#The prey animal inches closer and closer trying to figure out what the hell’s going on with this slinky guy doing backflips in the road

[vegacoyote]

She didn’t know what you were, and it freaked her out.

That was the tail-flippy stomp of a whitetail signaling her friends to stay back while she tries to figure out what the hell is making those noises, and maybe spooks it enough to make the decision for her re: whether we’re going to be fighting or flighting.

“My harp session turned into a Disney movie”

(Source)

[sugarrspice]

He's been coming to this clearing for as long as he can remember. it'd been an accident, at first, a hazy decision borne of too long spent hunched over before the latest video he'd been editing for class, past the point of the night where his thoughts started to tip, dark and tarry. He'd been willing to do just about anything to forget about them, at that point.

He veers off of the well-worn path. His quarry lies not in the cycling paths, but deeper into the woods that lie off of campus, where the sunlight only reaches if its denizens will it so.

Nighttime does not aid his journey, besides providing him the cover to escape notice. Being caught once, or twice, here is explainable, but people do start asking questions, eventually.

But Chase has been down this path so many times that he could walk it, blind and deaf, and the roots underfoot do not seek to entrap him.

The undergrowth tugging at his jeans begins to pull away, and Chase slows, knowing that just about now, there will be a clearing opening up around him; the faint light of the waning moon confirms his suspicions.

It's empty.

Chase swallows down his rabbiting heart, tucks his hands into his empty pockets, and waits. There's no rushing him; he'll either come at his own time, or Chase will have spent another night, waiting for a myth that never shows.

He doesn't even have a name to call it by. Not that he would- names are tricky things, and he's just as likely to get his own stolen- but not once has he wondered what kind of name would define something with so heavy a presence that even the moon averts her eyes. He's curious about how heavily it'd weigh on his tongue.

Something regal- no, not regal. Opulence is not its name. sharp, perhaps. A knife to peel away the clarity of the day, and expose that shimmering underbelly that only stories ever seem to capture.

The hair on the back of his neck rises, and Chase freezes, before he turns, locking eyes with the figure swinging his feet from the branch above him.

"It's you," he breathes, and the fae throws his head back to laugh. Whoever said fae laughed like bells was a filthy fucking liar; Chase's skin prickles with goosebumps at the wild, crackling sound.

"Shit, you should see your face. Like a fucking rabbit caught out in the open."

Chase blinks. Double takes. That's probably not the appropriate response to being called a prey animal by a fae, but- his cheeks flush, hot, at the mockery.

"I wasn't even sure you were real up until two minutes ago," he informs the fae, and he cackles again.

"And yet you still came here, day after day, waiting for a ghost."

He blinks out of sight; Chase frowns, trying not to feel too disappointed, and then nearly jumps out of his skin as a hand rests on his shoulder.

Or, well, nearly trips over his own feet. A cold arm wraps around his shoulders and holds him steady; the fae stands barely inches before him, smirk widening.

"Easy, jackrabbit." He's leaning closer, now, and even in the darkness, Chase can count each pointed tooth. there's... distinctly too many. Or the perfect number? What was that saying about counting your companion's teeth, lest they be a fae?

That ship's sailed, obviously, and- oh, he's rambling. That's great, and it has nothing, he's sure, to do with the fact he's still in an unresolved bisexuality crisis with a very, very pretty fae in front of him. Like, unfairly pretty; now that he has a good look, and his eyes are adjusting to the dark, he can trace the fae's sharp jawline, and those dancing eyes that he can't quite make the color out of, and- oh, hell, he's going to be dragged off to fucking Tír na nÓg if he keeps this up.

Marvin is going to be so, so disappointed. Or gleeful, maybe. It's hard to tell with him.

He sucks in a breath- a little overly loud, but this is fine, and tries his damndest to tune back in to whatever the fae is saying.

Which, as it turns out, is nothing. He's just watching him, with that same weighty gaze that he can't parse for the fucking life of him.

The fae's grin sharpens. "Are you with me now, jackrabbit?"

"I'm right here, aren't I? Haven't left?" His mouth moves without any real input from his head, and then he claps a mortified hand over his mouth. "I mean- shit, no, hold up-"

The fae snickers, and leans back, withdrawing his arm. Chase tries not to feel too bereft about the loss of contact, and immediately quashes that line of thought.

"Fuck, you're a funny one. Stupid, for coming here, but funny."

Chase tries for a weak smile. "I'm told that's my best selling point."

That... might not have been the smartest thing to say. The fae's eyes sharpen, and he cocks his head. Not unlike a bird, Chase thinks. A bird of prey, watching a silly little rabbit, who'd walked right below its tree.

Too late, now.

"Is it, now," the fae murmurs. It's not a question. "And what, exactly, are you trying to sell it for?"

"Company," Chase's mouth says, and then he really does clamp a hand over his mouth, eyes wide, because- here's the thing. Ye's lonely. Painfully so. Marvin's... nice, but a distant roommate. Jack is- Jack is gone. He hasn't seen Henrik in years. But lonely enough for a fae deal?

The fae doesn't do much besides watch him, that sharp smirk still cutting through his expression. He folds his arms, and Chase tries not to track them.

"And that's why you've been coming here for the past month, without fail. To make a deal for company."

Chase grimaces at the sound of that, before he processes the rest of the sentence.

"Wh- you were watching?"

"It's my forest, jackrabbit," the fae drawls. "I know who steps foot in... and who won't come out."

His eyes linger on Chase for a moment, and Chase swallows a lump in his throat, feeling distinctly caught, and hopes to whatever god might be listening that the heat to his cheeks doesn't mean they're actually flushed.

Here is about the point he should've left.

Instead, he rocks back on his heels, fiddling with a spare bit of lint in his pockets. "So you've been watching me. For a month. And decided to say hi, now?"

"Maybe I'm curious, too, jackrabbit." He's smiling with all of his teeth again. "Not many step foot into a fae's forest without even a pinch of iron on them."

Chase does not let his breath catch. Does not focus on that smile.

"Seems, uh, rude, dude. To walk into someone's house- armed, you know?"

The fae watches him, and there's something strange about his eyes. Before Chase can parse it, it's gone, and he's smiling, again.

"Rude," he echoes. "That's a strange way to say stupid."

"I feel like you've been doing a distinct amount of that. Calling me stupid, that is," Chase informs the fae, and- he really needs a name for him. This is getting awkward.

"Well, you haven't exactly been impressing me," he says, lazily, and then tilts his head again. "What will you give for company, jackrabbit? A deal's a deal, but you have to even the scales."

Chase hesitates. Because- does he? Does he want it that bad?

(He knows what the answer is even before he's finished asking the question.)

"What do you want for it?" That's a safe question, right? Feel out the terrain.

The fae watches him, and almost idly, Chase is noticing how green his eyes are. Bright as the canopies around them, but deeper. Sharper, somehow. The nighttime doesn't do anything to darken them, almost like they're from lit up from within.

Oh, he's fucked.

"Company for company," the fae says finally, and his smile is- strange. Tighter. "Give and take. I'll accompany you for a year and a day, and you will accompany me for a year and a day."

Oh, that had to be bad news. Accompany where? Every bone in his body is telling him this is a bad, bad idea; that he's one foot over the precipice.

(But also: that empty apartment. But also: that hospital bed. But also: those cold nights. But: bright, green eyes that leave something warm and wanting in his chest.)

He sticks out his hand. The fae stares down at his hand, and then back up at him. He flushes.

"It's how you seal a deal, right? A handshake?"

"You," the fae says, wonderingly, "are even more of an idiot than I thought. No, jackrabbit, we don't do handshakes. What's your name?"

Oh. Oh, this is a bad, bad idea.

Chase shifts, awkwardly, and finally, he says, "you can call me Chase."

Somehow, he feels like he's chosen both the right and the wrong path. The fae rolls his name over his tongue, and smirks. "Call me anti."

Anti. Sharp as he'd expected. Everything that he's not. Chase nods, once, short, and wills himself to not make more of a fool of himself.

"Is- right, no handshakes. That's- is that how you seal deals?"

Anti grins, bright and hungry, and leans forward.

"I can think of a few ways to seal a deal," he purrs softly, and then presses his lips to Chase's.

Oh. Right. Yeah. That's- Chase, very quickly, decides thinking is overrated, and braces his hands against the fae for balance. He's out of practice, sure, but he's not a rookie; he tilts his head to give Anti a better angle, because Anti is pretty clearly driving this boat, and he's along for the ride.

Not a bad ride! Anti's talented; Chase is going to blame that on him being a fae, and he scrapes sharp teeth across Chase's bottom lip in just the right way to get Chase to shiver. He's just. Startled.

Anti pulls back, right as Chase is beginning to wonder when he's going to need a breath, and they lock eyes for a moment, Anti idly licking his lips, Chase tracing the movement with his eyes.

The fae cocks his head with a smirk. "There. Sealed."

"Right," Chase says, and winces at the way his voice cracks on the word, as his brain begins the task of catching up.

"Right," he says again, stronger, and blinks. "That's. That? Now what?"

Anti raises an eyebrow. Does he ever stop smirking? Chase's honestly curious, now. "Now I come with you, for a year and a day."

"Right," Chase says, for a third time, and then grimaces and shakes his head. He's usually- well, not funnier, but not dumbstruck. Instead of trying to put it into words, he offers a hand; Anti eyes it, before he- shakes off his form. There's no better way to put it, with Anti standing before him one moment, and a crow perched on his shoulder the next.

He stares at it a moment longer, before deciding that's firmly in the "tackle later" category, and turns on his heel.

A year and a day.

Better make it count, at least.

[aereres]

Loving You Was A Mistake - Elias Lindholm | Rock Band AU

Summary: Elias was trouble, Amelia could tell from the moment they had first met. With his flirty smile, stormy eyes that brought crowds of girls to his feet, and a cocky personality, he was the last person Amelia wanted to deal with. But with alcohol flowing through her system, she had never been the one to make good decisions.

A/N: I kinda like how this fic turned out, and I hope you’ll enjoy it too!

Word Count: 12,6k

Warnings: SMUT, drinking, anxiety and panic, heartbreak, swearing

“Rum and coke,” Elias yelled over the loud rhythm of the music he hated - the music he listened to almost every night. The bartender spared him a quick look, nodding his head as he registered the order before leaving the guitarist on his own to look at the thick mass of dancing bodies in the middle of the dance floor.

Elias Lindholm had been the party scene ever since High School, in search of fun, girls, alcohol, and drugs. It was who he had grown up to be, no shame in what he loved to do, and his rise to fame truly didn’t change his lifestyle: in some way, it made his nightly adventures even better.

There was a moment before a manicured hand grasped his arm, grabbing his attention. His charming smile appeared on his lips without an order, and he was left to face the smaller girl who had touched him with hungry eyes.

“Looking for something, sweetheart?” Elias said, enjoying the way her hands slid from his bicep to his chest.

“A man to spend the night with,” her words were said in his ear, her sweet voice not as sensual as he had hoped it would be. His light eyes searched for hers, a hint of sexual tension filling the air as he put his needs before everything else. He wasn’t going to refuse a night of sex, especially if it was with someone as hot as the girl in front of him.

“A man to spend the night with,” he repeated, smirking as he let his hand ghost the curve of her ass. “I can work with that,”

The girl smirked too, lips slowly inching closer to his as the music surrounding them subsided. He was left to kiss her hungrily, not a care in the world that he was in the middle of a packed club. Elias just kissed her, trying to lure her to his bed, just like he did every night.

He pulled away just when he couldn’t bear it anymore, turning around to take a sip of his drink. Except, it wasn’t his drink. Dry martini was burning his throat as his flushed face took a look of disgust, his eyes roaming around to find the bartender in search of an explanation.

All he was faced with, though, was another face of disgust, pretty lips pulled in a pout as the girl next to him swore. “Fucking hell,”

The liquid inside her glass was dark, and Elias could only guess she had taken a blind swig of the alcohol - just like he had done. “Where’s my martini?”

Elias smirked as he forgot about the girl he had just kissed, taking a seat next to his new companion as he switched their drinks confidently. “There you go,”

The woman next to him turned around with her features tugged in a frown, hands moving quickly as she pushed the glass of martini back to him. “There’s no way I’m drinking that. You just exchanged spit with that chick, man,”

Elias chuckled, jaw clenching as he gave the new stranger in front of him a once-over. Her dress was tight against her skin, red lipstick sticking out even under the dark lights of the club. She was breathtaking, and the girl from a few minutes prior was already more than forgotten. She was part of the past, the woman in front of him was the present.

“Looking for someone to dance with?” He asked smugly, finger ghosting over the rim of his glass, the print of her lipstick still coloring one side.

“You definitely wouldn’t be that someone,” the woman stated, signaling for the bartender to come closer, ordering another glass of dry martini.

“Put it on my check,” Elias said, ignoring the woman’s annoyed groan. His eyes went back to her, smirk still painting his lips. “What do I have to do to learn your name, sweetheart?”

The woman laughed ironically, eyebrows arching as she took a good look at him. “You think I’d be interested in you? Very funny,”

“We both know you’ll end up in my bed, by the end of the night,”

Elias’ words made the woman scoff, eyes rolling as she grabbed the new glass of martini the bartender had just passed her. “Keep telling yourself, scout,” she hummed, tipping her head back and taking a large gulp of the drink. “I got better things to do than to sleep with an egocentric asshole,”

Elias just smirked, his stubbornness making his body light up on fire as he watched her stand up from her stool. He was going to have her. “I’ll see you later, sweetheart,”

“The name is Amelia,” she hissed his way, looking behind her shoulder. “Just so you can stop using those basic pet names on me,”

“Elias,” he smirked, watching her hips sway as she left his side, disappearing behind the tall wall of people on the dance floor. Elias was left to himself as he looked down at his drink, a grin forming on his lips as his new acquaintance stayed on his mind.

Amelia was still scoffing as she headed for the dance floor, hips automatically swaying to the rhythm of the music as she found a spot in the middle. She felt numerous eyes on her as she danced, hands feeling her body up as she pushed the tension off her shoulders.

Who the fuck did that stranger think he was?

He was a very good-looking stranger, if she had to be honest, but he for sure wasn’t worth her time. He let his charm get to his head, she thought as she danced, shaking her head softly when she realized just what she was doing. She was thinking about him, and he didn’t deserve to be talked about.

So, she danced, even with strangers. She couldn’t exactly place it, but dancing with random men sent her body in a frenzy. She heated up as she swayed her hips, forehead growing sweaty, throat drying. Amelia felt like an animal, the club her natural habitat.

Even if on her own, she danced until her legs couldn’t hold her up anymore, until she felt sweaty, until she couldn’t take it anymore. She went back to the bar just when it was really needed, hoping that the stranger from earlier had left and she could enjoy a drink on her own.

Elias was still there, though, uncharacteristically silent as he nursed another glass of rum and coke. He was surprised at himself for spending the night alone: normally, he would have been at home by midnight, having sex with the girl he picked up that night. Instead, he was there, eyeing his prey as she made her way towards the other side of the countertop.

Their eyes met, Amelia’s squaring him as her eyebrows furrowed. She couldn’t believe he was still there. Elias couldn’t keep his eyes off of her, and Amelia couldn’t help herself either.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the heat, but she couldn’t deny the sudden attraction towards the man a few feet away from her. All her self-control seemed to leave her body when he stood up from his chair, taking his time to make his way past the crowd surrounding them. She filled with jitters as she downed her drink, letting the alcohol burn her insides and wake her body up.

A firm body pressed against her back just as she put her glass down, a huff of warm breath hitting her cheek as a familiar voice snapped her out of her trance.

“I knew you’d give in,” Elias whispered in her ear, voice sending shivers down her spine. “You can’t resist me, nobody can,”

“Don’t let it get to your head too much, boy,” Amelia hissed, turning around to face him, her index finger stabbing his chest. “You’re still a stuck-up, egocentric dick that-”

Elias’ lips crashed against hers quickly, her body freezing for a sharp second before she could get comfortable again. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer just as his tongue parted her lips, his hands leaving a hot trail everywhere they touched.

Amelia felt in heaven for a second as she let him have control, her fingers burying themselves in his hair as he started to pull away, keeping him closer for one more second. Elias parted ways to call the bartender, ordering two shots before paying his check.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Amelia asked, confusion and annoyance coating her tone as she looked up at the man.

“I’m doing you a favor,” Elias smirked, grabbing the smaller glasses and pushing one her way. “Drink, so you won’t bitch in the morning,”

He made the shot glasses clink before throwing his head back and downing the drink, admiring Amelia when she followed his lead. Her features scrunched for a quick second before she looked up at him, grabbing the neck of his shirt to pull him down, their lips meeting quickly.

“You better make it worth it, asshole,” Amelia whispered against his lips, the smirk painting his features making the fire inside her burn even more.

“You won’t regret it, sweetheart,”

-

Amelia woke up in a gray, unknown room, head aching in the most terrible way and her mouth dry. She was confused, laying on her side as she looked around, trying to figure out just where she was.

It looked like she was in a hotel - the decorative plants and paintings being too basic for a normal house -, and definitely not her apartment. She was eager to find her phone and see where she was located, but huffed when she discovered her purse was on the other side of the room, too far away to reach.

Amelia laid back down, sighing as she tried to relax her tense muscles. She was uncharacteristically not worried about the fact that she had slept in a foreign hotel room after a night out, and she wasn’t too scared to take her time, either - it was a Saturday, after all.

She seemed to feel the weight of an arm around her waist just then, as if her body had been numb the entire time. A sudden wave of flashbacks hit her like a truck as she shuffled out of the bed, her awakening being rougher than she had expected.

She had slept with the stranger.

Amelia had slept with the cocky asshole from the club, and she was standing in front of his sleeping frame in just a pair of panties and a way-too-big shirt that certainly didn’t belong to her.

In a state of shock, she stumbled towards the window, parting the curtains to reveal a cloudy Times Square. She realized in less than a minute that she was inside the Kimpton Muse, the five-star hotel she could only dream about.

“Fucking hell,”

The sudden voice made her jump, spinning around quickly to see the stranger - well, Elias - stretching under the warm comforter.

“What the fuck did we do-” Amelia mumbled, a mix of exasperation and panic coating her words as one of her hands ran through her messy hair.

Her own voice seemed to scare Elias, his eyes jumping towards her as a satisfied smile painted his lips. “Well, good morning, sweetheart,” he murmured, sitting up on the bed and letting the duvet fall away from him, revealing his naked chest.

Amelia groaned at the sight, his toned body bringing back another set of flashbacks as she remembered his hands on her body, his lips on her neck. “Didn’t think you’d still be here,” Elias continued.

“Didn’t even know I was here,” Amelia mumbled back as she searched for anything to put on, in a rush to leave the room. A sudden wave of panic hit her as she remembered they had slept together, that she hadn’t just come back to his place to sleep in his bed. She also registered the ache between her legs just when she ran towards the closest trashcan. “Tell me we used protection,”

“Amelia, relax-”

“Elias, fucking tell me,” the woman hissed his way, a scowl on her face as her stormy eyes focused on his, his cocky demeanor slowly fading.

“We did,” the guitarist admitted, mindlessly pointing towards the en-suite. “You can go check the garbage in there,”

Amelia’s heart slowed down just after his answer, her body slowly moving towards the bathroom and checking, a relieved sigh leaving the lips when she saw a discarded condom inside the trashcan.

“Thank God,” she whispered under her breath, stepping back inside the room to search for her dress. Amelia wanted to leave the hotel - and Elias - behind as quickly as she could. They had made a mistake, and the quicker she could forget about it, the better it would be for everyone.

Elias was left to look at her as she scrambled around the room, running a hand through his messy hair as he held back a chuckle.

“What?” Amelia asked when she caught him staring, her eyebrows furrowing.

“Why are you rushing? Got somewhere to be?”

“As far away from you as possible,” Amelia spat out, discarding the shirt she could only guess was his and not really caring that she was topless. He had seen every part of her anyway, right? She pulled her dress back on, groaning when she struggled with the zipper.

“Why?” Elias asked, throwing the duvet away from his body as he stood up to help her. His hands were gentle as he touched her back, zipping her up before letting his fingertips linger against her skin.

“Because it was a fucking mistake,” she stated quickly, grasping her purse from the couch a few feet away and grabbing her phone, sighing when she realized it was dead. “It was nice meeting you,” she lied, grabbing her heels and keeping them in her hands. “Have a nice life,”

She didn’t leave him time to say goodbye, leaving his hotel room and heading for the elevators as quickly as she could. As she rummaged inside her purse, her fingers caught onto something cold, small.

Amelia’s eyebrows furrowed as she fished for the object, only to find a familiar ring. Elias’ ring. She had to search through her mind to remember when he could have lost it, and her only conclusion was when the two of them had been messily making out inside the Uber, right before getting to his hotel.

A huff automatically left her mouth, her inner self questioning whether she should bring it back to him or just throw it in the trash. The elevator opened, though, interrupting her inner monologue, and she was forced to do her walk of shame in front of the rich patrons of the hotel.

She felt like she truly started breathing again just when she reached Times Square, calling a cab and finally relaxing in its backseat. Amelia had slept with probably the most annoying stranger she had ever met, not only blowing up the promise she had made to herself to never sleep with cocky assholes, but also hating herself for it.

Why the hell did she do that?

All she could remember was how good he was, how earth-shattering the orgasms he gave her were, and how worth it he had made it.

She hated herself for it, but she couldn’t deny the fact that she had enjoyed it. She had enjoyed his chasing, she had enjoyed his attention, and she had enjoyed the sex more than everything.

Amelia needed to forget about him, though, and nothing was going to stop her from doing that. She didn’t need a man like Elias in her life: men like him were a waste of emotions, a waste of time, and she had a life to live.

Yet, when she arrived home and emptied her purse, his ring didn’t go in the trash. She let it sit on her nightstand.

She needed to forget about him, but maybe that task could wait a little longer to be done.

-----

Elias didn’t know what he was doing, if he had to be honest. His mind was elsewhere as he sat on the couch of his hotel, guitar in hand as he strummed an improvised melody. The sounds were entering one ear and leaving from the other, working as background noise.

Chordback’s world tour had ended just a few weeks prior, and he was more than happy to enjoy his stay in New York, one of his favorite places in the world. Sure, it didn’t feel like home, but there was nothing as comforting as the Big Apple’s nightclubs for the guitarist.

He was the life of the party, and New York was the party.

Elias couldn’t understand how he had gotten there, though: on a Saturday night, alone in his room, missing the first ring he had bought himself after signing his contract. He couldn’t understand just why his body was so against going outside, why his mind was agreeing with that decision too.

One thing he was sure of, was the fact that he couldn’t get Amelia out of his head. Images of her naked body appeared in his mind, interrupting his sleep and leaving him hot and bothered in the middle of the night. And when he considered calling an old hookup to take care of the mess he had become? His body would just refuse to collaborate.

It had been one week ever since he had first met her, one painful week. He didn’t know what to do with himself anymore, and all he wished for was to have one more night with her.

Elias had never been one for encores, and he was shocked at his own self for even wanting the same woman that badly more than once. But he did what he had never thought he could do, grabbing his phone from the coffee table and dialing Chordback’s personal assistant’s number.

He took a swig of his beer as he listened to the hums of the line, gripping his guitar with force as he waited for Deborah to pick up. He couldn’t take it anymore.

“Hey, man,” The voice he heard, though, didn’t belong to Deborah. Matthew had answered the phone, words slightly slurred as Elias heard some munching coming from his bandmate’s line. “What’s up?”

“Chucky,” the guitarist chuckled breathily, running a hand through his hair as he rested his neck on the back of the couch. “Is Debby there? I need to ask her something,”

“Oh, uh- yeah, we were just making muffins,” Matthew mumbled. “Babe, Elias needs to talk to you- I’ll see you soon, man,”

“Yeah,” Elias mumbled, listening to the shuffling from the other line until the assistant’s voice ringed through his ears.

“Elias? You doing okay?”

“Yeah, no, I’m doing just fine,” the guitarist admitted. “I just need a favor,”

Deborah hummed, probably sitting down, as Elias blew out a sigh. “You didn’t just get someone pregnant, did you?”

“No, no!” Elias squeaked, making the woman laugh gently.

“Then what is it?”

A sudden wave of nerves hit the guitarist at that moment, his confidence long gone as he asked himself just what he was supposed to say. ‘I met a girl and I can’t get her out of my mind’ was definitely not something he would normally say. That wasn’t him.

The words came out before he could even stop them, eyes shutting close as soon as he finished his sentence. “I slept with a girl last week and she has my ring,” as if that was all he needed from Amelia.

“That ring?” Deborah’s voice grew more tender as she realized what he was talking about. The ring had a meaning deeper than one could expect, and that was why Elias couldn’t exactly live without it. “She stole that ring?”

“N-”

“Give me her name,” Deborah stated, voice serious. Elias kept silent for a second as he internally cursed himself out for being that stupid. Amelia hadn’t stolen the ring: he had been dumb enough to play with it while being drunk, and it fell inside her purse. “Elias, give me her name,”

He just wanted to talk to her.

“Amelia,” he mumbled, chest filling with regret. “I don’t have her last name, but I know she lives in New York,”

“Alright,” Deborah pressed, voice harsh. “She will hear from me,”

“Debby, I’ll handle it,” Elias interrupted her mumbling, selfishly using the mess he had created to reach his goal: talking to her again. “I just need her number,”

The woman on the other line stayed in silence for a second. “I’ll start my research right now,”

The call was ended quickly from her, leaving him in shock and silence in the middle of his room.

What the fuck had he done?

-----

“Hello?”

Amelia’s tone was painted with uncertainty when she answered the call, eyebrows furrowed as she balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder.

“Hi, this is Deborah Miller, personal assistant of the band Chordback. Amelia?”

“Uh- yes, that’s me,” Amelia mumbled, entering the back of the haircare store she owned to hear the woman on the other side of the call better.

“I’m calling regarding your encounter with Elias Lindholm, last Friday night,” the woman stated, making Amelia’s eyes close shut. Oh, God. She had fucked up. “I was notified by him that his ring went missing, and that you could be the one who stole it,”

Amelia stayed in silence for a second. She most certainly didn’t steal the ring.

“Stole it?!” Amelia almost yelled. “Ma’am, I don’t know what you’ve been told, but him losing his ring in my purse certainly isn’t stealing from my side,”

There was a moment of silence from the woman, Amelia’s hand resting against her forehead as she thought about the situation she had found herself in. All because of that damn stranger at the club. “I’ve given Mr. Lindholm your number so you could sort things out, but we won’t be afraid to take legal actions if the ring won’t be given back,”

Amelia was given no time to respond, the call being abruptly stopped right after the unknown woman finished speaking. She was confused to say the least, but the rage inside her made her body burn.

Elias literally wanted to sue her for carelessly losing his own ring, how was that her fault?

The bell of the store sounded just as Amelia’s phone vibrated in her hand, a text from another unknown user making her screen light up.

“I’ll be with you in a second!” She yelled at the customer, unlocking her phone to read the text.

Unknown: Hey, was wondering if we could meet up so I can get back my ring? x - Elias

Amelia rolled her eyes, face taking a look of disgust as she answered his text.

Tomorrow, five p.m. sharp at Upper West Side Central Park.

If Elias thought he was going to see her again after that, he was wrong.

-

Amelia was enraged as she sat near a tree, the cup of coffee in her hand long forgotten as her other palm held a ziplock bag. The ring was secured in there, ready to be given back to its original owner.

After the call, all she wanted to do was to give the ring back to Elias, and get back to her life - her life without the trouble that the stranger had brought as soon as they had met.

She had been threatened to be sued by his personal assistant - why the hell he had an assistant in the first place, she didn’t know -, so how was she supposed to believe he was someone to trust?

“Hey,”

The voice that snapped Amelia out of her trance was more than familiar to her, the scowl on her face not fading as she looked up at the man. She stood from the bench, keeping the distance from Elias as she threw the bag his way.

“Now, get out of my way,” she spat, ignoring the way his smile faded. “And for good, this time,”

She turned on her heels, starting to walk away from the man she had grown to hate. She had a life, places to be, and as she had first thought, Elias wasn’t worth her time. “Wait- Amelia, what the fuck happened?”

He grasped her arm, stopping her in her tracks and making her jaw clench. “You’re really asking me that, Elias? After sending your assistant my way to threaten me?! Really?!”

Elias seemed confused as he let her words sink in, eyebrows furrowing. “Wait, what?”

“Oh, now you’re acting confused,” Amelia pressed, a look of disgust painting her features as she looked in his eyes. “I stole your ring?! Really?!”

Her words started to make sense just then, Elias’ eyes shutting as he realized what Deborah had done. She didn’t listen to him. “Listen, Amelia, I told Deborah I’d handle it, she didn’t listen,” his words didn’t seem to make a difference, though. Amelia was still furious, disbelief hiding behind her orbs. “I know you didn’t steal the ring, I don’t even know why Deborah thought you did,”

“You blew your last chance, Elias,” Amelia said, interrupting his monologue. “There was a reason why I was trying to stay away from you. You’re trouble,”

Her words hit the guitarist like a truck, his heart sinking to his stomach as he watched her leave without a single ‘goodbye’. As he stood in the middle of the park like a fool, he was left to his own thoughts.

She was right, was all he could think. He had been trouble ever since he had been a baby, so he wasn’t even blaming her for parting ways. He had brought chaos in her life, and she didn’t deserve it.

Elias blew his last chance, and there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was to see if the universe would bring them back together.

But he didn’t have much hope left in him.

-----

Elias had never been a hopeful person. He had been stubborn his entire life, but not hopeful, and not patient either. He wasn’t one to hope and wait for the universe to send a signal his way, he preferred to find the signal as quickly as possible, on his own.

With Amelia, though, he had seemed to quiet down. He knew he had no more chances with her, and he wasn’t going to make himself hate her even more. He was going to be patient, he was going to be hopeful: everything his mother had always wished he could have been as a kid.

The Big Apple was as loud as it always was, the music from distant clubs sending shivers down his spine. Elias needed to move on, and getting back in the party scene was the best option for him to succeed.

The bouncer in front of the club took one look at him, not even checking his ID before letting him inside, the blue lights feeling like home as he entered the packed space. Everything felt familiar as he pushed towards the bar, trying to get one drink in before starting to bring back the real Elias, the one that didn’t let a random girl stop him from living his life.

“Rum and coke,”

It felt like a déjà vu as he ordered his drink, smiling at the bartender before letting his eyes roam around the crowd of people dancing. He needed to forget about Amelia, and that’s what he was going to do.

As he got handed the drink, he kept his eyes on the scene, blocking out every thought. He needed to have alcohol in him before the night could start. The liquid went down his throat quicker than he had expected, his glass hitting the counter before he could join the mass of bodies in the middle of the room.

He let his body get used to the beat, the music so loud he feared for his hearing. But it was what he wanted, what he had missed. He wanted to forget about Amelia, forget about her stupid red lipstick, and her stupidly perfect curves.

Elias had turned into a man he didn’t know after meeting her, and he needed to get back to who he originally was. He wasn’t going to let a woman he had met once turn him into a man he didn’t know.

So, he danced. He danced with a pretty stranger that got attached to his hip a few moments after he had joined the crowd on the dance floor. He offered her a drink, fantasized about her luscious red lips on his body, and then realized just who he was thinking about.

In his head, who was kissing his body wasn’t the blonde grinding against him. It was Amelia. He grabbed himself a shot, and another, sequentially ordering heavier drinks with every passing hour. He knew coping with alcohol was never going to be a good decision, but he couldn’t care less.

By the time the clock hit one in the morning, he was drunkenly kissing the blonde from the dance floor, screwing the idea of making his hookup sign an NDA. He hadn’t made Amelia sign one, either, so why was he supposed to bother?

The woman was in his bed naked, ready for him, and by the time he was on top of her, Amelia had left his mind. As he kissed down her body, he thought that Amelia had become part of his past.

But as he fucked the blonde, Amelia was all he thought about.

-

Elias woke up in distress, sharply inhaling air as he sat up on his bed, pushing the burning hot covers away from his heated body. The hotel room was still dark and, as he looked to his left, his heart started beating out of his chest, his breath shortening.

The blonde from the club was sleeping next to him, cuddled on her side with her hair sprawled over the pillow. She was peaceful next to him, too peaceful for Elias’ liking as he left the bed, throwing a shirt on.

The foreign feeling inside his body made him rush out of the room to clear his mind, the need to breathe in some fresh air so desperate he took the stairs. Waking up next to a stranger had never been a problem for him, sometimes it even led to morning sex, if he was lucky. He had never had a small panic attack over a hookup spending the night.

So, why did he leave the room?

As he nodded his head towards the night staff of the hotel and headed towards the doors, he checked his phone. It was well past three, the moon still high up in the sky as he found himself in the middle of Times Square.

The city was still loud even at that hour, with cars driving past him and people quietly talking. He was grateful to be in such a lively city, he couldn’t live in his own silence anymore.

Elias let his body move with no destination, walking around the streets with an empty mind as he hoped to understand what went down just a few minutes prior. Maybe he felt trapped, when he woke up next to the stranger; or maybe, it was just the panic of waking up next to someone he didn’t know.

Either ways, he couldn’t believe that had happened to him after years of letting himself fall into hookup culture. He couldn’t help himself but wonder if that was how Amelia had felt like when she had woken up next to him. At least, he hoped she didn’t, the feeling being truly overwhelming.

Elias’ legs stopped him in front of a Chinese restaurant, its dim lights on even at three in the morning. It was lightly populated inside, but a familiar mass of hair was what really caught his attention.

There was no red lipstick, no tight dress, but he could recognize that woman out of the rest of the population in the blink of an eye. Amelia was sitting right behind the glass wall, eating dumplings mindlessly as she scrolled through her phone.

Elias’ body filled with jitters as he froze. There was a moment where he asked himself if it would have been a good idea to join her inside, her disgusted words from that day in the park playing in his head like a broken record. You blew your last chance, Elias.

He pushed the overthinking aside, though, and entered the small shop. He ended up at the register in silence, ordering himself some noodles even if he wasn’t hungry. His eyes couldn’t leave Amelia’s frame as he waited for his food to be done, and by the time he had his bowl in hand, his nerves were ready to knock him out.

He dragged himself towards her lonely table, sitting right in front of her. “Hi,” was all he said, heart skipping a beat when her eyes met his.

He was relieved to see that her face didn’t take a look of disgust, rather displaying shock as she dropped her chopsticks. “Elias,” she mumbled, scratching her neck as she let her phone rest on the table. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh- woke up hungry,” he mumbled, knowing just how big of a liar he had become in the last two minutes. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing okay,” Amelia said, plopping a dumpling in her mouth as she rested her chin on her palm. “You?”

“I’m fine,” he had just had a panic attack over a random girl, he wasn’t fine. Silence built up between them as they ate, the sounds of the kitchen behind them filling the air. The tension was still thick, but Elias felt relatively better for talking to her, it had been what he had hoped for for weeks.

“I’m sorry,” he blurted out, her eyes snapping from her food to his face. “For everything,”

Amelia stayed in silence, eyes layering with a cold look as she remembered what he had done. “I know a stupid apology won’t fix things, but I just wish we could try to make things work. Even just as friends,”

Elias didn’t know how to be just friends with someone, so why the hell was he blurting things out like that?

Amelia gave him a strange look, a look he couldn’t decipher, but eventually popped another dumpling in her mouth. “I don’t trust you, Elias,” she mumbled, mouth full. “Especially after that shitshow with the ring,”

“I know, and that was my mistake,” Elias pointed out, running a hand through his hair. “But I’ll do anything to have you back, I promise,”

Amelia chuckled breathily, shaking her head as she looked down. There was a moment of thinking - probably wondering whether it was a good idea to give him one last chance - before she talked. “You need to keep your hands off of me, drunk or not,”

Elias nodded, looking at her as she kept talking. “I don’t need to make another mistake like that,”

“Alright,” the man mumbled. “That’s all?”

“And don’t bring trouble in my life again,” Amelia added, pointing a finger his way. “You do that one more time and we’re done,”

Elias only nodded, letting his light orbs find hers as he bit his lip. “I won’t fuck up, this time,”

“I really hope you won’t,”

-----

Amelia didn’t know why she let herself cave in. She had promised herself to stay away from Elias and the mess that was his life, but his beaten up face at the restaurant was more than pitying. She didn’t know if he realized, but the bags under his eyes didn’t look too well, and neither did his hollowed cheeks.

Regret had washed over her when his feeling spilled through his words, and as she laid on her bed in the darkness of her room, she felt pity.

Had she been too harsh on him? The deal with his ring had clearly been a misunderstanding, so her holding grudges just seemed petty, from her point of view.

But she also couldn’t help but ask herself if she had made the right decision by taking him back, even as friends. He was a dangerous game, and she stubbornly kept going back to play, just to eventually get hurt.

Elias was impossible to figure out, but something inside her soul was pushing her to him, pushing her to understand him and his life. She wanted to see what he really was about, who he could be. As much as Amelia tried to hold back, she couldn’t help the curiosity that filled her body whenever she thought about the mysterious man.

Amelia’s phone vibrated from her side, screen being the only source of light inside the pitch black room. She took a moment to breathe out a sigh before letting her eyes focus on the device, the name on the screen making her heart skip a beat.

Talk about the devil, she thought.

Elias had just sent her a text, and she despised her heart for letting his minimal attention get to her. She was better than that.

Elias: It was nice seeing you again yesterday. Going to a club tmrw, wanna join? x

Amelia sighed again. Was she ready to get back into that? Into the life of the party that was Elias Lindholm?

Her brain was asking her to just stay home, avoid the darkness of the New York clubs and the buzz of the alcohol; but her heart was opposing: it wanted her to see Elias.

So, she gave in another time, telling herself it was going to be the last one before sending him back a small text of approval. She didn’t know whether she would regret it or not, but she knew she was going to have the time of her life.

At least, she hoped so.

-

“Dry martini.”

“Still don’t get how you can drink that shit,” Elias yelled in her ear right after Amelia ordered her drink. “Tastes like pure shit,”

“It’s classy,” Amelia explained with a smirk, thanking the bartender with a raise of her eyebrows before letting the alcohol burn her mouth.

Elias only chuckled, taking a sip of his own rum and coke, as he let his eyes travel over Amelia’s body. She cleaned up well in one of her tight dresses, her signature red lipstick making his cock stir inside his pants.

The night had started well, with them meeting in front of the club before joining the crowd inside. Elias had kept his hands to himself, pushed intrusive thoughts away, and let the night roll just like how he had expected it to do.

After two rounds of dancing and a second drink, his views had very much changed. Under the influence of the alcohol, all he could think about was Amelia and how stupidly hot she looked. In some ways, keeping his promise seemed more difficult than he had expected it to be.

“Elias? You still there?” Amelia waved a hand in front of his eyes, snapping him out of his trance. The guitarist laughed, nodding his head before letting his eyes focus on the scenery surrounding them.

A familiar face struck out to him in the middle of the crowd, and it was a matter of seconds before the man he had recognized walked closer to where Elias and Amelia stood.

Jake Bates was as tall as Elias remembered him to be, his beard neatly trimmed surrounding the smile that painted his face. He was intimidating, just like back in the days, and Elias felt more than happy to see his old friend again.

“Hey, man! Long time, no see!” The guitarist yelled over the music, sharing a hug with the tallest man Amelia had probably seen. “What are you doing here?”

“Just enjoying a night at the club,” Jake admitted. “Congrats on the new album, by the way,”

Elias chuckled, thanking him softly as he remembered about Amelia just then, letting his hand brush against her lower back. “Jake, this is Amelia,” the guitarist explained. “Amelia, this is my friend Jake. We used to play in the same band back in High School,”

Amelia’s eyes widened, her hand sticking out to shake Jake’s as she introduced herself. There was a moment before she looked up at Elias, the realization of what he had said hitting her. “You used to play?”

“I, uh- I still do,” Elias admitted, scratching the back of his head. “I’m the guitarist of a rock band, right now,”

“That’s cool,” Amelia mumbled, body filled with amazement at the new discovery. “And you, Jake? You still play, too?”

“Oh, no,” the man chuckled. “I’m a personal trainer, now,”

“That’s great, man,” Elias said, smiling his way before another woman interrupted the conversation.

“Babe, I’m heading out to smoke, I’ll be back in a sec,” she yelled in Jake’s direction, smiling gingerly at Amelia and Elias.

“I’m coming with you, just lemme say goodbye,”

Jake turned around to face the old friend and the new acquaintance, wishing them a good night before leaving them on their own at the bar in silence. The music was still loud as they finished their drinks, both in their own heads.

Amelia thought she was stupid. She had just become friends with Elias, and still didn’t know anything about him. Hell, she didn’t even know if being a guitarist was a job or a hobby, for him. How could she maintain a friendship with him if she was in the dark about his life?

“So… you play?” Amelia asked with her last ounce of courage, looking up at Elias’ light eyes as she let herself focus on him.

“Electric guitar, yeah,” he mumbled, tipping his head back to finish his drink. “I just recently finished a world tour,”

“Woah,” the woman muttered, a hint of amazement in her voice as the bullet points inside her head started to make sense: he had a personal assistant, he had no trouble partying every night, he stayed at one of the most expensive hotels in New York. Elias could be considered the life of the party, but Amelia realized he was just living the life of a rock star.

“You never told me what you do,” Elias changed the topic, making Amelia become the center of the conversation. “I’ve just seen you around at night,”

Amelia chuckled, calling the bartender over for a couple of shots. “I own a haircare shop, so we sell products for any kind of hair,” she stated, pushing three shot glasses Elias’ way. “Straight, wavy, curly, braids, wigs,”

Elias hummed, smiling her way as he downed his first shot, waiting for her to follow along. The tequila was burning his throat, but the sweet sight of Amelia’s features was enough to make him feel numb.

She was slowly letting lose thanks to the alcohol, becoming the carefree woman Elias had met on their first encounter, and there was nothing in the world that could stop his heart from beating as quickly as it did.

Amelia threw her head back, finishing her last shots just to frown lightly. The music suddenly changed, a squeal leaving the woman’s lips as soon as the darker melody entered her ears. “I fucking love this song!” She yelled. “I’m going dancing,”

Elias only chuckled, watching her hips sway as she left his side and joined the crowd on the dance floor. She let the music embrace her softly, her body moving to the beat as she lightly sang. The red lights of the club illuminated her face in the best way, putting her features on display as Elias stared at her, as if she was the only woman in the world.

It became painfully hard to just watch, Elias’ body trembling with need. He needed to be close to her, to feel her, to touch her. Flashbacks of their night together appeared in his mind, sending him in a frenzy as he let the autopilot take over.

He downed his last shot, leaving the countertop to reach the dance floor. The music was easy to follow as he snuck past people to reach Amelia. Her dark dress was everything he could focus on, and when he was able to let his hands rest on her waist, it felt like the whole world stopped.

It felt like they were alone in the middle of the dance floor, dancing the tension away, Amelia’s body so close to his he could barely breathe. Every thought about the promise he had made seemed to disappear from his mind, all he could think about being Amelia and her body under his. He couldn’t help his needs anymore, and she didn’t seem to mind his attention.

“Fuck,” he whispered in her ear, breathing ragged as he pulled her closer. “Amelia, what are you doing to me?”

She laughed giddily, letting her arms wrap around his neck as her back hit his chest. The need to lean down and press a kiss to her neck was burning Elias alive, but Amelia let all the sexual tension fade when she turned around and kissed him with everything she had.

Her lips were as hungry as Elias remembered them to be, and as he let his palms slide against the curve of her ass, he couldn’t help the feeling of déjà vu. “Bring me home, Elias,” she whispered seductively in his ear, letting her palms slide down his chest.

Realization seemed to hit him just then: the promise, his last chance. “Amelia-”

“Please, I want this, Elias,” she muttered, biting on her lip. She didn’t know what - or who - was possessing her body, but she knew she would regret it in the morning. Her body needed him, though, and she wasn’t thinking straight anymore. “I can’t keep myself away from you,”

Her consent was all he needed to tug her away from the scene, getting inside the first taxi leading to his hotel. With burning hands and heated bodies, they struggled to make their way inside his room. Drunk giggles were leaving their lips as Elias opened his door, locking it behind the two of them before he could lay Amelia on his bed, kissing her lips like he wanted to rock her world.

With her body sat right on the edge of the mattress, Elias fell to his knees, letting his lips find the crook of her neck, slowly moving to her chest. His kisses reached her breasts, fingers eagerly ripping her dress apart.

“Elias! I fucking loved this dress!” She whined, a low moan leaving her lips when his mouth found one of her nipples, interrupting her train of thoughts.

“I’ll buy you a new one,” he muttered, out of breath. “Fuck, I’ll buy you the whole store,”

His hands sneakily found her underwear, pushing it down her legs as he kissed her stomach, spreading her thighs to take a good look at her center. She was glistening - ready for him -, and every ounce of responsibility in Elias’ mind seemed to disappear.

He blew cold air on her clit, loving the whine that left her lips at the denied pleasure. Elias chuckled darkly, letting his head dip down until his lips closed around Amelia’s clit. She breathed out a sigh, fingers carding through his messy curls as all the tension left her body.

The alcohol had gotten to her head, but she was sincere when she admitted to herself that she was more than conscious at that moment. His mouth on her heat was making her see stars, and all she could do was moan.

“Elias-” Amelia breathed out, the ghost of his fingers over her entrance making her strangle a scream.

The man only smirked, letting his eyes meet hers as he gave her bundle of nerves another suck, her moans becoming music to his ears. Eating her out felt like paradise, and all Elias was missing was to see her cum.

His goal was to have her at his mercy, totally helpless as she orgasmed around his fingers. All he wanted was to feel her, touch her, call her his own. He shrugged the last thought off as he inserted a finger in her wetness, her moan making his cock stir.

“Elias, I can’t-”

“Cum for me, princess,” he whispered against her pussy. “Let go,”

Amelia was able to take in a shaky breath before the most powerful orgasm she had ever felt had her body shaking. Her walls squeezed around Elias’ fingers as his mouth lapped up her juices, a proud smirk on his lips when he looked up at her.

Amelia eagerly cupped his cheeks, pulling him close and kissing him hungrily. She moaned at the taste of herself on his lips, her hands traveling south to strip Elias of his pants. She needed to feel him close, to feel him inside her again.

“This is the last time, Elias,” she whispered between kisses, knowing damn well she was lying to herself. “This is the last time,”

-

“Fucking hell-” Amelia hissed, her hand rubbing against her aching forehead. Rays of sunlight entered the hotel room, making her tired eyes squint. She breathed out a sigh, turning on her back as her thumb rubbed the skin of Elias’ arm on her waist.

As much as she hated herself for spending the night again, she couldn’t hold herself back from taking a moment to relax next to the guitarist, the events of the previous nights replaying inside her head.

The panic she had felt the first time she’d slept with Elias was nonexistent, at that moment. She didn’t feel the need to run away, to hide from him and hope to never see him again. She wanted to enjoy his closeness one last time, and she didn’t care it might make her look smitten.

Her heart skipped a beat when she looked to her side, noticing Elias was still asleep on his stomach, lips pulled in an involuntary pout. The thought of waking up next to him every morning found its way inside her brain, her chest filling with warmth as she let herself daydream. Because it was going to be just a daydream.

Amelia’s free hand tangled itself in his hair, softly massaging his scalp as a sense of peace made her blow out a sigh. Her eyes fell on the nearest clock just when Elias started to stir, a groan leaving his lips.

“Keep doing that,” he mumbled groggily, referring to Amelia’s motions on his scalp.

“Good morning to you, too,” Amelia giggled, fondly looking down at him, heart speeding up. His light eyes held tiredness as he looked at her, but she thought the look suited him, in some way.

“What time is it?”

“A little past nine,” she whispered, remembering a shipment of products was supposed to arrive by ten, the need to open the shop making her sigh. She wished she could spend the entire day in bed with Elias, her own thought leaving her quite shocked. How did she go from being cold, heartless towards the man sleeping next to her, to wishing to spend the day with him in the span of one night? She truly didn’t know if there was something wrong with her.

“Just in time for breakfast,” Elias muttered, sitting up against the bed frame and pulling Amelia closer to his body.

“I, uh- I’ve got to go open the store,” she mumbled. “It’s just Tuesday, you know,”

“Right,” Elias sighed, watching her as she awkwardly rolled out of bed. She started to search for her dress, at least until the guitarist pushed himself out of the bed too, opening the dresser and pushing some clothes her way. “Wear these, I can’t let you work in that dress,”

“Thank you,” Amelia said, voice a whisper as she let her eyes meet his. Tension filled the distance between them as Amelia pulled the large sweats and shirt over her body, thankful for the comfort they brought to her. Wearing the dress to work would have been an uncomfortable experience - especially if paired with a migraine -, and she was thankful Elias thought about it before she could.

Meanwhile, the guitarist was inside the en-suite, brushing his teeth as his eyes focused on her mirror reflection. “I owe you breakfast,” he slurred through the mouthful of toothpaste, spitting it out just after finishing his sentence. “Twice,”

“We’ll find a day to do that,” Amelia mumbled, joining him in front of the mirror to figure her hair out. She pulled it in a quick ponytail, walking back inside the main room to grab her purse and the rest of her belongings. “I just really have to go now,”

Elias nodded his head, joining her just to let his hands cup her cheeks, pulling her close for a gentle kiss. “Text when you get there,” he whispered, pulling away to kiss her forehead.

Amelia’s heart was ready to give out on her after his actions, her body automatically giving him a shaky nod before she headed towards the door, saying a weak ‘goodbye’. As she left the hotel, all she could think about was the way the morning had played out, how gentle Elias had been.

A little voice inside her head told her she could get used to it, but she shrugged it off. Loving a man like Elias unconditionally would lead to trouble, and she knew it. But if the moments she had just lived were part of what loving him would be like, then all she wanted was to be his.

To be his, unconditionally.

-----

Amelia didn’t expect it to go that far. She expected it to happen two times - both drunk and in need of release -, but she didn’t expect Elias to be that addicting. His voice, his touch, his kisses: they had all become something she couldn’t live without.

She found herself thinking about him at work, under the shower, right before bed, and she couldn’t even think of a life without him. To think she hated him, just a few months prior.

Amelia found herself accustomed to his hotel bed, spending more nights there than on her own, and Elias wasn’t one to push her away. She didn’t think he could. The way she looked at him - the same way he looked at her - was not usually how people looked at their one-night-stands - or friends-with-benefits, if you wanted to call it that.

To say she was confused was an understatement. The feelings inside her chest were something she hadn’t experienced before. They were called love, said an article online, and she had despised the word from the moment she had first seen it.

Amelia wasn’t ready to love Elias. Heck, she wasn’t ready to love, at all.

But when he looked at her, had sex with her, talked to her, all she could think about was love. As she headed towards the Kimpton Muse, under the streetlights and the New York moon, she wondered whether it was a good idea or not to be playing such a dangerous game. Opening herself up for him, letting him see all of her fragile parts, becoming vulnerable - it wasn’t something she wanted to do.

All the nights - and the morning after their second hookup especially - they had spent together had just been multiple mistakes. So, she entered the hotel with a task: making it clear that she wanted nothing to happen.

Amelia waved at the cute clerk down the hall, whose smile reached his eyes as he watched her pass by, before she headed towards the elevators. She didn’t exactly know why she was that nervous, but as she walked towards Elias’ room, she couldn’t help her hands from shaking.

There were slight sounds coming from his room, but she shrugged them off. When she reached his door, the sounds became more clear, more loud. They sounded like whimpers, grumbles of his voice occasionally reaching Amelia’s ears too.

She knocked. No response. She knocked a second time, waiting for anything to happen. Just when she was about to knock a third time, the door opened, revealing a disheveled Elias.

His pupils were dilated - their darkness replacing the light color of his orbs -, his lips were swollen, red, hair a knotty mess on top of his head. He gave her a once-over, the smirk Amelia knew so well painting his lips.

“Hey,” just his first waft of breath was enough to make her face scrunch. He smelled like pure alcohol, and even with one word she could tell he was slurring.

“Are you drunk?” Amelia asked with a whisper, looking around the hallway to see if anyone was around. She didn’t want the other rich patrons to see him in that state. Elias only laughed, nodding slightly.

“I also had some weed, such a shame you weren’t there to try it with me,” he slurred.

“Let’s get you back inside,” Amelia sighed, trying to push the door open just to be stopped by a loud yell.

“No!” Elias said, his own loud voice making him flinch. “No, don’t come in. Please, princess,”

His words had Amelia’s brows furrowing. She had been in his room countless times, why was he holding her back from entering? She had seen the hotel room in its messiest state, what was he worrying about?

“Elias, I can’t have people seeing you like this,” Amelia whispered, using just a small amount of force to let herself walk in. He was weaker than she had imagined him to be, letting her hands cup his cheeks to examine him quickly.

“Took you long, tiger,”

The voice was foreign in Amelia’s ears, the seductive tone sending shivers down her spine. She looked to her left, eyes falling on the messy king-sized bed where a much-sober girl was kneeling, half-naked.

The way Amelia’s heart fell to her stomach had her knees almost giving up on her. She gave the woman a quick look before glancing back at Elias, voice small. “I’ll, uh- I’ll leave you to that,”

“Amelia-”

“No, get back, Elias,” she whispered, the anger inside her staying at bay just because he was under the influence, basically unconscious. “I don’t- I don’t have time for this. Goodbye,”

Amelia was out of his room as quickly as she had entered, heart pounding. She found him with another girl. She walked inside the elevator in shock, eyes glazing with a set of tears she didn’t want to spill.

He didn’t deserve her tears, her attention even less.

That’s what she meant when she thought that loving him was going to be a mistake. At one point, she knew one of them would fuck up, break the other person’s heart, and then leave. That’s what she had foreseen, and that’s what had happened.

She had caught him with someone else and, even if they weren’t in a relationship, it hurt. Amelia didn’t know if what she was feeling for Elias was really love, but her reaction to heartbreak was enough to answer all her questions.

Throughout her month of being Elias’ friend-with-benefits, Amelia had fallen in love with him. She was admitting it.

One lone tear slid down her cheek just as the elevator’s doors opened, revealing the quite empty hall of the hotel. Amelia wiped her skin, taking a deep breath before starting to make her way out. A familiar voice caught her before she could leave, the dark, slicked-back hair she had grown to recognize appearing in front of her.

“Hi, Amelia,” Andrew, the clerk she had waved to just a few minutes prior - and also had talked to whenever she was at the hotel, waiting for a cab to get back home -, said. “How are you doing?”

“I’ve been better,” she chuckled sadly, running a hand through her hair. “What’s up, Andrew? I’m in kind of a rush,”

Andrew took a second to look at her, clearing his throat. “I was wondering if you were free tomorrow? There’s this new place in the Upper West Side, and I thought we could go there together?”

The sudden invite had Amelia shocked for a quick second, her eyes widening slightly before she could nod her head. She was going on a date. With someone that wasn’t Elias. “Uh- yes! Sure!”

Andrew smiled, it reached his eyes. He pushed a stray hair out of her face before slipping her his number, the smile still on his face. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Text me,”

He left Amelia on her own in the middle of the hall to get back to work, her heart hammering against her rib cage. She was going on a date with someone she genuinely liked, and it wasn’t even out of spite.

The events with Elias were quick to leave her mind as she thought about Andrew and how he had asked her out. Elias hadn’t even done that. She breathed out a sigh as she left the Kimpton Muse, heading back home for the night.

After what happened with Elias, all she needed was to move on. And Andrew was just the right person to do that with.

-

Amelia hadn’t been on a date in years. The last time she had been wined-and-dined had been more than a year prior to her date with Andrew, and it felt good to be back in the dating scene.

The restaurant Andrew had brought her to was the right amount of fancy, with finely dressed waiters and good food she would remember for a lifetime. The prices were affordable, and the wine was divine. It was the perfect place for a date, and the guy in front of her was the perfect date.

He had picked her up, helped her sit down at their table, and Amelia was pretty sure he was going to pay for her dinner. And he was listening to her, genuinely interested in what she was talking about, something Elias rarely did. He wasn’t one for talking.

Amelia shook her head at her brain’s mention of Elias, giving herself a mental slap for even thinking about him. She had a wonderful man in front of her, and there should have been no space for Elias during the date.

“I mean, the hotel is pretty crazy, right now,” Andrew kept talking, playing with the edge of his napkin as he did so. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, but there has been trouble with the employees and I’ve basically been reassigned,”

“Reassigned?” Amelia asked with a frown, tone coating with curiosity.

“I’m still at the check-in station, but we’ve lost the bartender due to an argument with our boss; so now I’m a bartender, I guess?”

Amelia giggled, shaking her head at the craziness of the situation. “So now you have to learn all those complicated drinks?”

“Yes,” Andrew groaned, burying his face in his hands before peeking at her through the gap between his fingers. “And all the rich entrepreneurs always ask for the most intricate shit. Like, man, I’m from the Bronx. I don’t even know where to begin with that Upper East Side bullshit,”

His last sentence made Amelia laugh, louder than she had laughed in what felt like ages. She was having fun, and the night felt young. Her phone - which had been long forgotten inside her clutch for the entirety of the evening - seemed to snap back to reality with its loud ringtone, Amelia’s eyebrows furrowing.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, heart skipping a beat when Andrew waved off her apology. He let his chin rest on the palm of his hand as he admired her, watching attentively the way her face scrunched into a frown after reading the name on the screen.

Elias.

Amelia didn’t know whether answering was the right choice to do. Her heart - as gentle as it had always been -, begged her to swipe right, ask why he was calling. Her brain, though, reminded her she was in the middle of a date, with a guy that actually cared. So she swiped left, her phone became silent again, and she put it back in her clutch.

Amelia couldn’t even open her mouth to restart the conversation before the ringtone bothered her and the rest of the restaurant-goers a second time. Another string of apologies left her mouth as he scrambled for her phone.

“You should probably take it,” Andrew mumbled, pointing towards the device with a tight-lipped smile.

Amelia nodded, that time swiping right and pressing the phone to her ear. “What do you want?” She asked, words quick, voice cold.

“To apologize, I don’t know what happened to me last night,” Elias stated, sounding more than tired. “And I owe you an explanation,”

“I don’t need an explanation,” the woman stated. “I have to go, I’m busy, right now,”

“Too busy for me? Why don’t you come over?” The cocky tone of his voice made Amelia roll her eyes. “I can apologize to you and then we can make up the adult way,”

Amelia’s nostrils flared as anger filled her system, a fist balling under the table. “I don’t have time for you,”

“Where are you? I can send a car to pick you up,”

“I’m on a date, Elias,” Amelia spat out, voice coated with anger. “And I’d very appreciate if you’d stop calling me, right now,”

There was silence on his end, Amelia breathing heavily after her small rant. She clenched her jaw, too angry to be faced with his silence. “Goodbye,”

She ended the call, putting her phone on silent before sliding it inside her clutch again, taking a deep breath before looking back up at Andrew. “I’m sorry, let’s just pretend this didn’t happen,”

“An ex calling you up again?” Andrew asked, a smile on his lips.

Elias wasn’t exactly an ex, but Amelia felt like she could consider him so. They had had a friends-with-benefits relationship - that partially leaned into more from her side, apparently -, he had broken her heart, and she was done with him. Too many times had she given him a second chance, he didn’t deserve her anymore.

“Yeah, I guess so,” she answered, taking a sip of her wine. “Back to you, though. You were saying?”

The night went back in full swing, the conversation with Elias long forgotten after a few minutes as Andrew and Amelia went back to their own world. Amelia’s forgotten phone lit up in her purse with a text she would eventually see at the end of the date, a text from Elias.

I really owe you an apology. Tomorrow night, Kimpton Muse.

-

Elias wasn’t happy. He hadn’t been happy for a while.

The hotel room was as plain as it had always been, but he seemed to realize it just then, while being in a state of numbness. The bags under his eyes were more prominent than he had thought they would be, and his hair had reached a state where it was impossible to fix.

He had closed himself up in his room after the night, and he wasn’t ready to leave it. If anyone of his bandmates had seen him in that state, he wouldn’t have lived another day in peace. He felt delusional, not just because he couldn’t get out of bed to even take a shower, but because he ruined the best relationship he had ever had with someone.

Amelia had become the ray of sunlight in his dark life, she had brought happiness to his depressing days stuck in his hotel room, and she had become his person. It was too bad he couldn’t figure out how to treat her correctly.

It was the way he couldn’t control his own self from being the careless asshole he really was that had pushed her to go on a date with someone else, and he had lost her. He was sure about that.

At eleven, he was lying in his bed in a pair of sweats and a wifebeater. His suitcase was packed, resting beside him on the bedside table was a ticket to Calgary, a ticket to go back home if things with Amelia didn’t fix.

He was tired of staying in a hotel room that didn’t feel like home, he was tired of New York, and he couldn’t live with his embarrassment anymore. He wanted to go back home and build himself a new life. If he was lucky, with Amelia.

Her name brought back memories inside his head, like the day they had spent in bed naked, together; or the time she talked about her family to him. Memories he hoped to relive, maybe more than once.

As much as Elias had hoped to see Amelia one last time, the knock on his door came as a shock. He didn’t think he’d be able to see her one last time, and he most certainly didn’t deserve to even give her an apology, that’s what his mind kept telling him.

He scrambled towards the door, trying to hide the empty beer bottles littering the floor behind the closest curtains. He didn’t want her to see the mess he had become. When he opened the wooden door, the sight of the girl he had grown to love - even if he didn’t show it - made his heart skip a beat.

“Hi,”

“Hi,” Amelia reciprocated the greeting, voice cold.

“Uh- come in,”

As Elias opened the door wider for her, he hoped she couldn’t see just what he had become after the night. Amelia didn’t take a seat on the couch, and neither on the armchair, so he stayed on his feet, too.

Silence filled the air as he watched her arms fold over her chest, her mouth in a thin line. It was clear that she didn’t want to be there, in front of him.

“I’m sorry,” Elias started, biting the insides of his cheek when Amelia’s jaw clenched. “I fucked up. That night was a mistake,”

“Just that night?” Amelia spat out, a dry chuckle leaving her lips. “You think that only that night was a mistake?”

Elias didn’t answer her questions, taking a moment to think of what to say. “I went to a house party and got shitfaced because I couldn’t help it. I- I was confused,”

“Elias, you called me,” Amelia hissed. “You called me when you were drunk in your room, asked me to join you, and then I had to be faced with the reality that I was right all along. Nothing ends well with you,”

The information spilling out of the woman’s mouth was new. He had called her? In his hungover head, she had come over out of the blue, catching him in the middle of something with a girl he didn’t even know the name of. “I called you?”

“You did,” Amelia said. “And I came over to help you, Elias. I came over to take care of you for the night, because I knew you wouldn’t, you never do,”

Her words made his heart clench, regret making his eyes blurry with tears. “I’m sorry,”

“I thought we could have had something,” Amelia whispered. “I really thought we could. I was ready to give you my world, help you become the best version of you,”

“Why would you do that for me?” Elias asked, body numb as he let his back slide against the wall, his body hitting the floor soon after.

“Because you deserve to be loved, too,” Amelia sniffled, a lone tear slipping down her cheek as she looked down at him. “And I loved you. Well, I still do, I guess,”

Elias’ eyes closed as soon as the words left her mouth. Regret, pain, heartache, all wrecked his body into little pieces as he tried to stay calm, the pain in her tone punctuating the truth behind her words.

“But this can’t work out,” she whispered, her own hand wiping her tears away as she took in a shaky breath.

As much as Elias wanted to understand where she was coming from, he didn’t want to see her go. He wasn’t ready to let her leave his life that quickly. He had fucked up, but something in him took over, something that could fix the mess that he had started. “It can, Amelia. We can make it work,”

Her jaw clenched, the heartbreak she was feeling slowly turning into anger. “This is one of the reasons we wouldn’t work, Elias,” she spat out. “You can’t take a no,”

“Come to Calgary with me,” he ignored her words, lifting himself up from the ground to grasp her hands. She pushed him away with a scroll, a look of disgust on her face. “We can start from zero over there, I’m sure we could work out,”

“I have a fucking life, Elias,” Amelia raised her voice, not caring if she looked crazy. “You think I’m going to drop everything for you? After everything you’ve done to me?”

“You could open a store over there, and we could live together in an apartment,”

“Oh. My. God,” she scoffed. “Do you hear yourself? My store is here, Elias. My people are here, and so is the guy I have a chance to date. I’m not going to leave just to make you happy,”

Her words felt like a slap to the man’s face. She didn’t want him, and he didn’t get the second chance he had begged for. He didn’t know why he had turned into such a selfish asshole by the time the conversation had shifted, but he regretted it. There was no way he could fix what he had done, and he knew it. No apology would make her change her mind.

“Amelia-”

“Loving you was a mistake,” she stated, taking a look around the room before heading towards the door. “I was just too dumb to see it,”

Her words seemed to engrave themselves inside Elias’ mind as he watched her leave, ending their conversation, and the relationship they had built as well. Elias was left on his own once more, regret making the tears that had coated his eyes fall down his cheeks.

He didn’t know what happened to him, what had gone through his head when he had proposed to her to leave the world behind and start from zero. Amelia had always been an independent woman, and he knew he had fucked up the moment her nostrils had flared. There was no coming back, though, that time.

So he made himself courage, grabbed his phone and called for a taxi. He looked at the plane ticket from the distance, grabbing it just after a few minutes of thinking before zipping up his suitcase.

Elias used the phone inside the room to order room service. He felt numb as the hums of the line rang through his head, emptying his brain of any thought. The voice of a man snapped him out of his trance, his voice cutting the clerk off. “A dry martini,”

“Loving you was a mistake,” her words still rang through his head as he ended the call, their truth making his heart clench. He was unlovable, and it was all his fault. “I was just too dumb to see it,”

Taglist: @thirstyybitch @bellaguarneri @boqvistsbabe @trashforbarzal @tonguetiedstan​ @keithseabrook27 @heatherawoowoo​ @tysonsjosty​ @besthockeyfics​

[princess-butters]

Just a celebrity [knj X reader]

A/n: Hi, I know it’s been a while since my last post, I legit have no excuse except that it’s procrastination and that I had no ideas to go by, I still don’t, but I’m trying my best to write as much as I can now. I have a fanfic in the works that I have coming up and it’s hard to write each chapter without it being mostly filler and actually relevant to the story, you know? It’s actually something that’s been in the works for almost 4. Fucking. Years. and I’m just now writing most of the chapters I have planned. It’s somewhat of a short story too which I’m glad because I was really worried it would be too long and dragged out with said filler but what I do have is a character introduction to the characters. It’s not all of them but it’s at least something to begin the story so once it’s done, I can post it and show you guys what I’m working on. But anyways I’m getting sidetracked. This was originally supposed to be for an imagine but it became too long and I decided it should be its own story so enjoy.

Warnings: [TW // Mentions of forced strict diet, and starvation, Namjoon really wants to eat but can’t because of his company, description of being underweight. Fluff with bits of angst. Y/n is a cynical bitch to Namjoon in the beginning but warms up to him at the end of their first encounter. It’s a fluffy relationship at the end. If I’m missing any TW, please let me know.]

Word count: 1.8k

Your first interaction with Namjoon was during his concerts in Korea since you were studying abroad and your friend, whom you’ve met online and was the sole reason why you wanted to move here, told you about a K-pop group that had debuted a while ago and it’s safe to say that you...didn’t care too much for their music and you only went to their concert to support your friend who was quickly becoming a big fan of them. It’s a unique story, really, it’s not your simple story of a fangirl who goes to some concert and one of the members sees them in the audience and brings them backstage. No, this was completely different. You never had the desire about fantasizing idols when you were younger, now that’s not to say that you didn’t enjoy music because you did, hell, you even own band merch that you still proudly wear but you never found them to be attractive like most fans would and always saw them just as artists.

While Namjoon did spot you and your friend in the crowd, he didn’t tell some security guard so you could exchange phone numbers – it was by complete accident and fate one day when you were walking home from the grocery store to pick up some food for you and your friend until you heard someone bolting towards you, running away from something that seemed serious. Annoyed and a bit taken back by his actions at first, you glance behind you not expecting much but what you didn’t expect was the amount of crazed fangirls heading your way. Gasping as you saw the hurdle of fans, your feet were stuck planted on the ground, standing there frozen with fear as the young, violent fans inched closer and closer, pushing each other around like a bunch of wild animals, until you felt the warmth of someone’s hand, presumably the same guy from earlier.

“Come on, don’t just stand there like a crazy person! I know a place where we can get rid of them!” He sounded young, about your age, the young musician took your hand in his and dragged you with him.

And that’s how you became stuck with each other behind some gritty, old building, trash bins and garbage all over the bleak scenery, you and the young musician huddled up together in-between two dumpsters as the loud and obnoxious cheers of fans faded out into the air. Both sighing with relief, you look up at him unimpressed.

“I guess this is your everyday lifestyle?” You question the young star and he lets out a heavy sigh, still trying to catch his breath from running so fast. It probably didn’t help matters that he was also dragging you along with him.

“You haven’t seen the worst of it. I usually find these girls in my room.” He tells you nonchalantly, like he’s used to it at this point.

“Shouldn’t that be considered trespassing?”

“Yeah but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m a big star around here and what these girls want, they’ll sure as hell get it.”

“Wow. And here I thought you were just another puppet for the music industry.” You reply back with a snarky undertone, lifting yourself up from the ground and wiping any muck and dirt left on your clothes. The young musician didn’t take your words kindly and narrowed his eyebrows together.

“Hey listen, it’s not as easy as you may think. Just be thankful you’re still alive because if they had caught you, you would’ve been roadkill by now.” He commented as if it was a statement of fact.

“I barely know you!” You argued, lifting your arms up to emphasize your point.

“Doesn’t matter to them. They see some girl out with a popular celebrity, they become lions and you’re their prey.”

You roll at his comment, thinking he’s just over-exaggerating. “Well thank you for the joyride, but I really should get back to my apartment.”

“What did you get?” He asks curiously as he stares at your bag full of food, he sounded like a kid who saw a bag full of candy on Halloween.

“Black bean noodles with rice on the side.” You explain to him simply, going over to make sure you got exactly what you needed and it didn’t fall out while you were running.

The man rests his hand against his stomach, it begins rumbling with hunger as he heard those three words. He hasn’t eaten since yesterday because of the intense and strict schedule his company has forced him to go through and he would be lying right now if he said he wasn’t hungry. “Black bean noodles? That sounds really good! That’s one of my favorite dishes, I haven’t had something like that in a while.”

You cross your arms, thinking it was his way of attempting to relate to you on some level. “Oh please, you’re a star! I bet you eat everything that’s handed to you.” You didn’t mean for it to come out so cold and bitter but you couldn’t help yourself, this was some celebrity and you’ve had a dislike for them because a lot of them are just stuck-up snobs who bully everyone lower class than them. The man gives you a look that even you couldn’t figure out, almost like he was envisioning the different foods he wished he could eat but couldn’t.

“I wish it were that simple. My company would kill me if they saw me eating anything like that, I’m forced to be on a strict diet and I’m barely allowed to eat a granola bar let alone noodles.”

Shocked by his explanation, you lower down your arms and began feeling bad for making such assumptions. You alternate looking between him and the food, clearly the thought of him starving had profusely disturbed you and you couldn’t help but send an expression of empathy and sadness to the lone musician. When you decided to speak up once more, your voice went up an octave, softly responding back in a more friendly manner, it was your discreet way of apologizing to the poor guy for being so harsh. “Really? I’ve never got it before. My friend likes them and practically begged me to get it for her.”

“Your friend has good taste. I guess I better get going, the fans have died down and it’s probably safe for me to leave. It was nice meeting you.”

“Yeah.” You mindlessly say as you watch him turn around before you could say anything else but when he rounds the corner, you quickly find your voice once again and call out to him, hoping he hasn’t left just yet. “Hey! If you want to, why don’t you come over and have dinner?”

He emerges from the side and leans against the bricks walls, hands in his pockets like he’s trying to protect himself from the freezing cold. “I can’t. Mostly because we don’t know each other and my company would kill me if I ate something that wasn’t on their list which is not many, to be honest.”

You slowly walk up towards him and look at him directly, taking a minute to look at his features. Poor thing looked like he was starving himself, even though you’ve never liked idols and found them all to be the same mindless puppets, it can’t be said for this guy. His cheek bones were hollowed, he’s skinny but to an unhealthy standard, and his eyes were baggy and darkened around the sockets, almost sunken in. You couldn’t tell if it was from a lack of sleep, starvation, or both. You hesitate for a moment before placing your mitten hand on top of his exposed hand. “But you’re starving. I can’t let you walk away and not have something.”

“I really can’t.”

“Please? I really don’t want to leave you in this state and the food I have isn’t that bad for you.”

After realizing that you’re not gonna give up on this and that you really were serious, he took a second to think it over. The thought really was enticing and he would be lying to himself once more if he said he wasn’t interested and desperate to eat anything, even if it came from a complete stranger, and he knew the food was legit because well, he can see it very clearly. “Well...alright.”

Once you heard his confirmation, you show a small smile and nodded with him. “Then it’s settled! Off to my house we go!” You latch onto his arm and begin walking home with him when another thought came to mind and halted in your steps. “Oh yeah, you’d better wear your disguise or we’re gonna be running from your psycho fans. I didn’t even catch your name.”

A chuckle came out of him as he placed his cap snug on his head and his mask covering half of his face, the only thing visible were his eyes, everything else made him seem like he was invincible to the public eye. “My name’s Namjoon.”

“So you’re that Namjoon guy my friend always talks about! Oh boy, this is gonna be fun.” You smirk to yourself as you two resume walking, the thought of your friend acting like a complete psycho in front of her bias entertained you.

Once you and Namjoon arrived at your place, your first instinct when you walked through the front door was give an explanation to your friend about why you were late and how worried she was. When you told her what had happened and showed her evidence to prove your case, her reaction was a lot more different than how she usually is. Throughout the evening, you and Namjoon got along fairly well—with the exception of your friend asking him benign questions about his career as an idol and if the other members are exactly the same in real life—you would frequently apologize for her erratic behavior as it worried you it would make the idol uncomfortable but he says it’s nothing compared to what he always hears from fangirls.

You and Namjoon surprisingly hit it off at the end of the night and you exchanged phone numbers when he was about to leave and promised each other you would meet again soon, this time without your friend in the picture. After he left, thoughts began to provoke and you wondered to yourself that maybe, just maybe, you were wrong about idols for once.

And now let’s look at today’s events, where are you and Namjoon right now in your relationship? Well one thing’s for certain is that you two are officially dating and have been since 2017, two years after your initial meeting. When you two became more comfortable with each other, he had invited you over to the dorms and introduced you to his members, to which they immediately welcomed you into their group with open arms, you’ve actually become best friends with some of them. It’s been a fun and crazy ride, exploring different countries and cultures had never crossed your mind before but now you can safely say that it’s been one of the best things to have ever happened in your life. You were fortunate to have somebody like him and him you because along the way, you have made each other better, Namjoon had taught you that being guarded and stubborn shouldn’t lock you out of the world and it’s okay to let your guard down sometimes, and you taught him that just because he was an idol doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be any boundaries and that he was a human being first.

Whenever the media caught wind of your relationship, they always thought it was just a fling and that the two of you would break up like everybody else in the industry but so far, you have proved each and every one of them wrong and now both you and Joon don’t give two shits about what everybody says.

[dylan-o-yumm]

Hi how about Nero’s struggling with demonic feelings as he’s just activated his true devil trigger and he’s having sexual thoughts about being in devil trigger but he can’t do it with Kyrie because he’d rip her apart literally and he starts finding himself attracted to female devils? Just a random thought I was having lol

Warnings: Rough sex, biting, hair pulling, choking, breaking furniture, dt sex, tiniest bit of oral, fem reader, talk of cheating, but this is all consensual! Nothing about this is labeled as Nero being unfaithful to Kyrie.

Note: Look, we all know he’d never sleep with another person when he’s in a relationship with Kyrie, but for the sake of fiction… Lol (Also I haven’t written in MONTHS so this is trash, I apologise) IMPORTANT NOTE! I won’t be taking any more requests. I will go back to writing more, and you guys can always come fill my inbox with Nero thoughts or literally whatever, but I’m struggling with requests atm so I’m just gonna put that on hold for now. Thanks for understanding, lovelies. 

“Look, you’re cute and all, but I’m not going to have sex with you. You’re not exactly single, Nero…” You state in a matter-of-fact tone as you enter the van after an easy and quick mission with the white haired devil hunter. A bunch of lesser demons here and there, nothing too big or scary to exhaust you of all your energy.

You’d been friends with Nero for years, going on missions with him whenever you could, meeting up on days off and hanging out with him and his beautiful soon-to-be wife. You had heard and done many odd things with him in the past, but this was definitely the weirdest thing he had ever asked of you… and most inappropriate? Mature? Sexual?

“You’re lucky I’m not going straight to Kyrie and telling her you’re an unfaithful, cheating, little—“ You begin, voice rising and getting more and more aggressive with every word. Even your eyes began to glow a bright red, getting beyond pissed off for your dear friend, the adorable little songstress. Nero had no right to ask you for sexual favours when he was meant to be in a happy relationship with her. If he wasn’t in a relationship with her though… well, that would be another story.

He was a very handsome devil, even more so after he cut his hair and… you know, grew an arm back. You even had a crush on him before you met Kyrie, following him around like a lost puppy until you quickly realised he had eyes for someone else. Eh, it happens.

“She’s okay with it! Jesus calm down…” Nero raised his voice, unable to meet your eyes as a dark red shade covered his cheeks. He was obviously nervous and embarrassed about what he had asked of you, yet here he was, still trying to convince you.

On your way back to the van only a few minutes prior, Nero was telling you how he was finding himself more and more rough and… a little over excited in the bedroom as they days went on. He was concerned for Kyrie’s safety since he feared he’d end up hurting her, and wondered if he could “let off some steam” with a demon girl such as yourself.

You knew he would end up hurting Kyrie if he kept trying to be gentle with her, all while his demonic side was screaming for more. Hell, he’d rip her apart. Sleeping with a human when you had a raging demon inside of you, desperately clawing its way out, hungry for more… it rarely ended well.

You knew what Nero needed and you guessed he had figured it out too, since he was asking you, of all people, to help him out. It just felt wrong while he was still dating Kyrie. If he left her, then you’d have no problem with it… only, he would have broken your best friends heart and therefore you’d stomp him into the ground… Okay, maybe there would be a problem with it.

“She’s okay with it? Am I meant to just believe that?” You frown, crossing your arms over your chest and waiting for Nero to stop lying.

“Yeah…? It was actually her idea.” Nero stated softly this time, scratching his nose in embarrassment. You couldn’t help but scoff and turn away from him. There was no way he was telling the truth! “Look, I know it’s weird, but you’re the only demon chick I know and actually trust. And Kyrie trusts you too, so doesn’t that count for something?” Nero continued, reaching out to you, desperately trying to get you to believe him, trust him.

That was the thing, you did trust him. So, why was it so hard for you to believe him on this?  

Narrowing your eyes, Nero could tell you were still clearly suspicious.

“You wanna call her right now and see if I’m lying or not?” He waved his hand over to the phone sitting on the dash of the van, surrounded by Nico’s discarded cigarette buds.

“Yes, actually I do.”

~*~

Turns out Kyrie was okay with it. She set some rules and begged you not to sleep with Nero more than what was needed to help his demonic urges, to which you swore on your life it would never happen again without her say so. It must have been hard for the sweet, little songstress, but she seemed rather… okay with it, oddly enough. She trusted both you and Nero 100% and knew you’d both respect her wishes no matter the cost.

Which is why you were able to look down at Nero’s golden eyes and angelic blue skin as his pointed teeth sunk into the armoured flesh of your thigh. Your backside was resting atop the workbench in your garage while your clawed fingers scratch Nero’s scalp, combing through his long white hair.

The two of you thought you might as well bring things back to your place, save the van from any damage that was bound to happen from two demons fucking like wild animals. Also you knew Nico wouldn’t appreciate the stench of sex in her van… so there was that too.

The longer Nero’s sharp teeth teased your thighs and groin, the armoured plating between your legs slowly parted, opening up to reveal your slick, wet folds that were throbbing and clenching for him. You were eager to see and feel just how big he was, ready for him to fill your cunt and plow you as hard as he wanted. The thought alone made you bite your lip and inch your hips close to his face.

His eyes widened when he finally saw your heat, and you could see his cheeks reddening even when his skin was the gorgeous blue that it was. He inched forward shyly before parting his lips and letting his tongue slither along your slick, tasting your arousal. You hummed, wanting more. He growled, needing more.

“I would like for this to be a one time thing — for Kyrie’s sake, so make sure to be as rough and wild as you need to be… Satisfy all your demonic urges, handsome” Your voice was breathy and distorted, rumbling in your throat and echoing off your tongue. You continued to play with his hair, leaning back on one hand to get a better view of him between your legs, cursing yourself for already wanting this more than this one time.

He simply looked up at you with a newfound hunger in his eyes as he sunk his teeth into your thigh, breaking through the armoured skin and drawing blood. You purred, biting your lip and stifling the little smirk that threatened to pull at the corners of your mouth, watching his long, dark tongue lap at the crimson droplets.

“Should we have a safe word?” Nero wondered, his voice also distorted, sending tingles down to your core. Even now, he was still very sweet and caring, though he was licking your blood off his lips and the look in his eyes was dangerous and hungry, like a wolf staring down its prey. Your legs quivered in excitement.

“Nah. I’m stronger than you anyway, I’ll just push you away or knock you out if you go overboard” You hummed innocently, tilting your head to the side in a teasing manner. You couldn’t have him worrying or holding himself back, otherwise this would all be for nothing. He’s meant to be letting loose and satisfying the beast— or in this case, demon — within.

He scoffed and shook his head with a little ‘all right then.’

“Hey,” you grabbed his chin in your talon-like claws and forced him to look up at you. Your voice dropped to a commanding tone, serious and almost threatening as you leaned down to get closer to his face, your heated breaths making the strands of hair by his face sway back and forth. You give him the permission he needs, you demand, order him to let go.

“Go overboard.”

Nero’s eyes widen ever so slightly, his blue lips parting as he stares up at you like an innocent puppy begging to be pet. You can practically feel his heart beat thumping excitedly as you continue to hold his chin, being mindful of the cute little spikes.

“I can take it.” You whisper, nodding slowly as your eyes flutter down to his lips. You so desperately want to kiss him, but you refrain from doing so. Even though you were about to be very intimate with him, kissing him just felt too… wrong? Kyrie didn’t say she had anything against you kissing him, but he was still hers, you weren’t about to start selfishly kissing him just because you want to.

Either way, Nero doesn’t give you time to kiss him as he stands up abruptly and causes you to quickly flinch back, not wanting him to headbutt your chin on his way up. He quickly grabs your wrist before you can fall backwards, holding you steady as he slots himself between your thighs.

He smirks at you, and at first you thought it was just because he was being cocky, but as you raised an eyebrow to question him, his grip on your wrists tightened and he bought you hands up above your head, pushing you back roughly until your back slams against the workbench.

You legs instinctively come up to rest on his hips as he leans over you, the workbench being the perfect height for him to stand and fuck you while you lie down on your back. There was a slight pain in the back of your head from being slammed down, but you only purr in delight, too turned on to even care at this point.

The plating on his crotch was still hiding his cock, much to your disappointment. Meaning you had to work for it, just like he did for you.  

Your hips grind and rotate against him as he leans down to bite and suck on your neck, the both of you panting and moaning as Nero’s plates slowly open up.

Your hands explore his back, tangling up his Rapunzel-like hair as your fingers dip over every curve and bump of his muscles. His body moving against yours as he grinds against your wet heat is addictive, his chest and stomach brushing up against your torso, as if teasing you that he isn’t yours.

But you’re okay with that.

Finally feeling his cock rutting against your sopping cunt and not the hard plating that shielded him away from you, you shiver in delight and bite your lip. Looking down, you see what you had been waiting for. His fully erect, thick, veiny cock, leaking precum and dribbling onto your plated stomach.

“Shit…” You cuss as your eyes widen at the sight of him, practically drooling.

“Don’t go runnin’ scared now” Nero smirks cockily as he looks down at himself then back up at you through his pretty eyelashes.

Your eyes meet his as you can only scoff, playfully shoving him away but just as quickly pulling him back to you. Wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him down, you bite his ear harshly, earning a pleased shiver from the devil hovering over you.

“You gonna stand there all day talking about your dick, or are you gonna put it to good use?” You tease, purring into his ear after licking where you bit.

When he doesn’t speak or move, you wonder if you had offended him, placing your clawed hands on the sides of his face to get him to look at you. Though, when you expect to see him pouting or frowning, you’re taken aback when you see his lips curled upward and his sharp teeth shining at you. You open your mouth to question him, but get cut off abruptly by your own scream of pain, pleasure and surprise.

“Hnng—holy fuck! Give a girl some warning next time, asshole!” You screech as his cock rests comfortably inside your velvety walls. He had pushed himself all the way in to the hilt in one swift motion, giving you no chance to adjust to his thickness, but to be completely honest, his roughness only turned you on all the more.

“Still don’t want a safe word, you little baby?” He mocks, teasing you by not moving his hips an inch. All you could feel was his hard member throbbing excitedly against your slick walls, making you whine out, desperate for him to give it to you good and hard.

You shake your head, managing to smirk back at him as your hands move up to the back of his head, tangling in his white hair and pulling him down so you can latch your lips onto his neck. Biting, licking, kissing, pleading with your actions for him to please fucking move.

He seems to get the hint.

His hand suddenly worms its way between your lips and his neck, cupping your mouth as he parts himself from you. He keeps his hand there for a moment, leaning back to stare down at your awaiting body before he slowly drags it down to your neck. Wrapping his fingers delicately around your throat, claws digging into the back of your neck but he doesn’t squeeze or press down.

His long tongue snakes over his pointed teeth, that same cocky grin on his lips as he finally draws his hips back and slams forward as fast and hard as he can. Not giving you a second to adjust or brace yourself as he repeats the action over and over and over again.

“Oh, my fucking— ah!” You gasp and yelp, eyes squeezing shut. The pain subsided quickly as the tip of his cock brushed against the spongy spot within your walls, causing a whole slur of cusses and moans to spill past your lips as you claw and scratch at his armoured back.

“Fuckin’ tight” He growls, claws digging into you, eyes darkening and his movements growing harsher and harsher by the second.

You last about ten thrusts before you feel the workbench wobbling a bit too much for you liking, lurching back and forth in time with his thrusts. Your mind is a bit too focused on his thick cock nicely massaging your insides to even worry about potentially breaking the bench, though when you hear a crack sound from underneath you, your moans come to an abrupt stop.

Nero’s eyes are shining a dark red, much different to his angelic golden orbs that you’re used to seeing. He’s clearly giving in to his demonic urges like you wanted, only…

“Uh… Nero—“ You’re cut off when the bench suddenly cracks even louder and you’re suddenly falling to the floor. The wooden bench crumbles in pieces, the legs caving in and folding at an awkward angle as it finds its new home on the floor of your garage.

You wonder why your back hasn’t hit the floor yet, still waiting for the impact. Though when your focus pulls back to Nero — who hadn’t stopped fucking you — you are surprised to see two angelic, blue wings curled around to support your weight. Much softer than you imagined, cozy and warm like a nice blanket for you to cuddle into while you have your guts rearranged.

Your eyes roll back as you focus back on Nero completely, your hands coming down to grip at his forearms. You have no idea how the workbench breaking managed to take your mind off of what he is doing to you because, damn does he know how to put his hips to good use.

“You’re still holding back… I can tell” You whimper. While he was pleasing you very nicely, you had to remember why you were here with him.

He responds with a dark growl that shakes your entire body, even feeling it rumble deep within your chest. You gasp as he suddenly has you up right, slamming your back into the drywall and moving his wings to shelter you in. His hands grip your ass tightly, squeezing your cheeks as best he can while the plating protects your body.

“Better?” He growls, his voice somehow deeper and scarier, though the fact that he’s slowly letting loose and giving you his all has you dripping your arousal all over his cock and onto the floor.

You nod frantically as your eyes roll to the back of your head again, the new angle somehow letting him reach places you didn’t even know were possible to reach. The textured plating on his lower stomach brushed against your swollen clit from this angle, stimulating you everywhere you needed to be stimulated.

It suddenly dawned on you why you were here right now. There is no way Kyrie would ever survive this. This was far too dangerous for a human. The tip of his cock would be right up at your throat if he fucked you like this in your human form. You’d be split into two.

He effortlessly picked you up and dropped you back down onto his cock, all while thrusting up into you at the same time. Your moans turned into screams and you wouldn’t be surprised if someone came knocking on your door, asking if you were okay. Obviously, you were more than okay.

You hear a crunch beside your head, turning ever so slightly when Nero cusses under his breath to see his ethereal wing had crashed through the wall in his excitement. Flakes of white drywall fall onto his feet as he pries his wing out, sadly making an even bigger hole in the process.

You want to make a comment about him paying for the things he’s broken, but your words die on your tongue as you grip his shoulder tightly. He holds you down on his leaking cock as he brings you to the floor, sitting on his knees before setting you down.

“You keep squeezin’ my dick like that,’m not gonna last much longer” Nero snaps, almost sounding angry at you as he flips you over onto your stomach effortlessly. You hadn’t even noticed how your walls were acting to him, but now that you were aware of it, they were continuously clamping down around him and sucking him in deeper, trying to keep him trapped within your slick.

“Stop whining and fuck me, asshole” You huff back.

“My pleasure.” He purrs before gripping your hip with one hand, digging his talons into the softer part of your skin and scratching you up. The marks healed quickly, but he continued to tear into you, whether on purpose or not, you didn’t quite care. His other hand went to your hair, pushing your head down so your ass was up for him and your cheek was pressed against the cool cement of your garage floor.

Nero props his right foot up beside your ribs while the left lies flat on the floor, his knee supporting half of his weight, and his right foot supporting the other half. From this position, he easily grips your hips and fucks into you at a brutal pace, giving you no time to brace yourself.

His hips smack against yours loudly, causing you to lurch forward with each hit, but thankfully his large hands move you right back to his cock, keeping you nice and full. The stretch had you crying out, feeling his thickness split you open with every pass, all his veins rubbing against your tightness…

Your eyes roll back yet again and your tongue flops out of your mouth as you take everything he’s giving to you. You can’t help but smile dumbly, completely fucked out and you hadn’t even cum yet.

“S-so good…Keep g-going!” You moan, digging your palms into the floor and pushing yourself back onto him as best you can. The noises he makes in return are completely arousing, if you weren’t already dripping on his cock, you’d be soaking through your panties for sure.

He pistons inside you at a great speed, using all his demonic strength to please you and himself. Poor little Kyrie is missing out, you shamefully think to yourself. Your hips start to hurt after a while, the constant slamming of his against your own creating a dull ache. Nothing you can’t handle, you honestly loved it.

“I’m cl—oooh!” You moan as he shifts his hips ever so slightly so his cock hits your sweet spot over and over and over. You don’t bother trying to speak again, figuring he got the hint as he somehow sped up even faster.

Another minute passes and you’re a whimpering, moaning mess. Drool oozes out of your mouth and glides down your cheek while you struggle to even keep your eyes open as you dance on the edge of your orgasm.

Your thighs shake intensely as you cry out, tears pooling in your eyes as your claws scratch and permanently dent the floor. Your walls spasm around Nero’s cock as your climax washes over you, biting your bottom lip to keep from screaming too loud, but it doesn’t stop you from whining as loud as possible, almost sobbing as the pleasure begins to be too much.

Nero grunts and groans as he continues to fuck you roughly, snapping his hips against yours a few more times before his movements stutter and he’s moaning loudly up at the ceiling. You squeak from overstimulation as you feel his cock twitch excitedly inside you before a warm, sticky fluid is coating your inner walls and filling you up nicely.

Nero whimpers as he pulls out of you and collapses onto the floor beside you, while you continue to hold your ass in the air and let the cold air cool the heat between your legs. You stay like that for a moment, before letting yourself shift back to your human form, a bright, golden light shining in the garage before you’re laying there, no longer armoured or demonic looking.

Perks of devil triggering before sex? No need to get dressed. Your clothes were back on your body in an instant.

Rolling over onto your back, you pant heavily as you stare up at the ceiling. Covered in sweat, hair sticking to your forehead, thighs and groin burning, and a dull ache throbbed within your walls. Your pussy clenched around nothing, causing cum to dribble out of you and stain the floor. Perfect, you thought. You couldn’t help but grin as your mind stayed in its own little daze from the brutal, but delicious, fucking you just received.

Nero pants heavily as well, his body shining a gorgeous blue before he is back to his human form, laying beside you, also staring up at the boring ceiling. His legs felt like jelly, but other than that, he had this oddly calm and relaxed feeling deep inside him. It was like his demonic side had been completely satisfied and decided to go to sleep for a while.

He sighs with a smile, a sign that he’s relaxed and this whole… thing, seemed to work out. You turn your head to the side to look at him, beginning to chuckle softly, just at the sheer randomness of this whole situation. Nero starts to chuckle too until both your soft laughter is all that can be heard in the small garage.

“I hope you can make love to your fiancé without almost killing her now.” Reaching over, you pat his chest three times before forcing yourself to sit up, ready to go back to your normal life and go to cook dinner for yourself.

[multifandom--imagine]

Underwater (borra x fem!reader)

N / A: ok I saw Maleficent yesterday and it was a really good movie! And well what to say? I fell in love with Borra, I still fell in love with Diaval and so much more. Excuse me for my awful English, I am Italian bish

The waves were tongues of obsidian, the foam rusted the wood of the boat, the colored fabric of the sails broke like the skin from the flesh, the thunder crashed into the vast sea of ​​the kingdom. The screams of your father who kept repeating "down the sails!" echoes in your mind, as you see the crew startled and confused by the unrestrained storm that hindered your return home. The life of sailors is not easy, your father has always reminded you, but that night, you thought that nothing could have saved you. From the bowels of the sea, a wall of water rose up that only when you remembered, your skin get upset with terror, it was only a matter of a few seconds before it hit your ship with a deafening blow making it overturn and swallowing it deep in the abyss. you feel your body slip away from the ship, while you screamed desperately at your father's name, then a violent dip in the water made you lose consciousness and from that moment there is darkness.

Your eyes snapped open and you screamed out of your lips a terrified gasp, your forehead was beaded with sweat, while your skin stiffened because of the sudden feeling of frost. You were lying on the ground, in place that was unknown to you, it looked like a cave, maybe you were shipwrecked somewhere? With the last thread of voice that you had left you called your father's name in fright, but I received no answer but your echo. You tried to stand up but a dizziness forced you to lose your balance and fall to the ground, then you dragged yourself close to the nearest wall and leaned against it, you started to walk slowly towards the hypothetical exit of that cave. Were you terrified, and if there were animals or banquets? How would you defend yourself? "Is anybody there?" you asked worried.

You observed the landscape in front of you but there was not much to see, it was pitch dark and this was not improving the situation. You had to stay in the cave or maybe venture to seek help. As absurd as it could be, you gathered all the courage possible and bracollando you entered the dense vegetation. "Is anyone there? I am unarmed, please do not attack me" you said to some possible passerby, hoping it was not a desert island. Yet something in you you felt a little voice that told you that you were not alone in that place, you felt that something was there, you felt the disturbing feeling of a pair of eyes that followed you with every step. Suddenly you felt the dry throat and the distant sound of rustling water, made your eyes light up. You dragged yourself out of the vegetation finding a small pond in front of you, without thinking twice you knelt and quenched your thirst, also washing your face steeped in salt and sweat. In fact, only now did you realize your unkempt and dirty appearance, probably better to give yourself a wash, so as to disinfect the few wounds you had gotten yourself in the sinking.

Taking a quick look around, you quickly get rid of your ruined clothes and touching the water of the lake with your feet you could feel the temperature being slightly cold. Little by little you submerged yourself until the water touched your shoulders, you inclined your head backwards to wet your hair, at that moment your eyes narrowed and it was then that you placed yourself in front of you new that frightening wave that swept you and your crew. Your eyes barred scared and breathing hard, you felt like the feeling of being underwater, as if the salt had clogged your nostrils and your lungs filled with water. You brought a freaky mouth to your mouth trying to fight those demons inside your head. But meanwhile another demon was staring at your figure between the thick and dark vegetation. A human, a small and frightened human. It was almost a tender mink if it weren't for its non-magical nature. Yet despite that, those eyes looked at every inch of the girl's body, while in her mind the hatred clashed with the sudden physical attraction, which slowly drank her tense nerves.

"Who is there?" suddenly the young woman's trembling voice made the magical creature awaken from her thoughts. A languid smile rippled in her thin lips, it would have been fun to play with this new prey. "Oh believe me, in the depths of your heart you know you don't want to know" a hoarse voice rose up in the bushes, making you stop your heart for a few moments. "Are you a bandit?" you asked trembling as a light laugh echoed low in the dark. "A bandit you say?" he asked ironically "Oh you humans are so dull as well as being ruthless" Human? Was he a freak? "Why don't you come out into the open?" you asked, trying to defend yourself, while your arms covered your breast, a threatening growl made you almost jump. "I ask the questions here" said the male voice as the trees slowly seemed to move, your eyes barred with terror when you saw a mighty dark figure behind you on the water. The thing that made you shiver was those long horns that protruded from his head. "Come on, why don't you turn around?" the monster asked in a teasing tone "Didn't you want the beast to come out in the open?" he whispered hoarsely in your ear, brushing your skin with his sharp teeth.

Your spine was shaken by a sinister shiver and you half-closed your eyes and whispered "Is it hell?" you asked, feeling like a fool "Am I dead?" at that point the rough fingers helped by the sharp nails traced a slight outline on your neck moving your wet hair on your right shoulder. A guttural laugh preceded his words. "Oh no little flower, you are alive and well, to your misfortune" the monster said, savoring the scent of your wet hair, and then grabbing your face with a firm hand making you turn towards him. "And until you tell me who brought you here, I will enjoy eating you inch by inch" he said a step from your lips. You opened your eyes with fear, finding yourself in front of a hollow face of a young man with long tousled hair, his eyes were something scary but at the same time magnetic, as if they were devouring your soul, but the even more shocking feature was its enormous wings, the plumage seemed similar to one of those wild but at the same time majestic birds of prey that you had seen with your father in the eastern deserts. "Mmmmh...I could start with this nice little arm" he said in a threatening winged monster tone, pulling your left arm from your breast too easily, bringing your wrist closer to his teeth. Obviously he knew he was playing his part well, he would never have devoured a human, but it was delightfully fun to see your body tremble, while your eyes were strained by tension. "Borra! Leave that girl immediately!" another male voice echoed towards the shores of the lake, you turned and your eyes met another winged man with a dark complexion and long black hair adorned with braids. The man who apparently was called Borra raised his eyes to the sky, giggling profoundly. "Oh come on Conall! How did I not understand that it was you who brought this little poultice to our land?" he replied ironically.

“Her ship was hit by the last storm, she is the only survivor of her crew” Conall explained, still waiting for Borra to leave your naked body alone. "So?" Borra asked with disinterested approaching his teeth towards your wrist in a threatening way, in panic you turned towards the other man, silently imploring help. "And then I couldn't let her die" the raven tried to justify himself. "This does not change things, you know that humans have exterminated our population and forced us into exile and she is a human" replied Borra agonized. "I will keep her under my wing, I will teach her our customs and culture, you will see that she is not like the others, she would have already attacked you" he tried to object Conall. A few moments passed that for you were centuries and when you turned towards Borra's eyes he gave a sinister smile, which caused the rubbing of his canines on your wet skin, you thought he would bite you and instead he placed a kiss on your wrist, letting go of your arm. "All right, my friend, today I feel quite magnanimous and I agree with you, but on one condition..." he said as suddenly a wing of his enveloped your body away from Conik's viksta "I will take care of her, on my way"continued the other man with a small grin “You can be sure that I will not twist a hair, you have my word" Borra finally explained resting his hand on his muscular chest.

Conall threw you a glance at this point, noticing your worried face peeping out from Borra's wing and with a light sigh hovered in the air with a flap of wings. "I'll come to see her every now and then to see if you don't lie" said the raven and then disappeared who knows where. You remained silent until a draft of icy wind made you remember your clothes on the shore of the lake, so you started to take them back and while you were about to dress again, you threw a sgaurdo to the winged monster in front of you who kept looking at you without the minimal shame. "Could you please look elsewhere?" you asked a little nervously, while Borra snorted loudly, obeying. "As if it will be the last I will see you naked in my arms, foolish human..." he said making you blush conspicuously.

[lordbhreanna]

I would love to see what happens on the train between Jill and Nikolai. He seems glad she choose to leave Carlos behind. Almost proud. I guess he interprets Jill's actions as finally putting her personal safery in front of others'. Nikolai's like an evil mentor figure to her... So, yeah, this is my prompt for you!

under her skin | oneshot | jill/nicholai, re3make spoilers, missing scene, canon compliant

(on ao3)

—

As the subway car is swallowed by the tunnel and they leave Redstone Street Station behind, an unsettling feeling sits at the pit of her stomach. As if she’s making a mistake. As if she’s abandoning her duty. As if something terrible is about to happen, but can’t put a finger on what it is. It’s like a knot in her throat, hindering her breathing. She shifts her weight, clenches her fist in and out and keeps staring idly out of the window. The reflection on the glass glares back—weary expression, cheeks streaked with blood smudges, skin caked in layers of sweat and dirt and scrapes. 

She catches a glimpse of Nicholai from the corner of her eye. He hasn’t moved an inch, his head hanging absently between his shoulders as the sway of the train gently rocks their bodies. All of a sudden, he looks up and their eyes meet on the glass.

A smirk stretches out on his face.

“Already having second thoughts?” 

It comes out like a snake’s hiss.

There is something about this man that makes her skin crawl. It’s not because he works for Umbrella—Carlos and Mikhail do too. Her gut tells her Carlos is a good man working for the wrong people, while Mikhail seems honest about wanting to help the city. 

Nicholai is an entirely different matter. A puzzle piece that doesn’t fit. He reeks of trouble, and danger. His demeanor tells Jill he’s not just ruthless; something more sinister lies behind. And Jill already has had her own taste of betrayal. Despite her doubts, it’s not his affiliations what makes her writhe—no, what bothers her is the way his words have managed to get under her skin. It’s like they have clawed at an injury she has kept hidden. 

Arms folded together, she faces him, staring down from her stance.

“Cat got your tongue now?” he adds, after her silent reply. He lowers his leg from the seat and stands up. He goes up to her, reducing the distance between them with a few steps. “Guilt doesn’t suit a soldier.”

Jill tilts her chin up, scowling back with contempt. She refuses to back down, let herself be cornered.

“I don’t feel guilty.”

He takes one more step, grabs the metal bar above them. A chuckle draws out of his lungs; an unusual sparkle shines in his eyes. Jill needs to raise his head up a bit to face him, both holding each other’s stare. Her lips are pressed together, though her jaw tenses as she attempts to remain unfazed under his scrutiny. He’s too close, bulking and massive against her slender frame. She doesn’t let it intimidate her.

“Ah, but you do. Your pity will get you killed sooner than the creature.” Her lip trembles, her brow furrows. “Stroke a nerve, didn’t I?” he says with a hint of arrogance.

Jill needs to bite her cheek, because he has stroked all her nerves—not just one. His words come back and stab at her with violence. 

She can’t pull the trigger. She could barely kill herself in dreams, when the mirror revealed a corrupted monster whose torn apart flesh dripped down her limbs, the net of swollen veins under her skin palpitating as life wriggled out of her and all she could feel was the itch at the back of her mouth and the hunger.

Can’t pull the trigger when it counts.

She refused to abandon Brad. Traces of the mercenary's blood he had spilled are still smeared all over her face. When she shuts her eyes close, dead people are all she sees—and, when she opens them, undead. She knows better than anyone else what this sickness does. Even so, she won’t shoot. Can’t shoot.

Nicholai is right and she hates that he’s the one to have seen through her. That he has somehow probed into her mind and pluck out what she’s been hiding for months, even from herself.

Her eyes narrow, his still piercing her.

“I’m the one who has already survived this hell, so you might want to shut up,” she reminds him, in the end, with a dismissive huff.

She can still pretend.

“Ah, yes. Arklay, right? And did you survive on your own back then?” he inquires with a bite. Jill wants to throw him a retort, until she remembers Joseph’s body being ripped to pieces in front of her, how she could only react once Chris pulled her out of her shock, all the times Barry was there to save her neck. Jill swallows thickly, anger and fear soaking through her face. Nicholai quickly understands and snorts. “That’s what I thought. You S.T.A.R.S. were all trying to save each other and most died for it. Should’ve learned from that.”

Jill blinks, then her nose crinkles as rage takes over her. She stands closer to him and growls, baring her teeth like an animal ready to tear their prey apart. Her voice echoes loudly on the car, not caring Mikhail or anyone else can hear them.

“Go fuck yourself. The only reason you’re leaving town is because I fucking fixed this train.”

Surprisingly, her outburst pries a husky laugh out of him.

“Look at that. She can bite. Good,” he praises, in what she assumes is mockery, leaning towards her. “You could be so much more if you got rid of your bleeding heart, Miss Valentine.” She notices it, then, how for a brief passing moment his stare lingers on her lips before locking once more on her own eyes. It makes her gulp and want to step back, but she doesn’t. “What a sight it must be,” he whispers.

Jill doesn’t have time to answer before he walks away and vanishes to the next car, approaching Mikhail.

The knot in her throat only tightens.

[howardpotts]

Please Me

Pairing: Tony Stark x Reader

Warnings: Alcohol, smut

Wordcount: 3575

A/N: So I heard Please Me by Cardi B and Bruno Mars and I just felt it. I don’t know if it’s noticable in this smut, it just came to me to be honest. Let me know what you think! I always appreciate comments!

Your hands are in the air, your hips swaying from right to left. Your dress shows your curves perfectly, leaving men hoping they’re the lucky ones to peel the fabric off. The red is flirty, the silk nothing other but screaming sex.

Your lips are covered with red lipgloss, your tongue tasting like a sweet liquor. Smokey eyes, your eyes closed, but when open looking for a prey. Hungry, they search the crowd to pick out the strongest prey. Prey that might think they’re predators but turn soft when you work your magic.

A hand on your hip is all you need to flick your body around, to see who thought it was appropriate to touch you. A frown on your face, your hand ready to attack the face that belonged to the greedy hand.

You look in brown eyes. His eyebrows thick, jawline sharp as a razor. His eyes drowning in the sight in front of him. His hand still on your hip. A little sigh rolls over your tongue. You wonder why boys can’t keep their hands to their own. Didn’t momma teach ‘em some manners?

Your right hand raises. It’s flat, your ring squeezed between your pinky and middle finger. It slaps his face in full speed, leaving an instant red mark on his soft, normally pale, cheek.

His greedy hand disappears from your hip, reaching for his cheek. A few curse words leave his mouth while his eyes turn big. He looks at you like you’re some kind of animal. He takes a step back, you don’t move. Instead, you look at him with power in your eyes, threatening him not to mess with you again.

There’s some laughter next to you, overruling the music. You don’t watch them, your eyes are still fixated on the boy. You’re not a prey and you’re not backing down. He turns his back to you, slowly disappearing in the crowd.

A coy smile appears on your face. Even though the boys looks were alluring, his greedy hands became the best of him. You slowly turn around, eyes scanning the people again like you’re picking a desert in a fancy restaurant.

And then, you spot him. He intrigues you. In the dark, on an old booth, a soft light showing just enough of him. Mystery hangs around him. His posture showing you that you’ll have to work. His eyes on your body, a glister in his eyes. An arrogant smile on his face.

His right arm rest on the back of the bench, his leg loosely hanging over the other. His suit fitting him perfectly, the two top buttons on his blouse unbuttoned. A whiskey with ice in his hands, a sigar in the other. He was your perfect prey.

You bat your eyes at him innocently when his eyes finally meet yours. The corners of your lips mischievously turning up, eyes full of lust. His head dips lightly, his body doesn’t move an inch. He wants you to impress him, and that’s exactly what you’re going to do.

You turn your head away from him, your hips start to sway again. They follow the rhythm of the music perfectly but naturally. Your let your hands glide over your body, let them explore the moves your body is making at this moment. You turn around, your back now turning to him.

You continue your dancing, pretending you’re not paying attention. That’s what they all want. They don’t want your full attention, at least not right away. They want to be eased in to it, they want to feel like they’re not going to win you over. They want to feel like they need to fight for it.

Your hips are not failing you, listening to every move you want to make. Men look at you, lust in their eyes. Looking up and down at you. Some are shy, trying not to look. Some don’t care and look at you as long as they please. You smile and bite your lip softly when you turn around again.

The arrogant smile faded from his face, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. He wants you. But you’re too busy pleasing not only him, but other men as well. Giving them the opportunity to look at you too, while you sway your hips so smoothly, make your body look like sex.

His head cocks up quickly once. You know it’s meant for you, but you don’t give in right away. You look at him seductively, your hips still moving from side to side. His body posture changes, just the way you wanted it to change. You want him hungry, you want him squirming for your attention.

You decided you teased him long enough, not willing to risk to lose his attention. Your feet move to him, your hips sweeping from right to left a little more than normally. Next to him a free spot, right underneath his right arm. The perfect place for you to sit and seduce. And he knows it. He planned for it.

And so, you obey. You got to act like a prey to become the predator. You stay silent, looking him up and down, judging if he’s still good enough for you. His clothing is perfect, body looks muscular but not puffy. His beard perfect, probably magical between your legs. His hands big enough to cup your full breast.

“Tony”, he says, not wasting time. “Y/N.” You bat your eyes at him one more time, just to make him swoon a bit more for you. And it’s working. His right arm falls on your shoulder as he pulls you closer. His face dangerously close to yours. His hot breath covering your cheek. The smell of whiskey entering your nose.

You ignore the hot sweaty feeling that’s hanging in the club, the music that’s blasting in your ears, the flash lights that make it look like a strip club.

“Y/N”, he repeats, your name rolling so smoothly over his tongue. It made you shiver, goose bumps on your arms. Another whif of whiskey, making you hungry for his mouth. You want to taste the sweet liquor that’s still lingering on his lips.

A quick look on his lips makes him grin. Your eyes plead guilty as well, hungry from the plumb lips that look so appealing. Your need to touch him was overwelming, but you kept yourself together. If you became greedy now, he’d be gone in a minute. 

He’s the first one to make a move, just like you wanted. This is how you turn a predator in to a prey. They give in, you get out. His head closing in on yours, his eyes focussed on your lips. You look at his for a moment, before leaning back.

His eyes meet yours again. Why can’t he have you? A little frown on his forehead, trying to figure out why you won’t give in. A playful grin decorates your face as you lean in, his ear an inch away from your lips. “Why don’t you treat me like a lady and buy me a drink first?”

=

The door slams, an echo going through the bedroom. You had no time to look around as Tony pushes you harshly, back hitting the door. A small hiss leaves your mouth, but he doesn’t care. His body is craving and he isn’t planning on treating you like a piece of porcelain.

He smashes his lips on yours. His beard scratches on your chin, his hands roaming your body. You moan on his lips, you’re just as eager for him as he is for you.  Your hands work fast as they unbutton his blouse.

His hands are now roaming your back, looking for the zipper of your dress. Not one touch goes by without giving you shivers, he knows how to get you hot and ready. When you unbutton the last button of his blouse, your hand immediately touches his abs. His body is hot, a bit sticky even.

You feel cold air running over your back. In no time your dress is on your ankles, leaving you with nothing but a bra and panties. He finally breaks the kiss, giving you the opportunity to breath.

He takes your body in like his favourite movie. He could take a popcorn and just sit and admire it all day long. But he’s lucky enough to do more, to touch it, to squeeze it, to spank it.

“From now on, you’ll call me boss, alright?” It’s not really a question, more a demand but you happily oblige. Only thinking about calling him boss makes you wet. You can’t help yourself and smash your lips on his again, your hands going through is hair making it a complete mess.

His hands snake to your back and ass. Both cover a cheek and stroke your soft skin two times before squeezing it. You moan in the kiss, tugging his hair slightly.

He pats two times on your left cheek, instruction you to jump. And so, you obey and break the kiss to do what he wants you to do. You jump and he catches you, two hands now holding you thightly. Your legs around him, gripping his hips.

He turns around and drops you lightly on the bed, even though he just shoved you against the door. The soft matrass feel like they’re made out of heaven. It’s a perfect balance between soft and hard.

A little smile appears on your face when you see him undoing himself from his pants and boxers. The man is a beautiful sight to behold. His little chest hair is perfectly trimmed, his muscled are defined but not too trained, his hair is a mess but so beautiful, his beard is still heaven on earth.

You know that he’s planning to jump on you and continue in bed, but you don’t agree with that. Instead, before he even has the chance of climbing on top of you, you get yourself off the bed.

He throws away the last piece of clothing he was wearing and cocks an eyebrow at you. You ignore his confusion and continue with your plan and drop on your knees in front of him. “Can I please suck your cock, boss?”, you ask innocently. You look at him through your eyelashes, begging him to let you.

He doesn’t say anything, he just takes a step forward as a signal for you to go on. A playful smile spreads on your face as you grab his cock. Your tongue licks off the pre-cum from the tip. A little groan comes out of Tony’s mouth. He watches you closely, drinking in the sight beneath him.

You spit on his cock to make it a bit more wet and easy for you to take him in. He could come at the sight of this alone. You on your knees, spitting on his cock, about to take him in so deep. His hands go to your hair, encouraging you to give him hell of a ride.

You take in his cock and slowly take him in deeper and deeper. You hollow your cheeks and your tongue glides along his thick vein. “Fuck yes, baby, feels so so good”, he moans as he tries not to buck his hips.

Every time you try and take more of his dick in your mouth, until it hits the back of your throat. You’re gagging, but not stopping. In fact, you try and pace up a bit, trying to take him even deeper.

“Shit, you take me so well, yes, shit, fu- shit.” Tears well up in your eyes, but you’re still not stopping. Tony’s moans are only getting louder. His hips buck in to sometimes, making you gag unexpectedly. “Fuck, so good, you’re so good.”

His hands pull at your hair, the first tears now leave your eyes. Saliva and pre-cum are leaving your mouth and dripping from your chin on the floor. You’re a mess and Tony likes it. He eats it like his favourite candy.

He stops you after a few more seconds, afraid that he won’t hold it any longer. “We don’t want the night to end so soon, do we now baby?”, he asks softly as he helps you up. You shake your head slowly, not leaving his eyes as you get up.

He softly pushes you on the matrass. When you want to climb to the pillows, he stops you by holding on to the back of your knees. “Stay like this.” You nod, but he gives you a warning look. “You need to speak up, baby”, a little threat in his voice.

“Yes boss”, you say, your voice a bit shaky. You know what’s about to come and you can’t wait. Your inner thighs are burning, your breasts are sensitive. He slowly pulls of your panties, making sure that the fabric touches your legs on the way down.

He grabs your left leg and pull it up. He starts kissing it from your ankles, slowly making his way to your inner thighs. Every kiss gets sloppier. When he gets closer, you feel the wetness grow. You want him so badly, you’d do anything.

When he finally reaches your inner thigh, a little moan leaves your mouth. He grins before planting one more sloppy hot kiss just underneath your wet pussy.

And finally, he begins. One long lick over your clit and you give him one long moan in response. It felt as if you waited for years. One hand goes to his hair, the other grabs the sheets. You arch your back, tits sticking out. It’s a beautiful sight to see for Tony, hell for everyone who would’ve witnessed.

“Fuck, oh yes”, you moan as he flicks his tongue over your bundle of nerves. The sensation is amazing, you can feel the knot in your stomach growing in a rapid speed.

He dugs his head a little deeper and connects his lips on your clit and lightly suck it. You moan loudly, grasping the sheets while your knuckles become white. “Feels... Amazing”, you moan out of breath.

Tony changes position so his hand gets access to your pussy too. His other hand holds you down with force. You try and not to buck your hips, but sometimes you fail. It’s like your body has no control over itself.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck”, you hiss as you feel a finger entering. He pumps in and out a few times before adding a second one. You’re a moaning mess, cussing with every move he makes. The knot in your stomach is getting bigger and bigger, you can feel your orgasm approaching.

“I- I’m gonna-“ A third finger enters. It’s all you need to get over the edge. Your hips try to buck, your hands tugging his hair and grasping the sheets. Your head is in your neck. He pumps in and out of you in a rapid speed, his tongue still flicking over your clit. The feeling is overwhelming.

You can feel yourself growing oversensitive, so you try and get yourself out of Tony’s grip. But he gets the message and lets you go. Quickly, he grabs a condom from his drawer before getting on top of you. His cock is already pressuring your clit again. A gasp leaves your mouth, your clit still pretty sensitive.

“Can you clean those for me?” His fingers are in your eyesight and you nod. His eyebrow cocks, waiting for another response. Oh. Yeah. You need to talk. “Yes, boss”, you say hastily.

With eager, you lick his fingers clean, tasting your own fluid. Your eyes don’t leave his and you can tell he’s enjoying you. He’s taking in what’s happening right now. A gorgeous woman, wet as can be, licking his fingers clean from her own wetness. It’s a beautiful sight to say the least.

When you’re done, he gives you a small light kiss on your lips. “You’re such a good girl”, he says while grinding his cock up and down your pussy. His eyes are locking with yours. A few seconds of staring in to each other’s eyes, making it more intimate than it had been. Making it more real. Making each other feel respected.

He tears his eyes away and to your tits. Your bra is still on. He wants it off and he wants it off now. His hands disappear under your back for one second, clipping open your bra. You can feel how your breasts are freed. A little sigh of relieve leaves your mouth. He chuckles. “Feels good?” You nod, biting your bottom lip.

Your bra is now somewhere lost in the bedroom. His lips are on yours again. You can still feel the wetness from your pussy in his beard. His hands cup your breasts, kneeding them carefully. Your breath gets heavier again. Little ‘hmms’ leave your mouth, vibrating against his lips.

He breaks the kiss. “Are you ready to take my cock, hmm?”, he asks with a husky voice. You nod. “Yes boss”, you quickly say, not wanting to disappoint him.

Normally, once you turned the predator in to prey, they’d stay prey. Tony’s different. He yielded in the club, but got his attitude back the minute you were in the cab with him. And you didn’t mind. Actually, you might prefer this. Him demanding you what to do and what to say.

He pushes his cock in to you slowly, making sure you’re not hurt. He watches your facial expressions, but you’re not in pain. You’re so turned on.

“Fuck”, you whisper as he bottoms out. A coy smile appears on his face. “You feel so good”, he says. He starts to pick up a pace, but he pumps faster second after second. He groans, looking at your tits that are bouncing up and down.

“Ah ah ah” The little moans leave your mouth in ease while he’s taking you faster and faster. “Fuck, your pussy’s so good”, he says with heavy breathing. You moan in response, words not making any sense to you now.

He stops and looks at you. “Turn around. On elbows and knees.” You do as he says, your head now trying to look at him.

He’s taking in the sight that’s now in front of him. He takes his place and pushes himself in to you again. A little hiss leaves your mouth from the feeling. “Please, fuck me hard”, you beg, desperation is in your voice.

He obeys and starts at a quick pace, his cock nearly all the way out every time he pushes. “Fuck baby, yes”, he says. He caresses your asscheeks a few times. You try and stay as still as possible so he can control whatever he wants to do.

A spanking sound echoes through the room, a moan followed. “Does that feel good, baby?” His voice is husky again. You nod, which makes him spank you again. “Answer me”, he says while still slamming in and out of you.

You feel the knot in your stomach growing again, a second orgasm is close. “Yes”, you say. “Yes, boss.”

He spanks you a few more times, you whimper with every slap. The pain feels weirdly good, something you never thought you’d like. “Please, let me come”, you say desperately. You can feel how you’re so close.

“Not yet, baby, wait for me”, he says. He continues to slam in to you. You try and hold it in, strangled moans coming out of your mouth. You need to come. You try your best not to, but you know you can’t hold it for that much longer.

“P-Please”, you beg. “I- I c-can’t.” You can feel how his thrusts are getting sloppier and slower. It’s a sign that he’s close. “Let’s come together, baby”, he breathes out.

You let go of the orgasm you’ve been holding. Your legs shake. Your mouth is wide open but there’s no sound coming out of it. Your walls are tightening around his cock. It’s one of the most strongest orgasms you’ve ever experienced.

You both ride out your orgasms before he pulls out. You drop on the sheets, Tony falls next to you. “God, I need a minute”, he says out of breath. You give him a lazy smile and nod.

You’re the first one to get up and get yourself cleaned, Tony follows after.

You’re not sure what to do. Does he want you to stay? Is he the man that gets a girl out as soon as the deed is done? He seems like a good man, but you know that looks can deceive. Men can be such assholes.

“So, what do you want for breakfast?”, he asks when he walks in. Well, there’s your answer. “Uh… What’d ya got?”, you ask, a little smile appearing on your face. “Anything. I just ask Friday and she’ll make sure it’s ready.”

You were still sitting on the edge of the bed without any clothes on, which gave you a pretty awkward feeling. “Here”, he throws you a shirt, “you can have mine. And you can get new pantie over here.” He walks to a wooden cabinet and opens a drawer. Damn, he’s just a player as you are.

“Thanks”, you smile. “And I’ll take a croissant with omelette, please.”

“So, just asking. Wanna do this again some other time?”, he asks while tapping on some screen.

[elizabethgoldlokidottir]

Something Precious Act I Ch.2-The Seer

ACT I, CHAPTER 2 THE SEER "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering."-Yoda, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace It was autumn in the enchanted forest and near the province of Dunbroch. Of all the lands in Vanaheim, the Enchanted Forest(or Misthaven depending on which class of person you came across) tended to have the most beautiful and cold fall weather. In this land, the very air itself was filled with magic. It existed within proximity of every being in this land, whether or not magic was within them or whether it surrounded them. Like a spirit, it lived within every plant and animal, for it permeated all things. This constant flow of magical energy created the beauty of the forest. It gave the falling leaves on the trees their beautiful hues, bright and neon shades of red, yellow and orange, glowing within the wintering trees like fire. There were certain plants that were magical within themselves whose leaves gave a faint glow like the morning sun as they became ready to fall upon the ground. The birds became ready to migrate to warmer parts of the land, warmer kingdoms. The sound of wildlife verberated through the forest just like the magic within it. The usual quarry, the deer, rabbits, wolves and all the small creatures who lived within the forest were looking for places to hibernate or moving towards more bountiful hunting grounds. The magical creatures were no different. Dragons had already found the caverns where they would bed down for the winter. Herds of unicorns followed their migration paths in order to avoid their wild equine cousins in the cinmarron. Winter was coming. As a hush flowed over the forest and mist began to cover the trees, a quiet padding of high heeled boots fell upon the forest floor. Out into the woods, a figure stepped. Of all of the strange creatures roaming these wilds, he was perhaps the strangest of all. He took the shape of a man, but his appearance was not of a normal man. His most outstanding feature was his skin. Where the pale skin of the Scotsman should have been, there was instead glittering golden scales that sparkled in the light. The small glittering scales covered his body just as they covered the body of a reptile. He had unusual amber eyes that glowed within his eyes like smoking embers, grey and yellow all at once. In the place of fingernails, this man had claws. The talons extended half an inch above his fingertip and were a sort of greenish brown, like the woods that surrounded him. Whenever he would come across an obstacle, he would sneer, showing that his canines were just a hint sharper than the average human being. He kept his red cloak wrapped tightly around him as if to ward off the imaginary cold that had not yet settled in. A mop of brown hair existed upon his head that extended nearly to his shoulder. For all of this inhuman appearance, there was some humanity within him, for it could be seen in the raw rubbing underneath his eyes and the few despairing sighs that he let loose now and then. This so called beast, so feared by all of the land, was grieving. He moved out into a clearing. It had been a campsite. He walked over to the fire that had once been set up. Moving closer to inspect it, he had found that it was still smoldering. A litter of dirty blankets and pillows had been stacked near a pathetic looking patchwork tent. He smirked to himself. She was around here somewhere. “Show yourself, dearie.” He spoke in a high pitch voice laced with a Scottish accent. Out of the woods came another figure, another strange creature. This one looked to be a human young woman, with shocking red hair. Yet when one searched out her eyes, only stitches remained. They were stitched closed, almost as if her eyes had been taken out. Instead, she held up her hands and out from each of them a glowing blue eye looked out. This strange creature was cloaked in peasant clothing. She spoke in an almost echoing voice, her voice reverberating through the air like waves through the mist. “Rumplestiltskin. I’ve been expecting you. As you see all that I have told you has come to pass.” The imp smirked as he circled around the seer like a lion stalking around his prey. “Ah...yes...it all came to pass…” His voice grew with intensity as he circled her, his amber eyes settled upon her. Whenever he spoke, he used his hands in animated gestures. The madness within his grieving and jumbled mind had led to certain unstable behavior, or was it just that he no longer cared about his appearance? “You spoke that my actions on the battlefield would leave my son fatherless. And like an imbecile I chose to follow you. So...in fear that I might die, I hobbled myself…” he gestured to the leg on which he used to limp before his powers had come to him. “I returned home to a wife who couldn’t stand the sight of me because of cowardice. She ran off with the damn pirate. Oh...and then to save my son from the wars I became the dark one. Because of them I let my son go to the land without magic and being the coward I am...I didn’t follow. So yes...because of my actions on the battlefield my child did become fatherless. But….” he came closer to her and snarled, his voice holding the edge of sarcasm. “It would have been nice to know all the pesky details!” He tried to tell himself not to be harsh with the woman, for if Baelfire was here with him that wouldn’t be what he wanted. After he swallowed his anger deep down, producing an unpleasant taste akin to bile in his throat, he gave her an intense stare. “I want you to tell me one last thing. I have one last question for you. And seeing as you ruined my life I should think you owe me at least this one.” He stood there, his small figure compared to ordinary men still carrying the power of the darkness coursing through his veins. “Will I find my son?” and for a moment, there was the desperation of a father in his voice, for it shook and trembled as the true grief and devastation threatened to show. The seer held up her hands, not to see into the future but to stop his speech. “Wait. There is one price you must pay.” She held out her hands. “Take this burden from me.” He stood there, comprehending it for a moment. After all, if she wanted this gift taken from her, surely it must have been painful. Yet he knew he had no choice. To get his son back he would do whatever it took. Seeing into the future just might point him to where he needed to be to find him. He could finally see what fate awaited him. Future was the specter that all men feared, and he would be able to tear off his black robe and look into the phantom’s eyes. “Erm...alright.” he said in his high pitched, almost playful voice as he grabbed her hands. Out of the fog and the mist, a bright light burst forth from the two figures, as power flowed from one to the other. The female screamed in pain as the magical energy flowed from her to the imp who had taken a hold of her hands. The surrounding animals ran away in fright, both the predatory creatures and their prey. Rumplestiltskin stared into the air in front of him, his eyes giving him the appearance of being in a trance. He looked around frantically as if he was trying to find a figure in front of him, as if he had suddenly become blind. “It’s all a jumble!” he said in alarm. “I can’t make it out!” “Focus…” the seer hissed, her voice becoming weaker and weaker as the imp in front of her began to rapidly breathe, the panic ensuing within him. “Over time, and practice, the pieces will fall into place.” all the sudden the all powerful dark one felt weak...vulnerable...like a beginner just learning how to work his magic. That was not desirable for him. For even though he still had much to learn about the dark arts he would never admit it. Yet he listened...in desperation to find his son, he swallowed his pride and accepted the seer’s teachings. He focused himself like one would focus their vision. There was only one vague vision that presented itself. He was in the same wood that he was now, but it was eerie and dark. He could smell blood. A paddock remained nearby as well as a series of shacks. In the middle of the clearing, a work horse was tied up, latched to a post. The creature was mangy, the equine covered in old wounds that had tattered it’s fur. The poor horse’s eyes were wide in panic, and he could see tears within them. There was a bloody bandage around it’s right hind leg, extending down to the fetlock from the cannon bone. The pack animal shook from fear and crossed it’s legs now and then as it struggled to gain it’s footing, having little to no coordination. Rumplestiltskin, having always had a sympathy towards animals(far more than he did for people), felt his heart breaking towards the creature. He knew what it was like to be lame, to be friendless. Out of the smokehouse came the drunk owner, filthy, dressed in peasant clothes and obese, he came staggering out towards the mare that was tied up. There was a whip in his hand, and the mare was trying to release herself from the post. The equine neighed in fear and tried to strike out with her hooves, but she could not rear up on her hind legs. She backed away, limping harshly as she did so. As the brute came closer and closer with the whip, Rumplestiltskin held out his hands to try to choke him with his dark magic, but it wasn’t working. As the abuser approached, the horse looked right at the imp, her eyes wide in panic. And then...she spoke within his mind. “FATHER! HELP ME!!” As he woke up from the vision in a sheer panic, he quickly let go of the seer’s hands, staggering backwards. “A dirty trick!!” he snarled. “You only wanted to release yourself from this torment! And that vision! It is wrong! First of all, how the hell would I give birth to a horse! Second of all, I only have one child and he is a male! Do you actually think that any woman would lay with me long enough to produce another?! Me?! The monster?!” Well! Explain yourself!” he tried to look to the seer’s stitched face, but instead she now lay as a lump on the ground. The transfer had taken too much out of her. Her breathing was shallow and harsh. The young woman was dying. He had to get his bargain before she passed away. He leaned over her. “Now I have taken this burden from you. If you cannot explain what I saw...fine. I will find out for myself. But I wish to know one thing, and I pray you do not make me wait. I cannot spend years trying to focus my vision when there could be a way to find him once more. Now tell me…” his voice was dangerously low, a hint of an animalistic growl within it. “Do I find my son..” The seer, speaking in a weak and gasping voice answered him. “Yes…” At that simple answer, a wave of relief broke over him as well as excitement. His boy...he knew that he was somewhere out there. His features for once grew soft, as he thought of the day that he was born..and that he would once more hold his darling son within his arms. “How.” he stated with some impatience...and excitement..as he looked to her. “You will form a curse that will lead you to him...but you will not cast the curse…” a ragged breath came from her as her hands shook. “Someone else will. And you will not break the curse...someone else will…” at this point, she struggled to breathe. “Yes, yes!” his voice grew impatient. “Go on!” “A young boy will lead you to him. But be warned...the boy will be your undoing. And yet there will be another who can save you from this fate. There will be the young boy, but there will also be a young girl. The girl will be your salvation…” She could not hold her breath anymore. She gave a sharp exhale and then fell back upon the ground, her body growing limp. As she passed away, the dark one leaned in to inspect her. He placed his finger to her throat. No pulse. He sighed to himself, running his clawed fingers through his brunette hair. “Rubbish..” the imp growled under his throat. “Absolute rubbish.” But there was a part of him that knew she was right deep down. But about that child...now that had to be ridiculous. No one could ever love him. Or could they?

[kates-sweet-escape]

[WH] Yours - The Series: Chapter Three

pairing: Wonho X Reader (female)

genre: Angst / Suspense

word count: 3k

summary: Meeting Wonho again after all these years is bringing back all sorts of memories that you aren’t ready for...

a/n: You are living with a fake identity. Whenever you read Y/F/N people call you by your fake first name.

cover: Made by me.

Picture credit: Official Monsta X

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

chapter index: Prologue | 01 | 02 | 03

“Wonho.” His fake name, that your father had chosen upon assigning him as your brother’s protector and right-hand man, left your lips in a breathless whisper. It was barely audible over the steady noise of the ECG that was still attached to Hoseok’s chest. A sign of how close he must have been to death, if they were still monitoring his vitals like this, with all these electrodes stuck to every part of his chest that wasn’t covered in bandages.

Worry was washing over you, mixing with a hint of fear and switched off your brain as you were swaying on your feet trying to decide between flight or fight. You were worried about him. So much that you wanted to walk towards him to take a closer look at all of his wounds and mend them with your own hands.

But you knew you should keep your distance. Because even with Hoseok being this hurt, he was still a lot stronger and faster than you. Your father had turned him into a soldier, once he’d gotten the order to kill he’d proceed. And with his cognac-colored eyes watching you intensely like this, you knew better than to get too close. But your worry was dragging your feet slightly towards him, while you were still trying to figure out whether he was a real threat to you right now or if he was too weak to severely hurt you.

You took a closer look at the bandages. Some of them were still white, like the one covering his right shoulder, but some of them were already starting to show hints of red underneath all the fabric.

Jooheon hadn’t just stabbed him. He’d tortured him, using his trusty knife to cut open his skin, leaving blood, pain and scars behind. Before you could stop that stupid brain of yours it was already showing you the gruesome scene that had probably taken place only a few hours ago.

A skeevy motel room. A puddle of blood. And Hoseok grunting in pain, left to die on the sticky floor, like a mere animal, by the men he’d once called his brothers.

That was the world he was living in. And the world that you’d called home for many, many years. The world that was covered in blood and stained with tears. Where the empires were built upon the rotting flesh of their enemies while the path to the crown was paved with nothing but evil intentions.

It was a world of monsters and demons.

And one of them was sitting only a few feet away from you, pretending like none of this really bothered him. Like he was still that hungry beast, with its teeth bared and its claws sharpened, ready to attack and take you down, ripping out your throat with a victorious howl even if you only tried to help.

You could feel a drop of fear clouding your judgment for a while as you were eying the predator that was looking at you as if you were his prey, with his sharp dark brown eyes fixated on your every move.  

You shouldn’t get any closer to him. Every fiber of your body told you to stay away. Yet, you took another step, like he was a puppeteer, drawing you in with those invisible strings of his.

You almost gasped when you realized just how badly he was hurt.

Hoseok was sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, eying you warily. His skin, which was pale to begin with, now resembled the first snow which usually fell in the beginning of December. The veins underneath looked like little rivers, breaking through the ice, fighting hard to keep the land alive with their endless stream of water. Even all the tattoos and bandages couldn’t cover them properly.

His raven hair just added to your impression of seeing a ghost. Just like the dark shadows under his eyes did. His plush lips were bloodless and a little chapped, so that the black lip ring in the center looked like a violent first stroke of a pitch black brush on an untouched canvas. Gone was the captivating shade of red that had always compelled you to steal a kiss every chance you could get.

You could see all sorts of bruises forming on his face, turning the skin over his left cheekbone into a deep shade of purple and his nose… it seemed to be a little crooked. Jooheon must have broken it in his violent assault on Hoseok's life. You knew that Hoseok would be able to fix that by himself. You’d done it for him countless times, keeping his face as perfect as it’s ever been. But you knew that it would hurt like hell and once his body would start to properly heal, it’d only get worse. If he’d wait for too long, he’d have to break it all over again and if you remembered correctly, your brother had once thrown up upon breaking his own nose in order to push it back into place. The loud noise of the bone snapping back into place was still fresh in your memory.

Hoseok looked weak. Vulnerable. Like a dead man walking.

Yet, he was holding himself upright, not allowing his upper body to slouch down even a bloody inch. He tried to look like this unbroken and unbound soldier that your father had always expected him to be, but you could see that just sitting was eating away at what little strength he had left. Sweat was glistening on his forehead and his lower lip was trembling ever so slightly as he kept looking at you, putting up a front of being indestructible and unfazed by the wounds that were covering his body.

But no matter how hard he tried, you wouldn’t be fooled.

This beast was of no threat to you. At least for now.

Still he desperately tried to keep face.

That stubborn son of a b*tch.

You walked over to the bed, reaching for his shoulder to press him back down onto the mattress, telling him that he didn’t need to put up a front with you. That you were seeing right through all of his bullsh*t. But before your fingers could even do as much as brush his skin, he stopped you dead in your tracks by grabbing a hold of your wrist, forcing you into a long, drawn out second of motionless cruelty.

His touch was just like you remembered it.

Hot. A little rough. And setting your entire world on fire.

And it was immediately spreading through every fibre of your being, making you feel like you were melting under his touch, exposing everything you wanted to keep hidden.

Your longing. Your need. Your craving.

You needed to stop but you had a hard time thinking. So you took a weak breath in a desperate attempt to extinguish the flames that were seemingly swallowing you whole.

But it was of no use.

His deadly heat was already consuming you again, turning your brain into a useless clump of nerves, liquids and flesh. You couldn’t allow yourself to fall for him again. To be consumed by him. But you’ve always had a weak spot for him.

For his smile. His voice. His touch.

And judging by the way his plush lips turned into a knowing smirk, he must have felt it too, that destructive spark that was suddenly being reignited after years of smoldering hidden deep within you. It was grabbing a hold of your body and soul, dragging you deeper into this heat which would lead you straight to your demise.

You needed to get it together. Right now. Or the sacrifice you’d made two years ago would be meaningless.

“Y/N.” Hoseok’s voice sounded husky and a little shaky but his tight grip on your wrist felt as powerful as ever, his fingers digging deep into your skin as if he was trying to leave his mark on you. “How long has it been? Two years?”

You felt like your carefully constructed life was falling apart. Just like that. And all it took was for him to mention your real name after two years of pretending to be somebody else.  

“One year and eleven months.” The words left your mouth before you could stop yourself. F*ck. You really needed to get your sh*t together otherwise your resolve would crumble down into a million little pieces right here and now.

Hoseok raised his eyebrow. “Well, somebody's counting.”

You snarled at him and with a forceful snap of your wrist you pulled free from his grip. Hoseok usually was a lot stronger than you. This shouldn't have been possible. Which gave away just how vulnerable he actually was at this very moment.

So the beast really had lost its claws and teeth. Temporarily at least.  

But your safety meant something quite worrisome in return: If he couldn’t restrain somebody like you, he wouldn’t stand a chance against any of Hyunwoo’s men. Like a pack of hungry wolves they’d attack him and rip him to shreds, without a care for his wounded and weak state.

You gently rubbed the skin on your wrist, trying to brush away the heat you felt as well as the dark shadows his grip had casted on your pale skin. You really needed to get yourself occupied. With basically anything. Your laid eyes on Hoseok again. Well, getting to the bottom of this mess was a good start, right?

You let go of your wrist and crossed your arms over your chest as you were looking straight into his dark brown eyes. “So, what the hell did you do?”

Hoseok cocked up his eyebrow. “What?”

He wasn’t going to play dumb with you. Not when he’d gotten both your a**es in trouble with listing you as his emergency contact. You took another step towards Hoseok and leaned down a little, your face now right in front of his.

“I asked you,” you said, slowing down your words to make sure he understood each and every one of them “what the hell you did to piss off my brother so f*cking much that he wants you dead.”

Hoseok seemed to be unfazed by you being this close to him. He just stared into your eyes for a few seconds before leaning back a little, his eyes now running up and down your body as he was probably taking all of you in.

“You look good,” he said, but you could detect a hint of resentment straining his voice. This obviously wasn’t meant to be a compliment. “Seems like your life has been nice and easy.”

Nice and easy? He had no idea what the hell he was talking about. The last two years had been hell. You’d constantly looked over your shoulder, fearing somebody would turn up to kill you. But the fear, the paranoia and the insomnia hadn’t been the worst of it. It had been the nights where you’d cried yourself to sleep because you’d missed Hyunwoo and Hoseok so much that it had felt like your heart had been ripped out of your chest.

“Wonho-”

“-Are those designer clothes? You must have a decent job if you’re still able to afford stuff like that.” He clicked his tongue “But then again you always had a weakness for anything Dior or Chanel.” His lips curled up into a cruel grin. “Once a princess - always a princess, right?”

His words hurt. Much more than you’d ever admit. But this wasn’t the time for ripping open old wounds or for carving new ones into each other's souls. You needed to know what the hell was going on  and in how much danger the two of you actually were. It was about damn time he realized that too. Otherwise you’d just leave his weak and sorry a** behind.

Yeah. As if.

“Wonho. This isn’t the time for your stupid games,” you said almost pleadingly. But you could see by the way his features hardened even further, that all your usual tricks won’t work this time around. Of course they wouldn’t. He wasn’t in love with you anymore. He didn’t care about your feelings being hurt. Or about you for that matter. He hadn’t saved your number as an emergency contact because he’d missed you just as much as you’d missed him.

No. He was using you. Plain and simple.

“You are in no position to ask me any questions about the Clan or your brother.” Hoseok’s voice sounded more like the growl of an angry hound than the voice of an actual human being. “Don’t you think?”

He was right. You’d lost all your rights when you’d turned your back on them. You weren’t part of this anymore. So why the hell did you even come here in the first place?

“I am only trying to help.”

Hoseok scuffed. “No. You are trying to ease your guilty conscience.” His hand was reaching for his mobile phone that was lying on the side table right next to the small bed. The screen was lighting up for a brief moment. “But we don’t have time for any of that. So just get me out of here.”

Getting him out of here? Right now? Hello no! Not until you’d figured out what was going on. “Not until you’ve told me why my brother wants you dead.”

Hoseok smirked. “Sure.” You must have misheard, right? Otherwise this would’ve been way too easy. He just shrugged and looked back at his phone. “If you want to talk to the police that is.”

Police? What was he…?

As silence fell across the room you could hear heavy footsteps drawing nearer. Too loud to be a nurse or a doctor. They usually wore comfortable rubber slippers. These shoes sounded a lot heavier. A lot more like boots. And there were at least four of them. Probably still at the far end of the hall.

The nurse had told you that the police would be coming by to ask a few questions. How could you have forgotten about that?!

“F*ck.”

Hoseok let out a dry laugh that suddenly turned into a cough. “Your mother would be shocked by all those cuss words leaving that pretty mouth of yours.”

You answered without thinking twice, since your brain was already trying to formulate a plan to get both of you out of here. “You taught me most of them.”

“I also taught you a lot of other things that your mother would be shocked to know about.”

You looked at him absolutely dumbfounded. Had he really just… No. You couldn’t allow your brain to go there. Not even for a second. For now you needed to get out of here. “Shut up. Just give me some time to think.” You needed to consider all the possible options and you had to do it fast.

You looked at Hoseok, trying to evaluate his current state as accurately as possible. He probably had some broken ribs and judging by his wounds he had to be in a lot of pain. Maybe there had even been some internal bleeding. It was hard to tell without taking a look into his patient chart. “Can you walk?”

Hoseok hesitated for a second before nodding. “I guess so. But it won’t be fast.”

Well thanks Captain Obvious. You looked at Hoseok, eyes wide with surprise while speaking in the most fake confused and innocent tone you could muster in this situation. “And here I was, thinking we could pull a Usain Bolt on the police when you got stabbed by Jooheon.”

“How did you…”

You interrupted him before he could even finish that sentence. “Don’t you dare insult me.” You looked around. No wheelchair. Probably to prevent him from escaping. “I lived long enough in that godforsaken house to know all of my brother’s pets and their signature moves.” You walked over to the windows. You were on the raised ground floor. Your hand reached for the handle and turned it around. With a slight push, they swung open. “It’s a miracle that you survived.”

As you turned around, Hoseok was looking at you, his head kicked back a little to defend what was left of his pride. “Or skill.”

“Whatever.” You managed to stop yourself from rolling your eyes at him before you were taking in the state of his naked legs and chest. He was only wearing a pair of black boxers. “Where are your clothes?”

Hoseok shrugged. “Probably all cut up in some trash can.”

“Alright. Getting you out of here unnoticed is definitely out of the cards then.” You pointed towards the open window. “Let’s go.”

Hoseok’s jaw seemed to be dropping to the floor. “Are you kidding?”

You wish you were. But there was no other way. Even though it was risky to have him climb up the sill. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”

“Unfortunately no.” Hoseok eyed your way out skeptically. But then he let out a drawn out sigh while pulling his hair. “Damn it, woman. Get me another shot of morphine and we should be ready to go.”

“No can do. It’ll slow you down too much.” You knew how his body reacted to any sort of painkiller. It turned him into a sloth. Not really something you could risk right now. “And judging by the amount of footsteps that are headed our way, we also don’t have the time for a little breaking and entering into the nurse’s office.”

“F*ck.” Hoseok nodded repeatedly, as if he was trying to convince himself that this was a good idea. Then he suddenly ushered you to come close to him. “Alright. Let’s go.”

to be continued... 

[parodoxthestrange]

Part 2 baby!!!

It’s been a few days since we last saw Fomos Oper and @bace-jeleren‘s Megumi on their “adventure” through Muraganda. Today we learn a bit more about our neuroses-addled Neurok as he tries his hand at teaching.(tw violence, death)

part 1

“Poor child. It wouldn’t do to have your story end so soon.”

_______________________________________________________

“Megumi, we h-have to go.”

The tiny dhampir looked up from the bone knife in her lap to see Fomos toss the tent’s entrance aside and stride to the other end, slinging a pack over his shoulder. “What? What’s happening?”

Fomos glanced toward Megumi for a moment before taking a deep breath and turning toward her fully. “W-well I’ve been able to stay here because my magic lets me tell predators ‘danger’ and they leave me alone.” Flipping over the collection of blankets, a staff meticulously wrapped in cloth is revealed. “The problem is dinosaurs.”

At that, Megumi floated over to the human, eyes widening in surprise. “There’s dinosaurs here!? That’s awesome!”

“Hmm” Fomos grunted as he grasped the staff with both hands, struggling to lift it initially before letting one edge rest on the ground and leaning on the other. “If you say so. In any case, they....uh, the big ones don’t listen to me. So we have to go. They’ll be here in a few hours.” With another breath, he turned toward the exit, securing his headdress and the wrappings on his arms. “Come on, M-Megumi.”

Megumi took one last look around the tent she had just started to get used to, then headed to follow Fomos. “Dinosaurs. Hell yeah.”

_______________________________________________________

“Get up.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes you can. So get up. If you can’t get up, you’re dead.”

_______________________________________________________

Fomos moved slowly through the underbrush, keeping both hands firmly grasped on the end of his staff. Using his magic to send his mind and senses out around him, Fomos was trying to notice any hint of movement, trying to detect any animals ahead of them. Trying being the operative word, as the majority of his attention was drawn by Megumi floating around him.

“Hey, Mister Fomos, where are we going?”

Fomos shifted his hands position on the staff. Lifting up a section of vegetation, and taking note of the well worn path beneath, he cleared his throat before continuing. “We’re going to a place I haven’t been in a while becau-be-...well, I haven’t needed to go there. But with you here, I think it would be good to at least visit.”

Megumi turned to fully face him, while maintaining her flight a few inches above the ground. “Mister what does that mean? Good how?”

“Oh! Uh...right, sorry. Well, you don’t have great control over your magic, and you don’t even know what kind of magic you might have, right? So I’m thinking, why don’t we visit my old training grounds? It’s on top of a mana nexus, so you could....I mean, if you want to....I could..teach you some basics of magic?”

Rays of happiness seemed to flow from Megumi as she zipped to Fomos, tugging at his cloak. “Really!? Thank you so much!” Fomos felt his cheeks spark lightly as Megumi flashed a huge, toothy grin. “I can’t wait, let’s go!” Megumi shot out into the jungle ahead of them, before returning a few moments later, a light pout gracing her features. “Mister Fomos, where am I supposed to go?”

“It’s going to be more than a day’s travels so we’re going to be stopping for the night. But, tell you what,” After focusing a moment further, a light grin dashed across Fomos’ face. “I don’t see any animals up ahead, so just go straight till you see a clearing with a giant dinosaur skull-” Anything else Fomos was going to say was drowned out by a delighted gasp and Megumi flying away faster than he thought was possible for her. ‘Hmm, the more I learn about her, the more she surprises me.’ Picking his staff up and slinging it over his shoulder, Fomos broke out into a light run after her. ‘I wonder if I’ll be able to be half the teacher you were, Sir.’

_______________________________________________________

“Repeat. Your magic is not powerful.”

“My magic is not powerful.”

“Your body is not powerful.”

“My body is not powerful.”

_______________________________________________________

Finally reaching the clearing, Fomos spotted the eternally curious dhampir floating into the eye socket of the sun-bleached skull, eternally resting at the center of the otherwise unremarkable opening. While she kept herself entertained, Fomos began to set up camp.

“Mister, this skull is huuuuuge!” Zipping from under its upper jaw with eyes as wide as dinner plates, Megumi dropped down to Fomos as he finished lighting a campfire. Fomos had to agree with her. Easily as large as a house, despite losing the lower jaw to the soft ground below, the skull made an imposing sight. Motioning at the girl to lay out some blankets while he set up dinner, Fomos stared at the mass of bone, hesitating for a moment before speaking up.

“This is the place I first planeswalked to. This very clearing.”

Megumi looked up from the bowl of stew she had been noisily eating before she scooted closer to Fomos, eyes pointed at him expectantly. Waiting a moment for the right words to come to him, he set his bowl aside and began his tale.

“I first came here about fifteen years ago when I was still a child about your age. I guess I had a pretty loud landing because that Imperiosaur came to investigate its territory. Honestly I thought I was going to die until he showed up.”

“Someone else showed up?”

“.....”

As the massive head of the dinosaur crashed to the ground, the sniveling child curled up did not look at it. Neither did he spare a glance toward the body of the beast hanging unnaturally in the air, one clean cut having gone straight through its neck. Rather, all of his attention was focused on the figure beneath the floating corpse. His body was concealed by ancient cloth and the only distinguishing feature on his bone-white mask was a carving of a chain link moving down the front. Sheathing the thin, metal blade in his hand, the man glided toward Fomos and reached a hand toward him “Poor child. It wouldn’t do to have your story end so soon.”

“The man that saved me that day became my teacher until the day I turned eighteen. I haven’t seen him since, but I feel like he’s doing something important, you know?” Glancing over, Fomos had to stifle a chuckle at Megumi having bundled herself into a mountain of blankets, hair shooting out the end and a tired, content smile on her face. “Asleep then, eh? Alright.” Making sure the fire stayed low and away from them, Fomos turned over for bed.

“Mister Fomos?”

“Yeah?”

“....Thanks.”

_______________________________________________________

Elsewhere,

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!” A metal claw slammed into the thick bark of a tree as an imposing cyclops narrowed her eye towards the freshly made corpse of yet another shaman. Glancing back at the scene of carnage of her own creation, Grii blew more wild strands of hair from her face, before slamming the woman’s body to the dirt. “Where is that brat? What sort of trick is this!?” shouting to the darkened sky, she stomped her way over to a small pool of water, peering at her own, bloodshot eye. “This is impossible. She’s on this plane but EVERY! TIME!” her fist punctuating each word into the already mangled woman, “It’s a girl with black hair, or strange eyes, or fangs. BUT NOT MY PREY!” As a choked gurgle of a laugh escapes her tusk-filled mouth, Grii staggers to her feet again, trudging forward into the jungle. “No matter. Every second you toy with me, Megumi, is more fuel for my hatred! I’m getting closer, so just you wait. I’ll see that little face frozen in terror once again!” Hatred driving her forward, the vile, cold laugh of Grii slowly fades until silence rests over the corpses left behind.

(Next time, I swear things will happen.)

[sincognito]

The Stranger | Primeval Underfell | Ch 1

Universe: Underfell x Primeval

Ships: Spicyhoney, Puppymoney, Twistedpuppymoney

Overview: An introduction to my Underfell Primeval Papyrus known as 'Saber'. Not many people know the character or the show I'm doing the crossover with, but you don't need any knowledge of the show to read this as I'll explain the concept as I go along. All you need to know is that it's essentially Undertale + Time Travel + Dinosaurs :3

Warnings: Animal/Dinosaur Death

A/N: I do have a normal, Undertale version of a Primeval crossover, but that story has not been finished so I will not be using any of the characters from that series

Read on AO3

Next

Buy me a KoFi?

It was a freezing evening in the midst of winter when Rus first saw the strange monster for the first time. He was bundled up in the heavy jacket he was wearing, trying his best to keep every inch of his body covered and protected against the fierce wind that tore at his bones and threw snow up into the air. He was beginning to regret turning down Edge’s offer of a ride back home in the car rather than walking.

He was close to home, wandering along the path that bordered the local woods, when he heard an odd sound to his side. The skeleton looked up, squinting through the snow and into the dark forest beyond. There was a bright, glowing light in the distance that seemed to illuminate all of the trees nearby, and he could clearly see someone moving about in the shadows.

Shrugging it off as nothing more than someone doing some late-night work, Rus continued on his way home. It was unfortunate that he only managed to get a few further steps before an ear-splitting shriek had him jerking in surprise. He whirled around in time to get a glance at the animal that knocked him off his feet and into the snow with a heavy thump.

The large, feathered creature lunged at him, its jaws clamping down around the fluffy jacket that shielded his neck. It yanked at the material, easily tearing through the clothes and breaking off chunks of stuffing that it quickly began to gnaw on.

Rus was completely stupefied, frozen in place while he watched the creature destroying what had been his hoodie only moments ago. Its lithe body was crouched closely to the ground as its blade-like claws and sharpened teeth tore at the soft material, shaking it back and forth as though trying to kill the inanimate object.

When the raptoresque animal had realised it had not grabbed anything worth consuming, its large, brown eyes narrowed on Rus once more. The large feathers of the raptor’s crest rose high into the air as it took a step towards the monster, its teeth curled back in an ugly snarl while it hissed and chirped.

Rus couldn’t move, his whole body frozen as his soul thundered against his ribcage when the reptile began to bear down on him. It was when the animal paused, shifting its body into the position to pounce on its prey when an attack shot through the air, striking the raptor’s side and drawing a pained scream.

Before it could recover from the devastating attack, the monster responsible for the bone weapon leapt at it, another large, crimson blade within their grasp. They brought the attack down hard on the dinosaur, spearing cleanly through its neck, the momentum just enough for the monster to snap through the vertebrae with a sickening crack. The creature paused, a brief moment of realisation passing through its eyes before it slumped, all life drained from its body in an instant.

Rus looked up at the other monster, recalling finally how to breathe. At first he had thought Edge had been the one to jump to his defence, but upon closer inspection, it seemed that it was a completely different skeleton, albeit one with a similar appearance. The other looked down at him, scowling in disapproval shortly before he turned away to look back at the deceased raptor.

He studied the carcass for a long moment before reaching down and grasping the animal’s tail firmly in one hand. Without a word, a began to drag it through the snow and towards the distant glowing light, leaving behind a trail of red snow.

“W-Wait!” Rus finally shouted, his body finally obeying his commands once more as he scrambled shakily to his feet to stumble after the receding figure. His coat forgotten and the adrenaline slowly wearing from his body, he was forced to curl his arms tightly around himself, wondering how the other monster was walking around clad in only some thin clothes and completely bare foot.

“Wait up,” Rus continued, noticing that the other monster didn’t seem to have noticed his words, or perhaps was ignoring him, “Who the hell are you, and what the hell was that?” he demanded, trying his best to keep his racing mind from throwing too many questions at the stranger at once. “Are you even listening? Who ar-”

Rus yelped when the stranger rounded on him, his hold on the raptor forgotten as he snatched Rus’ neck, holding him against the nearest tree. Despite being slightly shorter than him, the other skeleton seemed to have no problem leaving Rus dangling in his grip, and he was forced to desperately claw at the other’s hand to try and relieve some of the pressure from his neck.

The monster looked him over, seeming to check him before scoffing slightly, dropping Rus unceremoniously to the cold snow below. He shook his head, grabbing the dinosaur’s limb again before proceeding back towards the strange light. “Leave now,” the skeleton growled, refusing to look back at Rus, “You were lucky this time.”

Rus had many questions, but he also had an overriding sense of self-preservation, and with the aching pain in his chest from when he was thrust into the icy ground several moments ago and the slight stinging of his neck, he decided it best to heed the other’s words. While it might have been his only chance to find out what strange happenings were occurring in the woods in the middle of the night, he was in no hurry to throw himself into danger so soon after reaching the surface.

After taking a moment to gather himself, Rus used the tree he had been momentarily pinned against as leverage to help himself to his feet before he quickly turned, running back the way he’d come and towards home. He was late, and Blue would be sure to throw a fit over the damage to his brand new jacket.

 The second time Rus encountered the skeleton was one late summer afternoon, a year on from the first meeting. He’d left the cool sanctuary of the local shopping mall and was wandering the small market stalls that popped up every Saturday. There were farmers showing off their fresh produce, artists offering their specially crafted pieces, and so many other strange and wonderous items sat on sale that it often felt a little overwhelming.

The skeleton stood in the shade of one of the tents, looking over the handful of beaded jewellery that lay out across the table before him. No one he knew had a fondness for fancy necklaces and bracelets, but there was no harm in looking at the pretty jewels. From the corner of his eye, Rus was startled briefly when he thought he saw Edge walking through the nearby crowd.

He moved away from the stall, taking a closer look at the monster who bore such a close resemblance to his friend, but was clearly very different in presentation. The monster wore long, dark green trousers that had many a tear and a thin tank top that seemed to also have its fair share of damage. His whole body was smeared with greens and browns as though he had been rolling around in the grass, yet he seemed not to notice his rather dishevelled appearance.

The torn fabric, however, was nowhere near as badly broken as the other skeleton’s bones seemed to be, littered with poorly healed scars and fractures. It was then he realised, that it was likely the stranger he had encountered many moons ago. Fortunately, he began to inspect a nearby clothing display, allowing Rus to continue to observe him without seeming too suspicious. He began to look through the clothes as well, keeping an eye on the stranger.

The monster selected a pair of long, black trousers, looking them over quickly before holding them up to his hip to ensure they were an appropriate size. With that, he began to walk away, clothes still in hand. No one else seemed to notice his presence at all and had Rus not been watching so closely, he would have been able to simply take the clothing.

“I hope you plan on paying for those,” Rus stated, stepping out from the rows of clothing racks to speak to the taller monster.

The other skeleton’s crimson eye lights had the same fierceness to them as Edge, his features strikingly familiar if not for the crack running down the bottom of his jaw rather than across his eye. At first when the monster looked at Rus there was anger, but then there was a hint of amusement deep within them as the monster grinned, apparently also realising they had met before. Glancing back to ensure that the shopkeeper was still preoccupied with customers he held out a hand to Rus.

Something was placed into his hand by the monster, and Rus was quick to look down at the wet object now in his grasp. He almost dropped it when he realised that it was, in fact, a living creature that he had received, and one that looked rather similar to a cockroach at first glance. However, once he looked closer, Rus was amazed to find that he was holding a living trilobite.

It twitched and squirmed, obviously not used to being removed from its watery home. Rus looked up, only to find that the other monster had seemingly vanished into thin air along with his stolen goods. With all the grace of a headless chicken, Rus raced along the marketplace, asking every store tender he came across until he found a small plastic tub filled with water.

He breathed a sigh of relief when the tiny animal began to happily swim around in its temporary enclosure. Of course, it couldn’t be a permanent solution – Rus knew nothing about looking after an extinct arthropod – and so he was quick to take a short cut back to his home, muttering a quick apology to the small animal for the rather disorientating sensation of teleportation. Not that it would understand him.

With the trilobite safely placed on the kitchen counter, Rus pulled out his phone, dialling up his good friend Undyne and immediately beginning to question her on everything she knew about the animal that had been extinct only a few minutes ago. He then teleported to the nearby shopping centre, walking swiftly to the small pet shop on the corner.

Mentally thanking the stars that he’d been paid already that week, Rus purchased a small fish tank, water filter, and a bag full of ‘feeder fish’ as they were labelled. Undyne had informed him that most trilobites fed on a diet of small, aquatic worms, and so he hoped that the small fish would be enough to keep it satisfied.

[queenofangrymoths]

Sunset After Ashes - I

So this is a story that I was held at gunpoint by one of my characters. Her name is Ash and she’s a bi, Italian vampire. I hope you enjoy the first part of her story. Message me if you want to get tagged for this?? Don’t know how long this will go on but just, IDK, message if you’re interested.

For the record:

Topolino means ‘little mouse’ in Italian.

Conejito means ‘little bunny’ in Spanish.

-

1980

It’s funny how ex-boyfriends can come back to bite you in the ass. Or the neck, in Ashley Carissima Lucy Vecellio case. She shivered, twitching on the tiled floor of her parent’s bathroom, burning with a high fever. Everything hurt. Her neck, her mouth - everything. She’d shivered in bed for most of the day, then the pain worsened. It was enough to make her scream and cry, muttering a prayer under her breath. All of the prayers were that death might come and take her but they fell on deaf ears.

It was Sunday, she got out of church by claiming she was sick. It wasn’t much of a lie. This was the worst of it, she shivered. Rick said he’d come when she was ‘out of the worst of it’. As much as she was scared of what she was going through now - she was downright terrified of when Rick was comingto get her. Seems like we might need some context on this Rick, shall we? Well, Rick is an asshole. A complete douche. Not always, she knew but now, he was a dick.

Ashley met Rick at church when she was nineteen. He winked at her subtly and she blinked like a damsel as the song and dance began. Dates at diners, dancing clubs, dinner with her family. It was everything Ashley hoped for. She was so sure that she might marry him in their local church all dressed up in white. That’s when it took a turn for the worst.

“Where are you going?” He asked her as she walked out of their apartment, really it was her apartment but they lived together.

She grabbed her keys, putting on black sunglasses. “Just out to the mall,”

“You can’t.”

“Excuse me?” She looked up at him, her hand already on the doorknob.

“You can’t go to the mall,” he said again, she stared at him harder.

She blinked her long lashes, her brow starting to furrow. “Listen, Rick, I need to go pick up some highlighters - for my test on Friday-”

Then he said something that blew her mind. Made her furious and started a long hell. “I think you should drop out.”

She stopped, her heart beating fast. “Excuse….Excuse me?”

“I think you should drop out.”

Ashley stared at him, she grew cold as she took off her sunglasses, her eyes on fire. She’d worked her ass off to get in her program, to get a spot in a male-dominated field and...he wanted her to drop out. “You’ve got to out of your goddamn mind, Rick, if you think I’m dropping out.”

He got up, walking towards her. Why her blood chilled as he stalked up to her, she was unsure. She didn’t know why but her heart started racing faster and faster like a rabbit upon seeing a predator. “You’ll never get a job, Ashley, no one wants to hire a girl for engineering.”

Despite her fear, she held her ground. “Then I’ll be the first. Now, I’m going to the mall, to get some highlighters, get out of my way.” She hissed, turning the doorknob and walked out, slamming the door behind her. It only got worse from there. He didn’t stop her from going to her classes but he demanded to know where she was at all time, even if she was out with friends or family. They argued more, Ashley pushing against every boundary and rule he tried to set. She knew it was going to happen eventually but it still hurt when he hit her. And that, that was Ash’s line in the sand.

“Get out!!!!” She screamed, clutching her cheek and glaring at him fiercely.

“Ashley, it was an accident -” He stuttered but she cut him off, blunt teeth bared.

“Get the fuck out of my apartment before I call the police!” She growled, inching closer to the landline. He stared at her, his face paled. “Well?! GET OUT!” She screamed. It took a second but he ran like a rat with his tail between his legs. Ash took a breathe as the door closed and called her Mama, crying. It was a rough night but it was the start of something new. 

 Three years went by without issue. Rick left Ashley the fuck alone. She graduated college with a bachelor's degree in engineering and started working as an architectural engineer, turns out someone did hire her! A girl! Who would have known? Every day she succeeded made her feel smug, every achievement a little fuck you, Rick, because Ashley was petty like that.

Then the attack happened. Memories of it were blurred and in actuality, she was glad she couldn’t remember it. Still, she never forgot what Rick had said. “We can be together forever, Ashley! Don’t you see this is the best option?” Clearly, there was a difference of opinions because Ash punched Rick right in the jaw as soon as he released her, stumbling and weak but still pissed as hell. “Don’t worry, Ashley, I’ll come to get you after the worst of it,” He left her at her parents' house, claiming that he found her drunk. Ash hated him for that. That and the bite.

Days later, she was alone when the fangs grew, alone when the cravings took her. Alone and content to scream her heart out. The next two days were messy, no other words fit the proper description. At long last, she woke up changed, tired and hungry. Her family surrounding her, Mama sobbing with relief. Her aunts set to work, feeding her water and broth.

“Don’t let him in,” she whispered to Mama and the aunties. 

“Who, honey?” Mama asked. 

“Rick - don’t - don’t let him in.” she cried.

When Rick arrived the next day, claiming he was going to bring Ash back to their apartment, Mama looked him dead in the eyes and said he wasn’t welcomed in their house anymore. The strangest thing happened, his dark eyes widened and his olive skin paled as he scrambled out of the house, quicker than a jackrabbit. “Like a rat,” She muttered to her daughter. They shared a giggle.

For weeks, she couldn’t think clearly. All she remembered was just...feelings. The hunger m never went away and the new fangs pricked her tongue all the time. She knew they could fold back...somehow. Ash didn’t know how to or what might satisfy her. When the aunties finally declared that Ash was well enough to rejoin the living world, they spent the day cooking, the kitchen smelled heavenly of rosemary and garlic.

Only for Ash to end up in the hospital with a swollen throat caused by an allergic reaction. “Garlic??? Are you kidding???” She heard Mama titter before giving her hand a squeeze. “Don’t worry, topolino, we’ll get through this,”

Ash didn’t remember much of her time in the hospital. Her memory was pretty shitty right after turning, that happened with the change and her body trying to figure what the fuck was going on. Her dreams were weird - filled with blood and darkness, raw meat, and lots and lots of blood. It made her mouth water. The cravings worsened to the point that now, Ash knew she was *this* close going mad. Fledgelings needed to feed regularly, even more than a usual vampire. If they weren’t, then….it was an absolute disaster. And that’s what Ash’s turning was, a disaster.

Somehow, she broke out of the hospital and wandered wandering the streets of LA, half out of her mind. She was lucky that she didn’t maim anyone or a hunter hadn’t found her since she’d be easy prey for even a beginning hunter. Thankfully, Alejandra found her first.

“Goodness, fledgling, aren’t you a mess,” A voice was as clear as the water Ash sat in. The newly turned vampire was sitting one of the many pools of fountain Monterey Park, completely soaked to the bone. Standing in front of her was a woman with polished bronze skin, the color reminded Ash of warriors of old and their shields with dark brown hair tied back to keep out of her face. A bag was hanging in the crook of her elbow and her eyes covered by big sunglasses.

“I’m…” It was hard to form sentences, difficult to even think properly. It frustrated the newly turned vampire to no end. She was a goddamn engineer, not an idiot. “Hungry.” She bit through her lip and it drew blood. It tasted so sweet and Ash was this close to crying with relief. 

The woman took off her sunglasses, showing black eyes so beautiful, filled with pity. With a hand reaching in her bag, she stepped towards Ash. With slender fingers, out of her bag came a blood bag and she offered it to the sorry girl. “Drink, fledgling,” 

Ash didn’t hesitate, she snatched the bag and drank the contents like a starved, feral animal. Her mouth was covered in blood, steady drops dripped down her chin and found their way in the water. The woman offered her another and then another. When the third blood bag, Ash felt more like...her, normal for the first time in so many days. “Feel better, conejito?”

Ash blinked at her, her lips parting to show longer canines.“Why do I feel like that?” Her cheeks felt fuller with the fangs unlocked, she had a lisp. She just drank blood, holy shit. The metallic taste was wonderful on her tongue and the craving, the endless hunger was gone! She didn’t feel fucking fantastic but she felt fine.

The woman helped her up, covering Ash in her jacket. “Because you’re a fledgling, conejito. Trust me, I’ve seen worse,” She attempted to reassure her.

“I’m a what?”

“A fledgling,” Like a guardian angel the woman - who was called Alejandra, guided her down the streets, in the direction of the hospital. “Oh, you don’t know?” Her voice was filled to their brink with sympathy. “What’s your name, conejito?”

“Ash.” 

“Listen, Ash, this may sound impossible but you’re a vampire.” The words were serious and stern, not a single ounce of joking. Ash swallowed hard and stared, unblinking.

“I’m a what?” 

“A vampire, you need a mentor, fledgling. Who bite you?” 

“My ex-boyfriend.” Ash muttered a curse under her breath, cursing his name to God and whatever Hell she could manage. 

In two seconds, Alejandra decided that this fledgling was hers now. “Well, fuck him, I’ll be your mentor now.” the woman said as they arrived at the hospital. Alejandra gently pushed Ash in the hospital lobby  “Meet me in Monterey Park, you’ll know when.”

“Wait, you just can’t leave me here without explaining everything-” Ash turned and Alejandra, her guardian angel, gone. As if she’d never been there in the first place. Stunned, Ash watched the sunrise, not even noticing as a  nurse rushing up to her. Not until she pulled her deeper into the lobby and screaming that she’d been found.

Three days out of the hospital, three days of somewhat normality in avoiding the sun, garlic, and crosses which was harder than most because Ash was fucking, hardcore Italian. Sunshine, garlic, and crosses were practically their culture. After three days, the hunger came back but this time Ash knew what to do. After the sunset, she slipped out of her room and made her way to Monterey Park. As she arrived at the fountain, there was Alejandra with her bag, waiting for her. “I want a fucking refund,” Ash called as she walked closer. 

Alejandra’s lips quirked into a smile. “And why is that, Conejito?”

“No sunlight, no garlic, no crosses - I am fucking Italian!! How the fuck am I supposed to avoid those things?!” Ash huffed, her fangs popping out with her anger.

Alejandra threw her head back and laughed, her dark eyes glittering with glee. “You got spirit, conejito, I’ll give you that, but joking time is over. Class is in session now.”

“Will there be a test?”

“Perhaps,” and then, they got to work.

[potatoegirlart]

The Trouble with Konpeito

The Trouble with Konpeito

Prompt: In which, Akane finds new ways to annoy her father, Lord Nobunaga...

Akane sat against the wall of nursery, her legs pulled up somewhat awkwardly against her chest, her chin resting behind her knees. Her gunmetal grey eyes scowled at nowhere in particular as she tried to drown out the noise of the small children playing in the room. The only reason she was even here was because her mother thought it would be a brilliant idea for her to watch over her younger siblings.....

Well, the siblings that were young enough to be here anyways.

Her father was in some boring war meeting, and her mother was serving them tea. So, as the oldest, Akane was tasked with watching over some babies. Akane sighed, almost cursing her birth order for the millionth time, and blew some of her long bangs away from her eyes.

When would it be time for her to get a hair cut again? Her hair was almost becoming too unmanageable.

"You look like you ate something sour. You ok?" Akane glanced at her friend, Akita, the daughter of Lord Madea, as the young lady came up to her in a chipper exposition. Akane sighed again, scowling even more as she looked forward.

"You're too happy. Come back with a different attitude." She mumbled, making Akita grin and laugh as she sat beside her. Akane's scowl deepened as she cut her friend a side ways glance."I'm serious." She deadpanned, and then looked forward.

"Hey! Be happy! I ain't happy about being here either. I mean, I can think of a million other things I'd rather do than being stuck here, babysitting some bratty, brat babies, but hey! Someone's gotta do it!"

"Tch." Akane dismissed, her lip curling upwards just slightly. Akita looked at her, head tilted for a moment, and then smiled as she patted her friends shoulder. Akane jumped, not expecting the touch, and then scowled at her friend."Who gave you permission to touch me?" She questioned sullenly, and then moved away, but just a fraction of an inch. Akita merely grinned, and shook her head. "You look a bit.... Hmmm... Are you hungry?" Akita questioned, turning her body so that she was fully facing her red-haired friend. Akane glanced at her, eyebrow cocked slightly.

"I don't see how my hunger has anything to do with my mood,which by the way, is steamed from being stuck in this stupid room with a bunch of whiny, stinky babies. I could think of literally anything else I would rather be doing. Trust me, none of them come close to this."

"Well... It's just sometimes people get angry coz they're hungry. Aito sure as hell does. Like seriously, if he hasn't eaten in the last three hours don't even breath the same air as him." Akita laughed, but it quickly dropped when Akane made  disgruntled noise.

There was a moment of silence, and then Akane grinned, gasping slightly as she closed the distance between her and Akita, surprising the dark haired girl, who jumped back slightly.

"Don't move, you idiot! I have a secret plan! And I want you to be a part of it with me!" Akane hoarsely whispered, gripping her  friend's colorful kimono hem, and pulling her closer to her.

"Why would I do that?" Akita whispered harshly, looking around to make sure that none of the nursemaids could overhear them.

"Because I need a watchdog! Duh! Now shut up, and listen to me!"

"Ok,Ok..... Wait... Watchdog? What does that---------------"

"Never mind! Just listen!" Akane whispered, and then tilted her head upwards, and whispered into her friends ear the plan.

... ... ....

"Are you sure it's a good idea? I mean, what if we're caught?" Akita asked, her back to her red haired friend as she drug through her father's little chest where he usually hid the vile containing those sugar stars. He always kept one hidden in the chest as an emergency stash,and Akane was determined to find it.

"You don't to worry. My dad will only get mad and lecture me. He'll let you go scott-free." Akane paused in her digging for a slight second as she replied to her friend, who had her back to her, and was standing closer to the door way. Akita was a good watchdog, and Akane felt proud that she made the right decision in choosing her....

Even if she only asked Akita was because she was the only older child in that room at the time, and it was just convenient. Plus, she didn't want to do this alone. Again, anyways.

After just a fraction of a second, Akane went back to furiously, but carefully, looking for that small vile.

"Shouldn't that worry you more?!" Akita questioned a bit too loudly, turning her head to look at her friend.

Panicked, scared violet colored eyes met annoyed gunmental grey eyes. The look in her friend's eyes was all it took for Akita to realize she had been too loud, and sighed as she looked at the door once more. Proud that she got her point across without having to directly state it, like she always had to do it seemed with her dark haired friend, Akane went back to digging.

"Yes!" Akane cheered when she heard a familiar clink as it fell out of a sleeve that belonged to a yutaka her father owned, and the vile hit the floor. Inspecting to make sure there was no damage, Akane squeezed her prize tightly in her grip, and close to her chest.

"What are you two doing? You're supposed to be watching the younger kids. ANd what are you doing going through my personal things, Akane?" Akane froze at her father's voice.

She scowled, standing up as she hid the vile in her kimono sleeve, but still hid her arms behind her back,since one hand was securing the vile against her arm that was opposite of the hand.

She scowled at Akita, who gave her an apologetic expression, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

"I'm sorry. He came alot faster when I looked at you."

"A good watch dog doesn't let itself lose track of it's target, and it warns the other person when the person they're watching for is in sight! Everyone knows that!" Akane shouted in annoyance, wanting to pinch the bridge of her nose like she would any other time, but stopped herself. She knew if she did that, her secret would be blown.

"I'm sorry!" Akita said back. Nobunaga sighed, pinching the bridge of his own nose for a moment, and then dropped his hand as he looked at the scared girl. He smiled slightly, ruffling her hair.

"I know my demon child roped you into this. Go find your father, and next time, ignore my daughter. Everyone else does." He then dropped his hand from the child hair, who then smiled, a huge feeling of relief overcame her.

She looked at Akane apologetically once more, but Akane's annoyed expression didn't change. Akita looked at Nobunaga, who was looking at his daughter with a slight tilt of his head, trying to figure out what she was hiding. Akita wasted no time in letting out a short, but deep, sigh of relief before bolting out of the room, wanting more than anything to be find her dad, and avoid Nobunaga's path for a while. He may have said he wasn't angry with her, but that didn't stop Akita from being guilty, and embarrassed, at having been caught. She'd avoid Nobunaga, and Akane,who probably wouldn't talk to her for a while anyways, until it blew over. Then, she'd stop avoiding them both.

There was a brief moment of silence between Akane and Nobunaga. Akane was keeping a cool poker face, watching and waiting for a window of opportunity to open up so she can escape the room with her treasure in tact, and her father not knowing the truth. Nobunaga was watching his daughter in a way that a hunting animal might watch it's potential prey before pouncing. Or maybe he was just waiting on the foolish slimmer of hope that he wouldn't have to ask his obsitent daughter what she was doing in his room, going through his private things, and she would just tell him before he had to drag it out of her.

But he knew those chances were slim, and as the seconds ticked on, and his patience was wearing thin, he knew he would be have to be the one to somehow pry it out of her. Like always.

"I give up, child. What are you hiding?" He finally asked, righting the stance of his head to something more straight and stern looking,and leveled a stern expression on his daughter, who finally looked at him with her usual poker face.

The poker face she only used to hide what she was really doing.

Why, oh why, did he have to a child that was such....

Himself.

If he was the Devil king of Owari, or Devil king of the Seventh ring of hell or whatever...

Then, this for sure was a spawn of a devil.

Some days he was proud of it, and other days, like this one, he was annoyed to have such a child that reminded himself too much of what he was like. But, nonetheless, Akane always made for a great and amusing challenge when it came down to it.

"Nothing." She said simply, shrugging slightly. Her poker face remained, expect for an eyebrow raised as she tilted her head slightly.

To Nobunaga, it seemed as if his own child was challenging him.... Again. Lucky for him, he had been through this enough to know that Akane, smart and cunning as she thought she was, would give herself away in no time if he just kept this going. At this point, it was almost a waiting game. If only because Nobunaga knew if he could keep the questioning up long enough, keep her standing there long enough, she would slip up somehow, and he'd find out the truth no matter how she tried to convince him otherwise.

"Hmm. I've heard that before. Try something else, Foolish Child." He said, smirking at his daughter, and felt a strange sense of victory when she scowled at him. She was going to be much easier to crack this time. If only because he surprised her, and the gift of surprise was always an advantage for those that had it in any battle situation.

"I'm serious. Nothing." She said defensively, but then reined in her expression, and softened it out to an innocent, childish grin.

Ah, she had obviously been hanging around Ieyasu too much if she was already trying to emulate his poison smile. Or maybe that was just something that came naturally to his devilish child. He hadn't decided yet.

"Then, care to explain why you're in my room. Going through my stuff?" He questioned. Akane was silent for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Well, Mother has been teaching me to sew. I know you only put clothes in here when you no longer have use for them,and you just toss the contents out anyways when it's full. I was just trying to find something so I can see if Mother can make me a new outfit or something. I like your red haoris, so I was trying to find one both clean and used enough because then I'd know you wouldn't want it back. So... That's all I was doing."

"Then, why was the Dog's puppy the watchdog, as you put it?"

"Coz I was gonna surprise you if something could be done, and I needed her to tell me if she heard you that way I could put everything back and take whatever found, if I did find anything, so the surprise wouldn't be ruined. But, that worked out spectacularly well, and now the surprise is ruined. Happy now?" She questioned, her hips at an angle, her leg out just slightly, head tilted ever so slightly, lips pursed, and eyes clearly speaking her annoyance as she leveled the attitude filled expression at her father. The only thing missing from this familiar, attitude filled stance was her hand at her hip. She still had her hands behind her back.

Nobunaga looked at her hands, and then at her face, and smirked as he tilted his head, giving her a knowing expression. Akane could feel her heart racing, as it had been this entire time, but only this time it was a bit faster, and she couldn't control the beating as she had been able to up to that point. Her palms became sweaty, and she gripped the vile of sugar stars a bit tighter so that they wouldn't slip out of her laxed grip.

She knew that expression all too well. He was on to her. But she wasn't about to  let him have the satisfaction of seeing her give in so quickly and easily. She simply whipped her head slightly upwards, her chin slightly upwards, her back straight, shoulders forward. A very prideful stance. However, she kept her eyes leveled to her father's face. Looking away would be a sign of giving in. A sign that he had bested her, scared her, with one expression,and she wouldn't allow herself to be defeated so easily by one simple expression.

However, what she didn't plan on happening was for the vile filled with her father's favorite treat to slip out of her hands. Her tightened grip only made it easier for the small, glass vile to slip against her sweaty palms, and out of her hands. She didn't realize it had happened, since she was too busy having a stare down with her father, until she heard the familiar CLANK! on the ground.

She didn't react until she felt the rolling vile hit against her clothed foot. She sucked in a breath, holding it, as her eyes quickly dropped to the vile, which was just bearly hidden by her foot, and then looked at her father with wide eyes, hoping wildly that the simple noise hadn't tipped him off the truth.

Luckily, it hadn't really notified him immediately of the truth, but that little noise was all Nobunaga needed to know that he had caught her in a lie once more, and he would figure out what dropped now that he heard the proof with his own ears. Even if that meant having to fight with Akane, a long, tedious fight that would probably make him miss the battlefields almost, just to get the truth of what she was hiding away from her. He smirked a victory grin at her, his eyes telling her that she was now in his game,and the ball was in his court.

They stared at each other for a few, long moments more, before Nobunaga strode forward with fast steps, in an attempt to reach and grab the thing before Akane could, but Akane was just a bit faster. She turned around quickly, and bent down, and quickly picked it up, but wasn't fast enough to hide it before Nobunaga was just within arms reach, and stopped her from hiding it once more, and blocked any chance she had for escape.

"Interesting find, Child. Now, what is?" He questioned, too sweetly for Akane's liking since it sounded like mocking to her, but she still tried to hide it by moving it down towards her kimono sleeve, but wasn't fast enough as Nobunaga blocked that chance.

Akane looked away sullenly, pouting as she had no other choice but admit defeat in this situation. Nobunaga smirked at her once more, and then looked at the glass container.

He instantly recognized the corked lid, and his smirk immediately fell as he let go of her hand, moved away slightly to give them some space, and stood up with the straightest stance he could manage, arms crossed over his chest as he looked at his daughter with an annoyed expression.

How many times, how many times! How many times had he told his daughter to stay away from his private stash of emergency konpeito? How many times had he explained had he explained why his wife, her mother, always made him an emergency stash, and that it was for him only? And how many times had he explicitly told her that if she wanted some that badly, all she had to do was go to her mother, and ask for some to be made for her? That way he always had his emergency stash when he needed it the most, and she had her own? Why did she feel the need to do this? Was it just annoy him, and get a rise out of him?

"Well, Mother was busy with you in the war meeting, and I was bored, and wanting something." Akane spoke up defensively, looking at her father with an expression that clearly stated she didn't care that she had been caught at all, which annoyed Nobunaga even further.

This is WHY he called her his little demon spawn. She was just as aggravating and annoying as one would be.

"We tasked you with the responsibility of watching the younger children. You could have waited, and then asked your mother."

"There's nursemaids for a reason, Father." Akane deadpanned, rolling her eyes slightly before looking back at her father with another poker faced expression."Besides, I was bored. There's no interesting conversation I could have with a three year old, and the nursemaids talk to me like I'm some child." She explained in a pout."And if Mother wasn't so busy serving... Whatever to you men at the meeting, I would have asked her for some, but she wasn't around. Besides, I was only going to take a few, and if you really didn't want me to find them, maybe you should keep them in a different place to where I wouldn't think to look. You always keep them in there. So... If you really didn't want them to be taken so easily, and you know I do it, then you'd find a better hiding spot, and made sure I didn't find out where it was. I'm not the only one to blame." She said that statement as if it was a simple fact, like any simple minded idiot would know to do this and it was common knowledge, and then she shrugged, smiling that same poison smile towards her father.

Seriously, Nobunaga made the mental note of limiting the time Akane spent around Ieyasu. If only so she wouldn't pick up on anymore of his behavior.

Although, Nobunaga was slightly impressed with her reasoning, and he knew she was right. He would give her that much at least.

"Foolish Child, how many times have I told you I shouldn't have to do that. As your parent, you shouldn't be going through my things behind my back. Even if the stuff you're going through is trash. It's still in my room, and I haven't decided what to do with them just yet. How many times have both your mother and I explained that to you? Why do you feel the need to cause me this level of annoyance with your continual defiance?" He questioned. Akane shrugged, which just caused Nobunaga to sigh in annoyance. He closed his eyes fro a moment, reining in his urge to start yelling at his defiant daughter, and then took a breath, releasing it, and then opened his eyes as he looked at his daughter."And besides, how many times have I told you, that if you're going to be pulling sneaky stunts like this to make sure that you don't get caught? I'm not always going to be around you to bail you out of trouble, and it's not always going to be just me you're doing this to. You know, a different type of person might get real angry and do more than just lecture you when you get caught doing something you aren't supposed to do. At least this time you had a look out, but next time.... Choose someone who won't get you both caught. Be smarter about your annoying habits." He said simply, almost teasingly.

For the millionth time since this child learned to walk and talk, Nobunaga apologized to his mother and everyone else who had to deal with a younger him since he was much the same way as his daughter was now. He waited for her to say something.

"So.... Can I just take some, and then go away?" She said simply, almost begging.

"No. I just told you no. Go ask your mother, child. This is for my emergency usage. Now hand it back." He replied, reaching a hand in expectation. Akane looked at the hand, and then at him with a expression that said"Really? Do you really expect that to happen? Well, it's not. Not in a million years." And it just further served to annoy him.

"Mother will have to make a new batch, and when she does I'll replace what I took. I just really need something sweet right now, you understand how it is, Father?" She was now speaking in her sweet, innocent tone that she used when she was trying to convenience someone to let her have her way. Nobunaga leveled a more serious expression at her.

"No. Give it." He said simply. Akane scowled, almost taken aback slightly as she shook her head, moving her hands behind her body once more, and taking a step back.

"I said I'd replace it. There's no harm in that, right?"

"If you had simply asked instead of sneaking around and stealing it, I might have considered that bargain, but under the current circumstances, no. I am not going to reward you for obsitent and defiant behavior. Honestly, why do you do it when it gets you nowhere?" He questioned again, reaching for it, but Akane moved out of the way, and he missed. Nobunaga scowled just slightly at her."Do you honestly think playing keep away with me is helping you in any way?" He questioned.

Akane glanced to her side, at the door, quickly calculating how fast she can run in these restricting clothes before she reached the door. If her father would catch her before she made it safely into the hallways or not. She then looked at her father, gauging their distance. If she could slowly inch her way towards the door without making it obvious, she might have a good chance. She took a step back once more. Just that much closer to the exit. But Nobunaga seemed to match every half step, keeping the distance close. Akane had to think fast. Faster than her father, the escape artist extraordinaire, if the rumors of his younger years were anything to believe. It was a simple game of she had to think five steps ahead of her smart and cunning father, who seemed to already know all her moves before she even did anything, and wasn't giving her the window she needed to escape with her prize. She worked this hard to get it, and dammit, she was going to enjoy it if was the last thing she did!

"What are you two doing this time?" Came the exasperated tone of her mother. Both Nobunaga and Akane looked at her with wide eyes, before relaxing their stances. Nobunaga spoke up before Akane even had the chance to speak up. "She was refling through my things again to steal my emergency sugar stars that you made specially for me. I'm trying to get them back, but she seems to like to play keep away with me." Nobunaga looked back at his daughter, who had a flattened expression as she looked at him, and shrugged.

"Like I said, find better hiding spots, and make them clever enough to where I won't find them."

"That's not even the point. Don't turn this on me, Child. I am your parent,and dammit, you need to respect what say, and you need to respect the fact that when I'm not in my room, you stay out. There's nothing in here for you."

"You should probably put something on the doors then so that I won't be able to easily get in."

"Why should I do that? I shouldn't have to. This is my castle. My private quarters. I shouldn't have to lock it up because my delinquent child doesn't know how to stay out of rooms that she has no business being in."

"I'm just saying, there's many ideas here that if you would just listen, we can all avoid future issues, but you never want to listen to me."

"I shouldn't have to listen to you or what you have to say about any of your wrong actions. It's my duty as a adult,and your parent, to tell you what to do and what not to do. It is for me to make those decisions on when to tell you such things, and how to fix the issues you cause because you chose to ignore what I tell you countless times. It is your duty as the child, my child, to listen, and take in what I say, and listen to me. It is my duty as the adult to tell you what to do when it's needed, and your duty as the child, to listen. Not the other way around, understand?"

".... That doesn't seem right. Because sometimes, adults make stupid decisions, and kids make smart solutions. Like when I say to find different hiding spots that I won't think to look in when this has happened many times. Make it less easy, and maybe I'll stop." ".... Unbelievable." He whispered under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose,and then looked at his daughter with a more severe expression." I mean it, hand it back now, Akane." There was a stand-off between the two, both staring the other down, for a good few moments. Miho laughed nervously, moving herself into the room, and then touching her daughter's shoulders gently.

"Akane, Dearest, just give Father back the konpeito, and we can make new ones. Wouldn't you want something that's fresher, and probably taste better anyways?" She questioned, leaning down as she whispered into her daughter's ear. Akane paused, and then looked at her father as she shrugged.

"That seems fair." She said simply, tossing the vile over to her father, who caught it with expertiese, and gave his wife a quick, very quick, expression of gratitude only after she had maneuvered her daughter's face out of eyesight.

[celestialvoid-fanfiction]

When Two Hearts Beat As One

In A Heartbeat AU

Stiles stumbled out of his Jeep and shoved he door shut, his grip fumbling with the straps of his backpack as he shrugged it up onto his shoulders and shuffled over to the path. He kept his eyes on his feet, trying not to trip as his shoes scuffed against the concrete. He made his way out of the carpark and along the side of the school where large blue double doors led into the hallways full of lockers. He turned down the path that led up to the blue doors and froze, his eyes falling upon the figure who slouched back against the brick wall beside the stairs.

The older boy’s leather jacket hung heavy on his broad shoulders, the worn black leather melting into the shadows. His stern features and cold composure made him look a good few years older than he was; the sleepless shadows under his eyes didn’t help either. His raven-black hair was short and tousled, and the soft whiskers of an unshaved pubescent stubble cast a shadow across his jaw, highlighting and framing his sharp cheekbones.

Derek Hale.

Stiles felt his heart skip a beat, swallowing hard against the growing lump in his throat.

Unsure of what to do, he leapt into the nearby bush, hiding in the shadows behind the leafy foliage. He stayed there for a moment, trying to steady his breathing and calm his racing heart.

He dared to look, peering over the top of the hedge.

Derek still stood by the stairs like he did every morning; his head bowed and his glimmering aventurine irises focused on the book in his hand, his eyes rolling across the pages of printed text. He held a glossy red apple in the other hand, absentmindedly rolling it about in his hand as his arm hung by his side.

Stiles felt his chest ache as his heart fluttered against his ribs, his lungs burning for the relief of the wisps of air that played across his lips.

He ducked behind the bush again and let out the breath he didn’t know he had been holding. He shrugged off his bag and made his way over to a nearby tree, trying to remain inconspicuous while he got a better angle.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he scolded himself for being a creeper, but he couldn’t help himself; Derek was just too damn gorgeous. He had fallen head over heels for pretty girls like Lydia Martin, but then Derek had walked into his life and he had started to question everything.

He climbed up into the low branches, the bark scratching at his hands as he hoisted himself higher and higher.

He looked down across the common area, watching as Derek pushed himself upright and began to make his way around the far hedges and towards the path. He watched how Derek’s lean fingers toyed with the apple and how he gently gnawed at the rosy pink flesh of his lower lip, his mouth quivering slightly as he read the words on the page.

Stiles hoisted himself higher, trying to get a better view. His head thumped the branch that hung over his head and he hissed in pain.

Derek heard him. He lowered his book and turned around, his pale eyes searching the nearby space for the source of the strange sound.

Stiles dropped out of the tree, stifling a grunt of pain as he hit the ground. He hunched over himself and hid behind the thick trunk of the tree, his hand clamped over his mouth as he held his breath and cowered like prey avoiding the gaze of a predator.

He felt tears well in his eyes as everything crashed over him at once: anxiety, shame, and fear.

Thoughts and fears swarmed his mind as his heart began to beat faster and faster, slamming against his ribs so painfully that it felt as if it were about to burst through his chest. He clutched his chest, wincing in pain.

The shrill ring of the school bell made him jolt, the painful sound filling his ears as streams of teenagers began to filter into the large building.

Stiles peered through a gap in the leafy edge, watching as Derek glanced over his shoulder at the large doors behind him, burning slightly before he hesitated. He turned back and looked in Stiles’ direction, his shimmering eyes glimmering with curiosity and concern.

Stiles stood still and held his breath.

Eventually, Derek let out a weak sigh and turned his eyes to the bright blue doors, stepping around the small bush that bordered the path and making his way towards the small flight of stairs.

Everyone else was already inside, rummaging through their lockers and collecting their books for first period. Every time the doors swung open, the sound filtered out into the open air: voices; endless chatter and gossip; phones ringing as texts flew back and forth; lock dials clicking as they span; the thin plated metal of locker doors rattling and booming as they slammed shut; books sliding from the fumbling hands of students and crashing against the linoleum; papers flittering and crackling in lockers as the children sorted through their notebooks, worksheets and homework; the hinges on the heavy blue doors whined. It was a crescendo of chaotic noise that filled Stiles’ head, amplifying every negative though.

Stiles held his breath, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. He let the breath out and drew in another, inhaling deeply as he opened his eyes and slowly counting to ten. He felt his body relax slightly, his shoulders dropping despite the tension in his muscles.

He reached for his bag when he realised there was a strange weight in his hand.

He looked down at the pulsating bulb that was nestled into the palm of his hand. It was pale, rose-pink, and slightly animated. It fluttered like a resting butterfly before unfolding and morphing into shape.

He pressed his free hand to his chest, feeling for something that wasn’t there.

“Oh my god,” he rasped as he realised what he was looking at: his own beating heart.

The heart in his hands looked up at him with wide eyes, tilting lightly with curiosity and a child-like innocence.

“What the hell?” Stiles whispered. “Look, I know this is Beacon Hills and strange shit happens every day, but this is beyond strange.”

The heart ignored him, leaping out of his hands and gliding through the air.

“No, no, no,” Stiles called after it, panicked and reaching for it. But it eluded his grasp.

He braced his hands against the ground and scrambled to his feet, scurrying out of the bushes and following the heart that flew across the empty space. He looked ahead at where his heart was going; straight for Derek.

Derek’s attention was focused on his book again, his agile fingers absentmindedly rolling the glossy red apple about in his other hand.

“No,” Stiles gasped, but it was too late; with perfect timing, Stiles’ heart knocked the apple out of Derek’s fingers and nestled itself, happily, into the palm of Derek’s hand.

Derek didn’t seem to notice.

“No,” Stiles whispered, scurrying up behind Derek. He looked down at his heart in Derek’s hand and then back up to Derek, who seemed oblivious. Frantic thoughts filled his head; he had to think of something, he had to somehow get his heart back without Derek noticing.

He carefully reached forward, his fingers trembling as they edged closer to Derek’s hand.

The toe of his shoe struck a crack in the pavement and he stumbled forward, grasping for whatever he could reach.

He felt his hand touch something soft and warm. He froze. His dark chocolate eyes looked up to where his hand laid… in Derek’s.

“Sorry,” he said as he quickly snatched his hand back, a warm blush colouring his cheeks as he struggled to keep a hold of his heart.

His heart broke free of his hold, bursting into the open and skirting around Derek.

Stiles lunged forward and grabbed at the heart, cupping it between his hands. He let out a small sigh of relief but it was short-lived as he realised where he was, standing with his body pressed up against Derek’s, his arms looped around the older boy’s neck while Derek’s hands rested on his waist to steady him; their faces inches apart.

Stiles froze, his gaze transfixed on the swirling depths of Derek’s aventurine eyes.

His lips quivered breathlessly as he pulled away slightly.

“Are you okay?” Derek asked, his eyes full of worry as he looked at Stiles.

Stiles didn’t reply. He scurried back over to where he had dropped his bag and swung it onto his shoulder, hurrying up the stairs towards the large blue doors.

He felt his heart fight against his grip.

“Stop it,” he hissed under his breath. He felt a whimper in his throat as he said, “You don’t understand. I can’t. I can’t be… that. Everyone will shun me… I just… I can’t.”

The heart paused for a moment, looking up at Stiles with wide eyes. It broke free of his grasp and flew through the air, hurrying ahead of Stiles and into the hallway; chasing after Derek.

“No,” he called after it, kicking up his heels and running towards the doors. He burst through them and froze, his eyes falling upon Derek.

The older boy laid on the ground, his book cast aside and his bag laying by his feet as Stiles’ heart nuzzled itself against Derek’s chest. Derek stared down at it, his eyes wide with shock and curiosity, but not terror.

Stiles lunged forward and grabbed the heart, pulling it back, but it seemed reluctant to go; it grabbed Derek’s hand and pulled the other way.

Everything was silent; a screaming silence that rang in his ears as all eyes fell on him. He glanced up and saw that he was surrounded by a gathering crowd, their glares fixed on Stiles as they watched on in horror and disgust. The silence was broken by the buzz of soft whispers, building on top of each other until it was a deafening, raging mess of sound.

Stiles pulled harder.

A small fissure tore down the centre of the heart but Stiles ignored it and pulled harder, trying to get away.

Gleaming tears trailed down his cheeks as a wave of dread and shame washed over him.

He pulled harder.

The tear grew, his heart aching.

It tried to cry out but it was too late: the heart broke in two.

Stiles wheeled backwards, his back striking the blue doors. He shoved back at them, clutching his fragment of a broken heart to his chest as he kicked up his heels and ran.

Derek fumbled and caught the falling half of the heart, his glittering eyes wide with shock as he looked down at it. His lips trembled around unspoken words. He lifted his gaze and tried to call after Stiles but it was too late: the doors swung shut.

Derek leapt to his feet, ignoring the worried onlookers as he ran out the doors.

His wide eyes searched the area, but there was no sign of Stiles.

A strange ache settled in his chest as he looked down at the broken half of the heart in his hands. He felt his heart sink into his churning gut as he looked up again. He heard a loud rumble as the rolling grey clouds overhead broke and heavy drops of water hit the ground.

Somewhere behind him, he could hear people asking if he was okay, but he ignored them, gently coiling his lean fingers over the broken fragment in his hand and setting off into the pouring rain.

  Stiles ran.

He ran until the pavement became a worn-down dirt track and the houses became trees.

He didn’t dare look back.

His limbs flailed about as he ran, stumbling over rocks and twigs as his legs wheeled beneath him. He bounced off of nearby tree trunks, pushing himself forward. He used a hand to steady himself, leaping to his feet and tearing into the darkness beyond the trees.

The falling rain lashed at his skin, washing away the tears of shame and humiliation as he ran, his broken gasps mixing with his strangled sobs as his feet hit the ground with a thundering beat and he drove himself forward.

He sprinted through the dense forest, weaving his way through the labyrinth of thick tree trunks. He sprung over the fallen trees, broken branches and thick shrubs, his nimble legs and spring-locked ankles projecting him over the large logs. The thick undergrowth and claw-like twigs dragged at his feet. He tried to keep himself upright, struggling not to stumble or trip as he sprinted away from the trailing sounds of ghostly whispers that followed him.

He heaved in deep breaths, his chest aching as he collapsed onto the cushion of damp autumn leaves, piles of rotting flesh which littered the forest floor.

He balled his fists, the wet, slimy leaves sticking to his pale skin as he hunched over himself, heaving in deep breaths. His frail arms trembled under the strain of his weight.

He braced his hands against the ground, sharp sticks prodding his palms. Twigs and leaves rustled and broke beneath him as he lifted his weight to his wobbling legs. He slowly turned in circles, surveying his surroundings. Fallen branches snagged at his calves, scratching at the pale skin beneath his pants and leaving angry red marks across his legs.

He dragged himself over to the nearby stump of a large tree, curling up among the twisting roots. The world spun around him, voices screaming in his ears as he slumped back against a tree. He nestled himself into the shadows and pulled his knees up to his chest, cradling the broken fragment of his heart to his chest. He held his breath, waiting until the pain was too much before finally letting it out, steadying his breathing.

He looked up and looked around the dark shadows of the forest. The usual autumn tones of brown, gold and red were darkened by the night, now a dreary mix of greys and heavy black shadows. Dense foliage hung overhead, enclosing the space, shutting out the sky and filtering the dull light.

Among the darkness, he could make out the fluorescent bleached skeletons of the birch trees, their slender trunks lining the shadows with eye-like rings that watched him, mockingly, from all angles.

A shape broke the static silhouettes, slowly making their way towards Stiles.

He gasped and rubbed at his tear-stained face with the sleeve of his face. He sniffed back his tears and straightened his back, keeping his head bowed as the figure stepped over to him. His eyes fell upon a pair of slightly scuffed boots as the person stopped and knelt before him.

They reached out for his hands but Stiles pulled them back.

They paused for a moment then gently reaching forward again, their lean fingers tenderly brushing the backs of his hands and encouraging Stiles to relax and let the warm hands guide him.

His fingers unfurled, revealing the fragment of his broken heart.

The other half slid into his hand, the jagged edges matching as the fragments began to melt together.

The heart pulsed gently then burst to life, leaping into the air before him

Stiles let out a sigh of relief, a soft sob falling past his lips as he gently cradled his heart against his chest.

He looked up and met the gaze of the boy who stood before him, his eyes were darkened by the shadows and shifted between emerald green and jade.

Stiles knew those eyes; they were unmistakable.

Derek.

Stiles bowed his head, gently gnawing at his lip as a soft blush coloured his cheeks.

Derek shuffled across the leaf-littered forest floor and sat down among the tangled roots of the large tree stump, next to Stiles.

They sat in peaceful quiet for a moment.

Stiles clutched his heart tighter against his chest where he felt it sink back into place. After a moment, his chest felt heavy and his heart throbbed against his ribs. He drew in a deep breath and looked up at Derek.

Derek was looking back at him, a soft smile playing across his lips while his wavering eyes looked at Stiles lovingly.

Stiles was unable to fight the smile that lifted the corners of his lips, gently gnawing at his lower lip and blushing shyly.

Derek’s smile grew wider as he reached out across the twisted roots of the tree, taking Stiles’ hand in his own and lacing their fingers together. He gave Stiles’ hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze and Stiles smiled more.

Stiles’ heart fluttered as he chuckled breathlessly. Then it settled into a calm beat and Stiles lost himself in the swirling depths of Derek’s shimmering eyes. 

         [AO3] 

If you liked what you read and would like to support me and my writing, you can support me through PayPal donations. All the information and links are at: http://celestialvoid-fanfiction.tumblr.com/paypal.me

Even as little as $1 will make a world of difference to me. If you want to help but can’t afford it, then that’s okay, please don’t worry. Your love and support has helped me out so much!

[freebullets]

Jikook let me help you

Jungkook wiped a streak of dirt from his cheek, frowningwhen he pulled his hand away smeared with red. “Well, shit,” he sighed,swatting at the branches that reached for him from above.

“You’re going to attract wild animals,” Yoongi muttered,sweat rolling off of his own pale forehead.

“Isn’t that what we’re out here for?” Jungkook joked,readjusting the rifle where it was slung over his shoulder.

“I’d much rather eat them than the other way around,” Yoongimuttered.

The expedition was running low on supplies, and Jungkookwasn’t surprised. City people rarely packed adequately, rarely actedappropriately, and generally complained about everything. But it wasn’t hisplace to say anything about it. He was there to guide and to hunt, and the restwas their own business.

“Wait,” Yoongi hissed, brow furrowing as he closed his eyes.

“What is it?” Jungkook said uncertainly.

“This way,” Yoongi said, waving Jungkook forward. Yoongi readiedhis rifle, and Jungkook mirrored him, swallowing thickly in the heavy humidity.

They inched deeper into the thick foliage, Jungkook on edgeas he recognized tracks in the dirt as those of a large predator animal. Yoongi’ssteps were virtually silent, while the larger Jungkook made a lot more noise ashis boots crunched against dead leaves.

“There’s something—“ Yoongi said, raising the barrel of thegun.

Jungkook narrowed his eyes, using his free arm to push somebranches out of the way. He nearly dropped his weapon at the sight that greetedthem. “Hyung, it’s a person!”

“Stay back,” Yoongi hissed. “They could be dangerous.”

Jungkook frowned uncertainly. The person lying on the forestfloor certainly didn’t look dangerous.They were small in stature, wearing clothes that were tattered and barelycovered their scarred skin. A shirt gaping with holes, and cargo shortspractically black with grime.  Mostworryingly, they were bleeding heavily from their calf, a metal clamp withpointed spikes digging painfully into their skin. “They’re hurt,” Jungkooksaid, taking a few steps forward.

“Jungkook,” Yoongi said warningly, grip on his guntightening.

“You know we can’t leave them like this,” Jungkook said,eyes combing the still body for further injury. He knelt, the moist dirtseeping into the knees of his pants as he reached out to lightly brush theshoulder of the body, which he could now recognize was male.

The person twitched violently under his touch, brown eyesshooting open and filled with fear as he attempted to scramble away. Jungkookquickly reached out to capture the man’s arms and hold him down against theground. “Hey, if you move, you’re going to hurt yourself!” Jungkook saidworriedly.

The man continued to struggle, panicked, and Jungkook hadthe sinking feeling that he didn’t understand what Jungkook was saying.

“Hey…” Jungkook tried, more gently, like he was coaxing ananimal to come closer. “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I won’t hurt you. I justwant to take a look at your leg. I want to help. Please let me help, huh?”

The boy’s brow furrowed with confusion, but some of the fearlessened at Jungkook’s soft tone.

Jungkook slowly eased his hands away, holding them up placatinglyas the boy watched him with uncertain worry, scrunching his face in pain.

Jungkook looked down at the metal clamp, never having seenan exact copy, but recognizing it as similar to those meant to trap animals.Jungkook would never hunt this way, leaving his prey to suffer for anindeterminate amount of time before anyone got around to checking the traps.The only way to kill was quick and clean.

Judging by the dirt-covered metal, the boy had dug the trapfrom the ground after getting caught. Jungkook reached out to investigate thetrap, but the boy flinched away, fingernails scrabbling in the detritus. “Hey,it’s okay,” Jungkook said, trying to keep the boy’s attention on him as hiseyes flicked to Yoongi. “I’m just going to figure out how to open this,”Jungkook said. “You want it off, right? This can’t feel too good.”

The boy whimpered as Jungkook brushed his fingers over themetal, feeling for pressure triggers or loosened joints. “Shit, this thing iswell made,” Jungkook sighed. “I think I’m going to need pliers.” He frowned,looking into the boy’s watery eyes and chewed up bottom lip. “You’re going tohave to come back with us.”

“What? No way!” Yoongi protested, causing the boy totremble.

“Hyung, we can’t just leave him here! You saw the tracks justlike I did, there are predators in this area. If we leave him here, his bloodwill attract them, and he’ll die.”

“We don’t know anything about this kid! Where the hell didhe come from, all the way out here? This could be a trick to get us to let ourguard down!”

“You really think someone would cripple themselves in a trapjust on the off chance that someone would wander all the way out here?”Jungkook said skeptically.  His attentionwas drawn back to the boy as he whined in pain, attempting to scramble backaway from them. “Hey, no, come on, it’s okay. I’m not mad. We’re not mad.”

The boy’s labored breathing quickened to a frighteningextent, and soon his eyes rolled back into his head, his body going limpagainst the dirt and leaves.

“Probably lost too much blood,” Yoongi sighed.

“We have to help him,” Jungkook said, reaching under the boy’sbody and lifting him up, holding him tightly to his chest. He weighed no morethan a child or the average doe.

“What? That’s not our responsibility,” Yoongi said.

“Fine, then it’s mine,”Jungkook said, carefully adjusting his hold on the boy to avoid the trap. “It’smine.”