#also forced to be a girlboss x forced to be a malewife.

[linabirb]

me when linagram first started: yeah i don't see eiji and miki as a couple haha

me now: eiko yoshioka i am so sorry

[vilsoo]

𝐌𝐘 𝐆𝐅 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐔𝐁𝐔𝐒! ⌇MICHAEL AFTON

succubus!reader x michael afton || WC: 5,413

𖤐 SYNOPSIS. ever since michael found you as a succubus, he’s never been so in love. you usually feed off humans, but with michael’s sexual energy keeping you alive, you never ate anyone in years. that is, until, halloween night occurs…

𖤐 WARNINGS. established relationship, university au, halloween setting, malewife himbo bf/girlboss demon gf dynamic, revenge, murder, flesh eating, gore, blood mentions, tentacle bondage, msub!michael.

HORRORLAND/KINKTOBER MASTERLIST

[RIDE ANNOUNCER] This is a high speed roller coaster with sudden stops and drops! All riders must store loose items inside of a locker. This ride contains flashing scenes, special effects, and content warnings posted. Please remember to stay seated and keep all arms and legs inside when the vehicle is in motion. Any kind of photography is not allowed during the ride. Thanks for your attention and cooperation. We hope you enjoy.

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Is it possible to fall in love with a woman after they had just murdered someone?

For Michael Afton, the answer is yes.

Months ago during the beginning of the semester, Michael wasn’t always great at making friends. Even though this was university, it felt like high school again, where he remained an outcast and was reluctant to be involved with the student body, college clubs, or majority of big events like football games. He was academically focused; the typical nerdy student majoring in engineering. Always studying by himself in the library and sometimes tutoring other students so he could earn some money on the side. Back then he realized that having friends or even being in a relationship was the least of his priorities.

But it wasn’t until he first laid his eyes on you.

You were so beautiful. Also an inquisitive, scholarly student with good grades, staying on top of your classes, and involved with many extra curriculars. As badly as he wanted to talk to you, he viewed you as way out of his league. Always keeping in touch with your friend groups on campus and focusing on the clubs and committees you joined. There was never a chance for Michael to even be with you. So to avoid rejection and humiliation, he’d rather keep his crush a little secret, admiring and fantasizing about you from afar.

When October came around and a big Halloween party was taking place, Michael was invited by one of the students he was tutoring. He wasn’t the best at social gatherings and has never been to college parties, but the only reason he came was because you were attending as well. And that the first time he ever drank and slightly withdrew from his comfort zone from the alcohol, talking to people from campus and collecting all the courage to talk to you.

That night, however, you were busy with another man. A man that Michael has never seen before. Spending a lot of time together, dancing, drinking, and always leaving the vicinity together… As much as Michael wanted to admit that he was jealous deep down, he forced himself to move on. He’d always believed that there was no way in Hell that he was going to have a chance with you that time.

“…Hey, has anybody seen Y/N?”

A few hours later into the party the question started floating in the air, suddenly capturing Michael’s attention. The thought of you had completely slipped his mind as he started drinking more throughout the night until you were back to being his main focus. Recalling the last time he’s seen you was with that man he assumed doesn’t attend the university. As he lingered in his thoughts, his skin started crawl.

Suspicion. Piercing curiosity. An urge to look for you and make sure you were safe.

A handful of your friends were looking everywhere in the house for you as Michael decided to investigate outside. Even though he was outside of campus and wasn’t that familiar with the outskirts, he didn’t stop searching until he could find you that night. He searched until the path at his feet faded and lead into the dark woods, the verdant greens diminishing to sullen brown, as if he was entering forbidden territory. But it wasn’t until he noticed red.

A blood trail.

That mystifying Halloween night, right in the heart of the forest where danger and terror lurks, is the first time Michael saw a dead man’s body and his guts hideously torn apart, messy spikes of fresh blood splattered everywhere. The whole scene looked impossible for a rabid animal to even do that. But it wasn’t until he found you, on your knees and sitting on your ankles beside the corpse, blood draped all over your face, chin, and then your naked body.

And when your gaze flickered onto Michael, in your eyes he can sense longing, pining, regret, terror… a tumultuous storm surging in your mind, piercing right through him. He could’ve ran. He could’ve screamed that night. He should’ve been horrified by the scene in the first place. But every fiber of his fell frozen like he was in a surrendering state; placating, patient, consoling. Only for you. A rapport had already formed right there and then, right under the luminous moon…

“Help me, Michael…”

And just as you were about to collapse on the ground, he rushed over to hold your body in his arms, not caring about the dead man or the blood all over his hands and clothes. He only cared about you. A wave of relief may have washed over him, but he was taken over by this strange, formidable urgency to protect you. To be there for you. To cherish you with such powerful tenderness, nurturing you in such a delicate, vulnerable state.

That was the night you and Michael finally bonded. That special Halloween night you found each other. Comprehending the fact that you were a newborn succubus— the deadliest, macabre, and wanton creature to ever exist... Knowing that you eat men, feed off their flesh, and reap on them with sexual dreams and nightmares, suddenly lead him to a mind-blowing discovery…

Michael had fallen in love with you.

In just a year later, you two were official. A perfect boyfriend and girlfriend for each other, basking in a healthy, loving, long-term relationship. With Michael knowing what you’re capable of as a succubus, he never held it against you; especially finding out the dark and twisted origin of how you became a succubus… He still loves you, cherishes you, and will forever stay loyal to you. Dating you because you’re you was just what he wanted ever since the beginning of college. And even though there were various things he has to adapt to in this relationship, he never complained. He would sacrifice anything for you, including his time to skip class just so you two can have sex.

But for a very good reason.

During the first few months of his new relationship, he had to deal with your bloodlust. You would tend to be ravenous, feral, murderous, literally barbaric for man blood and flesh, for that was your only appetite as a newborn. Michael knew what he was getting into, knew that him ending up being killed and eaten by you one day would be inevitable just to keep yourself alive and beautiful. As cautious and wary as ever, he’d keep his distance as he was in desperate search for another way to satisfy your hunger besides murdering anyone. Then finally, he came to the conclusion that a succubus like his girlfriend can also thrive and feed off sexual energy. A perfect solution for your diet without anybody getting hurt and keeping you alive.

Having sex with you everyday and night didn’t even feel like a strict routine or sex ritual. Michael had you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Even dessert. Nothing about this felt like a necessity just to keep you around forever; he really wanted to satisfy you deep down as long as you consented. And as the months passed by, perhaps deep down he was also a freaky sex demon that takes pleasure in pleasuring his beautiful girlfriend. A man possessed and bewitched by your ethereal presence, he’d make you feel various levels of pleasure and pain as he explores the regions of your body that you never knew existed— finding your weaknesses, turning them into his strengths, and then seducing you with them...

As goes for you, who trained yourself to only feed off the insatiable, wanton lust you have for Michael. You always find a human man like him weaving into your brain, coursing through your veins like you were downing a drug. Every second you see each other at school, your hearts pound as hard as the bed you shared in your new apartment rattles, feasting upon your lusts as if there were no more morrows. Michael had undying, blooming love for you— and you wallowed in his love like draping a warm blanket over you during cold Winter nights.

Halloween was right around the corner again. It was soon to be your one year anniversary, and though Michael had many, many plans on celebrating with you, one of them was going to this huge Halloween party just thirty minutes away from campus. But it wasn’t just some ordinary house party with spooky Halloween decor lazily thrown around and bowls of fruit punch and alcohol scattered on a kitchen island— this was a hardcore Halloween party with over 300 guests attending. Way more people, way more alcohol, and way more attractions than just music to dance to— there were rumors of a famous live band performing, people hosting escape rooms, haunted houses, and other cool horror-related shit that Michael couldn’t wait to experience with you.

It was an hour before the party. The two of you were at your apartment getting your costumes ready, since Halloween costumes were part of the dress code for this party. If you weren’t dressed, you weren’t allowed in.

“Are you… Jason Voorhees?” you marveled, passing by Michael standing in front of the body mirror putting on the iconic hockey mask.

Michael chuckled. “Yeah. Since we had a Friday the 13th this year... I just found this at Spirit Halloween and decided why not. What are you gonna be, hm?”

“Well, it’s a little basic…” You did some cute poses in front of the mirror in your costume; a cropped white puffer jacket with faux fur on the edges of your hood, a denim skirt, red laced stockings, and then fake blood splattered all over. “It was also last minute, so I just threw on some stuff to look like Jennifer Check from Jennifer’s Body.”

“Basic? You look beautiful,” he complimented as he stared at your reflection in the mirror, turning around to hold your waist. “The costume is also ironic. I love that. You ready to go?”

“Yeah. Let’s go before parking gets full.”

The thirty minute drive at night wasn’t that bad. You and Michael’s adrenaline started to rush in when luminous rays of colorful lights and fog were seen from a far distance behind the shadowy trees. There were so, so many people that Michael couldn’t even recognize. Some weren’t even students that attended the university. You were surfing through the crowd with him never letting go of your hand, everybody around dancing outdoors as the excitement buzzes around in this rave-like party. Spectrums within the bass-boosted music, the sound waves pulsing in your heart. In the air, you could immediately take in strong various drugs and alcohol invading your senses. You could hear the rustle of costumes, glasses clinking, people talking and laughing, and feel the whimsical energy flowing around.

You and Michael decided to drink and dance together, the dizzying lights and alcohol making you fall through space and only take in his face. As the ecstasy flowed in your bloodstream beyond all measure like a storm of electric emotion, your pupils dilating as you were filled with this hazy sweetness-like sensation. Maybe it was the alcohol, but you always felt this way for your own boyfriend; becoming a victim to your own deadly, rapacious desire, enlaved to the rhythm of such unquenchable fire.

Together on the dance floor, Michael kept caressing your waist as you kept moving your body on his. He cupped your face, lips meeting together and something like fire and passion ignited within your ribs, urging each other to deepen the kiss. As if the alcohol couldn’t intoxicate you more, Michael was all that you needed in your hazy, drunken world. You needed him more than ever. You wanted to sneak off and find some place private for the both of you. God, you were feeling so needy for him deep down that Michael already knew…

"…Thank you for having us tonight. It's so good to be here with y'all!" somebody exulted into the microphone on the stage nearby. "I hope y'all enjoy and have a happy fuckin' Halloween!"

The elated crowd cheers again as the drummer counts off with the sticks and the electric guitar riffs take over your ears. For some odd reason, the man’s voice that started singing sounded vaguely familiar to you. You couldn’t quite put your finger on it, but there’s a part of you that recognizes a voice like that…

With the heated moment between you and Michael now disrupted by the band performing, you both turn your heads towards the stage where the crowd started to increase. Still holding each other’s hands, your eyes weaved through the back of people’s heads and tried to see who was performing. The electronic punk riffs sounded incredibly vibrant, thrilling everybody in the rave. Dark red spotlights, increased fog from the machines, and the clashing of the drums and other electric instruments overpowering your ears… Even the music sounded familiar to you— this was a genre that you used to listen to, after all.

“Do you wanna stay and watch?” you hear Michael yell out, clutching your hand tighter.

Somehow the question flew over your head as if you were distracted and overstimulated at the same time. As if you were drawn into the hypnotizing performance, there was an odd feeling of curiosity weighing down on your shoulders. The set up, the music, the energy, the singer’s voice… was it deja vu? You were slightly emerged, as if you unadjusted from this atmosphere, and the more Michael studied your curiosity, the more he became concerned.

When the silhouettes of tall heads blocking your view parted for a few minutes, you could finally see the singer. And the moment you scrutinized his appearance, it felt as if the world around you slowed down.

His face heightened every nerve of your body, as if you were just electrocuted by the most hazardous downed powerline. You were in utter bewilderment and horror of everything that you took in, numerous daunting flashbacks running in your head. You held your breath as you relived a traumatic memory from last Halloween; the night you were reborn as a succubus… You had no idea if these were your memories— Hell, it felt like a past life regression coursing every fiber of your being. But for the first time in a long time, terror and fright seized you completely.

“That— that singer…” you drawled, eyes widening every second in horror.

Michael furrowed his brows from not being able to hear you, leaning his ear closer to you. ���Wait, what?”

You remembered. You remembered everything.

That last night of your perfect life where everything felt so surreal— being noticed by your long admired idol. A diabolical, sinister plan disguised as an innocent groupie love, where you were betrayed, drugged, kidnapped, and murdered.

The fire. The alcohol. The party. The groupie sex.

His words. His threats. His intentions. His greedy thirst for fame.

The night where he cut out your heart and sacrificed you to the devil. The night when you woke up hours later with a repulsive thirst for flesh on your tongue. The night you were reborn as a succubus, killing the first innocent man you ever saw who was just camping alone in the woods…

It was him. It was really him.

With your eyes welling with tears, your mind started to scream at you. You wanted revenge. You wanted to fucking kill him. Your anger and surging vengeance ignited a dangerous flame taking over you like a goddamn baptism. Your mind turns darker than black as every painful memory rips through you. This was the night he will finally die— and you didn’t give a fucking damn about how many witnesses there will be for his death.

“Babe? Are you—“

Letting go of Michael’s hand before he could comprehend it, you were already out of the crowd and lurking in the shadows with your enhanced speed. Part of you wanted to make that man’s death public. But part of you wanted to take things the old fashioned way, luring him backstage and devouring his soul right back into Hell where he belonged.

But your insatiable lust for flesh and blood mixed with your rage had you impatient and ravenous. It’s been so, so long since you’ve ate a man. And for a valid reason, you were hysterical and feverish to finally eat one on Halloween again. Make that man die a slow, painful, agonizing death as you tie him up in the woods and tear apart each and every one of his organs and guts. You were back to your old roots of being a vicious, wild succubus who lacks control of your hunger.

Michael had to weave through the crowd desperately looking everywhere for you, sometimes pushing other people and mistaking some as you by accident because of your costume. When the song was finally over and he could see entire stage clearly, the band was making their way off and the crowd finally became loose again. He still couldn’t find you anywhere. He started panicking, making his way inside the estate to search.

Inside the estate, there was a private dressing room for the band where they kept their instruments and other possessions. You were there, waiting by the locked door, hearing the men laughing and conversing with each other. But the lead singer’s voice reverberating in the room sounded like nails to a chalkboard to you, your blood boiling every time he chuckles and gets all excited about bullshit. That man doesn’t get to laugh. He doesn’t deserve this kind of talent. You kept fantasizing about ripping out his voice box with your own bare hands, clawing at his throat like a goddamn vice.

Blending with the shadows to taunt them, you find your way inside and locked the door. The men were behind a huge curtain where they couldn’t see you, still laughing and drinking together. Such fickle souls, perfect to be tormented alone in a dismal night like this. As much as you wanted the lead singer gone, you couldn’t help but take predatory thrill in agonizing the rest of the men that was soon to face the worse demise. Maybe they weren’t all that innocent, either. They could add in to the main course for the night.

You decided to do this the old fashioned way, stripping off your puffer jacket, crop top, skirt, stockings, and shoes. You wanted to feel their splattering crimson blood all over your bare skin. Wearing nothing but a matching bra and panty set, you stayed behind the curtain and cleared your throat.

“Excuse me? Can you gentlemen help me with something, please?”

All of them suddenly stop talking at the sound of your coaxing, provocative, coy voice behind the curtain. You sauntered your way towards them, all of them holding their breaths in star struck silence, admiring your devilish beauty and stunning body. All doe-eyed, slothful, yearning, making eye contact with all five males. That glimmer in your eyes that makes a man lose his mind like your boyfriend…

“Woah. Didn’t know we got a groupie for tonight,” one of the men chuckled, their disgusting eyes that deserves to be gouged out staring at you from head to toe.

“How can we help you, miss?” said the lead singer, your nose involuntarily flaring in furtive anger at him.

“Well… if you wanna come behind the curtains here, I have something I’d like to show all of you. A gift from your biggest fan.”

The dumb men easily fell into your trap, following you behind the curtain only for them to realize you disappeared. Eyebrows furrowing, some baffled by where the hell you just went. But you were hanging right above on the high ceiling, like a predatory creature on all fours, using your succubus powers to fuck with the lights and make them flicker until they’re in the dark.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“Why’s the door locked? I can’t fucking open it!”

“Goddamnit. We’re stuck in here! Where the hell is that bitch?”

It’s been so long since you’ve utilized your tentacles. With a disturbing screech and growl, your wings that you finally let free transfigured into slimy tentacles that snatched the men and threw them across the room one by one, leaving the lead singer alone on purpose. You grinned widely from hearing them scream, curse, and panic in a room where no one could find them nor hear them. Your tentacles shove right into their mouths, silencing them forever until you were ready to eat them for later. And when you left the singer in prolonged, tense silence, you can feel the rapid, erratic beating of his heart that was soon to be gone…

“I went through Hell and came back… to finally kill you.”

For the past ten minutes, you weren’t answering your phone. Michael searched most of the estate, underestimating how big and maze-like the structure of the place was that he literally got lost. But when he was passing by a group of girls coming from the restroom, he overheard a conversation that immediately caught his attention.

“…yeah, but I was a little shy to go inside the dressing room. Flirt With Death always has groupies in there fucking or something…”

It all finally registered in Michael’s brain. Why you suddenly ran away, why you’re nowhere to be found. He was disappointed in himself for not realizing earlier, not even recognizing the band playing that was right in front of his eyes. He decided to turn into another narrow hallway where there were few people, running through each room with panic as he was still looking for you. When he found a dressing room that was apparently locked, he looked for any objects or furniture nearby that could barge open the door.

Don’t fucking tell me you did it, Y/N…

He grabbed a heavy chair, smashing it several times on the door knob to break it. He knew that he was damaging property, but he did not give a shit. The party was loud enough to block the banging sounds. Nobody was around, there were not even any cameras that he could detect in the ceiling. But he kept jamming and jamming the knob until it finally broke off, hastily shoving the door open. And the moment he noticed the room was dark and quiet, he immediately knew.

“And If I ever find the people that did this to me, I want to kill them...” He recalled your words from a year ago when you told him the truth. “And you can’t stop me, Michael. They deserve to rot in Hell for this...”

You actually fucking did it.

When Michael switched on the lights, the entire dressing room was a wretched mess covered in blood. On the walls, on the floor, some splattered onto the ceiling… It was the scene of a fucking massacre. As if a giant bucket of blood spilled and flooded the entire place. He held his breath and his eyes widened in horror, scanning the corpses with all their guts and organs hideously torn apart and some spilling out, laying in a pool of fresh crimson blood.

His gaze slowly drifted to you in the middle of the room— your wings were spread, your eyes were a different color, and your half-naked body was completely draped in fresh blood. You were feeding on the man that you told him about, the man you’ve been wanting to kill for the longest; plunging to the depths of his rufescent flesh.

“…Babe?” Michael uttered, ever so slowly and cautiously ambling closer to you. You hissed at him and bared your fangs, immediately halting a few feet away from you in underlying fear.

You took a few moments to recognize Michael’s face, trying so hard to fight the urge of accidentally eating him as well. You were slowly coming down from your frenzied, blood lust state, your sharpened eyes scanning the bloody room. The band that became famous from the lead singer selling his soul is now dead. His diabolic soul finally rotting in Hell where he belongs…

Michael inched closer, watching the way your eyes turn back to its normal color and your wings closing. “Come. Let’s go home,” your loving boyfriend insisted, holding out his hand. “I’ll wash you up and then I’ll order us something to eat.”

Holding onto him and letting him cover you up with his jacket and his arm around you, it felt as if the raging and feral tides of your soul were finally at rest. His love for you was like floating in a warm pool of warm honey and velvet; you enthralled in this beautiful rhythm of sensations that fill your energies. Leaning over to give you a gentle, reassuring kiss that was so soft, so plush, a reminder that you belong to each other forever and nothing else in this world matters.

Because when you got home that night, Michael completely forgot about washing you up and instead pressed you against the door just to kiss you. Your lungs filling with wicked lust, bodies melting together like caramel as your needy desires take over. Not even waiting a fraction of a second to settle down at home, he couldn’t fucking wait any longer. And you couldn’t either…

“Mm— Michael,” you sighed out. “I thought you were… we were gonna…”

“Shh, shh. I’m gonna take care of you, I promise. But… after seeing you tonight like that, I— I feel like something awakened in me, or… fuck, I just want you right now…”

You chuckled. “Awakened something in you?”

As much as Michael wanted to admit it, he was ashamed. “Nah, forget it. C’mon, let’s shower together.”

“Uh-uh. I’m not gonna go until you tell me.”

Michael had to mentally prepare before cringing at his own words. Recollecting himself and trying not to make things awkward, he pursed his lips and finally confessed. “Ugh, fine... When I saw your, uh— tentacles… I just thought about, you know— if you could tie me up with them?”

Never in your years of living as a succubus had a filthy, raunchy idea like this ever cross your mind. But were you opposed to it? Deep down, you were turned on by it. Tying Michael to one of your dining chairs, his wrists bound behind him as you straddled on top and teased him with your tentacles. As you kept kissing him and grinding on his thigh, one of your tentacles were wrapped around his hard cock, stroking it simultaneously that his precum was already leaking. Hearing his cute moans and whimpers gradually get louder, struggling to kiss back or try to touch you when he forgot he was tied up… you were so turned on that you kept struggling to kiss back as well.

He will never stop recalling the time when he first saw you in your succubus form, the time when something shifted within him. Not only was he turned on by your hot physical appearance as a maneating demon, but by your feral, wild, vicious behavior of ripping apart men and eating them greedily. He felt inclined to obey you, and only you; like holding him captive and chaining him up tight in the dark, making him quiver and gasp for every unobtainable breath of air. Ruin him, hurt him, mark him, corrupt him, just fucking use him for your pleasure…

As you kept riding him and stroking him, the tip of your noses press against each other in the heat of the moment. His jaw was slackened and his brows were furrowed from the white-hot waves of sensation coursing in his body.

“Fuck, Y/N— you’re so… God, I love you. I fucking love you.”

“I love you, too,” you cooed sweetly in his ear, hearing him respond with a slutty groan when you increased the pace. He involuntarily bucks his hips into the grip of your slimy tentacles, throwing his head back and clenching his fists tighter.

“I’m not gonna last, babe. I’m not gonna last— I need you to ride me, please. Please sit on my dick. I’m begging you, Y/N— God, I need to cum inside you…”

Michael's pleads were so adorable to you, it would be absolutely ruthless to deny his orgasm like that. There was just something so beautiful about a man pleading to you if he could cum inside you; something so irresistible about hearing the urgency with which he begs for permission.

“Aw, look at you. So fucking needy for me,” you teased as the tentacle stroking his aching cock slipped away. “Once you come, I’m not gonna stop riding you... You have to fucking take it.”

After hearing your words, Michael felt like he was gonna fucking explode. He was shattered. His stomach was tied up in knots the moment you planted yourself on his cock with all your weight, throwing his head back in such euphoria. His face flushed red as he watched you ride him, his cock disappearing into your pussy like magic and then reappearing much more wet and slick. He wanted to fucking touch you so bad. He wanted to adjust himself so he could thrust up into you and slap your ass like he’d always do. But with you in complete control over him, he was in a fucking bliss— his orgasm was building up already without a warning.

“Fuck, fuck… I’m so close, Y/N.”

Dizzy with desire, you felt as if you were getting closer as well as you kept riding on his dick. You can feel himself throbbing as he could feel you pulsing around him. Your fingernails were digging onto his skin, drawing your mouth closer to his and kissing him while parting away just to moan pathetically. Your thighs started to twitch, and your body thundered with tension and neediness. Every goddamn thrust and movement of your hips had you seeing stars. It was hard to pinpoint the differences between your bloodlust frenzy and your sexual frenzy— both of them had your hunger consumed and your body ablaze…

“Oh my God… Keep fucking riding me like that. You enjoy bouncing on my cock like a hot little slut, huh?”

“I’m— I’m the one that’s supposed— supposed to tease you like that, fuck,” you whined out, immediately cut off by him kissing you and humming in your mouth.

“At least I can think straight when I’m fucking you. Whenever you come— ah, fuck— you always go so dumb on my cock.”

“Oh? But you love when I do that. Just keep thinking about… the times you fucked me so hard that, I— I lost my mind…”

“You’re gonna come, Y/N. I can already tell. Fuck, I wish I can fuck up into you right now so I can pound that pretty fucking pussy…”

You tried so hard not to give him the satisfaction so quick, but your body had already betrayed you. Your lips clashed with his in urgency as too many sensations hit you all at once. As you kept bouncing your ass on him, the sounds of sticky skin clapping together slowed down as you felt that erratic pounding in your pussy and the feeling of Michael’s cum shooting inside you and pooling down onto the base of his dick. His forehead falls onto yours, shutting his eyes as you both sat there for a few minutes collecting your breaths. You let the tentacles release him so he could finally hold you and run his hands all over you, keep you in place just so you could cockwarm him.

Your softened eyes meet with his, prompting you to smile at how cute he looks. His eyes glittered like he was smitten, madly in love, the same expression he always makes every morning when you wake up. After a couple of ardent kisses, the two of you just didn’t feel like moving yet.

“So. I hope you enjoyed our anniversary so far,” Michael chuckled. “Especially after you finally got your revenge. That was fucking badass.”

You mirrored his chuckle, smirking in amusement as you kept replaying the scenes in your head of murdering the men. “You still haven’t cleaned me up yet, you know.”

“Yeah… but if we were to shower together right now, you know damn well we’re gonna go for round two. Maybe three, four, or five…”

“Then what are we waiting for…?”

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[RIDE ANNOUNCER] Please remain seated until the ride comes to a complete stop. Then collect your belongings, watch your head, and step carefully out the vehicle. The nearest exit will be on your left. On behalf of all of our crew, thanks for riding with us, and we hope you have a happy and memorable visit here at Horrorland!

ALL WORKS BELONG TO VILSOO © 2023. do not steal, plagiarize, translate, or repost/share any of my works on any social media where minors have access. art by rin237 on instagram ♥︎

obviously inspired by Jennifer’s Body (2009.) if you read my previous fic “ flirt with death “ this is the sequel.

𖤐 TAGS. @aft0nsimp @crysugu @rinshoe @kimekioo @porcelain_clown @willsdollface @zippertwat @strawstfu @maddietries @yourfavoriteobnoxiousomnisexual @nanananamiiii @bookmark-anon @bru1sedclavicle @hehehehesthings @dvafoxxystrashcan @dorkfilmz

[drfirsnogayny]

Do you have any Jerome x Carla headcanon? (Like, something they do in their relationship)

The headcanons below are presented as the backstory of BRev

🧩 When Kindergarten 2 began, Carla stood at the school gates, waiting to see which of the newbies she could make money off of. Seeing the bomb in Jerome's pocket, she offered to help him carry it for money, but Jerome refused because he did not trust her, and he himself needed the bomb. Carla laughs and says that he will be in trouble. She enjoys watching Penny scan Jerome, but gets angry when Penny finds nothing. Because this means that Carla has a competitor who can bring in prohibited things. (another option: she was not going to return the bomb to Jerome, despite the contract paid, because she herself needed it, but his refusal ruined her plans).

👊 They fought with each other throughout kindergarten and elementary school.

📒 They became friends in middle school and together became a nightmare for the school staff. This continued after they transferred to Biolitary school (Carla was not supposed to study here, but she managed to forge documents. I swear it was not out of desire to be around Jerome longer).

👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 They kissed for the first time at the age of 16.

👰‍♂️ They didn't celebrate the wedding, but if they did, Jerome would be the bride.

💍 At least Monty and Theodore know they're married.

🏀 They both like to say that they play basketball better than the other, but they both play equally so-so.

💞 They don't like all that romance. Their dates are to go on an adventure, their declarations of love are not sincere, although they are real.

🍬 They don't celebrate February 14th, but Jerome is still forced to give white chocolate.

💣 They like to construct explosives together.

🔋 They love energy drinks.

💔 Their friendship was in jeopardy during their teenage years, when Jerome was thinking about taking exams and Carla was more interested in spending time with boys (not like Cindy, they're just a local gang).

💢 Carla is constantly jealous of Jerome.

💵 Monty hated them being together at first.

🐸 Carla loves to scare him with frogs, but dare to do the same in his presence.

👫 Girlboss x Malewife power. But less pronounced, for more often than not, they can be seen as equal partners, and sometimes Jerome commands Carla.

😜 They love to tease each other.

🦋 Byron (Kindergarten OC) has a crush on both of them.

🎳 If Jerome's father were alive, he would have befriended Carla's father.

🫕 Their brothers are also friends with each other and with their siblings' partners. However, one of Carla's three brothers doesn't really like Jerome.

🦜 Carla claims that she would never mistake her husband for a other. And then she leads Jerome from Cleavers cult by the hand and doesn't understand why he breaks out and cries. (Yes, Jerome is more of a crybaby than Jerome)

Bonus: An old sketch that shows the dynamics of their relationship

Hatred in childhood, light teasing in adolescence, playful flirtation in adulthood and... ahem... Let's just say that in the old version of the BRev, this was one of the endings of Jerome's story.

[attourney-at-lycan]

Lucinda x dante

LUCINDA AND DANTE omg dante is so popular

very much girlboss and her malewife vibes

i feel like their dynamic is v much "i jokingly flirted w/ this dumbass and now i'm falling in love... shit"

lucinda is a big flirt, obv and so is dante granted he's not as smooth but his dorkiness makes him annoying, albeit adorable in lucinda's eyes

i genuinely feel like lucinda does play around w/ dante jokingly bc she feels like he's such a breath of fresh air compared to ivan and other exe's she's had. she felt that she shld date people who are just like her in terms of attitude, or ig ppl who can be seen as hard to get in her eyes. she liked the unattainable but it came to bite her back in the ass, making her realize she just has to relax and focus on herself

and then there he is, dante's fucking dumbass playing around w/ her and she liked it- she liked the simplicity and straightforwardness of dante's love. it wasn't complicated and didn't keep her guessing her next move, it allowed her to lower her guard down around him and boom she also fell

I LOVE THIS- im so sorry i kinda get in somewhat of a zone when i come up w/ something i think is good

"why.. do you like me?" "??? bc i can? also what's there not to like?"

i dont think dante does change anything about her? he doesn't force her to like herself, nor does he try to convince her of anything. just by dante being there is enough for her :]

[rigginsstreet]

tim and lyla were never gonna work out because they just never fit into each others lives which only made them revert to being in their own bubble which is of course not helpful to any relationship

like first of all your whole relationship starts in secret where youre FORCED to only be with each other because anyone who knows the truth and sees you together is gonna think its atrocious and publicly shame you (deserved) so theyve already got that working against them

but then when they actually do get together for real and become and out and about couple its just a bunch of ~woah these two are so different~

and lyla has an easier time fitting into tims world eventually (which... comical that lyla fitting into tims world has to involve her getting along with the collettes but we can unpack that later) because while lyla comes from a different upbringing than tim, they still share the same town she still knows these people and the culture and can navigate that even if she does stick out like a sore thumb

but tim? tim was never going to fit into a post high school lyla garrity world. he struggled to even go to dinners with college scouts to impress them the man is uncomfortable any time he has to wear a shirt and tie.

and this isnt to say blue collar guys with no high education cant be with college educated business women or whatever lyla ends up doing with her life, but the point is that tim didnt want to be that guy. he was never going to be that guy. he is country through and through man just wants to live on his ranch drink his beer and do as little as possible to get by.

and i see this also causing problems for him and tyra down the line too because tyra is not gonna stay with a man who isnt doing anything with his life like shes so far past that (although i do see them being very girlboss x malewife tim just wants to be a stay at home mom at the end of the day and like honestly? if tim can run the house and take care of the kids while tyras out saving the youth of dillon that will be enough for her lmao)

anyway point is tim and lylas personalities clash too much for anything long term to take place and i really think they were blinded by all the strong feelings built up in the midst of the affair. if youre sneaking around sharing a secret everythings gonna feel heightened, especially under the conditions in which they began their affair. remove the torridness of it and like... they never wouldve looked twice at each other they never wouldve been a factor because they simply do not blend together.

i fully skipped over probably 90% of their scenes cuz i wasnt dealing with all that but from what i did see it just felt like tim above all was lyla rebelling against this good girl image she had and everything with her parents divorce etc etc and tim... tim is looking for literally anybody to stay with him like he is so desperate for companionship he will project onto anybody who returns the slightest affection

[ask-objectz-in-paradise]

★PINNED POST★

Hello! Welcome to this lovely little ask blog about my object show project that may or may not became a comic serie in the future! P.S find more about Objects in Paradise at: #OIP , #Objects in paradise, and in my account @mintypin

★what's objects in Paradise???★

An silly little object show project of mine inspired on Inanimate Insanity and hfjONE! 13 people (aka:the contestants) got sorta taken away from reality by Pepper Minty (aka:the host) an mysterious demi-god being forced to compete so Pepper Minty would escape her terrible reality BUT! The consequences for her actions will caught them sooner or later

★Characters up to ask★

Host: Pepper minty

The contestants:

Make up pallette

Ring pop

Jingle

Eyeball

Sticker page

Toy box

Handbag

Coconut water

Glowie

Fluf

Notepad (aka: Beach pad)

Jewellery

Dr. Terrarium

★ask rules★

NO NSFW!

Shipping is allowed but:

NO SHIPPING JINGLE OR EYEBALL WITH ANYONE (they're minors)

NO SHIPPING NOTEPAD (she's aroace)

NO SHIPPING JEWELLERY WITH GLOWIE (they are cousins!)

NO SHIPPING JEWELLERY WITH COCONUT WATER (they are bitter exes and hate eachother and also coconut water likes men)

NO HOMOPHOBIA TRANSPHOBIA RACISM PROSHIPING AND ZIONISM! (if so you'll be blocked or I'll delete your ask :3)

magic anons are allowed!

★Cannon ships★

Coconut water x handbag (they're both twinkish idiots and don't know that they are both in love with eachother)

Glowie x Dr.Terraium (Glowie is head over heels for Dr.Terrarium but it's a super slow burn in Dr.Terrarium's side)

Jewellery x Make up palette (I'm still deciding if i should or not make them canon or not)

Queerplantonic Toy box x Sticker page

Fluf x Ring pop (old married couple and girlboss x malewife energy)

★i don't know what to write more here so ASK BOX IS OPEN!!★

[whatisgrass]

(Note: This is all MY opinion. No one is forced to agree with me.)

Radioheads (Ryan x Dylan): ∞/10. i will die on this hill. grumpy soft for sunshine. crying sobbing throwing up pissing myself shitting chairs

Ryan x Kaitlyn: 1/10. it only seemed like kaitlyn thought ryan was hot and attractive.

Emabi (Emma x Abigail): 8/10. they were gay. everyone and their dogs knew they were gay. what straight woman would look at another woman the way abigail looked at emma.

Jacob x Nick: 8/10. underrated as hell. gimme more content i am content hungry for these idiots. idiots to idiotic lovers, change my mind

Laura x Max: ∞/10. literal girlboss x malewife. also max is lesbian.

Laura x Travis: -∞/10. 1. no. 2. the age gap is there

Emma x Jacob: 1/10. no. if they got into a real relationship, besties would have broken up in a week.

Nick x Abigail: 5/10. eh. i dont hate it nor do i love it. it has its flaws but it's adorable.

what we can learn is that:

max is a lesbian

radioheads is the only ship most people care about (including me)

travis x laura is a crime

tell your summer fling partner how much you don't want your summer fling relationship to continue after summer

jacob x nick needs more content

thank you for coming to my ted talk.

Edit: Someone wanted me to do Ryan x Laura.

Ryan x Laura: 4/10. it felt so forced lol. like they were trying so hard to shove it down our throats. barely anyone fell for it, though. however, i would like them to be besties please. i will not take no for an answer :)

[rex101111]

people who say that Anji X Baiken is good because of the malewife/girlboss dynamic are missing the point. The appeal of those two together is the idea that two horrible people meeting each other and forming a bond can save each other and themselves rather then just make them both worse.

Make no mistake. Anji and Baiken are not traditionally “good” people. They have both done some underhanded, brutal, evil shit for petty, personal, selfish reasons without a hint of remorse. Leaving Baiken’s tragic backstory and Anji’s probably tragic one (I say probably because we have little to any actual info about this guy we can actually trust) out of it:

One of them is a brutal warrior who cuts down anyone who gets in her way without thinking about it at all and is on a path of complete self-destruction to put someone very specific in the ground no matter what collateral damage she might incur on the way and is this close to snapping all the way and just going on a indiscriminate killing spree. And the other one is a pathological liar who schemes endlessly and manipulates just about everyone he meets for his own ends and is so deceptive to the core of his being that the name most people know him by is not only fake but one out of probably hundreds of fake names he’s used over the years and he doesn’t care about the moral character of the people he works with so long as he gets what he wants out of them.

Or at least, that’s how they used to be. Because than they met each other. And than Anji just decides to hang out with Baiken, and Baiken, for whatever reason, just lets him hang around.

And, somehow, they started to change.

Baiken grew a sense of mercy, started actually stopping herself from hurting people, started the long and arduous process of reflecting on herself and what she’s doing. Anji began gaining a wider perspective, started focusing his talents into something more productive and constructive, began making actual connections with people that ran deeper then plain manipulation.

It didn’t happen over night. It took them years to change and unlearn and turn into something new. And at the core of them they are still the lone killer and lying ghost, but that’s not all they are anymore. And they have each other to thank for it.

They call each other out on their bullshit. Baiken sees through Anji’s lies without even trying, forces him to at least try and be honest and truthful about what he’s doing and what he’s thinking. Anji stands his ground against Baiken’s anger, forces her to find another way to get through to him, to actually communicate with him in a way that doesn’t involve violence.

They were two broken, wounded people, completely unable to help themselves. And than they met someone that they, somehow, made a connection with, that they wanted to help. And through helping each other, they also help themselves. As one grows so does the other, until finally Anji puts his all into saving the world by bringing a truth to light, while Baiken faces a mirror of who she was and both teaches and learns to let go.

 And that’s the goddamned appeal of Anbai. 

....although, if I’m being honest with myself, the malewife/girlboss dynamic is a very nice bonus.

[wind-becomes-lightning]

The Crow and the Butterfly- |

Hello. This is for the Malewife and Girlboss Discord Server Halloween exchange! So why am I uploading now? Well this got very long and it just makes sense to part it into 8, following the days in the story. So here is day one.

My exchange baby was @uchiharomance. Jess ILU and I love Itachi and Haruka so much! i hope you enjoy this absolute insanity I have been carrying around with myself most of october.

Uchiha Itachi x OC

Rated M (lots of blood) also warning for bad medical knowledge lmao

4193 words.

Once Nohara Haruka was proud to be a well trained scientist in Japan's most revered laboratory for virus research, but ever since a virus started infecting people that turned them into groaning husks of former people two years ago without any hope of a cure in sight, she has mostly given up on her work and humanity. People that get infected are better off dead, they won't be human anymore a week from infection day anyway. There is nothing anyone can do, so she thinks. That is until she runs into her old school mate Uchiha Itachi, who is infected. And the time starts ticking...

Day 0 - Day of Infection.

[..]

Not far from her right were a few police officers trying to push back against a small group of Groaners, probably a few citizens of this block who had recently turned. Haruka lived in an area that was isolated, that should technically only house not infected people, but people turned in the area all the time anyway. They were hopelessly groaning about, as if that would help them get past heavily armed police officers. Haruka hated the sound of it, so she took out her earphones and put them into her ears. Music was the best distraction.

It wasn’t ethical to have no feelings at all about other humans that had done nothing wrong to themselves but to get infected with something they didn’t understand. When Haruka had still been a medic, she might have thought that one should show empathy. But all her studies in virology and her long and boring semester in toxicology had taught her that there was nothing to do with these people. As soon as their brain’s had come to the point that they were nothing but groaning beasts, the most merciful thing was to just bash them over with a hammer and give them relief. Because if you didn’t clobber them over the head with a hammer then they might injure you, infect you and then you’d turn. 

Everyone would turn eventually, Haruka knew this, the virus would win, humanity would lose. That was why she had stopped working at the hospital lab, that was why she shut herself in her home and shut the groaning out with windows and music, because there was no hope. You could only wait for the sweet relief of death at this point.

She was maybe a block away from the store she had planned to go to, when she saw a body out of the corner of her eye. In an alleyway to her left lay a man, face down, hair sprawled over his back. He wasn’t moving. Haruka stopped and looked around to see if someone else was here that she could call, but nobody was. She wondered if the man had drunk too much or maybe commited suicide, which both weren’t uncommon nowadays. Whatever it was, someone needed to do something and part of Haruka wished that someone didn’t have to be her.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t force another medic in the area into existence and though she hated it now, she did have the experience, so she stepped forward and tapped the man on the head. He looked up, his eyes fluttering as they met hers, black as a crow. She scanned his face and drew her head back so fast that one of her earpods fell out. She knew that man. 

“ Itachi !”

[Read more on Ao3]

[skyistheground]

is it au time? i think it’s au time

obligatory roleswap au! but for hades

there’s a lot more then this but in these pictures:

zagreus is the god of death

thanatos is one of the furies

megaera is trying to break out of hell

this is not a personality swap...probably the opposite of it actually

rambling under the cut:

persephone is the matriarch of the underworld and hades is her husband (girlboss x malewife)

nyx has gone mysteriously missing and a lot of the underworld is upset 

and meg, with nothing better to do basically, is trying to get out and find her

but hades and persephone really like their reputation (hades is much more strict, persephone is a bit more supportive) so the underworld is trying to stop meg (we know where this is going)

zagreus is still hades’ and persephone’s son, and he was supposed to be the prince but the fates decided to give him a different job entirely (”you will never have an heir”) 

thanatos, hypnos, and charon are the furies. thanatos really wants to see nyx again but is forced to fight meg. hypnos is a bit more excited by the idea of a fight and loooves to play mind games. and charon.....hes scary......

instead of theseus and asterius, meg has to fight alecto and tisiphone in elysium! alecto and tisiphone dont get along, but when fighting together they are unstoppable so they do it anyways (plus, beating up your more rebellious sister sounds fun). they resent nyx for leaving, thinking she abandoned the underworld

theseus has hypnos’s job, keeping track of the dead. he and zagreus’s jobs often overlap so they are forced to associate. sometimes they brawl

and asterius is the shopkeep! but he often visits for theseus, where he will try to break up the bs the dumbasses get into

and yea, meg does have to fight persephone at the end. but persephone doesnt mind, she seems meek but actually strong af. no hate towards meg

also meg does get help from the olympians because of zagreus’s insistent begging that they help. only condition is that he visits more! which distracts him from his job and quite frankly makes hades both frustrated and nervous

[westwiiind]

I made a post about how I headcanon the httyd characters’ sexualities a while back on my main blog, but I’ve changed my mind about a lot of them so I’m gonna make another!!

Hiccup: honestly racked my brain for this one but I feel like hiccup is.....the token straight lmao. He has very strong bi wife energy though. Like VERY strong.

Astrid: why shes the bi wife of course. I think astrid is bi simply because she gives off that vibe, and I also think she’s demi and arospec. I feel like her being demi is pretty self explanatory, but her being arospec is something that may seem odd at first but makes a LOT of sense the more you think about her relationship with hiccup, especially in race to the edge. (Yes I could make an entire post about arospec astrid)

Fishlegs: poly bi/pan/etc methinks. Mayyybe cupioromantic aro? Maybe even cupioromantic aroace??

Snotlout: poly bi as well!!! Thor bonecrusher was definitely snotlout’s bi awakening I think we can all agree lmao

Ruffnut: aro pan poly. (Why yes, I do headcanon that she, snotlout, and fishlegs are in a relationship. Yes I do.) i headcanon that ruffnut’s attraction is queerplatonic rather than romantic.

Tuffnut: definitely aroace. This seems pretty self explanatory lol

Gobber: I don’t need a headcanon for him because it’s already canon that he’s gay!!

Stoick: honestly we don’t really get to see a whole lot of stoick in terms of his interpersonal relationships, so I don’t really have a headcanon for him. He loves valka, so I don’t think he’s gay or aro/ace, but anything more specific than that I just don’t know.

Valka: aspec. Definitely aspec, but not aro/ace. I think she’s demi or gray or even aroflux/aceflux.

Eret: gayyyy this man is gay. Maybe demi/gray though too.

Heather: demiro lesbian. I headcanon that the reason things didn’t pan out with fishlegs was because her attraction to him was a combination of very strong platonic/quasiplatonic attraction and comphet. She just gives off very lesbian energy you know?? And I love her relationship with fishlegs as platonic/qp but not romantic. Romantic heathlegs just never seemed to have chemistry to me, and it felt awkward and forced lol. Sweet, but not romantic.

Atali: gaaaay. Maybe ace lesbian? Honestly we didn’t get to see a whole lot of her so I’m not really sure but she definitely gave off gay vibes to me. Idk maybe being the leader of a mystical tribe of all-female warriors has something to do with it lol.

Dagur: bi/pan/etc, but generally with a preference for men. I would hc him as gay but I honestly really liked his and Mala’s relationship and it seemed pretty authentic and believable to me. I mean what more could you want in a relationship than a girlboss x malewife dynamic????

Mala: not a clue. Not a clue in the world. She kept her personality VERY close to the vest. I guess I kind of think of her as either demi/gray or cupioromantic aroace, i don’t really know. Probably aspec in some way.

[truestarshine]

I finished watching the Loki tv series and after some thinking, now I know what bothers me about the Sylvie x Loki ship and the show as a whole.

Is not the selfcest, that granted gross I know, but I shipped thorki years ago so I have no room to be judging.

it's the girlboss + malewife dynamic they have going on.

I know that sounds hilarious but for real this trope when done right it's amazing, think futurama Leela and Fry, but in this case it was done wrong, and just feels forced and out of character for Loki.

And i think that's also why i think this series feels nothing like a show about well Loki, it feels like they gave him the personality of a typical average joe dumb protagonist and named him Loki, he's a side kick to the incredible, flawless, powerful Sylvie character, she's always smart and strong and Loki is just okay at best and follows her lead and is wooed by her awesomeness in every episode, which doesn't fit the Loki marvel has shown us for years. 

Who is this guy? Because sure as hell is not Loki.

[wind-becomes-lightning]

Here, There & Everywhere

(will I ever stop using Beatles songs as fic titles? never...)

Good day everybody! I am here again with an exchange fic for the Malewife and Girlboss Central Groupchat (tho it's currently called "soup sever <3" XD). This time we did a canon x canon exchange and I got sooo lucky with my draw.

EEHEHEHE @butter--peanut you were WRONG! I did draw you. Henry did know who I had. We just lied to you! HA! Anyway, I was sooo excited to draw you and I hope you like this bittersweet, angsty piece of work you can find under this cut. Love you so much and can't wait to meet you next time I am in Germany <3

This could be easily seen as a part two to my story "Someday you will be loved" [x]

Pairing: Hatake Kakashi / Uchiha Obito - Hatake Kakashi/ Yamato | Tenzo

8134 words

angst, sadness, bittersweet feeling, but also falling in love.

Ao3 Link [x]

---------

He could not touch materials.

His naked feet could not feel what they were standing on.

His body was uncovered yet not freezing.

His hair did not move in the wind; he did not feel its breeze.

To the normal eye he was invisible.

He was, however. He could hear. And see.

Somehow, against his own understanding, Uchiha Obito had stuck around after his physical body had vanished. Barely.

Obito leaned arms crossed against a drawer. It was half pulled open, the clothes laying in an unfolded mess inside of it. Dry clean clothes mixed up with dirty worn ones. The laundry had not been done in what looked like an eternity. He tapped his finger in annoyance. He was at the end of his rope. 

Kakashi tossed and turned in front of him, moved by a nightmare like a tiny boat in a storm. He whined every minute or so, pleading into the night like a child. Obito had watched his former friend long enough now to know this was the only time Kakashi allowed himself to feel the pain he felt. When nobody was watching, least of all he himself. He gave up control to the sleep demon who haunted him. Night after night. It ate him up. Like an especially tasty snack.

Worst of all was the name Kakashi would mumble at the height of his insanity, when it shook him the most. "Obito." And "Don't go" and "Please…" The silent plea to a person long dead and gone, but still standing right in front of him, forced to listen to his closest friend call for him night after night after night. Obito stood there, body leaned against Kakashi's messed up drawer, fingernails buried into his naked arms, getting a front row seat to Kakashi's messed up life. And he couldn't do a single thing about it.

How he had stuck around after dying he did not know. One moment Obito had felt nothing but relief and happiness, his last image the face of Kakashi in utter horror, but in the next he had been suddenly back. The tsukiyomi had ended while he'd been out, somehow they had done it. Obito immediately ran over to Kakashi, trying to put his hand on the other man's shoulder, just to realise that he couldn't. When he screamed and got no reaction he realised they couldn't hear him. He was still there, but to them he was gone.

Maybe it was the sharingan connection that Obito had willed into existence at the moment of his death. Giving his eye power to Kakashi through strong feelings of love and affection. Maybe that had bound the two old friends together indefinitely, Obito forced to watch Kakashi not only suffer because of his death, but also work through the mess Obito had created and left behind. Unfortunately since Obito did not know how he'd created this fleeting memory he was, he also did not know how to break it. So months had passed, agonising months, and still Obito had not found peace. Not that he felt like he deserved peace, but neither did Kakashi. Maybe that too was a connection.

So Obito had followed Kakashi home, like a shadow trailing him, and watched him settle into his new life plagued by negative memories and the entire time he had thought about the last moments of his life, the realisations he had come to right in his moment of death. Obito had loved Kakashi, and still loved him, all these years. And Kakashi, with all his pleading and crying at night, probably loved Obito too. The realisation that both of them could have been, maybe, in another not so cruel world, in love with each other at the same time stung Obito and tasted like bitter poison, but it didn’t change the fact of it.

 So Obito stayed at Kakashi's side while the village that he had destroyed was rebuilt, the lives of the people put back into order and the crown placed on Kakashi’s head. As hokage, he made a great figure, pushing technological advancement forward, but in private he was a broken man. Obito had no option but to watch night in and night out as his oldest friend unravelled before him, without anything to do about it.

In the daytime he followed Kakashi around his daily activities, watching over his friend as he went about his day, usually leaning not far from him against a wall or a closet or a door. He couldn’t really lean, at least not the way he did when he still was alive. Easily phasing through material if he wasn’t careful. It was laughable really, that he was like a caricature of a ghost in a ghost story, but it was how it was. There were moments when Obito laughed at it, how cliche his existence now was, doomed to haunt the only person that he loved besides Rin. There was nothing to be done about it, however. He did not know how he could break out. As far as he knew he was stuck in this pitiful situation until the end of time.

#

One morning he followed a weary crouching Kakashi to his office in the hokage tower, watching the shoulders that he knew so well move rhythmically. Kakashi had had an especially tough night, crying and whining through most of it and Obito had tried, again, and failed, again, to put his hand soothingly on the other man. Now there was work to be done, even if Kakashi was maybe running on two hours sleep. Such was the ways of Konoha as a village, there was no time to have a trauma to work through, especially not if you were the leading man in the operation. Obito had heard the efforts to work on a mental facility for children, but adults seemed to be largely ignored.

There was a meeting of the elder shinobi first order of business. They discussed the train tracks to be laid to Suna for a faster connection between the villages. Now that the big bad (Obito himself) was defeated the villages vouched to stay close and support one another. This was obviously harder than it sounded. Big villages were notorious for being jealous of one another and Obito was impressed how well the coordination seemed to have been working so far. Even if guilt ridden and sleepless Kakashi was still a solid leader. He really had been the best choice for the village.

After the meeting ended, only one shinobi remained in Kakashi’s office. The Jōnin there was the brown haired man that had always been close with Kakashi, even while Obito was still watching from afar. Kakashi had always called him Tenzō, while most in the village called him Yamato. Obito had ordered him to be taken during the early days of the war, trying to gain a power up through his mokuton, which made him feel very regretful now. Tenzō clearly still suffered from it, bags under the eyes deep and dark. Obito felt the strong urge to make it right somehow, but he did not know how he ever could from the state he was in.

Because Obito liked Tenzō. He liked that the younger man had a fun way of sarcasm, a dry, easy to miss humour. He was strong, skilled in many different forms of fighting. He was good, as good as a dutiful konoha shinobi could be. His friends and students meant everything to him and he clearly trained to serve and protect them. All these traits were admirable in any regard, but Obito liked him because above everyone Tenzō wanted to help Kakashi, with every fibre of his being. Obito could relate to him in that way. Maybe they'd gotten along if they had ever talked.

"Senpai, is something wrong?" Tenzō asked, eyes narrowed with clear worry. They had gone over a strategy to reform the outdated Anbu now that Root had officially been dissolved. Tenzō had listened and nodded to Kakashi's words, but also watched him carefully. Yes Obito liked the kid, he was perceptive about Kakashi's needs in a way nobody else was. Nobody, well, except Obito himself possibly.

Kakashi put a smile in his eyes: "the Hokage job is stressful, but I'm fine." Half lie half truth. Obito was impressed how easily Kakashi could do it. Lie to his closest friend.

"I don't think that's the case. I think you're still sad about .." Tenzō began and Obito's ears perked up, but Kakashi cut him off quickly, probably because the truth hit a little too close to home. "Tenzō, my adorable little kohai, you worry too much about this old man." Kakashi grinned again and pointed at himself.

The next words stayed stuck in Tenzō’s throat and he turned on his heels to hide his face. Obito saw it though, the red cheeks, the shaking hands, the bit on the lips. Obito knew what Kakashi did not, he had long since seen it. Tenzō and Obito were similar in more than the mokuton aspect. They loved the same man, and that man didn't know, not for either of them. But it was too late for Obito to do something about this. Tenzō, however, was still alive.

And then, there was this lighting in Obito's head. Maybe there was a way for him to free himself after all. 

#

First, Obito needed to do some testing to understand the scope of his abilities and most importantly his disabilities. He had already noticed he could not touch Kakashi or any living being, he also knew he could not speak. When he opened his mouth nothing but silent bubbles came out of it sort of as if he was stuck underwater. Still, he was determined the plan his mind had hatched that morning in the hokage office was the way to go, to get Kakashi and himself freed. He just needed a strategy and the strategy involved a general knowledge about the rules of his ghost like situation. 

When Kakashi was sleeping, tossing over right and left, Obito walked out of his bedroom and tried his hand on non living objects. The first thing he really picked up was a little empty cup of coffee that had been left on the kitchen table. He held it, felt with his fingers around the ceramic and realised he couldn’t really feel through the touch, but he could touch it. He could lift it. He put it back at a different place then where he had picked it up and waited until morning came.  

Kakashi noticed, even still heavy from the little sleep he had gotten. He left his bedroom, hands buried deep in his pockets and walked to the table. He stopped in front of it and Obito watched him with interested eyes. “Where is-” Kakashi said, his hand running over the plate of the empty table. It was fascinating how well he took in his surroundings when he wanted to. Perceptive to the slightest change. Kakashi then noticed the cup by the sink where Obito had left it and nodded to himself, surely thinking he might have misremembered where he put it. Obito also nodded, satisfied with how well this test had gone.

#

Following Tenzō around turned out much more interesting than anticipated. Obito didn’t know a lot of the guy, other than his names and his basic abilities and that he was in love with Kakashi, so studying him a day or two really brought a lot of insides. He had been right in liking Tenzou, who was sturdy and loyal and friendly to every being in the universe he came across. A gentle force, who wanted nothing else but to be seen as a regular, well adjusted person. Obito adored that in a way, Tenzō’s constant efforts to do as little ruckus as possible, however, that made Obito’s mission much harder. Tenzō had erased his presence so much from the world that Kakashi also didn’t seem to notice him most of the time.

Those days Obito spent on Tenzō’s side were the first one he had spent apart from Kakashi since returning back to life. In the mornings and at nights he was still returning back to find Kakashi tossing in his sleep, pleading, but in the mornings Obito headed out to Tenzō’s little studio in the Jōnin apartment complex. He was often already awake, working out before he was heading out to the main mission he had been assigned to. Obito would always follow closely.

Obito felt a deep sorrow and regret at having to watch Tenzō play guard dog for Orochimaru day in and day out, a man who had not only brought Tenzō trauma, but also directed his life towards being nothing but a vessel for others to be used. Others that included Obito, who had used his mokuton power during the war. It was too late to apologise now of course, so all he could do for the younger man was help him step out of the shadows into the light. 

Because Kakashi was blind to him, not completely of course, Kakashi cherished Tenzō almost exactly as much as he always had, but Kakashi’s mind revolved around his duty, his work and if they weren’t focused on that they longingly wandered out the window. Obito’s heart had swelled in the realisation that it was because Kakashi must be thinking about him, but it was a useless emotion to have. Obito could not return to life and it was better this way. Kakashi needed to move on and to move on he needed to open his eyes to those who loved him and were alive.

Obito followed Tenzō into the Hokage office after a day of sitting beside him in the grass. Tenzō was barely speaking during his guarding missions, making himself as small as he possibly could to not be detected in his endeavour. Orochimaru was a smart shinobi and undoubtedly knew he was being trailed at all times and still Tenzō went through this entire trouble just to successfully fulfil the mission Kakashi had assigned him to. In all he did, Tenzō always thought of Kakashi first. Even before the village. How could Kakashi himself not see that? Obite could only shake his head. Bakashi stayed an idiot even as an adult.

“He is still employing the help of Uzumaki Karin and the rest of Team Taka”, Tenzō said, feet set next to each other, eyes on Kakashi, who in turn had his eyes set to the paperwork in front of him. “Hm,” Kakashi replied, without actually looking up. Obito wanted to shake his old friend. How could he be so dismissive in such a situation? His eyes wandered to Tenzō who was biting his lip in frustration. Obito could see in his face that he wanted to try the topic again, ask if his Senpai was alright after Obito’s death (which he clearly was not, no matter what he said), but he ate the words and swallowed them whole.

“He is working on a laboratory,” Tenzō continued, as if the moment had never happened, “I’m not sure we should allow him to do it.” Kakashi didn’t reply, stuck with his eyes on the paper in front of him. Obito rolled his eyes and stepped around them forward. It was time for Kakashi to snap out of it, he had watched this going on long enough. He lifted his hand to the cup placed on the table just slightly enough that both men didn’t notice and then he dropped it, spilling coffee over all the reports and papers on the desk. The hot brew ran over Kakashi’s fingers, forcing him to lean back in his chair. Tenzō jumped forward a little, pulled as many reports as he could from the pile that had been ruined.

Tenzō shook the papers out, coffee now running from the folders to the floor: “Senpai, you should be more careful with your beverages.” They both looked at each other and Obito moved his eyes from Kakashi to Tenzō. Kakashi finally looked at his opposite, maybe noticed the deep rings under his eyes, the stress shown in his face. “I don’t even think I touched it”, Kakashi said, seemingly confused. “I- I don’t know at least how it happened.”

“Well my report is ruined,” Tenzō said in annoyance. He shook the papers a little more, but it did nothing to change the general smudges the coffee had left behind. “Guess I’ll have to redo it for you, Senpai”, he sighed. Obito really had just wanted Kakashi to look up from his work, but now he accidentally created additional things to do for Tenzō. So far his plan wasn’t  going exactly great. “Yes, guess you do,” Kakashi mumbled in reply, his hands trying to clean up the mess on the desk. 

Obito felt like he was slowly but surely losing his nerve.

#

The report came back a few days later, Tenzō left it on the hokage desk, which then got mixed up by other files that had been left there. Obito just had to throw one look on the pile to realise that it would be buried again, that Tenzō’s double effort would be left unnoticed again, so he rearranged them while Kakashi was busy on his computer. For such a perceptive shinobi as Kakashi was, he could be pretty easily distracted if he felt safe. Maybe that could have made Obito worry about his future, but Obito knew at any point there were at least four Anbu guards right around for personal protection. 

Obito jumped back as Kakashi’s hand suddenly moved sidewards to pick up the file at the top of the mountain. They had almost touched, well, not that they could touch. Obito watched his friend pick up Tenzō’s report and move his eyes over it, a light crossing his eyes that indicated a smile underneath the mask. “He did it again, huh?” Kakashi said calmly and took in Tenzō’s neat handwriting. Obito felt a hinge of triumph in himself. He had successfully gotten Kakashi to actually see the great effort Tenzo went through to serve him and now, in the next step, he needed to make sure Kakashi also took note and understood Tenzō’s other great qualities. Maybe with a few carefully placed items and one or more tossed over cups of coffee he would finally get Kakashi to be happy again. And then he might leave this place. At least such was the plan in his head.

#

Next Obito left Kakashi at night while the man was tossing for a few hours to go to Tenzō’s apartment. The man lived in a very small room that served a very singular purpose of sleeping. The fridge was mostly empty, bags of take out set to the kitchen counters. Though end-twenty Tenzō lived like a 19 year old out of the house for the first time. Obito found what he was looking for rather easily: an assortment of little wooden figures tossed into a corner of the small room like they meant nothing. Animals, flowers, structures. Obito had seen Tenzō make them when he was nervous on his watch mission, when he was bored or maybe even anxious as a way of coping with them. He had never shown them to Kakashi, but now he really should.

He took some, just a few of them, and put a few more in Tenzō’s flap jacket hanging neat and tidy at the wardrobe. He would have to hope that Tenzō would come by tho the hokage office the next day so that Obito could make him drop the little figure where Kakashi could see it. Back in Kakashi’s apartment he took the time to check on his old friend one time to see him sleeping, but  hands were still shaking and knew that he had not yet fought his way through the nightmare that was haunting him this specific night. He walked back into the living room and left little figurines all over. Behind plants and pots, in the kitchen and the couches and finally he left one, an especially well crafted one of Kakashi’s Anbu masks, right next to the bed. He stopped for a second, nose only inches apart from Kakashi’s sleeping face and watched him like that. He really was the most handsome person Obito had ever seen. 

The wish to kiss the lips he could see so clearly now felt like a sharp pain in his soul. He pushed it away. There were things to do.

#

Tenzō did come by the next day, almost too late to give in his report. Obito waited anxiously, worried that the man had taken the figure out of his pocket already by afternoon. Who knows how many of these Tenzō were made during a day’s work. Maybe he tossed them all out already before he went home. But when Tenzō walked in, Obito could see the little bulge in his flap jacket pocket and knew it was still in there. “Thank you for re-doing the report,” Kakashi said upon seeing Tenzō, which led to an immediate blush on the other man's face. This Tenzō really liked being praised for little things. Especially when it came from Kakashi. “I- I told you I’d redo it”, he said, fingers entwined behind his back. Obito walked around Tenzō,trying to find a way to get the figure out. If he could only touch Tenzō this would be so easy, but when he tried his hand phased right through the younger man’s shoulder, just like it had with Kakashi. Bummer.

“Yes, you did, I’m sorry, you should not have been the one to fix my mistakes,” Kakashi said softly while Obito let his eyes fall all around the Hokage office. What could he realistically do? The opportunity presented itself to him almost too easily. Tenzō said something, mumbling that he would always fix Kakashi’s mistakes if asked, and took a step forward, just close enough so that Obito could touch and drop a broom that had leaned against the wall. The end of it fell between Tenzō’s feet and let him stumble. He waved his arms theatrically and Obito couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity. But it didn’t matter because in the end the little wooden leaf fell out of the flap jacket, crashing loudly into the floor and rolling under the desk right into Kakshi’s sandal. Obito couldn’t have timed it better, even if he tried.

“Did you make this?” Kakashi said, eyes wide and interested in the little figure. Tenzō scrambled to get himself back to his feet, face red in embarrassment. “Oh, yeah, I do them sometimes when I am anxious”, he replied truthfully. Obito liked that he was a no nonsense sort of man, not prone to speaking his mind but not a liar either. 

“What would you be anxious about?” Kakashi asked, absolutely oblivious. Obito would have hit him if he could have. Tenzō shifted. “The mission is… demanding”, he finally said, settling on a truth with a large omission. Obito sighed. Tenzō would never ask to be taken off the mission he had been put on, so it was Kakashi that needed to open his eyes. He had started to notice the qualities of the younger man, but he needed to see him more. Really see him.

#

Kakashi took three days, three full days until he noticed the first wooden figurine standing in his house. Obito would have knocked his head into the wall in frustration if he could, unable to understand how Kakashi’s perception could be so off sometimes. He picked up the little cat sitting on the window sill and rolled it between his gloved fingers. Obito watched the expression change from the side, saw the frown move into a silent smile. Kakashi said nothing, but he didn’t need to. Obito could read the feelings in his face. Wondering if Tenzō had left these around his apartment accidentally or on purpose, if he had just never noticed before, how beautifully crafted they were and then maybe he was also thinking of the fact that Tenzō had called the mission “demanding.” 

He found the rest of the figures in the coming days. Now that he had his usually half-lidded eyes a little more open to Tenzō then he did before he saw them everywhere. Obito watched his friend pick up one after the other, looked at them closely like they were a museum object that needed to be handled with utmost care and smiled to himself. Funnily enough he found the ANBU-mask last, the one Obito had set right next to his bed on the nightstand. Kakashi had just woken up from another half sleepless night and the first thing his eyes had fallen on was the little wooden structure right in front of him. This time he did something he hadn’t done before, picking up the little thing and for a moment it seemed like he was going to cry, but then he moved it against his forehead instead. The gesture seemed so intimate that Obito looked away. 

#

“Why don’t we have a late lunch together?” Kakashi suggested the afternoon after he had found the last figurine. Tenzō had come in and left another report on his desk and this time Kakashi had given him the attention he deserved for his long hours and detailed explanations. Tenzō had blushed instantly, like clockwork, and fidgeted with something in his pocket. Obito noticed the bulge and knew it was just another figure he would toss out once he was back in his dorm. “Are you hungry, senpai?”, Tenzō said as a reply. Always so defensive. If Obito had not interfered Tenzō would never have had a chance with Kakashi, he was way too drawn back. But Obito had played them like a puppeteer and now they were reaping the rewards. If only they knew, they’d thank him on their knees.

Kakashi got up and knocked some dust out of his black Hokage uniform: “Yes, maybe ramen? I haven’t had time for it in ages.” He rounded his desk and knocked an elbow in a friendly manner into Tenzō’s shoulder. The younger man nodded eagerly. Maybe a little bit too eager for Obito’s taste. He followed both of them outside of the office through the long hallways of the Hokage tower that Obito had wandered so often now that he knew them by heart. Kakashi spotted the figure in Tenzō’s pocket and asked him about it but luckily for Obito, Kakashi did not ask about the ones that he had found at his apartment. That could have easily led to a very awkward conversation. After all, Tenzō couldn’t just say that a ghost had taken them against his knowledge. Even though it was true.

Obito hadn’t seen the Ichiraku Ramen from up close since he was 13 so the first thing he did was to phase through the counter and look behind it, take the ingredients being served in and try to remember how it tasted. Unfair that he could not smell or taste but see and that he retained the memories for things he liked in his life. Before either Kakashi or Tenzō could sit down he moved their chairs ever so slightly together so that their hands on the table were always touching. He watched them both sit down and order, talk about weather and missions and Tenzō mentioned again, even if in a very dialled down way, that he felt uncomfortable doing his current task. This time Kakashi must have noticed it, nobody could miss such a big sign, not even Bakashi.

Their hands did touch, first lightly bumping into each other, then purposefully. Kakashi would lift his hand up and place it right next to Tenzō’s again, letting their skins brush up against each other and Tenzō would follow suit. There was red in both necks and a smile on both faces. The puppets were dancing exactly like Obito was instructing them, everything going according to plan. By all accounts the view in front of him should make him feel elated, but instead he felt like someone badly tore at his insides. A pain, like he was being ripped apart at the seams. He knew it was jealousy and he hated himself for it.

Kakashi laughed loud and carefree and Obito averted his eyes in pain and shame over how he was feeling. He decided to give them their privacy and roamed the streets until nighttime.

#

Once again Obito found himself leaning against the drawer in Kakashi’s bedroom watching his friend move in sleep. His fingers were tightly buried into his biceps and  his teeth were pressed together tight. It never was a pleasant thing to watch this unfold in front of him, especially since he could not soothe the misery Kakashi was going through, though he wanted nothing more. This night, however, the tossing and turning died down after a few hours, a calm and relaxed expression returning on the other’s maskless face. Obito blinked at the sudden change, but chalked it down to his own efforts of helping him move on.

The following nights got more and more relaxed, as Obito continued placing objects around that house in Kakashi’s view that could remind him of Tenzō. Just that morning he had moved a bonsai plant from a very dark corner placement to the window sill and while Kakashi had rubbed his eyes upon seeing it move had not questioned it, instead he had gone to work with a smile in his eyes and Obito knew it was working. He was happy it was working, happy happy. Soon he could leave, right? That should make him happy, right?

Then one night, the moon shone bright because Obito had opened the curtains to see Kakashi’s face better. It was self indulgent of course, getting these hours in in which Kakashi looked so peaceful and happy, soaking in the beautiful face of the man Obito loved before he would never see it again, but Obito felt entitled to be a little self indulgent with all the other selfless deeds he was currently doing. Plus, he was technically a dead man walking. So he watched Kakashi smile, this warm, happy smile that Obito had not seen on him since they were five years old, maybe ever and he let his head fall to the wall that he couldn’t touch. 

“Tenzō…” Kakashi sighed.

Obito's head jerked forward from where he had held it (or not) against the wall. Had he heard this correctly just now? He fidgeted forward to get closer to Kakashi, looking at the content smile on his face. This is what he had wanted right? He had wanted Kakashi to acknowledge Tenzō. Obito wanted Kakashi to forget about him, right? That had been what he had so tirelessly worked for. All these weeks and weeks of placing objects and reports, forcing meetings and lunch dates and yes, this was the result. Kakashi now no longer thought of him at all. Obito had slipped his mind. And that had been what Obito had wanted. That had been the plan. But if that had been what he had wanted and planned, why did he feel so pained?

He could feel himself sway, maybe he would have felt sick if he could have. Obito stumbled backward towards and through the wall into the living room. He had never left Kakashi, watching him like a guard dog, unless he had something important to prepare, but now he felt like he was no longer allowed to be there. Kakashi had shut him out, moved on, he didn’t need Obito’s ghost to watch over him anymore. Obito felt the pain like a sharp knife in his heart. Being impaled was less painful than this. Dying was less painful than this. And he had made it all happen. It had been the plan, this had been the plan, this was the desired outcome. Obito let the thoughts roll around in his head over and over and over again, pacing the room in circles. He looked at that plant he had just moved a few days ago, made it more visible, and he felt a strong, hot, misplaced anger at it.

After all, he had died. He had died. He had died. The fact that he was still around was a miracle. He wasn’t supposed to be still around. In all sense and purposes, Obito’s life should have ended months ago when he became nothing but dust, sacrificing himself for the man he had always loved and being too weak to admit to himself. All these wasted years of stalking where he could have just gone up and told Kakashi the truth. All these wasted years of plotting. His damned wasted life. Obito had nothing to blame but himself. He was at fault that Kakashi fell in love with someone else, not because he moved nicknacks and plants and reports, but because he disappeared, because he had wasted the second life he was given, because in the end he had died.

That was the last night Obito spent in Kakashi’s bedroom. From now on, he wandered the streets until sunrise.

#

Days passed after that night incident and Obito wondered why he was still around. Clearly he had fulfilled his mission to the universe, granting Kakashi the peace of mind to move on to someone that could love him better than Obito ever could. He stood behind his friend one afternoon, eyes aimed at the big red “Rokudaime '' letters at the back of Kakashi’s uniform as the other man had his head lowered to the memorial stone. Obito had watched Kakashi here so many times when they were both younger that it seemed like a rather familiar sight. Back then all Obito had wanted to do was throw stones and grass at Kakashi, but now all he wished for was the possibility to touch him, just with a hand on his shoulder maybe, a hand on the cheek possibly, a finger on his mouth preferably….

“Obito”, Kakashi said and yanked Obito out of his indecent thought spiral. He almost replied, but caught himself mid opening his mouth and reminded himself that he couldn’t make sounds. He was a speechless watcher. “I have been feeling a bit better in my new role lately. I think that with the right people at my side I might be able to get through it, even without your gift.” Kakashi always talked about the sharingan as if it was all that made him special, when in reality there were so many things that did. Obito almost groaned behind him. “Tenzō is doing a lot of my heavy lifting for me, which I think I shouldn't let him do any longer. He is younger than me and I burdened him with so much since you died. You know, sometimes I think that you probably would have liked him a lot.” Obito snorted without making a sound. Yeah, probably true.

“I think the truth is, Obito, that I loved you. And not in this way that I loved Rin or Minato-sensei, but in a more engulfing way” Kakashi sighed and Obito froze to the core. What?  “I don’t know when it started, because we hadn’t seen each other in so long, but I know now that that's what it must have been. Maybe I loved you as a teen and it reignited when I saw you, maybe I love you now that I Know you were still alive all this time. But I’m sure it was there and I still do in a way, but…” Obito turned on his heels. He thought of the breakdown he had had just a few nights earlier. The anger at the world, and the timing, at himself. He didn’t want to hear the rest, didn’t want to hear Kakashi confessing to loving someone else. It was good that he did and it was right, yet it was better left unheard. This way Obito could bask in everything that was said before the dreaded but.

#

“I was thinking, Tenzō, how would you like to have some dinner at my place today?” Kakashi said casually, another week later, while looking through reports on his desk. Tenzō had just handed another in about Orochimaru’s lab growth and Obito had rolled his eyes at the fact that Kakashi still had not dismissed the younger man from this fruitless and traumatising mission. They had chatted about unimportant things, Tenzō’s face as always light red blushed when Kakashi praised his handwriting and accuracy. By now Kakashi must be seeing it too, Obito thought, by the way he kept on praising even when there was nothing more to praise Tenzō for.

They had come to the topic of food and that Tenzō usually ordered takeout home. He wasn’t a bad cook, at least as far as Obito could make out when he was there the few nights he had come by, but he wasn’t nearly as talented as Kakashi was. So now this invitation for dinner. An invitation for dinner with an implication. Tenzō reddened so much that for a moment Obito feared he might just pass out, before actually nodding and saying, voice a little coarse: “Of course, senpai.” They arranged a time and then Kakashi dismissed him with a smile in his eyes and as far as Obito could tell from the outline, also under the mask. Tenzō left, his hands held together in nerves and excitement and Obito, even if it was just a tiny second before he basked in his success, felt the pain at his core.

#

Tenzō arrived almost on time, as if he had been waiting outside until the clock struck the exact time they had set to meet. Maybe he really had, Obito had not checked, he had not expected anyone to be that punctual, not even Kakashi was. He watched both men greet each other awkwardly, waving their hands at each other and then hugging a bumpy hug into each other that looked like two stone plates crashing into each other: heavy and unpleasant. There was this certain quality about the air, the very strong way of trying to look casual when neither of them actually was there for anything casual. At least that gave Obito a reason again to roll his eyes and cross his legs on the window sill he was sitting on. They were being idiots again that needed micromanaging. Micromanaging helped distract him.

Frankly, he was surprised he hadn't disappeared yet. Clearly his plan was working perfectly. Both men chatted cordially, elbows bumping into each other in the kitchen like they were schoolgirls in love. While they were distracting each other Obito rearranged the chairs around the table to move them just a few centimetres closer to each other. Now they would have to touch hands again to eat. He was almost too good at this. If Zetsu were still a thing he would make fun of Obito now for being so effortlessly good at romance when he could never test it out on another human being himself. It was laughable how hard he was trying to set up the man he wanted to be set up with, but such was his destiny. Ghosts don’t get romance. 

Kakashi made his favourite dish, Obito had seen him make it many times over the past months and had always wished to try it out. He could not smell it, but he could see it and it looked like it was delicious. Tenzō at least licked his lips when Kakashi wasn’t looking and so it probably also smelled good. They sat down and started eating, their arms always bumping into each other as they did. It took no ten minutes for Tenzō to be blushed red and Kakashi to scratch his neck in embarrassment each time he let his hand fall down. This had almost been too easy. Now that they were finally opening up to each other, both Tenzō and Kakashi were falling with almost no help. But still, Obito was still bound to this place for some reason. 

“Tenzō,” Kakashi said finally, after having cleaned up the dishes and sitting back down right next to this younger friend. “Do you like working the mission I assigned you?” His voice was so soft and wondering, the real concern right there on display with every movement of his tongue. Obito let out a scoff. It had only taken him months of carefully arranged reports to catch on to a fact that Obito noticed about Tenzō instantly when he met him. This mission ruined him, pulled him under and drowned him, and Tenzō only did it because of his overly strong crush on the man who had assigned it. Well better late than never, Obito thought. 

Tenzō shifted a little in uncertainty. “It-it’s fine, senpai, I can manage…” he said, his voice trailing off and betraying the lie. Kakashi closed the little space that was still between them and took Tenzō’s hand in his own, letting the thumb run over the other man’s naked skin. Nerves on nerves. Obito felt the sharp pain of jealousy sting him hard and fast, before he could push it away. This was good, everything was according to plan. He should be happy. “Please, tell me the truth. I want you to always tell me the truth”, Kakashi said softly, eyes locked on his opposite. Tenzō first stammered a little and the words were mostly unintelligible, but then he took a deep breath: “I- I do not, Kakashi, I don’t want to do it. I’ve tried to do as you ask of me, because I always want you to be satisfied with my work, but I- I don’t think I -” He stopped when he saw Kakashi’s worried look.

Obito walked over to both of them, positioning himself right behind Tenzō so he had a better view of Kakashi’s face. “I’m sorry if I made you think that this mission was the only reason I would be satisfied with your work. I should have known it was not good for you”, Kakashi said and Obito wanted to sarcastically applaud for the honesty. Took him long enough, Obito thought, eyes still locked on Kakashi’s glowing face. “I think you are doing an excellent job with whatever you do Tenzō,” Kakashi said, “I think whatever mission you take will be fulfilled without issue. I can always count on you.” 

Tenzō squirmed as always, unable to take honest praise very well. “Tha-anks”, he replied, and his free hand was cramping up. “I will give you something else to work for, something you actually like doing and maybe it could be closer in my circle?” Kakashi asked, an eyebrow raised, eyes still soft. “So that you are always around me, even when you work.” The air was heavy and sizzling, Obito could feel it on his skin, even though h e couldn't feel it. All three men breathed in heavily.

They didn’t move or speak, though they should have. Instead they just looked at each other wordlessly. Obito saw the moment pass, this perfect opportunity to be honest with one's feelings and stomped his feet like an angry child. What would they do if he wasn’t around to fix things all the time? Obito moved against Tenzō’s chair while he was still standing behind, pushing it forward. Tenzō yelped as he stumbled a little forward, knocking heads with Kakashi as he did. “Oh, senpai, I’m sorry,” Tenzō mumbled, a little confused. The confusion ended immediately when he lifted his eyes and found Kakashi’s just inches in front of him. They were so close now, unable to escape the draw of each other’s mouths, lips and breaths. It was so easy now, Obito thought. The last jump would have to be theirs. He couldn’t physically pull their faces together, he couldn’t move the chairs further. The puppets were cut loose. And they obeyed the gravity pulling them.

In all the years Obito had watched Kakashi he had never seen him kissing up close. He had seen him do it before, with whomever he felt like kissing that evening, but never while standing right in front of him, eyes on his face. Kakashi had his eyes closed in relaxation, the scar complete like a puzzle over his left eye. Obito traced it with his eyes, remembering the day Kakashi had gotten that scar by protecting him and being protected in return. He watched the mouth move with the tongue, open and close for breathing, head going from one side to the other. The hands went up, stroking Tenzō’s hair in soft, gentle strokes and Obito couldn’t help but imagine it was him. What did Kakashi taste like? How did his tongue feel? How did it feel when he touched your hair?  Things Obito would never know.

That was when he knew that he was leaving. It was such an easy light feeling at his very chest, not incomparable with the time he turned to dust. The light warmth at it, telling him that it was time to go, that he had finally, finally served his purpose to Kakashi. That he had helped him move on, helped him open up to love and be loved in return. He would be happy now, happier than Obito could have ever made him. And that was a pleasant feeling, a warm, bittersweet feeling of goodbye.

 Tenzō drew back, one hand still entangled in Kakashi’s. He said something that Obito could not hear and left for the bathroom. Obito’s ears were rushing with the sound of waves as if a shore was calling him out to sea. He was leaving and all he could see was the face of the man he loved above anything else in his miserably extended life, flushed red with happiness, watching another man walk away in glowing admiration and love.

Kakashi got up, maybe to clean the last cups away and Obito took the opportunity to step right in front of him. They were the same height, Obito hadn’t noticed until now. He looked directly into Kakashi’s eyes, who in turn looked right through Obito to a point behind him. Obito couldn’t help himself, he lifted a hand and placed it to Kakashi’s cheek, as well as that was possible since he was phasing through it. He could feel Kakashi shiver under the touch, as if something cold and wet had suddenly dripped from his neck. Obito ignored it, the warm feeling at his heart fluttering enticingly like the waves in his ears. It was now or never. Last time he had hesitated, now he wouldn't. “I love you”, Obito said without a sound and then again “I always loved you.” Kakashi did not move, his eyes darting around like he was searching for the source of the goosebumps, as if he knew there was someone there he couldn’t see. “I’m sorry I could not say it before”, Obito mouthed, “but I do. I love you. I will always love you.” Then Obito took his hand away and stepped back. 

There was a flow of wind, but only Obito could feel it. The warmth, the wind, the waves, as if he was on a beach. He had been there once, in Suna, at the bigger beaches, while he was Tobi, black cloak draped all around his shoulders and sweating under it. Deidara had complained the entire time they were there, how loud the waves were, how not artsy playing with sand was, how it got everywhere and Obito had just enjoyed the flow of nature around him. It had eased him for a second, transported him back to a time when he was young and had dreamed of seeing these beaches someday. Now he felt like he was back on that shroe while he was still standing in Kakashi’s apartment. Rin, he thought. He could be with Rin now. She would not have to worry about Kakashi any longer. He almost heard her laugh now, distant and young and happy like she’d always been. Obito looked up one last time in the grey eyes that could not see him. “Have a good life”, he said. “Goodbye.”

That was how Uchiha Obito finally found rest after a long journey.

#

Kakashi is crying when Tenzō returns from the bathroom. A hand on his left cheek while tears are streaming down his face. “Oh no, is something wrong?” Tenzō says softly, laying a hand upon the hand that’s already on the older mens face.

 “I don’t know,” Kakashi says truthfully. “I feel like I just lost something.”