#Tie-prompted chaos round

[a-case-of-attachment]

Okay, writing prompt if you're interested. LuciferXreader, making out in a pile of rubber ducks. It may be weird as hell, but also really cute and funny. AND!! Laughter is a healthy part of any relationship!

Yes I’m interested!!!!!!!!!

I hope this is what you’re after, it kind of got away from me and I spent way too long thinking about what all those little duckies could do.

Lucifer had a problem, one of his own making that was yellow and sometimes quacked, maybe barked, there was even ones that spoke backwards and in riddles. They came in all kinds of colours and did all sorts of things. He had a purple one that could teleport, a rainbow one that shot confetti out of its mouth when it was squeezed, he even had one that glowed in the dark and played lullaby’s. The point was that Lucifer had made a lot of rubber duckies over the years but he didn’t realise quite how many until he was looking for one specific duck.

“Where are you, you little piece of…” Lucifer grumbled, his words trailing off as he dived into another mountain of ducks, sending them tumbling down to join the rest that had spilled over the floor. He had been at this for a while now, sending his work room into chaos and all because Charlie had been telling Vaggie all about one she had seen him making when she was a child. She hadn’t asked him for it and Lucifer had honestly forgotten it existed until she had brought it up but she seemed so enamoured with it that Lucifer had decided there and then that he had to gift it to her as a reminder of happier times in her childhood. The only problem was that he couldn’t find the damned thing and he was quickly running out of patience.

“You alright there love?” Lucifers head jerks up and round at your amused voice, blinking dumbly at the sudden brightness of the room. Your leant against the door frame, eyebrows furrowed slightly but a teasing smile tugging up the corners of your mouth. You were a vision, a ray of sunshine through the grey cloud that had been steadily forming over him. “Yep! Everything’s fine. Hahaha. A oh kay. What erh, what are you doing here darling?” Lucifer laughed nervously, his cheeks heating up with embarrassment at being found in such a state.

He had abandoned his hat and jacket ages ago, his sleeves pushed up to his elbows and his gloves somewhere within the sea of ducks. Lucifer had unbuttoned his collar at some point, his bow tie pulled loose and hanging around his neck like a sad flat little snake. His face must be flushed by now and his hair that was once neat and styled probably looked more like a birds nest now, stick up in every direction and clinging to his forehead.

“Charlie called me. Seems someone has been ignoring her calls and texts for the past couple of hours and she wanted me to check in and make sure they hadn’t gotten so involved in a project they forgot to eat again. Clearly she was right to worry.” You gave him a pointed look, clearly expecting an answer for his current predicament. Bitting his lip Lucifer let his eyes sweep across the carnage that was his work room and the vast amount of ducks he still had to get through. He needed help or he was never going to get through all these, not any time soon anyway and who better to help him than you? He always wanted to spend more time with you and this would keep you in close proximity for quite some time. It was a win win in his books and he was damn sure going to take full advantage of it.

Groaning Lucifer let his shoulders slump and looked back to you, finding you in the exact same position you had been in before though your eyes had softened slightly now, worry starting to creep in at the edges. “I’m looking for a duck,” he stated, nodding slightly after he had spoken like it was that simple of an answer. “Oh really? Never would have guessed.” Lucifer glared at your sarcastic reply, huffing loudly and crossing his arms over his chest in an overly obvious display of indignation that you both knew was just for show. The gentle laughter his behaviour got him sounded sweet, even as you rolled your eyes and pushed away from the doorframe. He always liked the sound of your laughter, like music that soothed his soul and made his heart ache all at once.

“Alright your majesty, are we looking for one in particular or is this a know it when a see it situation?” You raised an eyebrow at him in question as you sank down onto one of the few spots of clear floor. “It’s made of crystal, has a really cute teeny tiny crown on its head.” You hummed at Lucifers words, your attention now firmly on the ducks that surrounded you. “And when did you last see it?” Lucifer winced at your question, tugging at his already loose collar and refusing to make eye contact with you when you glance in his direction. “I don’t know, maybe a couple of centuries ago. Charlie was about five or six at the time.” You made a weird choked off noise when he said centuries, Lucifer catching a glimpse of your hand slipping on the pile of ducks you had been looking at and sending a couple more tumbling to join the ones that Lucifer was already half buried under.

He offered you an apologetic smile and hopefully his best puppy dog eyes in an attempt to soften any sort of regret you might be feeling at having sat down to help him. It must have worked because you sighed heavily before rolling your shoulders back and sitting up straighter. “It’s fine, we’ll find it and when we do you are sooo going to make it up to me with back rubs and kisses.” Lucifer agreed readily, nodding his head and promising you that and a thousand things more. “Right! We are going to do this one duck at a time, sorting as we go. We will have four separate piles, one pile for the ones that are just rubber ducks with a unique paint job and another for the ones that do something useful.” Lucifer opens his mouth to protest because all his duckies are useful but a quick glance from you has him closing it before he can even get a sound out. “There will also be a pile for ones that do pointless things and another for the ones that are just plain dangerous.”

“They are not dangerous!” Lucifer insisted, snatching up a random duck and squeezing it to prove his point. There was a loud click followed by sound of metal grinding together and Lucifer looked down in horror as the barrel of a pistol slid out of the ducks now open mouth. “Hahaha, how did that get there?” Huffing you held your hand out expectantly and Lucifer reluctantly handed the traitorous thing over, making sure the postal was safely back in place first. Without a word you leant over and pushed a section of the ducks out of the way, clearing a patch on floor in front of you. The gun toting duck was place down gently, looking way too sweet and innocent for what it hid within.

You picked up one from next to you and held it out towards Lucifer. “What does this one do?” He squinted at the thing, turning his head slightly to the side as he tried to remember what this one did. It was yellow like most of them except this one had a red rimed beak that made it look like it had lipstick on. “Lipstick!” Lucifer shouted out triumphantly, his sudden outburst causing you to startle. “It’s lipstick, retro rouge if I’m not mistaken.” You turned the duck toward you, tilting your head quizzically as you squeezed at its sides. It’s beak parted as a stick of bright red lipstick emerged. “Huh,” you said, loosening your grip on the duck so the lipstick went back in before placing it on the floor a few inches away from the other duck. You picked up another, this one yellow with black spots and held it out towards him. “What about this one?”

This goes in for hours, one duck after another and though it would normally be a rather tedious Lucifer is having fun. Some of his duck creations really are bizarre, like the one that changes colour depending on the time of day in Hawaii or the one that screams whenever someone says pineapple. There are some good ones though, like the one that generates a personal forcefield that’s lasts up to an hour when placed on your head or the one that cleans your bath after you’ve used it. The useful pile was a lot smaller than the others though, the useless ones needing a whole corner of the room to themselves. You had even found one that said ‘I’m quackers about you’ in a squeaky voice when squeezed, a little heart shaped box of chocolates with Lucifers hat emblazoned on the front held between its wings.

Lucifer had refused to hand that one over, especially when he realised you intended to put it in the useless pile. A had sat there, cooing at the thing and stroking its head whilst you glared at him. So preoccupied with the duck Lucifer didn’t have time to prepare himself as you suddenly lunged across the space, hands grabbing for the sweet little ducky. The two of you had spent far too long rolling around the floor and tussling for the duck until finally you came to a stop, sprawled across Lucifer and the both of you breathing heavily. You were close, head hovering above his as you stared into one another’s eyes. All Lucifer would need to do is tip his head back and then he would be able to kiss you, one of his favourite things to do these days. His eyes dropped to your lips as your tongue snuck out to wet them, your teeth nipping at your bottom lip enticingly. Lucifer sucked in a deep breath, his hand flexing on your waist where it had ended up in your little play fight. Your head lowered slightly, eyes darting down to his lips then back to his eyes as if asking permission that you really didn’t need. From down by his hip there came a loud quack followed by ‘I’m quackers about you’ then another quack effectively bringing a sudden end to the tension growing between the two of you.

The two of you dissolved into laughter, Lucifer wrapping his arms around your middle as you buried your face in his neck. You lead there for a while, laughing softly until that trailed off and the two of you when just lead there, holding one another and surrounded by ducks. It had been nice if a little weird but Lucifer wasn’t complaining. “It’s true you know,” he said softly, not wanting to ruin the moment but his words had you shifting, pushing yourself up slightly so you could look down at him with confusion. “What is?” Your voice was just as soft as you spoke, the hushed tone adding to the intimacy of the moment. Sighing Lucifer reached up, cupping your check and rubbing his thumb gently across it. “I really and quackers about you,” he deadpanned.

The stunned silence that hangs between you goes on a lot longer than Lucifer thought it would and despite how hard he tries he can’t help the large smile that spreads across his face or the laugher that comes bubbling out. Groaning loudly you finished pushing yourself up into a sitting position, shoving Lucifer back down when he tried to follow. “You’re terrible,”you mumble, shifting back over slightly to avoid nocking into a stack of ducks. Lucifers still chucking when he sits back up, effortlessly catching the rubber duck you half heartedly throw at him. “Mmmm, and yet you still love me.” Lucifer wiggled an eyebrow at you, leaning in slightly to emphasise the ridiculousness of the gesture. This time it was you who couldn’t help but smile, huffing in amusement and shaking your head at him. “Yeah, I do.” Lucifer beamed like the cat who go the cream at your words, always feeling like his heart could take flight every time you told him you loved him. Truly a bizarre phenomenon that would need much more research done into it, requiring you to tell him often and in multiple ways how you felt about him. “Now come on, this bloody duck isn’t going to find its self.” Lucifer took the duck you held out to him, a hot pink one with a flame branded on its chest, and quickly lent forward to place a kiss on the back of your hand before he started telling you all about the duck and how it could be set on fire and wouldn’t melt.

That had been a good few hours ago though and night had settled heavy over the city since then. Over half the room had been cleared now, Lucifer having opened a portal and dumped all the colourful, boringly normal ducks onto a sleeping radio demon to create some extra space for you both. There was still no sign of the duck he was after though and the both of you were clearly tired, the process having slowed down considerably in the last half an hour or so. He’s beginning to think it’s a lost cause, the duck long since lost or broken.

You yawn loudly, arms stretching out above you before you fall back into the heap of ducks behind you. The groan you make sounds almost painful as you wiggle in an attempt to make yourself more comfortable amongst the ducks. Your eyes close, hands disappearing into the sea of yellow above you. Despite how horribly uncomfortable it must be you look content and Lucifer wants nothing more in that moment than to crawl over there and join you, curling up against your side and resting his head on your chest so you can both get some much needed sleep. As much as he wanted to give into temptation Lucifer was determined to find the duck for Charlie, fixated on giving her that little moment of happiness and wonder that had stayed with her since childhood. That didn’t mean you had to suffer with him though.

“I think it’s time you were getting to bed darling, I can finish up in here.” Your eyes open slightly at his words, brows furrowed and your smile slipping into a frown. “Lucifer.” There was an odd tone to your voice, one that he probably should have paid more attention to but Lucifer assumed he knew what you were going to say so he kept on talking, turning away from you to continue looking through the ducks as he did so. “I know. I should be trying to get some sleep as well but you know I won’t be able to, (Lucifer), not till I’ve found this duck anyway and I really just want to surprise Charlie with it. She seemed so happy when she was talking to Vaggie about it and I just wanted to, (LUCIFER!)” Your loud cry of his name had Lucifer jumping, dropping the duck he had been holding to the floor with a loud splat as it oozed out like a marshmallow melting in the sun.

Laughing nervously Lucifer turns back to you, an apology already on the tip of his tongue but it quickly disappears when he sees what you’re holding. You’ve sat up, eyes fixed on your hand that you’re holding out towards him. In your palm sits a crystal duck, a small black crown sat atop its head styled similarly to Charlie’s own. Lucifer sucked in a breath, reaching out to take the thing from you with trembling fingers. He can’t believe you had found it, just when he was starting to lose hope. You truly must be heaven sent.

Without warning Lucifer lunged at you, flinging his arms around your neck and sending you sprawling back into the ducks with a yelp. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” Lucifer said between peppering your face with kisses. “Lucifer,” you laugh, turning your head to the side and giving him access to your neck. He places a few more quick pecks along your neck and the top of your shoulder before placing one final one on your lips.

“She’s going to be so surprised,” Lucifer beamed, pushing himself back up and turning towards the door, a wide smile on his face as he stared down at the crystal duck clutched in his hand. He didn’t get more than two steps towards the door before fingers wrapped around his wrist and stopped him in his tracks. Frowning Lucifer looked back over his shoulder at you, finding you looking at him just as confused as he was you. “Where are you going?” Lucifer blinked down at you dumbly because surely that was obvious? “To give Charlie the duck?” It came out slow and sounding more like a question, Lucifer even holding up the duck in case you had forgotten.

Your confusion smoothed out into understanding, a small smile curling up the corner of your lips. “Lucifer,” you said almost teasingly, tugging gently on his wrist until he turned to face you fully. “It’s the middle of the night love. She’s going to be asleep, and even if she isn’t she’s probably going to be doing something she doesn’t want her dad walking in on.” You look at him pointedly, waiting for your words to sink in. “Oh…ohhhh,” lucifers eyes went wide, looking down at the little duck in a mix of horror and embarrassment.

You chuckle gently, tugging on his arm and causing him to take a step towards you. “So why don’t you,” you plucked the duck from his hand, leaning back to place it on top of the coffee table before turning back to him and wrapping your hands around his wrists, “come back here and finish giving me my reward hum?” You tugged him forward and down, Lucifer’s knees hitting the floor on either side of your waist with a dull thud. You used your hold on his wrists to lift his hands and place them on your shoulders before gripping his waist and pulling him down and closer until he was sat in your lap. Lucifer blushed, licking at his lips and swallowing slightly. “I eh, I can do that.” You hummed at his words, lifting one hand to cup his cheek and guiding his lips down to yours.

The first few kisses were soft and slow, Lucifer humming gently at the addictive feel of your lips moving against his. He sank into you, getting more comfortable on your lap and letting his arms drape over your shoulders. The two of you stayed like that for a few long minutes, Lucifer content to spend hours just like that but it seemed you had other ideas. Pulling back you nipped gently at his lip, Lucifer letting out a little whimper at the sudden sting. Resting your forehead against his you slid both your hands up his back, pressing him as close to you as he could get. “Hold on tight,” you mumbled, placing a kiss against his lips.

Lucifer barely had time to register what you had said before you were moving, effortlessly tipping him to the side and rolling him onto his back. He landed within the ducks with a dull thud, several of the stupid things tumbling down to land on his face. Your laughter was sweet as you helped remove the offending ducks off his face, leaving the ones that had fallen around his head and shoulders. “There you are handsome,” you smile as you remove the last one from his head, clearly delighting in the bush your words get you. “Your erh, looking rather radiant as well.” Lucifer cringes at his own awkward attempts at flirting, refusing to look at you because of how awfully that was. You would think he would have gotten better at this sort of thing over the centuries but there was something about you that just left him flustered and unable to say what he means when in your company. When you’re not around he can wax poetry about how your smile lights up the world like a sunbeam or how your eyes sparkle like the stars, but now? With you looking down at him like he’s your whole universe? Not happening.

You shift to the side slightly, slotting one of your legs between his and pressing up against him. “Only when you’re the one looking,” you whisper before pressing your lips against his, using his startled gasp as an opportunity to deepen the kiss. Lucifer moans softly, wrapping his arms around your neck and pulling you in closer. There’s a duck digging into his back and the sound of muffled quacking coming from somewhere above him as their movements caused another wave of ducks to fall down in them. It was ridiculous, kissing in a pile of ducks that were threatening to swallow the two of you up but Lucifer found he didn’t really care, especially when your tongue swiped across his lips, seeking permission that he readily gave. This here, this was the closest to heaven he had felt in eons and he was content to stay in this moment for eternity. Well at least till Charlie woke up anyway.

[sorceresssundries]

Gale sketches by @orangekittyenergy <3

CHAPTER 1 (of 2)

LINK TO CHAPTER 2 - NSFW

Pairing: Gale x Fem Tav

Summary: Set post-game where Tav did not feature in Gale's troubles in Baldur's Gate. A whip-cracking, fedora wearing, Indiana Jones inspired mini-adventure - where Professor Dekarios is tempted out of the classroom, and on yet another perilous quest. (Chapter 2 out soon)

Warnings: Chapter 1 is SFW, Chapter 2... less so.

Word Count: 3.3k

A/N: Just a bit of a fun based on the Gale as Indiana comparisons. Also, he looks like a young Harrison Ford, how could I not? This is not the stuff I'm used to writing! But it's been enjoyable and nice to try something new.

Her forest was dying. Thaes’yána, a sacred patch of overgrowth within Elltavia’s home, had been under protection for so long that the Rangers of the forest no longer knew the reason why. Its guardianship had been passed down from mother to daughter for generations, and all Elltavia had known since being a girl was that entry was forbidden, and it was to be protected from outsiders. 

But now, an arcane rot had settled deep within, and was infecting further and further outside of its bounds. Animals, once serene, were being driven to madness if they got too close for too long. Among the forest-dwellers, whispers of unrest travelled, tales of violence and theft staining the once peaceful community. The responsibility had fallen to her to find help, and she had travelled far to ensure she got it. Just like her beloved forest, if the end was near, she would not be going gently. 

Her quest had led her somewhere unexpected, to the shadowy recesses of a sprawling lecture hall. She was nestled in the farthest corner, seeking refuge from the professor's unrelenting enthusiasm. From her observations, his class appeared to cleave into two distinct factions: the diligent scribes, feverishly scribbling down every word that spilled from his lips, struggling to keep pace with his monologuing, and the other group, who seemed utterly disinterested in the lecture material. Their pens lay dormant as they indulged in a different kind of attention; lingering onto his every subtle gesture and every inflection in his voice with wide-eyed fascination. There were a number of Tieflings in the class whose tails were swishing with telling enthusiasm. She imagined if she looked into their notepads, they would be laden with love hearts and romantic doodles.

She knew who Gale Dekarios was, of course. Word travelled, especially when one had command over birds to receive and deliver news from across the realm. Even as far away as she had been from the chaos and fire of Baldur’s Gate - she had taken up moonlit vigil to pray to Mielekki that the heroes' aim be true and their hope evergreen. And now she was sitting here, staring impatiently at one of the very people who had pervaded her prayers. He was more… academic that she’d expected, in his tweed blazer and bow tie. Rounded glasses perched on his nose, occasionally slipping down during moments of particular ardour, prompting him to deftly push them back up with his finger. 

His talking seemed to go on for an extraordinary amount of time, but maybe it just seemed that way because she could feel each precious second slip through her fingers like burning sand. Eventually, the class poured out with a mixture of yawns and giggles and she approached his desk as he scribbled frantically on the blackboard.

“Your dates are wrong.” she said. He flinched slightly, making the chalk jump.He sighed and wiped away his slip, having lost his train of thought. 

“Excuse me?” He turned to face her, his scholarly face frowning and making the lines between his eyes more pronounced. He looked much older when he was frustrated, she thought with amusement. 

She pointed at his scribbles; “The fighting ended in 1421 sure, but the peace treaty wasn’t finalised until the following year.” Her eyes met his, and she was struck by the depth of them. “You may want to correct your students' next lecture. Well… the ones who were actually taking notes.” 

She briefly cast her eyes over the picture frames on his desk. There was one of a formal looking woman with his tanned skin and warm eyes sitting on a sunlit balcony by the sea, and another of an unimpressed looking Tressym perched atop a pile of books.

It was the larger group photo that caught her attention, frozen in a moment of chaos.

In the centre of the frame, a flame-red Tiefling woman was mid-laughter, proudly displaying a crudely drawn portrait of a white-haired elf, the illustration nestling within an odd-shaped gap amongst the group. Behind her, a slight woman with a silver braid, was in the midst of being lifted by a huge, tattooed wood-elf, their collaborative efforts evident in their attempt to fit her into the picture. Next to them, an older woman in druid armour gestured animatedly, seemingly scolding a large, bald man who was earnestly attempting to position what appeared to be a hamster at the forefront of the group. Meanwhile, Gale, with his finger poised mid-sentence, was engaged in conversation with a handsome, horned man who stood with arms folded, seemingly annoyed. Amidst the chaos, only a Githyanki woman remained composed, her unsmiling gaze fixed directly on the camera, unaffected by the surrounding mayhem.

They were the heroes she had seen in the papers, but here they looked less like champions of the Gate and more like a dysfunctional, loving family. She much preferred this version of them. 

“I was not aware I was being monitored today.” He took in her appearance, her dark braided hair was pulled up and away from her face, and she wore travelling robes and a worn cloak. She definitely wasn’t an academic, he thought. Though she certainly seemed knowledgeable on history. Her eyes looked much older than she did - They were the colour of summer leaves slipping into autumn and sparkled when she spoke. With her being an elf, it made sense that she was probably a lot older than she appeared. 

“How can I help you, miss…” 

“Elltavia Kidd’Alka.” Her tone was brusk, efficient. “I won’t waste time with small-talk. I’m here to request some assistance on an urgent matter.” 

He sighed and rubbed his forehead, as though this was a regular interruption to his workday. “Ah, well you can tell the guild..

“I’m not with the guild.”

His frown deepened, “Fine, the harpers…”

“Nope, not them either.” 

“Then please Miss Kidd… 

“I’m a ranger stationed in the High Forest. My home is being infected by a blight which threatens the lives of many who live there.  It is believed the cause is of arcane origin. I need your help to fix it.” She dumped a heavy, jangling pouch on his desk. “I think you’ll find this should be adequate payment.”

This woman did not mess around, he thought. She was refreshing, although he would probably like her more if she actually let him speak.

“I am a professor, not a hireling. I’m afraid I cannot help.”

“Completely understandable, Professor.” She offered warmly “After everything you’ve been through I can understand why you would prefer a quieter, more relaxed lifestyle. Besides…” She said with an exaggerated, compassionate sigh. “You’re not getting any younger.”

This appeared to have touched a nerve. “Listen, Miss Kidd’Alka - I'm sorry for your troubles, but my answer is no. Now if you’d excuse me, I have much to do before my next class. Apparently my dates need amending” He gestured with his arm for her to leave, and she tilted her head with curiosity. She was enjoying him flustered, and she did not move.

“You must feel very lucky to have such a comfortable position here at the academy. Especially with the influx of ancient artefacts that have been added to its custodianship since your arrival.” Her lips tilted at the sudden stiffening of his posture.

He remained silent, eyes narrowing as she sat down in his chair and put her muddy boots up on his desk. She removed a knife from a strap at her thigh, flashing her toned, supple skin and began to peel an apple which had been left for him by a particularly devoted student. He felt a familiar, but dusty feeling stir within him at the flash of her leg. His hand automatically flew to his chest, before remembering that was no longer necessary. Old scars run deep.

“It’s so strange how the discovery of these artefacts always seems to coincide with your sabbatical leave.” Her tone was playful, innocent, but her eyes were mischievous. She slowly let the peel fall away, her blade so sharp she barely had to stroke the fruit with the edge of it. She wasn’t even looking at what she was doing, her gaze was fixed fiercely on him. 

“Your implication is wasted here, I can assure you.”

“My apologies, Professor Dekarios. I meant no disrespect.” She took a sharp bite of the piece of apple speared at the end of her knife, and he watched with fascination and derision as she swallowed, the juice trickling down to her chin. “I just thought the rumoured artefact causing the problem may be of interest to you and your academy. But, never mind. I hear there’s a ex-Sharran cleric who is fond of adventuring, maybe she can help me out.” She could practically hear the thoughts bouncing around in his head as she stood up to leave. 

She was almost at the door when he gave a loud sigh. 

“Wait. Take a seat. I’ll see if I can get my lectures covered.”

She turned to grin at him, and threw the rest of the apple across the room and into a bin with alarming accuracy.

“Leave some milk out for your cat, professor. You may be gone a while.”

The journey back to her forest had been arduous, mainly down to the fact Gale could not get the elvish pronunciation of her name right and so had resorted to calling her ‘Kidd.’ Frustrating for a woman who was one hundred and forty years older than him. Luckily, his useful knack for teleportation meant that at least the journey was shorter than expected. 

They made it to the forest by the following morning, and Elltavia finally relaxed as the sound of songbirds and swishing trees soothed her tired feet and weary soul. She was home again. The plush canopy above them provided respite from the sun, but not the heat, and it wasn’t long into their journey before Gale had switched his slightly faded wizard’s robes into something more appropriate. 

He now wore a loose, tan coloured shirt, unbuttoned enough to display a smattering of chest hair and what looked like a faded, circular scar. His tight brown trousers were tucked into leather boots held up by a belt laden with supplies and potions, and he had a satchel slung over his shoulders. Atop his head was a weather beaten fedora. Typically, she was not a fan of men in fedoras, but the way it kept his hair back off his face and shaded his handsome features was an unexpected and pleasant contradiction to the professor she had first met. But, it was the sinuous coil of a whip holstered at his side, its braided leather worn smooth by countless flicks and flourishes, that caught Tav’s attention the most. 

“A whip?” She asked curiously, trying not to let any of the thoughts it inspired creep into her voice.

“An enchanted whip.” He replied smugly. “Much more useful than a staff, comes in handy from time to time.” To make his point, he unhooked it from his belt, swished it around his head once and then cracked it at a low hanging branch ahead of them. The tail of it curled around tight and sparked with electricity, zapping the dry wood into flame. It fell to the ground with a burning crash. He looked very pleased with himself as he extinguished the fire with a quick blast of conjured water. 

“Well…” She said in the smoky silence. “That was completely unnecessary” 

The mood shifted as they got deeper into the humid, overgrown forest. Leaves and foliage that was lush green and danced in the breeze suddenly became duller, the air stagnant and unbending. Birdsong had hushed, and the once vibrant heartbeat of the forest had suddenly stuttered and stopped.

They reached the centre of the blight, hidden amidst the greenery, to find an ancient temple almost completely swallowed by forest. Its crumbling skeleton had merged with creeping moss. Vines twisted round it like the lithe bodies of a hundred snakes, gripping and squeezing out any remaining life, pushing their way through the stone work until it was prised apart to fall to the forest floor. It once would have been grand, but now looked hollow and haunted. Elltavia grabbed Gale’s arm before he got any closer.

“Wait.” she murmured, crouching slightly. She drew out the sinuous bow from her back and notched an arrow. Her ears flicked like that of a cat surrounded by too much silence. There was something stirring, she could almost hear motes of threatening magic slinking together through the blighted air. Like heat gathering to form a storm. She could practically taste the thunder that had yet to crack.

“Expecting trouble?” Gale asked, hand now hovering over the whip at his belt. 

She did not have time to answer before a skeletal figure, clad in tattered monks robes lunged at them from the shadows. His hollowed out eye sockets glowed with an eerie blue light, and his bony fingers clutched an ancient staff, carved with runes that pulsed faintly with dark energy. As it moved, the sound of creaking bones and whispers of necromantic incantation surrounded it like diseased air. 

With a raise of its staff, a surge of necrotic magic crackled towards them. Gale dove to the side, rolling behind a fallen log, while Elltavia nimbly leaped into a nearby tree, her bow in hand.

She released an arrow in one swift motion. It whistled through the air and struck the skeleton in the chest. For a moment, the blue light in its eyes flickered, but it remained standing -  unbroken and unfazed.

The guardian turned its hollow gaze towards her and began chanting in an ancient, guttural language. The ground beneath the tree where she perched started to rot and decay. With cat-like agility, she jumped to another tree just as the first began to crumble.

Gale seized the moment, sprinting forward and pulling his whip from his belt. With a flick of his wrist, the whip wrapped around the monk's legs, pulling it off balance. The skeleton crashed to the ground, the blue light in its eyes dimming as it struggled to free itself.

The ranger leaped into action, her bow discarded in favour of a pair of daggers. With feline grace, she landed above the guardian and plunged her daggers into its eye sockets, and the dimming light was finally extinguished. 

“Nice whip work.  You get much practice with that thing?” Elltavia approached him, breathless and sweating, and blew away some dust which had settled against his neck. 

“Not as much as i’d like, Kidd.” He said, brushing away some blood from her lip with his thumb. “I’m just making this up as I go along.” There was a moment where their ragged breaths mingled, and their eyes held each other before she turned with a smirk, and headed towards the entrance the skeleton had been guarding. Gale realised, watching her sheath her daggers and count her arrows, that he was in more trouble than anticipated. His heart was hammering in his chest, and he wasn’t sure the fight was the cause of it.

They made their way down ancient, crumbling stairs flooded by spectral light from an imperceptible source, and Gale started to feel queasy and breathless. It was as though something beneath his skin, in his bones, was being sapped from him. It was a feeling he recognised. 

“Sussur” he murmured, and he noticed vein-like ridges running along the walls, thin and faintly pulsing with a moonlight-blue glow. He ran the pads of his fingers over them, and felt a dull burning sensation on his fingertips.

“it’s in the walls. Incredible. It is no ordinary magic emanating from this place.” He held his hand out flat and attempted to conjure a small flame in his palm. There was a crackle, but nothing more. “My magic won’t work here.” For the first time since meeting Elltavia, he felt unsure of himself. It had taken time, patience, an orb of devastation and a mind flayer tadpole for him to even consider that he was of any use to anyone with his spellcasting ability. It had taken his friends to talk him down from martyrdom, and then Godhood. They had  prised his own destruction away from him and cast it into the Chionthar. They had saved him, but some damage is irreparable, and some wounds will always scar.

“I didn’t come to you for your magic.” Elltavia offered behind him. “I sought you out for your knowledge, and bravery. I wanted the professor, not the wizard.”

He didn’t turn to meet her eyes, but his heart fluttered slightly at her words. He steeled himself, thought of the bravery of the Ranger who was fighting for her home, and pushed open the stone door at the foot of the staircase to reveal a giant, circular chamber. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and aged stone. The walls were smooth, carved with meticulous precision by hands long gone. Covering every inch of the surface were runes and writing, each symbol etched deeply and filled with a faint pulsing luminescence that danced over their skin. 

“Amazing”

As Gale worked his way around the room, he took out a pair of glasses to help study the variety of texts carved about the place. "I’ve read about this before. A long time ago. An order of ancient monks, secretive and nomadic in nature," he mused, and Elltavia observed the delicate dance of his fingers tracing the inscriptions, as though seeking enlightenment through tactile communion. Beads of sweat glistened on his brow, causing his spectacles to slip, and the subtle readjustment sent a shiver down her spine.

“Like the one outside?” She tried to draw on what little knowledge she had. She had limited experience with monks in her many years. Certainly she had never come across any in the forest before. 

“Not like that one.” He said frowning in concentration. “That one was dead. Re-animated, as a trap.”

He explored the ruins with an elegance befitting a sage, a paradox of scholar and adventurer, warrior and pacifist, man and mage. She found him fascinating. Turning, he caught her in the act of studying him, her curiosity laid bare.

“Something caught your attention?” His gaze was burning, and his mouth was a cocky smile.

She did not blush, Elltavia never blushed, but she did pause long enough for him to move on without hearing her sharp answer.

"They are custodians, seekers of wisdom, guardians of ancient lore, and protector of magic" His voice was low with reverent contemplation. “There are very few of them, and legend has it the ones left are immortals. Chosen by the Gods to protect and serve the precious arcane knowledge which so often gets corrupted or destroyed.” 

For a brief second, his hand instinctively moves to his chest, to rest on the faded scar. He suddenly felt like a heretic defiling a sacred temple.

“You seem to know a lot about it.” She folded her arms with suspicion.

“Well.. I didn’t get tenure for nothing, Kidd.” His eyes flash at her with confident assurance. “These texts imply that they dedicated themselves so completely to their cause, to their life of protection, that they completely cast out all other distractions. They undergo a Rite, to prove their single-minded dedication. Apparently very few passed it.” He tried not to let creeping agitation wrap itself into his voice, if there was a test or a challenge to be taken for proving worth - he felt as though he was the wrong man for the job. He had cast aside the most luring and precious of temptations mortals could ever dream of. It was a test he’d taken twice, and only passed once. He didn’t want his weaknesses laid bare in front of him again. 

“What happens if they failed?”

 His answer was simple, but he feared what would come next would be less so.

“They died.”

[theanticool]

Sodiq Yusuff vs Diego lopes is scheduled for UFC 300. How do you see that fight going?

Had to watch and rewatch some recent fights to get to an answer for this one.

It's really hard for me to have a read on Lopes. I've only seen four of his fights, the three that have been in the UFC and his "fight" with Brito that ended due to eye poke. Not much to work with. Obviously he had the competitive fight with Evloev, but he still lost like every round. He managed to rock Evloev early in an exchange, but that came as Evloev stood up from a poor takedown attempt. What little else I saw of Lopes' striking in that one was pedestrian. He was there to be hit when Evloev hopped into range, straight up in the air and getting caught staring at jab entries. Man started round two by throwing an ugly lead uppercut where he essentially jumped forward. Threw it again a minute later. The Tucker and Pat Sabatini fights are even harder to extrapolate from because both are completely different fighters from Yusuff. Tucker got caught trying to shoot on Lopes while Sabatini had some early success and ended up getting knocked out trying to lock up, being hip tossed and then getting KOed in the ensuing chaos.

Yusuff has a lot going for him heading into this one. He's bigger than Tucker and Sabatini. And he's primarily a striker, though he does go for takedowns late in fights. Just an all around sounder striker technically. Has a very powerful, disruptive jab that he uses really well though he can get really heavy footed with it and be there to be countered. While he doesn't pressure for 15 minutes, he showed against Barboza that he can indeed put his opponent on the fence and hurt them there. He's solid in open space, with a really great leg kick game (those straight kicks to the thighs were money).

I don't think Lopes will attack the body with the same commitment as Barboza or challenge Yusuff's pressure. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Lopes backs into the cage himself instinctively with little prompt from Yusuff. This might actually incentivize Yusuff to pressure for longer. If Lopes is going to win, I think he's got to force some tie ups. If Lopes can get to some of the positions that Allen or Barboza got Yusuff to in the clinch, he might be able to hit Yusuff on the break. But thus far, I just don't see it. Lopes seems very reactive rather than assertive and will likely get caught on the short end of a kickboxing match where he struggles to get any off other than a few moments of success.

Yusuff by UD is my guess.

[bangtanintotheroom]

Me again! I need to know if Sheriff Yoongi's been to see his favorite kitten lately. Maybe with the prompt "“i could do this all day"? 💕

Ohohoho, back on the yeehaw agenda, are we? 🤠

I Like That

• Pairing: Sheriff!Yoongi x Brothel Worker!(F)Reader

• Genre: Non-Idol!AU, Western AU, Smut

• Rating: 18+

• Words: 2.1k

• Summary: You and the beloved town sheriff decide to have your own festivities and make up for lost time.

• Prompt: #14 “I could do this all day” (smut)

• Warnings/themes: a wedding occurs!, swearing, drinking, flirting, hints of pining, Yoongi and his damn pet names 😩, mentions of prostitution, nipple play, public sex, unprotected sex (no rubbers in the West, y’all)

• Notes: You know, I was actually thinking about Sheriff!Yoongi the other day and look what popped into my inbox! Thanks Sunny! Feels like it’s been ages since we were on the yeehaw agenda 🤠✨

• Taglist: @parkdatjimin @jimilter @joontied @highly-functioning-mitochondria @swweetnightt @sunshinerainbowsbts @minttangerines @miscelunaaa @sugalaritae @herecomesjoon @sopeorsoaporsoup @cris1984love @kookiecrumb @codeinebelle @ssaboala

Rodeo | I Like That |

A warm, early Autumn day in the town square.

Hundreds of citizens gathered round, eating, drinking or dancing among the massive decorations.

The Mayor and his newly joined wife sitting at the head of the festivities, eyes only breaking away from each other to converse with whoever came up to wish them well.

And not a Maknae Bandit in sight.

Just what Yoongi liked to see.

The sheriff leaned against the bar counter, a glass of whiskey in hand, as he looked over the reception. News of Mayor Jin’s upcoming wedding had spread through town the second his fiancée Rosé was spotted with a band around her left ring finger. The couple didn’t take too long to announce a date, wanting to take this moment of peace to tie the knot before any chaos resulted in Jin being away from home for days again.

So far, everything was going smoothly.

No runaway brides or grooms.

No objections during ‘speak now or forever hold your peace’.

No drunken toasts that revealed skeletons in closets.

Just a joyful day celebrating the love of two people.

Yoongi already approached the couple earlier, giving them his well wishes for a happy future. Jin and Rosé didn’t let him walk away with just a simple thanks, expressing their gratitude for making sure everything went smoothly today. Their invite was extended to the whole town, which included those who didn’t agree with the mayor’s rules. For the most part, the naysayers who attended kept to themselves and didn’t kick up a fuss, enjoying the free food, drink and entertainment.

Good. Yoongi didn’t feel like getting dust or blood on his fancy suit today.

Besides…

Feline eyes returned to the gaggle of women he had been watching steadily.

He had something more important to worry about.

Everyone in town included everyone, even the workers at Namjoon’s brothel. Which meant you were there, conversing with your coworkers and all dressed up for the wedding.

Yoongi wasn’t going to lie to himself; he had his eye on you since you stepped into the chapel. The way your hair was styled and the dress you had on caught his attention. All this time he had spent with you before and he had never seen you this dolled up.

It brought a familiar feeling to his gut that occurred whenever he was making his way to your workplace for a visit.

That feeling only increased throughout the day, watching as you danced and socialized, not a care in the world on your shoulders.

Fun was a good look on you, only second to unrestrained lust.

Yoongi was ordering his second glass and conversing with the bartender when he felt someone approaching him on the side. Turning to his right, he raised a brow at who waited for him.

“Howdy kitten.”

“Howdy sheriff. Enjoying yourself?”

He gave his answer with a raise of his whiskey glass and a nod.

“Living the dream. Must be nice to get a day off for yourself, no?”

“Mm, absolutely. It’s even better now that I’ve run into you.”

The corner of Yoongi’s mouth quirked.

“Oh yeah? You been missing me, darling?”

You pushed out your lower lip, nodding.

“Yeah, my favorite customer hasn’t stopped by in a while. Thought maybe you got bored of me.”

The sheriff frowned at your profile as you stared ahead at the bottles of liquor on the shelves. The tone of your voice expressed apathy but your face didn’t match.

He could tell by the slight dip between your brows and the clench of your jaw that this bothered you.

“Y/N.”

Yoongi took a swig of his alcohol before responding.

“It’s not like that, trust me. Between my duties and all this wedding madness, I haven’t had the time to visit. I’m sorry if I made you worry, doll.”

There wasn’t an immediate response, but when it did come through, you looked at him with something akin to regret.

“No, don’t apologize. I’m just over here worrying my head off out loud. Didn’t mean to kill the mood.”

Yoongi wanted to chase the topic, but judging by your expression, you wanted to lay it to rest.

So he nodded and called the bartender over to order one of your favorite drinks, patting himself on the back as your eyes lit up in gratitude. A clink of his glass against your newly placed one and the atmosphere returned to its lightheartedness.

While the two of you conversed and continued to watch the festivities, that damned feeling Yoongi was experiencing earlier returned in full force. There were so many causes for its arrival.

Having you in close proximity, able to smell the rosy perfume you always wore.

Watching you bob your head and grin as you listened to the band playing.

The small strip of cleavage that peeked out of the top of your dress and grew whenever you bent over.

Hell, everything had his feline eyes lingering on you and forgetting about the hundreds of people in the area.

Screw it.

“Y/N.”

“Hm?”

“Wanna get out of here for a little while?”

You weren’t sure what he was implying until you looked up at him, seeing a fire in his dark eyes that you hadn’t had the pleasure of experiencing in weeks. The sight made your lips curl in excitement.

“I’m not on the clock, y’know.”

“I know. Doesn’t mean I can’t speak to you alone.”

An amused sound came out as you tapped your nails on your thigh.

“Mm, I don’t know, sheriff—” He felt your hip bump into his.

“Sounds like you want to do a little more than speaking.”

Yoongi could only chuckle, shrugging his shoulders.

“You caught me.”

Laughing, you polished off the last of your drink before taking his hand in yours. Once he finished his whiskey, you began leading him out of the reception and towards an empty alleyway, going in deep enough that no one would get wind of what you two were about to do.

As soon as you were comfortable, you pinned Yoongi to the wall before bringing his lips down onto yours. The contact seemed to light a fire in the sheriff as his ring-clad hands grasped onto your hips, pulling them flush against his. Your tongue escaped to meet his halfway, tangling with need.

This was just what you wanted.

And judging by how your body was lifted and placed onto the nearby barrel, this was just what Yoongi wanted also.

“So I wasn’t seeing things.”

The protector of the town raised a brow while he worked on lifting up your skirt. “Hm?”

“Thought I caught you looking my way a couple of times. Did someone miss me?”

“Hmph.”

As expected, Yoongi huffed, but he couldn’t hide the lift of his cheeks as he lowered your undergarments down to hang off one of your ankles. Just when he was about to reach for his belt, you brought your hands up to begin undoing the leather.

“Let me do the honors.”

Yoongi would have to be a dumbass to protest against your offer. Especially once you got everything else undone and palmed his growing bulge, receiving a rumble of a sigh from his pouty lips.

“Missed having this cock inside me, baby.”

“Mnh, it’s missed being inside you too, kitten.”

Smirking, you reached inside his own underwear and pulled his length out, licking your lips at its reddened and leaking tip.

“I can tell.”

Giving it a few pumps, you then smeared his precum over the shaft before letting go, shifting your bottom enough to rest on the very edge of the barrel. You lowered your lashes while looking up at his ever-darkening expression.

“Come on sheriff—”

You spread your legs as far as they could go.

“Duty calls.”

Yoongi’s gaze lingered on your exposed center until your words snapped him out of it. Nodding fiercely, the sheriff scooted closer to you, wrapping his hand around his cock to align it with your opening. He wasted no time as he slowly entered you, holding back the low growl he wanted to emit.

“I guess you really missed me, huh?”

You were struggling for words at the moment, letting the flutters of your walls speak for you instead. The second he was buried inside, you wrapped your legs around his waist and crossed your wrists behind his neck. He nestled his face into the crook of yours before starting up a slow yet thorough tempo, grunts melting into your warm skin.

The both of you enjoyed each other’s bodies in that dusty, barren alleyway, less than a mile away from the celebration of love between two of the town’s most important figures. Yoongi was glad that it was a peaceful day. No sight of any bandits or troublemakers who dared to interrupt a special event. Hours ago, he would have said it was a good thing because it gave him time to kick back and relax.

But now?

It was an excellent thing because he was able to make up for lost time with you.

He would have loved to take his time like usual but the circumstances robbed him of the opportunity, especially when he heard a group of laughing people pass by the end of the alley.

Ready to speed this up, Yoongi increased his pace, groaning as you squeezed him in response. Wanting to give you more to work with, the sheriff took the top of your dress and lowered it enough to allow one of your breasts to escape. Before you could say anything, he leaned down and began lapping at your nipple with purpose. The action made a louder than expected gasp to escape.

“Quiet, kitten. You don’t wanna get caught, do you?”

“N-No—”

“Then sit back and enjoy.”

Enjoy is just what you did as Yoongi continued working you up, the stretch of his dick providing you with a friction that had you biting down hard on your lip. You were doing okay up until you felt a thumb rubbing over your clit out of nowhere.

“Y-Yoongi—!”

A raspy chuckle reverberated into your ear. “You like that, Y/N?”

“Yes—” Your hold on him tightened. “I like that a lot—”

The sheriff hummed in amusement as he continued, allowing the heat deep in your belly to burn higher and higher. Just when it was starting to feel like too much, a swear left Yoongi while the hold on your hip tightened.

“Kitten, ‘m gonna come—”

One of your hands crawled up to tangle in his dark locks as you whispered, “Me too, don’t stop—”

Obeying your wish, Yoongi continued his pace until you felt him stiffen and pause. A growl was all you got as a warning before a familiar heat poured into you, triggering your own finish as well. You buried your face in his neck to stifle your cry as you trembled and fell apart.

By the time your orgasm dissipated, you remembered just where you were.

You actually snuck off with the town sheriff to get fucked on top of a random barrel.

Surely someone noticed that either of you disappeared by now.

“Hey Yoongi?”

“Mm?”

“Maybe we should head back now?”

The town protector hummed, bringing his head up to nod.

“I guess. Wish we didn’t have to.”

You giggled, brushing a stray lock of hair off his damp forehead.

“Trust me, the feeling is mutual.”

The both of you continued to gaze at each other, neither making a move to part and situate yourselves. Just as you were about to break the silence, Yoongi beat you to it.

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

His head tilted. “You wanna stop by my place later?”

Your eyes nearly bugged out at his question. All of your encounters up to this point took place at the brothel. Even for your other customers, you were never invited into their homes, remaining a hidden dirty secret.

“You…are you sure?”

“Yeah. If you’re worried about getting paid, it’s not a problem.”

Of course that’s what he thought the issue was. Typical Min Yoongi.

A short laugh came as you shook your head.

“That’s not it, Yoongi. I just…I’ve never been to your place before.”

A shrug was all you got.

“First time for everything, no?”

“True.” You didn’t let it go though, lifting a brow while narrowing your eyes playfully. “Or maybe you just want to fuck me again?”

Yoongi laughed, shoulders shaking as that gummy smile you were fond of made an appearance.

“Kitten, I could do this all day.”

©bangtanintotheroom, 2022. Do not repost to other sites or copy without permission.

[celestialpearls]

➱ in love’s intimacy | vocal unit

➱ Vocal Unit x Reader

➱ fluff, suggestive, brief mention of violence, wounds & blood

➱ The ways in which intimacy is expressed between lovers.

➱ A/N: prompts are from a list I found on here. But when I linked it and clicked to ensure it was there, nothing was found 😭😭. Pls let me know if the prompts below are familiar to you so I can link the list!!

Yoon Jeonghan: tying your lover’s tie.

A small chuckle leaves you when Jeonghan sighs and puffs out his cheeks. The smoothness of his white button-down is creased, fingers untying and tying his navy blue tie. Feeling sorry, you walk over to where he is and put your hands over his. 

“Not knowing how to do this at your big age?” you quirk an eyebrow. 

A sly smile paints his lips as he pulls you flush against him, hands squeezing your hips. “I do know. I just like it when you do it because I get to do this.” 

“Ew,” you tease and back away quickly. But he’s too fast because, in a flash, you’re in his arms again. He looks like someone who has gotten their hands on what he desires, mirth glittering in his eyes. 

“Ugh, here I am being loving and affectionate towards my significant other. And your response,” he kisses your cheek, “is ew?” 

You lightly slap his arm, pout on his lips quickly replaced with a satisfied smile when you kiss his cheek. Your face is hot at the prospect of being called his. Of the idea of him being yours. But you push it aside because Jeonghan’s penchant to tease you and joke around is rampant. All you settle with is a fond shake of your head as you mumble, “brat.” 

Joshua Hong: tracing your finger down your lover’s chest, stopping at the zipper, looking up at them for confirmation.

Everybody is fooled by the gentle cadence of Joshua’s voice, his charming smile and an allure that’s akin to butterflies’ attraction to beautiful flowers. But he has a mischievous streak, eyes glittering with smugness when he gets what he wants. And well, he’s very good at that. 

His lips are cherry red when you pull away, his breathing as shallow as yours. His fingers dig through the thin material of your shirt and you can tell he wants this as much as you. You can’t help but confirm, eyes locked on his as you let your hands slowly roam down his defined torso. 

You hear him sigh, his hand above yours when you stop at his zipper. Joshua pushes his crotch into your hands, his hand cupping your cheek. Electricity pulses through your skin, tingling and pulsing from all the energy that is accumulating. 

“Want this, I want you,” he assures and that’s all you need as you sink to your knees. 

Lee Jihoon: your lover almost dies and that’s when it clicks for you. 

When Jihoon sees you fall and hears your pained yell, the chaos around him stops. White noise rings in his ears, his heart pumping so erratically that he feels like it will burst through his chest. His vision slowly starts to fill with red and becomes bloody when he sees the rival gang member who shot you. 

As his members round up the rival gang members and the vault full of expensive jewellery is reported to police, he doesn’t waste any time. 

“Jihoon!” Seungcheol waves his arm and his heart really feels like it’ll run away from him. He feels the knot in his stomach loosen as he comes closer, a bright smile on your face despite your fresh wound and new scars. It brightens when you see him and gosh, he’s so enamoured; so relieved. 

“You look like death,” is what you say to him and Jihoon huffs out a laugh. He loves you, irrevocably and this was inevitable. His feelings don’t come as a shock but it’s still overwhelming so he settles with squeezing your hand. You squeeze back. 

You’re okay, he’s okay and he is in love with you. 

His world starts to turn again.

Lee Seokmin: laying a hand on your lover’s thigh. 

Seokmin’s smile is permanent, he swears it is when it comes to you. Your head is on his shoulder as your body shakes in laughter at your friends’ antics. Your friend group plays the Mafia game like their life depends on it, especially when money is involved. A particularly loud laugh leaves him when Soonyoung declares loudly. 

“You don’t know the rules when we’ve played this a lot. That’s a load of crap, Kim Mingyu!” Soonyoung jeers, tugging his sleeves up. Strands of his hair stand in various directions and his state right now reminds Seokmin of a haggard hamster. Lasers of curses seem to shoot out of his tall friend as he walks towards Soonyoung and jokingly grabs the older by his collar. Your laugh sends delightful tingles down his spine and he can’t help but press a kiss on your forehead. 

The others wouldn’t know, nor care. He and you were innocent villagers that were voted off, courtesy of Chan.

You look up at him then, eyes twinkling with happiness with a smile as radiant as the sun. Your hand that is over his thigh squeezes it lightly as you say, “Soonyoung is out of his mind. It’s gonna worsen when Mingyu actually ends up being one of the mafias.”

The whole group erupts in boisterous cheers and laughter. Turns out, you were right and Soonyoung yells and jabs his finger in Mingyu’s direction. You laugh loudly and Seokmin wants to be just as loud about his love for you. 

Boo Seungkwan: letting your lover know you’ll always be there for them, no matter what. 

When Seungkwan received your text which was a series of sad emojis, he had quickly wrapped up the meeting with his group mates. They were finishing up anyway and he is thankful he is with group members who are responsible and proactive. With everyone knowing what to do for the project, he leaves. 

Taking care to put down the udon takeaway on the kitchen counter, he makes his way to your shared room. You have your hand on your temple as you read whatever on your laptop screen, so concentrated you didn’t hear him come in. He softly says your name and when you turn around, his heart cracks. Sunken eyes look back at him and he quickly walks towards you.

You rest your head on his stomach and lace your arms around his waist. He gently lifts your head up and kneels down to your seat level. Brushing his thumb gently on your cheek, he whispers, “I’m here, okay? I got you, sweetheart.” 

And that is a promise he intends to keep. 

[oniborn]

@chukazanmai asked: [ Drabble / Short Fic Prompt / Disciple verse ] Hana on the day Jeanne died. How did his day start, what was his reaction to what happened?

it had been an ordinary start to their day. the tao feat asakura family home is lively and bustling in the morning due to the chaos the two young boys stir, and their knack to loop in their guardian spirits in their antics. ren's stern yet calm reprimands reverberate against the walls of the hallway as he prepares for work with jeanne fixing his tie in a morning routine of their own, separate from the one they share with the kids. one that involved hushed words, secret smiles, and the atmosphere tinged with softness that was only reserved for each other. " come on, men, we have to go or we will be late. " ren calls as he heads to the entryway to slip into his black dress shoes to match his attire of the day, with men not far behind him. today, the young tao heir was spending some time with his father before going to school as opposed to the usual push-and-pull ride with hana. it was exciting, mostly because he was not going to be bothered by hana, but it was his alone time with ren. the entire family gathers at the door, jeanne straightening her son's shirt so it can be as immaculate as possible; they were stopping by the office first, after all, he had to be just as presentable as his father. hana's shoulder held him upright against the wooden wall in the entryway, a lazy grin curling his lip as he observed the entire ordeal. there was a quip at the tip of his tongue, one to have men's tongari straighten agitatedly from its soft shape on top of his head, but his mentor's knowing glare has him reconsider going through with it. a tight embrace with her son and a peck to the corner of her husband's mouth later, goodbyes are exchanged as the father-son-duo head out. hana had little time to spend with jeanne that morning, and it was spent over chamomile and green tea, the traditional japanese way. while the lot of them resided in china, certain cultural aspects from france and japan were present in the family home. it was to portray the blend of cultures and traditions that their family was, but it was the symbolic importance it held for the tao family that stood out. ren and jeanne were shedding the two thousand year long history of bloodshed, corpses, and oppression with their little family.

" you have to call tamao-chan today, hana-kun. it makes her anxious when you don't call. " jeanne tells him after a careful sip of her hot tea, her large crimson eyes boring into hana's amber ones, clearly indicating she does not want to hear his excuses or his moaning. the blond has half a mind to roll his eyes, but he knows better than that. not that jeanne would ever say or do anything about it, but he suspects ren has a secret camera installed somewhere to specifically spy on him when misbehaving. he settles for an obedient nod instead, downing the rest of his own tea in a manner that the woman before him disapproves before he stands. he still had school to attend, unfortunately. and he better be on time, because he certainly did not want another lecture from his mentor. " i will be heading out then, jeanne-san. i'll see you later. " he says with a small smile, squeezing her shoulder on his way to the door. by the time he has put his shoes on and thrown his school uniform's blazer, she is already there, mirroring the smile he gave her moments earlier. it would be the last smile that hana ever got from the gentle, caring, and loving woman that took him into her beautiful home and life. school could have not gone any slower, with each passing minute on the big round clock ticking away his will to exist in the present. when the final class of the day finally came to an end, it was not without an enormous load of homework that had hana debate falling mysteriously ill for at least two weeks. surely there was tea that caused explosive diarrhea. an endless streak of teasing jabs and sarcastic remarks from men were certain if that were to befall him, but hana would rather live through that than do the homework. it was the way amidamaru fell silent mid-banter, a serious expression crossing his features that hinted something was amiss as they approached the tao residence. it snapped his senses on high alert, dread taking root in the space between his ribs as he unlocked the front door. there was no need to question amidamaru's sudden behaviour, as his shaman, hana was fine-tuned to his spirit ally, and trusted his instincts. the door cracked open with a click, and it was the stench of blood that first hit his nose that crinkled. it was the sorrow and worry emanating from shamash that uncomfortably tickled gooseflesh across his skin, his gaze narrowing at the spirit first before it darted over the entryway to discover the source of such emotions. and then the fiery amber of his eyes diminishes the second it lands on the lifeless body of the woman that sent him off to school a mere eight hours earlier. the very woman that parted with her husband and son, not knowing it would be her last. ren and men. shit. his shoulders slumped with defeat, curling in as hana steeled his nerves, willed his weeping heart to hold itself together as he crouched down to gently lift her body into his arms. a choked sob clawed up his throat, leaving a bitter lump as hana tried to swallow it back down -- she was still warm. " tell me everything, shamash. when, who, how, and where did they go after. i want to know everything. " his voice is cool, composed, and it only wavers on 'how', because he truly does not wish to know how she was murdered. but, he needs to. he must because it is his responsibility to track down the bastards that dare lay a finger on her soul. hana noticed the absence of her presence, her spirit not among them to relay her last moments to him personally. how dare they take her spirit, those bastards. it was with careful and gentle care that he placed her on the couch, the tremble in his hands evident as he adjusted her own hands in a comfortable position on her stomach. he couldn't bear looking at her, so he cast his gaze to the plant in the corner behind her as shamash relayed what occurred in their home. " thank you, shamash. i want you to stay here and look after her, and amidamaru -- " a pause as he drew a shaky breath, plucking the beige throw from the arm of the couch to cover her body. " -- amidamaru, i need you

to get jun nee-san and pailong. " " young master, what are you thinking? you can't possibly be thinking of going after them. " amidamaru protested, attempting to reason with the grief-stricken boy. but it was no use. his mind, heart, and soul were set. he was going to destroy those nobodies. his aura shifted to something unbearably dark, anguished, and heartbroken. a withering look was the spirit's warning to not attempt to stop him. there were more questions that the samurai certainly had for the young asakura, such as how would he face off an enemy without him, and how would he even track them. and hana knew that amidamaru knew. he would call on his oni. he was aware of their destructive power, but it was that destructive power that he needed to obliterate his enemies. he had to, for ren and men, he had to. he would bear the responsibility of revenge, of murder so that they don't have to. hana would protect them from it all, for jeanne.

[sleep-i-ness]

Happier Without You (George Weasley x reader) (past!Blaise Zabini x reader)

For @angelinathebook‘s 300 challenge. So this was originally meant to be Blaise Zabini x reader but it kinda became a George Weasley x reader so enjoy.

Prompt: 15. “You’ve changed” “Yeah, I’m happier without you”

Content Warning: scars, mention of torture and war

Taglist: @missmulti @acciotwinz​ @1marvelavengers1​ @samnblack @neymarlionelmessi7 @okkulta​  @gredandforge​ @stellariddle @weasleyincorporated @holybatflapexpert​ @persephonehemingway​ @blisfvll​ @marsdior @bloodblossom73​ @ccosmic-illusion​ @20coldhearts​ @whointhehellisbucky​

You touch up your lipstick in the hall mirror, blotting it with your index finger as you purse your lips at your reflection. Your fingers worry at the hem of your dress as you give yourself the once-over again, critically eyeing every line and blemish. You hadn’t worn something this revealing in years, not since before the Battle. Before, when everything had been a lot simpler. And you were still nervous of the way scars poked out from beneath the neckline, tugging it higher as your reflection warped more and more. Tonight was the evening of a celebratory ball for the anniversary of the battle, a memorial for those who passed and a reminder of the bright future you all had to look forward to. But when you think about it, your stomach twists, a gut-wrenching nausea racing through you.

George had convinced you to come, pressing light kisses over every scar as he’d made sure to reiterate just how bloody beautiful he found you. You lightly trace the silvery lines crisscrossing over your collarbones, glistening under the warm hall light. A weariness settles deep into your bones as your eyes prickle. Footsteps dashing down the stairs broke you from your reverie and you roll your shoulders back, straightening your posture.

“You ready, darling?”

You hum in response, flashing George a tired smile as he joins you by the mirror. He presses a gentle kiss into the side of your head, straightening his bow tie in the mirror. Every time you see him, your heart skips a beat, reminding you how lucky you are that someone like him loves you. And how little you deserve his affection.

“We don’t have to stay any longer than you want to.”

The ball is in full swing as you arrive, clusters of people gathered round the edges of the hall. A soft glow is cast by the candles hanging just above head height, the polished floorboards glistening gold. Parvati and Lavender, who you hadn’t seen since their wedding, accost you almost immediately, dragging you away from George. You flash him a grimace, eyes crinkling as you let them tug you along.

“How are you?” Padma pulls you into a hug, squeezing you tight and suddenly you remember how much you missed everyone. You’d withdrawn after the Battle, unsure how to cope with the hollow emptiness sucking in any emotions. Then, like an angel sent from above, you bumped into George at the Third-Hand Book Emporium, in a quite literal sense. You’d been scouring the shelves for a limited First Folio edition of Shakespeare’s unperformed play when you’d collided and immediately started apologising. He’d dragged you from whatever hole you’d found yourself in and you couldn’t ever repay him.

“Good, good, and you?”

“All good, I have missed you so much, hun.”

Hermione is the next to greet you, hair pulled back in an elegant updo. You haven’t seen her since the Battle, feeling the flash of pain mirrored in her expression as you remember those you lost. There was something bittersweet in the air, the joyful atmosphere undercut by the sombre grief still so keenly felt. Her arm brushes Ron’s, who is looking dapper in a set of dark robes that are much more fetching than those he wore to the Yule Ball. You tell him as much, with a laugh, and he pulls a face. It’s almost like being back at school, just without the fear of seeing a teacher ready to tell you off for dawdling.

You glance across the room, making eye contact with George, who grins in reply. He’s deep in conversation with his housemates; his being a couple years above had meant that your relationship had only blossomed out of the confines of Hogwarts. He seems enthralled in the conversation, enthused in a way you only saw when he was talking about one of his many passions. You pull yourself away from your thoughts, turning back to the conversation around you.

Seamus and Dean stride over, the former looking smug, although slightly sooty, as Dean rolls his eyes in exasperation. “Sorry we’re late, this one decided that our basement needed to become a bombsite again.”

You lift a hand shyly, shifting from foot to foot. You feel sort of out of place here, amongst people who had clearly seen each other recently, whereas you’d dropped off the map as soon as you could. But before you could let your insecurities overwhelm you, Dean is already pulling you into a hug. Your nose is buried into his shoulder and you relish in the brotherly affection.

“I missed you, squirt.” He ruffles your hair with his knuckles, and you push him off, quickly trying to sort out your updo.

“’M sorry,” you murmur, and he just pulls you in tight again.

As everyone relaxes into the ease of familiarity, the band begins to pick up. The crooning vocals of Myron Wagtail fill the room as couples start to break away from the edges and onto the dance floor. Flowing fabrics swish, their bright colours lifting the atmosphere of the room. You feel a hand clasp loosely onto your wrist and smile up at George, who presses a kiss to the top of your head.

“Mind if I steal her away?”

Lavender grins, shooing the two of you away. You start swaying in his arms, letting him lead you as couples twirl and pass you haphazardly. If there was anything that wizards were good at, it was chaos. As you sink into his arms, warmth kindling in your heart, your eyes catch on a familiar figure. Your feet stutter as his brown eyes snare yours.

What the hell was he doing here?

“You alright, darling?” George’s concerned face snaps you away from the confusion brewing within you.

“Yeah, just a bit spaced,” you paused. “I’m just going to pop to the bathroom.”

You break from him, smile dropping as you trudge out the room. You feel exhausted, limbs sagging as you clamber the stairs. Pausing in front of the gilded mirror, you sigh. You look tired, the light striking your features harshly, highlighting the dark bags and puffy skin. People pass you, faceless figures chatting, and you ignore them.

Blaise stares at you, paling as he takes you in. He nods at you, swallowing harshly and you force a smile to keep your face from twisting into a sour grimace.

“Hello Blaise.”

“Y/N.” He’s cautious in his actions, acting as if you were a cornered animal. Still trying to protect you. And the only thing you ever needed protecting from was him. “You’ve changed.”

“Yeah, I’m happier without you,” you bite back, relishing in the hurt flashing across his features. You smile, saccharine sweet. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to be getting back to my friends… You know, the kind of people who would defend me against torturers.”

You roll your shoulders back, pursing your lips and turning on your heel.

Blaise watches you stride off, a soft pang tugging at his chest. He winces. He couldn’t blame you, but it still hurt to see you happy without him. He had watched you spinning around the dance floor, in the arms of another man. The familiar giggle had caught his ear and the expression on your face had stopped his breath. He had never seen you look so in love, eyes alit, as you smiled up at someone who wasn’t him.

The stabbing pain had subsided by now to a dull ache, low in his stomach as it churns unhappily. You’re long gone from his vision. He is left staring into space, eyes vacant and misty as he thinks about what could have been. If only he hadn’t been such a coward.

[darnittumbleweed]

Girls Night with Reid: A Spencer Reid Smut Prompt

This smut prompt is filthy, I won’t even make excuses for it. Featuring: some light degradation, tons of dirty talk, a daddy kink, dom Reid, overstimulation, and handcuffs. 

When Reader talked Reid into joining her and the BAU girls on a night out, she forgot to mention the nightclub. Reid has a pretty good plan to get Reader and he back home though.

45) “When we get home I’m cuffing you to the bed and going down on you all night until my jaw is sore.”

72] “Maybe I should leave you like this, that way anyone who wanted to use you could have a go with you. Would you like that?”

93] “It’s okay, honey, you can pull my hair as hard as you want while I’m between your legs.”

Y/N took a long sip of her amaretto sour the neon lights and the beat of the speakers filling the club floor making her feel energetic.

She moved through the crowd relieved she’d chosen to wear a pair of cork wedges instead of the heels she’d briefly considered putting on before she left the apartment tonight. She would like to believe that she looked cute. She’d worn a cute multicolored sundress that was honestly a pain to put on thanks to the complicated wrap style. She’d topped the look off with a pair of gold hoops and her favorite cork wedges.

She knew that she probably looked far too summery given that it was still early April and very much Spring in DC...as much as she loved the bloom of the cherry blossom trees she was hoping the summer look might entice Summer to come all the quicker to the nation’s capitol.

She allowed herself to continue drinking finding it easy to sink into the energy around her. It had been far too long since she’d done a girls night and she was determined to enjoy every second of this.

She was tempted to work her way back to the little round table she and the other ladies had settled down into a few hours before, but she decided to take a moment to enjoy the chaos of the nightclub. She was still very much sober which made it quite amusing to watch people who had far more to drink than her mingle and grind on the dance floor.

It had been far too long since she’d gone clubbing. She was pretty sure it had been at least five years, maybe closer to seven, since she’d gone clubbing. In fact Y/N was sure she’d still been in college still using a fake id to buy awful tasting cheap daiquiris the last time she’d walked into a nightclub. Spending her Friday and Saturday nights clubbing didn’t exactly fit into her lifestyle now days.

Y/N resisted the urge to smirk as she noticed her poor boyfriend attempt to work his way through the crowd. She could hear the “excuse mes” spilling from his lips he far too polite even in a moment like this. He felt the need to be polite even when it came to squeezing his way between people who were far too busy partying to care whether he minded his manners or not.

Dr. Spencer Reid stuck out like a sore thumb among the other nightclub patrons. He’d dressed as though he was having a day at the office instead of a Saturday night out at a nightclub. He had even worn a tie and a sweater vest.

Y/N loved Reid with all her heart, but she wasn’t above admitting that her boyfriend was an absolute awkward nerd.

Reid approached Y/N she clearly able to see him attempt to hide the frown on his features though he failed miserably the furrow of his brow all too noticeable. He leaned in close to her struggling to speak up to where she could hear him over the bass of the speakers. “This has been fun. Can we leave yet?”

Y/N shook her head as she reached up a delicate hand and gave his cheek a soft pat. “It’s only been a few hours Spencer. Don’t be a killjoy babe, not after I campaigned for you to join us on this girl’s night. Do you know how long I had to debate Garcia when she pointed out that a girl’s night meant we left our significant others at home?”

She paused stroking his cheek as she admitted just how hard she’d worked to convince the other girls at the BAU that her boyfriend should be included on what had been planned as a girls night on the town. “I had to point out that you never have plans on the weekend and you needed a fun night out just as bad as the rest of us. I guilted the girls hard to get you here baby, so please try to enjoy it...just for a few more hours. We can’t leave till at least one am.”

She paused spotting the grimace on his face at the words “one am” She spoke up before he had a chance to question why they had to stay so late. She wasn’t about to try to explain good girls night out etiquette to her boyfriend. “Just stick with me a little while longer, then I promise we can go home and do whatever you’d like. I promise if you smile and bear this just a little longer then tomorrow night we’ll stay in and snuggle with Chinese take-out and a Star Trek marathon...You know you love showing me your favorite things. I’ve only seen like two episodes and you’ve been dying to show me the entire series.”

Reid let out a groan wanting to point out that he didn’t think he could stand a few more hours of this. It was so loud and chaotic and the music was awful. The hip hop and pop hits blasting over the speakers made his head ache. He’d much rather be listening to some calm relaxing Mozart or Bach...not this utter tripe everyone here seemed to be enjoying so much.

He felt as though he’d been a few hours too long already. This wasn’t his scene. He’d only ever stepped foot into a nightclub for cases. He’d never chosen to go to one for fun. He shrugged his shoulders not helping but to whine that furrow still fixed into his brow. “You told me we were getting Indian food.”

Y/N moved her hand from his cheek as she leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek a small chuckle leaving her. “And I didn’t lie. We went to dinner and you got your Tandoori Chicken and judged my choice in Palak Panner because of your vendetta against all things spinach. I just left out the clubbing part because I knew you’d chicken out.”

Reid continued to frown a huff leaving his lips. “You promise we’ll stay in tomorrow night?”

“Promise, a quiet night with lots of cuddles on the sofa. I’ll even wear that thing you like.” She reassured him the mention of the “thing he liked” putting a small smile on his lips.

The thing he liked was a very sheer very pink pair of panties and one of his Cal Tech t-shirts. She could probably talk him into jumping off a bridge if he knew that Y/N wearing that particular combination of clothes was his reward.

She pressed another kiss to his cheek not missing the pout that appeared on his lips as his smile faded he reluctantly coming to realization that they had a few more hours left in this nightclub before she’d let him take her home. “Come on Spence, live a little.”

Reid groaned at this not above being over dramatic. “I feel like I’ve lived an eternity since we’ve started dating.”

Y/N chuckled at this giving his cheek another pat as she held up her drink to his lips. “And it’s been a fun eternity. Drink and relax babe.”

He scrunched his nose up not amused with the offer to share a drink. He let out a huff shaking his head. “Do you know how much bacteria can be passed back and forth between shared drinks? There’s so many different diseases that can be passed back and forth by the simple act of sharing saliva. A common way these diseases are passed is through backwash produced during the sharing of drinks.  Strep, the common cold, Mumps, and Mono are just a few of the diseases you can pass through saliva.”

Y/N gave him a small smirk tilting her head to the side not above teasing him. “We already swap saliva Spencer. Pretty sure I literally had your tongue in my mouth this afternoon.”

She paused knowing just what to say to make him more pouty. “In fact, I’m pretty sure you’ve had that tongue of yours pressed against some other more intimate parts of my body, especially when you bury your face between my thighs. That seems pretty dirty and not too sanitary at all, doesn’t it Dr. Reid?”

Reid let out a huff his cheeks flushing at this comment. He was for once thankful for the loud music playing over the club speakers. At least no one had heard that little bit of insight into Y/N’s and his sex life.

“The distinct thing that doesn’t make that activity dirty is the fact that I know we’re both clean in that area. We’re on the clear from that kind of infection at least. I can’t say the same thing for Strep or the cold though.” Reid grumbled working a laugh from Y/N’s lips.

She gave his shoulder a playful nudge a giggle leaving her, her nose scrunching at the implication behind what he was saying.

She still shook her drink in his face trying to entice him to had a sip as she spoke. “God you know the way to a girl’s heart Spencer, just remind me that we’re both STI free. You know how hot and bothered I get thinking about how neither of us have herpes.”

“You aren’t cute.” Reid remarked shaking his head leaning back away from her still offered drink.

She gave him a crooked grin already knowing this was just part of their love language. They enjoyed gently tormenting one another especially when Reid wanted to be difficult. He was too stubborn for his own good and she enjoyed pushing up against that stubbornness. “I know I’m not cute, I’m downright adorable.”

Reid rolled his eyes still ignoring her offered cocktail. He was almost wishing he’d convinced Y/N and the rest of the girls at the BAU that he should be the designated driver. That would have gotten him out of drinking.

Y/N had pointed out though that it was Garcia’s turn to be the designated driver this time around, so Reid wasn’t needed in that department.

Reid held up his own cup of cola giving her a sheepish smile. “I have my own drink.”

Y/N chuckled shaking her head as she spoke. “Okay suit yourself and avoid the lure of alcohol, you know you love me though Killjoy.”

Reid let out a small huff at her petname for him, though he couldn’t stop the hint of a grin from crossing his lips.

The smile faded as Y/N took his hand in hers dragging him off towards the tables where they’d left their belongings. She spoke a small smile crossing her lips. “Come on let’s go put our drinks down. You owe me a dance.”

“A dance, since when do I owe you a dance?” Reid whined not shocking Y/N at all.

She chuckled shaking her head as they neared their table placing their drinks down. Y/N ignored Garcia’s knowing smirk as Y/N spoke to her still pouting boyfriend. “You always owe me a dance, it’s a perk of dating me.”

Reid resisted the urge to roll his eyes relieved that at least a slow song was now playing over the stereo system.

He pulled Y/N against him his arms encircling her waist, her arms wrapping around his shoulders her head resting against his chest. They moved slow swaying knowing their movements were far more tame than most of the other couples on the dance floor who seemed to be doing more grinding than slow dancing.

As much of a fuss as Reid put up about the dance, he’d be lying if he tried to pretend that he didn’t love dancing with Y/N. The simple fact was that he just loved Y/N in general.

He knew it sounded horribly cliché but he was more than certain he’d loved Y/N at first sight. Or at the very least he’d experienced lust at first sight.

Though she’d been working as a technical analysis at Quantico for about two years at that point, neither Reid nor she had ever crossed paths until that moment. Y/N worked on a different floor entirely with an entirely different team. Most of her work actually centered more around ATF cases than BAU cases. So naturally Reid and Y/N had zero reason to even meet before they’d been forced to.

Reid and Y/N finally been forced to meet a few years before soon after Garcia had been shot and put out of commission from work for a few months due to doctors and the FBI’s orders. Garcia hadn’t been happy to take a sabbatical, but it had been mandatory according to Hotch.

Y/N had been brought in to do Garcia’s job while she was away. Everyone had been a bit hesitant of her when she’d first been brought in, after all no one could do what Garcia did as well as Garcia. Y/N had proven herself though.

Reid wasn’t lying when he admitted it had been love, or at the very least lust at first sight when he’d laid eyes on Y/N for the very first time. Y/N had been a bit difficult not to notice when Hotch had lead her into the conference room at the BAU that day to meet the team.

Reid couldn't help but to think that Y/N looked more as though she should be hanging out at a farmers market or a summer festival than standing there with an FBI ID badge attached to her dress. She’d been wearing a pretty pale yellow knee length peasant dress, a fake yellow daisy had been clipped into her hair, and the cork wedges she’d been wearing made her look even less like she belonged here.

As the days had gone on Reid had quickly realized that Y/N’s choice in outfits seemed to favor the more bohemian hippie side of things.

Reid had to wonder if perhaps all technical analysts that worked at Quanitco were just slightly on the odd side of the spectrum when it came to taste in fashion.

No, Y/N’s taste in fashion wasn’t nearly as quirky as Garcia’s but still...Reid could distinctly remember Rossi commenting that Y/N looked less like an employee of the FBI and more like she should be hanging out in a hippie commune making flower crowns. He hadn’t meant it as an insult, but it was true. Y/N did own a few tie dye clothing items, so if the shoe fit.

Though Y/N was a bit on the odd side, all it had taken was one smile from her as team introductions had been made, for Reid to fall for her. He knew it sounded so pitiful, but one little smile from Y/N and Reid had been all hers.

He hadn’t made any moves on her of course, he’d told himself it would be unprofessional. Besides hadn’t there been a recent rule pertaining to a ban towards fraternization among agents? Not that the rule was being enforced, but still.

Any romance between Y/N and he wasn’t meant to be Reid told himself, he would be foolish to even attempt to make any sort of move on Y/N. Fate apparently had different plans though.

Fate had decided that Reid should get injured while working a case and break his kneecap just a few weeks after Y/N had begun working at the BAU. He’d taken one rough tumble down the stairs while perusing an unsub and his knee had paid the price. His knee had been in pretty bad shape and he’d had pins placed in it to begin healing the fracture. He’d been placed in a brace and put on crutches. To make matters even worst he hadn’t been cleared to fly, which meant that he’d had to work cases remotely from the BAU offices for a short time until his doctor decided he could safely fly on a plane. This of course had meant that he was stuck in Penelope Garcia’s office sitting beside the very girl he’d been denying he had a big fat crush on for weeks now.

It had been an awkward experience to say the least. Reid had tried to keep it professional of course, but being cooped up in a room with Y/N wasn’t easy. He was stuck being that close for that long working on cases with her. It made it harder and harder to deny the fact that he very much wanted to shove her against a wall and kiss her.

She was sat so close to him the floral scent of her perfume making it so hard to focus on the case files spread out in front of him. He’d felt his heart rate pick up every time her arm accidentally brushed against his. He’d found himself gazing over at her more times than he could count his heart swooning as he watched her twirl a pen in her fingers her eyes locked on the computer screens in front of her. Morgan had spent more than enough time teasing Reid privately pointing out that Reid’s cheeks were the color of a cherry tomato any time Y/N so much as glanced Reid’s way while they did video calls to the rest of the team.

To make matters more awkward Y/N had seemed oblivious to Reid’s obvious massive crush on her. She’d been so polite and accommodating and just flat out sweet as Reid had been stuck at the BAU with her. He felt pathetic, it was so clear she’d saw him as some injured bird that she should fuss over. He didn’t have the heart to feel upset or insulted by it though. She made it hard to feel offended. She was just so sweet and worried about his comfort. She’d brought him a freaking pillow from her apartment to rest his knee on when she’d noticed that he was uncomfortable in the desk chair for heavens sake. How could be insulted by such a thoughtful action?

She’d assumed any awkward nervous energy seeping off of him was a result of pain from his broken knee and his refusal to take anything stronger than a Tylenol for the pain. She’d been totally in the dark about his more amorous feelings towards her.  

To be honest she’d pretty much convinced herself that someone as brilliant and as adorable as Dr. Spencer Reid would never look twice at her. Sure she was smart enough, not a genius, but smart enough to secure this job. She’d like to think she was cute enough. She’d had boyfriends after all, so she assumed she was attractive enough to attract the opposite sex. She felt cute in the outfits she wore at least. She put a lot of effort into looking cute and feminine wearing clothing she adored. She’d never had an issue attracting mens attention.

Y/N convinced herself that Reid seemed too pure and too good for someone as thoroughly as imperfect as her.

Her past relationships were disasters. She wasn’t known for always attracting the nicest guys to be honest. That was partially why she usually preferred to remain single. She couldn’t date jerks if she just didn’t date.

Y/N could admit that most of the time she felt as though her life was a total mess. She’d somehow landed her job, but to be honest it wasn’t something she’d planned for. She hated admitting that. Joining the FBI was a dream career for most people. She felt as though she was being ungrateful when she admitted that it had never been in her life plan. She’d spent the early part of her twenties feeling so restless moving from place to place never really knowing what her path in life was. She’d gotten herself into some trouble. She wasn’t a criminal, not really. She knew it sounded cliché when she admitted she’d just fallen in with a bad crowd. The people she’d surrounded herself with at the time had gotten her into a mess and she’d hacked into the wrong database.

Thanks to her screw up her current career had been less of a life goal and more of a case of her being recruited by the Feds. To be honest she’d assumed the offer from the Feds wouldn’t work out. She’d apparently impressed someone though, because she’d been hired. Though in reality she knew that in the case of some of her other coworkers at least on the technical side of Quantico her job offer had been more of an if you can’t beat the hackers force them to join you kind of situation.

Still though she could admit she was insecure about her place in Quanitco. She’d almost adopted a mindset that she didn’t belong here. She was only here because she had no choice in the matter. Accepting the job was better than getting in trouble with the Federal Government.

To be honest she kept expecting that she’d fuck it all up somehow and get herself fired. That’s usually how her life went. She had a particular talent in always managing to screw things up for herself.

That was where Reid and she differed. He’d been practically bred for this, the youngest agent to ever join the BAU being recruited by the famous Jason Gideon in his early twenties fresh out of the FBI academy. He was sure of his place in the BAU. He knew he belonged here.

Y/N didn’t feel that same sense of belonging. She wasn’t sure if she ever had felt as though she belonged anywhere. It was part of why she was so restless, that sense of not belonging led her to constantly be on the move. It had led her to attach herself to all the wrong people.

She told herself that Reid deserved something more than a girl who’d just somehow fallen into this job because of a stupid mistake. He wouldn’t want someone who always screwed up. He seemed like he should be dating some neurosurgeon... or maybe some other super prodigy. She had told herself that no matter how incredible and adorable and handsome he was, he would never even consider her to be a romantic option.

Sure, she’d managed to prove herself in her career in the few years she’d been in Quantico. She wasn’t a bad person. She just told herself that even if she wasn’t a bad person, she wasn’t good enough for Dr. Reid.

Y/N had begun bringing Reid lunch while he was cooped up in Garcia’s office with her until he was cleared to fly again. Y/N had told herself that she was just being considerate of him. He seemed to struggle on his crutches so much. It made her feel bad seeing him struggle to hobble around carrying whatever take out he’d ordered or whatever snack he’d packed from home. It seemed like it was the kind thing to do; bringing him lunch. They had become friends after all, she was just being considerate of an injured friend.

So, maybe Y/N had taken it upon herself to take care of his lunch for him while he was stuck uncleared to fly in Garcia’s office with her. The first time had been just a casual friendly offer of letting him have the other half of the turkey sandwich she’d brought from home...then the next day it had been that she’d packed some extra hummus and carrots...and then at dinner, when they were working late on a case, it had been just that she’d been craving take out and she felt weird ordering for just herself.

Pretty soon Reid had caught on that she was purposely bringing him meals, but he’d decided not to question it. He could admit it kind of felt nice, her doting on him like this...it was almost like he could at least pretend they were in a relationship and his adoring girlfriend was bringing him lunch. He’d of course not allowed himself to focus on that fantasy too hard. They were only friends after all. She didn’t see him as a romantic option, he’d told himself.

Sure JJ and Emily had mentioned that Y/N was single, but Reid was pretty sure he wasn’t her type. Still though it was nice to fantasize about it, for even a brief moment.

The shared lunches had continued even between cases when Reid had no excuse to be cooped up in Garcia’s office.

When Reid had finally been cleared to fly Y/N had tried to hide her disappointment as she’d spoken attempting to make a joke. “I’m happy you’re finally clear to fly, but I can admit I’ll miss having you by my side while you guys work cases.”

Reid still wasn’t sure how he’d worked up the courage, but the words had left him. “We can still hang out...and ya know, share lunches...we could share dinner too. I mean, if you’re interested.”

He’d paused taking a deep breath finding more courage as he worked the question from his lips. “Would you maybe want to have dinner with me Friday night?”

Y/N had felt the breath leave her feeling pathetic as the words left her, she just had to double check that he was asking her what she hoped. “As in a date?”

Reid had assumed the worst, trying not to let his shoulders slump too much his eyes turning to the floor unable to look at her as she was clearly rejecting him. “If you’re not interested in being more than friends, I understand. I didn’t mean to misinterpret the situation. I’m not too great with social cues sometimes, and I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable.”

Y/N had quickly jumped into action placing a hand on Reid’s arm stopping him before he had a chance to apologize more. “No, I mean, I am interested. You weren’t missing any social cues. I just, I wanted to make sure I was understanding what you were asking. Yes, I’d like nothing more than to have dinner with you Friday night.”

That had been that, Y/N and Reid had become inseparable after that. Of course, everyone had given Y/N and Reid a hard time, pointing out it had taken them long enough to admit they liked one another.

When Garcia had finally returned to work Reid and Y/N hadn’t let it put an end to what was building between them. Y/N returned to her own office and back to ATF cases. Reid had still made a point of spending more than enough time with her though. Y/N definitely found herself at Reid’s desk on her breaks and Reid had absolutely found himself creating reasons to go visit Y/N’s office on the floor below the BAU.

Things had been perfect. Their relationship had grown so strong over the past three years, for once in Reid’s life things seemed to be going well. He’d even taken Y/N to meet his mom and she’d taken him to meet her parents.

Y/N had been good for him in a lot of ways. Those closest to him had definitely noticed a positive change. He seemed lighter, more at peace. He’d been through a lot in his life, but for the first time in a while he didn’t feel as though the weight of his past was weighing him down so hard. At the very least he felt as though he had someone by his side to help him carry that weight.

Y/N could admit Reid had been good for her too. For the first time in her life she felt like she was right where she belonged. Reid had long ago shown her that she deserved far more than she ever gave herself credit for.

She managed to speak thankful he could hear her a little better the soft R&B playing over the stereo system much less intense than the electronic dance music that had been playing just a little while ago. “Thank you for coming out tonight, I know this isn’t your scene and I’ve been giving you a hard time tonight, but I am glad you agreed to come out with us tonight. I know you weren’t happy about the clubbing idea.”

Reid gave her a crooked grin not above giving her a hard time. “You’ve been giving me a hard time? I haven’t noticed.”

Y/N rolled her eyes a huff leaving her lips. “You’re lucky I love you, you smartass.”

Reid’s smile only grew as he was fast to respond. “I love you too.”

His smile grew more as a tempting idea popped up in the back of his brain, he had the slightest feeling this idea might just make Y/N want to leave the nightclub a bit sooner than later. “I can admit that the club scene isn’t my idea of a fun night, but I do have a pretty good idea of how you can make it up to me...you did say if I grin and bear this a little longer that we could do whatever I wanted when we get home, right?”

Y/N felt a small smirk cross her lips having a pretty good idea of what he had in mind. “I did say that.  What do you have in mind?”

Reid leaned in close to her his voice low enough sure that only she could hear the words that left his lips. “When we get home I’m cuffing you to the bed and going down on you all night until my jaw is sore.”

Reid’s request had the effect he’d anticipated Y/N’s eyes darkening with lust a soft moan leaving her. She leaned up just as close to him her voice just as low knowing two could play at this game. “I’d say that this is our cue to leave then.”

“I thought we had to stay till one am?” Reid teased not above throwing her words back in her face.

Y/N smirked knowing just what to say to make him forget anything she’d said earlier tonight. “I did, but I’ve changed my mind. I think I like your idea of how to spend the rest of our night much better. Let’s go grab our coats and my purse, Daddy.”

Reid couldn’t stop the moan from leaving his lips his hand sneaking down to her backside not shy about giving her ass a squeeze as they made their way off the dance floor.

Y/N was so in for it when they made it home.

….......................................................

Reid was a man of his word. Y/N and he had made their way into his apartment, that Y/N had moved into only a year ago, Reid’s lips locked against hers their kisses desperate and needy. Reid pulled from the kiss ignoring the little whine that left Y/N at the loss of his lips against hers. “Go to the bedroom and take everything off. Get the cuffs out of my nightstand.”

Y/N had nodded her head eagerly the words leaving her without any hesitation. “Yes Daddy.”

The Daddy thing had started as an accident, she’d never had a Daddy kink, not even once in her life.

It had started so unexpectedly a little over a year into Reid’s and her relationship. She still blamed Emily for planting the damn seed in her brain in the first place.

They’d all been having dinner at Rossi’s house, Y/N had been included though she no longer really worked with the team anymore, she was now family given her relationship with Reid and the friendships she’d built with the team.

She’d been standing in Rossi’s backyard a glass of white wine in hand her heart swooning as she watched her adorable boyfriend perform magic tricks for JJ’s eldest son Henry and Hotch’s son Jack. The scene was absolutely tooth rotting heart melting sweet. Reid really was like a giant kid at heart sometimes. He loved entertaining the boys with his arsenal of magic tricks and Y/N loved to watch him.

She’d almost jumped out of her skin as Emily approached her a knowing smile on her lips. “He really is in his element right now.”

“Tell me about it, those magic tricks helped him win over my niece though...which helped him win over my brother and my parents.” Y/N admitted taking another sip of wine her eyes turning back to Reid her heart swooning all the more at the memory she’d just admitted to.

Her family had found Reid a bit strange when she’d brought him home for Thanksgiving. Reid could sense their uncertainty of him. He knew he was a bit odd, at least most people outside of the BAU treated him like an anomaly once they clued into how intelligent he really was.

Any uncertainty had disappeared from Y/N’s family though once Reid had calmed her upset seven year old niece, who’d been weeping over a little cut on her knee, by performing a coin trick for her. That sweet little action had been all it took for Y/N’s family to place aside any reservations they had about the odd young man Y/N had introduced as her boyfriend.

She spoke again shaking her head a small laugh leaving her. “I think it’s safe to say that the Reid Effect is dead and gone at least when it comes to kids.”

Emily spoke up not helping but to ask the same question the team had occasionally teased Reid about once it had become clear that Y/N and he were in a serious relationship. “So, how long till you have some genius babies for him to perform magic tricks for?”

Y/N almost choked on her wine the question taking her by shock. No, this wasn’t the first time this question had been asked. JJ had already asked about kids the first time Reid and Y/N had babysit JJ’s boys for the night.

Reid and Y/N had managed to answer the question vaguely simply saying “someday.”

Y/N wasn’t exactly ready for babies, not yet. Judging by Reid’s dedication to being hyper-vigilant about condoms, even though she was on the pill, Reid wasn’t quite ready for babies just yet either.

Y/N couldn’t deny that the idea of genius babies had crossed her mind once or twice though. It had first popped up in her brain during the winter when she’d watched Reid play with Henry outside in the snow in JJ and Will’s backyard. She’d be lying if she tried to say she hadn’t envisioned Reid playing with a little boy with Reid’s pretty curls and his expressive eyes, maybe a little girl too who was just as beautiful. She couldn’t deny that the thought filled her with hope for the future.

Y/N was tempted to give Emily the same line Reid and she were so accustomed to giving when it came to the baby questions. She couldn’t deny how she felt though the words leaving her. “I mean...I’m not saying I want him to take me home and knock me up tonight...Kids probably won’t happen for a long time, but he really will make a good dad when it does happen.”

“The best dad.” Emily insisted a small smile crossing her lips a bit proud she’d finally worked the admission out of Y/N. Everyone could clearly see Reid had wedding bells and babies dancing around in his head, he just wasn’t ready to admit it.

Y/N nodded her head in agreement her heart fluttering as Reid performed another card trick to the delighted boys and Garcia. “The best.”

That night after a little too much wine Y/N and Reid had made their way back to his apartment and she’d found herself straddling Reid’s hips riding him out like her life depended on it.

The words had fallen right out of her, her lust and alcohol tainted brain apparently still feeling giddy from the conversation Emily and she’d had earlier. “Fuck Daddy, yes you feel so good!”

She’d been mortified as soon as she realized the words had left her, Reid had seemed just as shocked. She’d stilled her hips her face pink from more than arousal.

She covered her face with her hands an embarrassed groan leaving her. “Shit, oh God. I can’t believe I just said that.”

She spoke again rapidly shaking her head not daring to stare down her boyfriend almost sure she’d see disgust written all over his face, especially if he knew that seed had been planted in her brain from such an innocent non sexual conversation with Emily. “I swear to God I do not have some sort of weird fetish or Daddy issues or anything. Oh shit, I swear I do not have Daddy issues. You met my dad, my dad is awesome. Right? You know my relationship with my dad is fine? This is not some freaky fetish thing.”

Reid had placed his hands on her thighs rubbing soothing circles into her skin calming her. He reached up with one hand pulling her hands from her face his voice soothing. “I know baby, trust me  I don’t think this is a fetish thing or a Daddy issues thing. You’re right. Your dad is great.”

Y/N felt her cheeks flush darker shaking her head her voice an embarrassed squeak. “Can we please stop talking about my dad while your dick is still inside of me.”

Reid resisted the urge to chuckle at her comment and point out that she’d brought up her dad in the first place. He spoke still rubbing soothing circles into her thigh with the hand that wasn’t holding hers. “Talk to me baby, where’d this come from?”

Y/N sighed shaking her head almost sure this was about to all go south. She was almost amazed Reid wasn’t completely flaccid inside of her. She was sure this next conversation would make him feel absolutely freaked out. She hadn’t missed the way he paled when the girls at the BAU brought up babies. “Emily and I were talking earlier...and she asked the question, ya know the one everyone started asking after it became super clear that we were serious about each other.”

Reid sighed nodding his head providing the answer. “The genius babies question?”

Y/N nodded her head daring to look down at him relieved that his face seemed more curious than anything. At least he wasn’t panicking. She spoke her voice soft. “I know the kids thing isn’t something we’ve discussed that much, not in detail at least...I know it freaks you out, having kids and you said it’s something you want but you don’t want to rush into it. Trust me I’m still on the same page as you on the subject. This isn’t me asking to make a baby or whatever...I just, I admitted that I think you’d make a really good dad. I guess my brain hung onto the comment.”

Reid took her by shock the words leaving his lips not quite what she’d been expecting. “You really think I’d make a good dad?”

Y/N couldn’t hide the smile from her lips at the look of astonishment on Reid’s face nor the small dreamy smile crossing his lips. She nodded her head speaking without hesitation. “The best dad in the world. I know you feel weird about the entire subject, but I think someday, in the far away future when we are both ready for that step, you’ll be a pretty amazing father.”

Reid spoke his words soothing her neurotic brain stopping her from overthinking her slip of tongue. “So the Daddy thing, it’s a term of endearment. You just said it because you see me as the future father to your children.”

Y/N nodded her head her cheeks still a little flushed. “Yes, I think so...It might also kind of be a submission thing from me...I mean I let you take control in the bedroom, so maybe it’s just a combination of the whole prospective future father to my hypothetical kids thing and also me letting you have control in the bedroom.”

She paused her cheeks flushing further not missing the little smile on Reid’s lips at the new development in their relationship, no they weren’t playing totally into any sort of Dom/Sub lifestyle. Y/N had just quickly realized it she liked it if Reid got a little bossy in bed. Letting him be in charge and letting him manhandle her a little bit was a turn on.

She spoke her insecurities about this entire situation peaking up. “If you hate it or you think it’s ya know...weird, then I swear I will never call you that name ever again.”

Reid took her by surprise sitting up his lips pressing to hers the kiss so gentle his cock still buried in her the shift of his hips as he sat up making her whimper ever so slightly. He spoke his hand stroking her cheek as he gave her another kiss. “You better keep calling me Daddy.”

He spoke again testing the waters his hands resting against her hips encouraging her to return to their previous activities wanting to show her just how okay he was with this entire development. He was stunned by how okay he was with this.

He could admit that the little name was equal parts a turn on and a comfort. She wanted to have kids with him. She thought he’d make a good dad. She loved letting him take care of her. It was a nice realization, knowing that she trusted him so much. He liked the way the word daddy sounded on her lips. “Come on baby, move those hips for me. Let Daddy get back to making you feel good.”

That had been that, Y/N had continued to use the little term of endearment behind closed doors quickly realizing that it no longer made her anxious. If anything she loved the reaction the little petname brought out of Reid.

Y/N had followed Reid’s orders to strip down and find the handcuffs and that’s how she’d wound up nude on Reid’s and her bed her hands cuffed to the bed frame with the two pairs of fuzzy handcuffs that had been long ago given to her as a joke gift from an old friend.

Reid had discovered the fuzzy leopard print handcuffs when she’d moved into his place and they’d gotten some pretty good use out of them since then.

She whimpered as Reid focused on her breasts his lips wrapped around her nipple suckling enthusiastically Y/N whining at the realization that she was denied the ability to reach down and run her fingers through his hair.

He’d stripped down just as nude as her but he was somehow resisting the desire to grind his hips against hers as he focused on lavishing attention on her breasts. He had far more self control than Y/N ever would. Self control wasn’t even a word in her vocabulary when it came to Spencer Reid.

Reid shot her a small grin as he pulled from her breast the cold air making Y/N whine as it hit her damp perky nipple. Reid could spot how she was tugging at her restraints already frustrated that she couldn’t touch him. “It’s okay, honey, you can pull my hair as hard as you want while I’m between your legs.”

He paused smirking at the whine that left her arms once again tugging at the cuffs. “That is you can touch me after I make you cum a few times. You know how much I love eating you out. I can’t do it just once and be done with it.”

She whined a familiar heat washing over her her poor clit throbbing knowing just what Reid had planned for her tonight. “Please Daddy.”

Reid leaned in pressing an all too chaste kiss to Y/N’s lips before he spoke. “Please what sweet girl? Please eat that tight little pussy of yours? Is that what you want? You want Daddy to eat your pussy all night long?”

Y/N whimpered her body shuddering her clit still throbbing. Reid was so good at dirty talk. She almost couldn’t believe that the sweet shy prodigy that was so polite all day at work could say such filthy things to her behind closed doors.

Reid smirked his voice soft not helping but to scold her a little for being so keen on giving him such a hard time tonight at the nightclub. “Fuck, look at you, my quiet sweet girl. You had plenty to say all night, but you’re not talking so much right now, just lying there so desperate for Daddy to make you feel good. You aren’t calling me a killjoy now, are you? You were so mouthy tonight. Do you know how bad I wanted to take you into some bathroom stall tonight, let you put that smart mouth to a better use?”

He spoke again unable to stop himself from pushing her a little further though he was absolutely full of shit, he knew the words were just filthy enough to make her moan. “Maybe I should leave you like this, that way anyone who wanted to use you could have a go with you. Would you like that?”

He chuckled at the soft moan that left her lips just as Reid had predicted. He spoke again pushing a little further. “I bet you would love that. You’re my little slut aren’t you sweetheart? You are always just so eager for anything to fill that cunt up?”

Y/N smirked up at him knowing he was all talk though she couldn’t ignore the thrill that ran through her both at his threat and the name calling. She was always a sucker for just a tiny bit of degradation, as long as Reid didn’t go overboard.

She’d let him call her his slut or spank her or say filthy things like what had just been said to her. He kept it at a limit though, they’d already long ago talked about what their comfort levels with certain kinks were. She might let him occasionally refer to her as “his slut” but the key word in that sentence was “his”. She didn’t like to be called degrading names unless Reid made it a point of pointing out that she was his.

She knew just what to say in response to this comment. “You wouldn’t do that, you don’t like sharing Daddy. The last time a guy tried to flirt with me you took me home and showed me just who I belong to. If you left me tied up it’d be for you and you only to use.”

Reid chuckled nodding his head his lips brushing against hers far too lightly. “You know me well sweet girl.”

He paused his hand running along her body as he spoke again. “You’re mine. The only thing that fills that pussy is my cock. It’s made for me sweetheart, just made for only me to fill up.”

He spoke again giving her a small grin. “You were awfully mouthy tonight though. You didn’t warn me about the nightclub plans. You told me we were just grabbing dinner and maybe hitting a movie, you didn’t mention a nightclub was ever in the plans.”

He spoke once again his lips moving down her throat nipping at her skin sure to leave marks behind for her to cover tomorrow. “I think that you should let me do my favorite thing in the entire world, just to make up for making me spend hours in that horrible nightclub.”

Y/N whimpered knowing just what Reid’s favorite thing was.

She’d never met a man who loved eating her out more than Reid. The man was practically addicted to  it. He was so eager to bury his face against her pussy and eat her out for hours if she allowed it.

More than once she’d found herself physically shoving his head away after multiple orgasms her body shaking. Reid would just stare up at her his mouth and chin damp with her release a pleased smile on his lips his voice needy. “Please baby, just let me do it a little longer. Love how you taste, love making you feel so good. Love you, need to work one more out of you, please, just cum one more time.”

She’d quickly realized that Reid might have a little kink for overstimulating her and just flat out serving her in that way. As much control as she gave him in the bedroom, he adored serving her in this way.  

She knew what it was about it that got him off. He liked the praise she gave him when he buried his face between her thighs. He loved knowing that only he could bring her that much pleasure without even having to use his dick. He was so proud knowing that he could make her cum more than once. He loved knowing that he made her cum more than any man had ever managed to do before. It was an ego booster for him.

It was a bit shocking, most of her exes had complained when she asked them to go down on her. Reid had been so eager that first time he’d gone down on her. She’d been stunned when he’d been the one who’d offered it without her even having to blow him first. She’d barely had time to say yes that very first time, before Reid had buried his face in her lap and make her eyes cross as pleasure washed over her.

She had quickly realized that Reid was never satisfied with just one orgasm from her. She was a lucky woman.

She nodded her head Reid grinning as she spoke. “Please Spencer. Please do it.”

He wasted no time working his way down her body burying his face against her soaked center his tongue eagerly sliding along her slit slow and soft wanting to take his time and enjoy his favorite activity in the bedroom. He spoke his breath hot against her heated skin. “Fuck, you get so wet for me.”

“Just for you.” Y/N replied knowing just what to say to make him moan.

He placed his hands at her thighs encouraging her to rest them over his shoulders as he got to work lapping at her still keeping his movements so soft and slow the musky taste of her heavenly on his tongue.  

He stared up at her Y/N yanking at her restraints once again the action working a chuckle from him the laugh vibrating against her making her moan her hips bucking against him.

She was so beautiful like this; lying back her breasts heaving her jaw dropped her eyes staring down at him as he pleasured her. There was a reason this was his favorite activity to engage in in the bedroom. He loved knowing he could get her off.

He knew that most people viewed him as being sexless even after he’d begun dating Y/N. They saw him as being the innocent baby of the BAU. He was still the boy genius to his co workers even if he was no longer the awkward young twenty something year old prodigy Gideon had recruited to the BAU all those years ago. They still saw him as the timid socially inept young man who couldn’t get a real date.

He had grown up but his friends didn’t realize it, or at least didn’t want to admit that he’d grown.

Reid wasn’t some innocent little nerd, despite what his coworkers might believe. He knew exactly how to pleasure a woman. Contrary to popular belief he wasn’t the pure blushing virgin he knew his coworkers had assumed he was.

No he wasn’t the most experienced guy, but he was experienced enough for Y/N.

He knew how to make her cum. He loved making her cum. He had gotten her to admit that he was the best she’d ever had. That was enough to make Reid walk with a bit of strut to his step. Sex with Y/N had definitely been the best confidence booster available to Reid.

Reid allowed his tongue to slide along her clit flicking the swollen little nub a few times gently knowing too much stimulation too fast would be painful instead of pleasurable. He loved how sensitive his girlfriend was.

He loved overstimulating her until she was a shaking soaked mess practically crying because she was so blissed-out with pleasure that it was overwhelming. There was nothing more gorgeous on this planet that watching the woman he loved cum all because of him. It was even better when she squirted and made a mess, her cheeks flushed so embarrassed about the mess and stunned that he’d even managed to work something that intense out of her. After he managed to make her squirt she’d always murmur that she didn’t even think squirting was an actual thing and that Reid really was a genius.

Reid knew though that too much over-stimulation too fast wouldn’t be fun for anyone though, so he kept his laps and flicks to her clit soft alternating between quick little laps to long drawn out ones. The sounds that fell from his love’s lips let him know he was on the right track as usual.  

She continued to pull at her restraints knowing her poor wrists would be so horribly bruised but she couldn’t find it in her to care. The inability to run her fingers through Reid’s soft hair was maddening.  It was like the best torture imaginable. She couldn’t stop the whine from leaving her the sight of him still staring up at at her as he pleasured her so perfect. “Oh, God, Spencer, Daddy, feels so good.”

Reid’s only response was a moan the vibration against her once again making her whine he not letting up on his gentle laps to her center.

Reid resisted the urge to reach down and stroke his cock it standing hard against his stomach leaking pre cum and throbbing. He knew that this wasn’t about his pleasure, not right now. He wanted to own up to his promise to make her cum a few times before he worried about getting himself off.

He continued to lap at her going back and forth between alternating speeds his tongue lapping her from her entrance all the way up to her clit unable to stop himself from nuzzling her as he moved the action working moans from her she continuing to struggle against the restraints though she knew it was of little use. She wasn’t touching Reid until she was satisfied. She was only touching her boyfriend on his terms tonight.

He wrapped his lips around her clit suckling as two of his long fingers thrusted into her tight heat curling as he thrust them and out of her the action causing her to whine. Her hips rocked against him her words frantic. “Oh fuck, Spencer, just like that. Daddy, just like that.”

He gazed up at her pride shooting through him as she continued to rock against his ministrations his lips suckling at her clit enthusiastically as his fingers thrust in and out of her. She was so soaked that he could hear his fingers sliding in and out of her heat the sound and feel of it making his cock throb painfully.

He made sure to twist his fingers as the thrusted them searching for that one spot in her that he knew would get her to fall over the edge faster. He groaned against her as she spoke her voice still a frantic squeak that made his heart flutter. “You’re so good at this Spencer, so fucking good at this.”

She spoke again only making Reid moan all the more his sounds vibrating against her sensitive clit. “You’re gonna make me cum Spencer, oh God.”

He continued to thrust his fingers eagerly suckling at her clit with equal enthusiasm working her closer and closer towards the edge knowing if he had it his way it would be the first of several orgasms he was giving her tonight.

He knew she was getting closer and closer her back arching her thighs beginning to tremble as she yanked at the restraints harder than she had all night. Reid didn’t let up on his ministrations as she slid closer and closer cries of Reid’s name sliding from her lips the noise only encouraging him.

She spoke barely managing to work the words out as she felt her center tighten her toes curling her thighs squeezing tight holding Reid in place as she fell over the edge. “Spencer, oh Daddy, oh”

More noises left her lips incomprehensible cries of Reid’s name as he continued to thrust his fingers his lips suckling her clit as her tight center fluttered Reid happy to work her through her orgasm.

She whined Reid pulling his fingers from her as she finally managed to loosen her thighs her body shaking as Reid pulled from her clit. He stared up at her, a pleased grin on his face as he spoke. “That’s my girl, came so hard for me.”

She whimpered the words leaving her. “Fuck me, Spencer please. Want you.”

Reid gave her a smile not moving from her his voice teasing though her request made his cock twitch and throb desperate to give in and take what she was offering. “Not yet baby. I think you can cum a few more times for me.”

She cried out not having time to protest as Reid eagerly buried his face back against her center not giving her time to protest his tongue lapping at her groaning at just how soaked she was. This was going to be fun.

Reid did manage to work two more orgasms from her, Y/N shaking as the third one worked from her Reid pulling back a smile on his lips his chin and lips absolutely drenched with her release the sight making her shudder.

He worked his way back up her body his kisses soft and sweet sure that he was being gentle with her now that she was overstimulated and probably feeling overwhelmed.

He leaned over reaching into his nightstand finding the handcuff keys working fast to release both her wrists Y/N letting out a weak whine as her arms fell limp at her sides her wrists aching purple bruises already forming. She had a feeling she’d be wearing a cardigan until they faded.

Reid tossed the cuffs and the keys back into his nightstand blindly reaching around until he located the next thing he needed.

He ignored his own desire knowing she needed aftercare before he even began to think about proceeding further.

He filled his palms with lotion gently taking her wrists in hand gently rubbing into her sore skin a hint of worry flashing into his eyes as he stared down at his quiet girlfriend she still breathing heavy her body still shaking. “I didn’t go too far right? Talk to me baby.”

Y/N stared up at him her body feeling so heavy and her brain feeling just as heavy as she tried to recover from what she’d just experienced. “No you didn’t go too far. I just need a moment.”

“What do you need sweetheart? How can I help?” Reid asked Y/N shooting him a drowsy smile. He was always like this after a particularly intense experience between them.

It was almost amusing the man who’d called her his slut and eaten her out three times, now looked so nervous and hesitant, so eager to do anything to reassure himself that he hadn’t gone too far. She would forever adore the duality of Dr. Spencer Reid. He was just as fast to talk dirty and spank her as he was to cradle her in his arms like she was the most delicate being on the planet.

She guessed a little aftercare wasn’t just good for her, Reid needed it just as badly.

“Cuddle me. I want to hold each other, just for a while, until I recover.”

Reid did just that tossing the lotion bottle back into his nightstand wasting no time to lie by her side pulling her against him the couple clinging to one another their arms encircling one another’s bodies.

Reid pressed reassuring kisses to her forehead as he held her tight his voice soft. “Love you, love you so much.”

“Love you.” She murmured struggling not to fall asleep. She knew he hadn’t gotten off tonight. Or at least she didn’t think he’d cum yet.

There had been that one time where he’d cum against the bed sheets as he ate her out. That had been one of their first experiences into this little game he’d started though. It seemed the longer they had sex the longer his stamina grew.

She dared to gaze down at him a soft moan leaving her at the sight of him. He was still very much aroused his cock standing tall looking a bit angry that he hadn’t found release yet judging by how red he’d gone.

She reached down between them her hand wrapping around his cock her thumb brushing his tip not stroking him knowing that going in dry wouldn’t be pleasurable for him at all. Reid grunted as he watched her spread the pre cum still dripping from him he knowing he’d made a mess of their sheets most likely already.

She spoke her voice soft. “Still want you Spencer.”

“Are you sure? I mean, you’re not too sensitive?” Reid blurted out his cock throbbing at the suggestion the base more needy part of his brain screaming at him for double checking, his heart overpowered that voice though knowing he’d feel like dirt if he hurt her.

She gave him a soft smile nodding her head. “I don’t think I’ll be able to cum again...and that’s not a challenge. I’m pretty sure I’m all out of orgasms for the night.”

Reid snorted at this comment his cheeks flushing a bit embarrassed to admit it. “I don’t think I’ll last long enough to get you off baby. I’m kind of about to burst here.”

Y/N watched him reach over into his nightstand once again pulling out a condom a chuckle leaving him as she took it from him intent on putting in on him herself.

She ripped the foil package open pinching the tip before rolling the latex down Reid’s cock he hissing at the action it almost too much with how long he’d been dying to find a release.

He almost felt it was his first time all over again. He just hoped he’d last more than two thrusts this time around.

He moved over her his lips brushing along hers needing to double check. “Are you sure. If you’re not ready I’ll settle for a hand job or I can even take care of myself if you’re done for the night.”

She smiled finding his hesitance equal parts endearing and annoying. She pressed her lips to his her voice confident. “Fuck me Spencer. Bury that cock in me where it belongs Daddy.”

Reid grunted her words pushing him to do just that he not even taking his time as he buried himself in her balls deep a groan leaving him at how hot she was. She was still so tight from the orgasms he’d given her. He knew he definitely wasn’t going to last long at all.

Y/N smiled up at him ignoring the hint of pain she still a little oversensitive. Her desire to please her boyfriend outweighed any over-stimulation though.

She spoke knowing that she wanted nothing more than to make him cum. He deserved to cum hard after what he’d done to her tonight. “My pussy really is made for your cock Spencer.”

Reid grunted nodding his head eagerly at this comment he wasting no time to pull out of her before thrusting back in harshly his voice frantic and high pitched. “Fuck yeah it is. It really is my love. My sweetheart, oh shit.”

Y/N continued to stare up at him knowing he loved eye contact in moments like this. He had a kinky side but Reid was definitely a hopeless romantic at heart. He loved deep eye contact during sex. He liked feeling connected to her. He wanted to know that he was the love of her life, as was she the love of his life. Staring into his gorgeous eyes as he made love to her was the best way to remind him of this fact.

He thrusted into her roughly her hands tracing his back her legs wrapping around his hips encouraging his movements. She moaned knowing that although she didn’t plan on being able to cum again tonight, the feel of him inside of her still brought her pleasure.

She spoke knowing he loved the words that were about to leave her lips. “Tell me you love me Daddy.”

“Love you, love you so much.” Reid groaned his hips thrusting so frantically that the room was filled with the sound of his skin slapping against hers his cock throbbing as he thrusted in and out of her tight center.

Y/N gasped saying the words back to him. “Love you too. Love you Spencer.”

He grunted his balls already drawing close to him signaling that he was right to admit that he wasn’t going to last long. He had a feeling he was going to cum hard and he was going to cum soon.

He groaned working the words from his lips his hips still thrusting roughly as he chased his release. “I love you, gonna make me cum baby.”

She spoke pride shooting through her the realization that she was going to bring him so much pleasure the best feeling in the world at this moment. “Please Spencer, cum for me. Come on, want you to cum for me. Let go for me Spencer.”

Reid gasped his face burying against her neck as his orgasm neared closer and closer. He began to lose the rhythm he’d built up his thrusts growing sloppy as he rocked in and out of her chasing his end.

He made one final rough thrust into her her name spilling from his lips as he came spilling his release into the condom his body shaking as he tried his best to keep thrusting as his release continued to spill from him until the last drop.

He collapsed against her body his cock softening the both of them damp with sweat Reid shaking as much as Y/N had been earlier his orgasm just as intense as the ones she’d given him.

She ran soothing patterns along his back as he struggled to regain control of his breathing and will himself to move.

He grunted pulling out of her a whimper leaving him at the friction against his soft cock it too much now that he’d cum.

He rolled over onto his back weakly pulling the condom from himself and tying it tossing it into the wastebasket by his bed.

He opened his arms Y/N taking the hint snuggling up against him her head resting against his chest. Reid wrapped his arms tight around her his voice a drowsy pleased slur. “Love you.”

She smiled up at him her heart so overfilled with adoration for the man beside her. “And I love you.”

They laid in silence for a moment before Reid spoke up not helping but to give her a smile his eyes growing heavy as he struggled to stay away the post coital haze making him feel so sleepy. “I guess nightclubs aren’t so bad. If we get to do this I’ll go to a few more nightclubs with you.”

Y/N giggled at this her lips pressing to his cheek as she spoke. “I’m holding you to that promise Spencer.”

She smiled as she felt herself drift off. She wondered how many more times she could convince the girls into letting Reid join them on girls night.

[old-hyper-super-clover]

Squeeze that bunny tail!

Part 3

Description: The RAD student council as well as the exchange students help out at a bar where, oops, the staff´s dress codes are those sweet bunny outfits that we all know and thirst for. The MCs, Violet and Clover, play a game of who can touch the most bunny tails over the evening without getting caught. Prepare for fluff, funny innuendos as well as my thirst over hot boys in bunny outfits.

Find the first parts on my masterlist.

Story continues under the cut. Enjoy the thirst!

[The amazing artwork belongs to @tokamiart, permission to post was granted, don´t repost!]

Clover and Simeon were giving out drinks at the bar.

The girl was handing over all sorts of bottles, glasses and ice cubes if needed. Simeon then put it all together with such grace and beauty that Clover often found herself gazing at him, until the brunet would turn to her with a smile and ask her to let go of whatever she had been wanting to hand him.

At one point, without any customers walking up to the bar, Clover sat down for a quick break.

"Tired?" Simeon asked, having decided to clean the counter in the meantime.

Clover chuckled at the sight. "Oh, is this going to be the classic 'I tell the bartender of my problems' scenario?"

The angel blinked in confusion. "I am afraid I don't know what you are talking about... But I'm always there to lend you an ear, if that's what you're aiming at."

"I'm fine", she laughed. "I was only joking... I must admit, though, you really suit this job. I'm sorry if I'm misjudging you, but how come an angel is looking so perfectly fit for serving drinks?"

Simeon blessed her with a chuckle. "Thank you for the compliment. As for your question... You might be surprised, but angels do know how to have some fun, too."

"Oooh" Clover grinned. "So the whole turning-water-into-wine thing wasn't just a myth?!"

At that, Simeon only put his finger close to his lips in a "shhh" sound, giving her a secretive little wink before both broke out in soft giggles.

A little while later, their attention got caught up by a situation at the tables.

Luke was cleaning dirty dishes off of an emptied table, when a demon approached him.

A little flustered, they exchanged a few words before Luke gestured towards the public toilets.

"He's doing so well" Simeon hummed, leaning on the counter as he watched his angel friend with a proud smile. "It had been very difficult for him to adjust to life in the Devildom... But I'm glad to see he is finally finding his own pace of things."

Clover's head jumped back and forth between the two celestial creatures.

"It's because he has a great friend who's watching over him" she smiled.

"Huh? Oh, no, I don't want to take any credit for that. It's all thanks to Luke's own strength that he's able to go through this so well."

Suddenly, Luke hurried over to them, a full tray of dishes in his hands.

He looked SO disgusted.

"Waaah... What's wrong with those demons...!" He let the tray slip onto the counter. "Has nobody here learned how to properly behave in a restaurant?! The tables are sticky, the food is all over the cutlery, or even worse...!"

He held up a fork.

... Or better, what was left of it. Which was only the handle. The upper spikes got bitten off almost completely.

"Who eats a fork?!?!", Luke cried out. "That's... That's... Ridiculous!"

Clover gave an awkward laugh, she got over the point of wondering long ago.

"I am pretty sure I know who would..." she mumbled.

And truly, stepping out of the kitchen, the culprit looked at the fork with a guilty expression.

"... Don't tell Lucifer" Beelzebub mumbled as he came closer. "He'll get mad if he sees that parts of the cutlery are missing..."

"... 'parts'?!" Luke repeated in disbelief. "You mean this isn't the only one?!"

"... Those were accidents..." Beel whined, holding his grumbling belly.

He let himself plonk down on a chair next to Clover, then huddled over the counter in a pout.

"Ugh... And what am I supposed to do with that now...?" Luke said.

"Hm..." Simeon thought. "Clover, Beel, could you watch the bar for a moment? Luke, let's go bring the dishes to the kitchen... And that thing into the trash."

They excused themselves after Clover gave her okay and Beel gave some kind of grumble.

The girl´s head drifted over to look at the demon...

And her heart skipped a beat.

She checked the situation.

His tail? Exposed.

His thoughts? In some far away land about food.

The others? Gone.

The perfect chance for a squeeze? Right fucking NOW.

Clover swallowed the raising anxiety in her stomach.

She had lurked around the angels in hope of squeezing one of their tails, but now that they were gone, she had missed that chance...

The more she thought about it, the more did Clover feel like hyperventilating. It was such a stupid thing to fuss over, but sadly, her habit of over-contemplating would always stress her out in unnecessary situations.

After what felt like eternity of convincing herself, she moved her arm.

Beel almost immediately turned his head.

"... You look like you want to eat me." He said.

"Wh-what?!"

His grumpy face mustered her.

"But I will eat you before you could possibly eat me, so don't even try."

Clover's already red face curled in confusion.

"I didn't want to..." she mumbled.

"Why were you staring at me, then?"

"I-I... Was thinking about how to help you with your hunger..." she lied.

"... Oh. Sorry for accusing you of something else, then."

"N-no, it's fine..."

Before Clover could talk herself into more bullshit, Simeon came back, and the holy boy was there to save her from her own misery.

"Beel" he called out. "Luke and I will soon return home for a bit. I can bring you some sandwiches, so stay strong, okay?"

"Simeon...!" Beel cheered as his euphoria made him stand up and engulf Simeon in a hug. "You're a true angel...!"

Clover felt quite shitty afterwards.

Beel hugging Simeon was an adorable sight, but she hated herself for being such a coward.

After dodging another encounter with Solomon, she had pulled back to help Belphie at the casino area, trying to get her mind off of the competition for a little...

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

Alright. I hope you´re not bored yet, because the chaos hasn´t even properly started yet.

Also, nearing ourselves to half-time, now is a good opportunity to sum up a few events as well as the overall squish-score so far.

Violet was leading with a total of 12 points. Besides the mentioned scenarios, she had also encountered Mammon a second time, and she was lucky enough to find Luke having a life crisis over another eaten fork.

Heck, Violet even managed to squeeze Clover's tail once, and her friend hasn't noticed!

Clover, on the other side, has had a great start, but did rather poorly the later it got.

With five points, she only had another chance with Asmo, who, tbh, had been begging for someone to pay attention to his booty. (But to be clear, he did not notice the squish.)

Over time, she got desperate, but that only fueled Clover's fears of getting caught.

It nearly let her to internally quitting, if not for Violet to pull her back into the game once more...

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

Most of the crew was busy working when the clock struck midnight.

A nearby bell tower announced the change of day -- and with that, also the change of clothes.

The customers as well as the staff looked up when a certain voice echoed through the speakers.

"Good evening, my sweethearts~!" Asmodeus cheered, sitting on the bar counter and waving at the crowd. "Or should I say good night? Good morning? I hope you are having a good one, to say the least!"

He gained a small round of laughter.

"Yes, yes, a cheery mood is what we want! And now that we passed midnight... It's time for a special surprise!"

He stood up onto the counter, striking a nice pose while smirking widely.

"Those with weak minds -- and weak ovaries -- should brace themselves, cause things are about to get hot~!"

The crowd applauded and cheered. A group of thirsty (asmodeHoes) fans threw in some... naughty exclamations, but Asmo had already jumped onto the floor again, gathering the staff members around him.

Barbatos at his side, he was handing out another set of clothing. "Please get dressed quickly", the butler said.

And so they went off...

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

"VioLET."

"Cloverrrr..."

"I CAN'T go out like his."

"But... But Clover... You know what must be awaiting us outside..."

"ARGH... I'm not ready for that either..."

Clover was sitting on the floor again.

This time, their outfit consisted of a classic black playbunny suit, ears and tail still included of course, arm sleeves as well as a shirt's collar that was held together by a bow tie.

"Come onnn, I don't wanna go without you..." Violet protested.

"But HOW am I supposed to face those frickin´ snacks” Clover cried out. “I'm a fucking potato compared to them, also Violeeet, the moment I see any of them my mind will SIN and I won't ever be able to look into Simeon's eyes ever agai-"

They heard voices on the other side of the door.

"Woohooo, is that Lucifer?! Shirtless?!" They heard Asmo go. "And and, kyaaaa, Beel, those ABS!!"

The girls exchanged a glance.

Then dashed out of the womens' toilet once again.

Stumbling out of the room, however, there was no one to be spotted at all.

A little confused, the girls noticed too late how a cheeky Asmodeus had been hiding behind the door, pushing the latter shut to have a perfect view on his girls.

"Got you~!" he hummed, leading the girls to turn around.

He had a camera in his hands and seemed to be already filming.

"What a view~", he continued. "Could you do me a favour and turn around as well?"

"Asmo!!" Violet hissed, her cheeks gaining a pink blush out of angered embarrassment.

Not as much as Clover's face was heating up, though, as she prompted the demon to put his phone down.

"Not going to happen, sweetie~" he chuckled. "Devilgram will love those bashful expressions...!"

"WhAt?!" Violet covered her body immediately. "You WON'T upload this anywhere!"

"Uhmmm... That's kind of not possible, you know? This is a live broadcast."

"WHAT."

Then, another person stepped out of the males' bathroom.

"What's all the noise about?"

Lucifer's annoyed voice echoed through the corridor.

When he stepped closer, however, his attention got caught up by the girls' appearance.

"Oh~?" he purred, inspecting the girls (but Violet in particular hehe) with a pleased smirk on his lips.

"L... Lu..." Violet's voice broke off.

She just... Died. Nothing more to say about this, really.

Because only now both, Violet and Clover, realised that not everything of Asmo's bait had been a lie...

The demons were actually shirtless, their chests bare as they were wearing only arm sleeves and, in Lucifer's case, a bow tie around his neck, while Asmo's neck was decorated with a ribbon. Rather tight-fitting black trousers and the bunny accessories completed the look that had left the girls speechless.

Lucifer's smirk grew wider.

"No, that's no good... I think I will have to speak to the manager. Those outfits are way too distracting... Isn't that so, Violet?"

"H-huh?!" The girl did a little hop.

Thankfully, Asmo jumped in to her aid.

"Fufu~! Lucifer, do you mean the girls are getting distracted by us, or is it that YOU are getting distracted, hm~?"

Lucifer crossed his arms in a contemplative manner.

"Well... I admit to a pleasant view when I see one, so..." He pinned Violet down with his eyes. "I guess I will have to be extra careful from now on... Then again, I might need a more detailed view, just to be sure..."

Asmo gave an excited giggle.

"Lucifer, you beast~!"

Then Asmo turned to Violet again.

"But judging from her red cheeks, I feel Violet might think the same... Isn't that so, darling~?"

"U-uhm...", Violet stammered, trying really hard to make her brain function again. "Well I... Think there's no point in denying that... Uhm..."

She glanced over at Lucifer, but every time she did, her head got dizzy all over again.

"Go on, please" Lucifer suddenly said. "There is no need to deny what, exactly?"

And her brain got stuck in an endless loop of not being able to cope.

Lucifer seemed to have plenty of fun with that, so he kept teasing her for the time being.

-----

We do remember, however, that there was another still girl left to completely destroy.

And Asmo took it upon himself to achieve exactly that.

"Don't worry, Clover!" He said as he tackled the girl into a hug, simultaneously dragging her away from the two lovebirds. "You're just as charming, of course."

"Th-thanks..." Clover mumbled.

"Hm? You don't seem to believe me."

Clover pulled away, now only holding hands with him, giving a shrug. "You know what I think of my looks, Asmo..."

The avatar of Lust gave a sigh.

"There we go again... If you're so self-conscious… why don't we go ask for some opinions?"

"Eeh?!"

And if the god of fateful anime encounters had planned it, the remaining demon brothers happened to have finished changing as well. The door to the men´s bathroom swung open…

"Oh!" Asmo smelled his chance. "Look, there comes our audien-"

He got cut off by the weird sound Clover made.

In a single movement, she had let out a squeal that a human throat should not be able to do, had completely destroyed Asmo's pretty hand by squeezing it in excitement, while in the end she was hiding behind Asmo, only peeking over his shoulder to glance at the mass of hotness coming out of the bathroom.

"Clover…?" Asmo sounded confused.

"Too much hotness", she mumbled into his shoulder. “I can´t-“

"Huh?" Asmo sounded genuinely confused for a second.

Then a smirk curled his face.

"What?!" he spoke extra loud, extra dramatically, so everyone could hear. "What did you say, Clover?! You think they're all sooo hot?!"

"A-asmo, be quiet...!" Clover mumbled.

But he continued.

"What? You love how much skin we are showing?!" he yelled.

"Stop...!"

"Whaaat?! You'd even pay them to strip down even more?! Clover, you wild animal!"

She punched the demon in embarrassment.

The next second, a certain scumbag stood beside them.

"DiD I hEaR 'P-p-p-PAy'?!" Mammon stuttered, literal cash-symbols in his eyes.

Asmo grinned at him, covering Clover's mouth so she couldn't protest.

"Our dear Clover here wants you to strip for her~"

Clover shook her blushy head.

"That's not trrngh..." she tried to press out between Asmo's fingers.

Mammon stared at her for a moment.

"… 10.000 Grimm."

Clover had freed herself again.

"... What?"

"15.000 and I'll do pole dance too."

"MAMMON WHAT THE HECK."

The second born looked almost disappointed when Clover declined his offer.

But Asmo was already moving on with his mischiefs.

"What? Clover?? You want to do WHAT with Beel's abs?!?!"

"ASMODEUS, I'LL KILL YOU-"

"No you won't~" Asmo grinned, turning to give his brothers a view on Clover. "Guuuys, I need your help! I dare you to give this little lady a rating in this sweet costume of hers."

Most of them looked confused at first,

but, seeing one, her outfit, and two, how much she was unable to cope, a few were ready to assist in Asmo's tease.

"I'd need a full view to judge" Satan grinned.

"Yeah" Belphie agreed. "Could you turn around slowly, Clover? Maybe do some poses as well?"

Clover shot them some angry glares.

"... You could do that pose were you form ears with your hands…" Levi dared to add in a mumble.

"Hrrrgh...!" Clover was fighting her embarrassment. "All of you are awful... Beel over here is the only nice guy, honestly...!"

She glanced at him in a pout, hoping he'd defend her... Or at least say something as well...

"... So you're not going to pose for us?" Beel said in a pout.

Clover.exe stopped working.

"Fufu..." Asmo grinned. "See, my dear? Even Beel demands a show... Now come on, we're waiting~!"

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

You can probably guess that Clover wasn't going to get out of this situation anytime soon.

While this part of the group enjoyed this mess of a person, let's switch back to the other girl whose brain was doing about as poorly.

Lucifer had kept Violet by his side, making sure she wasn't going to help Clover in her dilemma… Or going elsewhere in general.

However, one certain jealous bean soon couldn't bear that Lucifer was hogging Violet all for himself.

"Oi, Lucifer, back off of Violet already!"

And Mammon pressed himself in between them. "She's one of my humans after all!"

Visible displease grew on Lucifer's face as he got cockblocked yet again.

"And what would give you the right to claim her for yourself?" The eldest grumbled.

Mammon crossed his arms.

"... Because I just said so."

Lucifer pressed out a sigh, to then simply push Mammon's body away again.

"LUCIF-", Mammon hissed. "STOOP...!"

"You are distracting us, Mammon."

"B-but... That´s not fair…” he shouted. “M-maybe I want Violet to notice me as well!!"

Lucifer stopped, while most of the surrounding people went silent.

Then Levi gave a laugh.

"Oh my god MAMMON, that was so desperate lolol, SO uncool!"

Belphie spared him a pityful laugh. "Are you really that desperate for some attention, you idiot?"

The avatar of Greed was gritting his teeth.

"Hnngh... Shut up, all of you...!"

The situation around them escalated a little, even more so as Diavolo and Barbatos joined in on the chaos, having changed clothes as well.

But Violet felt bad, especially since she wouldn´t have expected Mammon to act like this. So, in a silent second where everyone seemed busy in their personal chaos, she sneaked over to Mammon.

After -- of course, what did you expect -- quickly poking his bunny tail, Violet also gave his shoulder a tap.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Mammon looked a little surprised, responding with a huff.

"...'s a wolf..."

"Huh?"

"Lucifer's a wolf!" Mammon repeated, awfully loud and both feared that the eldest brother had heard him.

A bit more timid, Mammon continued as Violet could only look at him in confusion.

"... Ya can't just go hop around in such an alluring outfit when there're guys like Lucifer around. He could go full beast mode and, dunno, do some weird stuff to ya."

Violet suppressed the nasty thoughts approaching her brain, her heart beating drastically as she mumbled a faint "I see".

"Ya human should better stick to the great Mammon! I'd treat you nicely, y'know."

Violet raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"... 'Treat me' how, exactly?" She asked in an almost teasing manner. "What were you planning to do, Mammon?"

And it landed a critical hit.

"I-I-I-I mean tr-treat as i-in... I'd protect you from all those beasts around you!" he stammered, his cheeks a blushing mess. "Nothin´ weird, I swear!! Its just… There's plenty of those beasts! Actually, maybe you should go home. If all the customers see you like this... Argh... I have to tell Clover, too...!”

He turned his head to search for the other girl, only to realise the group was about to return to their work. "Ahh... Oh no, she´s already been caught..." Mammon pressed out.

"Mammon" Violet called out again and treated him with a smile. "I assume you´re saying this because you´re worried about us, right? Thank you for that, you´re really a good friend. We're having a shift together later, right? So, until later, okay?"

He seemed confused again, but nodded in the end.

"Ugh... Fine... Just stay safe, ´kay? Promise!"

"I promise" she laughed, then Mammon finally seemed to have calmed down.

At least he was fine enough to turn around and go bother Levi with something.

Violet was watching them in amusement, then felt a presence behind her.

"Turning your eyes off of me already?" A deep voice purred almost right into her ear.

Ah, yes, there it was again, the drastic heart rate.

"Lucifer..." Violet turned around at the mellow voice. "I just wanted to tease Mammon a little. He seemed a little down."

"Sure, suit yourself..." Lucifer mumbled casually. "But I seem to be a little down as well... To think you'd end our conversation so quickly..."

Violet exploded into a puzzled blush.

"N-no... That's not... I ... You..."

Lucifer was pinning her down with his gaze, waiting for a coherent reaction. “Then how abou we pick up where we left? I think there´s something you wanted to tell me…”

"Y-you look... A-... Amazing..." she stammered.

"Hm? Could you say that again? Your voice appears to be awfully thin."

She breathed a heavily stressed breath. So Lucifer continued.

"Pardon me? Violet, you appear to be overheating. How come? I would assume your clothing is revealing enough skin to make that impossible..."

Aaand Violet's brain shut down as well.

"Should I help you?" he hummed, stepping even closer. "In comparison to you, I seem to maintain a way cooler head than you do..."

And, being the most flustered he has ever been, Lucifer continued to tease the shit out of Violet for as long as he felt the need to...

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

The group was about to dissolve and (finally) head back to work.

The girls, however, had stayed back for a strategy meeting.

"This is bad", Clover blabbered as she was trying to calm down. "I couldn't get up to them with shirts on, how am I supposed to even TALK to any of them when they're in maximum sexy mode?! And it's not only maximum hotness, but did all of them collectively agree to unlock their secret teasing-modes, too?!"

Violet gave a blushing shrug. "... Are you complaining, though?"

"Hnngh... No... But I'm so short on points... If I don't start playing risky, I'll loose..."

Violet smirked at that.

"Yeah" she agreed. "That's a good idea. Look, Solomon's over there all alone, why don't y-"

"Nope” lover interrupted her immediately. “Not going to happen. Nope. I'd rather go up to the demon prince himself. I'd rather get killed by Barbatos TBH."

"Oh, you would get killed..." Violet shivered, thinking back of what happened in the store room earlier.

"Don't care" Clover persisted. "Like, come, demon lord, if I was to touch Solomon's tail today, you may kill me right this instant...!"

[ajokeformur-ray]

Hey can we get a bit of fluff with ledger's joker? Most fics with him are super kinky and he deserves a bit of fluff

I am all here for this ksksksskks I love loving on J, he deserves it so much

I asked @jokershyena for a prompt so: It’s been a long, long day and J’s so exhausted; he can barely move, but you manage to get him into bed. You get him sorted out; you undress him, clean off his paint, and while you’re there, you take a moment to love on your clown. He’s the only one for you.

Word count: 1, 689.

J was late home.

There wasn’t a set curfew, as such, but it had always been, at the very least, a guideline that J was supposed to come home before you went to bed every night. Not just to alleviate the tensions and the worries that you had at his being out so late - where was he? What was he doing? Was he injured? - but also because you, quite simply, couldn’t sleep without your clown, your agent of chaos, right there beside you.

His warm, strong arm slung carelessly over your waist, his fingers beneath the hem of the shirt you slept in because skin on skin contact was something special for the two of you, something which kept you both firmly grounded in reality and proved to the both of you that you were both needed and loved, his leg between both of yours so that you were anchored together, his heartbeat in your ear, his deep and steady breaths the accompaniment to your own…

You could sleep in no other way, and though J rarely voiced all the ways in which you helped him did you know that it was much the same for him. So deeply connected and in love with each other were you that you simply knew things about the other, even and most especially when they were left unvoiced but not unacknowledged.

On nights like this was the sentiment returned with J’s actions. He was nothing if not a man of his word, after all.

At two in the morning precisely did you hear a series of taps and other noises at the window of your bedroom. You were freaked out and panicked until you heard a muffled cackle, the sound slightly strained. 

“J!” You marched over to the window and threw open the pane, which enabled your exhausted and chaotic clown to tumble in to your room gracelessly, as his head came through the window and then his legs followed, the rest of his body folding in on itself as he fell to the floor. You shut the window before you bent down to smooth your hands through J’s hair, which was slightly greasy and in desperate need of another round of dye. “What the hell are you doing?”

A dramatic grunt was your only response. More seconds passed and still did J remain on the floor, unmoving, and you realised that he was exhausted. Used were you to J pushing his body, strong though it was, past its limits, so you easily slid your arms beneath his armpits and hoisted him up as you mentally cursed him out for not taking care of himself. J was helping you as best as he could, his head hung low, his limbs limp as you got him onto the bed.

You pulled off his shoes, setting them against the wall beneath the radiator. Sat him up to shed him of his purple trench, his tie, his waistcoat and his braces. You left him in his purple work shirt, a few buttons did you undo so that it was easier for him to move around in his sleep and his pinstripe trousers. You even took off his eccentric socks so that his feet could get some breathing space.

Your next trip was to the bathroom. Quickly did you assemble a bowl of hot soapy water and a flannel. J was already starting to lightly snore and that was a sure sign that he was really and truly tired. You had been working methodically all the while, talking to J while you touched him so that he knew what you were doing to him at all times, always so guarded was he. Most especially when he was like this, however, was he clingy, and it was easier for him to stay asleep if he could hear you at the very edge of his consciousness telling him that you would be back in a minute, he was safe.

Carefully did you sit down beside his head on the bed, moving slowly. Periodically did J crack a single dark eye open, though upon seeing it was you did his eye slide shut once more. Right now was he showing you the biggest and more sincere display of trust which you could have ever asked for, and you renewed a private vow in that moment. Never would you betray J’s trust in you, never would you betray this moment, right here and right now. 

You would rather die than betray J in any way, such were the depths of your loyalty and devotion.

A large patch of white greasepaint in the middle of J’s forehead had completely worn away and your eyes stayed on that spot as your hand dipped into the bowl of hot soapy water. You took a minute to just enjoy the serenity and stillness of this moment; of the smell of J’s greasepaint and of the soap you had chosen, of the slow rising and falling of J’s deep breaths, of the way he looked so beautiful laid out before you like this, trusting you so implicitly with himself and with his continued safety, to just enjoy the heat of the water against your skin.

Oh, shit, you loved him. 

You loved J.

You had known for the longest of time, but moments like this really hammered it all home for you, so much so that your heart was currently squeezing in your chest.

You wrung out the flannel and - wait, you wanted to do something which was super romantic and made you feel all warm and fuzzy. If J had been awake, really awake, there was no way you would ever do this, but before you began to wipe off his paint did you slowly, slowly move forward so that you could press a tender kiss to the bare patch of skin, your lips lingering against his skin. With the softest smile did you pull away, resuming your previous position, as you began to wipe off J’s greasepaint with slow, gentle wipes. The minute traces of your love from your kiss would now be rubbed into J’s skin, seeping into his pores and reaching him on the inside.

J’s eyes shot open at the touch of the flannel and you shushed him gently. “It’s okay, J. It’s just me, it’s Y/N. You’re safe.”

“Safe… mine… safe.” J’s eyes closed once more and you felt his body relax into the mattress. Only then did you continue cleaning his face, your heart clenching at his simple words, heavy with exhaustion but just as weighted with a multitude of emotions. You traced around to his right temple and cleaned off that side of his face and then you went around to the left. You left his chin and his scars for last, and when finally did the rest of J’s face only have a lighter hue than the rest of his skin (he even painted his ears, bless him) did you begin to gently, gently dab at his scars and mouth. Red and white smeared together and you leaned in as close to him as you could get away with, concentrating on getting as much greasepaint out of every crevice and crack in his scars.

“There he is,” You hummed, “My handsome clown.”

As more and more of J was revealed until at last was he bare faced before you at almost three in the morning did you feel your own physical and mental tiredness begin to creep in. Calling it a day did you go to the bathroom to dump out the murky water and get yourself ready for bed, before going back into the bedroom to tuck J in. He was supporting himself on his elbows in the bed, squinting at the doorway while he waited for you. He had been awake the entire time you had been looking after him, and it had touched some long forgotten, often neglected part of him. The word love didn’t cross his mind, not really, but the words mine and Y/N had merged together into one, and he rather felt that now did the two of you belong to each other in equal measures.

You crawled into bed beside J and let your body relax. The weight of J beside you in the large bed, the steady rhythm of his deep breathing, the warmth which was practically radiating off of him… you were home, now.

A grunt beside you told you that J was still awake, as did the arm which snaked around your waist and pulled you back into a firm chest. “Get a good look at ‘em, did’ya? Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Teasing though the question sounded, there was a definite edge to his voice. Did J think you had been mocking him?

You didn’t even have to think about it. Yes, he had.

You brought a hand up and over your shoulder. You felt J jerk his head back but you persisted. Finally did J allow you to slide your fingers into his hair, your fingers lightly scratching against his scalp. J almost purred as he tilted into your touch, so feline in nature could he be. “I meant it. Every word. I thought you knew me better than that.” And now you were the one with hurt feelings.

Your hand slid deeper into his hair as J dipped his head to press an open mouthed kiss to your neck. It was an apology for being snappy and an acknowledgement of your kindness. It was the best you were going to get and you knew it.

“Come on, J,” You turned around so that you could face him, pointedly leaning forward so that you could lean your forehead against his, a hand coming up to rest over his heart so that you could feel that he was as alive and as real as you were. “Let’s get some sleep.” You paused and then, “I love you.”

The sleepy hum and the way J pressed his forehead against yours for just a moment said everything he wouldn’t:

I love you too.

Destructive raccoon boii™ @nothing-but-a-comedy @jokershyena   @anyatheladyclown   @mijachula   @joker-daddy    @rinbyo    @imightaswellnotexistatall    @vladtoly    @joker-is-my-hero    @liz-rdwitch   @enigmaticandunstable        @ledgerskitten    @tsukiakarinobara    @germansarechill      @ezziesworld    @antonija89   @acw1

[siriuslyshewrote]

In The End - Shelby!Sister

Request - Shelby sis prompt(s): Included a few in case they are pretty awful lol but just maybe they might inspire you a bit - your creativity would make them good! 1. She gets kidnapped by sabini / changretta and it follows her brothers going absolutely insane trying to get her back between her trying to survive

Okay, so this is kinda a sequel to Good Grief, but you don’t really need to read it, I’ll just be using a bit of the storyline.

John’s still alive. I refuse to accept his death.

Warnings - blood, swearing, kidnapping

10:38 // 3rd May

1928

- - - - Bonnie - - - -

The boys footsteps were quick, an almost run, a tell of the frantic thoughts he was having, whilst trying to reassure himself at the same time. His face was slightly sweaty - he’d ran over a few miles to get here - by the time he reached the door of the house he knew well.

He usually would have hesitated, slightly nervous, before knocking, but there wasn’t time for that. He needed the reassurance, the smile of the girl he loved, to calm his fast beating heart, and the feeling in his stomach, that something was so very desperately wrong.

His knuckles were still sore off the last bare knuckle fight he had, but he didn’t care, rapping on the door loud enough so that the residents inside could hear above the chaos that usually reigned inside the house at 6, Watery Lane, Small Heath.

The door swung open quicker than he thought it would, and so he jumped a little, pulling his cap off his head, holding it in his hands, playing with the soft fabric, trying to calm that damn feeling in his stomach. His thumb accidentally brushed over the blade sewn in there - the crown of a king, one of the Blinders had once told him - and blood appeared on the skin. He didn’t even look at it, instead paying his attention to the woman in front of him.

“Miss Shelby - Gray.” He quickly corrected himself. “Is she here?”

The woman’s forehead creased a little, her previously soft eyes hardening a little. Polly Gray, of all people, would be able to share the feeling he had right now.

“Who?” Her voice sounded as though she wished for a different answer to what he would give her.

“Y/N? Is she here?”

She paused. “No. Bonnie, why would she be here?”

“She..” Bonnie’s heart thrummed faster than before, his mind spinning with thoughts of what could have happened, none of them good. He swallowed. “She said she was coming to the market, to get something ... she said she would make dinner tonight, she’s really excited-“

“Bonnie.” Her voice was harsher now, the anxiety he felt now visible in her eyes. “When did you last see her?”

“Three hours ago. I thought - I thought she got distracted, thought she came here, maybe, to resolve everything , but I just - I had a bad feeling. I had to come check on her.”

The sickening feeling he had had for hours was worse now. The smell of blood from his thumb reached his nose, and he couldn’t help but think about who else could be bleeding right now. Guilt filled him - why didn’t he come and check on her sooner?

Polly turned round, quickly, leaving the door open behind her, which he guessed was a sign to follow her deeper into the house, walking fast towards the kitchen, then to the curtains, pulling them open fast, to reveal what looked like a family meeting.

“Bonnie Gold.” Tommy’s stony blue eyes regarded him, not filling him with the usual feeling of intimidation, but with anger. If anything had happened to her, it was because of the family that was sat in front of him.

“Mr Shelby, I-“ He hated that he still felt the need to address the man in front of him formally after everything he had done to ruin his and Y/N’s relationship.

“Y/N’s missing.” Polly interrupted him, standing slightly in front of him, her shoulders rising and falling quicker than usual, becoming panicked. “She’s missing , Thomas.”

“What the fuck do you mean?” John’s voice was louder than the rest of the family’s in the chaos, his eyes very firmly fixed onto Bonnie with a look of such intense anger, Bonnie was surprised he didn’t launch himself across the room and hit him in the face.

“She’s fucking missing?” Esme’s voice was loud too, her usual strong voice permeated with panic. She had cared for you like a parent - and you had lived with her and John until you moved out four months ago - and Bonnie knew how much you would hate seeing her in distress right now, no matter if you weren’t particularly talking to any of them.

Bonnie’s fingers were still picking at his cap, his foot tapping on the ground with the anxiety he was feeling - not because of the Shelby family, no, he didn’t give a fuck about them right now. He cared about you, where the hell you could possibly be.

You didn’t have any close friends - being a Shelby didn’t exactly invite a lot of people to want to be close to you, and apart from the family in front of you, he had no clue where you would be. You had been nervy for months, not really liking being alone, a product of how you had grown up, in constant danger, really, and so he couldn’t imagine you deciding to go anywhere new. He hated himself, now, for his gentle insistence over the past months, trying to get you to be more independent - if he hadn’t, perhaps you wouldn’t ever have left him this morning.

It seemed so eerily coincidental that at exactly the moment the family found out about you going missing, the phone started to ring.

- - - - Y/N - - - -

You were only supposed to be gone an hour or so, at most, just a quick trip to the market in Small Heath, for some of the food you had been craving for weeks, for dinner. Perhaps if you hadn’t taken the detour you had, you wouldn’t have been in the situation you now were, or perhaps you would.

You had been desperate to see your family, though you hadn’t told anyone that, still keeping up your stubborn facade that Bonnie had been trying to break down for months. You were still angry, of course you were, at your brothers, which extended to the rest of the family, who, of course, took their side. You didn’t want to speak to them, per say, just see them, just to see that they were okay. You hadn’t talked to any of them, aside from Ada in London, since you had stormed out of John’s house months ago, after finding out what they had said to Bonnie, not even to Finn, which was killing you. You hadn’t ever even spent a full day away from your twin brother before, and so it half felt like you were missing a limb, but you knew out of them all, it would be Finn that would be able to convince you to talk to them again, and so, you stayed distant. And so did they.

There was a small alley, just a few metres away from where the market was held, and it was well known to you - it was a shortcut home, if you and Finn ever stayed out just too late, and needed to get back home before Aunt Polly stormed the streets of Small Heath trying to find you. None of the Shelby’s still lived in the house on Watery Lane, but it was still their main point for business, and you had no doubt that the majority of them would be there. You didn’t think that it was stupid to go into that alley - didn’t think that you, for once, didn’t have the safety of your brother with you - but you should have.

Because as soon as you were only a few feet into the dark alley, you felt cold metal being struck into the back of your head with so much force that you crumpled to the ground, blacked out, before you could even comprehend what had happened.

- - - - Bonnie - - - -

It was Thomas that took the phone call, of course. He didn’t show any emotion, simply listening to it, though his stony facade was betrayed by the whites of his knuckles showing through his skin, with how tightly he was gripping the telephone. The room was silent, no one even breathing, waiting for the news that they were sure was in that phone call.

Tommy placed the phone down on the reciever with a slam, one of his hands rubbing his face, in stress.

“Fuck.” He exclaimed, his voice gruff and angry.

“What the fuck’s happened?” John was the first to speak, the brother that was arguably the most protective over you, getting up from the table.

“Some fucking gang has her-“

“What?” Bonnies voice was louder than the others, his tone furious and terrified. “What the fuck do you mean?”

Finn was the only one sat in silence, his hands gripping the wooden table, knuckles white, head bowed as if in prayer.

“Oh god.” Polly whispered.

Tommy regarded him again, but this time there was visible worry in his face. This was his little sister, after all, the one who he had helped raise when their mother died when the twins - Y/N and Finn - were only toddlers. This was the sister who he’d held when she was terrified to go to school on her first day, and later, when she’d been pushed over and laughed at, because of her parents - her drunk father, and ‘crazy’ mother - and ripped her new dress that Polly had spent hours making. It had been him who had taught her how to tie her laces, him who taught her how to climb trees, to kick and punch at the kids who made fun of her.

Yes. It had been Thomas who had protected her , her whole life. And now he was her downfall, the reason she was gone. Him, and his stupid razor gang, that Bonnie now regretted ever being a part of. He dropped the cap from his hands, letting it drop onto the dirty ground.

“We’ll get her back. They want money.”

“Well, fucking give them it!” Polly exclaimed.

Tommy exhaled. “They won’t give her back, even if we do. We have to find her.”

“How do you know that?” Bonnie spat. “Just give them the money!”

“Because these people, they’re greedy. They will just want more and more.”

“How are you going to find her? She could be fucking anywhere.” Bonnie’s voice cracked, and he didn’t try to hide it like he usually would in front of the older men.

“I’ll send my men out. To get information, to look in all the abandoned-“

“And you think that’s going to get her back?”

“Yes. These people - they’re amateurs, I can tell. Someone will have seen something. And they’ll tell us. We’ll get her back.”

“How can you be so fucking sure?”

“Because I know my sister. Do you?”

Part two should be up tomorrow, if people want it!!

[violetwolfraven]

For the prompt thingy: I'm getting very strong Javid vibes from 29, so maybe that in canon era?

I didn’t realize I was gay for you until someone else pointed it out and I’m a dumbass but can I be your dumbass?

I already did this one with this ship but I can do it again and try another angle! Hope you like it! Also I hope you don’t mind a side of newsbians!

Tw: referenced period-typical homophobia and the word ‘queer’ but not used as a slur.

...

“Hey, Davey?”

“Yeah?”

“Do ya ever think about... love?”

Davey wasn’t sure why Sarah was asking him. He’d never courted anyone. Honestly, their mama would probably be a better person to ask, but she wasn’t home today, and neither was Papa.

Les rolled his eyes and went back to the book he was reading. He wasn’t quite old enough to care about romance yet.

“Uh...” Davey shrugged, “I dunno. I guess I think about it sometimes.”

Sarah looked uncomfortable, which was unusual for her.

This was the girl who had made friends with Spot Conlon in under ten minutes. The girl who punched Morris Delancey in the face. She was the older twin, and honestly, Davey had always seen her as nearly unshakable.

“Hey, what is it, Saz?”

“It’s nothing,” she said quickly, “It’s nothing too... big. It’s just...”

“She’s in love with Kath,” Les said absentmindedly.

Sarah’s face went red, “Les! Oh my God!”

“What?” he asked, “It’s obvious.”

“It’s not,” Davey assured her.

He was still processing their little brother’s words.

He hadn’t seen it, because it wasn’t obvious, but now that Les mentioned it...

He could see it. He could see the lingering glances, the laughter at jokes that really weren’t funny, the asking about her latest story...

His sister had been long gone over Katherine Plumber for some time, and he probably should have seen it before right now.

His sister was queer. That was... surprising. But it was Sarah. Davey couldn’t imagine holding it against her.

“It’s not obvious,” he said gently, trying to calm her down, “I’m glad ya found some—“

“Yeah it is,” Les interrupted, looking up from his book to cause chaos yet again, “Just like how literally everybody knows you’s in love with Jack.”

Davey almost choked on air, “I’m what now?”

“You’re not?” Sarah asked quizzically.

“Everybody thinks I’m in love with Jack?! He’s my best friend, but we’re just friends!”

Les facepalmed.

Sarah looked skeptical.

“Davey... I honestly thought you and Jack were already together and just weren’t telling anyone because... well, y’know. But even if you aren’t together, you probably should be.”

“I don’t like him like that!”

“Davey—“

“Y’know how stuck up you were before the strike?” Les interrupted, slamming his book shut and looking supremely annoyed, “You never even turned your homework in late or loosened your tie outside home. Then suddenly, we meet Jack, and ya lose the stick up your ass?”

“Excuse me?” Davey asked incredulously.

“Where did you learn that?” Sarah asked reproachfully.

“Uh... nowhere.”

Davey was betting it was probably Race.

“Anyway,” their little brother continued, “It’s the same with Jack. He’s always lookin’ ‘round at everyone else, like they might disappear if he doesn’t. Crutchie says he’s always done that. And I’s seen him on days when ya don’t sell, Davey. He’s different. But when you’re around, he doesn’t worry so much.”

“It’s true,” Sarah admitted, “Jack’s different when you aren’t around. It’s like he has no impulse control, but also like he can’t relax for a second cause he’s too worried about the younger kids.”

“And besides that, you guys touch all the time,” Les pointed out, “And sometimes it’s like ya talk usin’ just your eyes. Do ya understand my point, big brother?”

Davey did, unfortunately, but he still wasn’t sure if Les was right.

He’d definitely never had romantic feelings for a girl before. Hell, he barely noticed girls. He’d assumed that was because he was too busy with school or work, but now...

Davey’s old classmates had never missed out on staring at pretty girls. And the other newsies flirted with girls plenty, Jack included.

Jack. Jack who flirted with girls to sell papes but clearly (at least to anyone who actually knew him) didn’t actually care if he got a response. Who cracked jokes that Davey always assumed were friendly banter but in hindsight might have been real flirting. Who put on a show of confidence and optimism in front of everyone else but would let down his guard when they were alone.

And maybe Davey hadn’t realized it before, but he let his guard down around Jack, too.

They... kind of brought out the best in each other, honestly. They had since they met.

And looking back, it wasn’t like Davey didn’t notice when Jack took his shirt off while painting during summer months.

God, he was an idiot for not recognizing his feelings for what they were.

“Yeah,” Les said smugly, seeing the realization on his face, “Sazzy, I assume you’re smarter than Davey?”

“Hey!”

Sarah nodded, still seeming exceedingly uncomfortable, “Always have been.”

“Sarah!”

“Well, I am in touch enough with my emotions to know I have feelings for Katherine.”

Davey really hated how he couldn’t argue.

Les laughed, picking his book back up, “Sarah, do me a favor and make a move first, will ya? I got a bet with Albert.”

“You what?” Sarah asked incredulously.

That little shit. Davey loved his little brother with all his heart, but the kid was picking up a few too many bad habits from his friends.

Davey also loved said friends dearly, but he would need to give the more chaotic ones a talk about what was appropriate around the Littles, Les included.

For today, he smirked, elbowing his twin, “Permission to make a move first?”

“Oh, by all means. Do it.”

They dodged as their little brother threw a book at their heads.

...

Bonus:

“Hey, Crutchie, just a heads up, Davey ain’t happy I learned swear words. Ya might wanna watch out.”

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, kid. Everybody always assumes it’s Race who teaches the Littles swear words.”

[welcometophu]

The Meaning of Home, Chapter 4

The Meaning of Home Chapter 4

Tags for all Welcome to PHU novels will be available at the PHU tag list on Pillowfort. This list is under construction as of Sept. 5, 2021.

[ Previous | First | Next ]

Dinner is the very next night. Conor packs a bag before they leave the house, because even though it’s a Wednesday, he’s determined that he can sleep over. He doesn’t seem to care about permission, assuring Pawel that they do this all the time and it’ll be fine.

Pawel figures he’ll make sure Colt and Leo are okay with it at some point.

Somehow. If he can get a word in edgewise.

The Papa/Harrison household is sheer chaos. They arrive at six, a lanky boy with a mop of light brown hair yanking open the door before Conor reaches the doorbell. He stands as tall as Pawel’s shoulder, but his face still has a soft roundness. His gaze stays on Pawel, brows slightly furrowed as he says, “Emma’s in her room. Jennie’s been bugging her.”

“Thanks, Matt.” Conor slips by him and disappears down the hall Pawel can see to the left.

Pawel can’t step inside without going through Matt; he’s blocking the door just enough. “Can I come in?” Pawel asks.

“Matt, let Pawel through the door!” Leo’s voice comes from somewhere deeper in the house.

“He stinks like Conor.” Matt steps back, pulling the door open. “Can I go over to Luke’s tonight?”

“We’re having dinner, and you already know that.” 

That’s not Leo speaking. No, definitely not. Slightly shorter than Pawel, his hair perfectly coiffed, his cheekbones softened from the sharpness he’d had as a teenager, his tie askew and his lavender sleeves rolled up… Pawel catalogs all the similarities and differences in Colt after a decade.

“Fine.” Matt disappears and a long-tailed grey rat slinks out of the room between Colt’s feet.

There’s a shriek and a clatter from the room beyond. “Jesus fucking Christ! Matt!” a girl yells out. “Do that one more time and I’m going to step on you if Duke—no, Duke, please keep stirring, oh God, we’re already late, and I promised we’d get everything done on time, and this was going so well.”

“It’s okay, Nevaeh. And language.” Leo’s low rumble shakes Pawel out of his stillness.

Pawel turns and carefully closes the door, and when he looks back, Colt is still there. He stands in the doorway, shoulder against the jam, arms crossed.

“What?” Pawel asks.

“The first time I saw it, I thought I was imagining things.” Colt’s voice is deeper than Pawel remembers, a low rumble, musing as Colt tilts his head, staring at Pawel. “On the other hand, the first time I met Conor, I knew he had to be your son, even before Emma introduced him.”

Pawel is not used to being the one off-balance in a conversation. “What?” he asks again.

“Your aura is distinct.” Colt unfolds himself. Every step towards Pawel is deliberate and slow, as if he’s being stalked. Colt might be a couple inches shorter, but he still manages to give the idea that he’s looking down at Pawel when he’s close. “Most people have one dominant underlying color, with flickers for their current state of mind. You’re a constantly shifting shower of opalescent sparkles, like you’re trying to be invisible, and be the brightest thing in the room at the same time. It’s disconcerting. I thought I was going nuts when we were in high school and you started shimmering.”

He might be following this. “You Emerged in high school?” Pawel asks. “You never said anything.”

“Neither did you,” Colt points out.

“I, uh,” Pawel waves a hand at his head, not sure exactly where Colt’s seeing these sparkles. It’s not like Jennie, that’s for certain. Pawel rarely sparks visibly, unlike Conor, who does it all the time when he’s with Alan. “It’s very possible I was Talented before I knew it, but as far as I’m concerned, I really Emerged when I got to PHU and was surrounded by a very large amount of both Lineage and Emergent Talent. The start of fall semester wasn’t easy for me, and if it weren’t for—”

Colt raises an eyebrow when Pawel cuts off. He’s apparently oblivious to the banging in the kitchen behind him or the constant stream of chatter from someone Pawel guesses is Nevaeh. “If it weren’t for…?” he prompts.

“Long story.” The last thing Pawel wants to go into detail about is Chelsea, when he’s currently standing in the house owned by both his high school sweethearts. “I met a Lineage Mage who helped me get through my Talented growing pains and get myself under control.”

“Glad you had help.” Colt turns as he hears his name from the kitchen.

“Set the table,” Leo calls out. “We are actually almost done. Nevaeh, the bread is fine. Please go find Matt. He might be in the crawlspace again. Duke, carry the butter out to the table; do not attempt to float it again. Nevaeh, after you find Matt, get the kids from wherever they’ve disappeared to. Tell Jennie that yes, we expect her to eat dinner. Donuts were not dinner.”

Pawel follows as Colt heads towards a room that looks like it was once a porch, built off the side of the house. It’s cool and bright, windows open and ceiling fans hanging from the sloped ceiling, blowing down on them. As a dining room, it’s a little cramped. Built-in benches line both the longer walls, the table fit between them, and there’s a door at the other end of the porch as well. Squished as it is, Pawel can see that they can likely fit 10-12 people around the table; there’s just no space for much else.

Colt pulls a stack of plates out of the cabinet at one end of the room and hands them to Pawel. He has to slide down the bench to be able to reach and lay out enough plates, napkins, and silverware for the six children and three adults. He assumes that Leo and Colt will take the chairs at either end of the table, so he leaves himself a plate on one long side of the table.

“I take it Jennie has a sugar problem,” Pawel says. It’s not really a question; he saw how she devoured the donuts at the store.

“It’s not so much a problem as a need.” Colt takes a pitcher from a solemn-faced teen who appears just long enough to make the delivery before he disappears again. “We’ve had her checked several times; the doctors are concerned by the amount she consumes, but it seems to be a part of her Talent. She’s a real-life animated sparkle princess.” He puts the pitcher on the table, sliding it as close to the center as he can get.

“It’s—” Colt cuts off, rubbing a hand over his face. “I’m glad you’re okay. When I heard about—we were worried. Leo and I. Conor’s a good kid. He’s welcome here any time. Not like he’ll add much more chaos to the house.”

“I add just the right amount of chaos,” Conor says, sliding onto the bench on the other side. He moves all the way to the middle, Emma next to him, and Jennie next to her. “You love me.”

“Conor,” Pawel warns.

“It’s okay. Like I said, he’s welcome here any time.”

“I like him better than Matt and Duke.” The girl is at his elbow so abruptly that Pawel wonders if she teleported in, like Mac. This must be Nevaeh. She’s wearing an old PHU hoodie, despite the warmth already encroaching in late May. Her hair is pulled back in braids, held in a twist low against her neck, and the shape of her dark-skinned features reminds Pawel abruptly of Jennie. For all that there’s a dozen years between them, it’s clear what Jennie will grow to look like as a teen.

She leans past Pawel to put a large bowl of risotto, laden with broccoli and colored a bright yellow, on the table. “Hi. I’m Nevaeh. You’re Pawel.”

“Mr. Szczek,” Colt corrects her.

“You have to major in Magical Studies at PHU before you earn the right to call me Pawel.” The joke falls flat when he says it, Nevaeh staring at him with a studied gaze, while Colt rolls his eyes. “I’m a professor,” he says. “I’m also a believer in learning to pronounce names and use them correctly. They have power.”

“That’s a fairy tale,” Nevaeh scoffs. “Most of what we know about magic is just a fairy tale.”

“Fairy tales come from somewhere,” Pawel replies. It’s easy to settle into this mode, even though he can hear a long-suffering sigh from his son. “The question is: what are the roots of most fairy tale magic? How do the stories we learned as children tie into what we know about Talent today? And what don’t we know yet, that we might be able to learn by listening to the words of those who took the time to write those stories down? We found one of the keys to unlock the secret of how to save the world writ in the lines of a Clan folktale.”

“Da-ad,” Conor whines loudly. Emma snickers next to him.

“Nevaeh.” Leo’s voice is soft, but Nevaeh still straightens up, turning on her heel when he speaks. “Go help Duke bring out the rest of dinner. Pawel, why don’t you sit down next to Conor. Since Nevaeh couldn’t, I’m going to hunt for Matt, then we can eat.” Leo’s gaze falls on Colt, and Leo reaches to bridge the distance between them, fingers tight on Colt’s shoulder.

Pawel looks away.

“Sit,” Leo says.

The chair scrapes as Colt pulls it out and falls into it. When Pawel glances at him, Colt has a hand over his face, fingers pressed against his eyes. “Sit.” Colt echoes the phrase, the single word muffled by the palm of his hand.

Fine.

Pawel sits on the edge of the bench, aware of Conor next to him, turned to be forehead to forehead with Emma as they talk quietly. At the other end, Jennie sits, her feet kicking hard enough that the bench sways slightly with every movement.

Leo returns to drop a mouse on the end of the bench nearest his chair. Matt reappears, scowling as he leans on the table, then sticks his tongue out at Jennie.

“If you make enough faces, I get two desserts and you get none,” Jennie says mildly.

Duke must be the solemn-faced silent boy. He slides into the center of the bench Matt already occupies, setting a platter in front of him. When Matt reaches out, Duke pushes the platter closer to Pawel.

“You can wait,” Leo says, and for a moment, there’s a glint of amusement in Duke’s expression.

“I did two whole loaves of bread.” Nevaeh slides one basket down the table, and as soon as it settles to a stop in front of Matt, he grabs out a slice of bread and rips into it. “I hope it’s enough. I mean, Matt can eat half a loaf on his own and Duke’s always hungry and you’re all boys so you all eat a lot, but it’s not sugary so maybe—Jennie, put that down, it’s not dessert yet, how did you even get that?”

Jennie blinks, a brownie in her hand. “It was on the counter in the kitchen. I brought it with me in case you forgot.”

Leo holds out a napkin spread across his hand, and Jennie places the sweet there. Leo puts it down within her reach, but not in front of her plate. “Dinner first.”

“Yes, it’s always like this.” Colt smiles when Pawel looks at him, and there are laugh lines in the corners of his eyes, too. Pawel remembers Colt laughing, but it was always in those rare, unguarded moments. Now it looks like he might laugh more often. The smile seems easy, too, as Colt watches Nevaeh take a piece of chicken from the platter, then nudge it closer to Colt. “We thrive on chaos in this household.”

“Conor fits in perfectly,” Nevaeh says, pointing a fork at him. “He eats too much, runs everywhere, and he almost caused a fire once.”

“Conor—” Pawel starts.

“I did not!” Conor protests. “She’s exaggerating. There were a few sparks, and they don’t make fire, there was just all this confetti around because Jennie was doing a project, and Duke helped, and it was like it exploded just when I sparked.”

Nevaeh jabs her fork in his direction as if to say, “see?” 

This is absolutely alien to Pawel. He’s never been to a family dinner this large. His life was him and his father and mother. He has vague memories of his father’s parents before they passed away when he was small, and he never did know his mother’s parents. She claimed to have emerged from the forest created from magic, and these days he wonders how truthful that might have been.

Probably not, but all the same, he thinks she had her reasons for cutting ties, even if he doesn’t know what they were.

Once his mother was gone, it was him and Dad, and they made do.

It was never anything like this. Not even close.

Pawel accepts the food passed to him, adding risotto, chicken, and bread to his plate. He lets the conversation swirl around him, not trying to focus on any one particular thread but instead letting it all trickle into his brain and take root there. He was never known as a child for sitting quietly in the corner, but he’s learned how to observe since then. How to sit back and absorb information for his subconscious to parse for him.

He may have no idea what’s going on in the moment, but chances are he’ll wake up in the hours before dawn with a sudden hypothesis.

Not that this is academic research that he needs to pick apart and find a solution for. This is merely a family dinner. For a family that is not his own.

Duke and Matt seem to race to see who can finish first. Nevaeh wasn’t exaggerating about their appetites; between them, an entire bowl of sliced bread disappears, along with healthy servings of risotto and chicken. As soon as he’s done, Matt grabs his empty plate and Duke’s and slides from the bench, announcing, “Gaming,” as he walks off. Duke waits half a beat before following him.

“One moment they’re mortal enemies, the next they’re best friends,” Colt murmurs. “I think it’s because we make them share a room. Don’t worry, you’ll hear Matt yelling again soon enough.”

“Does Duke…?” Pawel’s not sure how to word it politely. He trails off as Leo and Colt exchange a look. Maybe he should drop that line of questioning.

“Bedtime!” Nevaeh announces cheerfully. “Or well, time to get ready so you can play before bed.”

Conor looks up from his still half-full plate. “I—” He stops abruptly, making a face. “Fine, no talking, just eating. I know.” He and Emma both tuck into their dinners.

Jennie nibbles delicately around the edges of her brownie. Her plate is clean, but Pawel has no memory of her eating any actual food. “I need another brownie before I brush my teeth.”

“You do not need another brownie,” Colt says firmly. “And you do need to brush your teeth.”

“You’re sparkly enough for tonight.” Leo slides a hand over her head and she smiles up at him. “Any more and you’ll shine so bright you’ll keep Emma and Conor up.”

“I’m a star,” Jennie whispers. She tucks the remaining half of the brownie in her mouth in one go, chewing as she slides off the bench. She says something that might be “let’s go” but Pawel can’t tell for sure through her full mouth.

“Done!” Emma says, slapping her fork on the table at the same time as Conor. They both slide off the bench and under the table, emerging on the other side. “We’re going to get brownies. We’ll see you upstairs.” She grabs Conor’s hand and races out.

A moment later there’s an annoyed shriek. “Matt! Duke! You took all the brownies!”

Footsteps thunder up the stairs. Pawel wonders if anyone’s going to intervene, but Colt sits there cutting another bite off his chicken, and Leo just glances at Nevaeh.

“I’ll make sure no one dies, and that Jennie doesn’t steal another brownie from the boys,” Nevaeh replies. “They’d better not have eaten them all. I haven’t had one yet and I made them.” She holds out a hand and Jennie tucks her hand into it. “Oh and—tomorrow I have my last driving lesson and Mr. Storm thinks I ought to get more practice before I get my license so we need to make the appointment for my test and I need some help because I can’t practice on my own, so maybe think about who wants to take me driving, okay? I really need a lot more night-time practice, and probably some regular daytime practice, too. And he said if I’m going to be driving the kids around at all I should practice with them in the car, because kids are distracting.”

“Colt’s in court tomorrow, so I’ll take care of getting in touch with Mr. Storm to get the details,” Leo promises. “Kids ready for bed now, please. And stick around upstairs and make sure no fights break out, and that homework actually has gotten done.”

“But I could—” Nevaeh makes a face halfway through the sentence and she grumbles under her breath. “Adults only. Got it.” She makes her exit quickly, yelling, “You’d better still have a brownie for me!” as she races up the stairs.

“She thinks she’s an adult,” Colt says, a smile quirking the corner of his mouth.

“I remember what I was doing at her age, and right now I’m glad she doesn’t have her license yet,” Leo admits. “But yeah, we’re going to need to talk about that. We’ll squeeze it in somehow. At least she managed to get through driver’s ed with the school.”

“I can help.”

They’re both staring at him before Pawel realizes he’s the one that said that. Well, shit. He’s not supposed to be getting involved, and taking their eldest foster out driving is definitely involved.

Then again, his kid is practically living here. He’s already involved.

“You’ve taken in my kid half the time,” Pawel continues, trying to get this back on track. Colt’s brow is furrowed, like he’s waiting for Pawel to name a price. He can’t read Leo at all, but then, Leo perfected that blank expression long ago so it isn’t that much of a surprise. “I owe you. And if I learned how to drive a Jeep, I can help teach how to drive a normal car.”

“She needs practice in the minivan,” Colt says slowly.

“I drive a sedan, and I’m assuming you’ll both have your cars at work,” Pawel replies. “She can start with my car. If it’s better for her, I could walk down and pick up Leo’s car from the station. It’s—” He spreads his hands. “Conor’s apparently staying over tonight. You’ve helped a lot. I owe you both.”

Colt’s brow furrows deeper, the lines etched across his forehead. Pawel wants to reach out and smooth them. This is fine. It’s all going to be fine. There’s no need to stare at him like there’s a thunderstorm brewing over his head.

“Thank you.” 

Leo’s soft words seem to break Colt’s concentration. Colt sits back, looking down at his plate. “Yeah, thanks,” he echoes. “It’ll be a help. We’ve both got long hours, and while we’ve balanced it as much as we can, it’s usually one of us being overrun by five kids. I get them on the buses in the morning, so Leo can get in early for his shift. Nevaeh and the boys take the bus home, and Leo picks up Emma and Jennie after school. We don’t have a lot of extra room for new activities.”

“Between teaching, grading, Coven, and the PHU taekwondo club, I’m running ragged when it comes time to get Conor to and from school, as well as to his taekwondo classes. I lean on our neighbors a lot,” Pawel says. “You know me. I hope you still trust me. Feel free to lean on me while I’m here.”

“While you’re here,” Colt echoes.

That is a point. Pawel will go back to PHU in the fall for classes. But that’s several months away.

An enraged, shrill shriek cuts through the house. “I need to sparkle!”

Colt and Leo exchange a look. Leo bellows, “No more brownies, Jennie. Brush your teeth!”

Pawel doesn’t even try to hide his snort of laughter. “So,” he says. “You have five kids. Talented kids.  I’ve heard a little about how this got started from Dad. I uh… Dad and Leo both mentioned Lucy and Rowan, and I know them, too.” At the confused look Colt leverages, Pawel adds, “Their kids are at PHU. I’m planning to go see them in concert this weekend.”

“We’ve told Lucy that we’ll take any more kids she sends our way, but if there are more, we’re either going to need to have them start sharing beds, or get a bigger house.” Leo glances at the stairs. “We’ve already got Matt and Duke in together, and Jennie shares with Emma. Nevaeh’s got her own room, because we moved into the old playroom over the garage when Emma arrived.”

Colt rests a hand on the table, Leo mirroring the gesture at the other hand. Pawel’s fairly certain that if they were next to each other they’d be touching.

“I know what it’s like to Emerge,” Colt says quietly. “And I know what it’s like to feel adrift in a sea of normalcy. My brothers aren’t Talented, neither are my parents. I’m the only one.”

“Did they…?” Pawel can’t imagine Colt’s parents kicking him out over it, but he also hasn’t talked to them in years. He doesn’t know how they feel about the Emergence and the knowledge that magic is real.

Colt shakes his head. “No, but things were awkward. Still are, sometimes, but they’re good with the kids. I think my mom considers Nevaeh a daughter she didn’t have. She’s only six or seven years younger than Jacob.” He pauses, and Pawel nods to say that yes, he does remember Colt’s youngest brother. Colt glances at Leo, with a soft huff. “Leo’s parents are better, of course. I mean. What’s another kid or five in that house?”

“There were only seven of us.”

“Spanning fourteen years. Nevaeh and Bri bonded pretty well.”

Pawel doesn’t want to think about their families. About the large, welcoming families that he walked away from when he walked away from Colt and Leo.

“Conor seems to think you’ll adopt Jennie and Nevaeh,” he says.

Leo rises and slides down the other bench, ending up opposite Pawel. His legs are long enough that his feet bump Pawel’s under the table. It also lets him twine fingers with Colt on the table as they exchange a slow smile.

“It’s complicated,” Leo says. “We would, if we could, but I don’t think we will unless we can give that option to all the kids. Right now, Duke’s the only one without living parents.”

“Matt’s parents gave him up when he Emerged, and Nevaeh kidnapped Jennie from their parents because she was afraid of them. They’ve been declared unfit. And Emma… you already know,” Colt adds. He turns his hand under Leo’s, thumb sliding along the side of Leo’s palm. “She’s sure everything will change and she’ll go home.”

“And I offered to help. I—” Pawel glances at the stairs. “It’s quiet. Does that mean they’re getting along, or that they’re trying to listen in on our conversation.”

“Depends on the kid. They’ll be coming downstairs soon—” Colt cuts off at Pawel’s expression. He points to the stairs. “Those lead to the attic, which has been finished as much as we can, and is the new playroom. There’s a hall from to the old playroom over the garage, which is our room now. The kids’ rooms are all on the main floor, in the back.”

“So if you have conversations you’d rather have away from prying ears, this isn’t the time for it,” Leo murmurs. His head tilts, eyes closing for a moment. “Matt and Duke are playing games. Jennie’s talking to them. Emma and Conor are at the top of the stairs with his tablet, pretending not to listen. Nevaeh’s further down the stairs. They aren’t even trying to hide it.” His voice is low, and amused.

They haven’t talked about anything Pawel would be upset about them overhearing. But his theories on what might have happened to Emma’s parents aren’t something he wants to discuss in front of her. “Then we should save some topics for another time,” Pawel says. He takes in a deep breath, holding it for a long moment before he exhales slowly. 

He doesn’t want to talk about the past.

He doesn’t want to talk about what he’s been doing for the last year, and how that might relate to where Emma’s parents are.

He pastes on a smile that he’s sure doesn’t fool either of them. “So. Colt. I hear you argue for a living now. How does that work with the whole aura thing? Which I’d like to hear more about.”

“I’m not a research project,” Colt says as Leo’s eyebrows rise.

“What has my dad been telling you?” Pawel’s not that bad. Is he?

“Everything,” Leo says dryly. He squeezes Colt’s hand. “Catch Pawel up,” he tells him. “It’s been a while. We’re not the same people we were in high school. None of us are.”

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[thewayshedreamed]

This Time— Epilogue

A/N: Finally— the epilogue for This Time is here! I think I struggled to finish/ post this because it meant this little au was truly over, and I enjoyed writing it so much. Thank y’all again for every reblog, kind comment, and like y’all have left as you followed the story. I’ve loved every second of it!

Also, feel free to send me prompts set in this au if the inspiration hits! I’ll always love revisiting these two dummies 💕

Fic masterlist is linked below in case you need to catch up before reading the epilogue!

This Time masterlist

acotar masterlist

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Nesta awoke to the feeling of calloused hands running down her back and a heavy weight draped across her hips. She raised her head to locate the offender, her eyes trailing over a long, tan thigh, some unmentionables, a firm stomach, broad chest, and landing on a pair of bright hazel eyes.

“Would you get off of me? You’re massive,” she ground out.

He was seated across her backside, running his hands down her back in broad strokes. He paused at her lower back and repeated the motion in reverse. Once his hands made their way back to her neck, he sprawled them across her shoulders and onto the bed, as he leaned over onto his elbows to hold his weight.

“Apologies, milady,” he joked, nipping the top of her ear playfully. “I guess I’ll go.”

He started to roll away from her, but her hand reached back to grasp his cheek to stop him. She pulled his face toward her own, raising her head to graze her lips over his as she spoke.

“No. I miss you,” she breathed against his mouth.

He smiled through their kiss as his hand shifted back down her body, lifting her hips slightly. Her breath hitched as he slid into her, his mouth claiming hers as he moved. Her fingers found their way into his hair, and he grunted into her mouth as she tugged the strands. His pace increased, the only sounds in the room being the crumpling of the sheets, their bodies moving together, and the small cries Nesta emitted with each thrust. He broke the kiss to rest his forehead on the back of her own head as they finished together, whispering each others’ names as they rode out their pleasure.

He rolled onto his side next to her, and she turned to tuck her face into the center of his chest. She took a deep breath, basking in the comfort of his scent and his arms around her.

“I think I could stay right here forever,” she mused.

——————————————————————————

12 years later

���—————————————————————————

Unsure of what provoked such specific thoughts of her and Cassian’s fervid affair, Nesta shook her head to snap back into the present. Her daughter’s loud squeal caught her attention, and she let out a long chuckle as she watched her run through a small flock of birds that had landed in their yard. She had her arms thrust out to her sides, trying to blend in as a member, and she flapped them in earnest as she approached.

Nesta found herself envious of her 4-year-old’s free spirit sometimes, knowing she didn’t have it in her on a molecular level. Ironically, the young girl was Nesta’s carbon copy in appearance. Her heart caught anytime Annie looked at her with eyes identical to her own, yet with an entirely different soul beneath.

“She’s such a busy body,” her son remarked, the fondness in his eyes for his sister negating his tone. He was seated in the wooden chair next to Nesta, book rested in his lap, as he watched his younger sibling run through the flock. He wore an expression far beyond his meager 10 years.

Nesta huffed a laugh at his comment, noting the amount of herself she heard in his voice. While her daughter was everything Nesta was not, her son was so much like her that it could be scary at times.

“That’s just how she’s made, love. Let her live,” she replied, with an air of mock defensiveness for her daughter.

“I am!” he insisted. “It just seems like she would be... I dunno. Tired, sometimes.”

Nesta laughed openly at that, understanding his perspective more than she could explain to him.

“I get it. She’s just different from you and me, you know? Your Uncle Azriel once told me that people like me and you need people like your sister. She keeps life interesting,” she mused, a soft smile of adoration plastered across her face for her daughter.

“Aunt Elain says Uncle Az is a know-it-all,” he snarked.

She snorted another laugh, but before she could respond, the subject of their conversation rounded the corner of the porch.

“Sounds like I need to have a talk with your Aunt Elain,” he joked, messing up his hair playfully.

“Unc,” he scowled, “stop it.” Despite his frustrations, he stood and hugged Azriel, still young enough to idolize everything about his uncle.

“Can I help with anything, Nes?” Azriel asked from over his nephew’s head.

Elain walked up behind him, both of their daughters in tow.

“ABIDUS,” their youngest, Cosette, squealed from Elain’s arms. The two-year-old was still working on “Atticus”, and Nesta had to admit it was a mouthful.

Nesta beamed proudly as her son released his uncle, turning his affections to the toddler immediately. A smile made its way to his face, and he extended his hands in invitation. She leaned forward enthusiastically, no doubt in her young mind that her older cousin would catch her every single time. She squeezed tightly around his neck as he started to walk down the steps to meet Annie in the yard.

“Coming, Cath?” he called over his shoulder to the older of his cousins.

Catherine had her arm around Elain’s lower back, her face tucked into her mother’s waist. She was tall for her tender age of 8, taking after her father. At the mention of her name, her hazel eyes peeked around Elain and brightened at the sight of her sister and cousins all greeting each other.

“Yep,” she replied shyly, as she walked down the porch steps.

“She just woke up from a nap in the backseat,” Elain explained. “She’s still waking up, I think.”

“No need to explain,” Nesta insisted as she wrapped her sister in a tight hug. “Especially to me.”

She felt comforted by her sister’s tight squeeze and held her just a few seconds longer than usual. It had been a while since they could all get together, and she’d missed her sisters greatly.

She turned her attentions to Azriel, wrapping him in a tight hug around his middle just as Atticus had done moments ago. He returned the gesture, placing a soft kiss to the top of her head.

“You never answered me, you know. Can I do anything?”

“No,” she responded as she pulled away from him, “enjoy our kids, I guess. Everything is almost done inside, so we’re just waiting on everyone else to join us.”

“Oh,” Elain interjected, “I just talked to Feyre as we were pulling up. Her and Rhys are wrangling their small circus and heading this way shortly.”

The sisters shared a low, fond chuckle at the thought of the chaos their youngest sister was mediating at the moment. There was a time where Nesta and Elain had gaped at Feyre when she mentioned she and Rhys wanting four kids, but now, it was hard to imagine their family any other way.

“Seriously, go have fun with the kids,” she ordered. “I’m going to check on the food, and I’ll bring out a bottle of wine to share until the rest of the crew shows up.”

“Where is your husband, anyway?” Azriel inquired.

“He’ll be here soon— got tied up,” she assured him, even though she wasn’t entirely sure what was keeping him.

She turned toward the door to slip back inside. Truth be told, Nesta needed a minute with her thoughts. Her memories from only minutes ago were clanging through her brain, and she needed a few minutes to get her head on straight. She could hardly host a family dinner with thoughts of her and Cassian’s early days swimming around in her head; specifically, between the sheets.

Their relationship had been everything they’d expected and more. That’s not to say there weren’t struggles here and there, but they managed to work through things as a team as they had in their years as best friends. They had dated for for a little over a year until Cassian had decided he wasn’t “satisfied” by the state of their relationship anymore, the statement still causing an ache in her chest all these years later.

Her thoughts were promptly replaced by checking on the meal she was preparing for her family. Everything was looking as it should, so she turned her attention to the glassware collection to grab wine glasses for the adults. She selected a white and a red, grabbed a corkscrew, and balanced her haul in two arms as she made her way outside.

There was an intense game of “Red Rover” occurring among the group, poor Azriel getting left out every time. None of them dared to call him over, knowing he would be able to run through their grip effortlessly. He looked totally unbothered, content to watch their family play together no matter what that meant for him.

Unwilling to disrupt them so soon, Nesta rested the wine bottles on the porch railing with the glasses next to them. She sat down in the wooden chair she occupied earlier, watching them play as an SUV pulled into the driveway. Her husband climbed out, the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up just below the elbows and tie abandoned entirely in favor of an open neckline.

“DADDY,” Annie yelled, breaking into a full run toward the man getting out of the vehicle. She showed no regard for his slacks or polished shoes as she barreled into him, near-climbing up his legs in an attempt to reach his upper body for a hug. He lifted her easily, pulling her into his chest and kissing her hair.

“Hey, Spitfire,” he said. “Looks like you’re having a good time out here.”

“We are!” Annie yelled. “Come play with us! Unc’s not gettin’ to play a whole lot.”

He laughed, setting her down to rejoin the others. “I’d love to. Let me check in with momma and change clothes, yeah?”

“K!” She ran off, no harm done by the delay in his joining them.

He made his way over to Nesta, taking the porch steps two at a time. She rose to meet him, and he placed a soft kiss to her forehead.

“Hey, love,” he murmured.

“Hi,” she breathed. “Dinner’s done. And there’s wine if you want some.”

“Thanks. I’m sorry I’m late. I should have called, but I got caught in mediation longer than I expected. The good thing is, we’ve settled out of court, so that lightens my load for a little while.”

“It’s okay. I understand,” she assured him.

“Something wrong? You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, Nes.” He reached out to run his hands over her shoulders.

“Just thinking is all.” His brows scrunched at her words. “No big deal; just some nostalgia really. Go get changed. Annie is counting down the seconds,” she laughed.

“As long as you promise you’re okay.”

“I am. I swear.”

It wasn’t a total lie. In the purest sense, she was fine. She had half of her family with her, the other half joining them any minute now. The only problems were the incessant day dreaming and the intense emotions accompanying them.

“Come on,” he urged her, lacing his fingers with hers. “I’ll change, and you talk.”

He didn’t believe her. She supposed years of marriage counted for something, but she fought the bristling of her defenses all the same. She wanted to be alone to work through her emotions, but it appeared she wouldn’t be blessed with that today.

They walked in silence, him guiding her hand in hand to their bedroom. He prompted her to sit at the foot of their bed while he started to undress, his body angled sideways to allow him to look toward her and place what he needed to on their dresser simultaneously. He pulled his keys and wallet from his pockets, placed them in the small dish, and patted around his pockets for his phone. He placed that face down on the corner and turned his attention to the remaining buttons of his shirt.

He kept his gaze forward as he spoke, and she knew he was trying not to seem as though he was interrogating her.

“What’s on your mind?” His voice was a near whisper.

“I mean.. I don’t know exactly. I’m just especially emotional today. I’ve been replaying memories from my past all day, and I can’t shake it. But it’s nothing you should worry about.” Her voice was quiet but sure.

“Of course I’m worried about it— worried about you. I can almost hear you thinking. I hope you know I’m here if you need anything is all.”

She could tell he was restraining himself, his annoyance peeking through in small ways like how he oriented his body fully toward the dresser now. The room was tense around them, but she knew there was nothing she could say that would relieve his worries without giving him a snapshot into her headspace. He would never demand it of her if she felt adamantly against it, but she had learned in their time together that he worried a little less when she shared a glimpse with him.

“One thing I’ve played and replayed in my head was the day you proposed,” she shared quietly.

His shoulders tensed but relaxed immediately, almost as if he had expected something terrible and been spared.

“Yeah?”

She bit her lip, weirdly shy about sharing the moment entirely from her perspective.

—

He is picking her up from her apartment for date night, telling her it’s a surprise. He helps her into his truck and drives for what seems like forever. They finally pull off the road into what looks like nothing but dense forest with a small, dirt road leading to nowhere. He keeps driving, suddenly making his way into a clearing. Nesta blinks against the dark several times and realizes it’s not only a clearing; it’s a small cliff overlooking the city. From here, they can marvel at the beauty of their city and the stars alike, and Nesta thinks it may be the most beautiful place she’s ever visited.

He gets out of his truck and urges her to stay until he has everything settled. She hears the tailgate open, followed by rummaging sounds in the bed of his truck. His feet hit the earth roughly, and she hears his footsteps kicking up gravel and foliage as he makes his way to her. Her door flies open, and he extends his hand to her.

“We’re having a picnic,” he announces proudly.

“A picnic? It’s dark!”

“I did think of that. I brought candles. Ye of little faith,” he teases.

She turns at the end of the bed of the truck, looking at what he has set up. The bed has blankets laid all over, extras thrown around for them to snuggle into if they want to. There are pillows haphazardly stacked toward the cab of the truck and a small ice chest in the center. He grips her waist, lifting her to sit on the tailgate, and turns to lift himself to sit next to her.

“All these pillows and blankets, and you want to sit here?” she jokes.

He is leaning on his palms, shoulders high and tense as she talks. He clears his throat.

“Um. Yeah. I guess I didn’t think that through. I probably should have talked to you first now that I think about it.”

—

“You realize I was there, right? Are you really going to put me through this cringe-worthy proposal all over again?” There was humor in his voice, and she felt like she could breathe again.

“You asked! If I have to think about it, you’re coming down with me!”

—

“What does that mean?” Her heart is racing now, and she feels the blood leaving her hands and feet.

He clears his throat a second time, a clear indication of his nerves. “I guess I should just come out with it. As you know, we’ve been together a while now, and it’s been great.”

“Still waiting on you to come out with it,” she mutters.

“Sorry— I’ve been thinking, and I don’t think I’m satisfied with where we are anymore.”

All of the blood is draining from Nesta’s face, and she thinks she may vomit. Was this really happening to her? This is why she doesn’t trust people, why she doesn’t let people in, why she doesn’t let people see her—

“It’s not enough for me,” he continues. She can’t bear to hear anymore, and she’s opening her mouth before she can think better of it.

“What the fuck? Did you really bring me all the way out here, to only the gods know where, to break up with me? What is wrong with you? Who does that?” she fumes. “Take me home.”

“What?” he scrambles, “Nes, I’m not breaking up with you.” He hops down from where he’s sitting to stand in front of her, his hands coming up to cup her face. “Gods, I’m fucking this up.”

“You are on borrowed time. Whatever it is you’re doing, you need to do it,” she orders, head still spinning.

“Marry me,” he states simply, as if it’s the most reasonable request in the world.

She blinks up at him, unsure of what she’s heard.

“I’ve never known love like I’ve known it with you. You have been the greatest joy of my life, and all I want is to continue trying to make you happy. To wake up next to you everyday. To have a family together. To be partners in this life. Nesta Archeron, will you marry me?” Tears are brimming on his lower eyelids, and she remembers she has to speak.

She nods vigorously, unable to say it out loud initially. “Yes,” she finally whispers, tears streaming down her face. This isn’t the way she thought this was going, but she’s so happy this is where it ended up.

“Yeah?” he asks excitedly. His smile is breathtaking.

“Yeah,” she assures him and pulls his face to hers.

—

He slid out of his button down and pulled his undershirt off, busying himself to try to hide the blush across his cheeks.

“All things considered, it wasn’t so bad. It all worked out,” she teased. Her heart was already lighter by talking to him, and all she had done was share her thoughts aloud.

“I fucked that up royally, and you know it. I don’t know why we can’t just let it go,” he said through a laugh.

“Never,” she insisted, reveling in his discomfort. “Actually, I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll never mention this proposal story again if, and only if, you retire it. You know exactly what I mean, too, so don’t play dumb.”

He whirled around, eyes huge as he assessed her. She took in his bare torso, as devastating as ever, and found herself growing warmer under his attention.

“I’m up here, wife. And no. No deal,” he said adamantly.

“Come ON,” she lamented, “Archeron isn’t even my last name anymore! It’s way past time to let it go.”

“Sorry, Archie. You know I’ll take it to the grave with me. I don’t make the rules,” he said, as he pulled a grey tee over his head, the color accentuating the very small strip of greys against an onyx backdrop.

The only time his grey hair was visible was when he had his strands pulled back, and in the unfair way of the universe, the only grey he’d started to show was that one strip at his temple. Every other strand had remained as black as ever, almost as if he’d placed it there artificially. He was aging like fine wine, indeed.

“What do you mean, you don’t make the rules? You quite literally do,” she demanded, doing her best to ignore her disrobing husband.

He pulled on a pair of athletic shorts and lowered himself to the carpet in front of her. He situated himself between her legs and wrapped his long arms tightly around her middle, resting his head on her chest.

“I missed you today,” he deflected.

She hummed her agreement as she loosed his hair and ran her fingers through. They sat in silence for a couple of seconds before he spoke again, his voice muffled.

“You are especially nostalgic today, sweetheart. The last time you got this sappy on me was when...” his voice trailed off as his entire body went rigid. He looked up at her, eyes full of questions.

“When I was pregnant with Atticus. And again with Annie,” she finished casually, fingers never stopping their ministrations.

“Are you serious?” His voice was equal parts excited and terrified, a feeling Nesta had been experiencing since taking the test that morning.

All she managed was a nod as tears started to roll down her face.

His hands were instantly on her face, similar to all those years ago on the tailgate of his truck, where he stood between her legs and cradled her face as he asked her to be his wife.

“We’re having another baby,” he stated fondly, then, “We were supposed to be done.”

She laughed through her tears, wiping away the few running freely down his face now.

“We were, but it looks like we’re not,” she replied. “Are you happy?”

He pressed his lips to hers, kissing her deeply and with something near reverence. “Couldn’t be happier. Can we tell our family now?”

“Of course, Cass. But I’m the one who announced it last time.”

She pressed another kiss to his lips as they stood together.

“This time, it’s on you.”

——————————————————————————

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