#THANK U SO KINDLY FOR THIS ASK

[prince-liest]

hi! I always get super excited about fandom OCs, so it's been such a treat to hear about Tzafael! I worked a little on a design for them (lmk if you're ok with me posting it) but a lot of questions came up:

this is gonna sound really vague, but what's their vibe? I'm getting "pretends to be a gentleman but will ABSOLUTELY fish for compliments and randomly fuck with people cause of the power play" but I could be totally off. does he ever snap at people/hurt them if they're not polite? are they super condescending like some of the other angels or is he more like adam and kind of,,, uhh openly a dick? or are they more of a crowley type (kind of gooey inside and mostly left heaven because it was too bureaucratic and constricting)? do they burst into hell buildings and just incite chaos? again I know this is super vague but like ,,, basically I need a dialogue snippet to know what they're like lol

what's their accent? do they have special vocal quirks/tics? special catchphrases or words they use a lot?

do they have any real friends in hell (not just contracts)? do they miss anyone from heaven?

did they like being an exorcist?

hobbies?

what are the implications of the magpie/eyeball motifs? do they have a transcendent sense of sight? are they overstimulated or even haunted by the fact that they have to see so much all the time? do they have any bird habits (preening is a must lol but anything else?)? do they have a nictitating membrane and freak people out by blinking sideways with all of their eyes?

is their magpie form like a really scary demon form or are they just like. a normal bird. (that's way funnier imo)

I'm sorry but,,, I'm such a sucker for angst. where's his soft spot? how does he react to having it poked? does he lash out like a panicked animal or break down and try to hide?

do they have sharp teeth? I've seen that in other art of them but since they're not technically fallen I'm thinking of just doing fangs

how would he react to seeing a child (is he good with children? does he terrify/terrorize them?)?

what does "very good grip strength" imply???

whew, sorry for that monster of an ask! you said you liked talking about them so I just vomited everything that came to mind while I was drawing him, but definitely don't answer anything you don't find interesting!

PLEASE DO NOT APOLOGIZE YOU HAVE MADE MY EVENING. Both by offering me a delightful plethora of questions to answer about Tzafael, and also by drawing them aaaaaaaah- I would absolutely love to see you post it!! <3

Long post incoming!!

Their vibe: They are still an angel, and subscribe to morals that involve seeing themselves as a relatively good person - kind of like Lucifer's sense of superiority over sinners! So they are polite and friendly in a way that sometimes makes it evident that they know they can afford to be because they're above most of the people around them. They won't overtly fish for compliments, but that's why stroking their ego is so effective: they won't ask for it, but it's their most major vice. It's like petting a purring tiger. They enjoy when their presence is shocking, so they will absolutely walk casually into places where they know anyone able to identify them will freak out, and they'll visibly find the results amusing, but they won't outright admit to doing it on purpose. When they actually get into conflict with people, they like to look like they're being the bigger man about it, but they're honestly biting at the bit for a reason to go casually nuclear on someone who looks like they deserve it.

Speech patterns: Tangible but not over-the-top valley girl accent. They think it's fucking hilarious. Mildly prone to nefarious laughter, though it's generally because they're genuinely amused.

Friendships: Their concept of friendship is a little bit detachedly celestial. They definitely have friends in every ring, but they're bad about accidentally not visiting for long periods of time and they're prone to feeling like nobody in hell can genuinely understand them. They make contracts with relative ease with people they are friendly with specifically because they like feeling like the person people come to for powerful assistance. They'd probably do best seeing if they can befriend any of the seven sins, to minimize the baseline imbalance of power level and lifespan, but it just feels awkward when they all know Lucifer. The unassuming, baseline comraderie is the main thing they miss about heaven.

On exorcism: They fucking loved the power trip of being an exorcist. Too much. That's why they stayed in hell in the first place. And then they thought about it too damn long and got to know the locals, and now it's just fucking awkward to go around killing indiscriminately. Knowing too much really took the fun out of it! They used to join in on the exorcisms when they came around again, but not anymore.

Hobbies: They keep fish! They like setting up self-maintaining freshwater aquariums of various sorts, and particularly enjoy feeling like they've captured a genuine slice of nature in a fish tank. They visited Vox's shark tanks once and thought they were boring as hell because the sharks are mechanical and he doesn't have any live flora. They also enjoy being a huge gossipy bitch, which is arguably like 90% of what they actually use their powers for.

Powerset: While Lucifer has the power of Creation, Tzafael has the power of Sight. They see a great many things, and they see those things As They Are. So, basically: localized omniscience. They can't read minds, but they can tell if some is lying to them, and they can also see everything within a certain vicinity (depending on how hard they're pushing it), including through walls. This isn't weird or overwhelming to them: it's how they were designed to exist! If anything, losing that would make them feel blind. They also have a very small amount of foresight, which is mostly useful for being hard to hit in a fight and also being obnoxious by unintentionally interrupting people's sentences. This does not help them come off as less condescending.

Leaving heaven: Seeing the truth of things as they are, and seeing everything around makes the facade of heaven frustrating and tedious to swallow. They prefer hell because it feels more honest!

Bird traits: Absolutely hell yes to the nictitating membranes on every single eyeball, which also doubles as protection against any eyeball stabbing! They preen, they adore shiny shit, they love to gab and gossip, and while they are mostly a magpie, any bird seraph is going to be a bird of prey in some way or another, so it is as difficult to break their grip as it would be that of a raptor of similar size. I think it's implied that all heavenly and some demonic beings have various stages of their true forms, so their humanoid birdform is a similar style to what we see from Sera in the first few seconds of meeting her, and their true form is closer to what we see of Stolas at the end of Truth Seekers in Helluva Boss, except with about a billion more looming eyeballs. As for their most humanoid form's teeth: I figured they'd stayed in hell long enough for their teeth to go sharp like Lucifer's, but I am also super down for fangs if you have a design you're playing with!

Children: Ehhh...kinda cute, when they're not Tzafael's responsibility. Frequently funny in small doses or from a distance. Delightfully honest or else delightfully poor liars. Often just not their bag, though, especially if they kids are spoiled or self-absorbed (sorry, what was that? "Hypocrite"? Must have misheard.)

ANGST: They are a social animal and they miss their flock! They keep mooning about potentially reconnecting with Lucifer because they fucking miss heaven, except heaven doesn't feel like it did when they were a kid, so it doesn't feel like home. Any small inconveniences, they feel free to whine about with deliberately humorous dramatics, but when they feel genuinely hurt, they withdraw, hide in their nest, and keep it to themselves as best as they can. It hurts the ego to admit that kind of weakness when they're supposed to be a fucking seraph, especially when they feel alone and without equals in their place in the world. But even though heaven turned out to be a damn lie, they miss family. On a more minor note, they're also a poor sport about being genuinely made fun of in bad faith.

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

Ari :(( thinking about suguru again I fear,, when am I not,, thats not the point,, but thinking about you getting an injury maybe breaking an arm or something and he’s so worried. Doesn’t want his baby hurt :(( frets and freaks out like not really freaks out cause I think he’d be calm but he cares. Wants to know how it happened and if you’re in pain. If someone else caused it he’s out to kill. You ask him to sign your cast and he almost sobs. Doesn’t let you lift a finger. He never lets you lift a finger but even more so now. Helps you shower or take a bath and is just so careful. Loves to wash your hair for you. Puts in effort too to learn how you do your hair. Helps you get dressed even if you’re like I can do that >:(( cause he doesn’t want you to overwork yourself. Helps you carry things. If you came to him crying when it happened his poor heart would shatter. Getting a cast to match his eyes :((. He wouldn’t like that you’re hurt but I think he’d like taking care of you more. Like he understands you wanting to do things for yourself and thats why he never pushed before but now he has a reason to push. Complaining about how you look with the cast thinking it makes you look ugly or something and he’s instantly like. Take that back. Take it back. Cause you’re cute always don’t you see? He just wants to nurse you back to health. He loves you so much.

:((((((( REMMMMMM R U GENUINELY OUT TO GET ME WTF ……… this made me so sniffly i love him so bad 💔💔 (this got long also oops)…

no bc rem as literally always we’re holding hands and our brains are syncing …. i can’t tell you how many times i’ve daydreamed abt this exact scenario LIKE IT’S SOOOO PERFECT FOR HIM and you literally described it so well i wanna cry …. there’s fluff potential and there’s angst potential but more than anything it’s just a whole bunch of hurt/comfort and you alr know what that trope does to me 😔😔

but gosh….. he would just be. so so worried and doting :(((((( and he would feel so guilty :(((((((( like no matter how you got the injury i feel like he would blame himself for it. for not being there or not watching over you enough. even if you tell him that it wasn’t his fault…… and then he overcompensates by coddling you even more than usual…… T—T ”doesn’t want his baby hurt” hhhhhh sugu viewing his s/o as his baby specifically makes me lose it like he’s sooo serious abt being your caretaker….. it’s his job to protect you and he failed……. :((( poor baby would beat himself up over it so much 💔💔

frets and freaks out like not really freaks out cause I think he’d be calm but he cares. Wants to know how it happened and if you’re in pain. If someone else caused it he’s out to kill. You ask him to sign your cast and he almost sobs. (…) If you came to him crying when it happened his poor heart would shatter.

☹️☹️☹️☹️ OUR BABYYYYY no bc i think he would absolutely panic but he’d do it silently…. you’re so right rem………. you’re sniffling and trying to explain what happened and he’s trying not to push you but he’s just so so worried and he needs to know what’s going on to feel okay again :((( needs to know what happened so he can figure out how to proceed. bc his chest just feels so tight and he knows it’s not going away until you’re smiling again.. sob.

AND OH BOYYYY if someone else caused it……………. yeahhh he’s out for Blood i fear. even if it was an accident i think he would hold everyone except for you accountable. your friend convinced you to pull a risky stunt? he subtly tries to steer you away from their company (if you stay friends he’s civil but prefers not to interact with them at all/only smiles at them coldly if he has to). you fell while rock climbing bc the safety gear wasn’t tight enough? he’s calling everyone involved just to make sure you get compensated. goes full karen mode honestly like he is speaking to the manager today. the ceo. the Man in Charge. and god forbid if someone like.. directly hurt you…… idk if suguru is the type to beat them up for it (he’s 100% tempted though) but at the very least he’s making sure they never get close to you again. files a restraining order and everything. obviously sues them too. i feel like he would work with law in a no curses au so it just makes sense to me yk??

WAIT ALSO asking him to sign your cast :(((( that’s so CUTE and him almost sobbing….. rem……. i love him so much my heart hurts. you ask him to do it all smiley and happy and he gives you a smile in return but it’s just a little wobbly. writes his signature while you’re all :33 but then you look up and his eyes are glassy…. and if you point it out he just sniffles and apologizes…… 🥺🥺🥺 he’s a baby. our baby.

Doesn’t let you lift a finger. He never lets you lift a finger but even more so now. Helps you shower or take a bath and is just so careful. Loves to wash your hair for you. Puts in effort too to learn how you do your hair. Helps you get dressed even if you’re like I can do that >:(( cause he doesn’t want you to overwork yourself.

T—T remmmm….. you’re gonna be the death of me i swear like these hcs are all SO cute. he’s the only Man ever. ohhh he would be so so gentle like it’s actually insane :(((( cradles you in the bath….. smiles when you get all relaxed and sleepy but then he glances down at your arm again and goes all :c bc he just hates this so much. not taking care of you but just. knowing that you’re in pain….. i think he feels very intense physical discomfort so he just tries not to think about it and puts his all into tending to you instead. wraps you up in a fluffy towel and dries your hair and clothes you in his big cozy hoodie.

i think it could get a little frustrating bc he really would straight up baby you. which i would eat up personally but it’d also be a little overwhelming. he doesn’t give you much of a choice though bc he’s so intent on making his baby feel better :((

aaaa now i’m just imagining you getting a little hissy at him…. bc he’s coddling you to the point where maybe you feel a little disrespected? like he just insists on feeding you or whatever and it’s cute at first but then it’s like…. i have hands. but anyway i think it would break his heart if you got mad at him :((( he doesn’t want to make you feel incompetent but if he’s not taking care of you constantly he feels a little like his heart is about to burst….. sigh. i just feel like this would be hurt/comfort from both sides tbh 💔

He wouldn’t like that you’re hurt but I think he’d like taking care of you more. Like he understands you wanting to do things for yourself and thats why he never pushed before but now he has a reason to push.

AAAA AND THIS!!!!!! SOOOO TRUE SO REAL he’d definitely feel guilty and he’d hate seeing you hurt but i agree….. he would absolutely love a chance to pamper you. once he gets over the initial shock and panic and discomfort and you’re feeling better i think he’s almost kinda smug abt it . bc now he has an excuse to carry you around and help you with putting on your shoes and … idk i think he would just feel so useful and needed. he feels guilty abt being pleased bc you’re in pain :(( but like… a part of him is for sure jumping with joy at the chance to spoil you the way he wants to.

Complaining about how you look with the cast thinking it makes you look ugly or something and he’s instantly like. Take that back. Take it back. Cause you’re cute always don’t you see? He just wants to nurse you back to health. He loves you so much.

😥😥😥😥😥😥 i cried real tears. i know i’m just picking out literally every single part of your ask atp but it rlly did make me insane ok ……. ”take that back. take it back.” I SCREAMEDDD YOU GET HIM LIKE NO ONE ELSE DID YOU KNOW THAT…… he’s SO genuinely offended on your behalf he’s like how DARE you say that about my baby >:(( and it’s like. suguru i AM your baby. but he doesn’t care at all he refuses to hear you out. just reassuring all around!!! ”cause you’re cute always don’t you see?” T—T he loves you so fervently… you’re the cutest person in the world to him….. he’s so Good. sigh.

so anyways this did something to me tysm for the food rem my dearest <333 gonna daydream abt this forever and ever you’re so sweet for sharing this with me it’s like we’re having a sugu meal together :33 i love hurt/comfort w him more than anything else on the planet hhhhh….

[mars-ipan]

its me john printer. im proud of you for the email thing. gmail dot com or any other email platform is in truth a realm of darkness, and one that you were able to traverse today. some people give up and submit to that darkness with "ai tools", but you are not one of them and thats already pretty dope i think.

thank you john printer. i do my best o7

[tinieesh]

url change tinie > tinieesh

to the ppl who see this, this is gbye!

[boxwinebaddie]

nina do you ever plan on posting the remainder of pep?

this is nonsensical but this is how i feel ig

[scorchedhearth]

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I HOPE YOU GET EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING YOU DESIRE 🫀🫀🫀 im glad despite the difficulties these past few months there has also been healing and love and radical self-actualization‼️‼️‼️ here’s to more life this year!!!

that's the thing, life very much is still shit on many aspects on account of that's how life works, and yet im still much happier these days and it all stems from one decision that's ridiculously small in practice and yet has tremendous repercussions on everything, including things i could not even dream of before. radical self-actualization is the way to put it

[tojisun]

happy new year to my fav <3 I wish you nothing but the best for the rest of your life I pray you have everything you want and need <3

AWW HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU TOO MY LUV!! thank u so so much for ur well wishes and prayers 🥹🫶🏼 u are too kind to me

i wish you (all) the kindest and happiest and loveliest years moving forward!! i love you (all) so so much!!

take care sweetheart <33

[jiminsproof]

LET HER COOK 🗣🗣‼️

FR THO there is something abt Yoongi

Something that i cannot explain

And it's that he is the sexiest man alive

ALSO can you share that taegi fic you mentioned 👀 OH and if you have any sope fic recs can you share those too please 🙏💜

BTW I love you and I hope you're taking good care of yourself !!!💖❤️💖

Have I been SILENT or have I been SILENCED

Salma I'm glad you get it, especially when he performs it's just OUT OF THIS WORLD THE CONFIDENCE THE COOLNESS HE EXUDES

Of course sweetheart!! It so happens that I compiled a (fairly short) fic rec doc for another mutual and you can find it here. 💗🫂 In case you like those fics and need more of my silly trigger warnings I'm your gal! Pal even. I'll gladly compile pt 2 💕💕

Love you to the moon and back and hope that the universe is nothing but kind to you!! 🫂💕

[bigsleeps]

manifesting second leg NA fall/winter tour <33333

[smoosnoom]

for the soft asks uhh how about 7 12 n 21 ?? i hope ur having a stellar day 💫

7. what color brings you peace? - light blue and dark brown !!!!! lovely colors

12. how are you? - just because of u vin i am doing so spectacular ! a little upstrung but just because i should be writing rn . but i am doing a-ok !!!! :D

21. if you could tell your past self one thing, what would it be? -

DO NOT GET A TWITTER

[doodlebloo]

BLOOOOOO ORIGINS CLINGYDUO RN!!!!

Ijust woke up I feel like I've missed a decade worth of events

[goldevolution]

dutch.

i appreciate you asking this even though you know nothing

first impression: kind of hard to remember i dont think he made a very strong impression on me at all initially i just knew he had some kind of gay thing going on with some old guy. one of the first tweets i ever made about him was "dutch van der linde animal i have become amv"

impression now:

favorite moment: THERE ARE TOO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM GENUINELY its so so hard. off the top of my head his chess rant and "pardon me my queen". im sorry women. i just can never stop quoting these lines. also nothing is as satisfying as when he kills himself 🙏

idea for a story: the audio of jack at beechers hope asking john about dutch has spawned an entire fic in my head that does not actually involve dutch being there at all but it is, as all things in the red dead redemption series are, deeply about him

unpopular opinion: well i have a lot because the general consensus on this man is that hes the root of all evil in the world when hes responsible for maybe only 50% of it but honestly the next time i see someone joke about dutch being homophobic or otherwise bigoted i am planting a pipe bomb in their home

favorite relationship: obviously dutch and hosea are the craziest thing to ever happen to me but shoutout to dutch and john for being the originals and having a father son relationship so messed up it warranted the creation of an entire prequel game. drama that got EVERYONE involved. absolutely no survivors.

favorite headcanon: i dont know none are really coming to me right now. is it a headcanon to say that i dont think he was secretly manipulating everyone from the start. lol. idk i guess i think the count was, like everyone else in the gang, a rescue. the fact that hes a cool expensive horse is just a bonus

[randyortonofficial]

I ship you with Cody🖤

this is so sweet. however, i will not let my feelings cloud my dreams. i will date cody and be sure to push him into randy's arms.

[deadtower]

I hope March is treating you kindly ☁️ hydrate whenever you can & keep doing your best, it’s good enough & I’m proud of you

when you get an ask that says something about march and it doesn’t show up in your inbox until april :|

[recareels]

Ahh and at what point does aventurine and clari's relationship stop being merely transactional??

it takes a long time, because that transactional aspect of it is just a farce—it’s a shield to stop sunday from being able to intervene at all. so the actual paying for my company bit goes on for a long time, but things get a little more serious (‘serious’ as in this is more than just a good time with parties and drugs and sex; ‘serious’ as in it’s starting to become a deeper connection beyond merely those frivolous surface level pleasures) when i’m at his hotel room and we’re getting ready to go out, and the club/venue we both had our hearts set on that night ends up unexpectedly closed for some reason. i tell him i’ll refund him since our night got totally ruined and none of us have any pills or coke on us, fully assuming he just wants me to leave now that our plans fell through, but he stops me with a “well, i mean, we could just hang out here instead...” and “i got this hotel room, we might as well use it”, paradoxically unsure and confident all at once.

and so, we do! we end up spending the whole night together just locked away in his room, watching movies and being silly and just enjoying each others company in the purest (and soberest!) form. and we’re both shocked at how well we get along when it’s just the two of us in our (his) pjs and the stakes are low and we’re just existing together. we’re both jolted by how genuinely nice it is, in a way that makes us both crave more of this quiet intimacy immediately AND in a way that makes us both want to run for the fucking hills because it’s new and it’s scary and it’s so goddamn vulnerable (/ω＼)

[luveline]

hiiii if you’re still looking for remus centered requests, i rly liked your best friend steve giving reader a hickey and couldn’t help but think of Remus too! like him helping a shy reader not feel insecure about being the ‘inexperienced’ one of their friend group… by giving her some experience 👀💞? love ya lots!

love u thank u for requesting<3

—Remus gives you your first kiss, and then a little more than that. You know, between friends. fem, 1.2k

“Will anyone kiss me tonight, or shall I go unkissed, like some leper?” 

You laugh at Sirius’ drama. “It’s not so terrible,” you say, coming up the hallway behind him and James, your face bitten by the cold. 

“I know, my lovely little blueberry muffin,” Sirius croons, leaning back and prodding at your cheeks, the smell of cider stuck to him like a cloud, “how you remain unkissed is a mystery to me. Shall we fix that now?” 

Sirius is your friend, he doesn’t poke fun, but you flush nervously at his question. James grabs Sirius by the shoulders and yanks him away from you toward the kitchen, “Stop teasing!” 

“I’m not teasing! I would love to kiss you, sweetheart, just as soon as I can figure out which one of you is the real one,” Sirius says. 

Remus laughs and closes the front door, the last one in. He wraps his hand around your shoulders. “He’d be so lucky,” he says loudly, sending a sulking, pouting Sirius in the opposite direction, James on his tail in giggles promising to feed him some unbuttered toast if he doesn’t chill out. 

Remus’ arm falls behind your back. “Why does he act like that? Four drinks and he’s in love with everyone. He gets so urgent.” 

You confess slowly, “I can’t say I blame him. Sometimes… I wish someone would kiss me quite urgently, and I don’t even need to get drunk.”

“You do?” 

“Just because I’ve never had one doesn’t mean I don’t want one,” you say, “it’s really weird being the only one who doesn’t– who isn’t dating anyone.” You fluster at your confession, worried it’s too much to share, even while his thumb rubs affectionately into your shoulder. 

“I’m not dating anyone,” Remus says. 

“No, but, going for hookups and stuff–”

You falter as he laughs. “You want one night stands?” 

“No,” you say honestly, “but still. You’ve all done that stuff and I’m like, a twenty something loser.” 

“You listen to Sirius too much. You have an entire life to find someone to kiss you.” 

“I sort of want it now, though,” you say meekly. 

Remus laughs again, his arm wrapping tightly behind your back. You’ve both had a drink too, not tipsy like Sirius but the buzz of it perhaps the cause of your loosened tongue, and his easy touching, his teasing. He smiles down at you kindly, “You want a kiss, is that it?” he asks, “Sirius has upset you and a kiss will make it better?” 

You find you love the feeling of his chest pressed to yours, “I don’t know. It would be nice to have one just so he can stop talking about it.” 

He pulls you right into him and angles his face against yours like he’s going to kiss you, his laughing a soft warmth on the tip of your nose. “You want it right now?” he asks, his hand rubbing sweetly into your back. Layers of fabric feel useless; it’s like he’s caressing naked skin. 

“You can’t kiss me,” you say. 

“Why not?” 

“We’re friends.” 

“What’s a good kiss between friends?” He’s following your eyes, he knows all your tones, Remus wouldn’t play with you like this if he thought it wasn’t what you wanted.

“I won’t know how to do it,” you warn in a whisper, you’re reluctance clearly fading.  

“Well, you’re very pretty, so any bad kissing cancels out.” 

You bend into him as his arm pulls you up, your noses nearly touching, closing your eyes as he leans in. 

“You sure?” he asks. 

“Mm,” you hum, though he doesn’t kiss you until you nod. 

Your noses press together most of all, the strongest sensation, but then there’s heat as his lips part so slightly and press into yours. He kisses upward and you have the sense to keep pressing down, letting his soft kisses move you with him, like an ebbing wave. You take an instinctive step back and he pauses, until you attempt to kiss him again and prompt him into movement —he takes the lead. His hands grasp at your back like you’re water slipping through his fingers, letting a sound of pleasure filter from his lips into yours. 

It’s so peculiar. It’s like fireworks, like all the books and movies say, but it’s more. It’s so warm, and his lips are soft even as his kissing turns rougher, as he tilts his head to the side and his lips come apart against yours. Your hand climbs hesitantly against his side, then up, then stuck at the place just above his ribs. 

“Touch me,” he says gently, breaking the kiss as your breath comes fast, “wrap your arm around me, it’s alright.” 

“Am I hopeless?” you ask, placing your arm behind his shoulder and tipping back to see his face. 

He shakes his head, frowning, why is he frowning? “Hopeless?” he repeats. His hand comes up to your face, and that’s almost as bad as the kiss, the heat of his palm on your face and his thumb stroking over the slope of your cheek. He uses that movement to turn your head, and when he ducks in for another kiss, he murmurs, “No, I wouldn’t say hopeless,” the end of it lost on your lips. 

This kiss is rougher again. Your heart beats so loudly you can hear the thump of it in your ears as your eyes close and you attempt to fit a hundred wanted kisses into one. He just squeezes you close and returns your enthusiasm, until you can’t breathe, forced to hang your head over his shoulder as you pant for air. 

Remus kisses your neck. It’s a shock: you squirm at the sensation but let your head fall to the side as he does it again, not nearly as insistent as his lips had been on yours but something unsaid in the trail of his nose as it runs back up your neck and he kisses the skin below your ear. He slows, and slows, until he’s pulling away to stare at you. 

You lift yourself up, nonplussed. “I didn’t know it felt like that.” 

Remus shifts his hand from the side of your neck to the front, wiping at the marks of his kissing with his thumb where it wets your skin. “It doesn’t always.” He smiles at you with just a hint of smugness in his eyes. “I don’t suppose you want to know what a love bite feels like?” 

“Oi!” James calls from the kitchen. “What are you two doing?” 

You pull apart slowly from one another. You think he might’ve forgotten where you were, as did you. 

James catches the fall of Remus’ hand where it had been on your cheek and squints suspiciously. “What are you guys doing? I made toast.” 

You can’t look at him. Remus saves the day. “We’re looking for her earring.” 

“You won’t find it with the lights off.” He glares again with suspicion before turning back to the kitchen. “I didn’t even know she wore earrings,” he mutters. 

Remus gives you a sideways look. “Maybe I can show you what it feels like after?” he suggests, voice measured. 

“Between friends?” you ask. 

“No.” He puts his hand to the small of your back and gives you a gentle nudge down the hallway. “Not between friends.”