should go to sleep. you don’t want a hangover in the morning,” you whisper.

“i will in a minute,” he whispers back. you can see the cogs turning in his head, as if he was debating both for and against himself in his mind. you realize what that look was for though when the bed dips slightly under his weight as he shuffles closer to you, his arm coming up to rest heavy on your waist. “just let me do this,” he slides his other arm under your head before pulling you until you were pressed against his body. he lets out a sigh into the quiet night as his body finally seems to fully relax, the feeling of you against him helping his hyped up state from the clubbing and alcohol dissipate. he tucks your head underneath his chin, his hand mindlessly rubbing back and forth on your back, lulling you into a sleepy state as well.

you press yourself closer to him and bring your arms to wrap around his torso to hold him in return as you let your eyes flutter shut. “goodnight, sunghoon.”

“goodnight, y/n.” he replies, his breathing evening out as he drifts off to sleep. you smile to yourself before you drift off shortly after, meeting him once more in your dreams.

[mingtinys]

" not so fast, patient zero "

pairing : wen junhui x gn!reader

a nauseating amount of fluff

warnings : jun is sick, but that's abt it

word count : 1.2 k

requested ? yes

a/n : i'm of the opinion that jun gets (at minimum) 93% cuter when he's sick.

"Alright, where is he?" You sigh, scanning the brightly lit dance room for any sign of your boyfriend, frowning when you come up empty-handed. Seungcheol peels himself from the floor, sweaty and winded.

"He's down the hall, I'll show you." the leader says before calling back to the rest of his members. "Once I'm back, we'll start again from the second verse, so rest up and be ready." All he gets in return is a chorus of groans.

You say your goodbyes and quickly follow Seungcheol down the hall, just a few doors down. "Sorry to call you all the way over here," he whispers, stopping just before he opens the door. "We tried to get him to let staff take him home, but he insisted we call you."

You shrug, "S'okay, I wasn't doing much anyways."

Seungcheol nods and carefully peers inside before letting out a snort. "I think he's still passed out."

Sure enough, there's Jun, tucked into a corner on the floor, despite the perfectly good couch available, with his knees pulled all the way up to his chest. He sits beneath a mound of jackets, presumably belonging to the other members, eyes half-lidded and lips parted. You can not fathom how he could possibly be comfortable with how his head lolls to the side. If he weren't obviously sick, skin pale, and heavy bags under his eyes, you'd take a picture for future blackmail.

"You gonna need help getting him to your car?"

"If you could."

Seungcehol nods, "Yeah, not a problem, it'll give the guys a bit more of a break."

You quietly tiptoe over to the bundle that is your boyfriend and crouch down. "Jun, baby," you call. He mumbles something incoherent, shifting beneath his cocoon.

"Jun, come on baby, it's time to go home," you coo, reaching out to cup his jaw, his skin clammy and feverish. He lets out a pitiful hum, barely regaining consciousness as he tries to blink himself awake.

"Y/N?"

"Yeah, I'm here, sorry it took me so long."

"S'fine," he mumbles, making you smile. It's hard to be mad about your day off being interrupted when sick Jun is this adorable, red nose, puffy eyes, and all.

"You ready to go home?" Seungcheol's deep voice resonates behind you. He's already stepping around the mess of winter jackets and vests, hovering over the two of you with his hands on his hips.

"Yes, please." You think he tries to nod but just ends up bumping his head against the wall behind him. His face scrunches up at the contact, though you will say, he looks a lot more awake now.

"Alright, up you go," Seungcheol grabs Jun's wrists, pulling him to stand, albeit wobbly, on his feet. The jackets crumple to a sad pile on the floor, getting trampled as Seungcheol leads Jun to the door, arm hooked under his armpit to keep him upright. You're not sure you've ever seen Jun this sick, not even when he got the stomach bug and spent three days hunched over your toilet. It makes you worry, and not even the sweet smile Jun musters up as he thanks you for coming reassures you.

All in all, it takes about five minutes to walk Jun down to your car, and another fifteen for you to drive. Which should have only been ten, but you had to slow down tremendously when Jun started mumbling about feeling nauseous. Now, your only challenge was getting him up two flights of stairs to your apartment without the aid of Seungcheol.

He tries, rather unceremoniously, to climb his way up the first flight. He's mostly successful, gripping the railing and hoisting himself up one by one even though his legs move as though they're made of lead. However, there are only a few more steps when his toe catches the lip of the next and he nearly face-plants onto the landing. You're lunging for him in a second, grabbing his shoulders and steadying him with cat-like reflexes.

"Sorry, dizzy," he mumbles, taking a moment to shut his eyes and regain his bearings.

"Wen Junhui, what am I going to do with you?" You mumble, guiding him to conquer the few remaining stairs so you can unlock your door. "You can go lay down in my room, I'll be there in a minute."

You wait until Jun trudges through your living room and out of view before you busy yourself in the kitchen. Brewing a special immunity-boosting tea Minghao once gifted you and grabbing a sleeve of salted crackers, then a bottle of cold and flu medicine.

When you return to your room, tea, medicine, and crackers in hand, you're met with a similar sight as to when you picked up your boyfriend from dance practice. Cuddled up with about three of your blankets and nested amongst your many pillows and stuffed animals.

"Make yourself at home there?" You tease.

Jun's face softens into something akin to a smile. "It's cold."

You answer by handing him the tea with the cold medicine, which he gladly takes after digging himself out from his burrow enough to sit up. He sips slowly, taking small nibbles of the crackers in between.

Jun, unlike most, is actually the picture-perfect patient when he's sick. Doesn't fuss or argue when you're shoving medicine down his throat, listens when you tell him to rest, rarely asks for much, and is adorably clingy. The worst thing he does is pout and occasionally complain through sniffles about his head hurting. Really, the only downside is that you usually end up bedridden a few days later. Because Jun has a bad habit of claiming, "I don't want to get you sick," while simultaneously clinging to you like a koala.

There's a slurping beside you, Jun's head tilted all the way back and the mug practically upside down. He hands it back to you with a large grin on his face, muttering out a thanks that's significantly less raspy than his voice has been. You make a mental note to thank Mingaho for the tea.

"Feeling any better?" You ask, taking a seat next to him and brushing his hair back to feel his temperature; still warm. "Do you need anything else? More blankets, water, soup, maybe?"

He shakes his head, looking up at you with that same dopey look he always weaponizes before trying to persuade you into joining his antics. "A kiss."

"Not so fast, patient zero." You turn your head when he leans in, only for him to pull back with a look of utter betrayal, because how dare you deny him kisses when he needs them most.

"Come on," he whines. "Just one? For me? Please? I promise I'll take care of you when you're sick."

"No, Junhui."

"But what if I die? Then what? Then you'll never be able to kiss me again, is that what you want?"

"Really?" You dead pan. "You're gonna make this as difficult as possible, aren't you?"

He just puckers his lips. You sigh, internally cursing yourself for being born with a spine that has the structural integrity of a Twizzler. You give him a quick peck, then a second when he inevitably chases after for another, which seems to please him greatly. And because you're but a victim to Jun's charm, you press an extra long kiss to the crown of his head, earning a pleased hum from the boy in question.

"Happy now?"

"Very, you take good care of me."

"Yeah, well, take notes. Cause I can already feel your germs infecting me."

[scoutswritingcorner]

Gala Night

PolyVees x GN!Reader

TW:Valentino. I do not condone his actions at all.

A/N: CHAUFFEUR READER IS MAKING A REAPPEARANCE!!!!

You quickly moved out of the way as a secretary rushed past you holding the phone to your ear as you tried to listen to what Valentino was saying, “Carino~ You wouldn’t mind going to see Velvette before you grab the limo? She has something waiting for you.” He purred through the phone as you tried to rush to the now closing elevator. “Son of a- those bastards.” You hissed out looking around, guess you’ll be running up twenty flights of stairs then wait 5 minutes for the next elevator, “Yes, go see Velvette and then go pick up the limo.” You repeated back to the Overlord who happily hummed before he had to abruptly hang up as he yelled at someone.

You opened the door towards the stairs and growled, Velvette was gonna be pissed at you for being so late but so be it. You started your ascent up the staircase, putting your phone back in your pocket and ignoring how it buzzed with texts from multiple people. Of course, Vox had called you in on the day of one of hell’s special occasions. The Overlords Gala. Where Overlords throughout the whole 7 rings of Hell get together at Lucifer’s palace. You had the day off originally but Valentino got a little mad and killed off the other chauffeur that drove them around that morning so everything was an hour behind, you were still in your pajamas and had barely grabbed your wallet and phone for the day.

It took a few more moments until you were on the twentieth floor, busting through the door and quickly running down the hall towards Velvette’s Fashion Department ignoring the looks of models and random demons in the hallways. As you walked in still out of breath and practically wheezing for breath you could hear Velvette yelling at some poor model before she moved them away. Janette whispering something to her before she whipped her head towards you, “Where the fuck have you been?” She asked storming over as you stood tall, “Running up twenty flights of stairs,” you replied before she rolled her eyes and pulled you towards the podium. Velvette’s eyes stuck to your outfit like glue before her glare darkened and her frown deepened. “What the fuck are you wearing?” She growled out as you looked down at the ‘Voxtech’ shirt and pajama pants you took from the gift basket (one of many) that Vox sent over to your apartment.

“..my pajamas.” You slowly replied before she scoffed and flicked her wrist as your pajamas disappeared and you were fitted in your normal outfit but the subtle difference was it had the V’s logo embroidered on the chest pocket as if they were planning to show you off and you weren’t just gonna drop them off and then go busy yourself with whatever you could find. Velvette walked over and fixed the jacket from looking lopsided, “Don’t run down those fucking stairs. You’ll tear something or fall and we don’t have time to fix another fucking mess.” She said before reaching up to brush your hair back, “Yes ma’am, no running down the stairs.” You repeated watching as a smile replaced the sneer on her lips. She patted your arms and waved you off to go do whatever else you needed to do. 

It didn’t take you long to get down the flight of stairs and down to the parking lot where Vox kept the limo and other cars you were asked to drive. Quickly showing your ID to the scanner on the door, Vox was really careful about everything. Even one small misprint on your ID would send him an alert that someone was breaking in, you walked into the large garage and looked around seeing the limo sitting near the back of the garage. You walked towards it to make sure everything was okay.

It wasn’t until an hour later as you were making sure the inside of the Limo was cleaned and restocked for the three of them that Vox had called you to tell you that they were about to leave. You got situated and drove the limo to the front of the tower ignoring how demons gathered around to see the Vee’s before they left for the Gala. But bodyguards had blocked the crowds as you rushed to the other side and opened the doors for the three Overlords, who looked like they stole a piece of Heaven with their matching outfits. You were not drooling over your bosses, focus. This is a big night and you’d rather not have a bullet in your head before the night is over. Keep your mind from drifting.

The drive was silent and long, only a few times did Valentino bother you which was weird but you didn’t pay attention to it much. As you pulled to a stop at a redlight, you softly tapped on the steering wheel as your eyes drifted around. You were liable to fall asleep if the silence continued like this, it wouldn’t hurt to play some music while they weren’t paying attention to you, maybe it’d get them to relax a bit too..even if they didn’t hear it due to the partition window. You turned the radio on, turning it down so it wouldn’t be too loud for them to hear as you started to drive down the road once more.

It was another few minutes before you drove past the giant golden gates, you felt weird about being around such a place. Especially since this had to be the first Gala in years after The King’s absence, you felt..unworthy of being in such a place. As you pulled to a stop in front of the palace doors, you parked the car and moved to open the door for all three of them. Valentino was first to exit, then followed by Velvette and finally Vox exited the Limo, his arm slinging around your shoulders. “Are you ready for a fun night?” He asked pulling you closer to his form as cameras flashed all around you. You blinked once..twice before it hit you..Vox was talking to you. “W-What?” You asked looking up at his screen seeing his smile grow wide at the question as he closed the limo door with his foot, his arm moving comfortably around your waist.

If you were anyone else there would be a sure chance he would’ve killed you right there for questioning him. But you weren’t anyone else, you were the Vee’s chauffeur. You were under their protection and you weren’t bound by any soul contract, you had free reign to do whatever you wanted. “The party~ You’re our guest~” Valentino cut in gently grabbing your chin and making you look towards him, oh boy the rumors will be running on for days now. You just whispered a soft ‘oh’ before looking away at Velvette who winked at you. 

There goes your plans to go to that diner downtown and eat dinner for cheap.

Taglist: @aboyscriminalrecord cause I know you thrive on the Vees.

[sleekervae]

New York Romantic .1

Masterlist

pairing: Tom Blyth x ballerina!oc

summary: a young actor moves across the hall from an aspiring ballerina. (college au kinda)

word count: 1562

a/n: i've had this idea knocking around in my brain for a few days and finally got to penning it down -- enjoy!

August 2016

The sun stretched its golden rays across the morning sky in New York City, the last embrace of summer's fading heat lingered in the air. The city bustled under a whispering breeze that carried the promise of change, as tree leaves, once adorned in vibrant green, began their slow transformation into a canvas of crimson and gold. Amidst the streets, a serene anticipation filled the air, capturing the essence of a city transitioning as the summer activities came to a close and the kids were dreading the return to school.

The wheels on Tom's luggage clacked against the cracks and bumps in the concrete sidewalk, bleary and tired eyes scanning between his phone and the address placards on the various condos. He knew he should've taken a cab, but the bus was so much cheaper and Google indicated it was only a five minute walk to his new living quarters anyway.

He finally stopped in front of a brick building, the address placard worn and rusted from the elements but the numbers matched up with that on his itinerary. The other cue that gave it away was the variety of art pieces in windows and hung over bannisters and fire escapes. Tom lugged his bag up the three stone steps and ducked inside.

The lobby was pale, dingy and in dire need of a fresh coat of paint; not to mention the air held hints of mothballs and burnt microwaved popcorn. An older woman was sat behind a desk, reclined in her chair while glazed eyes were focused on her computer screen. Tom approached slowly, hoping his smile could cover the exhaustion hiding in his face.

"Hello,"

The woman's eyes were the last to focus when she turned her head, blinking over her glasses and a warm smile graced her face, "Oh, hello! You must be... erm..." she suddenly grabbed a clipboard and scanned the tiny text, "... Jacob Nielson?" she spoke in the classic Brooklyn accent with exaggerated vowels and nasally undertones.

"No," he shook his head politely, "My name's Tom. Blyth," he replied.

She scanned her list with her pen, gasping aloud when she found his name, "I see, now! Very nice to meet you, my name's Doris -- I'm the super here. You're my renter from London, right?"

"Yeah. Well -- Yorkshire specifically,"

"I didn't do so well in geography, honey. Have mercy," Doris replied as she stood up, heading for the wall of cubbies behind her, "So tell me, which insane asylum are you checking into?"

" -- Excuse me?"

"What school are you attending?" she asked again, her fingers flourishing across the cubbies.

Tom nodded, "I'm starting at Julliard next week. I'm an actor," he replied.

Doris scoffed, "Yeah? You and everybody's dog, honey," she pulled a key from a specific slot and returned to the desk, "But you got a nice face, maybe you'll luck out,"

Tom wasn't sure whether or not he should've taken that as a compliment, so he simply smiled back and accepted the key, "Um, thank you,"

"You're on floor three, room 14. Your roommate should already be moved in, he can give you a tour of the place," she explained, "If you need anything, leaky faucets fixed and whatnot just come down and see me,"

"Thank you, Doris," he took his bag and started for the elevator on the right of the room, but Doris called out to him again.

"Hold on, handsome! Elevator's broke! Hasn't worked since Giuliani was mayor," she pointed to the left, "Stairs are over there,"

Tom huffed under his breath; he was tired and the last thing he wanted was to lug his suitcase up three flights of stairs. Nevertheless, he gave Doris one more polite grin as he started for the staircase.

The sun cast stark patterns across the stairs, the skewed silhouettes of the window panes interrupted by Tom's own shadow as he made his trek up. He hadn't at first registered the thundering of footsteps above him until a group of kids rushed passed him.

"C'mon! We're gonna miss the bus!" The stairwell was relatively narrow, arms and bodies knocking into Tom until he nearly slipped and his grip loosened on his suitcase. The suitcase went tumbling down the stairs, smacking hard against the opposing wall and the latches burst open. His belongings spilled everywhere.

Tom grumbled to himself, trekking down the stairs again to clean up the mess. One of the kids however hung back, trailing behind her group but she'd witnessed Tom's misfortune. She double backed up the stairs, staring in astonishment at the clothes and knick knacks, then at him.

"Jesus, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

Tom was crouched over the ground when he looked up, coming face-to-face with the concerned expression of a young brunette. She was lean and petite, dressed down in denim shorts and black tank top. Her converse had two different coloured laces, one red and one yellow. He found that peculiar.

"I'm alright," Tom assured her, "If this is the worst thing that happens to me today, then it's not such a bad day, right?" he tried to laugh it off.

The girl simpered, "Sure," nevertheless she crouched down to help him. One of her friends called out from below.

"Noelle! C'mon! We're gonna miss the bus!" she shouted.

The girl -- Noelle -- shouted back, "Go ahead, Bianca! I'll catch up with you guys!"

"But the movie starts in an hour! It's take forty five minutes from here, man!"

"It's twenty minutes of previews, anyways!" she turned back to Tom, her cheeks tinting bashfully, "Sorry about that,"

"Don't worry. You should go with your friends, I'll be fine," he replied.

Noelle scoffed, "Can I trust you with a secret?"

"Sure,"

"I hate horror movies,"

Tom smiled, "And lemme' guess: they're going to see a horror movie?"

"Don't Breathe. Some kids break into a blind guy's house and he ends up killing them all and quite frankly -- I can go my whole life without more nightmares," she replied, a coy smile playing at her lips.

"Don't half blame you. I'm not the biggest fan, myself," he said, "Do you live here?"

"Yep. That nutcase shouting at me was my roommate," she replied, "Sorry, I didn't get your name,"

"Tom,"

"Very nice to meet you. I wish it was under better circumstances," she chuckled back.

"Don't worry about it -- Noelle," he grinned.

She helped him clean up and pack his things, leading him back upstairs to his room. He assured her he could manage but Noelle insisted, saying it was the least she could do for his trouble.

"Room 14?" she cocked a brow when he told her, the corners of her lips pulling back to bare her clenched teeth.

"Yeah. What's wrong?" Tom asked apprehensively, "I don't have a serial killer for a roommate, right?"

Noelle shook her head, "No, no, you get Sunny. And he's just like his name -- absolute sunshine human being,"

"... I sense there's a 'but' coming," he trailed.

"He's a scholarship violinist, he's brilliant. And he's so brilliant because he practices at all hours of the night," she explained, "... All hours. You might wanna invest in some noise cancelling ear plugs,"

Tom nodded, relieved that at least his new roomie didn't sound like a dickhead, "Thanks for the advice,"

They stopped in front of the door, a worn brass 14 glinting subtly in the light. Tom fished out the key from his pocket, "I guess this is me,"

"Oh, damn," Noelle huffed, glancing at the door across from them, "You get the insane neighbours,"

His eyes flitted between her and the door, "... Whatcha' mean by that?"

Noelle pulled a key from her pocket, "Well, they're dancers for one. So they're always playing music, talking shit, burning their instant noodles because they're half-daft," with that she shoved the key into the lock and twisted, and sure enough the door opened.

Tom glanced at her, sheer amusement crossing over his face. He simpered under his breath, "You're my half-daft dancer neighbour who burns her instant noodles?"

"Unfortunately for you," she confirmed, half smirking.

"And how does one burn their instant noodles?" he asked.

"Don't worry about it," she closed and locked the door again, "But I'll let you get settled in. If you need anything at all, you can just pop over,"

"Thank you, Noelle," he smiled, "And thanks again for --" he stopped suddenly when he heard a faint violin melody from the other side of his door. It was a beautiful melody nonetheless, and it had him intrigued, "I suppose that's my roommate?"

Noelle nodded back, "Yep. I promise you, he's a sweetheart," she started walking backwards towards the stairwell, "I'm sorry again about earlier,"

"Don't give it a second thought. Have fun at your movie," he replied.

She giggled sardonically, "Oh trust me, I'll have a blast. I'll see you around, Tom,"

Tom gave her a small wave, watching her until she disappeared around the corner, could hear her shoes squeaking as she trotted down the stairs. He couldn't deny he found her quite a looker, a small part of him giddy with excitement at the prospect of getting to know his new neighbour. The violin melody continued to play on the other side of the door, and taking a deep breath for confidence, he pushed the key into the lock and opened the door...

[gatefleet]

Hidden Away

DC/Vertigo: The Sandman; Morpheus (Dream/Sandman)

WordCount: 921

T(W): Being captured, feeling trapped

Request: No

A/N: I had a dream last night that I couldn't shake and this was the only way I could get it to stop haunting me. Our taglist seems to have gone offline, so if anyone wants added to taglists, please feel free to message!

All rights/credits for images used belongs to the Creator of used GIF.

You had never been trapped before, the witch that captured you had no idea who or what you truly are. You awoke to find yourself trapped in a stone room with a steel barred door. You could hear others groan weakly in the background, but you still didn't have the strength (or frankly the courage) to move closer to the bars. You lay in the same spot for days, immobile.

When you finally had the courage and strength to move to the bars it was slowly, over the course of the day. When you were finally close enough to touch the bars you heard a heavy door slam open from relatively close by and retreated quickly back to where you originally lay. You heard another door made of steel bars open, a thud, and the door shut again. Again, after what felt like a few hours you began your slow crawl back to the bars.

You sat by the door listening for any sounds. The groans and moans stopped a while ago.

You leaned against the cold metal of the door and was surprised when it swung open, hitting your back on the cold stone floor. You took a few minutes to recover before getting to your feet and walking slowly towards the door, trying not to make a sound as you moved across the stone floor. You pushed on the door separating you from the rest of the building you were in. You made your way through the winding stairways and hallways, warily looking around each corner before continuing. You could smell something being cooked the closer you got to the large wooden door ahead of you, the smell pulling you closer. You hadn’t realised that you had entered the room and suddenly you were running away from it. A woman howling after you, forcing you back toward the stairs and halls that you had just made your way through.

You collided with something, the harshness of the collision almost knocking the air out of your lungs. You fell with it, down a few stairs together, limbs tangled. You fell hard and when you had recovered, you realised that you had collided with another person. You didn’t get a chance to apologise before the sounds of your captor coming closer dragged you back on your feet gripping your collidee on to their feet to drag them through the building away from the thundering rage heading in your direction. You hadn’t realised when you entered a hallway that looped in on itself. It made the impact with your abductor that much more surprising. You and your fellow abductee scrambled to your feet and attempted to run again, to find the door that led you to the forsaken hallway to begin with.

Next thing you remember is blur of stone and moss. Then you met the cold harshness of a small flight of three-five rather high steps. Your abductor standing at the top laughing, a haunting cackle floating through your skull. You both finally managed to scramble back to your feet, running back down the hallway again, then blackness.

When you both came out the other side you were on a street. Neither of you had any idea how or why you ended up there, pausing and looking behind you in disbelief. Waiting for the cackle to seep into your bones again, send that hair-raising scream to break the illusion of being free. When you turned back, to face the way you were initially running toward, you were surprised to be face-to-face with a pale, slender gentleman dressed in all black with a billowing, black cloak. His black tousled hair seemed to float in the wind and his eyes, it was like starlight incarnate, swirling and captivating. His pale chiselled jawline striking against the blackness of his clothing. You had met this man before, but you couldn’t place where.

Suddenly it was like a lock burst open within your mind and you realised just how drained and weakened you were from your recent event. You turned to find the other person that was held captive with you, only to find them gone. You hadn’t realised when they left. Your head was simultaneously pounding and light as a feather. Then it felt as though something clicked and you remembered. Everything.

The stranger before you held out his hand, as though he knew you and had been waiting for you to come to the surface again. You took his hand on impulse and tried to walk with him. You were slightly shocked when you had actually teleported him a couple of steps, shaking, ensuring him that your capture did not know who you were or what you were capable of, but that if they had, they would surely never have attempted what they had. The stranger looked to you, then pulled you close to his chest, you looked up at him, and you both leaned into each other, lips parting slightly until you finally met in a kiss.

Once you slowly pulled back from one another and opened your eyes, you both realised that you were in a different part of the city. This new place had water fountains that sparkled in the light of the setting sun, sending rays and mini rainbows around you both.

You smiled up at the stranger softly and whispered against his lips, “Now, now my Lord. Did you really think I’d forget who you are? Who I am. Lord Morpheus. Mister Sandman himself.” He gave you a small smile and pulled you close again, his heartbeat steady in your ears.

Tag List Open

[callmewrinkles3]

Sandwiches

Summary: Dan’s delayed coming home from winter testing. Emmy’s in bed. Fluff.

March 2019

The flight from Barcelona to London wasn’t long, but Dan was exhausted. Two weeks of winter testing meant his brain was mush in a good way. The car felt good. Not great, but he was comfortable. He could work with comfortable. But then there was a delay so they were diverted to Gatwick and it was a pain getting through. But finally after far too long he was getting his bag and getting into the taxi with Blake.

Emmy hadn’t replied to his landed text so hopefully she was actually asleep for once. She never really slept when he was driving, even in testing when it was safe. But then they were in the taxi and he put his phone away so he didn’t smile stupidly at it and give everything away. Having his manager and one of his best mates living next door to his girl was awkward for so many reasons. Especially this one.

“Talk to you tomorrow, Mate? Well, today?” Blake asked and Dan shook his head.

“Day off? Weekend off, fuck it. When’s the next thing I actually have to do? Sim work, right?”

“Sim on Monday yeah.”

“Fuck it. We’re off this weekend. I’m gonna spend it sleeping and stretching.”

“See ya.”

The driver pulled back onto the road until Dan got him to stop beside the 24 hour shop. “Just here, thanks.”

“I thought you were out further?”

“My girl’s in his building and we’re keeping it quiet for now. We’re all friends.”

“Good luck.”

It was a ten minute wait to make sure Blake was actually in his place before Dan started the minute walk down the street. He spent the time productively and picked up a bouquet of flowers for Em. They’d very carefully ignored Valentines Day, unwilling to have that conversation and let his heart be broken if she didn’t feel the same way he did. So instead it was purple and yellow tulips that he had in his hand while he climbed the three sets of stairs to get to the tiny attic apartments.

Opening the front door by pushing in the one spot guaranteed not to squeak, the first thing he noticed was the chill in the air. A quick glance at the crap storage heaters showed they were supposed to be on, but there was no heat emitting from them. Fucking landlord too cheap to fix it even when Dan had called multiple times after Em had. She’d repeated the story about how the handyman taught her how to use the heaters instead of checking them one too many times, her “I was using them in uni halls and I was warmer then, Danny!” filling the air.

Sitting in the middle of the table was a beeswax wrap covered plate and a bottle of water. Pulling the wrap off he discovered the BLT sitting there on crusty bread. His girl always left him something if she was going to bed, crisp bacon and tomatoes that were well insulated to stop the bread going soggy making him so happy. This was home. The way no matter what was going on Em made sure to have a sandwich waiting for him to get back to her if he was due in at night. For the first time in too long there was someone who cared about him just because she liked him and that was magical.

He finished eating and took a swallow from the bottle before capping it and wrapping his arms around himself to keep the heat. It was quick to brush his teeth and run a cloth over his face to get the worst of the travel grime off. But finally he pushed open the bedroom door to see the best thing. His Emmy was curled up on the side of the bed he usually slept on, a black and yellow hoodie on to keep her warm in the March chill. Her arms were wrapped around the Jigglypuff plushie he’d bought for her in Japan the year before and she was so peaceful it nearly hurt him to have to get her to move. He pulled his clothes off quickly and pushed the starry night duvet out of the way so he could slip into the bed.

“I’m back, Emmy. It’s just me,” he murmured as her eyes opened and a grin spread across her sleepy face.

“Missed you.”

“Missed you too.” He kissed the top of her head as she curled up against his chest and tried to get comfy again. A moment later he felt her shuffle and watched as her hands moved her hoodie up.

“What’s up?”

“Wanna feel your skin. Know it’s you. I-“ She was cut off by a yawn. “The hoodie made me think you were Jigglypuff but I’m too sleepy.”

“I’ve got you. Hands up for a minute.” It took less than a minute for him to pull her hoodie off and throw it across the room, leaving her bare skin pushed against his as they curled under the blankets and got warm again.

“Nigh-night Danny. Tell me about testing tomorrow. We’ve got time.” Dan watched Em’s eyes close as she curled in tighter, their legs tangling together. They were flying to Australia in a couple of days to spend time in Perth before Melbourne and he couldn’t wait. It was two and a bit weeks that he got to spend almost entirely with Em curled up beside him with his family there. In the quiet of the night he could admit it to himself. He couldn’t wait to spend time at his home race with the woman he was in love with.

[nkirukaj]

The Radio Demon & the Billboard Doe (9)

Pairing: Alastor x Fem! OC

Warnings: Swearing & Graphic Depictions of Violence

Genre: Angst/Fluff (& Humor!)

Word Count: 3.1K

<Chapter 8

9. For the Entertainment

“What the fuck is it with that wall?”

They all look toward the hole that was blasted into the side of the hotel

“Y’all know me, love to make an entrance!” Cherri Bomb stepped through the hole “Angie! Ya little bitch! What’s going on? Every time I invite you to hang out ya say no!”

“Okay, Cherri.” Charlie walks up to the Cyclops “So glad to have you here, but…” she glances back at Vaggie “We have a door, please use it, okay? No more blowing up the walls. Okay?” Charlie gives a pleading grin

“Alright,” Cherri says, her lips flat as she rolls her eye. Charlie gives an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Voe gives an excited gasp “Cherri Bomb! Hi!” She waves at the other woman “I haven’t seen you since the last time you were here.”

“Uh yeah…” She squints “Angie! Answer me ya bitch!”

“Ugh, I’m just busy, ya know.” He lays down on the couch

“All the more reason to get pissed!”

“Yeah but between work…..and that’s it.”

“Come on then!” she pulls his legs

“Ugh!” he falls on the floor “Gimme a minute! Or five! Or a thousand!” He lays his head back on the ground

“Where were you headed, Cherri?” Voe chimed up

Cherri keeps tugging Angel’s leg “I was gonna drag Angel to-“

“This is a perfect opportunity to get to know each other! The club! We’re going to the club!” He points up at the ceiling 

“Sorry to interrupt, but Voe can you go get Alastor? We need him to fix this wall,” Charlie approaches the three of them

Voe blinks “Why me?”

Charlie blinks back at the doe “Um because…uh…can you please just do it?”

The doe twists her lip in confusion “Okay.” she starts walking “Wait, where is he?”

“He should be in his radio station,” Vaggie stepped up next to Charlie

“Where is that?” she tilts her head in confusion

Charlie points down the hall “At the very top of those stairs.”

Voe walks toward them and starts ascending. After walking for about 10 minutes up the many flights. She took a second to breathe. Was this why they sent her? So they wouldn’t have to do all this? She stood wondering if there was a faster way to get up all these stairs, racking her brain with possible solutions, she just decided to accept her fate. That is until the overwhelming thoughts of wishing to move faster consumed her mind to the point where she didn’t even notice that she had passed about 5 flights in a few seconds. Looking back down, she realized that she was further along than she thought. Taking the next few flights in the same way. Once she took her time she noticed that she was moving and climbing unnaturally fast, her speed nothing like she’d ever seen before. Once she started to do it on purpose, she realized what exactly it was.

At the top of the stairs, she regarded her feet with awe “Cool,” she spoke smugly

The door to Alastor’s radio station was closed, with a sign saying ‘On Air’ lit up at the top of the door, she reached for the knob but pulled her hand back once she heard his voice.

“And that you wayward souls is why all other forms of music are inferior to jazz. “ she could hear the smirk on his face “Now ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to finally address the subject that you all have tuned in for. Recently, you may have heard the news that in my next broadcast, I plan to speak about my relationship with someone special. And finally, that broadcast is here!” Voe steps forward and presses her ear to the door. “I want to talk about a very important person, I’ve known them for some time and they’ve been on my mind recently.” he takes a breath “That person is….Voe the Beau, as she goes by” Voe inhales sharply, then covers her mouth to mask the sound “I’m sure you’ve heard of her. She seems to have taken Hell by storm. This demoness is quite the newcomer, she seems quite intelligent, and her flair is felt in almost all the crevices of Pentagram City. In fact, given the number of people willing to follow her, I believe that some Overlords, such as a certain talk show host with a picture box for a cranium should look out.” His tone gets threatening and ominous towards the end “This is Alastor, signing off” he ends his broadcast with the evilest of laughs as the ‘On Air’ sign goes dark. Voe backs up from the door as she hears the knob turning. Alastor, in his lean frame, stands in front of her in the doorway.

“Did you need something, my dear?”

She looks up at him over her glasses “Charlie asked me to come…get you.” She stands straight up “They have a wall problem.” His face is straight, but his eyes look down, almost disappearing. She wondered how it felt for him to be looking at her from such a great height.

“Once again, I am needed.” he starts to dissipate

“Wait!” Alastor reforms in place with an eyebrow raised “Can you like, shadow me down too?”

His smile turns into a smirk “Oh, my dear” he says before disappearing into the shadows

“Ugh this motherfucker,” she mumbles under her breath

Luckily she had gotten a hang of her unnatural speed and made quick work of the staircase, but it would’ve been better if he had just shadowed her down as she asked.  She made it to her room, and fell face-first into her bed, resting her feet for a bit. It wasn’t even two hours before her ears picked up on some nonsense from downstairs. Mostly Charlie screaming and everyone else sounding annoyed as fuck. Her ears wouldn’t stop twitching with sound, despite how much she tried to ignore it. 

But then she heard another voice that had never graced her ears before. It was high pitched, nasally, and grated her ears like nothing before. With a groan, she dragged herself out of the bed legs first and exited her hotel room. There was no way that any drama was going down without her being a part of it.

___________________________________________________________

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to see Alastor, duh”

“Didn’t he send you away last time?”

“And now I’m back! I’m like a boomerang baby!”

“I don’t recommend it.”

“Oh, what do you know kitty? Alastor loves me.” She strolls past the cat, up to the deer with a smug grin on her face

Voe’s appearance at the top of the stairs was nothing short of dramatic, but that was how she liked it. She’d heard the nasally high-pitched voice from a different floor. A voice she didn’t recognize. And now seeing who the voice belonged to, and who it was directed towards, she was not pleased. 

Alastor stood incredibly still and silent at the pleas of the blonde. She started edging closer and closer to him, until making contact when she was holding his arm, and his pupils were looking down on her unsure of whether to recoil or throw her. 

“Alastor!” Voe calls from the top of the stairs, using her incredible speed to then appear next to him, edging out the blonde. “Who’s this?”

“Mimzy.” The blonde speaks flatly, looking Voe up and down

“Hello, Mimzy! My name is Voe! To what do we owe the visit?” Her eyes are large, but unwelcoming, hoping to create a feeling of unease in her victim. 

She turns back to Alastor, Voe fuming inside. 

“Alastor, I need you!”

“And I do believe I made my stance clear.”

“Please I’m in danger! It’s not the sharks this time!”

“I wouldn’t care if it was a pack of wolves.”

“They’re foxes,”

“What?”

“Foxes? Just help me out one more time. For old time’s sake?”

“I told you no. I cannot have you bringing danger to our doors”

“But they followed me here!”

The walls of the hotel shake and shudder, the sound of something slamming into the front of the hotel, threatening to send it once again, tumbling down. 

Alastor glared down at Mimzy, clearly angered with his unbroken smile, and inhaled with irritation.

“You wouldn’t just let your old friend bite the dust, would you?” Mimzy pleaded.

“I know I would,” Angel muttered to Husker. “Please?” she looked up at him with pleading eyes. 

Voe squinted, examining Mimzy’s face, then looked up at Alastor to read his. They knew each other well, it seemed. Voe didn’t really take kindly to being ignored, but reading this woman for filth wouldn’t exactly accomplish what she wanted. Sure, it would put the blonde in her place, but it wouldn’t tear Alastor’s attention away from her. She needed something that could do both.

Voe quickly rushes out of the hotel entrance and finds herself confronting the foxes that are endangering her place of residence. She stands firmly in front of the doors, ensuring that her dress is neat, and her heels make a clicking sound as she maintains her position.

“Hi.” She waves “I’m Voe. I would like to kindly ask that you stop trying to destroy this hotel, as it is very special to me and the other residents.”

The foxes are visibly confused. “Just give us that bitch Mimzy, and we’ll be on our way.”

Voe scrunches her face “Yeah, we can’t do that, sorry.”

The lead fox grins at her evilly and full of delight “Or we could take you as payment, how’s that sound princess?”

“I don’t like that very much either.”

“Ain’t that quite a shame. Y’all make haste on the building,” he nods towards one of the foxes near Voe “Make quick work of the bitch.”

Voe turns up her lip as though she is disappointed, as one fox does as he is instructed. 

“Clearly you have your species mixed up.” She examines her nails “‘Cuz I’m not a bitch.” As the fox approaches and reaches for her, she unsheathes a nail “I’m a doe.”

In one swift motion, she slits the throat of the fox before her, and he falls still on the ground, Oh my gosh, I had no idea that would actually work. “If anything, you’re the bitch.” She looks down at her booties, angry at the blood stain. “You messed up my shoes, what the fuck!”

She runs from under the hotel before they can process what they’ve seen. She stumbles a bit while stopping. 

“Whoops. Still getting used to that.” She laughs awkwardly. 

The remaining foxes charge her into a corner to which she responds by jumping 15ft into the air, slamming down on another fox associate, rendering him flat and mostly liquid. 

“Crazy cunt just squashed him!”

“Don’t be rude. I’m not that big.” She runs full speed, slamming into another, sending him crashing through glass and through walls, disintegrating before impact. 

Voe takes a deep breath admiring her work, and moving her hair out of her face, when the last foxes grab her from behind with a gun to her temple. 

“Not so fancy now are you huh?” He spat into her ear as she struggled to free herself. 

“I was gonna have you live with me as the pretty little thing you are, but now I’m gonna turn your bitch ass inside out.”

Voe’s voice lacks any emotion in her response “How many times do I have to tell you?” She inhales deeply “I’m. A. DOE!” She leans forward, sending back a kick with the force of 10 semi-trucks. Sending the air out of his lungs and the weapons out of his hands. 

She walks up to him and places a foot on his crotch

“Are you supposed to be my predator? Cuz to me you look like prey.”

The remaining fox spits blood on her face, to which she does not physically react. But inside she is utterly disgusted and repulsed. Ugh please get it off me. 

“Now you have a choice. I could break your neck, or I could try a fun surprise.” Her voice is eerily calm and monotonous here as if this carnage was not by her hand. 

“Fuck you,” he tries spitting at her again

“Not one of the options, but it’s fine. Because I love surprises.” She cracks a satisfied smirk before leaning down and breathing flames on his already messed-up face. His screams end within minutes as the flames subside revealing the charred remains of his skull. 

Voe stands straight and looks around “Wow, this is a mess. Ugh, I can’t keep looking at it.” And walks back to the entrance of the hotel, where the other residents and employees are standing with their faces pressed against the glass doors as if they were watching an action movie and they were on the edge of their seats. She knocks on the door “Can I come inside now?”

She approaches the short blonde once more

“There, I took care of your problem,” she dusts her sleeves off “You can go now. It was so nice meeting you!” Voe’s face was cheery, but her tone said otherwise

“But I-“

“So nice” she cuts Mimzy off “Bye bye” wiggling her fingers

Mimzy looks to Alastor for some backup, for which he provides none. He stands eerily still simply staring down at the short blonde with his signature grin wide and full of mischief.

“Hey,” Voe snaps in her face “Don’t look at him, look at me.” small flames burn in her pupils “Leave.”

Mimzy recoils from shock and fear, glancing at Alastor once more. When he gives her nothing she scoffs and flips them all off. 

“Fine! Fuck this hotel! And fuck you!” stomping all the way out 

“Would’ve thought she’d muster a ‘thank you’. I mean I literally solved her problem. What’s the issue?” Voe turns gesturing towards the other hotel guests and employees. 

“Omg Mommy that was so cool!” Niffty runs up and grabs onto her leg with a death grip, rubbing her head on Voe’s knee. 

“I admit I never would’ve expected that from you,” Angel rests a hand on her shoulder 

“Good job,” Vaggie stated, Voe’s face warming on its own. 

The hall was filled with the sound of clapping, from a single source. All looked to the Radio Demon, his everlasting smile a mix of amusement and smugness. 

“Delightful show darling.” He steps forward, grabbing her chin and tilting it up to look him in the eye “Ravishing my dear.”

Her face turning the same shade as her hair, she whispers

“Thank you” with a humble smile, leaning on one leg as she stared up at him

“Now, let’s get you cleaned up.”

___________________________________________________________

They were in her bathroom now, and Alastor was wiping the blood off her face. Neither of them were speaking, which was oddly strange for both of them.

“Normally I wouldn’t waste good blood but,” he inhales “I don’t think you’d want my saliva on you”

Voe blushes once more, oddly unprepared for such a comment. She plays with her fingers and thinks about how close he is to her face with a wet rag. It seemed both out of and in character for him to be doing this. Alastor was a bag of tricks to her, and she was starting to wonder what he would pull out next.

“I had no idea what I was doing,” she admitted “I was just trying stuff out. And it worked. That’s what I usually do.”

“That is a great way to discover new things about yourself. But it’s also a great way to get yourself killed, my dear. You must learn to control yourself.”

“I guess, I don’t even know how I would do that. Just keep fighting people?”

“Rein yourself in. You cannot just let your passion explode all over. You must contain it, to control it.” Alastor finds one last splotch of blood on her jaw, wipes it with his finger, and sucks it off. “For fox demons, that is a rather delightful taste. Although I’m not sure if you are mixed in with it.”

“Was that a compliment?” 

“Take it however you like, my dear. It was meant as an admission of fact.” He walks out of the bathroom and she follows

“Can you do something about my shoes?” She calls after him

He turns to view her, the tail of his coat turning dramatically as well “What exactly would you like me to do?” he glances down at her shoes

“Clean them?”

His grin became playful “Is that a question?”

“No,” she crosses her arms “Clean them.”

He tilts his head “Why do you think I can do anything about it?”

She shrugs “You fixed my glasses. Fix my shoes.”

“Fair enough,” his tone quite jovial. Alastor snaps his fingers and the blood disappears from her booties

“Nice!” She admires the freshly clean shoes, also noticing the stains gone from her dress “Wait a minute,” she speaks once more

“Yes?” His pupils are almost hidden by the bottoms of his eyes

She takes a step toward him “If you could just snap the blood off my clothes, why couldn’t you do that with my face?”

“Maybe I didn’t want to?” he strokes his chin. Voe smiles and looks down at her shoes thinking of the implications of that. She sees his shoes turn in the opposite direction and he starts walking out. “If that’s all you need, I shall be on my way, darling.”

“Why did you talk about me on your broadcast?”

Alastor turns back around, his grin static and wide “I knew I heard you listening.”

She waves him off “Yeah, yeah, but why?”

“I thought it was quite obvious. It was to enrage the nincompoop Vox, and confuse you.”

“Why do you need to confuse me?”

“I’m not sure. For the entertainment I suppose.”

“So it was all just a joke?”

“Oh no! What I said about you was true.”

She widens her eyes and looks away from him “You called me important,” she says in a sing-songy voice

“Maybe because you are important.”

“Wait, really?” she does her best to stop her eyes from getting watery

“Objectively, yes. Especially to your fans.”

She shakes herself back to reality “Yeah, duh. Obvi. Of course, I’m important. And don’t you forget it.” She stands tall

Alastor pulled down each of his sleeves individually “You know, my opinion of you has changed,” he spoke, his voice low “but I do not like that attitude of yours.”

She stood on her tip-toes, hopelessly trying to be at eye level with him. “Well learn to like it,” she leans into him “because it’s not going anywhere.” She whispers.

Chapter 10>

[mendessi]

speak now | part two

pairing: fem!reader x pre-outbreak!joel

summary: joel saves you from the biggest mistake of your life

(this will end up being a multi-part story)

word count: 2.8k

warnings: smut probably, pre-outbreak, mentions of marriage, based off speak now by taylor swift, mentions of domestic abuse, joel is 26 & reader is 21, mentions of cheating, kind of slow burn, brief mention of death, angst, will add more as i think of them, not proofread

part one| part two | part three | part four |part five

minors dni

Joel lent you a t shirt and some sweatpants of his and let you shower. The least of his concern was that Tommy may show up and get the wrong impression should he see you in their shared hotel room. Considering the clock on the nightstand read 2:49, it was unlikely he'd be returning tonight. 

It took thirty minutes for Joel to get your nose to stop bleeding, only for it to start bleeding in the shower again. You managed to stop it on your own then. When you stepped out of the bathroom, Joel was waiting with a pack of ice he had gotten from down the hall. 

He pressed it to your cheek once you sat on the edge of the bed and he once again was on his knees between your legs holding your face between his thumb and pointer finger, examining intently looking for more damage now that you were dry. 

"Your shoulder was him too wasn't it?" Joel asked as he pieced things together in his mind.

"Pushed me down a flight of stairs." You admitted. You felt okay admitting these things to Joel because he was the sun and he surrounded you in warmth and safety and he melted away the icy bits of you that nobody else was allowed to see. 

"Fuck." He cursed under his breath. "You can't marry him. Please."

"I don't have a choice." You replied. 

"Like hell. Please. You can't marry him." He repeated the words just in a different order but your mind was still made up. You had nothing else. Nobody else. Not even Joel would be here in two weeks. This stranger that you had grown attached to. He'd be back in Austin with his daughter and brother. 

"What else would you have me do?" 

"Anything else." Joel was pleading with his eyes as he stared at you. He couldn't imagine leaving El Paso knowing that you were stuck with him for the rest of your life. Someone as horrible as him treating someone as sweet and kind as you so fucking terribly. He wouldn't stand for it. If it meant killing the man with his bare hands he'd do it. 

God, he sounded insane. He just met you. Spent a total of two hours with you and he was going insane over you. 

Noticing your silence, he realized he wasn't going to get anything else out of this conversation tonight so he sighed and stood on his feet. 

"You can sleep in my bed and I'll sleep in Tommy's." Joel said. "We can talk more tomorrow." 

"Thank you." 

Joel waited for you to settle in his bed and then turned the light off before getting into Tommy's bed. The sheets smelled like him and you couldn't help but take a deep breath, sulking in the scent that reminded you of comfort. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn't sleep. Anxiety was pounding in your chest at the events of the night and how you somehow ended up lucky enough to have someone to take you in. That had never been the case before. 

Believing in the way of the universe is what got you this far in life. Without that tiny belief system you instilled for yourself you truly felt like life had no purpose. But the universe willed Joel to walk into your workplace that night and willed him to find you on Main Street, and it willed him to open that door for you. He may not be a permanent person in your life but he'd be the reason you got out of the shitty situation you were in.

He was placed in your life for a reason and you weren't going to let that go unnoticed. 

"Joel?" 

"Hm?" He asked sleepily. 

"Can you sleep over here?" 

Through the dark you couldn't tell but Joel's eyes snapped open, wide awake the moment the words left your mouth. He hesitated but eventually rose from where he lay and joined you in his bed. He was on the edge, afraid to accidentally touch you but you reached for him anyways, pulling his arm around your waist. 

Your eyes fluttered shut as your breathing synced with his and you ignored the fact that you could feel his heart racing against your back when his chest pressed into your body. 

Joel released a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the hotel shampoo falling off your hair. He listened as your breathing slowed and eventually was able to tell you had fallen asleep by the way your body relaxed into his. 

There it was. The warmth and safety radiating off of him and embracing you as you both fell into a deep slumber.

Joel woke up before you around seven a.m just like every morning. You were facing him and had an arm draped around his torso. A smile crept onto his face but was quickly replaced with pursed lips and furrowed eyebrows when he saw how the bruise had set in overnight. You looked so peaceful, so beautiful with your eyes shut and your lips parted slightly as you breathed so softly in a deep sleep. If he didn't know any better, he might've thought you were an angel and that was the most simple way he could describe your beauty. 

His fingers trailed from your forehead, down your temple until they reached your lips. A feeling close to anxiety filled his chest as he stared and took in your facial features. 

It was hard to believe that somebody that made him so comfortable equally scared him just as much at the same time. Joel Miller was almost a person that didn't even believe in love but with you, he felt everything. Love always felt like one step away from pain for him. And the idea of leaving El Paso without you felt just about unbearable. 

It felt insane to say but Joel Miller had stupidly fallen in love with the woman he had only met a week ago. It may even have been safe to say that while he didn't believe in love at first sight when he saw you, you instantly became everything to him in the moment he did. 

Joel didn't bother you with questions about what happened the night before as the two of you sat at breakfast the next morning in one of the cafes near the hotel he was staying at. The two of you simply engaged in small talk, talking about your childhoods, what it was like growing up in Austin and El Paso, dreaming about seeing something other than Texas. He refused to pry into your personal life, afraid to upset you after what you'd gone through the night before. 

"Joel Miller, I feel like I've known you my whole life." You leaned against the booth, staring at the handsome man sat across from you. 

"I wish we woulda met sooner." Joel said honestly. "Maybe you'd never have to go through what you've been through. It ain't fair." 

You shook your head glancing at the engagement ring wrapped around your finger, "I wish I met you sooner too. Maybe in a different life." 

"It doesn't have to be that way." He reached across the table, taking your hands in his. 

"What do you mean?" 

"I just mean..." he pondered on his words, trying to avoid coming off too strong, "We're friends now. We can stay friends even after I go back to Austin." 

"Right." You nodded slowly. Wanting and hoping to hear something else you turned your gaze out the window. "We can stay friends." 

After breakfast Joel dropped you off at your place so you could get a change of clothes and then took you back to his hotel while him and Tommy went to work for the day. You ended up finishing a book you started the week before and then sketched in your journal for the majority of the day. Without even realizing it, you found yourself drawing Joel. 

Joel was perfect. Too good to be true. Men like him didn't actually exist and you felt positive the universe put him in your life just to tease you and show you what you could have instead of the monster that you went home to every night. Why else would you meet him just for him to leave three weeks later. The universe was playing with you just like always. 

Once Joel and Tommy were off, Tommy went out with the girl he had been seeing since the first night he went to The Ginger Duck and you convinced Joel to hand over his truck keys so you could take him somewhere you used to go as a teen all the time. 

You were thankful the lake was empty when you pulled up, likely because it was the middle of the week. More thankful than anything that you were off of work and able to spend this time with him. 

"Are we swimmin?" He asked as he got out of the car, practically tripping over himself to open the door for you. 

"Maybe." You tried to hide the smile inching onto your face but you couldn't help it. 

The lake was encased by ridges that were too small to be considered cliffs but were high enough to jump off of. This was such a hangout for you and your friends when you were in high school and god bless the new teen club that had opened up the summer before because now they were consumed with being half adults that they never came here anymore. 

"I came here all the time when I was younger." You said to him staring at the pink and blue cotton candy sky. 

"Sarah would love this place. She loves the water." Joel put his hands on his hips, popping his knee out as he studied his surroundings. It was a tranquil lake and quite beautiful if he was being honest. 

"You miss her, huh?" Glancing over at him, you wanted to reach out and touch him but refrained. 

"I talk to her every night on the phone, but man I just miss the way she'd squeeze me after comin home from a long day of work." Joel said, a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"You'll be home soon." You reassured him. "Come on."

You pulled your shirt off of your head and then stepped out of your jean shorts and ran towards the water to which Joel quite literally scrambled to strip down to his boxers and follow you in, almost as if he were a love sick puppy. 

It was a bit cold at first but it your bodies adjusted fairly quickly. "It's nice right?" 

"Quiet." Joel nodded. 

He kept his eyes on yours, no matter how badly they wanted to venture to other places. You however had no shame in staring at his toned stomach and back, how strong his arms looked when he held them out to touch the surface of the water. He was a beautiful man, similar to what you'd imagine a Greek god to look like. Especially with the way the bridge of his nose resembled that of a Greek god. 

"Isn't it crazy how the universe just plans everything out for us and then puts us in certain places at certain times?" You asked as you moved to float on your back, staring at the sky as it shifted colors.

"What, like you and me here right now?" He asked, it was muffled because your ears were under water but you could still hear him loud and clear.

"Exactly like you and me here right now." You reached your hand towards him and he pulled your body towards his, smiling down at how you were floating in front of him. "We were put together for a reason." 

"You sound a little crazy." Joel teased, resting his hand on your head, the other gently on your exposed stomach. His eyes still locked onto yours. 

"What were the odds of you and I being together right here right now? Like... is there something more that we're supposed to give each other?" Anybody else might've been convinced that she had smoked a blunt right before the conversation, but Joel knew that this was just you talking. He knew that you had to create scenarios and excuses for why your life turned out the way it did so he let you and he went along with it. 

"I think we have a lot to give each other." Joel said looking down at you. "I think there's a purpose for us being here, we just have to figure it out." 

I'm supposed to save you. He wanted to say. Run away with me. I love you.

You hummed in response and then stood up to your feet and looked up at him. His hands reached up and cupped your cheeks as the water stilled around you and his eyebrows furrowed again as he was reminded that somebody had disgustingly laid their hands on you, causing your beautiful skin to bruise and swell. 

He leaned in and his nose brushed against yours, your hands finding their way to the bare skin of his torso. You tilted your head, your nose bumping his softly and closed your eyes as you rested your forehead against his. 

"I can't." You whispered. Joel replied with something more or less of a whimper as he nudged your nose with his again. 

"I won't." Joel said lowly. He wouldn't do it unless he had your full permission and he was not far from dropping to his knees in the water and begging for it. 

"I can't." You whispered again, but somehow your chest was pressed against his and your arms were now around his back, hands flush against his shoulder blades.

He wanted so badly to kiss you, to just hold you against his body and kiss you gently in the way you deserved. He needed you more than he needed air to breathe and he wanted nothing more than to feel your lips against his. Your lips accidentally brushed against his and his stomach flipped as his hands slid around your waist.

You opened your eyes and looked up at him for one more moment, the last ounce of resistance in you fading away. "I can't." You said one more time before giving in and standing on your toes to close the gap. 

Joel kissed you like he had never kissed anyone in his life before. Your lips connected and he pulled your legs around his waist, arms wrapped tightly around your waist. Your breaths were heavy as the two kissed in the middle of the lake, not an inch of space between your bodies. Joel took note of how soft your lips were against his and the way your tongue felt gliding against his own. He'd remember this moment forever, feeling like a teenager again.

Warmth once again embraced you as his lips molded into your own in such a gentle and equally passionate kiss. You had never known a kiss more gentle than his, but still laced with fire at the same time. 

It was unclear how long the two of you stayed in the lake just kissing each other, and whispering sweet nothings that made it sound as if you had been together for a lifetime. 

The two of you walked hand in hand back to shore and pulled the blankets you packed out and sprawled them across the bed of the truck to look at the stars once the sun had finally set. 

"You don't really see em like this in Austin." Joel said admiring the stars. The two of you were tangled in each others arms, legs intertwined as you took in the night sky, both trying to pretend you knew anything about constellations. 

"Well that one's gotta be the big dipper then." Joel playfully argued with you. 

"My dad used to point out every single constellation in the sky to me." You told him, "Always had an eye for anything to do with space. I used to tell him I was gonna be an astronaut just so I could know more than him." 

"I'd take you to the moon if I could." Joel replied, his fingers tracing patterns against your arm. 

"What do we do now, Joel?" The idea of so much uncertainty made you nervous to say the least. Joel was only in town for two more weeks and what happened once he left?

"I don't know, baby." He admitted and your heart fluttered at the use of the name, "We gotta figure it out." 

You and Joel came down to the lake every day once he was off work, and you managed to get away with calling in sick for the rest of the week. The visits consisted of the same thing everytime: making out in the lake, star gazing in the bed of his truck and telling each other stories from pieces of your lives. 

You truly felt like a kid in love again, falling harder than for him than you had anyone in your life. It scared you in the amount of time that this was happening. So quickly but still feeling like years were dragging by.

PREV | NEXT

[junikicker]

Under Her Spell - Lady Bellaston x fem!reader

Under Her Spell - Lady Bellaston x fem!reader

warnings: smut

word count: 2.3k

note: Lady Bellaston has my heart. Well, Hannah does. Anyways here is something I just came up with.

You were the only heir to your family’s wealth and fortune. Desperately, your father had hoped for a beautiful baby boy to take his spot someday. Your mother died giving birth to you, a little girl. Your father couldn’t help but grieve. But after losing the only hope for a male heir, the only thing that seemed to reason with him was to raise you as his son.

From the beginning you were dressed in boy’s clothes, learned to hunt, and play sports. You grew up wealthy, your father being the Viscount, making you the Hon.

You sure had noticed the shift of atmosphere around your home in London upon the arrival of the infamous Sophia Western. Your father had made it more than clear that she would be a suitable match for you as you were almost twenty-two years of age and had yet to be wed. Upon his request, you had agreed to see her.

You were greeted by a great entrance hall, people running around, carrying things from one place to another. “I am here to see Miss Western?” You asked a young lady that looked as if she knew how you could find her.

“Of course, follow me.” She spoke and started walking. “My Lady, I’m here to introduce Viscount Huntington’s heir upon request to meet Miss Western.” She spoke to someone you couldn’t yet see. “Very well then. Let him in.” You heard the reply. Sometimes you’d forgotten that to the public you were a male.

The young lady stepped aside and let you in, closing the door behind her and leaving. “My Lady Bellaston. It’s an honor to meet you.” You spoke, gently bowing down in front of her. You’d heard a lot of stories about her. Her wealth and how she loved to seduce young men.

“If it isn’t the Viscount’s only son.” She flashed you a smile and stood up, walking towards you. You wanted to correct her but decided your chances were best if you didn’t.

“I must admit you would be a good fit for my niece.” She stated, starting to circle you. “Tell me, what are your intends in marriage?” She asked you, coming to stand in front of you, looking down on you.

Lady Bellaston was, undoubtedly, a beautiful lady. Her features were so detailed. She could have easily been a marble statue made by the great Michelangelo himself. She stood taller than most women did. She stood taller than you. You thought she might take suspicion.

“The question should be what do you see for her if she and I were wed?” You inquired, looking straight into her green eyes. “A tough one we have here, don’t we.” She smiled again.

“I shall lead you upstairs.” She replied and started walking, you followed her suit. She led you through the hall you had come in just a few moments earlier and up two flights of stairs. “Sophia is a bit occupied at the moment, would you mind waiting with me for a few more minutes?” She asked you, leading you to a room a bit further down the hall.

The theme of the room seemed to be the color blue. It also seemed to be a bedroom, but that was something you didn’t really pay attention to. The view out of the windows was nice, you could see most of London looking out of it.

There was a table close to the fireplace. That’s where the two of you had sat down. Someone had brought in tea just as you entered. You never really understood how things like this just worked. Even after living your whole life in wealth, you never seemed to understand how meals and beverages just appeared at the right place and time.

You ran a hair through your short hair. Your father had it cut by a hairdresser every three weeks so that under no circumstance anyone would ever think you to be a woman.

“You will do your best to try to capture her with your charms, I believe. But do remember what I tell you now.” Lady Bellaston began, standing up from the chair opposite you and taking a seat on the one closest to you. “A woman does not only fall for the charm of a man.” She rested a hand on your thigh. “A woman adores the subtle touches. The feeling of something soft, the art of eye contact.” She spoke further and placed a hand under your chin, making you meet her eyes.

“A look that lingers and that promises so much more.” She continued as you held the eye contact, unable to tear your eyes away from hers. “And lastly.” She started, leaning in closer so that your faces were only a breath apart. “Taste.” She whispered and with that, placed her lips to yours.

You couldn’t quite believe you had fallen for her act. You were no better than all the other men that she seduced over the years. But it all was so intoxicating. Her taste and the smell of her perfume. The way she moved with such grace and caution.

Her lips felt soft against yours. When you had slipped your tongue into her mouth, you drew a small moan from her that traveled to your lips.

Once air became a problem, the two of you drew apart. “You’re so young still.” She whispered. “So eager to follow your father’s request and marry already. But for someone like you. So kind and handsome, you could sure have yourself anyone you want.” She continued and stood up, taking your hand, having you stand up as well.

And then she kissed you again and you felt the world dissolve around you, her soft lips feeling like heaven. You press kisses along her jaw and down to her shoulder before turning her around and starting to undo the strings of her dress on her back, continuing to press kisses to her shoulders and neck.

Once the strings were close to being completely opened, the blonde spun back around and started to undo the buttons of your clothes, sending one after the other either to a completely different part of the room or just letting the item fall right to the floor.

You stopped her just as she was about to remove the last thing covering your torso and lower half. “Let me help you out of your dress.” You offered and she immediately agreed with a feverish kiss on your lips. She had been just as eager as you. Once she was down to her corset and undergarments, you pulled her in for another fierce kiss. You bit down on her lip and she let out a whimper. Music to your ears.

“Such a pretty lady.” You sighed as you shoved her down on the bed, trapping her glorious body between your legs as you straddled her lap. You had a perfect view of her breasts as you looked down on her. “That corset of yours must be quite restricting. I’d love if you were to have your full range of motion.” You stated and pulled her up, your eyes now one level with hers. She kissed you deeply and passionately. She had not yet muttered a plead so that you would start pleasuring her. But you could practically taste the need on her tongue.

During the kiss, you undid her corset. She immediately relaxed into the new found comfort. You drew away to lift the corset over her head. “For heaven’s sake.” You breathed as you took in her figure. She had this tiny waist, wide hips, and her chest was huge. Nothing like you’d ever seen before.

You pushed her back down and started pressing kisses to her shoulders and chest. Her hands had a firm hold on your hair and started dragging you down toward her core. “I could cherish your body for all eternity.” You breathed against the soft skin of her stomach. “Please.” The word had left her lips so quietly that you almost didn’t hear them. “I will need you to elaborate, my Lady.” You teased her.

“Make love to me.” She whispered and you were happy to oblige, once again, your lips locked. You hooked your fingers under the hem of her undergarments and gently slips them down her legs before sending them to the floor next to her dress. Once that was done, you leaned down to place kisses on her breasts. You weren’t sure if she had never experienced someone paying much attention to that part other than occasionally giving it a squeeze here and there during the act, but the way she arched into your touch and how her eyes widened in shock and ecstasy when you wrapped your lips around her nipple made you almost certain that this had been something new for her. Not to mention the stream of moans that left her mouth like a waterfall.

You let your hand wander down her body again, making sure to trace as much of her soft, pale skin as she could, as her breathing got heavier by the second, anticipation growing.

Her breathing was even heavier when you reached her thigh and let your hand slide between her legs. She was dripping wet, and you let your finger slide up her slit before you took it to your mouth. “You taste heavenly, my Lady.” You groaned, throwing your head back at the taste. “As sweet as honey.” You added, looking into her eyes. Her pupils were blown, and very little of the emerald green color was left. She seemed to regain some sense of the situation and grabbed your hand, placing it between her legs again and leading the other one up her body, to her breasts. You started circling her sensitive bundle of nerves and she let out a rather loud moan now that she finally had what she wanted. You pressed kisses to her breast while your hand started to caress the other one. The sight of her face, so full of pleasure in front of you had you feeling intoxicated.

“What sort of witchcraft is this?” She breathed out between moans and you couldn’t help but smile. “Do you want me to stop, my Lady?” You asked her and she immediately shook her head. “Don’t you dare. I’m not gonna last very much, oh, longer.” She breathed and you bit your lip. The fact that you could have her tumbling over the edge by as little as you had done to her made you confident.

True to her words, she unraveled before you moments later, a loud moan leaving her throat that was unlikely not to be noticed by anyone.

You gently guided her through her high and once she had calmed down, lay down next to her. You pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and met her eyes, pupils still blown wide with lust. Now it was your turn to hold her chin and crash your lips into hers.

This time, you took your time to cherish her body, taking the time with exploring every part of her that you hadn’t had the time to before.

Eventually, you settled between her legs, placing kisses up her thigh, skipping the area where she needed you most before kissing down the other thigh. When she least expects it, latch onto her clit. Her grip on your hair tightens harshly as she tries to comprehend what is happening. Her scent was overwhelming and intoxicating. Within minutes, she was a whimpering, moaning mess, head and back arched, eyes closed, her body on fire. A fire you had started,

“Oh, please!” She moaned. “Just a bit more!” And you gave her that bit more, expertly inserting your fingers into her, feeling her clench around them immediately. The feeling of your fingers inside her was something that, based on her reaction, seemed rather new to her as well. You couldn’t help but grin as she released around your fingers just moments later.

Once again you helped her calm down and then lay down beside her. “Where did you learn this?” She asked, genuinely interested. “Let’s just say I got around a lot.” You replied and tugged a strand of hair behind her ear.

“How am I to repay you for this?” She asked, something in her feeling as if you were left unsatisfied. “I have to return the favor.” She said, sitting up in bed, pulling the covers over her chest. “Oh no. You don’t have to.” You said genuinely. “I cannot possibly-” You cut her off with a finger on her lips. “Shh.” You hushed her. “I can wait till next time.” You said and climbed out of the bed. You had spent about enough time in her bed, your father would be asking questions upon your return if you were to stay much longer.

“What about Sophia?” She inquired as she watched you gather your clothes and get dressed again. “I still deem you a suitable fit for marriage.” She added, looking a bit disappointed. “We both know that I am no match for her. She is in love with Tom Jones. The heart wants what it wants, I suppose.” You explained.

“What are you going to tell your father?” She asked as you slipped your shoes back on. “I suppose I’ll tell him that lovely Lady Bellaston did not quite share my intention to marry her niece.” You explained with a smirk.

You walked over to the small desk in the room, sitting down and wrote a quick note.

“Meet me here. Thursday. At eight.” You said as you handed her the note. Champagne Lane. Thursday. 8pm sharp. X Huntington

You placed one last kiss to her lips before heading out. You weren’t quite sure what you were doing but it did feel better than you expected it to. And you were looking forward to what was going to become out of this.

[thoselethalarts]

𝕸𝖆𝖗𝖈𝖚𝖘 𝕿𝖔𝖒𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖉 - 𝕻𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖔𝖓𝖆𝖑 𝕾𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖞

(SR) Lab Robes (Part 2): “I just couldn’t stand by.”

(Alchemy Room, Poison Refinement Class

Vil: (Cough cough) What in the world just happened…? Vil: Urgh, these fumes… I can hardly breathe. Nn- Wait- Marcus! Vil: You’re suffocating me with your weight, get off…!

(Marcus is forcefully moved off of Vil and onto the floor with a thud)

Marcus: U-Ugh…

Vil: …Marcus? Are you alright?

Cater: W-Whoa!! What the heck was all of that?! Cater: Eugh, the smell…! Someone put out the pilot on that cauldron already, and fast!

Lilia: Is everyone quite alright? Any casualties?

Crewel: STAAAAAAY! You mongrels, what do you think you’re doing over here?! Crewel: Shoenheit, Tomford, what is the meaning of all this yapping and destruction?!

Vil: Sir, with all due respect Marcus just saved me from that explosion. But… now he’s not moving. Vil: Marcus, focus on me. Can you say something?

Marcus: U-Uh… yeah. Marcus: I… m-my head is all… foggy. It’s… I can’t… It’s hard to focus... on anything.

Vil: Can you tell me how many fingers I’m holding up?

Marcus: … Marcus: … Marcus: …t-three.

Vil: You hesitated.

Marcus: I can see fine, I’m just- words are really, uh… hard right now. Marcus: Everything’s… hazy… hot… m-my skin hurts…

Vil: My apologies, professor. I should have been paying more close attention to our experiment. If not for my negligence this likely would not have happened.

Crewel: It takes a severe amount of negligence and disregard to ruin an experiment this poorly, Shoenheit, and that isn’t characteristic of you or your general lab safety. Crewel: Punishment must be dealt to the mongrel that caused this mess of school property, but I’m hesitant to accept you taking responsibility for this due to your class history alone.

Marcus: N-No. It’s- Vil didn’t… do it. Marcus: It was… s-sabo…tage.

Crewel: Come again?

Marcus: Two of them. Two… those two. Over there. Marcus: They put something in the… the evil soup. Made it b-boil over. Exploded. I-I couldn’t… stop them.

Scara & Igni Mob: Eep-!

Lilia: The evil soup…? Ah, he must be referring to the mixture you both were refining.

Crewel: And judging from the yaps from these two puppies, he must be telling the truth. Crewel: Tomford, you are dismissed from the remainder of class. Go straight to the infirmary right away to be assessed and treated for poison. Shoenheit you’re dismissed as well, so go and escort him there. Crewel: Now, you two mongrels at attention! This cauldron’s contents must be removed immediately and carefully. Fumes from a mixture this potent are enough to make this whole classroom fall ill within minutes. Crewel: You two had better pray for strong arms and strong stomachs, because you’re both taking this cauldron downstairs to be properly disposed of.

Scara Mob: M-Mission failed…

Igni Mob: T-There’s no way that only us two can carry this heavy cauldron on our own…! And down a flight of stairs, too...!?

Crewel: Quit your yapping! Bad dogs don’t get to bark back unless they are instructed! On your feet! Now!

Vil: Hmph… You both should be thankful Crewel isn’t threatening you with expulsion for such a crime. Vil: Marcus, here, give me your arm and I’ll help you up.

Marcus: N-No… I’m f-fine… I can… walk.

Vil: Are you sure about that?

Marcus: Y-Yeah… I can- Just let me find my b-balance and… Ugh…

Vil: No, you clearly can’t. You can barely stand without holding onto something. Now stay still and I’ll take you to the infirmary.

Marcus: I-I can get there on my own, r-really.

Vil: That wasn’t a request, Marcus. Now let’s go.

(Vil grabs Marcus and helps him walk out of the classroom and away down the hall)

Vil: Ahh… it’s a lot easier to breathe out here now that we’re away from all the fumes. How are you faring, Marcus?

Marcus: Unnh… a little better… a little c-clearer.

Vil: That’s good. Can you tell me your symptoms? How are you feeling?

Marcus: Uhh… My head’s like… full of soup. Or gravy. Thick and heavy… really hard to process words correctly. Marcus: Everything is… so un…unbear-ably hot. I f-feel like I’m burning. D-Do I have a fever…?

Vil: It’s possible. The poison that we were brewing was meant to replicate several symptoms similar to the flu, so you likely are experiencing several of those symptoms after being caught in the blast. Vil: …I would like to thank you, by the way. For saving me when you did. That was an incredibly selfless act of yours that you did not have to do. Vil: Those of Octavinelle are said to be rather shrewd and cunning, and I can honestly say that most of my firsthand experiences with your dormmates have all but confirmed the stereotype. Vil: Yet despite everything I cannot wrap my head around why you would have saved me then if you had nothing to gain in return. Vil: Even when you were struggling to breathe, let alone walk, you insisted that you were capable when you clearly were not. Anyone else and they likely would have attempted to extort me for my help or my resources.

Marcus: I just… couldn’t stand by and watch you get hurt. That’s just… the kind of guy I am. Marcus: I didn’t really think twice, didn’t think of having… a motive. I just saw you in danger, and I just… did it.

Vil: You’re a rare type of person to have on campus, Marcus. You’re reckless and stupid, but you’re genuine and selfless too. Vil: I still hold my doubts that you won’t come to me later for some form of repayment for this act of yours, you are an Octavinelle after all… but for now it’s best if we just get you back to the infirmary to recover.

(The sound of footsteps rapidly approaches Vil and Marcus)

Matt: Marcus!! Are you alright?!

Marcus: H-Huh…? Heeeeyyy, Matt.

Vil: You certainly came in a hurry. I’m surprised you learned of the incident so quickly, Matt.

Matt: Vil. Is Marcus alright? What happened?

Vil: Someone attempted to sabotage our cauldron during our poison refinement class, and Marcus, well... he saved my life. Vil: The mixture that exploded wasn’t lethal, so he’ll be fine once he gets some rest and proper poison treatment.

Matt: Lemmie take him from here. You’re the Queen of Pomefiore, so you can whip up an antidote, right?

Vil: Poisons and potions are my specialty, yes. I try to create an antidote; it shouldn't be too hard since I know what was used in the base potion and his current symptoms. Vil: I’ll leave him in your care while I get to work on making it. It's the least I can do for him saving me when he did. Vil: I’ll meet you both in the infirmary as soon as it’s ready.

(Vil walks away from the both of them)

Matt: Sheesh… you’re real good at gettin’ into trouble, aren’t ya buddy?

Marcus: Eheheh… Yeah, I guess… At this point it’s just a skill of mine.

/ End

[xalygatorx]

Worthy (2015) | Chapter 26, "Reunion"

Disappearing sporadically in public spaces quickly becomes Cora Dempsey's least concerning problem when suddenly she captures the attention of the forming Avengers Initiative, the World Security Council, and Asgard's fallen prince all in one week. And the universe is only just getting started with her.

Worthy is a slow-burn SFW Marvelverse (films) romance between Loki and a female OC. For additional details on what canon is used, see the Prologue post.

Summary: Thor ponders killing Loki himself at discovering his brother is alive again. Cora and Loki fill in Thor, Jane, and their companions and leave them to inform the Avengers. Cora and Loki then travel to Jotunheim to retrieve the Cask of Ancient Winters.

Pairing: Loki x Fem!OC

Warnings: None

Word Count: 3k

It was only twenty minutes later that the pair had run two blocks and edged along multiple expanses of sidewalks—a couple more than once—to find Jane's flat. Loki and Cora had run up a flight of stairs after that and Cora was muttering the number for the door under her breath on repeat until she came upon the door, her fist raised to knock just as the door opened and her hand smacked into Thor's chest plate instead. "Ow, holy—," she started to say, only to be silenced by the look on Thor's face.

His eyes were directed above her head, the hard glaze of concentration over his crystal blue eyes. His brow was creased by equal parts focus and what appeared to be pain, his jaw set harshly. For the first time since she'd met him, Thor seriously looked like the vengeful Norse god of legends and she was pretty sure that wasn't good at all.

Cora had just locked eyes with Jane, who was standing a few steps behind Thor, barely seen behind his large frame taking up the doorway, when the great golden-haired Avenger spoke. "What is the meaning of this," he demanded tightly, a tempest under his tone. Cora waited for Loki to explain, but he didn't, and when she looked back at him, his features were as stoic as Thor's. "Was it all naught but façade?"

"None of it was façade, do you—"

Thor surged forward and Cora shouted as she ended up pinned between them, Loki's back hitting the wall behind her as Thor bore down on both of them. "Do not lie to me, brother! I have fallen a fool for your tricks before, was this another?!"

Cora felt sheer adrenaline pumping through her veins at the intensity of the situation and she heard Jane nearby telling Thor to calm down, all while feeling Loki try to push her out from between them, actually rearing up a bit, himself. She held her ground though, more or less out of the knowledge that she might be the only thing keeping Thor from pummeling Loki at present. Loki snarled slightly, giving up on edging her away. "You've not given me more than a few seconds' chance to lie, you oaf, and yet you throw me under the ax so soon!"

"I mourned you again, I thought you dead!" Thor roared.

"I thought myself dead!" Loki yelled back and the both of them stood there afterward, breathing heavily and staring the other down like beasts.

"Not that I'm not having the time of my life down here," Cora commented with slightly breathless sarcasm, causing both hulking gods to glance down for the first time since their arrival. "But we have more serious issues to attend to right now."

Thor glanced from her to Loki before sighing wearily and taking a step back, letting Jane take him back into the flat. She looked back at Loki and Cora, nodding for them to follow. They walked in and closed the door behind them before walking down the hall. Cora noticed with a faint smirk that Mjolnir was hanging neatly with the coats before she went to sit at the small dining table, finding three other people already there instead. "Oh… Hi," she said with some surprise as Jane returned to the room.

"Hm, right," Jane said with a nod. "Cora, this is my research partner and friend, Dr. Erik Selv—really, no pants? Again?"

"Interesting name," Cora smirked, causing the only other girl present to laugh quietly.

"Dr. Erik Selvig," Jane corrected as Cora stuck out her hand to shake his. "My intern, Darcy Lewis, and my intern's intern, Ian." They all jumped when Erik suddenly leapt from his seat, tighty-whiteys in full view. "What's wrong?"

"You…" He squinted past Cora and muttered, "You all see him, too, right?"

Cora and Jane turned around to find Loki standing at Cora's right shoulder. "Hm, bad spaceman," Darcy commented offhand, earning a withering look from Loki. "Yeah, we see him, Erik. Thought you were dead."

Loki shook his head in negation to that and walked with Cora and Jane to the couch, two armchairs flanking either side; Jane took one and Cora plopped down on the couch, Loki sitting in the other couch space. Thor soon joined them rather begrudgingly, easing his huge body into the other armchair, which Cora was sure would break with his weight. "So, first thing's first," Jane said, all business. "What's wrong now?"

Cora glanced to Loki, who drew a slow breath before beginning to explain, "Thanos has catalyzed the Ragnarök."

"The end of realms?" Dr. Selvig asked from the table, standing up, much to everyone's regret. "That old myth is true as well?"

"Indeed," Loki murmured, glancing at Thor, who now wore a grave expression on his chiseled features.

"Thanos?" Thor repeated at last and when Loki nodded once, he sighed heavily. "What has been done?"

"Lady Sif and Volstagg have returned to the Collector's keep to reclaim the Aether," Loki said slowly, "and Fandral has gone to find the Orb. Thanos has taken the Tesseract from the vaults, so he will be moving forward to collect the others. We came to warn you and…the others."

Cora gave a halfhearted smirk. He meant the Avengers and those at SHIELD and, despite her situation of being put on ice by orders of the Council, she was somewhat looking forward to seeing them again.

Thor gave a firm nod. "And then what?"

"I will be taking Cora with me to Jotunheim to collect the Cask of Ancient Winters." Cora noticed Thor's features tighten a little at that, but didn't know why.

"And the Ka Stone?"

"Sif and Volstagg's destination after their attempt on the Aether."

Thor pursed his lips before nodding slightly. "And what am I to tell the Midgardian protectors?" he wondered quietly to himself. "I will accompany you to Jotunheim."

Cora was listening when she was startled by Jane touching her shoulder. "Jotunheim's the ice realm, right? The one you told me about?" she murmured and when Cora nodded, Jane motioned for her to stand. "Then you'll need some warmer clothes. Darcy's left a lot of stuff here over the years, her stuff will probably fit you. That okay, Darce?"

"Sure thing, Jan," Darcy said with a smile and a thumbs-up, causing Jane to grimace a little. "What, you're the only one that can do the cute name-shorteningy-thing?"

"Apparently," Jane quipped as she pulled Cora away from the brothers, who were now arguing over where Thor would be going; Thor declared that it would be best for him to join Loki and Cora for backup protection, but Loki was arguing the opposite. "So, what happened? How did he just show up again after being declared dead?" she asked once they were in her bedroom.

"He was disguised as Odin," Cora explained as Jane dug through her closet, throwing some garments out on the bed as she listened. "He called me down and then told me the truth. Then Thanos showed up and staying disguised became less of a priority…"

"He was just going to take Odin's place?" she asked, poking her head out for a moment to look at Cora. "But then what happened to—"

"I'm not sure where Odin is, I just know he's alive."

Her eyes narrowed slightly with suspicion. "You saw him alive or Loki told you he was alive?"

Cora sighed. "I didn't see him, but Loki wouldn't kill him. Not now."

"And you know that, how?"

"Because Thor would be devastated and would never trust him again," Cora said quietly.

Jane thought about that, remembering how Loki had made such strides to protect both of them in Svartalfheim. She slowly nodded and it was clear to Cora that she was choosing to believe in him now, even if it felt chancy. "Okay," she said at last. "Here, try this." She gestured to an outfit she'd laid out on the bed and Cora nudged the door closed before disrobing from her Asgardian gown and putting on some more familiar clothes.

"Thanks," Cora said as she slid on the winter jacket, which felt doubly lined inside. It was a stuffy outfit to wear in the current temperature, but she knew once she revisited the frosty Jotun realm, she'd be thankful for it. It was incredibly likely that the only reason she'd not broken down in shivers on her first trip into Jotunheim was because she'd already been frozen over in the capsule. This wasn't something she was looking forward to, but she didn't want to stay behind in Midgard either.

"Pretty darn close," she commented once Cora had the extra clothes on. She'd put on the SHIELD uniform she'd had on when she was placed in the capsule for insulation, figuring it would keep her warmer than the jeans and T-shirt she'd had on when she'd gotten to the agency base in the first place. "You're a bit taller than her, so good thing you had some stuff of your own."

"The jacket's great though. And so are the boots… I think I left mine in Asgard," Cora said thoughtfully.

"Cora?" Jane said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think they can stop him?" Cora looked at the other woman and frowned faintly, seeing the distress on her face. "The Ragnarök is the end of everything. It's a rebooting of the universe. If it follows the mythology, the realms will fall to ruin. Odin will die, Loki will die, and Thor…" Her voice caught.

"Jane," Cora sighed, tugging the smaller woman into a hug. "I don't know what's going to happen. But I don't believe in absolute anything when it comes to the future. It's changeable. Prophecies are written in one era and the entire world could be changed by the time it's supposed to happen. Whatever was supposed to cause them in the first place may not even exist anymore." She looked down at Jane. "But the biggest point is that freaking out about something won't change the outcome. It'll just make you lose focus on what you can do to help. And I bet SHIELD could use brains like yours and Selvig's right about now."

"I just got him back," she said quietly after a moment. "I don't want to freak out, it's just happening… But you're right. We'll head back to the States as soon as possible. Maybe Thor can work something out with them."

"Exactly," Cora encouraged just before hearing Loki from the living room call for her. She and Jane left the bedroom and found the brothers standing, both wearing grim, tired expressions. "What's up?"

"We should go," Loki told her. "Thanos will not stop moving and neither can we."

"I know," she murmured with a nod, slinging her bag back over her shoulder and tugging on some gloves she'd found in the jacket pockets.

Loki watched her for a moment before nodding as well, walking past Thor to go to the door. Thor watched him go, only looking down when Cora paused in front of him. "He's trying," she said so softly only Thor could hear her and he sighed, nodding. "I'm just not sure he knows quite what to do."

"I am afraid I am just as uncertain, little sister," he admitted quietly. "But with your aid, perhaps we will both understand in time."

She smiled, glancing over when she heard Loki call her again. "Good luck," Cora told him before hurrying out to the door, rolling her eyes at Loki's bored, impatient expression. "Oh, come off it, let's get out of here."

Loki smirked a little before following her back outside. They walked down a back alley to an abandoned parking lot before stopping for Heimdall to send them to Jotunheim, Cora muttering, "Beam me up, Scotty," just before the golden pillar of light hit them and they were once again pulled into the tunnel of the BiFrost's energy.

Seconds later, they landed in feet of snow crusted over by ice, which made a loud cracking sound when they sunk into it. "The gatekeeper is Heimdall, not 'Scotty'," Loki grumbled with an arched brow.

He earned a disapproving look from Cora for that one. "Remind me to show you Star Trek at some point." Before he could ask what it was, she waved her hand a bit, "Nevermind, we'll get to it eventually. Where are we going?"

"A hidden chamber nearby. Heimdall was kind enough to place us very near the Cask's resting place," Loki told her, glancing around the area before starting to move forward. Cora ambled awkwardly behind, wishing her legs were as long as Loki's in that moment. After a few moments, he noticed that she was having trouble—or his amusement at her uncoordinated movements wore thin—and he stopped, kneeling down and muttering, "Come on."

Cora's brow rose, but she made one last hop in the snow and looped her arms around his neck from behind. He braced his hands under her thighs and scooped her up piggyback-style before continuing through the snow. "Why did Fandral say you were probably the best one to get this Infinity Stone?" she asked.

Loki took a moment's hesitation before replying over the slight whoosh of the wintry breeze, "Because I was born here."

Cora's brow rose. "This is where you're from?" she wondered thoughtfully, looking around. "Then, your birthparents?"

"I know naught of my mother, though I now suspect she may have been Asgardian," he said calmly. "I killed my father before I met you."

"Why?"

"To prove my worth, I suppose. And save Odin in the process," Loki said honestly.

Cora rested her chin against his shoulder, squinting faintly against the blowing snow and wincing whenever his hair blew into her face. He walked a while longer before his foot caught on something beneath the snow, causing him to jolt a little. "There you are," he murmured, wedging his boot in the groove and turning, triggering a mechanism underground to come to life and lower the stone plank beneath the frost into a ramp.

Cora's eyes widened and she watched curiously as Loki moved toward the edge. She expected him to walk down, but instead he turned his heel and slid down the icy surface, causing Cora to instinctively clutch onto him. He skidded to an easy stop at the bottom and laughed at her panic, a mischievous smirk decorating his face. "Not funny," she protested with a grumble as she scrambled to get down.

"I beg to differ." He let her go, but kept her close as he glanced over the cavern, his hand on her shoulder as he pondered the possibility of traps or extra paths meant to cause intruders to lose their way. Loki ventured forward into the tunnels with care, his vibrant green eyes always scanning the corridors as he led the way.

"Any idea where we're heading?" Cora asked hopefully after a few turns and Loki could feel her shaking next to him from the stark cold of the chamber.

"Vaguely," he murmured back, steering them left.

"Comforting as always," she murmured sarcastically.

When a blue glow began to highlight the frosty stones of the underground labyrinth, Loki walked forward with more confidence and they eventually arrived at one last stretch of pathway. At its end rested the Cask upon a pedestal of ice.

"Stay here," he told her softly, knowing the cold would be the worst down this passage. Cora stayed behind as Loki ventured forward, grimacing at the Cask of Ancient Winters and the memories it brought forward. When he reached it, deja vu set in and he remembered the last time he'd plucked it up. The moment his life had changed forever.

Loki glared down at the Cask, but gripped the handles anyway. He felt the chill of raw power seep through his palms and into his body, and he watched his skin gradually turn to a vivid cerulean, the pallor spreading throughout his body. He knew the markings of a darker hue that would be etched upon his face and the bloody red his eyes would become and he was loath to turn around and let her see him like this. However, he did so anyway.

Cora watched him go down the passage and pick up the Cask, just thinking she was glad they were in possession of at least one of the Infinity Stones when Loki turned around. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, entirely enveloped in blue and red-eyed, looking the part of an alien for once. At first, she was a little afraid, wondering if something had gone wrong and he'd been taken over by the Cask or something else. However, she saw the apprehension in the crease between his brows and knew this was just his true form.

She offered him a slight smile and nodded her head to the side. "Time to go," she said easily and watched the surprise form in his eyes. Composure quickly wiped away the traces of relief as he neared her again and they walked out of the cavern with surprising ease. Cora put the Cask in her bag so he could help her over the snow again and she held close, watching as his skin started to pale to fleshy tones again.

"It didn't bother you… Did it," Loki murmured pensively and Cora almost wondered if it had been directed at her at all.

"What? Your face?" she asked, giving a slight shrug. "No more than usual." For that, he dropped her back into the snow and she shrieked, nearly submerged in the stuff on impact. "Loki, get your blue ass back here right now!"

He laughed mirthfully at the look on her face and the fire in her fury, stepping forward and plucking the poor snow-dusted girl out of the snow and cradling her in his arms as they walked back to where they'd started. When they reached that point, Loki murmured a simple, "To Midgard," and the pillar of light plunged down again, taking the pair into the vortex once more.

Next chapter: Chapter 27, "The Welcome Wagon"

Main story posts will resume 12/26/23. Time for some xmas fluff.

[keeper-of-all-the-random-things]

Bleeding for Gold, pt 2

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

CW: restraints (standing cuffs), blood, bruises, beating, noncon (non-sexual), knives, institutionalized abuse. Please let me know if I missed anything.

.....

Day 26

The office is different than Ian expected, warm and inviting.

At the front desk, Ian inquires after Spencer.

The secretary types into their computer.  “I’m sorry,” they say.  “He’s currently with a client.  May I take a message?”

“I’ll wait,” Ian says.

“It may be a while.”

“Fine.  I’ll wait.”

Ian sits in a velvet armchair.  Three minutes pass.  He gets up.

“What does it mean to be his client?” he asks.

The secretary gives a big sales smile.  “Being a client here allows you to safely explore all parts of yourself so you can discover your truest self.”

“Right.  So.  What does that mean?”

“It all depends on you.”  The secretary continues smiling as if they are delivering life-altering information.

“What office is Spencer in?”

“He’s new, so technically he doesn’t have an office yet.  His workspace is downstairs until he gets a promotion.”

Ian nods and heads towards the stairs.

“Sir, you can’t interrupt the meeting!”  The secretary calls but makes no move to stop Ian.

Ian doesn’t break his stride.  He follows the stairs two flights down until he reaches a hall lined with brightly painted doors.  It feels like stepping into a nursery or grade school with its die cut labels and vague motivational posters hanging between the rooms.

Ian stands awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs until a uniformed woman appears.

“First time here?” she asks.  “Who were you matched with?”

“Spencer …”

“He’s already with someone at the moment, perhaps we could -”

“We’re together.  I was running late.  I’m sorry.”

“Of course, of course.  Life happens.  We’re glad you could make it.”  She adopts the same sales smile as the secretary.  “Last door on the right, Mr. …”

Ian is already walking away.

He stops at the scarlet door at the end, knocks once, and enters without waiting for a response.

And he freezes.

Spencer is in the center of the room, cuffed wrists pulled high above him by a chin attached to the ceiling.  Deep cuts and multi-colored bruises cover his torso.  His shirt is neatly folded in the corner.

“ - the hell is this?”  A wiry man appears from behind Spencer.

“I was going to ask the same thing,” Ian says.

“Ian?”  Spencer  looks around, eyes bleary.

“I still have an hour left,” the client says.  “I was promised full privacy.”

“What are you doing?” Ian asks as the client presses his hand into a purple bruise on Spencer’s side.

“I’m within my rights,” the client says.  He presses deeper, and Spencer groans.

“Stop!” Ian protests.  “You’re hurting him.”

“Yeah.  That’s sort of the point.”  The client scoffs.

“Ian, just leave it,” Spencer says quietly.  “Please.”

“Spencer …”

“You heard him.  Leave.”  The client puts his hands on his hips.  “This is a private session.  If you want a turn, you can pay for time like everyone else.”

Ian longs to tackle the man and show him how he really feels.  Instead, he clenches his fists at his sides.

“Where are the keys?” he says, stonily calm.

The client tilts his head.  “Keys to what?”

Smug bastard.

“To the cuffs.”

“Not here.”  Smirk.

Ian does hit him then, one swift jab to the face.

“Ian, please stop.”

The client keeps smiling.  “No, no.  By all means, keep going.  This could be more fun than I thought.”

Ian steps back, more to spite the client than for Spencer.

“Let him down.”

The client laughs.  “For the next hour, in this room, I’m in charge.  And he’s not getting out of here until I decide I’m done.”

“I’m not going to leave without him.”

“Don’t worry,” the client says, deeply condescending.  “He’ll make it home to you.”

In any other context, those words could have been reassuring.  But the client pulls a thin knife from his pocket and waves it in Spencer’s direction.

“We have business to finish,” he says.  He adopts a thoughtful look.  “You can stay, under my conditions.”

Ian clenches his jaw.

“If you stay quiet, I’ll be gentle.  Otherwise, I’ll have to call security and then your friend and I will have some real fun.”

Wordlessly, Ian nods and moves between the client and Spencer.  He is close enough to feel Spencer shiver when the client runs his hands across Spencer’s back.

Then it begins in earnest.

Spencer cries out as the client slides his knife through his skin, smaller hurts made worse with open palmed slaps and full bodied punches.

Ian bites his tongue to keep from lashing out at the client.

The client doesn’t seem to tire.

Ian absorbs each blow that Spencer takes until Spencer’s cries turn to whimpers and Ian is the only thing keeping him upright.

Finally, the client stops.  He comes around into Ian’s line of sight.

Ian doesn’t move for fear of jostling Spencer.  He only glares at the client’s self-satisfied smirk.

“It’s been fun,” the client says.  “Could make it official next time.”  He reaches into his pocket and tosses a set of keys at Ian’s feet.  “Sign up.  I’ll see you again.”

He gives Spencer one last smack before he leaves.

…..

Ian drives them back to the apartment in silence.

Spencer refuses help to clean himself and to tend to his wounds.  He passes out on the couch and sleeps deeply all afternoon and all night.

Ian doesn’t sleep at all.

[hella1975]

theo's weekend story time (it's kind of long, sorry)

friday: after a 10 hour bus trip, i get to the city at like 6pm and have to catch a train to the city station, so i haul my duffel bag with my weekends worth of shit in it all the way down the bus terminal, up a flight of stairs, and down a different flight of stairs to get to the train platform. i cannot find the ticket thingy, a lovely woman informs me that they are upstairs and i must have walked right past them, so i trot my dumb ass back up the stairs, buy a ticket, go back down the stairs - at this point im SWEATING bc im wearing three jackets bc it was cold and raining when i left my home town

i get on the train, i get to the city station, i am now on part two of my mission: get to the underground station. the trainline i was on doesn't go there directly, but the two stations are connected so i CAN walk there but i dont now where the fuck im going so i go up the stairs and ask the first person i see wearing a uniform "hey do you happen to know how to get to [city] underground from here?" "i sure do!" "...can you tell me?" he gives me instructions, i repeat the instructions to make sure i heard them right, i head down a different set of stairs and immediately forget half of the instructions but i can't go back and ask again bc i'll look like a dickhead so i just wing it - i go down the next set of stairs, looking for platform 5, i see the sign and follow it up more stairs - dead end. i ask someone in a uniform how to get to the underground, they tell me to go back down the stairs and turn left, i then say "i was so close" out loud, thank them, and go back down the stairs. i FINALLY end up in the underground station, where i proceed to wait for my friend until she finds me. (at this point, after all of the stairs and the several layers and the large bag, i am dying)

it starts raining while we're waiting for the bus, and then i had to dig through my pocket for change for a bus ticket and held up the whole fucking bus for like 5 minutes before finally sitting down. we get to my friends uni, she drags me to the dining hall where i get to met her school friends and THEN, gloriously, i am asked the most beautiful question: "oh, you're writing a book? what's it about?"

and i don't think i breathed for the next like. five minutes.

we get back to my friends dorm and build a bed for me on the floor (it's a sleeping bag), and thus starts my life as a criminal

saturday: my friend has a committee meeting to go to, so i literally just hung out in her dorm by myself all day - had a nap, ate some skittles, did some sewing and some writing, very productive. she finally gets back at 4:30.

we get dressed up as pirates, take a bus to the train station (i once again struggle to pull together enough change for a bus ticket, we are also both carrying two bags each + a gift bag for our friend), we get on the train and then have to take another bus so we're standing at the bus stop and this couple start having the most batshit argument and it's mildly scary and mostly hilarious and then the woman bumps into my friend and we both just freeze bc we think we're about to get dragged into it but instead she just apologises and then HE apologises and then she's like "don't apologise for me" and then they're getting into it all over again, finally the bus comes. i am ONCE AGAIN struggling to get a ticket bc i have the worst luck with buses (this time it's bc we can't remember the exact stop we need to get off at) meanwhile the woman throws a bike helmet at the man except her aim is shit and it hits me in the back of the leg instead and by the time i sit down im trying so hard not to burst into laughter

now, the thing about the friend i came all this way for, is that they live in a really awkward area, so me and the friend im staying with get off the bus and have to walk for half a fucking hour while carrying all our shit - we stopped halfway just so i could text our friend that i was going to kill them - and by the time we get there it's 7pm. we left at 5:20. i was sweaty, puffed, and exhausted.

another thing about this friend is that, we got mistaken for each other a lot when we were in high school - like i spent my first two weeks at a new school hearing about this other kid that i apparently looked exactly like, and then we met and somehow ended up friends, and it's been a running joke ever since - especially bc we're very similar personality wise and after this one time we both walked out of separate rooms to discover we were wearing the exact same jeans (which we had both diy-ed, they weren't even store-bought, we just made the same pair of jeans)

so i get to this pirate themed party, and i'm standing in the kitchen, and the friend-i'm-here-for walks in and we just pause. look each other up and down. and just go "for fucks sake" because we'd miraculously managed to wear the same fucking thing in different fonts.

i get drunk <3 on an empty stomach <3 the horrors set in but i am so brave about it <3

i am given a matress on the floor (an upgrade from the sleeping bag)

sunday: me and the friend-im-staying-with are the first awake, i scare myself with my reflection (pale, eyeliner smudged down my cheek bone, half my hair falling out of it's bun), i drink two cups of coffee while watching my friend-that-im-here-for power clean (they refused any offers of help), finally we all get dressed (there are five of us, we are the main group, 4 of us went to high school together and the other is K's boyfriend who is now our friend) and we head out to get food! i got a chicken and avo crepe and it was really fucking good actually, and there was some random kid dressed as chainsaw man running around which was just. brilliant.

the friend-im-here-for drives me and the friend-im-staying-with out of the city to her parents house (where we are staying tonight) and bc the drive was long we got to just talk about anything and eerything which was nice bc it's hard to actually catch up with someone at a party, so i'm glad i got to actually hang out with them yknow?? they dropped us off, and i've upgraded again to an actual bed <3 then i got dropped off at my aunties, and i got to catch up with her and then my grandma came up so i got to surprise her! and then my aunty offered to drive my back to my friends instead of having my friend pick me up, and then we detoured to get maccas, and then me and my friend watched ghost files and now i need to go to bed bc i have to get up at a ridiculous hour (i mean technically i don't, but the more anxious i am about something, the earlier i have to be prepared for it)

and yeah!! so the 10 hour bus trip was honestly worth it, bc the vaguely chaotic events of this weekend was everything i should've expected from this lot, and hopefully i'll get to see them again on my birthday bc they all said they're keen on coming down so yeah. very happy, very fulfilled. thank you for listening <3

theo 0 : public transport : 1

[cattheskeletonofcreative]

The Night Out (A Genin [my Sans OC] x Reader book)

Chapter One: The Ball

(Tw: Fancy ball, suspicious strangers, skeleton, dread, and slow-burn… or as slow of a burn as I can do because I get impatient.)

(This is done in the reader’s POV and it’s in KoiTale [see the Ink oneshot in @katlover14’s blog].)

A bit of background:

You were invited to a fancy ball for Mr Richest-Bachelor. For the first three hours, you enjoyed yourself and occasionally chatted with other guests or snacked on something, taking necessary breaks to rest your feet. By around 11 o’clock, an hour away from Mr Richest-Bachelor’s big finale speech, you decided, along with a handful of other guests, that it was time to wind down from the night.

Now:

I sat at an empty table, away from the rest of the party. It’s overwhelming being around so many fancy-dressed people. As I sipped my drink, I heard a scream; or at least, something similar to one. It was too far away to tell exactly what it was. No one else seemed to hear it, so I chalked it up to my imagination trying to entertain me again by scaring the living daylights outta me.

But, of course, my curiosity got the best of me. I kept my drink with me as to not risk it getting spiked for whatever reason. I’m as unattractive and unwanted as an emu, but there’s always that lingering possibility that maybe, maybe, someone would actually be attracted enough to me to try something.

I wandered the halls of the mansion, disgusted by the amount of smut I could hear coming from almost every. Single. Guest room.

‘Can’t they do that at home?!’ I thought with minor irritation as I quickened my pace past those rooms.

After walking up three flights of stair in uncomfortable dress shoes, finishing my drink to stay hydrated, and checking every room that had no suspicious noises coming from it, I finally made it to the last room of the west wing. Or was this the east wing? Mansions are confusing to navigate around.

Nerves finally caught up to me and I considered going back downstairs. But, again, my cursed curiosity won over me and I tentatively reached for the doorknob. “I’m sorry, but the master’s bedroom is off limits,” the soft voice of a maid spoke out suddenly, catching me off-guard and making me flinch violently.

Me (You): “Oh, my bad. I didn’t know this was the owner’s room.”

Soft-spoken maid: “If it was just a mistake then I guess it’s fine. You should head back to the ballroom where most of the other guests are. The master should be making his grand speech any minute now; I wouldn’t want to miss that if I were you.”

I nodded and thanked the maid for not getting security involved for an accident before quickly walking back down those three flights of stairs I just finished climbing.

‘My feet are gonna kill me at work tomorrow…’ I thought with a sense of dread.

I joined the party once more and refilled my glass. As midnight rolled around, a murmur started rising among the guests. The ball was getting close to an end and yet no one’s seen Mr Richest-Bachelor in over an hour. I’ve never attended the balls from previous years, so I had to rely on any gossip I could catch to tell me why the air’s so thick.

Random rich lady #1: “Where is he? Doesn’t he usually start his speech by this time?”

I felt that sense of dread from earlier come back and start making a pit in my stomach.

Random rich man: “He could just be fashionably late. You know how much he likes to show off by switching outfits before the end of every ball.”

Random rich woman #2: “I suppose that is true. Though that does raise the question on how long he’s taking to change into one outfit. Nobody’s seen him in over an hour; not even the staff!”

I decided to stop listening to them as the sinking pit of dread in my stomach got so big it started making me nauseous. Excusing myself from the room, I squeezed my way back to the hall. The temptation to go up to the fourth floor again and check up on Mr Richest-Bachelor was strong, but I have no clue how many staff or security members are on that floor right now.

So I went into the nearest bathroom to take a breather and calm my ever-growing sense of dread. “Why tonight? Why does something strange have to happen the one time I actually go to this stupid ball?” I muttered anxiously to myself as I paced the roomy bathroom, unable to stay still.

(Several minutes of contemplating and failing to calm down later…)

Back in the ballroom, I was seated at my table, snacking half-heartedly on some fruit/veggies (whichever you like more than the other). As I looked up, I spotted a very stern-looking maid stomping her way to the stage that was seemingly set up just for the owner’s speech. She looked almost terrified, if I’m being honest.

Stern maid: “Attention everyone! Something terrible has happened to Mr Richest-Bachelor! Anyone that has any information about what has happened; please stayed seated until the authorities arrive! Everyone else; evacuate immediately! Your coats and other personal possessions will be delivered back to you in due time!”

Stern maid: “We do not have time nor enough staff to go through and hand everyone their stuff back!”

Shocked, another round of murmurs started up, but were quickly shut down when the stern maid nearly fainted. Now panicked, I, along with the other guests, started leaving immediately.

‘Maybe that scream I heard had something to do with what happened to Mr Richest-Bachelor?’ I thought at some point, but I was too startled to stop and go back to my seat.

As everyone else went to their chauffeurs, I broke free from the crowd and quickly made my way back to my car. Not paying much attention, I was alarmed when I accidentally bumped into someone. “Oh! Sorry!” I squeaked out as I steadied myself. The person I’d bumped into was less fortunate and fell backwards onto their bottom.

???: “Don’t worry about me, miss/sir/(add your own). I should’ve been paying attention to where I was going.”

I helped the stranger up and was almost surprised that the hand that grabbed mine was… skeletal. Looking up at the stranger’s face, my gaze was immediately drawn to the large crack on their left eyeless socket. He, assuming by the masculine voice, only had one eyelight and it was white, residing in the right socket.

I don’t know why, but he gave me a weird feeling. Like I shouldn’t ever let my guard down around him…. Without another word, he was gone. It took me a moment to shake myself out of that small trance and go back to quickly walking to my car. Though I was certainly more on-edge than a moment ago.

(Here’s the next chapter.)

[helpimhyperfixating]

Absolving the Debt sounds interesting, could we get a sneak peak? 👉👈

Sure thing 😌

I’m not gonna have any surprises left for you all XD

So this one is a mafia! Jotaro smut, though this sneak peek has no smut part, given it’s the intro/start and you all know how I love my build up and backstory 😂

There’s not enough mafia Jotaro out there, so hence I am working on 2. This is one of ‘em ;3

Stumbling towards the apartment complex entry door, balancing the three bags of groceries, you jabbed in your key, barely managing to hold onto everything as the door swung open.

This day had been way too long and you couldn’t stand another second, on the verge of breaking down crying as you tried to hold onto your work bag and all the plastic bags at once.

As if god hadn’t punished you enough, you walked through the foyer and past the wall of mailboxes, your gaze lingering on 34A - your box.

Tomorrow was a weekend and you knew you wouldn’t be able to move an inch from your measly apartment on the one day off you had in the week, your two jobs not permitting you much free time.

Swallowing, you took a deep breath as you slowly shuffled towards it. Placing the bags in your right hand on the floor, you cringed as you heard the glass pots in it roughly connect with the tiles but flipped your keys up either way, using your one free hand to find your mailbox key on the ring.

Finally succeeding, you opened the little hatch to see a single neat letter inside and you briefly wondered whether it was truly worth all this trouble.

Harshly grabbing it, you threw it into a grocery bag on the floor, slamming your mailbox shut and locking it before leaning down with some effort to pick up the heavy bags again.

Walking down the hall you pressed the elevator button, waiting for it to arrive, only to stand there for a full minute, no rattling of metal, no ding signalling it arrived.

Biting your lip in frustrated anger, you kicked at the doors, nearly jumping back when they squeaked open.

One of the doors lagged, dragged in angle and staying stuck for a second before fully opening and your brows creased with worry. It was a shoddy looking thing on the best of days and right now it seemed even worse than usual.

You knew you wouldn’t be able to drag all your stuff up three flights of stairs however, carefully getting into the riggety elevator and pressing the right floor.

Your eyes were slightly watery with frustration as you tried to keep yourself composed. The elevator might as well just plummet down and kill you, it would solve all your problems real quick.

Unfortunately or fortunately, the machine let out a little ding and the doors opened, revealing your floor.

Sighing once more to brace yourself, you stopped slumping and straightened up, bringing up the bags again with you as you then walked out of the elevator and quickly rushed over to your home.

After one final struggle with keys you swung the doors open and it felt like heaven to see your tiny appartement.

Walking into what looked more like a student dorm than an actual house, you placed the bags in your kitchen-slash-dining room, letting out a loud groan.

Throwing your work bag to the table, you quickly started unloading all the groceries that needed to go into the fridge or freezer, not bothering with the rest - you could do that later, right now you were just too broken.

Grabbing the last milk karton, as you lifted it, you spotted the letter you picked up earlier. With a deep sigh, you bent down again and picked it up, opening the fridge and putting away the milk before trudging over to your shoddy couch and falling down, groaning.

Holding the letter up, you sighed again before starting to clumsily open it. “Please don’t let it be a bill.” You whined, slowly managing to tear everything open.

It didn’t seem like a bill, given that it was just a white envelope with your name and address. It didn’t even have a postcard, strangely enough.

Grabbing what was inside, you pulled out a folded white piece of paper. Unfolding it, it was hand-written in neat handwriting reminiscent of the one on the envelope.

Slowly, your eyes started gliding over the page.

To: Y/N L/N,

I hope this letter finds you in good health.

You have been struggling lately. Working two jobs in the manner you are doing will drive you to an early grave and I’d hate to see that happen.

Come to the Born Star club downtown at nine.

Wear something nice.

Show this letter to the security at the entrance.

We’ll see if we can do something about this problem you have.

Signed,

K.J.