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[iwas-princess]

suna rintaro • christmas eve princess

“c’mon, baby. don’t be like that.”

you huffed back at your boyfriend, your arms crossed over your chest as you childishly pouted. you walked ahead of him, continuing your journey to the passenger seat of his luxury car.

“hey, sweetheart, stop.” he chuckled as you continued to ignore him.

the silent treatment that you played didn’t let up as you neared his car in the store’s packed parking lot, much to his dismay. he stayed behind you, his large hands filled with your family’s christmas gifts you both had just purchased last minute.

it started out small, this argument did.

suna, ever the lazy man he is, pushed aside gift buying for weeks as your schedule filled once finals season approached, resulting in your shopping to begin the night before christmas. to say that you were irritated would be an understatement when you found that there were no gifts to wrap.

you wanted to kill rintaro, and even contemplated makibg sleep on the couch for a week— but it was christmas eve and even though he was annoying, you still wanted nothing more than to be near him during this holiday season.

angry or not.

as you approached your passenger door, you turned around briefly to take one look at him.

his hair was collecting snowflakes, the jet black locks speckled with white fuzz beautifully. his strong arms were carrying two heavy bags and one large electronic box for your younger sibling, and although he looked as if the items were nothing compared to him, you could tell that he was struggling slightly to carry them all in this cold, and his long fingers were most likely numb from the cold.

“wait, just a second. you know that you’re not allowed to open your own door; that’s my job.” suna corrected as your glove clad hand reached the car door handle.

you rolled your eyes, but felt your heart warm a few temperatures at his manners.

“let me just set these in the trunk and i’ll get you in that nice and toasty car, ‘kay? don’t want my princess getting too cold.” he explained as he popen the trunk, and carefully set the gifts in there.

you waited patiently, frustrated at him, but nevertheless ignored him still.

he tucked his frozen hands in his pockets breifly as he walked around the your side of the car, sending a flirty wink your way as he watched your eyes follow his moves briefly before looking off in the distance.

“i saw that, pretty girl.” he chuckled under his breath as he reached you.

the close proximity of him suddenly, caused a warm feeling to envelop your cold body. his scent filled your lungs as you breathed in the harsh air, your eyes nearly rolling back at the smell.

he was intoxicating.

his bare hand covered yours to gain your attention, wanting nothing more than to see your eyes on him once more— those pretty eyes that he adored.

when you didn’t budge, he let out an airy laugh at your behavior,

“sweetie, c��mon. look at me…” his voice was nearly teasing, catlike in every way as he spoke.

“what?” you harshly huffed out.

“ah, there she is. there’s your pretty voice that i missed so much.” he gently cooed at you. you found it condescending.

“what do you want, rintaro? i’m cold.” you were icy cold when you asked him, your voice cruel.

he ignored your attitude, tucking a loose strand behind your ear before caging you against the car door.

“rintaro! what is wrong with you? i’m freezing and i have to go home and wrap presents because you,” you shoved your finger against his coat covered chest. “didn’t tell me that we didn’t have any until last minute! now, i’m going to be exhausted all fucking day tomorrow because i’ll go to bed late”.

he smirked as you shouted quietly at him, careful not to make a scene.

he didn’t want to invalidate you in anyway, because he knew very well that he fucked up this year, but something about how adorable you looked in your puffy coat he bought you had his heart bursting. you looked so damn cute, exclaiming about your worries while you dressed warmly. your cheeks were flushed from the harsh cold, your nose beginning to run as well.

you had his whole heart and you didn’t even realize it.

you noticed the smug look on his face, immediately resulting in a punch to his shoulder.

he hissed in pain lowly, his broad body flinching back slightly before the hand covering yours nursed the now sore muscle.

“ouch, baby. that was awfully mean of you, don’t you think?”

you huffed in annoyance before turning around and opening the door yourself. but, just as you opened it, your boyfriend was quick to shut it with his knee.

“hey! what is your-“

he face leaned closer to yours, his cold nose touching your own freezing one. his dark eyes bored into yours and his lips brushed against yours gently.

“you know only i open this door for you, no one else. not even you.” he whispered darkly, his voice raspy.

you nodded slowly, allowing him to reach next to you and open the door back open for you, his eyes never leaving yours. he backed up enough for the door to fully open.

“go in.”

you obeyed reluctantly. you slid into the luxurious car, the soft heated cushions welcoming you happily with comforting warmth. you let out a satisfied sigh at the feeling, before turning your attention back to your doting boyfriend. he leaned in towards you slowly, your breath hitched as his torso entered the warm car. his face became nothing but a few inches away from yours, giving you the impression that he was going to give you a forgiving kiss. but instead, he reached a few inches behind him, and pulled the seatbelt around your lap before buckling it.

“gotta keep my little princess safe, don’t i? these roads are icy, brat.”

you nodded along, at loss for words.

“suna?” you called out after a few moments of thought as he was exiting the vehicle.

he stopped momentarily, crouching over slightly to hear and look at you as you spoke.

“kiss me.” you whispered.

he smiled wide, and if his cheeks weren’t frostkissed you could’ve seen the blush that creeped upon him at your words.

“of course.”

[jymwahuwu]

-cw: yandere, non-con, forced overstimulation, harassment, breaking into your home

The actual record of dating General Jing Yuan:

(everything below is automatically recorded by the system set up by the general)

4:00 am Jing Yuan pointed out that you will have a date today.

4:00 am You are woken up by the sound of a message.

4:01 am You frowned, checked the message, and replied "wtf it's bedtime".

4:05 am You fell asleep again.

9:45 am Had breakfast.

10:00 am The electronic door lock automatically opened. Jing Yuan stepped in with a "^_^" expression.

10:01 am You: “Can you stop breaking into my house all the time?”

10:02 am Showed you that message. You are speechless.

11:00 am The romantic date begins!!

11:15 am Visited the Space Animal Sanctuary and watched the adorable and special animals together.

11:20 am the baby bird trembled and walked towards Jing Yuan and pecked the back of his hand with its beak. You think nothing can be cuter than this.

11:45 am you curiously fed the sheep that could predict the future destiny of life. This animal looks like a sheep.

11:46 am A 💭 floated out of the sheep’s head:

Love Trend: Dating the one who likes you will guarantee your eternal relationship.

11:47 am You are shocked. Jing Yuan chuckled and stroked the sheep's head.

12:15 pm Jing Yuan purchased two commemorative keychains. He said the two keychains commemorated the romantic date.

12:16 pm Jing Yuan attached one of the keychains to your backpack/bag, etc.

13:00 pm Had a romantic date in a restaurant with a view of the Milky Way.

14:02 pm Jing Yuan offered to go home and fuck you, using an affectionate tone. Your fingers holding the door were pried open one by one, and you were pulled onto the spaceship.

15:12 pm Back to your apartment!! Jing Yuan kissed you and put you on his arm with one hand, burning off the calories from the meal just now.

15:20 pm You were forced to spread your legs on the sofa, and Jing Yuan buried his head between your legs, or twitched with his fingers, and occasionally said something embarrassing to you. You pushed his hair.

16:05 pm You can’t remember how many times you’ve had an orgasm. Consciousness began to drift away.

17:00 pm Lubricate the cock head with the petals, teasing you on the outside for five minutes before hitting bottom. "Ah…!! ❤"

18:15 pm You start to think about why Jing Yuan’s staying power is so terrible. Is this the secret of long-life species?

19:00 pm You're lying on the bed, panting, tongue sticking out. The fertile semen inside flowed out like a quiet stream.

19:01 pm Jing Yuan resisted the urge to lift your legs and thrust into you again. Look at your lovely face.

19:04 pm Conclusion: Your cuteness transcends the laws of the world.

19:10 pm Kissed you on the cheek, put one of his hands on your breasts, and hugged you to sleep naked.

[daichiduskdrop]

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚⋆·˚ ༘ *𝙎𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡 ⋆·˚ ༘ *ੈ✩‧₊˚

Chapter 18

Pairing: BTS Ot7 X fem! reader

Genre: A/B/O AU, Fluff, Angst, Strangers to lovers,

Warnings: just slight reminders of events from 17th chapter

Words: 3759

A/N: Hi! So, I did the poll, and at the time when I started writing the story, it was 50/50 jeju island and Hawaii. I decided to do Hawaii as it feels a bit more interesting for me, but Jeju island will be in the story too sometime! :)

If anyone would want to have some bigger part of the story (like fav musicians -other than K-pop, or favourite colour, favourite clothes brand, food spot...) Just DM me or write it in the comments. I'll include it if it goes well with the story :))

Thank you for voting. And reading, I value you a lot.

Lots of love

Taglist: @thelilbutifulthings @ilovemoneymorethenmen @singukieee @cherrysainttt @felicityroth @mageprincess7 @lucis-noctiana @danielle143 @osakis-gf @girl-nahh @vintageoldfashion @neverthefirstchoice @juju-227592 @silentreadersthings @i-have-no-life-charlie @everyonehatesshani @iamkookiesforyou @dragons-flare @fangirl125reader @roseidol @frieschan @popcatx0 @liz67900

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Soon the engine roared to life, but still, the Alpha made sure to pay close attention to the road. It was still terribly slippery.

They wanted to get you home as quickly as possible, knowing that you needed to rest and just hang out for a while with them. They were lucky that most of them didn't have to go to work today.

Smiling at you reassuringly, Jimin turned on the radio, switching to an omega-centred station that mostly consisted of soft, lo-fi-like music that was recommended for the second gender to listen to, especially on longer car rides.

The pack definitely wanted to go out with you sometimes and plan a nice trip and vacation, and so most of the alphas that were driving had already purchased subscriptions for many omega apps and radio stations, ready for any occasion.

A lot of marketing was targeted at packs that had an omega, having the softened-up alphas pay for stuff in hopes their small baby wouldn't start crying during a long car ride, on a plane, or on a boat.

It was usual for them to be very cautious and not really notice the price of anything when it was targeted for omegas.

So the second you enter a store—pretty much any type, going from grocery stores to electronics all the way to many restaurants—a selection is labelled with a small 'O', marking it as perfectly safe and made specifically for the second gender.

A lot of people made messy money off the worried packs. If their omega was sick, the pack would naturally grow worried and overprotective, ready to buy anything to make them feel better.

The second a shop assistant catches on, if they feel like it, they can start making stuff up, claiming that things that will most likely not help definetly will. It could be easy to mislead the pack members if they aren't careful enough.

The car ride was quiet and quicker than usual; soon the car was already parked, with the garage doors automatically opening after Jungkook called a phone number.

Climbing out, the alphas were quick to help you, opening the doors for you and pulling you gently out. Keeping a hold of your palm, Jimin once again hugged you closely, still able to smell how off your scent was.

„There, there, princess. It's all well now, hm? Come on, let's go in, my baby.” The alpha mumbled, smiling softly at you and nuzzling your nose with his, making you smile a bit.

Jungkook called the number again, waiting for the garage doors to close while he locked up the car and pocketed the keys.

Looking back at you with his packmate, the youngest giggled gently, ruffling your hair. „Let's go bunbun. Hold Alpha's hand... There, what a good girl.” He smiled at you, holding your other hand.

Leading you to the garage entrance, the whole room was huge—much bigger than any one you ever saw in anyone's home. It was much colder in here, and so you huddled to yourself, letting yourself be ushered to the doors.

Opening the metal-like doors, Jungkook led you both through, ending in a white halfway, and the alpha led you through, leading you after himself. Soon your small group appeared at the long, halfway full studios and a few other rooms, like the gym.

And so, you were in the kitchen in no time, the eldest alpha sitting at the kitchen table, a few cups and pots before him. Shooting up at the smell of you all approaching, he rushed over right away, pulling you to himself.

„Oh my god, sweetheart, I was so scared that something happened... God... Come here, let me hold you for a minute, cub."

Jin mumbled to himself, folding your head to his neck and letting you smell his scent gland while he went over the top of your head with his chin, scenting you gently.

You felt his lips gently flutter over your hair, but as soon as they came, they were gone. His scent drenched you quickly; the roses bloomed softly on your nose.

The other two alphas walked off, dispersing around the room. Washing their hands, Jimin and Jungkook went around the kitchen, noticing that the alpha was cooking a few meals already.

„Are you making pastries, Hyung?" The youngest asked, looking at the sizzling fish-shaped pan.

There was already a bit of the sweetened red bean paste inside, and so the alpha closed the pan carefully, turning it over so the shape would be achieved.

Looking up from coddling you, Jin still left his fingers in your hair, running it through gently. He kept his eyes soft, watching you fondly.

„Mhm, it's Bungeoppang; do you like those babycub? I was hoping you would; I made them very sweet for you, my baby.” He said, running his knuckles over your cheeks.

Nodding quickly, you always enjoyed tayaki, the sweet treat your grandparents would sometimes buy you at the food courts back when you lived in Japan.

Your grandmother bought the special-shaped pan too, and she would make it for you and your siblings often too.

„I really like it; thank you, Oppa." You said, looking into the alpha's eyes. Your scent must have brightened up; you were quite excited for once.

„Good. I'll finish them up for you quickly, okay?” He said, ushering you and Jimin over to the TV, Taehyung suddenly appearing from upstairs.

He noticed you right away, rushing over and taking you in his arms. „Babycheeks...” He whispered, crushing your face against his neck, still mindful not to hurt you.

Holding you close to him, he bended over to your neck, taking on a strong whiff of your scent. Running his cheek over your neck, scenting you.

Pulling away for a second, the alpha looked into your eyes, his hands on either side of your face. He watched you with concern and worry, but when you only smiled softly to him, he sighed out, pulling you to himself once again.

„Aish... Taehyung-ah, stop hogging her up!” Jimin called out, already seated on the couch. Sighing out, you noticed just the smallest growl building up in the man's chest, but he complied nonetheless.

Letting you take a seat first, you had the older alpha to your left and Tae sitting down to your right. Patting your knee gently, Jimin handed you a soft brown jumper.

You recognised it right away, smiling to yourself. You whispered out a thank you, pulling it to yourself.

Relaxing on the couch, the alpha smiled at you, brushing his fingers through your hair and turning on the television.

„-undance of marine biodiversity. Under the surface, a kaleidoscope of colours unfolds as we dive into the vibrant coral reefs. These underwater ecosystems are a haven for countless species, each playing a vital role in maintaining the delicate balance of this underwater paradise.

One of the most iconic inhabitants of these waters is the majestic sea turtle. These ancient creatures, known as Honu in Hawaiian, gracefully glide through the ocean, their gentle presence a symbol of wisdom and longevity. We witness their serene beauty as they navigate through the coral gardens, a sight that leaves us in awe.”

Gasping softly at the adorable shots of the small turtles swimming through the waters, you fell in love with the view before you.

It looked so peaceful and bright there. The water looked crystal clear, so the bottom of the ocean was visible, and the sand dunes were easy to see. With a few of the corals in the distance, the big turtle and the small cub swam around the underwater cameraman.

„As we venture further, we encounter playful pods of dolphins, their acrobatic displays a testament to the joy and freedom of life in the ocean. These intelligent creatures captivate us with their synchronised movements and infectious energy, reminding us of the boundless wonders that lie beneath the surface.

Hawaii's warm waters also serve as a sanctuary for the magnificent humpback whales. Every year, these gentle giants embark on an epic migration, travelling thousands of miles to the Hawaiian Islands to give birth and nurture their young. Witnessing their awe-inspiring breaches and hearing their haunting songs is an experience that leaves an indelible mark on our souls.”

„Oh wow, the dolphins are awesome...” Taehying mumbled, watching the screen closely.

Laughing at his amazement, the older alpha looked over. „I mean, we saw them in real life too some time ago, do you not remember? On the ship?” He said this, watching the other alpha.

„I remember Hyung, but this is very different. Imagine diving with them and-”

„Yeah, well, I bet the second you are at the open ocean, you'll piss your pants.”

„Yah! Hyung-” 

You didn't pay much attention to them while watching the colourful shots of the mammals in the documentary.

„I would like to see...” You mumbled to yourself, your eyes glued to the content. You were amazed.

The two men immediately stopped bickering, and you had them look over immediately. Any unnecessary agitation was gone right away, and their eyes are now much softer.

„The dolphins?” the older man asked, rubbing your upper back gently. You never got to see such creatures in real life; you only got to swim in an ocean very rarely. Sure, you knew how to swim, well...kind of.

You weren't too confident, and your family hardly ever went to a swimming pool, so there wasn't much space for you to get better.

You were always a bit too scared to go on your own, not sure about what you would be doing there alone since you wouldn't be really able to swim a few laps just like that.

Plus, you were always a bit too worried about the changing rooms and the experience overall.

Lately, it has become a huge trend in many big public swimming pools and aquaparks to get rid of changing rooms for men and women and instead build a whole new one, placing both genders in the same ones.

Sure, you wouldn't have to go and change next to the lockers anymore; instead, you would enter a hallway full of double-sided small changing rooms, similar to the ones in clothing stores.

Once you lock those with a barrier, you just change into your swimsuit and come out on the other side, where you lock all your things and go to shower and swim. You just never felt too safe in those.

„Thousands of tropical fish, like the vibrant parrotfish and the elusive Moorish idol, dart among the coral formations, creating a spectacle of colours and patterns. These reefs are not only a visual feast but also vital habitats that support a myriad of marine life.

Behind the scenes, dedicated marine biologists and conservationists work tirelessly to protect and preserve Hawaii's ocean wonders...”

Nodding shyly, you didn't realise that they would immediately start paying so much attention to you, taking your silly, not too deeply thought-out idea much more seriously.

„You want to go diving, princess?” Jimin asked, looking at you with soft eyes. Seeing you nod gently, the alphas have already started to plot many ideas on how to fulfil your request.

„In the sea, baby? On which island would you like to go, sweetie?” Taehyung said, turning to you, his eyes set on you.

Humming to yourself, you didn't really expect them to take it too seriously, so you didn't think for too long. There weren't many times you actually thought about going on vacation to a completely different country.

There was never enough money to even talk seriously about such a topic, and so you never really paid too much attention to the expensive resort ads you would sometimes see online.

Pointing over to the screen before you, there were a few cinametic shots of the island coastline, the ocean waves washing over the sand.

Smiling to themselves, the alpha on your left ran his chin over your head gently, smiling to himself. Taehyung was already looking up luxurious resorts and was quick to open a few websites.

„Okay princess, alphas will figure everything out for you, my baby.” He said this, hugging you close. He watched over his younger packmate's shoulder, looking over the villas he had already started scanning through.

He knew Taehyung would choose a nice place to stay. They didn't care about any prices; why would they even have to?

They didn't have to care if it was 2.000.000 or 8.000.000 ₩ per night; as long as the place was comfortable and beautiful, and mostly if you liked it, then everything was okay.

„Bunny, come have some of the pastries!” The youngest called out from the kitchen, watching closely as you waddled to stand up, making your way over to him.

Smiling widely at you, he made sure the fish-shaped food was cooled down before he handed it to you, letting you take a big bite while he bit down on another one he took.

They were crunchy but soft on the outside, and they were so sweet, you were immediately smiling.

„Is it good peaches?” Jin asked, running his hands over your back. Nodding virtuously, you ate even more, happy with how it tasted.

„Slow down cub, don't eat so quickly... There you go.” He murmured, brushing your hair behind your ear. Soft with his eyes, he smiled at you when you were slower.

Savouring the flavour, you quickly finished. Handing you another one, you bit into the pastry again, the men around you chuckling softly at your eagerness. They were glad you were eating well.

The door opening alarm went off, having all of the alphas turning to look at the entrance. Shuffling in, Hoseok smiled towards all of his packmates. Noticing you, he was quick to come closer, dropping the grocery bags on the floor before he rushed over.

Picking you up, he held you to his scentgland, running his arms up and down your sides softly, breathing in your scent. There wasn't much of a hint of sadness or anxiety, and so the man was reassured.

„My sunshine... I'm so glad you are okay; you gave us quite the scare there, bub. Oh- I bought you some sweets, here let me-”

„Did you buy the banana milk?”

„Hyung, the cake, you bought it for me, right?”

The two youngest asked, both of them going in-between, so the alpha had to put you down unwillingly. Taking you into his arms instead, Jimin was quick to hug you instead.

„Yah! Hobi-ah, your shoes are dirty; are you crazy? I just cleaned the floors too, aish...!” Jin shouted, not meaning it too much. Pulling him back to the entrance, the younger only laughed, trying to make the other alpha let go of the strong hold on his wrist.

Picking up the grocery bags, Jungkook carried them over, quick to sort through them, pulling out a few foods and beverages. Finding a whole carton of the banana milks, he smiled widely, carrying them over to the fridge.

With Jimin's hands wrapped around your waist from behind, you relaxed against his warm chest while he leaned against the counter. Nuzzling you, the alpha was careful to pay close attention to you, not holding back from much scenting anymore.

Just then, the entrance doors unlocked again, and the last men from the pack walked in, their carry-on bags thrown over their shoulders.

With Namjoon closing the doors after himself, the older man had already kicked off his shoes, hung his coat fast, and was already hurrying in your direction.

Noticing that no sobs could be heard, he felt himself calm down slightly, but not much could be done until he had you in his arms.

Seeing you in his younger packmate's arms, he felt his heart soften. Cooing quietly, Yoongi pulled you from Jimin's hands, carefully picking you up.

Helping you wrap your legs around his waist, he held you up, folding your head to his scent gland.

He felt his eyes gloss over; he grew so worried and stressed after the call ended, not knowing what exactly was happening.

He was anxious enough already, not having you in his sight as it was, but after he received the call, he grew overprotective like never before.

Breathing in the soft strawberry scent you held, he felt his shoulders sag, blinking away any tears before they might fall. Holding you close to himself, Yoongi embraced you strongly, feeling his chin shake a little.

Noticing the change in mood, the eldest looked over. Seeing his younger packmate get emotional after being so worried for your safety warmed his heart. He cared a lot for his pack.

Walking over, Jin ruffled the second oldest's hair, patting your soft, small hands that clutched around his neck in the meantime.

He didn't say much else, realising full well that Yoongi would never forgive him if he picked on his emotions. He would never, really.

Letting his lips brush against your temple, the alpha took a few shuddering breaths before he started to calm down. Patting your hair gently, he ran his chin and cheek over your head virtuously, making sure you were drenched in his heavy alpha scent.

„Don't scare me like that, my sweetest kitten. Alpha was very worried, my good girl.” He whispered in your ear, placing you down on your feet carefully.

Checking over your face, he brushed your hair away from your eyes, caressing your cheeks. Smiling warmly at you, he stepped away, realising that the packalpha also needed to have his moment of reassurance that everything was okay.

Stepping over, Namjoon too picked you up, but instead of cradling you and staying mostly in his spot, the alpha carried you over to the couch, and all of the other men quickly came to sit down too.

Holding you to his chest, he let you rest against his collarbone and breathe in the warm scent he always held, his warm hands just holding you close for a minute or two.

Resting his head back, the alpha felt himself calm down, any agitation and worry soon dissipating. Resting his eyes for a few seconds, he breathed out before he sat up well again, still holding you close.

„...what happened, sweetie? Tell alpha now, my baby." He mumbled, coaxing you gently to answer. With his fingers gently running over your temples and cheeks, he, too, occasionally scented you like all the other packmates.

Sitting all around you, they allowed you to speak, listening closely. With the hoodie once again between your arms, all the alphas paid close attention to whatever went so badly this morning.

„The poster I m-made yesterday... The laptop it was on bro-ke, and it just wouldn't open, so my cla-classmates...” You spoke softly, your fingers clutching on to Namjoon's.

Running his thumb gently over the top of your hand, the alpha listened in closely.

„It broke? Like completely? Where is it? Let me take a lot, my sweetheart." He answered, looking around as if to spot your backpack.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Jungkook stood up from his spot on the sofa, realising that it was still probably in his car. He told them quickly and went back to the garage to regain it.

„...y-yea it just... It didn't work, and the teacher got very... angry." You whispered, regaining the older man's sharp words you received this morning.

Frowning, most of the alphas leaned in, now truly interested. If someone even dared to be harsh on you, the pack would be quick to get rid of any issues. No one would get away with being bad to their omega.

„Angry? Why? The laptop broke, so obviously you wouldn't be able to show him your work. That's not your fault, sweet princess; you know that, right?” The younger alpha said, his hand gently running over your calf.

Looking away, you sighed.

„Seonsaeng-nim t-thought I didn't do it and just used it... as an excuse. My classmates weren't happy either.” You mumbled, wiping away any of the growing tears.

Quick to shush you, the packalpha tried to think clearly and not dwell on any assumptions he was currently making himself. It was hard, though, especially after he felt your shoulders shake a bit against his chest.

Shushing you sweetly, he held you closer, cradling you against him.

„That's bullshit; you literally did it with me yesterday. Absolutely fucking not. What's your teacher's name, kitten?” Yoongi could feel herself getting angrier.

Already looking up your school website, he was quick to scroll to the contact information, finding the phone number for the man in question.

Just then Jungkook came back, and the backpack opened before you. Taking the grey laptop out of it's pocket, the youngest alpha opened it, the few men around him looking at themselves.

Not much happened; the logo shined brightly on the black screen, making the packmate frown a bit.

„Your classmates, did they say something sunny?" Hoseok asked, sitting next to Namjoon. Taking a hold of your hand, he rubbed it gently, smiling at you encouragingly.

You could sense the anger rolling off of him already; the waves were strong and noticeable. You also realised more than well that it wasn't against you, not one bit.

Not sure where to start, you just nodded a little, feeling yourself start to cry softly. You didn't want to disappoint your group like that; you didn't mean to. Chin-Hae and Sun-Hi just didn't seem to understand that too well.

Cooing at you loudly, the packalpha hugged you once again, swaying you from side to side softly.

„Aigoo, my pup, don't cry, baby... No, no, no, it's okay, sweetheart, everything will be okay, hm? Alpha's are here, my baby; you're okay." He whispered, mindful to keep his voice soft.

Patting your hair gently, he watched as Yoongi stood up, a phone already held to his ear. He could hear just the faintest voice on the other side, and soon the alpha returned the favour, though his was kept much harsher.

He wasn't going to be making any jokes about you. If people wouldn't be nice to you when they weren't around to protect you, he would most definitely take immediate action.

Walking off to his soundproof studio, the rest of your packmates huddled around you, occasionally patting you and rubbing your back softly, gently coaxing you to tell them what exactly happened.

And you did, eventually explaining in a few stuttered-out sentences. revealing some of your past encounters with your classmates and teacher, it only added up.

And so, when the alphas got the whole story, they were more than livid.

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[late-to-the-party-81]

Love, Lies & Electricity - Ch2

AN: Welcome to week 6 of @buckybarnesevents Hot Bucky Summer and part two of this story. Thank you all for your kind comments on this story. Catch up on part one here.

Again, beta’d by @drabbles-mc. Thanks, darling.

If you would like to be added to my tag list, click here.

Moodboard by me and dividers by @firefly-graphics

Likes are loved, Reblogs are golden/ Kudos are loved, Comments are golden.

Master List | HBS Master List

Challenges and Bingos:

HBS week 6 - I won’t be able to stop myself

Summary: It’s time for the mission. Despite having to be near Bucky and the rest of the ‘Do-good’ brigade, you’re looking forward to using your powers to bring down another pocket of HYDRA. Go in, blow stuff up and get out. Easy Peasy!

Relationship: Bucky Barnes x Enhanced Reader

Word Count: 4k

CW: Angst, Memories of Torture and Captivity, Flashbacks, Hand-wavy science, Kidnap, Drugging, Extreme aphrodisiacs

As the electricity crackled through your body, so did the pain. You were no longer screaming, but that’s because your throat was too raw to make a sound. Your vision was blurred, colours of blue and violet like tinted glasses over your eyes, making the octopus picture on the wall a sickly purple instead of blood red.

When the pain suddenly disappeared, you slumped in the chair where you sat, your bonds the only things stopping you from sliding off it. How long had you been here, being tortured? The day, weeks, and months had blurred together. It could be years for all you knew. Your life was divided into two parts; the before and the now. 

The ‘before’ had been when you were normal, a teenager looking forward to college. The ‘now’ had begun the day you’d started to do strange things like breaking any electronic equipment you touched, and giving off what you thought were static shocks. And those strange things had brought you here, in the back of a black van, pulled off the street.

You often thought about whether your parents were looking for you. Did they think you’d run away in a fit of teenaged petulance?

CRACK

You heard the noise at the same moment you registered the pain blooming across your cheek, and your eyes snapped open. One of your torturers had stepped close enough to slap you, bringing you out of your dissociation. As quick as a flash you managed to snag him with your hand, finding purchase on his arm. You grinned darkly and let your power flow. The man screamed, and tried to break free, but it was useless. The electricity you were sending through him had made his muscles lock.

However, your victory was short-lived. Your powers suddenly cut out as a bucket of ice water was thrown over you. The man dropped to the floor, where he was immediately surrounded  by his colleagues, who carried him away and out of the room. You had no idea whether you’’d killed him or not, your last sight being his burnt hand.

Still sodden, rubber boots were placed on your feet, and thick rubber gloves were pulled on over your hands. You were man-handled from your chair and dragged away, back towards your cell. There was no point fighting - you were too tired and in this state you couldn’t call your powers up anyway - but as you left you heard one of the scientists taking notes on his dictaphone.

“Subject 982 is making progress in her training. She appears to be able to control her powers a lot better, able to call on them to do her bidding as opposed to being a passive carrier of them.”

You smiled to yourself, letting yourself be pulled along. Your captors were so hell-bent on working out how your powers worked and how you could control them they hadn’t recognised they were walking to their own doom because one day you would be strong enough to escape, and you’d kill them all….

“Hey, are you okay?” Bucky’s voice filled your ears and brought you out of your reverie and back to the present where you were sitting on one of the bench seats in the Quinjet.

Still feeling discombobulated from being deep inside your memories, you scowled at him where he sat beside you. “Why wouldn’t I be?” you snapped. “You don’t have to worry - your mission is still on track. My powers are still working.” You held up your hand and let a small charge arc across your palm.

Bucky wasn’t able to hide his eye roll at your defensive response. “It’s alright to be nervous. You don’t have to put on a brave face. I know what they did to you, remember?”

If it were at all possible, your scowl deepened - it was probably a permanent feature on your face by now. “And I regret every day that I even told you all about it.” You crossed your arms and turned your head away, staring fixedly at a rusted rivet on the wall.

You heard Bucky sigh, and from your peripheral vision saw him make his way towards the cockpit, where Sam and Joaquin were chatting and piloting. You felt a pang of envy at the way he’d seemed to adapt to life after HYDRA. He had friends and a job that helped him feel as though he was making a difference. Bucky had first had Steve to help him, and now Sam and Torres. You had no-one. At one time you thought that Bucky could have been that support for you, but that was just a fading dream. 

You continued to stare blankly into space for the rest of the journey, until the jet finally set down in the forest about 2 miles out from the HYDRA base - you’d all have to walk the rest of the way to avoid detection. Luckily your route was shaded by the trees that also provided cover.

You walked mainly in silence. You ignored Bucky and Sam’s attempts to engage you in conversation, and only gave minimal replies to Torres when he asked you questions. Eventually, the three men gave up trying to talk to you and fell into step and conversation together. Bucky did have an annoying habit of looking back over his shoulder at you, but each time he did you gave him a withering stare.

A few hundred yards from the tree line, Sam brought you all to a halt.

“You ready for this?” he asked. “This is your last chance to say no and back out.”

You let out a bark of laughter. “I never back out or back down, Wilson.” You turned away from them and closed so you could concentrate. This particular skill was the hardest for you to obtain, but even so, after a few moments you could hear the air crackling around you and when you opened your eyes again the world had a violet overlay.

From behind you Torres let out a whispered “Wow!” and you turned back to face them, knowing none of them could see your wide grin. You couldn’t help but step forward and gently caress the Falcon’s cheek, watching him with amusement as he jerked back at the unexpected and unseen touch. 

Gaining the gift - the skill - of invisibility by manipulating the electromagnetic field around your body had been the one that had eventually led to you being able to escape. Now you were going to use it to walk back into the octopus’ lair. “See you later boys,” you called out cherrily as you sauntered across the open field in front of you and towards your revenge.

It didn’t take you long to cross the open space and had to bite back a chuckle as you realised that the main doors to the bunker were open, guarded by two Hydra goons. You resisted the urge to send 100v through each of them - you couldn’t give yourself away yet, not when the turrets above you were still operational.

Once inside, it wasn’t difficult to find your way to where you needed to go. Not only had you spent almost three days studying the schematics that Sam had obtained, the base was laid out quite logically and there was even some sign-posting. You snuck into the control room by tailgating one of the workers and now you just had to wait for the right moment. 

The man you’d followed sat down next to the sole other occupant of the room and they exchanged small talk as they lazily cycled through the CCTV feeds, both inside and outside of the building and you took the opportunity to identify which area of the console controlled the power to the laser defences. Eventually the second man got up and left - apparently it was his time for a break, and the idea that HYDRA let their personnel take lunch breaks struck you as ironic. 

You smiled ruefully and stepped close to the remaining man, reaching out your hand and letting your power build inside of you. Then, for some reason, you stopped. You shook your head as if to clear it. What was wrong with you? You’d been more than willing to kill those initial guards without a second thought, but here you were, worrying about the man in front of you. Did he have a family? Kids? Fuck! Had Sam’s righteousness turned you into a bleeding heart now?

Your power dipped, lessening in intensity and you took that final step. You tapped him on his clothed shoulder and the man jumped and spun around in his chair, confused at the apparent emptiness of the room. Then you reached up and touched his face. However, unlike with Torres, you sent a jolt of electricity into his body. His eyes rolled back and he slumped to the floor.

The violet filter in front of your vision faded away as you dropped your shield. Crouching down, you checked your victim’s pulse. His heart was still beating, so you’d apparently gotten the voltage low enough. His breathing seemed fine too.

Straightening up, you activated your comms. “I’m in,” you stated.

“Good. We were getting worried,” came Bucky’s reply.

“I don’t know why,” you sassed back. “I can take care of myself. Now, stand by.”

You stepped around the unconscious body and towards the power console. You could just shut it down, but then there was the risk that someone could come and get it back online again. Your best bet was to destroy it. You placed your hands on the metallic surface and began to build the charge inside you. It didn’t take long for sparks to start to fly and the console went dead. Unfortunately, so did the main lights. The only illumination now was from some red emergency lights. 

“Oops,” you said over the comms. “I might have taken out more than just the weapons.”

“We’re coming in,” said Sam sternly. “You sit tight.”

“Negatory, Sam. I’m a big girl. See you when you get here.”

You could hear the sound of booted feet running towards the room you were in, and you charged yourself up, ready to defend yourself and escape their clutches. The door burst open and you immediately let out an arc of electrical charge. It crackled through the air, bright blue and white, and the men who’d come charging in let out a collective cry of pain as the energy coursed through them and they dropped to the floor, unmoving. None of them had even been able to get off a shot, but you couldn’t rely on that happening with every engagement, so before you exited the control room you brought up your forcefield.

One of the other things you’d memorised in your study of the schematics was the location of the lab. You knew Sam wanted to gather as much intel as possible, but if these monsters had ‘test subjects’ down there, then you would ensure that none of what HYDRA learned from them could ever be used again, even by the ‘good’ guys. You strode down the corridor like an avenging angel, any trepidation about using lethal force now gone. Your shield protected you from HYDRA’s bullets and your charge dropped the soldiers to the ground - some gasping, some still. You didn’t give them another thought - they’d made their beds.

On the edge of your hearing came the sounds of fighting from other parts of the compound. The three musketeers had apparently entered the fray.

“Dynamo - come in!” Sam’s voice in your ear sounded worried, but you still winced at the ridiculous code-name you’d been given. “Where are you?” 

“I’m okay, Cap. Just got something to do - gonna see if they’ve got any experiments going on.”

“No, that’s too dangerous. Wait for back-up.” You rolled your eyes at his mother-henning and then let rip with another arc of electrical energy at the HYDRA soldier rounding the corner towards you.

“I’ve got it, Sam.” Fabulous, now Bucky didn’t think you could manage alone. “I’ll go catch up with her. See you and Torres topside soon.”

“I’m not waiting for you, Barnes. If you’re not fast enough you’ll miss all the fun.” You turned the corner and zapped another two guards, their bullets ricocheting off your shield seconds before they hit the concrete. They were the last two people standing between you and the laboratory.

As you entered, you looked around in confusion. The screens set up to show close-ups of the subjects in each cell were curiously blank, and the room empty apart from one man in a lab coat, sitting unbothered at a console in the shadows. You took a tentative step forward and the man looked up. “There you are, my dear. I’ve been waiting for you.”

His voice was familiar and you peered at him in the red gloom. “Who are you?”

He stood up from the console, but made no move to get closer to you. “I’m not surprised you don’t remember me well. You did have other things to focus on at the time. I will say though that you are remarkably impressive. But then again, I always knew you would be.” He pressed a button and one of the blank screens lit up.

You turned towards it and saw the inside of the control room. A man entered, the door staying open behind him for a heartbeat too long, before he sat down next to the other occupant. With a feeling of unease churning in your gut, you watched the events of ten minutes ago play out before you. You’d never seen what it looked like to others when you used your powers.

“This is my favourite bit.” There was glee in the man’s voice as the video replayed you taking out the initial response team without any qualms. As the ‘you’ on-screen left the control room, the view of the camera changed and followed your progress down the corridor, zooming in each time you electrocuted an opponent.

“We never managed to get you to react this viciously when we ran tests on you.” You registered that his voice seemed to be closer to you, but you couldn’t tear your gaze away from what you looked like - the way the electricity sparked around your body and the expression of grim determination on your face as you advanced. It was only as his hand, encased in a thick rubber glove, gripped your arm that you realised the danger you were in. Your head whipped around to look at him, his features now clearer. His face was gaunt, with a hooked nose and sunken eyes the colour of sludge. His dirty brown hair was cropped close to his head and on his neck you could see the telltale scar of an electrical burn.  

Images flash through your mind of this face leaning over you as you lay bound to a reclining chair, your feet in freezing water. Of injection after injection. Of blood draw after blood draw. Of being shocked and then soaked as those eyes looked at you with glee. The feeling of his hand slapping your cheek was ingrained in your memories, along with his scream as you gripped him and burnt him.

You tried to back up, tried to pull your arm from his grip, but his fingers just tightened cruelly. You reached out with your other hand, pressing it to his chest and letting a charge run through you, but it had no effect. He grinned at you sickly, revealing yellowed teeth. “I know how to protect myself from you now, my dear.” He waggled one leg and you glanced down to see a thick rubber soled boot on it. You had no doubt there was a matching one on the other foot. “I’ve been waiting to get you back, to continue my work.” He caressed your cheek with the back of his other hand, also rubber-clad. “My greatest triumph,” he whispered, almost reverently and you felt bile rise in your throat.

“Get away from her!” Bucky’s voice echoed around the room and you let go of a breath you didn’t even realise you’d been holding.

However, the man holding you only grinned more broadly. “Oh look, my other guest is here. I was wondering when you were going to join us, Sergeant Barnes.”

“If you hurt her…” There was no empty threat in Bucky’s response.

“Why would I hurt her?” The scientist replied, cocking his head. “She’s like a daughter to me. A daughter who is going to make me a grandfather very soon.”

You furrowed your brow in confusion. “What? Grandfather? I hate to break it to you, but I’m not capable of parthenogenesis.”

“Ah. Very funny. But that’s why we need the good Sergeant here. Just think of a child that had both your powers and the strength and endurance of a super-soldier. It would be the ultimate weapon. My ultimate weapon.”

You couldn’t hold back your laughter. “No fucking way. I mean, even if we liked each other, I can assure you, that we would not be creating a baby for you, you sick fuck.”

The sickening smile returned to his face. “You say that as if either of you have a choice.” He pulled a small device - black and shiny - from his pocket and pressed a button. A high pitched whine started, getting louder second by second and cutting though both your brain and your memories. Horrified, you looked back at Bucky, while struggling to get free. 

“EMP!” you shouted, but it was too late and the pulse hit you.

Pain flared though every nerve in your body and you went limp, falling to the floor. Through blurred vision you saw Bucky struggling with the dead-weight of his left-arm, looking down at it in shock and confusion. He recovered quickly though, and with a roar began to move towards you and your assailant. However, he didn’t get far, a burst of energy suddenly surrounding him. It reminded you of your own powers. Bucky dropped to the ground beside you and just before your vision faded to black you saw a multitude of black boots running into the room.

Your eyes blinked open, pain searing through your eyeballs as they did so. Swallowing back a hiss, you pushed yourself up into a sitting position, fighting the nausea.

“Careful,” came Bucky’s voice from behind you.

Trying to shake off the confusion you squeezed your eyes shut again. “Where are we?” you asked. “And how long have we been out?” As you spoke you realised something was very wrong. You opened your eyes once more and looked down. “And why the fuck am I naked?”

You turned your head over your shoulder and saw an equally naked Bucky, sitting with one leg bent up in front of himself upon a thin mattress. His vibranium arm was missing. “In order,” he replied, “somewhere else. If we were still in the bunker then Sam would have found us by now, or they’d be crowing about capturing him. Next answer, as far as I can make out, is about three hours, which does limit how far away we are from our original location. Lastly, I’d say the nakedness is something to do with that madman’s plan to get you pregnant.”

You shuffled around on your own mattress to face him, your legs crossed and your arms folded your chest. Just because Bucky had seen you naked before didn’t mean you were going to let him see again. Also, you had no idea who else was watching you. “But that’s insane. Just because we’re locked naked in a cell together doesn’t mean we’re going to have sex.” You looked up at the ceiling and raised your voice. “Do you hear that, perverts? You don’t get a free porn show today!”

When you looked back at Bucky it was to see a sympathetic and rueful look on his face. He opened his mouth, but seemed to think better of it and shut it again, but letting out a sigh.

“What?” you asked.

“Please - please - don’t take this the wrong way, but are you - umm - wet? Like, down there?”

You immediately recoiled, despite the distance. “‘The fuck sort of question is that? Apart from really inappropri-” Your screeched response broke off at the realisation that you were indeed wet. Given the circumstances you should have been as dry as the fricking Sahara desert, but your body appeared to be preparing you for the dicking down of your life. “What the fuck? And how the fuck did you know?”

He shot you another awkward look “Enhanced sense of smell, sweetheart.”

“That is really icky,” you said, giving him a disgusted look. You wanted to ask him if he’d always been able to smell you, but knew you had more pressing things to deal with. “But the thing is, why? Why the fuck is my body aroused? I can assure you it’s nothing to do with being in your naked presence.”

Bucky snorted at your comment, but quickly regained his composure. “I think they’ve given us something. Something to get us in the mood.”

“What makes you say that? Maybe my body is having a random moment.”

Bucky dropped his leg down revealing his erect cock. “Then I’m having a random moment too.”

You gulped, because - fuck – was his cock was a thing of beauty. You’d thought so since the first time you’d seen it, and that view hadn’t changed in the intervening months. You felt your core throb and your nipples pebble and turned your head away.

“We’re grown-ups,” you stammered out. “I’m sure we can just ignore it.”

“I’m not sure that’s feasi-” Bucky’s answer was cut off as he suddenly shuddered in pain. His eyes were screwed shut and his right hand clenched and unclenched. Despite your feelings about your relationship, a wave of concern washed over you and you stood up to check on him. However, as you did so, his eyes snapped open through the pain and he held out his hand to stop you.

“No. Don’t come closer,” he warned. “If you do, I won’t be able to stop myself. You might not be feeling the full effects yet, but I am. Whatever they’ve given us is very potent. I-” He was interrupted by another spasm and throwing caution to the wind, you moved to his side and placed your hand on his forehead.

“You’re burning up!” Bucky didn’t seem to hear your exclamation because he just turned his head, nuzzling into your decolletage and growling. A fresh wave of slick made its way down your thighs and his growl turned into a needy moan.

“The drug. It’s made the desire. So strong. But it’s also bringing. Pain. With it.” Bucky panted out his thoughts against your neck. You reached down and cupped his face with your hands, angling it so he could look up at you. His face was flushed and his eyes were glazed over. When his tongue peeked out to moisten his lips, you felt a tightness in your whole body - a need so strong it didn’t feel natural.

“Will having sex stop whatever is happening to you? What is happening to us?” you asked.

“I’m honestly not sure. But I don’t think they want us dead. We’re both too important to them.”

“So this pain is just to get us to break.” As you mused Bucky started to nuzzle against you again and his hips jerked up.

“‘M sorry. Sorry. I can’t - Oh god!”

“It’s alright,” you said, petting his hair gently as you had done in the past when he’d had a nightmare. You thought over all of your options but despite your feelings you were pragmatic. If Bucky was suffering this bad, what would it be like for you? You could already feel a tremble starting in your legs. What did you have to lose? “I think the only sensible option is to get this over and done with then.” Your matter of fact tone belied your nerves. “There’s no way we can escape with you like this, and who’s to say I won’t get it worse when it fully hits. We should at least try this.”

You shifted your arms to his shoulders and threw one of your legs over his, settling on his lap, his rigid length rubbing right up against your swollen and slick folds. Bucky blinked up at you, momentarily confused and then wrapped his arm around your waist pulling you close and kissing you with fervour.

This was not how you’d envisaged this mission going, but here you were, about to do the one thing you’d sworn never to do ever again - have sex with Bucky Barnes.

Chapter 3

Tag list: @christywrites, @alexakeyloveloki, @wolfsmom1, @doasyoudesireandlive, @goldylions,

@galactusdevourerofworlds, @apenny4thots, @crayongirl-linz, @nicoline1998enilocin, @king814318, @blackhawkfanatic

@km-ffluv, @wheezy-stucky, @kmc1989, @kombatfather1796

[kissingghouls]

The Prince

Part Four: The Herbalist (ao3 // part one // part two // part three)

Vampire Terzo x F!Reader, Special Guest Star Primo

Summary: You and Terzo hit the road and head for Primo's. It goes about as well as expected. (13000 words [I know. I have a problem] and not beta read because frankly, that's a lot to ask.)

Tags/Warnings: NSFW, MDNI, 18+, horror themes, vampire violence, neck biting, blood, blood drinking, major character injury, hurt/comfort, SMUT, and more tags on ao3

banner by my dear dear friendo @ramblingoak. Thank you for absolutely everything.

There was nothing around for miles. It was just you and an endless expanse of highway etched into the bright green splatters of forest that only seemed to exist between cities anymore. You’d spent the last several hours speeding past fireworks warehouses and billboards for adult video stores in the absolute middle of nowhere. A cheap pair of sunglasses purchased at a truck stop larger than the high school you’d attended kept the sun out of your eyes. The pair you purchased for Terzo rattled away in the cupholder next to your knee.

Following a short conversation on the nature of werewolves, he had moved into the backseat and passed out. He curled up tight like a cat trying to make itself as small as possible, a cheap blanket pulled over his head to keep the sun off his face. He’d been unusually quiet for most of the drive, so it didn’t surprise you too much when he crawled back there with little more than a mumbled explanation. It wouldn’t have bothered you, but quiet was so out of the ordinary for him you couldn’t help but worry.

The hours of sitting combined with the soft drone of the engine and the otherwise silent drive did nothing to help you stay awake. After what felt like an eternity, you finally found a place with the right combination of populated enough to go unnoticed and shitty enough to be ignored.

Terzo didn’t move at all as you threw the car into park, groaning at the dull ache in your knees. You reached over, tucking the blanket tighter around his shoulders as he shivered.

“Terzo? I’ll be right back, ok?”

When he didn’t respond you forced yourself out of the car. The least you could do was get him to a bed.

You exchanged a few words and some cash with the motel manager, finding another delicate balance between don’t wanna know and paid enough to forget. People in places like these had seen enough already, heard every sad story or fake name anyone could come up with and you didn’t have the time or energy to pretend to explain away the bruises on your face.

With a room secured, you ducked into the truck stop next door to grab supplies. Your skin itched as soon as the car left your field of vision, but you figured it was better to keep Terzo and his blood soaked sweater far from view. You thumbed through a few novelty t-shirts and souvenir hats as you made your way around and loaded up on snacks and water. There was no Michelin star, but the truck stop offered something resembling hot food and you weren’t about to be picky.

Terzo stirred, grumbling softly as you settled back into the car and parked closer to the room you’d been assigned.

“Bellezza?” he asked, his voice weak and slightly hoarse. “Where are we?”

“Uh, not sure exactly. But it’ll do for the next few hours at least. C’mon, sexy,” you chirped as you hopped out, trying to keep the mood light. You tucked the plastic bag under your arm, balancing the snacks and water on your hip as you popped open the door by his head.

He sat up and frowned, wincing as the sun shone brightly behind you. “How far?”

“A few feet, maybe ten? We’re just right there,” you offered, pointing at the door to the room.

“Bellezza, I need you to go open the door.”

You shrugged and turned the keycard over in your hand as you walked toward the door. The lock had barely clicked out of place, its electronic parts grinding through years of overuse to flash that green light when Terzo rushed past, shoulder-checking you at inhuman speed. You followed him in, opening your mouth to complain and letting it snap shut when you realized he was cowering in the corner. Moving as fast as you could, you kicked the door shut and spun around to pull the curtains closed.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“Terzo, are you—”

“I’m fine, cara,” he insisted, cutting you off too quickly to really be believable. “Just a little weak is all.”

“Do you need anything?”

“Just to rest,” he replied with a light laugh. His knees popped loudly as he stood, the long drive having no mercy for his joints either. He looked around the dusty room, a sly smile spreading across his face. “One bed, eh? You are warming up to me.”

“Are you sure you’re ok?”

He crawled up on the bed with a sigh and shot you his best attempt at a serious look. “I’ll be better when you join me, bellezza.”

You rolled your eyes at his suggestive eyebrow raise and placed the overstuffed plastic bag on the table by the window. After poking around for a moment, you found the shirt you’d grabbed for him inside.

“Take that off,” you said and motioned to your once prized and now disgusting sweater.

He grinned as he whipped the bloody shirt across the room. “Should we discuss a safe word—ah!”

The balled-up t-shirt hit him right between the eyes.

“What is this?” he asked, pouting slightly.

“It’s for you to wear.”

His pout turned into a deep frown as he examined the shirt. “Bellezza…”

“Yes?” you replied innocently.

“This is funny to you?” he asked, pulling the thing over his head.

It was ill-fitting in so many ways, far too short and too baggy for his frame with a stretched-out neckline and sleeves that went to his elbows. But the thing that had made you buy him that shirt was spelled out right there on his chest in huge letters.

Garlic Bread Slut.

You bit your lip and turned away from him. “Nope. Not funny at all.”

His arms slid around your waist as he pressed himself against your back and leaned in close to your ear. “Oh, I think you like it.”

“I think you have a really odd way of resting,” you countered as you dug through the bag for your food. “You should lay down.”

“Such a tease,” he chided as he released you, but kept his chin on your shoulder. “What in Satan’s name is that?”

You shrugged and tossed the container’s plastic lid onto the table. “I think its spaghetti?”

“No, bellezza. That is an abomination. Please tell me you’re not going to eat that.”

“What? You don’t wanna share?”

He grumbled as he moved away from you to settle on the bed. You climbed up on the other side, folding your legs under yourself as you poked at your subpar mystery pasta. Terzo curled up next to you, his eyes heavy as he watched you chewing slowly. With a soft smile, you turned and handed him the remote.

“What’s this for?”

“You should find one of your movies so you can sleep,” you suggested.

“But…you hate those.”

“Yeah, but you don’t,” you replied as you reached over him to grab a serving of disturbingly cold garlic bread. “Hey, does garlic—”

“No,” he said quickly and stole a bite from your bread. “Oh, that’s awful.”

“Serves you right, you little shit,” you teased with a laugh.

He frowned deeply as he chewed, clearly regretting his decision. He flipped through a few channels to distract himself, occasionally making a disgusted face and sticking his tongue out much like a child would. He managed to find a cable version of some romcom you vaguely remembered, something with lead actors the general population would’ve known instantly. He could probably recite their entire filmographies, but you were stuck squinting at the male actor wondering if his hair had always looked like that.

Around twenty minutes passed, most of them filled with noisy commercials instead of the movie Terzo was trying to watch. It didn’t matter anyway—he could barely keep his eyes open longer than a couple of minutes. Again he mumbled through the excuse that he was just tired, waving you off when you asked.

If he was going to insist that he was fine, you could go on about your business as well. You slipped off the bed and circled back to the bag still laying on the table.

“Where are you going?” he asked, tiredly raising his head the same way a sleepy puppy would.

“To brush my teeth.” You dug the new toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste from the bag, waving it around as proof.

“Ah, garlic.”

“Got you one too,” you added with a wink and dropped the brush with the purple handle on his chest as you walked by.

He clutched the packaging like a bridesmaid who just caught the bouquet, sighing dramatically. “Bellezza, I didn’t know you cared!”

“What, about your breath?” you teased. “If I don’t take care of the garlic bread slut, who will?”

He pushed himself up with a grunt. “Cara mia, I’ll take care of you. Twice.”

“Not if you don’t brush your teeth,” you quipped, scrunching your nose at him. You set about brushing your own teeth, watching him drag himself from the bed in the mirror’s reflection. You shot him a little smile before returning to your task and daydreaming about all the sleep you were about to get.

There was a thud behind you, loud and heavy enough to be heard over your efforts. You glanced up at the mirror and realized it was the sound of his body hitting the floor.

You screamed his name and tossed your toothbrush into the sink before rushing over to him. Pulling his head into your lap, you began frantically patting at his face. “C’mon, wake up Terzo,” you begged, tears stinging your eyes. “Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. No, no, no. Please. Terzo, I don’t know how to help you.”

His eyes fluttered open, unfocused as he looked up at you. He grabbed ahold of your wrist to keep your hand pressed to his face. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. You just—” You stopped short as you gazed down at him. His face was gaunt, the hollows deepening to gather more shadow as you watched helplessly. In the few seconds since you’d left him his skin dulled, turning a lifeless greenish gray under your fingertips. “No, no, no—”

His grip tightened around your wrist. “Bellezza, I need—”

“Yeah, ok.” You nodded quickly and thrust your other wrist in front of his face.

He pushed your hands away and scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping over them in his haste. He shook his head, taking several steps backward until he was pressed against the door. “No,” was all he said, his tone firm. “I won’t. Not you.”

“Terzo, I’m not sure we have any other options here—”

“You don’t understand what you’re offering,” he growled, his white eye glowing as he fixed you with a serious look.

“Oh, so you can steal my garlic bread, but you’re too good for my blood?”

“Ragazza sciocca, it’s not that simple!” he shouted.

“Don’t fucking yell at me for trying to help you!” you shouted back.

“You can’t help me. You need to leave.”

“Are you fucking kidding? Terzo, there are still people after us. I’m not going to leave you here like this.”

“I will be fine,” he grunted as he threw himself back on the bed, sinking into the pillows.

“Terzo, stop. You can barely move; you can’t even go outside—”

“I will wait until dark then—” he snapped at you.

“And do what?” you yelled helplessly. “Crawl across the parking lot and hope someone gets close enough? You can’t even walk now; how bad will it be at nightfall? Just get it over with. I’ll be fine.”

He started to laugh, grimacing through the pain. “You really don’t know anything about vampires, do you?”

“That’s not fucking fair—”

He leaned up on his hands and knees, moving toward you slowly. “Bellezza, if you let me do this…” he started softly, averting his eyes to a spot on the carpet. “If I take from you, it will mark you for the rest of your life. Do you understand that? Do you know what that means?”

You shook your head.

He sat back and reached for your hand, squeezing it gently. “You and I…there would be…it would mark you as mine, cara.”

“What, like property?” you scoffed.

“No, it’s not as barbaric as that. It’s…there is a bond created—"

“So, everyone you snack on is just yours?”

He shook his head. “That’s different.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re different, bellezza.”

You didn’t completely understand what he’d meant, but it hit you like a punch to the gut just the same. You dropped onto the bed, trying and failing to decipher what the fuck he was trying to tell you. “Terzo, I don’t…”

“No one else could touch you,” he added softly, picking at the scratchy duvet. “Which could be good or bad, honestly. But it’s not a thing that can be undone. We would be…tied together for the rest of your natural life. I can’t…I couldn’t force that on you.”

“You’re not forcing anything on me. And anyway, it doesn’t have to be all that. I’m just trying to keep you alive—”

“You’re not listening—”

“Of course I am! There’s some magical force you can’t explain that’s gonna tether me and you if you bite me. Do you realize how fucking ridiculous you sound?”

He narrowed his eyes at you. “You’re arguing with a vampire but go ahead and tell me how ridiculous this all is. You know nothing, bellezza. Nothing about me or others like me.”

“Oh my god, I’m not asking you to turn me—”

“You don’t understand what you’re asking at all! Do you know what any of this costs? The actual cost of playing around with eternal life?”

You crossed your arms over your chest. “I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

“Everything,” he snapped. “These things you’re so desperate to prove don’t matter to you cost us everything. For hundreds of years I have faced loss after loss after loss. Those hunter friends of yours killed Secondo’s very human girlfriend. Do you understand? That hunter—a girl he hired and trusted stabbed his girlfriend to death in front of us and I—I was powerless to stop it.”

“Terzo, I—”

“They will kill you too,” he said in a deadly serious tone. “They will not hesitate. Do you understand? If I mark you, it will only make things worse for you.” He shook his head, grabbing your hand as he looked back up at you. He tried and failed to blink away a few tears that gathered in the corners of his eyes. “I won’t…I can’t…I cannot watch you die, bellezza.”

You whispered his name as you reached for him, wanting to offer him something—comfort or empathy or at the very least understanding. He pressed a kiss into your palm before leaning into your touch. His skin was cold, dull, lifeless and you knew he was in much worse shape than he would ever admit. You’d started your summer wanting to kill him, but now you were able to see exactly how much it would hurt if he was gone.

“I can’t watch you die either,” you said quietly, choking on your own admission. “So, I guess we’re just going to have to keep saving each other.”

He huffed out a tiny laugh. “What’s a couple more times anyway, eh?”

“Exactly. So, it’s settled then?”

“Bellezza, I don’t think the devil himself could talk you out of something you’ve set your mind to.”

“Pretty sure this isn’t the time for a theology discussion.”

He groaned and rolled his eyes. “That,” he started, struggling to push himself up. “Is the furthest thing from my mind.”

“Good. How do we…do this?”

He shot you a half-smile and motioned for you to join him on the bed, explaining the easiest and most comfortable way for him to drink from you. Building up a small mountain of pillows for him to rest against, you eased him into a better position. It was difficult to see him look so powerless after everything the two of you had been through, but the mood already felt lighter. Both of you were taking a huge risk, but you knew deep down it was the right thing to do for him. You’d been so wrong about so many things, so blind to the most obvious signs, but this one—this glowed neon and warm as the vampire looked up at you adoringly.

You settled into his lap and closed your eyes, trying to steady your breathing. Despite how much you pushed for this, how much you wanted to do this to help him, it didn’t stop you from being terrified. He brought a hand to your hip and squeezed gently as his own breaths became more labored by the second.

“Will it hurt?” you asked as softly as you could, scared that any noise would break the two of you apart and he would change his mind.

“Bellezza, I would never hurt you,” he admitted in a whisper.

You pressed your forehead to his. “I know.”

You didn’t see his weak smile, your eyes still squeezed tight as he brought a hand to your chin. He smoothed his thumb over your jaw as he coaxed your head to the side and followed the trail down the veins of your neck. You flinched as his lips met your skin, but his teeth didn’t follow as he left soft kisses over the column of your throat. Slowly you felt your body relax against him, your chests pressed together. He locked an arm around your back, his fingers digging into your flesh as the most lascivious moan vibrated through his entire body.

He was right, he hadn’t hurt you. For a few seconds you weren’t quite sure what was happening. You shifted in his lap and a surprised gasp left you as you felt his cock growing thick against you. He whined at your movements struggling to keep you still as your warm, wet blood spilled from his mouth and dribbled down your neck. That seemed to pull you back to the reality of the situation, a dull ache growing where his teeth were pressed into your skin.

His hold got tighter and tighter and it wasn’t until you let out a pitiful whimper that he finally pulled off. He licked at your wounds, hungrily lapping up every drop that dribbled down like futilely trying to fight the sun from melting an ice cream. You slumped against him, heartbeat slowing with each second.

Terzo moved beneath you, easily lifting himself up despite your dead weight. He managed to relax, stretching his legs out so he could fully lay down. He kept you pinned to him, not that you could move even if you’d wanted to. He sucked in a deep breath, your body rising as his chest filled. His body began to grow warm, his complexion slowly returning to its healthy glow under your fingertips.

Weak and tired you rested your head against the new warmth of him, eyelids growing heavier with each slow beat of your heart. A small splotch of your blood stained his t-shirt, enough that the smell of copper seemed to overpower everything. As he carded a hand through your hair, your eyes finally closed.

-x-

Terzo was gone when you woke up.

The motel room was dark and with the TV off the only light came from the glowing red numbers on the alarm clock. You reached for the lamp, your muscles so stiff and sore you could barely lift your hand from the bed. Through dry, cracked lips you muttered his name, wondering if he was just lurking somewhere in the dark, but there was no response.

Everything fucking hurt. Places in your body you didn’t know could even feel pain seemed to scream to life as you pushed yourself up. It was like fire under your skin, the way your fingers would burn as they turn white from cold. A feeling without any sort of warmth. You were freezing, shivering against the motel’s paper-thin blankets and unable to move from your resting place.

Oh, you were going to kill him.

Outside, you could hear someone whistling loudly with no regard for anyone occupying the motel rooms. The door rattled as the old lock croaked out a beep and gave way with a loud click. The whistling only got louder as Terzo strolled in sporting a bare midriff and a delivery bag.

“Well, look who’s finally awake,” he quipped as he saw you sitting up. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I hate you,” you grinded out.

He clicked his tongue. “It’s a good thing I know you don’t mean that.”

You didn’t have a proper comeback for him this time. Your brain had turned to cotton candy with the density of dark matter and your face contorted in pain as you gritted your teeth. Terzo caught you quickly as you swung your legs off the side of the bed in an effort to stand, but you had all the coordination of a baby giraffe on ice.

“You need to stay put, bellezza.”

“Terzo, we have to get out of here,” you mumbled tiredly.

“Oh no, mia principessa. We are not going anywhere until you get your strength back.”

“Well, whose fault is that?”

He shot you a look as he dropped the bag on the table. “Yours.”

You forced yourself to your feet and cast him an equally annoyed glare. “Fuck you.”

“Oh, we’re not doing that until you get your strength back either,” he teased, wiggling his slender hips at you. The sharp angle of bone and a soft trail of dark hair was on prominent display as he continued to mime the very same motions he’d used on you a few times now. 

“Ugh, stop,” you whined, feigning disgust. “Where the fuck did you even find scissors?”

“Oh, the shirt needed some modifications. I hope you don’t mind.”

You pressed your fingers against your temples. “You left me in here like this because you needed another crop top?”

“Of course not! That was more of an opportunity that just presented itself. I left because I knew you would need a few things.” He frowned at you and guided you backwards until you sat on the bed. “You shouldn’t stand for a while.”

“And you shouldn’t be running around some random truck stop in the middle of nowhere!”

The corner of his mouth quirked up, pulling into a smirk. “Bellezza, were you worried about me?”

You shoved him as hard as you could in your weakened state. “Yes, you idiot!”

“Hey,” he pouted.

“Terzo, I have spent the last few days trying to keep you safe. I let you bite me for fuck’s sake! Is this just one big game to you?” you asked accusingly, not having the strength to keep the tears brimming in your eyes under control.

He dropped onto the bed and pulled you into his lap, cradling you as he spoke. “Tesoro, no. None of this is a game, ok? None of it.”

You gasped for breath between sobs as a sharp, searing pain ripped through your neck. It was the worst thing you’d ever felt, like broken glass and fire had replaced you blood. You dug your nails into Terzo’s arm, pressing harder with each wave of hurt. The smell of copper tinged the air.

“Tesorino, you’re ok,” he cooed, smoothing a hand down your back. “I need you to breathe, sì? Slowly,” he instructed as he reached for the bag. He kept an arm locked around you as he retrieved a small, white cardboard box. He ripped it open with his teeth, unwilling to let you go even for a second.

“There we go,” he said softly as your breathing returned to normal. He adjusted you in his lap, turning you just so and firmly pressed a gauze pad to your throat. He held it in place as he leaned down and let his lips brush gently across your forehead. “I’m so sorry, bellezza. This is all my fault.”

“Yeah, you really fucked up by falling on that poisoned-tipped dagger,” you grumbled.

“It was a bowie knife, mia cara. Feels different.”

“You make a habit of getting stabbed?”

“Once or twice,” he replied dismissively. “But that is a story for another time. I should have been here when you woke up.”

“It’s fine—”

“Bellezza, this pain,” he paused to flex his fingers around the gauze. “That is your bite reopening. You have to be more careful. You are, eh, delicate while you’re healing.”

“Great,” you groaned. “Nothing I love more than feeling delicate.”

“I promise it’s not forever, cara. But you might be a little more…eh, it’s not just a physical weakness, you’ll feel. You will probably feel quite emotional too. But that’s nothing a little chocolate can’t fix,” he adds with a nervous laugh.

“If you’re saying what I think you’re saying, I will kill you in your sleep.”

“Cocoa is good for your brain, tesorino.” He shook his head. “And I thought you were done trying to kill me, hmm?”

“I guess,” you managed through a yawn.

He dropped another kiss on your forehead before he slid you from his lap. He brought your hand to your neck, your fingers replacing his so he could tear through that silly delivery bag with reckless abandon. Piece by piece he revealed his truck stop haul. Somehow, he had been able to find things you hadn’t even thought of.

He knelt in front of you and gently helped you lift your hand and the bloody gauze away. Biting his lip in concentration, he leaned in to replace the bandage and secured it with a healthy amount of medical tape around the edges. When he was satisfied, he slipped his arms under you and shifted your body back against the pile of pillows you had made for him. With a smug grin he finally handed you a heavy chocolate bar in the fanciest wrapper you’d ever seen.

“The hell is this?”

“Chocolate?”

“Uh-huh. And where did it come from?”

“Ah,” he sang and bit into a chocolate bar of his own. “Would you like to hear about my day, bellezza?”

You tried to stay calm. “Please, please tell me you didn’t use your credit cards.”

“You worry too much.” He planted a patronizing kiss on the top of your head. “But, no, I did not use the credit cards. After I was restored, I took a little walk around the area. I knew you would need to rest and to eat and that you’d need bandages and probably a couple of good excuses, so I wandered into the little shop with the horrible ‘spaghetti.’” He paused to make a disgusted face, a shiver going through his body. “And do you know what I found?”

“Your flair for the dramatic?”

“I’d have to lose it first,” he teased and raised an eyebrow at you. “I found a very helpful young man—well, I say young, but I believe he said he was about 200—”

“Terzo? Did you befriend another werewolf?”

“What? No, I—are you going to let me tell my story, cara?” he huffed.

You lazily mimed zipping your mouth shut.

“Grazie mille. Where was I? Oh! The helpful young vampire let me borrow some scissors for the t-shirt and taught me how to use something called an app. From his phone, don’t worry. Bellezza, did you know you can just…have food brought to you?”

You bit your tongue as his face lit up and he presented you with an insane amount of takeout containers.

“I wasn’t sure what you might want when you woke up, but, eh, Robert said that wasn’t really an issue around here. So, there’s a little bit of everything I could find, plus the chocolate bars.”

“Terzo?”

“I didn’t use cards. I—”

“Thank you,” you whispered as tears spilled down your face again.

He shot you a worried look as you began to weep openly. “Cara, you…you said we had to keep saving each other.”

You nodded. “I did say that.”

“Well, it was my turn. And I am not nursing you back to health with salt and those disgusting energy drinks Omega is addicted to, ok? Not for mia principessa.”

He settled next to you on the bed and flipped through the TV as you ate small bites from the container than smelled the best. It wasn’t the same pain, but swallowing your food hadn’t felt great and you were growing tired fast. He let you rest against his shoulder, eyelids drooping as you began to drift. He made a tiny, happy sound as he found a channel that featured men on skates.

“Bellezza, look! This is the one you like, sì? The violence?”

You cuddled closer to him, warming yourself with the heat of his body as you glanced at the TV. There was a singular man gliding beautifully over the ice before pushing off into a jump. “This is men’s figure skating.”

“Oh. It’s not the same?”

You shook your head as you leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “But I like this too.”

-x-

Morning arrived too quickly with a harsh light that cracked through the edge of the dingy curtains and revealed just how much dust was floating around that tiny motel room. Terzo held you as close as possible, the rough blankets tangled around his hips and yours, almost tying the two of you together. He had draped himself over you sometime last night between a sleepy discussion of the differences of technical and artistic scoring and deciding when the two of you should plan to leave for Primo’s house. You were too exhausted to argue for your own space in the bed, much less your own plans for moving forward. So, you pressed into his side, accepting the comfort of him and fell asleep in his arms.

It was beginning to feel natural somehow, like waking up next to Terzo Emeritus was just something you did every day. Part of a routine that should have worried you or even scared you, but it just…didn’t. There was no real way to explain it to yourself. As much as the rational, trained vampire hunter part of you had never, ever imagined anything like this would happen to you it didn’t feel wrong. Your only worry was the dull throb of the bite wound pulsing in your neck.

You shifted around, trying to lessen the pressure on the spot. His hold on you tightened with a tired whine and a whispered “don’t” falling from his lips.

“We should get up,” you suggested.

“Not yet, mia principessa. Please?”

There was something about the way he said it, something in the tone that made the air leave your lungs. But this time it felt different—his words didn’t frighten you, didn’t carry a weight that you couldn’t understand. There was no desire to run and hide, no itch under your skin that begged you to push him away. The voice in your head that usually screamed these kinds of things were wrong and too much was silent for once. You were content where you were, happy to lay next to him even if he didn’t give you any room. Almost as though you wanted to be there.

With a yawn, you agreed to let him sleep a little longer.

An hour later he finally dragged himself to a seated position, dramatically stretching and grunting in a way you’d come to expect. He resigned himself to getting dressed, pausing to not so subtly watch you move through the room as you went to shower and change into the novelty “Roadkill Café” t-shirt he’d bought for you while you were passed out. You brushed your teeth together, each of you eyeing the other in the mirror with curiosity and shy smiles.

There was something so normal about the whole thing. Tiny moments of domesticity and the sweetness of a simple touch. The idiot had even kissed you while globs of toothpaste foamed around his mouth, leaving a trail of mint and spit on your cheek. It allowed you to forget the rest of the world, to forget that outside this room people were actively trying to kill both of you. With that thought, the spell was broken, and you began to pick at your cuticles while he busied himself with the mass of food containers he brought back.

“You ok, bellezza?” he asked carefully, but he couldn’t mask the concern on his face.

You forced a smile and stood, shoving your hands into your pockets. “Just ready to get going, I guess.”

He brought a hand to your face, softly caressing your cheek before turning it over to press the back to your forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. I just…I think we’re stayed here way too long.”

“We didn’t really have a choice.”

“No, but we should get going before someone figures out where we are—or where we’re going.”

He gave you an easy shrug. “I’ll drive.”

You stifled a laugh. “You?”

“Bellezza, you wound me. It may have been a while, but I am perfectly capable of operating a car.”

“You opened the sunroof in the rain.”

“True, but that has nothing to do with driving.”

“Go on then.”

He did not remember how to drive. After a few panic inducing laps around the parking lot, Terzo grew more comfortable behind the wheel while you adjusted your seatbelt every ten seconds to make sure it was still secure. The interstate was a mostly deserted straight shot and after about 50 miles you let yourself begin to worry about something else.

You would never say it out loud, but the closer you got to Primo’s house the more your nerves grew. You had spent your entire life researching the Emeritus vampires, seeking out whatever weaknesses one could find to exploit to destroy them. A lifetime built on tearing their lives apart piece by tiny piece had also instilled a healthy fear and respect for the eldest brother.

There was a reason no one went after Primo.

If the last few weeks had taught you anything, it was that you knew nothing. You couldn’t begin to understand the ins and outs of vampire politics during your training. There was a system designed in the shadows and kept secret from those who would hunt them down. No one had ever gotten close enough to figure out exactly how it all worked—at least no one who made it back alive. But the vampires had made it very clear throughout the last century especially that there was one vampire at the head of the table: Primo Emeritus.

It was a name many vampires had chosen to die for rather than betray and you couldn’t help wondering what it was all for.

Somewhere past a washed out exit sign, Terzo turned onto a desolate back road long neglected by the county. The strip of faded asphalt was scarred with deep cracks and potholes overrun by weeds and grass, cutting its way through fields on either side that seemed to stretch past the horizon. Decrepit, abandoned homes occasionally dotted the countryside. Glass shards hung from rotting windowpanes like broken teeth below collapsed roofs and sagging bricks. It was a graveyard of a forgotten community, a place where nothing but underbrush seemed to thrive.

“Terzo, are you sure you’re going the right way?” you asked as your stomach tied itself into a million knots. It didn’t look like anyone would be out here—living or dead.

“Oh yes, principessa. Trust me.”

It would have been a lot easier to do if it didn’t look like the kind of backdrop even horror movies avoided.

He slowed the car and guided it to the left at a broken stone marker. A barely noticeable overgrown gravel drive slipped between the trees, framed by an old iron gate left open and consumed by rust. An elaborate decorative E on the gate was held in place by little more than patina.

“Told you,” Terzo teased as he pointed at the gate. He across the console to place a hand on your knee and gave it a comforting squeeze. “There’s no reason to be scared, bellezza. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

That only made your heartbeat faster.  

At the crest of a small hill, a house came into view. Unlike the other homes you had passed on the way in this one was quite clearly lived in and loved. The stone façade of the storybook cottage was completely covered in thick greenery and climbing roses, reclaimed by its surroundings. The limbs and leaves had been trimmed away from the rounded windows, each of them left open to let the summer breeze pass through. A scene of delicate flowers made from colorful stained glass hung in the frame of the old oak door—a burst of brightness that set a clear division between the owner of this home and the one who’d built Meliora house.

Terzo parked close to the house, stopping behind a sleek black classic car. Something from the 50’s you guessed. The shine and smooth shapes of the vintage Cadillac made Terzo’s modern machine look like a dumpy toaster in comparison.

There was a flash of movement past the front window as the two of you climbed out of the car. You took the opportunity to stretch your legs, pacing a short length of driveway while Terzo stared up at the house with his hands on his hips. It was eerily quiet, save for the gravel crunching under your feet and the billions of insects singing in the woods. The sun broke through the surrounding trees and showered beams of light over the neat rows of flowers that lined a stone wall. Vibrant hues and shapes buzzed with fat little honeybees happily jumping from bloom to bloom. You couldn’t help but think of this place as some beautiful timeless utopia, somehow untouched by all the decay and abandonment of the surrounding area.

Vampires always lived in the weirdest places.

A tall, older gentleman emerged from the front door and stepped outside with a commanding, regal presence. He didn’t even need to open his mouth to cause the two of you to stop in your tracks and look up at him. Crooked black lines cut his face into the signature skull mask the brothers all wore. The jagged shape of it did nothing to soften his appearance. His eyes, mismatched just like Terzo’s, scanned the lawn and squinted down at you. A deep red robe made of what had to be silk hung off his shoulders, framing him like a holy man in designer vestments. While his look exuded power above anything, there was still the frail body of an elderly man staring back at you.

“Primo!” Terzo shouted a little too loudly. “You look like shit.”

Primo narrowed his eyes at the younger man. “What does your shirt say?”

Terzo shot you a nasty look as you clasped your hands over your mouth to cover your laughter. “It’s, eh, a little joke between the two of us,” he explained with a wave of his hand. “This one thinks she’s funny.”

Primo took a long look at both of you before he stepped to the side with a sigh. “You might as well come in.”

The smell of fresh eucalyptus and mint wafted through the air as you stepped inside the vampire’s home. Worn, old boards creaked beneath your feet as Primo led you to the main living room. The house was filled with warm wood carved into intricate shapes that framed each doorway and the numerous bookcases nestled inside the walls. There was a cozy nook built under the front window, an old volume left open atop a soft blanket. Shelves held a carefully placed collection of antiques, old dry leather bound books with ancient pages, and rusted old trinkets and tools. An expensive telescope was pointed toward a south-facing window surrounded by two thriving palms plants. Meliora House had been filled with things no one ever used, but Primo’s things seemed to serve a purpose.

Terzo flung himself unceremoniously onto the vintage velvet sofa against the wall, ignoring the cracking sound it made and the pointed look his brother gave him.

“Well then, what have you done this time?” Primo asked in an accusing tone, his white hair falling over his shoulders as he angled himself between the two of you.

“Oh, what I can’t stop by to say hello?”

Primo pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fratellino, you have done many—and I do mean many stupid things in your lifetimes, but I had never dared to hope you wouldn’t bring a hunter to my door.”

You swallowed hard as Terzo began to fidget nervously. “She’s, eh…” he started, waving a hand as he looked at you. “You could say she’s had a change of heart.”

“Is that so?” he asked, eyeing you curiously.

“I managed to get here without killing him,” you offered.

Primo laughed loudly, his voice echoing off the support beams above. “That is a true challenge indeed!” he hollered and slapped his knee. As his laughter died down, he turned and gave you a soft, genuine smile. He offered his hand. “Come with me, piccolina.”

“Hey!” Terzo shouted as you accepted Primo’s hand. “What about me?”

Primo shrugged. “Go fix your face, stronzio.”

“Testa di cazzo,” he grumbled and made a rude gesture as he stalked off toward the back of the house.

The old vampire kept your hand in his, gently leading you through his home as gracefully as he would have led you through a waltz. You had seen and fell prey to Terzo’s charms immediately, but it was becoming clear where he’d learned it all. Primo didn’t seem to waste words or time, unafraid to call out his younger brother’s missteps or identify you for what you were. It was clear he was not threatened by you—you never would have made it into the house if that was the case, but he had made a strategic move to separate you from Terzo. His brother had sensed it too.

At the edge of the cottage was a small kitchen lined with open shelves and cabinets with glass doors. Each one was absolutely packed with jars of all sizes and filled with various herbs and tinctures in nearly as many colors as the stained glass window above the sink. There was a faint scent of incense, something woody yet soft with a hint of smoke and clove that made the space feel impossibly cozy.

A vase of fresh cut flowers sat on a small table in the center of the room, its chairs tucked neatly in place. He pulled one out for you and gestured for you to take a seat.

“Are you hungry, piccolina?” he asked instead of joining you at the table.

“Oh no, I’m fine,” you lied as your stomach growled and gave you away.

He laughed heartily, flashing sharp fangs as he swiped a hand under his wrinkled eye. “I’m afraid it is not very easy to lie to me.”

“I’m sorry. I was just trying to be polite.”

He tilted his head, another soft, fond smile gracing his lips. “He’s marked you.”

“What?” you snapped, your hand going straight to your bandage as you nearly jumped from your chair. “How did you—”

“Piccolina, please sit. Neither of you are in trouble. Would you care for some tea?”

“I—uh—"

He turned without waiting for an answer and busied himself with filling a kettle at the sink. He hummed as he moved, settling the kettle on the stove before poking through the pots and pans that hung just above. He was going to far too much trouble for you, but you weren’t exactly sure how to protest the manners of such a powerful vampire. You barely made it through three sips of tea before your eyelids grew heavy and you folded your arms to rest your head on the table. He continued to clamor around the kitchen as you watched sleepily, his hum turning to a soft whistle as you dozed off.

The smell of fresh tomatoes and basil began to make your stomach growl again, loud enough that it woke you from your nap. It took you a moment to remember where you were as you looked at the pots bubbling away on the stove and the patterned tile of the floor around you. Mrs. G was the only person you knew who could cook and this certainly wasn’t her apartment.

“Primo?” a soft voice called from the side door. “I’ve got your groceries.”

You heard Primo quickly sweep through the house behind you, that fancy robe billowing as he rushed to greet her. “Ah, diavolina! I didn’t expect you today.”

“I’m sorry. I had something come up and I needed to make the delivery early. I should have called or something. I didn’t expect you to have company.”

“It was a surprise to me as well, diavolina,” he said with a laugh.

You leaned back in your chair trying to peer around the corner, but you were unable to see who he was talking to. You strained your ears to make out the rest of their muffled conversation before reminding yourself that it was really none of your business. After a moment, they exchanged goodbyes and Primo returned to the kitchen.

“Everything ok, piccolina? How was your nap?”

“Oh, I’m fine really. I’ve just been so tired since—uh—”

He nodded. “That is a common side effect, but this should help.”

Your eyes followed him as he swept back through the kitchen, draining pots and stirring the contents of others. When he finished, he presented you with a dish that was plated so nicely it should have been in a photograph. He doted on you, bringing over anything he thought you might need from extra silverware to pepper before he settled across from you with his own plate. You wondered how long it had been since he had a proper visitor. Even the delivery girl seemed surprised someone else was here.

“You know, for people who don’t need to eat, you guys sure do love food,” you quipped before taking a bite. It was without a doubt the best thing you had ever tasted and you let out an involuntary pleased hum. “Ok, I take it back. I get it now.”

He chuckled softly. “Grazzie mille, piccolina. One could get very bored very quickly if he only allowed himself to eat one thing for eternity.”

“Ah, good point.”

“Piccolina, did you know for as long as there have been vampires, there have been vampire hunters?”

You nervously gripped your fork. “I had been taught that, yes. But I’m learning there are a lot of things that I was taught that might not be…correct.”

He laughed lightly and patted your hand. “I’m afraid that might be our fault as well. Vampire hunters are almost always human and therefore have much shorter live expectancies. Which they then use to fuel your hatred for us, yes? To make monsters out of men like me and Terzo when all we’ve ever done, for centuries mind you, is defend ourselves or the ones we love. Hunters are…shortsighted. They have the luxury of a limited memory, but it forces them to pass their hatred to younger and younger generations. Do you recall many elders from your group?”

“One or two, maybe?” you admitted. “They were always sort of…hidden.”

Primo nodded. “One of the more effective ways we found to protect ourselves was to spread disinformation through the hunters’ network. There may not be much they taught you about us that is actually true.” He cracked a wry smile. “Once for about, eh, fifty years, I had them convinced that we lay eggs to reproduce.”

“And they just…believed you?”

He shrugged. “Hatred makes you blind to many things, piccolina. But also, quite gullible to others.”

“I don’t know that I would ever believe that.”

He raised an eyebrow. “But sunlight, garlic, silver, mirrors…these things are believable to you?”

You sank in your seat. “I see your point.”

He reached across the table and squeezed your hand. “I did not tell you these things to make you feel foolish, piccolina. I imagine it is quite difficult to try to unlearn a lifetime of things in a matter of a few weeks.” He sighed heavily. “It is a shame what they did to Meliora House, but I suppose in a way it helped you at least.”

“What the hell is this?” Terzo bellowed as he appeared and leaned against the doorframe. “Are you trying to steal her from me, old man?” Gone was the sassy little crop top, replaced by a tasteful black dress shirt he had given up buttoning past his navel. His paints were back as well, thick precise lines that gave him an edge of seriousness you weren’t used to.

“Well, it would certainly teach you a lesson about trying to steal your brothers’ wives—” Primo noted, pointing his fork at his brother. He reached over with his other hand to pat you on the back, his accusation causing you to choke on your food. “Hmm, looks like the two of you need to have a conversation about your past now that you belong to one another.”

“Oh no, that’s not really what we’re doing,” you added nervously. “He just needed help.”

He pinned you with a concerned look before turning back to his brother. “Terzo…”

He held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t look at me. I explained the whole thing before it happened—”

“And he was, you know, dying,” you added.

“I was not!”

“Well, you looked like a corpse.”

“Piccolina, I do appreciate your willingness to not let Terzo die.” He stood and moved closer to you to gently ask his next question. “But do you really not understand what the two of you have done?”

“Is it really that serious?”

“You explained nothing, idiota!” Primo barked as he crossed the room to smack the back of Terzo’s head.

“Yes, I did!” he shot back, ducking out of his brother’s reach as he tried to hit him again. “It’s not my fault that she’s so—”

“So what, Terzo?” you interrupted.

“Stubborn! Ai!” he howled as you pinched him. “Both of you fuck off!”

Primo narrowed his eyes at his brother, the white one almost glowing with anger. He spoke in quick, clipped Italian phrases, each one punctuated by another slap to any part of Terzo’s body he could get to. It went on for several minutes with Terzo covering his face to protect it from the blows as he snapped back in what you assumed was equally aggressive language. The last phrase he spat out was a step too far and Primo growled as he hauled Terzo up by the collar, his feet kicking desperately as his brother lifted him and dragged him to the side door. He tossed him out with no effort, the frail appearance of his body betraying his true strength.

There was an aura of anger hanging over him, a cloud of unhealthy rage that only seemed to dissipate after he threw his plate at the wall. When he turned back to you there was nothing but kindness in his eyes and an apology for his actions on his lips. He regarded you with a soft, gentile expression, almost like he wished he could explain everything and apologize for Terzo himself. You had no idea what they had screamed at each other, but the look he gave you—the pity—suggested that his younger brother had massively fucked up.

“Did he tell you, piccolina? About the mark?” he asked quietly, averting his gaze.

“Um…”

“What he said is important. Do you remember it?”

You nodded and swallowed hard. “He said that there’s a…bond that would form between us and that no one else could touch me.”

“Did he tell you why?” he asked as he knelt in front of you.

You shook your head. “He just…he said I was different?”

His shoulders sagged as he sighed heavily. “It’s true, piccolina. You are different to him. The mark…the bond it creates…it’s…” he trailed off and sucked down an uneasy breath before taking your hands in his. “It is an act of love, piccolina,” he explained quietly. “A sign of devotion.”

“I-I don’t—"

His face softened. “It’s not such an easy thing to explain, I imagine. Our existence is…well lucky for you it was something you were already aware of, but as I said there is a lot that humans still don’t understand about us. I am sure that’s not an easy thing to hear either. But the two of you…are bound together.”

“Yeah, that’s what he said.”

Primo sighed and glanced out the window. “Mio fratellino is…shall we say, complicated. He has always worn his heart on his sleeve—used to drive our father insane. A free spirit like that is much harder to control, you see? But now it seems he has finally met his match. His heart belongs to you.”

“I get what you’re saying but that…that—that can’t be right. He—”

“It is what the mark means, piccolina. It’s an act of love because it is love.”

“But…he…I…are you saying that he’s—he’s in lo—” You swallowed the rest of the word, wanting to choke on it as the sharp edges scraped down your throat.

“I cannot speak for him, but I suspect he has spent a very long time trying to feel anything but this. Possibly longer than you can comprehend. I’m in no position to ask any favors, but please, if you could, be careful with him, eh? You are his heart now.”

“That…that’s not possible—”

“And yet it is,” he said, groaning as he stood, his joints popping loudly. “You realize he wouldn’t bring just anybody to this place, piccolina. But he brought you.”

“Why would he—”

“You’ll have to ask him, I’m afraid. I suspect he’ll be hiding somewhere out in the gardens as usual,” he said as he pointed to an empty space between hedges.

On shaking legs, you pushed yourself up and made your way to the side door. Your head spun, overloaded with a pressure that made you dizzy.

“Primo?” you asked.

“Yes, piccolina?”

“What did you say to him?”

He cracked a smile. “Just gave him some brotherly advice.”

You nodded and pushed your way out of the cottage. A small stone path overgrown with bright green moss led away from the house and past a large, glass-domed conservatory filled with plants and flowers. The break in the hedge revealed a private garden completely hidden from view by the surrounding foliage. The most beautiful flowers sprouted from every direction lit by tiny lanterns and lights that had been fixed to the arches above. The plants had been encouraged to grow up and over the opening, like the space was just part of the landscape. It was clear that Primo had spent a lot of time and effort to build this space and you found yourself remembering the lush gardens of Meliora House. Had he designed those too?

There was so much you didn’t know about Terzo and his life. About his brothers and how they grew up and came to be what they are. So many things were a mystery to you and yet somehow, he had seen through all your ignorance and found something about you that he could no longer deny—even if he wanted to. It was on you now, his feelings woven into your skin—into your blood, your cells. Words he hadn’t said were spreading within you like an infection, an illness with a countdown clock ticking away to your death. Until the end of your natural life, he had said. How could he even know he would feel this longer than five minutes?

At the end of the path, Terzo stood facing away from you. His attention was focused solely on the rose bush in front of him. You called his name softly, your chest tightening when he didn’t move, though you both knew he’d heard you. It hit you hard as you stared at the back of him, his shoulders no longer holding that poise or confidence he had carried over the last few days. He looked so small, like he had when you’d first arrived at his house, that melancholy version of himself that wanted nothing to do with anyone.

Why hadn’t he told you what it all meant? Why didn’t he tell you the importance of the decision you made for the two of you? Why the fuck would he not look at you now? And why did it hurt so fucking much?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” you asked. Your voice sounded so far away. 

“Tell you what?” he asked. He still refused to look at you, not even a sideways glance. The face paint masked his expressions, but it was easy to tell he was in pain. 

He focused on picking at an invisible hair on his pants, anything to keep his eyes down and his face forward. It hurt to look at him, to see him look so beautiful standing there despite his current attitude. You wished you could keep this moment, to capture him on film or in swirls of oil paints on a canvas grand enough to hold his image. But you couldn’t tell him. You couldn’t say much of anything.

Tears stung your eyes as he plucked a perfect rose from the bush and started slowly twisting it in his fingers. He barely winced as the thorns caught his fingers, drawing his blood in a way that felt ugly. You had seen him like this before, that night you found him singing in the garden. You’d meant to kill him and now all you wanted was for him to look at you.

“Terzo?” you tried again.

“Would you like me to apologize?” he asked coldly and finally turned to look at you.

“No. I just—Primo told me—”

“I don’t care what he told you, bellezza. He’s a lonely old fool,” he spat. “And you—why, why is it different now that he said it, huh?” He pointed at himself. “I told you. I told you the cost and what it meant, and it was still nothing to you.”

“I didn’t know. I-I didn’t understand—”

“Understand what?” he shouted.

“That you are in love with me!” you yelled back. “How was I supposed to know what it meant, Terzo? Do you think I would have said any of those things if I had known?”

With that the dam broke and you collapsed on the lawn in a sad, lifeless heap. You had never cried so hard in your entire life, and you hoped you never would again. There was so much pain and confusion in every ragged breath, and it burned through every part of you, rolling like hot smoke in your lungs as you clutched at the grass. Your chest heaved, but every attempt to get even the smallest amount of oxygen failed miserably. Terzo appeared at your side and god how you wanted to fight him off as he pulled you to his chest, but you just felt so small without him. 

“I’m so sorry bellezza,” he whispered into your ear and held you tight. “I’ve lived so long, and I still don’t know how to be a better man.”

“Just be a fucking vampire then,” you mumbled back.

“I’m not so sure I’m good at that either.”

“Then why the hell are we doing this, huh? Why should I keep saving your life?”

“Oh bellezza,” he sighed. He dragged you into his lap and kissed the top of your head. “Because you like me.”

“Ugh,” you groaned. “No, I don’t.”

“It doesn’t have to change things,” he offered quietly. “I don’t want you to change.”

You shifted away, angling yourself so you could look into his eyes. “Terzo, I—”

He pressed a finger to your lips. “You’re right, I should have told you. And you deserve to hear it, but it’s…it’s not nearly as easy as they make it look in those films.”

“Terzo, it’s ok—”

He cut you off with your name and a serious look as he ran a hand over the bandage on your neck. “This marks you because I love you, bellezza. It doesn’t say that you are mine. It says that I am yours.” He took your hand and placed it over his heart. “This is yours, cuore mio.”

You crashed into him, the two of you falling onto the grass as you kissed him desperately. There were things you could say, answers to questions he didn’t ask, but for the first time in your life you believed someone could love you. Not only could he love you, but he did. He loved you despite the cost to himself and the danger it put you both in. You melted into him, giving him the breath from your lungs and the blood in your veins. Yeah, he was yours, but you were his too. Even if you couldn’t say it out loud, it was in that wound on your neck, a scar you’d bear for the rest of your life.

Terzo was quick to pull you from the grass and back inside Primo’s. His mouth never left yours as he guided you to the little guest room at the back of the house. His t-shirt was still on the floor and the paints were left open in front of the vanity, but he was only focused on adding your clothes to the pile as he urged you toward the bed. His hair fell over his face as he leaned over you, dipping his head to trail hot kisses over the column of your throat and down your bare chest, leaving smears of black and white in his wake. He pushed your thighs apart as he kissed his way across your body, stopping short to lock eyes with you as he reached your sex.

You grabbed a fistful of his hair, tugging roughly as his plush lips connected to your center. Teasingly, he ran his tongue through your folds and around your clit, moaning each time your hips left the bed. He pushed his fingers against your entrance, wanting to feel the effect he had on you. He told you as much as he pulled off your cunt to watch you stretch around his fingers as they disappeared inside you. The heel of his palm added pressure to your center as he moved up to kiss you. He pumped his fingers faster, smiling as you moaned into his mouth.

“So beautiful like this, principessa,” he whispered against your skin as your hips bucked against his hand. “Cosi bella.”

“You are,” you countered breathlessly.

He just smiled and pulled his hand away as he rolled onto the bed. “Come here,” he said, motioning with the fingers that were still wet with your slick. You gave him a puzzled look as you tried to straddle him, but he shifted until your knees were positioned on either side of his head.

“I want you like this,” he growled as he grabbed ahold of your hips and pulled you down to him.

His tongue was exploring your entrance as his nose bumped against your clit and you searched for anything you could hold onto. Your hands found his hair, gripping tight as he worked you over like it was the only thing he has ever wanted to do. Like he was trying to give you something no one else ever could. It was too much, too good, but he was too strong to let you get away easily. He dug his fingers into your hips he urged you toward your end. It washed over you, each nerve of your body exploding into little fireworks as your body tensed and you came with a shout, completely forgetting you were a guest in someone else’s home.

He grinned up at you, his face paint smeared away from his mouth and spread across the inside of your thighs.

You smiled back at him, moving further down on the bed so you could claim his lips with your own, needing to taste yourself in his mouth, needing him to know. He reached for you, but you knocked his hands away and pinned his wrists to the mattress with one hand as the other worked at the buttons of his shirt. It fell away from his chest, revealing a jagged mark where that stupid poisoned knife had pierced him.

You traced a finger over the silvery scar, feeling along the soft ridge where his pale skin had pulled itself back together. His eyes shut tight as you leaned down to plant kisses on the spot, trailing a wordless apology over his chest. A tiny whimper caught in the back of his throat as he bit his lip bloody, but you kept your touches light. You drew your lips over every inch of skin, kissing every freckle and scar, each sign that he had lived that marred his chest. You didn’t know where the others had come from, but it didn’t matter. There were several lifetimes worth of stories he could tell you when he wanted to and you’d commit each one to memory just as you would the matching scars.

He was coming apart beneath you, face twisted in pleasure and pain. You wondered why he’d never let anyone see him like this when he looked so beautiful. You toyed with the bar in his nipple, drinking in the sight of him frantically turning his head to bite at the sheets in a desperate attempt to ground himself. Was this what you had looked like to him?

His cock was straining against his pants by the time you reached his waistband, but you were in no real hurry. You freed him slowly, appreciating the length and weight of his cock as it curved up toward his belly. You licked the slit, almost purring at the noise that came out of him as you collected that little pearl of pre that had gathered at the tip.

His eyes were set on you as you lowered your head, taking more of him into your mouth. The two of you had fucked and he had even let you use him to fuck yourself, but this was the first time you were really seeing him unravel. There was something sweet about the moan that rumbled in his chest as he hit the back of your throat, like the sound he’d made when your blood filled his mouth. A noise that was a confession, a pure and complete desire to give yourself over to someone, to have them accept such a gift.

“Terzo?” you asked softly and wrapped your fist around him to make up for the loss of your mouth.

“Hmm?” he replied, eyes barely open.

“Do you…want to…”

“Want to what, cuore mio?”

“Would you…bite me again?” He kept his face blank, but his cock twitched in your hand. “You don’t have to. I just thought…maybe…”

“Are you asking because you want me to? Or are you asking because you think that’s what I want?”

“I’m asking because I want to know what it feels like,” you answered as you squeezed the base of his cock.

He groaned under you. “Amore, I would do whatever you asked.”

“Hmm, I’m going to have to remember that,” you said with a smile as you climbed back up his body. You pressed your lips to his as you reached between you and guided his cock through your slick, both of you moaning loudly as he bumped against your clit. You lined him up with your entrance, sinking slowly as he stretched you. It hadn’t even been that long, but you realized how much you missed the feeling of him, how perfectly the two of you seemed to fit together. He waited for your signal, watching you intently as you feel him press against your walls before canting his hips and reaching an impossible angle. You go slow at first, both of you content in the heat of each other, but it didn’t take long for him to make you beg for something more. You held onto him for dear life as he fucked up into so hard you couldn’t even form the words to tell him the second time you came.

“So fucking beautiful,” he said again, punctuating each thrust with the words. “Can you do it again, huh? Think you can give me one more?”

You nodded, trying to meet his thrusts to shut him up but let out a yelp as he turned and pinned you down.

“Are you sure?” he asked, running his nose along your throat.

“Yes.”

You felt a pinch as his teeth cut into your neck. Blood pumped from the wound, spilling a little more with each heartbeat. Terzo closed his mouth over the bite and let out a low, filthy moan as the taste washed over his tongue. He slammed into you as he drank, an animalistic drive taking over with a growl.

You whimpered beneath him, overcome with too many sensations as he took long pulls from your throat. The sound seemed to drag him back to himself, catching him before he went too far. He slowed his pace as off your neck and licked your blood from his teeth, staring down at the space where your bodies connected. He pushed your knees apart and thrust deep, grinning at the sound he pulled from you. His fingers swirled around your clit as he fucked you faster and harder until you choked out a broken cry, your third orgasm ripping through you. There was praise mumbled into your ear, a lot of talk about how beautiful you were and how good you felt around him, but all you could do was shake through the aftershocks as his hips stuttered. He came with a loud grunt, spilling impossibly deep inside you as he fucked each hot pulse into you.

He collapsed on top of you, gasping for breath as he pressed his sweaty forehead against your shoulder. “I knew it,” he panted between labored breaths. “You are still trying to kill me.”

You laughed and kissed him on the cheek. “You can live forever if you’re going to keep fucking me like that.”

“That could be arranged.”

“Shut up,” you managed through a giggle.

“Stay put, bellezza,” he ordered and kissed your shoulder before pulling away from you.

You gave him a thumbs up as he rounded the bed and disappeared into the en suite bathroom. A few seconds later he emerged with some wet cloths and sat next to you as the shower ran in the other room. Gently, he swiped around the wound at your neck, cleaning away as much blood as he could without causing you too much discomfort. He frowned at his handiwork, his expression made that much funnier by the smeared and smudged lines around his mouth.

“You’re going to need more bandages.” There was a hint of disappointment in his tone, almost guilty.

“Hey, I asked for this,” you reminded him.

He swallowed hard. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

It was difficult for the two of you to arrange yourselves in the tiny clawfoot tub, but Terzo made sure to take care of you in whatever way he could. He washed the rest of the blood away from your neck with such a delicate hand as he lathered a lavender scented soap over your skin. He rubbed your shoulders, working his way through the knots that had returned over the last few days, teasing you as you whimpered with relief. When you finished, he carried you back into the bedroom and placed you on the bed. He crawled in next to you and pulled you close as he shut his eyes. The afternoon sun still hung high in the sky sending daylight through the curtains behind the bed.

“Are you tired?” you teased.

“Are you not?”

“I could use a nap I guess.”

“Bene. How is your neck? Will those bandages hold?”

“As long as we’re careful, I think we’ll be fine.” You turned to look at him. There was a question hanging over the two of you, something you weren’t quite sure how to ask. But if Primo was right and everything you had been taught about vampires was incorrect then you had to start somewhere. “Is…is that how you…”

“Hmm?”

“Did someone…do this to you? To make you like this?”

He blinked at you. “Did—did I get bitten, you mean?”

“I’m sorry. That’s…that’s way too personal. Forget I said anything—”

“Bellezza,” he started softly, “that is a very, very long story about something that happened a long, long time ago. And I will tell you every detail if you wish to hear it, but you won’t turn from a bite, cuore mio. There is more to it than that.”

“Like what?”

“Well…dying was a pretty big part of it,” he replied with a shrug.

“Does it hurt?”

He gave you a tight smile and tucked your hair behind your ear. “I told you I would never hurt you.”

“I’m not asking you to. I’m just…curious, I guess.”

“It…dying didn’t feel good,” he explained cautiously. “Not to me, at least. There was no peace in it at all.”

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. God, I don’t know what is wrong with me.”

“Shh, bellezza. It’s ok. I wouldn’t have answered if I didn’t want to. Can I…can I ask you something?”

You nodded sleepily. “I think that’s only fair.”

“What would you do with it?”

“With what?”

“Eternal life.”

“I don’t know, honestly. I…I don’t know that I’d be able to accept it.”

He smiled softly. “That’s a good answer, cara.”

“You’re not…disappointed?”

“Amore mio, immortality is an impossible thing to imagine. The concept of forever is hard enough to grasp when life is limited but even I sometimes have trouble considering the infinite. I will never be disappointed in you for having an honest reaction to such a notion.”

“You’re wrong, you know? About not being a good man. I think you’re doing just fine.”

“I knew you liked me.”

You rolled your eyes and reached up to grab a pillow to hit him with, but before you could bring it down on him, he had gone cold. His dull, lifeless eyes stared back at you as you let out a horrible scream. You shook him hard, trying desperately to get him to respond as you shouted repeatedly for help.

Primo crashed through the door with lightning speed, nearly knocking you over as he landed at Terzo’s side. He ordered you to stay put before he disappeared and reappeared almost too quickly for you to notice. It made your head hurt to try to watch him move in such a way, but you were grateful that he was fast enough to help. He poured something into Terzo’s mouth before stuffing it full of odd leaves and holding it shut. Terzo began to convulse, a thick foam dribbling out of his mouth and over Primo’s hands.

“Give me your hand,” he ordered.

You did as he asked without question, your face blank as he pricked your finger and squeezed a drop of your blood into Terzo’s mouth.

“What’s happening to him?”

“It’s ok, piccolina,” Primo said softly. “He’s been poisoned by something strong.”

“Is he—”

“No!” he snapped. He reeled when you cowered away from him and shook his head. “No, piccolina. I won’t let that happen to him. You won’t let that happen to him.”

Terzo groaned weakly as his eyes fluttered open. “What happened?” he asked, his words garbled by the herbs and foam. “Ugh what did you do?”

“Saved your stupid life,” Primo growled. “At least for now. Why didn’t you tell me? How long has this been happening?”

He shrugged. “I had it handled.”

“You most certainly do not,” Primo scolded.

“I’m here aren’t I?” he snapped back.

You couldn’t hold back the awful cry that burned in your throat as you realized he knew something was wrong. You shoved him as tears poured from your eyes, striking him repeatedly as hard as you could until Primo finally had to restrain you. “Why didn’t you tell me?” you screamed as you fought against Primo’s hold. “Did you know the whole time?”

Terzo looked up at you with a helpless expression. “I—I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Oh fratellino,” Primo sighed as he shrugged off his robe and draped it over your shoulders. “Try not to hurt him while I’m gone, eh?”

“I make no promises,” you replied through gritted teeth.

“Works for me,” he said and patted the top of your head before he left the room.

Terzo groaned as he pushed himself up. “Bellezza?”

You shook your head. “Were you just…going to let yourself die? Was that really a choice you considered over…telling me the truth?”

“I didn’t want you to hate me for telling you. For a moment, death seemed easier to deal with and that’s how I knew it was true. I knew then that I’m in love with you. I’m sorry for that, bellezza. I wish this all could have happened a million other ways. But I thought after all that after you offered to save me, that after I marked you, it would all be ok. It wasn’t until this morning that I knew for sure that I needed more help. And I should have told you, but you’ve been carrying so much this whole time that I couldn’t put another thing on you. At least not while you were still weak.”

“Can he cure you?” you asked, dodging his confession.

“He is the only man I’d trust with the job.”

You nodded once. “Don’t ever hide anything from me ever again.”

Thank you so much for reading and all your likes, reblogs and comments 💜 The next chapter will be the end of vampire Terzo's story, but some familiar faces will return as well. 💜💜💜

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[ourtalechara]

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We're the light in your screens, we're the lead in your veins

Then you wake from your dreams, so we can sell them again

In the light we distract with the shiny and new

So you're blind to the fact that the product is you

So let your brain dance and replay the dream

But don't drown in the data stream

'Cause we see where you are and we see where you go

'Cause we know what you own and we own what you know

From the top of all our towers, the corridors of power clearly need rewiring

Arasaka saw the spark and then embarked upon the path to turn that spark to lightning

There's no autonomous megalopolis so populous or prosperous you could reside in

And every citizen that's living in this city is a digit on the charts we're climbing

Political systems are too inefficient

They split like the atom and burned in the fission

Now every department and every decision

Defer to the herds of our corporate divisions

If you don't remember the ballot you cast

It's printed on every receipt you were passed

Each time you selected our products and services

We were elected in each of your purchases

What's left to do when you've got the monopoly?

Turn the consumer into the commodity

It isn't hard where you've hardware neurology

Honestly, do read the company policy

Take information and trade it for wealth

You pay it in each augmentation we sell

It's easy to cut out the middleman

When he's cut out most of himself

Arasaka Finance. Investing in your future

(chorus)

All that you say on the net we composite

To maps that go straight from your head to your pocket

Complain if you want, you're still making deposits

Of data — each day you log on is a profit

Society currently lists electronic

So isn't conducting resistance ironic?

We've plenty of skeletons locked in our closets

But yours are assembled from old-stock hydraulics

So lucky we know just the pieces you need

All plucked from your social media feeds

The places you go and the posts that you read

All snatched for a new algorithm to feed

Now, holding our gold isn't par for the brand

Our silver is sat in the palm of your hand

Quit whining and sign on the line in the sand

The supply does not get to make the demands

(chorus)

Arasaka Manufacturing. Building a better tomorrow

Name, age, qualifications

Race, faith, career aspirations

Political leaning, daily commute

Marital status, favourite fruit

Family, browser, medical history

Hobbies, interests, brand affinity

Fashion, style, your occupation

Gender identity, orientation

Lifestyle choices, dietary needs

The marketing contact you choose to receive

Posts, likes, employers, friends

Social bias, exploitable trends

Tastes, culture, phone of choice

Facial structure, the tone of your voice

If it's inside your head, we know

You can't escape the ebb and flow

(chorus)

When guiding the hand of the market

If it's holding a cheque or a gun

The fingers go deep in your pockets

And you can live under the thumb

You seem so surprised, what did you expect?

We're thinking outside of that box that you checked

The terms were presented in full to inspect

You scrolled to the end just to get to "Accept"

Arasaka would like to know your location

Arasaka would like to know your location

Arasaka would like to know your location

Arasaka would like to know your location

[gingerale2017]

i’ll be your favorite toy

Angst

Fandom: The Lunar Chronicles

Pairing: Kai x Cinder (kaider)

Setting: Modern au, one day post breakup.

Based on the song “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys”

Words: 1.3K

Quick note: I literally just wrote this on a boat.

AO3 link

The voices in her head, seemingly, told her to call rain on their days of wild.

Kai downed the rest of his glass until the ice bumped his nose. The week started so good. On Sunday, he woke up to her on his shoulder. Monday, he brought her lunch. Tuesday, she invited him over. Wednesday, they spent the day together in the city. Thursday, they visited her sister. Friday, she canceled on him last minute. Saturday, she broke up with him. And now it’s Sunday again, and he’s drinking at some random bar during his lunch break. What even happened?

If it were anyone else he’d feel used, objectified, or even abused. If it were anyone else he’d be cursing them out and smashing glasses with golf clubs. But he feared this was the love of his life. The only one for him is Cinder Linh. She could treat him like a toy if she wanted to. He’d let her.

He was her sickest, cheap army doll purchased at the mall. Her rivulets descend his plastic smile. But you should’ve seen her when she first got him.

Stars, how her eyes lit up. She couldn’t stop sharing. Kai remembered the embarrassed pink on her cheeks when they locked eyes. Not to sound cockt or anything, but he was used to people staring at him. This time, though, he was just as equally stunned as her when their eyes met. If she stuttered, then he was tongue-tied. Cinder was never embarrassed, though, and he was never speechless.

They kept meeting because of their mutual friends until they started hanging out on their own. She didn’t have many, though, and he was one of the only people she became completely honest with.

He found out why much later! His girl (well not anymore apparently), only breaks her favorite toys. He was the king of the sand castles she destroyed.

He knew why though. They fit too right. They were too perfect for each other, like puzzles in the dead of night. He should’ve known from the moment she curled his hair between her fingers with an enlightened curiosity that it was only a matter of time.

“Excuse me, sir?” The bartender interrupted his inner rant.

“Sorry.” Kai apologized. “What happened?”

“Your phone is ringing.”

He cocked his head to the small electronic device vibrating on the table. He barked a chuckle. How did he not notice? It danced around the table unashamedly. Like it was broken or something. Then he winced. Cinder was good at fixing broken electronics. Very, very good.

He thanked the bartender and answered the phone.

“Dude!” Kai shuddered. He really didn’t want to hear his newly broken-up girlfriend’s best friend’s voice the day after she ended things, but Thorne was kind of his best friend too. Never date within your friend group kids! Take this situation as an example. “What the hell happened.”

“You think I know,” Kai growled.

“Well yeah! She’s your girlfriend!”

“Was.” Kai sighed deeply and put his head on the counter pathetically. The bartender motioned for another drink and he nodded. Maybe this drink will numb his feelings.

Thorne paused. “You sound horrible.”

“I didn’t sleep last night.” Kai groaned.

“Are you working today?”

“I’m drinking on my lunch break.”

“What?!” Thorne yelled. “Wha- when does your lunch break end?”

“An hour ago.”

“Dude. You’re taking this very bad.” Concurred Thorne.

The bartender slid another glass of whiskey. Kai shifted so his cheek could take in the cool marble counter and stared at his drink.

“Actually, I think I’m taking it pretty well. I could’ve blown up her mechanic shop.” He joked.

“You okay man?” Though Thorne sounded completely genuine, Kai found himself getting irritated. The man was closer to Cinder than he was to Kai. Shouldn’t be all over her.

“Why don’t you make sure Cinder’s okay? And leave me alone! You guys are closer anyway.”

“Wait- Kai- Wait!” Kai hung up to Thorne rambling about some crap he didn’t care about and sipped the brown alcohol.

He sighed and turned off his phone, leaning back on the high chair.

“I think I’ma head out,” Kai said to the bartender. He nodded as Kai gave him a card with a $30 tip.

He finished his drink and walked out in the afternoon sky, probably drunk as a skunk.

There was a litany of reasons why they could’ve played for keeps this time and- Stars Above! He was just repeating himself!

If he was a toy, he was her toy, and he deserved to be put back on his shelf. Or, rather, her shelf, preferably. But, first, pull his string and he’ll tell you that she runs because she loves him. She was only scared, that’s all.

You should’ve seen her when she first saw him! Love at first sight! His girl (yes, his girl) only breaks the things she loves the most. She loved him. She had to. Why would she cradle his head im her arms if she didn’t. Cinder was no villain

He laughed at himself as he tried to balance himself on the crack of the sidewalk. Maybe he’d go home to his apartment instead of work. Kai couldn’t possibly show up like this. You could practically see the whiskey scent around him. Ironic, since Cinder introduced him to whiskey.

Good thing his home wasn’t far from his new favorite bar. Hey, that rhymed! Once he managed to close the door, he dropped the façade and collapsed against the same door behind him.

He was king of her beaten-up cars because they were the most loved. She left him because he knew too much. He could see the revelation in her eyes whenever he traced her body. There was danger in the heat of his touch.

She saw forever so she smashed it up. He began to sob her name. Drunken tears appeared on his polished shoes. He was so polished, why was he so polished? All the damn time! She was never polished. She must have hated it when they showed up at that restaurant n his new suit and in her overalls.

“We’re too different.” Her soft voice echoed in his head. “It’s me, not you. I’m sorry, Kai. We won’t work out.”

The hell. THE HELL?!! Every line she said was a lie. She didn’t meet his eyes because she knew that he’d know she was lying. They fit so well, like the pipes she’s always reassembling. He was picturing their life together and you’re telling him this whole time, she wanted out?! It must be him for sure, then. Then. Then what did he do wrong? He’d been replaying their whole relationship all last night and at the bar. Sure, they had their fights, but what did he do wrong?

He should’ve fought. He should have been clawing at her door. He should’ve yelled at her. He should’ve grown a pair. Instead, he walked away, mumbling an apology.

“Once I fix me, Cinder.” He whispered, a tear falling down his cheek. “You’re going to miss me.”

“Once I fix me. You’re gonna miss me.” Another glass shattered against the apartment wall.

Come back. She didn’t mean it. Come back, Kai. Just say when, Kai, she'd play again. Please Kai, she was sorry.

Kai was her best friend, like kids at a sandlot. She used him, but she didn’t mean to! She was just confused.

Cinder had felt more with him even when they played pretend than with all the Ken-like men surrounding her workplace.

Why? Why?! Because he took her out of her box.

She sobbed, slowly falling to her knees as her hands covered her face. She pulled at her hair. Why did she do that? She let her fears win and now he’s gone. He left without a fight though, so maybe he did love her as he said he did.

No, don’t be stupid, Cinder. She told herself. You chose to do it after work for a reason, so he’d leave without a fight. You were afraid he might change your mind.

He stole her tortured heart. He left all these broken parts. She said he was better off.

But they weren't. No, they weren’t.

So Cinder had to do what she does best. She had to fix this.

A/N: This is a completely new story, not even a draft. I’m still on this boat.

tagging: @just2bubbly @cinderswrench @cindersassasin @the-wee-woo-royal @deprivedmusicaljunkie @crescentchat @notjacinclay @wheresmymom-imlost @salt-warrior @rapunzelfromthemoon @briggycat @impossiblesuitcase @kaider-is-my-otp @definitelynotisabel @wassupnye (these are for my kaider ONLY fics so please ask if you want to be tagged or removed <3)

[younggayanddoingokay]

My new obsessive conspiracy theory is whatever the fuck is going on for the ads in mobile games. Like I play a lot of puzzle games and in the ads for different mobile games, all these celebrities are showing up and at first the only way I knew they were “famous” was because they were like “I’m so and so from such and such” and I was like “oof, selling out on cameo for royal match, that’s gotta hurt.” And then I saw Tom Felton, a YouTuber I like, whatever. Then the other day I saw fucking DAVID BECKHAM on an ad for some mobile game and I’m like “wtf?!”

How are all these mobile games affording these people to advertise for them, WHY are they paying that kind of money for a free mobile game?! Like, in-app purchases from the modern version latchkey kids whose parents give them too many electronics to shut them up and don’t bother to parent-lock purchases are like, drunk people, and old people who get bored cannot POSSIBLY be generating that much revenue. So like,

Is it money laundering? Is the government sponsoring these ads to gateway-drug people into gambling so that they can drive them into some sort of new “in app purchase on mobile game to state-sponsored lottery gambling app” pipeline? WTF is going on? Something is suuuuuper fishy here and I’m so stuck on why.

[secureace]

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[taperwolf]

When I was in elementary school, some competition or another — my memory is fuzzy, but I think it was some exhibit at the county fair— won me a gift certificate to the local Radio Shack. I already knew the place was full of wonders, since I'd gotten my fill of giveaway comics like The Science Fair Story of Electronics and Superman and the TRS-80 Computer Whiz Kids (all about how teenagers helped Superman thwart Lex Luthor through judicious use of dial-up BBSes and the Scripsit word processor) and pored over their catalogs, but being faced with a whole store, no actual knowledge, and a whole $5 to spend — I never got any kind of allowance — left me wandering the aisles for a couple of hours one Saturday in amazement, until my mother made increasingly urgent sounds about needing to leave. I'm pretty sure I also got one of the little Forrest Mims pamphlets of circuits you could build using the components you could get there, but the big purchase was a replacement keyboard, one of the Commodore types with the four function keys at the right side. I had these great ambitions of building my own computer around it. Of course, even if I knew what parts I'd need, I'd never get any more money to spend at a Radio Shack until I was in High School and had a job, and by that time the keyboard has gone missing in the house moves to two different states.

Flash forward a couple of decades, when I'm browsing the website for Fair Radio Sales, a surplus dealer that's been around since 1947, when they were flogging off all the radios sold by the military after WWII. I think I was looking for cheap test equipment, but I spotted a listing for these keyboards, which I believe are identical to the one I had back then. Out of a mix of nostalgia and thoughts of building a custom PC keyboard from it, I picked up a few.

If I'm remembering right, it's the keyboard from the Commodore C16, a stripped-down C64 (although incompatible) that they intended, in 1984, to be the budget replacement for the VIC-20. It completely bombed in the US, which is probably why I could pick up the keyboard cheap in 1985 or so. Mechanically, it's the same as the C64 keyboard, with a separate locking switch for "Shift Lock", and it's electronically just a matrix. I still intend to put it into a housing and use it as a PC keyboard, adding logic to produce the Unicode equivalents of the PETSCII labels on the fronts of the keys — but there are always more projects than there is time.

[salvager-beyblade-fanfiction]

Salvager Chapter 4: Floor 192

“Off!”

Venom’s shout ricocheted down the derelict shaft, giving Salvager only a second’s warning. Shoot. Darting in a breath, he threw his arm back, allowing himself to roll sideways as he released his grip on the elevator cable and plunged into an uncontrolled free fall. Down, towards the legion of androids that had followed them from Floor 191. There must have been at least a hundred, all climbing over each other, joints whirring, Starving Silver spasming in anticipation. Too close for comfort.

“Go!” Salvager hollered, fiercely aware of the closing distance between him and their pursuers.

Venom slammed his cybernetic palm into the cable’s side.

And, in an instant, the metal fibers were howling with electricity, a visible current arcing around the circumference with a hissing, ear-crackling buzz. Salvager was just close enough to smell burning hair. The robots, actually clinging to the line, weren’t so lucky. As the sudden charge struck, they screeched, wailed, and then dropped, their bodies fried black. Disjointed limbs clacked and spun. Raucous echoes--metal on metal--fired through the chute. 

“Safe!” Venom snapped from above.

Salvager shouted back something completely unintelligible, but generally affirmative. In one fluid motion, he shot out an arm, locking his fingers back around the cable, and swung in a shallow curve, heaving his reactor cannon over his shoulder and angling it straight down. He set the barrel for continuous blast, locked it in place and, as the basketball-sized opening filled with the preemptive light of a laser stream, resumed his ascent. He’d fallen almost half of what he’d initially climbed. Fortunately, the beam of energy slamming from the weapon at his back was a fairly efficient propulsion device, He made up the distance at an accelerated pace, his hands flying over each other to maintain purchase on the elevator cable. “Hey!” he called, mind racing through the next steps of his and Venom's plan. “Do you think 192 has noticed us yet?”

In his upward periphery, he saw Venom glancing towards the door bank above his head, a good three yards up the shaft. “Uh… No?” he shouted back. 

Just then, however, the portal slid open, the two halves retreating into their recesses, and an electronic moan dripped out of the darkness. Slowly, a long-fingered hand curled over the lip of the opening, its malformed knuckles glinting like slivers of moonlight. A scrape, a drag, and, soon, two glowing photoreceptors peered over the edge, staring into the derelict shaft. 

Salvager cringed. A Starving Silver model. Great.

Venom, meanwhile, wasted no time. In a flash, he conjured his player board, sank his arm up to the elbow in his inventory, and snapped out two magnetic grenades, flinging them high. Once near enough, they reacted to the android’s metal skin and promptly zipped towards it, attacking like mosquitoes, cracking into the thing’s head, puncturing its skull with their security prongs.

The subsequent explosions filled the elevator shaft with an obscuring white light.

The sharp beam of Salvager’s laser grapnel cut through it, the man himself soon following. He whipped past Venom in a blur, careening in a tight arc over the door bank’s extended lip, and--teeth bared, neck straining--smashed his heels like battering rams into what was left of the android’s skull. It popped off its spinal cord like a lollipop head from its stick, the Starving Silver it had carried leaping across Salvager’s boots.

Perfectly calm, the man allowed himself to fall backward, hunching over midair and hastily undoing his laces. There. The shoes slipped free of his feet, taking all the parasitic metal with them. Now, to fix the falling.

Salvager flung out a hand.

And Venom, lunging sideways and nearly losing his grip on the elevator cable, caught it. A savage grunt erupted from between his teeth as the older man’s weight jerked him downward. Two of his steel pins snapped, bursting from his cybernetic forearm and spinning into the dark like pennies flipped into a fountain. “Ghk!” he choked, stuffing down a fierce complaint as he heaved Salvager back onto the wire. 

“Nice catch,” the man gasped, tucking a leg around the line and regaining purchase. “Arm okay?”

“Forget about it,” Venom groaned, raising his gaze back to the Floor 192 doors. A swarm of eyes were filling it, flinty and curious, piercing the darkness like stars crowding out a night sky. “We’ve got bigger problems.”

Salvager grit his teeth, a crease slicing down his brow. What was that…? Fifty more androids? “No stopping,” he decided. “Climb. I’ve got your back.”

“No stopping?”

“We’re not making it to 192 with that kind of welcoming party. Just skip it.”

There was nothing for it.

They’d have to go straight for Floor 193. 

The top was in reach.

[solver002]

Eventually, all walls meet demolition So Wall Street had to keep the tradition Their financial systems resigned to ignition And out of the ashes, we have arisen

An empire is forged in the fire of ambition In business, there isn't the time for attrition Invest to suppress then ingest competition Then each acquisition is new ammunition

When governments crumble and fall to the floor That was paved with the graves of a corporate war A fundament funded in blood just to shore A foundation for founding our covenant

Born of a need for control of societal entropy Enterprise at the price of your indemnity Chart out the course and of course you were meant to be Bent to the will of a corporate entity

Arasaka Security. You're in safe hands

We're the light in your screens, we're the lead in your veins Then you wake from your dreams, so we can sell them again In the light we distract with the shiny and new So you're blind to the fact that the product is you So let your brain dance and replay the dream But don't drown in the data stream 'Cause we see where you are and we see where you go 'Cause we know what you own and we own what you know

From the top of all our towers, the corridors of power clearly need rewiring Arasaka saw the spark and then embarked upon the path to turn that spark to lightning There's no autonomous megalopolis so populous or prosperous you could reside in And every citizen that's living in this city is a digit on the charts we're climbing

Political systems are too inefficient They split like the atom and burned in the fission Now every department and every decision Defer to the herds of our corporate divisions

If you don't remember the ballot you cast It's printed on every receipt you were passed Each time you selected our products and services We were elected in each of your purchases

What's left to do when you've got the monopoly? Turn the consumer into the commodity It isn't hard where you've hardware neurology Honestly, do read the company policy

Take information and trade it for wealth You pay it in each augmentation we sell It's easy to cut out the middleman When he's cut out most of himself

Arasaka Finance. Investing in your future

We're the light in your screens, we're the lead in your veins Then you wake from your dreams, so we can sell them again In the light we distract with the shiny and new So you're blind to the fact that the product is you So let your brain dance and replay the dream But don't drown in the data stream 'Cause we see where you are and we see where you go 'Cause we know what you own and we own what you know

All that you say on the net we composite To maps that go straight from your head to your pocket Complain if you want, you're still making deposits Of data — each day you log on is a profit

Society currently lists electronic So isn't conducting resistance ironic? We've plenty of skeletons locked in our closets But yours are assembled from old-stock hydraulics

So lucky we know just the pieces you need All plucked from your social media feeds The places you go and the posts that you read All snatched for a new algorithm to feed

Now, holding our gold isn't par for the brand Our silver is sat in the palm of your hand Quit whining and sign on the line in the sand The supply does not get to make the demands

Arasaka Manufacturing. Building a better tomorrow

Name, age, qualifications Race, faith, career aspirations Political leaning, daily commute Marital status, favourite fruit

Family, browser, medical history Hobbies, interests, brand affinity Fashion, style, your occupation Gender identity, orientation

Lifestyle choices, dietary needs The marketing contact you choose to receive Posts, likes, employers, friends Social bias, exploitable trends

Tastes, culture, phone of choice Facial structure, the tone of your voice If it's inside your head, we know You can't escape the ebb and flow

We're the light in your screens, we're the lead in your veins Then you wake from your dreams, so we can sell them again In the light we distract with the shiny and new So you're blind to the fact that the product is you So let your brain dance and replay the dream But don't drown in the data stream 'Cause we see where you are and we see where you go 'Cause we know what you own and we own what you know

When guiding the hand of the market If it's holding a cheque or a gun The fingers go deep in your pockets And you can live under the thumb

You seem so surprised, what did you expect? We're thinking outside of that box that you checked The terms were presented in full to inspect You scrolled to the end just to get to "Accept"

Arasaka would like to know your location (In the light we distract with the shiny and new) Arasaka would like to know your location Arasaka would like to know your location (So you're blind to the fact that the product is you) Arasaka would like to know your location

.

[ane-doodles]

Use this ask to talk about one of your OCs :D

phew! a late answer but it's finally here: I present to you AOI!

Name acrostic: Artificial Outperformer Inteligence

He is an oc (based on another personal oc) that I adapted for the DCA fandom. I had never shown it because I usually find it difficult to draw the "stilts" of its legs.

brief explanation: In this story we are placed before SB. AOI is a robot purchased by Fazco from another company that specializes in security (since their own advanced technology is more specialized in entertainment). It was not bought by their own decision, but they were forced by the constant complaints and requests of the workers who work with the animatronics. These workers, although they do not know the entire history of Fazber entertainment and others, do know how dangerous these intelligent animatronics can be and the damage they can cause if they fail, so they demanded as a security measure the purchase of a specialized robot. specifically not his own product.

AOI's main job is to keep workers safe during maintenance and repair hours, but it also has the purpose of keeping animatronics safe from employees who want to break them or infect them with a virus on purpose.

Some facts and data from AOI:

• In addition to protection, he is in charge of escorting the animatronics to P&S

• Sometimes he must recover staff-bots or small cleaning robots from spaces in which they get stuck.

• Their design is based on the appearance of a samurai, and as the name might indicate, the company that sells them is from the other side of the world.

• AOI has detention protocols for each animatronic (image below right). Basically he knows the weak points of each design and can use them if necessary.

• In addition to the AOI protocols, it has electrical conductors in both hands, which give a kind of electric shock that serves to paralyze both humans and animatronics.

• AOI's leg stilts are used to reach high places, run very fast, and maintain balance in confined or narrow spaces, such as ceiling joists.

• AOI is forbidden to be seen during Pizza Plex's opening hours, so he stays hidden. Some people have managed to see it for moments and there is a rumor of the existence of a "secret company animatronic".

• The workers at the Pizza plex love and treat AOI as a kind of mascot. AOI is able to hold logical conversations and is usually pleasant

• AOI, on the other hand, is not highly appreciated among animatronics (except for staff-bots and cleaning robots that have him as a hero). Most avoid it when they see it

• Having an equally advanced AI AOI was also interested in "being friends" with the glamrocks, but it seems that it is not possible

• Bonnie was the only one who was able to hold calm conversations with AOI.

•AOI also has a security protocol against intruders. In addition to using the electronic shock, he has the command to lock the invader in an office and give a report to the employees the next morning.

• AOI's jaw is locked, but he can sometimes open it and break the lock.

• The robe that AOI wears is a kind of haori, and he uses it to cover the logo of the company that created it (Fazco's policies).

• When one of the animatronics refuses to accompany him to maintenance, he has the mission to "hunt" them. He doesn't really like to do that, but he knows it's his job.

• His head works as a kind of light screen where his protocols and "false eyes" are reflected.

• AOI likes tattoos, but can't have them, so instead he gets small stickers to use as replacements.

• AOI is deeply interested in learning about the daycare and its attendants who rarely require maintenance...

Tbh I don't have a specific story for him, but I did have in mind a few scenes and interactions from AOI, the animatronics, Eclipse and the DCAs (here they are separated). I think at some point I even considered pairing him... but it never got very far.

I hope you liked it

[juleskelleybooks]

Blackthorn

“We didn’t talk much, but I got the impression he didn’t have much of a north star except what’ll put chips in his pocket.”

A useful quality in a man, in Belle’s opinion.

“Well, here. I’ll let you pass along a small good-faith gesture to him, but see to it that you don’t mention where it came from.” She opened the locked drawer of her vanity and counted out a few more scanchips. Most places would take the chip itself as barter, since the closest place to cash them in was in Pryor. The way the electronics went out all the time around here anyway, bartering the chips was more reliable than trying to access an account from a scanner.

She shuffled around until she found a small pouch caught far in the back of the vanity drawer. It smelled faintly of a perfume she had run out of years ago, and she hesitated briefly before she let the chips slide from her fingertips into the velvety depths. The bag itself would be as much of a lure as what was inside.

~Blackthorn by Jules Kelley

Nathanael Dubarr always seems to be caught in the middle. His older brother Wystan is already taking over the family business, an empire of shipping networks that have carved their way across several worlds. His younger brother Noah seems intent on squandering his share of the inheritance in whatever way will hurt the most people around him. Nate wishes his family were less cutthroat; his family wishes he weren't such a fucking coward.

After a confrontation with Noah turns fatal, however, Nate knows his only choice is to flee. He books passage to the outer planet of Aulis under the name Nate Gray and signs on with agricultural giant Sun Mountain to guard a shipment of mining equipment out to the rural settlement of Blackthorn.

A former farming town, Blackthorn's economy is hanging on by a thread. All the farms dried up after the river was dammed to accommodate the amestrite mine, and anyone still drawing a paycheck is likely working in the mines or else being paid by those who are.

No one has more bitterness about this than Belle Wilde, the proprietor of the local saloon. The amestrite mine is on her deceased father's property, which was purchased out from under her by Max Findlay, a wealthy off-worlder who cares nothing for the people living and working in Blackthorn. Findlay seems untouchable -- but his mining operation is not, a detail that Belle is prepared to exploit to its fullest.

On Findlay's payroll for guarding mining shipments and on Belle's payroll for sabotaging them, Nate knows it's only a matter of time before he runs out of room on the tightrope that he's walking--but he isn't expecting the end of the line to come in the form of his family's transportation specialists and the ruthless militarized enforcers that work for them.

Blackthorn is a work in progress and does not currently have an estimated publication date. Follow the author @juleskelleybooks for updates or check out juleskelleybooks.com for more of their work.

[opalchoi]

Writing challenge! 🥸

Include one or more of the following:

Pokémon

Waffles

Uniform

It was Opal's last week at the cafe before embarking on her new adventure.

She was cleaning the counter as the door chimed, she looked up to greet the customer and her heart stopped as she saw a beautiful tall presumably European tourist stooping down as they entered the doorway.

Their complexion glistened in the sunlight and Opal lost her balance for a moment as their eyes met one another...

For that fraction of a second, Opal was elsewhere. She felt herself floating above her body feeling nothing but a mere spectator.

The girl walked up to the counter

"Scusi ...Do you speak English?"

Opal came plummeting down back to earth like a waterfall. Feeling bruised and nauseous she attempted to compose herself

"Uh...Hi yes! I can speak English, what can get for you?... " Opal froze again as she once again locked eyes with the customer, she noticed the depth of brown in their eyes through neat tortoiseshell glasses & the delicately placed freckles on their cheeks.

She looked away shyly and gasped for air while the customer had chance to respond

*come on Opal get it together!!* she commanded, pleading with her brain to switch on & whatever was in charge to drop it momentarily.

Opal had forgotten the kissaten she worked at had a good reputation online, part of the reason she got the job was her ability to speak English.

"One cappuccino please..." the girl paused to look at the array of cakes and sandwiches, then up at the specials board in deep thought

"And uhm, I'd like something sweet, what would you recommend?"

Before she realised her mouth had opened, still a spectator Opal heard her own voice immediately respond

"Me?"

Again her soul came crashing back to earth stunned that whoever was in charge of Opal in that moment had the audacity to be so confident

Opal unlocked herself from the eye contact in an attempt to regain control of herself

"Uh..... I mean, how about a waffle?

You can have ice cream & strawberries with it?"

"Sure that would be great" the customer responded in a friendly tone

Opal noticed how cute they looked as they smiled back at her, and became more flustered

"...pppp-Please find a seat, I'll bring it to you when its hot... i mean, when its ready!"

"Perfect, thanks"

The customer beamed at her once more and Opal just froze with a dumb look on her face and holding an extremely awkward thumbs up 👍

As Opal began to breathe, she now had the accept the reality that this cafe did not infact sell waffles... or have any ice cream to place on top... it had strawberries used for some of the cakes at least.

She rushed back into the kitchen to check what ingredients they had, clumsily bumping her shoulder into the doorway as she entered.

As she ran through the ingredients in her head 'eggs, flour.. sugar...."

She realised the biggest thing was there was no waffle maker...

"I'll be right back" she shouted to the owner as she ran out the back door

There was a store a block away, she ran as fast as she could, it was a mini mart the chances of a waffle maker was slim

Opal quickly stepped through the Isles trying to find the random electronics section in the back corner of the store "Yesss" she thought as she saw a pokemon waffle maker with a pikachu on the front.

She grabbed it and ran, quickly throwing money onto the counter in the vague direction of the clerk "do you have any ice cream?" She panted..

"No sorry" they responded "but there's a ice cream stall a couple blocks that way" they pointed back towards the direction of her café. ".....Thank you" the dust of Opal echoed to the clerk. She left so abruptly it was the only trace of her left.

Opal ran as fast as she could with her newly purchased waffle maker under her arm. She quickly checked her pink casio for the time "Oh man, I'm running out of time"

She burst back into the kitchen, stuffed the waffle maker into her colleagues arms and said "Please please please can you start making a waffle with this I promised a customer...."

"The Cute Italian one?" Yumiko replied

"Uh yeah!! and pleeeease make your best cappuccino for them" she was still out of breath "it's important"

"Okay okay I will, you planning to propose or something?" Yumiko teased

Opal punched Yumiko in the arm as she ran out of the kitchen to not expose her bright red cheeks.

Opal found the ice cream stall thankfully fairly quickly. In the end she got a takeaway coffee cup filled with vanilla ice cream

She ran back to the cafe, blinkered like a horse in a race and as she turned a corner there was some small children walking home from school.

Right in front of the onrushing Opal..

Opal took evasive manoeuvres to avoid killing the innocent children but this meant she tripped on the curb and she could only watch as the tub of ice cream went hurtling into the air

She fell to the ground, scrambling to get back up to catch the makeshift ice cream tub but as she was disoriented it was unclear what the trajectory was.... and as she reached out the tub actually landed on her face *bonk*

At this point the children started to break into fits of laughter and were cheering what they had just witnessed

Opal put on her falsest smile and bowed towards the children as if an entertainer at a birthday party. She then bolted back towards the store, not feeling any pain due to the adrenaline or shock.

As she got back into the kitchen the owner was irritable as usual

"What are you doing, you sneaking off to get coffee elsewhere?"

"Why are you covered in blood?!"

"Why is your uniform ripped?"

Opal's eyes welled up with tears, she didn't like conflict & wasn't well versed in dealing with it...

"This isn't coffee this is ice cream for a customer!!" She chirped back

"I'm sorry nakamura-san" she bowed briefly

"There was a tourist and I mis-spoke so I went to get a waffle maker and ice cream"

The manager started to laugh, "Opal you realise this is a waffle maker for kids right? "

"Buh.. does it still make waffles?"

Yumiko shyly appeared in a crab like fashion from behind the owner to show Opal a plate covered in tiny Pikachu face shaped waffles

"Ohhhh fuuuudge" Opal sighed

In the end the Pikachu waffles looked cute with strawberry ears and ice cream eyes and tourist found the funny side.

Opal proceeded to hide behind the counter occasionally peeking to see if they were enjoying the food.

Still dying of embarrassment