#also to be clear: im not at all looking for tips to do speed reading bc i don't care to do that so pls don't offer them | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

zooone · 1 year ago

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hello!! I've just found your blog here and I've been really wanting to try and write for wilbur like you do!! though I'm new to writing, could you give me some tips on when you're new to writing? :DD

hi!!!! im so sorry it took me so long to answer this i was trying to gather up as many tips as i could ^_^ im sooo honored that youre asking for my help it makes me so happy!! here's a ton that ive learned just based off my experience, im no like professional and this is all just tips ive accumulated to my style over time

–one, and i think this is the most crucial in a fanfic setting, but CAPTIVATE YOUR READERS!!!

when i write, i try to replicate books as best as i can (more on that later), but this is the one thing that a book author could get away with that a fanfic writer cant.

because your piece is only something that people will find through scrolling and its (more than likely) not a fully fledged book, people are more inclined to click off if you dont IMMEDIATELY captivate them.

i often see people begin a fic with a couple paragraphs of context (and again this is absolutely no hate to anyone who does this, its just what ive found to work best) which can be interesting if done right, but chances are that readers wont enjoy it if you hand everything to them on a silver platter. they stay engaged when you keep them guessing or predicting.

and i get thats difficult to do with just a tiny little blurb!! but when i write- no matter if its 100 words or 10k words, i ALWAYS start off with dialogue. quotation marks are the first thing that people are drawn to and i find it catches people's attention more when there's immediate action.

the exception i have is with the gr!wilbur fic; i tried to set the scene a little bit without giving too much information, and then i started it with one of my favorite starters:

"he stomped away from her on the rooftop as she followed after him."

i remember researching "how to start a book" cuz i was so unmotivated with a blank space, and then i found a video that talked about a book (i cant find the video nor the book) that began with an intro along the lines of this.

it seems so simple but it does so much. it introduces the main characters (gr!wilbur and angel), shows the setting (rooftop), and sets up a conflict that can keep readers engaged (why is he stomping away from her? why is she following?)

it was such an actually life changing thing to find and its just so creative.

–two, make sure that youre making it clear whos talking!!

this is a bit more difficult if youre someone like me who doesnt like the you/your or even the i pronouns in fics (idk it just seems too personal to me, i like to think of the reader as a character in itself), but it is still equally as important to establish whose speaking in the text.

THIS ALSO INCLUDES MAKING A NEW PARAGRAPH FOR NEW PIECES OF DIALOGUE!!!!!

look at the difference between;

"hey- i didn't expect a hello from you, but a thank you would at least be nice!" she yelled as he speed-walked away with his grumpy walk and stone shoulders. "i'm talking to you!"

"and i'm not," he grumbled, fiddling to put his hood back onto his head as a way of closing himself off.

"just-" she flapped her wings, trying to be alongside him. "just have some gummy worms, please?"

and

"hey- i didn't expect a hello from you, but a thank you would at least be nice!" she yelled as he speed-walked away with his grumpy walk and stone shoulders. "i'm talking to you!" "and i'm not," he grumbled, fiddling to put his hood back onto his head as a way of closing himself off. "just-" she flapped her wings, trying to be alongside him. "just have some gummy worms, please?"

its the same words and the same text and the same dialogue but the second is just SO compressed and confusing to read "especially if you have a character talk like this" "and then another piece of dialogue with nothing in between"

another thing i like to do to establish this is have alternating dialogue. this was difficult to do since gr wilbur isnt exactly the talkative type, but i wouldnt make angel speak in one paragraph, and then the next speak again. if that makes sense.

like this;

"i want you to have them right now," she enunciated her words, crossing her arms and trying to copy his expression. she was fighting her usual bright smile under her pursed lips. "in front of me."

"you look like you haven't been taking care of yourself," as she spoke through a pout, he could feel his face warming up, like tiny little punching bags beneath his skin. "i wanna make sure you're eating."

its reallyyyy obvious that when there's a conversation, its two people speaking. and from just a reader's standpoint, i began to read the second pragraph as if it was wilbur speaking. which of course didn't make sense.

so even if character 2 (wilbur in this case) doesnt speak, i try to add either a description (what are they doing? even if character 2 isnt responding, how are they reacting to character 1? whats their body language? facial language?) or a small tinyyyy bit of dialogue.

–three, sometimes less is more!!!

a lot of the times when i try to paint a picture, i end up over explaining things and the meaning of the words get lost when i use too many of them.

you could have the most profound description thatll make readers wanna tug their hearts out, but if its too overused then it kinda loses its meaning. its like the dynamics of a song in the sense that the loud parts are only loud because there are super soft parts.

heres an example i have from one of my older fics;

"Your teeth bit on the inside of your cheek as you sat down, more closer to the stage this time. Your knee rose and fell quickly as your leg bounced with nerve."

it may not seem like a lot, but chances are that people already understood the fact that the reader was nervous, so showing that she bit her lip AND was bouncing her leg was just counterintuitive.

there are so many more examples of me doing this in the past but umm i dont wanna unearth those anymore

dont get me wrong; you should still add descriptors, but just dont overdo it. and sometimes i see people who have the opposite, in the sense that they dont have enough descriptors and its equally as confusing. so find a happy medium!!

example of not enough;

"hi wilbur!" she spoke.

"hi, angel," he responded.

"how are you?" she smiled with a giggle.

he sighed happily at her laughter. "i'm good."

im so guilty of this honestly and im so rusty cuz a huge factor of it is practice!!!

–four, this kind of links to the last one, but Little Details.

this might just be a personal preference, but i love little details When theyre done right!!

one of my favorite people who does this is the infamous writer . u know her . u love her. @harbingerofheartbreak my very good friend

i first noticed this in her fic, "archangel," soot;

"i know he's a prick. do you think i want him to teleport to me everytime i have a fucking mental breakdown?" you slammed the sponge down and turned to him, pointing a soapy finger.

reading the words "soapy finger" like actually changed my life in a way i didnt know was possible. just the adding of small details that arent just "she shrugged" or "he sighed", but instead adding to the setting and scene and adding special little details Without Overdoing It!!!

it just . ugh . i dont know if its just a writer noticing these small things, but i find it really cool how it adds so much and makes you really feel like the author put work into making those tiny little things.

also another huge personal preference but i really love alliteration and play on words type stuff. i will always sneak in a little alliteration just to keep my work interesting with a certain flow to it. also (if your reader is anyone like me), putting a little alliteration adds emphasis and attention to certain things.

its really really nice, but the accumulation of all these little details takes SO much attention and so much practice, so dont be frustrated if its difficult to think of on your first couple tries!!

–five, dialogue!!

i spoke about trying to replicate books as best as i can, and dialogue is one of the most important things in that sense. i often see fics who show expression through dialogue, and i used to do it too, but it just looks generally unprofessional (imo!!)

for example;

"WILBUR!!" she screamed. "WILBUR GIVE IT BACK!!!- I'LL KILL YOUUU!!"

wilbur laughed. "i-i dont... know what y-you're talking about..-! haha..."

"wilbur!" she yelped, suffocated through her laughter. her lungs betrayed her as she playfully slapped him. "wilbur give it back- ill kill you!"

wilbur frantically looked around, his hands behind his back and his eyes wandering. "i dont- i dont know what youre talking about." he spoke, in a sing-song tone.

kinda an exaggeration but ive seen so many fics write dialogue like the first one and idk if its another personal preference, but it just doesnt seem really professional. and usually when you put all the emotion into dialogue like that, it takes away from the emotion you could incorporate into a character's actions or body language or even their thoughts.

i try to avoid writing dialogue in all caps or with too much punctuation or stuttering, because again, less is more. but also dont do too little;

“see wilbur it wasn’t so difficult was it?” she giggled, and the noise stabbed wilbur a thousand times in the stomach.

“actually it was,” he bit the inside of his cheek, rocking back and forth on his heels with nervousness. “my bed is a literal stone i wish it were made out of feathers."

“see, wilbur? it wasn’t so difficult, was it?” she giggled, and the noise stabbed wilbur a thousand times in the stomach.

“actually, it was,” he bit the inside of his cheek, rocking back and forth on his heels with nervousness. “my bed is a literal stone. i wish it were made out of feathers."

it may seem minuscule, but things like this can ruin the flow of your work. what keeps me engaged as a reader is the plot or the writing style or the characters, not the fact that i have to slow down to remind myself whos talking or where they were supposed to pause when they spoke. that kinda stuff just unmotivates me to read it, if that makes sense.

–six, FORESHADOWING AND CONNECTING

one of the most powerful things ever is foreshadowing and as above so below has a TON of it. idk if i can share examples cuz a lot of it is foreshadowing for the sequel, but i like to picture foreshadowing as a sort of inside joke. its special cuz it feels like a little secret between you and the author that only you know. it also shows that you have a coherent plan and youre not just writing on the fly. its professional and its personal.

another huge thing is connecting. wrap the story up the same way you began it or make small nods to it as you go.

in the beginning;

she had a lot of questions about wilbur.

not the type of, "what's your favorite color?" or "what's your favorite band?" questions. more like, "on a scale of one to ten, how much does being a murderer really affect your mood?"

all of these questions would go unanswered. including "what's your favorite band?" no matter what, she just could not crack the code of wilbur soot.

to say he was intricate would be an understatement, and her ongoing curiosity would surely be the death of her.

unless he had something to do about it.

at a turning point;

“so, what’s your favorite color?” she asked in a light tone, licking at her ice cream.

a wave of dismay washed over his face. he couldn’t think. “t-teal?”

“really? i wouldn’t have guessed that,” she swung her legs beneath the bench, clearly unbothered by wilbur’s confusion. “you don’t really dress like a teal-lover. do you think the moon is real?"

what?

"no, bad question. hmm. what’s your favorite band?”

his heart fell into the pit of his stomach, thorns poking at his sides creating a terrible sting on his abdomen. he opened his mouth to speak- maybe cry and release his feelings; but nothing came up. not even an answer to her stupid question. it was nauseating.

she began talking about the sort of music she liked, but none of it struck his brain. he felt sick. he wanted to scream and sob and punch something. but he sat still like he was posing for a renaissance painting.

at the end;

she still had a lot of questions for wilbur.

not the type of, "what's your favorite color?" or "what's your favorite band?" questions. more like, "wilbur? hello? please help- this hurts- are you still there?"

and she was starting to lose hope in the fact that those questions might be answered.

one things for sure; her curiosity will be the death of her.

unless he's got the courage to do something about it

even just the slight nod to the beginning gives your readers a reminder of everything, and drawing back to your beginning is like wrapping everythint up with a nice little bow ^_^

–seven, characterization and descriptors

this could also connect to one of the previous tips, but Stop Describing Characters So Much when theyre introduced!!

if you're introducing a character, dont give an entire paragraph to describing their height, eye color, hair color, clothes, etc. its boring and doesn't engage people and it messes up the flow.

dont get me wrong, you can mention those things in quick passing so that your reader isnt confused (ie "his brown hair stood up, still clinging to the static electricity from his hat." or "her white dress went along with the patterns of the wind") but having just one big long paragraph like;

"wilbur was tall. very tall compared to everyone else. he had brown eyes and bushy eyebrows that carried his emotions. he wore a gray hood that sometimes covered his face. he wore a bag that slung across his torso. his brown hair was usually uncombed and messy. he had bags under his eyes."

its just generallt not interesting enough!! tell me about his body language; whats his posture look like? does he hold his head up high with confidence? is he slouched over in careless sadness?

AND ALWAYSSSS OVEREXAGGERATE INTRODUCTIONS I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGHHH

pick a signature trait for your character and make it THE most noticeable thing when theyre first introduced.

angel is naive and optimistic? shes gonna sound stuck up and unrealistic to such an extent that its almost annoying.

wilbur is grumpy? the first thing hes gonna do is be super duper mean and hurt everyones feelings

quackitys a jokester? first thing he does is tell wilbur to literally take his shirt off

there's such a power in establishing a character into a certain category and playing with that. think about their characterization; is this category gonna change? will it change positively or negatively? will it change quickly? what makes it change? why? theres SO much to he said about character arcs in itself.

another huge thing about characterization is just being realistic. it doesnt really apply to au fics like gr!wilbur, but if youre writing a blurb about wilbur at a concert- im so sorry but there is barely a chance that hes gonna go up to one of his Fans and instantly fall in love with them.

and everyone has a preference of course!! if thats your kind of jam, go ahead im not judging. but as a personal preference, i don't really enjoy it when the characters dont seem realistic or wilbur's dialogue is definitely not something that he would say.

but again, at the end of the day, everyone has their preferences and by all means tweak your writing to YOUR standards!! write whatever makes you happy!! dont let some writer named zone let you dictate how to write and what you should or shouldnt write. it should all be with your own preference (and also respecting other peoples boundaries ofc)

one of the biggest mistakes ive made as a writer was robotically writing, or in other words only writing so that i could Produce something and get a couple notes on tumblr and thats it. doing that is what made me fall out of love and with writing.

aasb was the first fic i finished on my own accord, and of course i had friends like flore and carrie to push me on to continue, but i wrote it because it was an idea i loved. not because i wanted to post it for the people of tumblr. thats one of the beautiful things that flore taught me, whether it was unintentional or not, but its helped me so much.

and a ton of these tips takes Time and Practice as everything unfortunately does. ive certainly improved my writing game since like 4 years ago from both reading and writing to pick up certain little traits that ive loved from other peoples works and incorporated it into my own style.

i think the person whose had the most influence on my writing is. in fact. florence harbingerofheartbreak. and im not even saying that cuz shes my friend im genuinely so amazed by her work and her stuff is severely underrated

and also this is only a fragment of tips, there are a plethora of actual professionals that could give out their tips but again at the end of the day its all what You Do.

and by all means id loooove to read any of your works (not just this anon, any of your guys' works) so please please please dont be afraid to send em to me!! i hope these tips help ^_^

#asks #writing tips

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sailorhyunjinz · 4 years ago

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HI BESTIE IMY HEBSBRBS AHH I’ve been so busy ... also recently got super sick and I’ve not been well at all ,, it’s just the flu / a stomach bug tho ! :,) hru ???

Your latest reaction was so good ,, thoughts r being thunk ?? Thinking about skz reaction to you rubbing / jerking their dicks just whenever you’re bored .. and you don’t even really notice that they’re getting off ahah IDK IT JUST SEEMS TO HOT ??

Once they cum or wtv you’re like ;) hsshbrbs

I have a dick but honestly it’s never bothered me reading ur shit directed towards a female reader ? For some reason I really like it bye 😭🤚

-🚬

BABYBOOOY WHY HAVE YOU BEEN SICK?!?! :((( Hope you’re feeling better now, i should give u some of my healing medicin aka my kisses :(( <33

Also that last bit AAh thank u T-T i try to be more inclusive but like AAAGH im always so scared that i’ll mess something up from my lack of ~ knowledge ~ BUT I REALLY TRY MY BEST >< so thank uuu for having patience for my dumb ass

ANYWAYS SPEED REACTION LEGO

warnings: skz x gn!reader. handjobs, blowjobs, cum, orgasm (m), cum eating, slight overstimulation

Bangchan

“w-what the fuck”

yeah thats his only reaction when you suddenly stick your hand down his pants, wrapping your hand around his dick and slowly stroking it while big spooning him

you werent trying to get him off... more like... you wanted something to play with while watching the movie

boy would be ~ flustered ~

he’d find it interesting

why would you jerk him off if you didn’t want him to cum yk?

like that type of thoughs

but of course you can’t expect him to not react LMAO

you were fully immersed in the movie because it started to get interesting now and you didn’t notice how you started jerking him off faster.

until...

you felt something warm and wet hit your hand paired with his dick twitching

you looked at him and saw that poor boy was biting his bottom lip so hard trying to not disturb you with his moans

“did you cum?” you say, lifiting up his pants to which he yelped and put his hands over yours right at his crotch. “n-no”

Minho

be bold with this man

pull his pants down when he’s just chilling ASHASHA oh god

he doesn’t think it fair

eventhough he does the exact same to you

when he does it to you it more like he simply wants to feel you all over, not intending for you to get turned on

but make one moan and this mf thinks it a game

“how many times can i get y/n to moan”

NO OK BUT RETURNING TO YOU -> HIM

it would take sum time to get him to cum

he doesnt strike me as the sensitive type and so you could jerk him for quite a while which hey more fun for you

but ooone faithful day he was more turned on than usual leading to him cumming quicker than he usually does during one of those times where you played with his dick

stroking it, running your thumb across the tip, licking it .. you name it...

you smirk when he accidentally cums on your lips and you lick it off and he just starts complaining (yk when jisung bit his fingernail in that two kids room episode, yeah that tone)

“y-you can’t just do that!!” you start chuckling “what? mad that you came like a bitch?”

nex thing you know you’re pinned against a wall OOP sorry

Changbin

he lives for this BUT only if you give him attention

which you dont because you’re simply bored and dont want to get him off, more like... liking the feeling of having him in your hand lmao

“can you at least look at me?” you shake your head, holding his semi-erect dick in your hand “shh,,, im watching something!”

that would be the everyday conversation ahsahsha

I FEEL LIKE YOU COULD GO FOR A WHILE??!

he’d be relativly quiet as well so you wouldnt notice until he actually cums and you’re like “...wtf why is my hand sticky”

BRUH U START APOLOGIZING HASHAS HE JUST GLARES AT YOU FOR NOT GIVING YOU ANY ATTENTION

but he came anyways so..

you try to escape the situation but he’s not having it

“nah you’re not escaping now, finish what you started baby”

Hyunjin

another boy thats lives for this

why? because a) its a handjob b) he likes the thrill of not knowing when you’re bored c) because you forget what you’re doing and he likes seeing you surprised when he cums ASHAHS god bury me

would purposefully make you bored

“the wifi is down y/n,, guess we having nothing to do...w-wanna give me a handjob”

you shrug, “alright”

you’re completely lost in though, wondering when the wifi will return or what you guys should eat for dinner

suddenly he cums,,, a lot,,,

you laugh at him and he’s kind of blushing with his hair covering parts of his face.

“i-i’m pretty sure the wifi will be down for a while” ;))

Jisung

FUCK YES LETS GO

he would already just be naked infront of you at random times

like,,, whats the point in putting on clothes after the shower if he knows that you are going to sneak up on him and jerk him off yk?

but what this boy didn’t know was how you didn’t notice most of the time

your hand just having a mind of it’s own...

but you’d notice pretty quick

since this boy LOUD YALL

whiny mf

“shush!” you say, scrolling on your phone with one hand and jerking him off with the other.

you didnt intend on making him cum,,, just giving him a massage ASKKASJSKSA

he’d act all like “ppfft... you can’t make me cum from just that-”

and then shuts up because “h-hey... this feels too g-good”

not thinking he’d cum this quick you started talking to him but were quickly cut off from him letting out a long moan

“f-fuck,, y/n..h-haa,,,”

after he cums you’re like “heading to bed”

but he pulls you back, grabbing your wrist and looking at you with big doe eyes

“c-could we keep going?”

Felix

boy would be walking around, holding his crotch because he never knows when you attack

because he belong to the more... sensitive bunch of boys... HE DOESNT LIKE IT TOO MUCH

mostly because he’d cum too fast and it would leave him embarrassed (awh poor boy:(( )

thats legit the only reason LMAO

noo poor boy wants to appear all tough for you even though you’ve told him over 100 times that he doesn’t have to be, you love him for who he is yk? <33

BUT NOPE stubborn baby sets bets with you

“ok this time i won’t cum that quickly... last time was a practice round”

ASHAHSH WHY IS THAT SO FUNNY JESUS

4 minutes later... YEAH YOU GUESSED IT

and you didnt even notice?!?!

you just thought that those sounds were him in like pain ASHShHAS

because you were to preoccupied thinking watching tv

needless to say,,, he was pouty,, for a while

until you attacked again LMAO

Seungmin

ok gimmie a second,,,, i need to think

alright... he likes it BUT he’s shy

you need to give the puppy some time to warm up

do it too fast and he gets scared AHSHASH

so ok lets say that the both of you are doing,, nothing

and you just slowly feel him up and it eventually leads to you jerking him off

you’re not even aware of how good he’s feeling with your hand around his cock

“y-y/n can you stop?”

“stop what- oh”

looking down you notice that he already came, his cum coating the tip and your hand with white thick ropes

NOT THAT HE CAME FAST JUST THAT HE SUFFERED WITH THE SLIGHT OVERSTIMULATION ON HIS OWN

goddamn... seungmin is always so difficult to write for ONLY ME?!?!?

seungmin stans are already knocking on my door SORRY IM TRYING

Jeongin

BLUSHY BOY

I REPEAT; BLUSHY BOY

“w-what are you doing y/n~?” he says while your hand travels down the side of his body while the two of you were chilling in bed. “im bored” you huff out, looking him in those big brown eyes. “we can play videogames!” he says trying to make you get your hand out of his pants but you shake your head. “i wanna play with you instead”

boy would melt

painfully shy (and hard)

because you it all happened so fast??

the two of you were chilling, everything quiet and peaceful and before he knows it you’re jerking him off vigorously

he covers his face with his hands, occasionally sneaking a glance of your pretty face from inbetween his fingers as you give him a handjob

you’d be too focused watching his face as almost falling asleep not noticing the boy squirming around

until you hear

“h-hghnn...”

thats his cumming sounds btw HAHSHAH IF I WASNT CLEAR ENOUGH

jesus i cant write reactions for shit BUT THEY SEEM TO BE REALLY APPRECIATED SO YEAH!

I have 2 more of these coming up oh and also remember that this is legit word vomit SO ITS NOT PROOF READ AND UHM... i’ll try to do the two other ones this week heheh ^^

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team-heavenly · 2 years ago

Text

Chapter 12

This is just- waaait a minute

We had this chapter title already!! WTH randomizer! I’ve seen how long your title generator is, this ain’t fair!

Alright, I hereby dub thee by a new, specially chosen title picked from our list:

STOP POSTING ABOUT TIME GEARS! IM TIRED OF SEEING THEM!

(Honestly the list of options are so freaking funny, maybe at the end of the playthrough I’ll post the whole list?? 👀)

Anyway. Between the dialogue after Underground Lake Gigantic Lavafields and the confrontation at Crystal Lake... there are so. many. plot-relevant screenshots. Even after I consolidated multiple lines of text (from the same speaker) into one dialogue box. So this chapter has three parts!!

Remember when I said I’d stop taking plot relevant pics? Ah... good times. :’)

Click here for Part 2!

Click here for Part 3!

Seeing the text I edited onto these screenshots is a glaring visual reminder of my camera’s poor visual quality sdkdshsdhjsd. How do you guys stand reading it? (Alright, I’ll be quiet now.)

And now, the part where Gulpin doesn’t know when to shut up:

(My fandom brain is ITCHING to correct these blatantly incorrect facts, even as I know they’re supposed to be wrong.)

Qwilfish is Azelf?? Innnnteresting.

See? He talks FOREVER!

Now, I’m a pretty fast reader. I usually set the text speed to fast in video games. And it doesn’t feel extensive when you’re thumbing through it, eagerly devouring the story line.

But when you’re taking a pic for every new line of dialogue... and you have 20 pics for this exchange alone... it feels like a lot xD

Ooooh, okay this answers my question from the last post. Eastern Forest is totally untouched, presumably because you never go there.

*Kronk voice* “Ohhh, right, the crystal. The crystal for Beedrill. The crystal chosen specially to be a deus ex-machina. Beedrill’s crystal. That crystal?” (YES, that crystal!)

...Oh yeah. No one else in the guild knows Teresa is secretly a psychic. This must have been a real WTF moment.

It takes a few moments... Everyone’s staring at Teresa and making the poor girl nervous. She has no control over the visions, and an audience certainly doesn’t help.

Oh that was Qwilfish alright. The poor guy was wriggling like a fish out of water. I’m not sure how Togetic roughed him up so bad when his spikes are so venomous...

(Ah, yeah. If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m a bit of a Star Wars junkie.)

“I have a question for you, Teresa...”

It’s not clear to YOU. I know what’s going on though. We get the tinted filters to tip us off. (Visions or flashbacks to the past always have an orange or sunset tint, while visions of the future tend to have a deep blue tint.)

Way to assume the worst, Magby. That��s great for morale!

Gotta hand it to Gulpin, he knows how to whip up a crowd and turn around the tide.

And then no one shows up until you’re gravely injured. Those dang StaryuBucks baristas.

Anyway! Now that we’re finally past that large wall of dialogue... some miscellaneous updates during our quick visit to Nautical Cottage.

(I just thought this was funny xD Toothy Carvanha grin.)

Er... well, actually, it wasn’t a quick visit. I’ve had a problem for a while now. At the Silver Rank, your storage capacity is only 200 items. And these dungeons have been so overloaded with goodies that, frankly, I ran out of storage space during the last chapter. So you know how they won’t let you deposit anything if the storage is full? Well, what do you do when your bag is full, too?

I tell you what: you sell or toss one item, take one out, sell it, rinse and repeat several times... Even after selling all the duplicates, I kept getting pushed to the limit. Prize ticket exchanges only did so much. I couldn’t go on like this.

So I glanced at how many points I needed for the Gold Rank. It was something like 960.

I took a deep breath. And decided to power through requests for the next several in-game days. What follows is a brief collection of highlights.

(...Also I guess I look like a hypocrite now for scolding the guild about being late 😅)

The Manaphy Egg?! HELLO?!

I picked it up for novelty’s sake. But it can’t be put into storage. It can’t be sold. You can give it to someone, but it doesn’t do anything. There’s no way to use it. All it does is take up a slot in your bag. So with a heavy heart, I ended up tossing it.

OOOOOOOO!! Our first Egg!

So when an Egg hatches, it draws from the pool of enemy Pokémon in the last dungeon you visited. In the base game, this gives you a rough idea of what to expect. In the randomizer though? Every floors has a completely different pool of Pokémon. So the possibilities are much more varied. It could be literally anything (that was in the dungeon, anyway).

It didn’t hatch before we finally left for Questionable Causeway though... stay tuned for updates!

Team Heavenly received their first recruit from the juice bar! We already have Barboach, but I said yes anyway.

And then somewhere along the way, I received an... interesting request.

First off: TOGETIC?! Bro should be out there stealing a Time Gear and instead he’s chilling at the cafe like:

Second: I’m going to be honest... Out of all my years playing this game, I have never received a job request like this before. I don’t know what dungeon the “Cold Earthworks” is supposed to be. I didn’t even know the Dragonite Scale was an obtainable item until recently. (For those wondering, it’s basically a Heal Seed.) I was super tempted to go just to see what this was all about. But it’s only a C Rank job and I didn’t want to waste any more time than I had to ranking up. I might do it after the trap is set at Crystal Lake though.

Oh and for added hilarity (see last item):

*Y E E T*

I’m shocked Tumblr hasn’t yelled at me about the image limit yet, but we’re no doubt nearly there so click here to read on in Part 2!

#pokemon mystery dungeon #pmd explorers #randomizer #chapter 12

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beelsjuicytitties · 4 years ago

Text

You’re Wonderful

First fic oh wow! Its been a while since ive written anything other than poetry, so im a lil rusty, but im super excited to post this! Feel free to let me know what you think!

Warnings: NSFW

Pairing: Mammon x GN!MC

Words: 2253

Tags: Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Gender-Neutral Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Reader-Insert, Light Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Fluff, Smut, Praise Kink, Body Worship, Blow Jobs, Comfort Sex, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Biting, Nipple Play, Kissing, Not Beta Read

Summary: MC teases Mammon, but notices something is wrong. They then make it up to Him

Note: This is also on my AO3, which is linked in my bio!

“Sometimes you really can be an idiot y’know,” y/n laughed gently as they closed the door to Mammons room. They both had just finished getting chewed out by Lucifer after flunking a test, and Y/N was trying to lighted the mood with a bit of humor.

“You failed too, don’t go about actin’ like you’re better than me.” There was a distinct edge to Mammons voice as he said the words, keeping his body turned away from y/n. His shoulders were hunched in slightly and it was clear he was upset.

“Mammon? Hun?” y/n moved closer to Mammon, stepping so they were standing almost in front of him before gently setting a hand on his upper arm. Mammon looked to where their hand was resting with a sad, slightly dejected look. “Are you alright? I know Lucifer went pretty hard on us.” He shook his head slightly.

“‘M used to that from him..” He sniffed slightly. “D’you really think ‘m an idiot y/n?” Mammon looked up to y/n’s face, and they gasped slightly.

“N-no Mammon, I-” they began.

“‘Cause I know all my brothers do. Always callin’ me a ‘No good, greedy idiot.’” Mammon’s throat grew tight as tears threatened to spill as he reached over to grab y/n’s hand from his arm. “An’ I can take it from them, I don’t care what those fuckers think, but you..” he placed their hand against his cheek. “I care what you think.” Y/n gently stroked their thumb against his cheek.

“Mammon I didn’t realize.. I’m so so sorry, it must be so hard for you. Can I try to make it up to you?” Mammon nodded against their hand, and y/n smiled. “Thank you Honey.” They gave him a gentle kiss and dropped their hand to his shoulder. “Let’s get this jacket off okay?” Mammon shrugged his jacket off at the words. “Shoes as well please.” He complied with a grunt, and y/n picked them up. They put both his jacket and shoes away in his closet, along with their own shoes, and pulled out a fluffy blanket they had stashed there.

They gently pushed Mammon to his bed, propping pillows up before motioning for him to get in. Mammon crawled into his bed with a small grunt, wiggling around a bit to get comfortable. Y/n followed him shortly, fluffing up the blanket so it covered the both of them up to their shoulders. Y/n faced Mammon, and cuddled against him, placing a gentle hand on his far cheek so they could turn him to face them.

“Mammon,” they started, a serious yet loving expression on their face, “You are amazing, so passionate and caring.” A light blush dusted Mammons tan cheeks as he snaked an arm around Y/n’s waist. “I see how wonderful you are in every moment of every day, the way you care for your brothers, and me.” They rubbed their thumb idly against his cheek. “You’re not an idiot, you’re incredible when it comes to equations, and yeah maybe you struggle with your grades, but that is by no means indicative of your intelligence.”

Y/n tilted their face forewards to rest their forehead against Mammon’s. “Hell Mammon, if it wasn’t for you I doubt I’d even be alive at this point, you’re truly my knight in shining armour.” Mammon was blushing deeply now, but he kept his eyes locked with Y/n’s. A small smile cracked across his face at the words.

“You got that right Y/n” Mammon’s voice was still a little croaky, but there was a light note to it. Y/n slid their hand from his cheek to the back of his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. The kiss was soft, and Y/n did their best to convey all the love and appreciation they had for Mammon. When they separated, the both of them continued to lay just as they were, staring into each others eyes, breathing each others air, for seconds, maybe minutes.

Eventually, Mammon pulled his arm from Y/n’s waist, and gently grabbed the wrist of the hand they had resting on his neck. Y/n hummed curiously, as Mammon slowly moved their hand down to his crotch, where a notable bulge had formed. “Mmm,” Y/n smiled and rubbed against Mammon’s cock through his jeans. “Want me to make this feel good as well?” A coy smile spread across their face as Mammon swallowed hard and nodded. “My pleasure~.”

Y/n shifted, bringing their hand up to push Mammon’s shoulder down so he was laying flat on his back. They straddled his hips, gently grinding against him as the blanket fell away. Y/n leaned foreward, dotting kisses all over Mammon’s forehead, temples, nose, cheeks, before finally catching his mouth. Mammon ran his hands up along their thighs, hips, and up their back under their shirt. Y/n flicked their tongue out, and Mammon quickly responded in kind, their tongues tangling together. Reluctantly, Y/n pulled back, to the protests of Mammon, before quickly moving their mouth to his neck. As they licked, bit, and sucked at all the tender spots on his neck, they reached down and under his shirt, pushing it up and rubbing their hands all over his stomach and chest.

“Your muscles always feel so wonderful under my hands.” Y/n whispered, to which Mammon let out a small moan. They leaned back and tugged Mammon’s shirt up and off, flinging it to the floor, before lowering themself down to take a sensitive nipple in their mouth. Mammon moaned again, this time a bit louder, while Y/n sucked on and teased a nipple, their hands tracing over his arm and torso muscles. Once Y/n was satisfied with their work on Mammon’s chest, the began shifting lower, kissing down his torso and running their hands up and down his hips. “I think it’s about time i pay attention to this.”

No more teasing, Mammon was whimpering at every kiss and touch as Y/n worked off his belt, undid his jeans, and slid them down along with his underwear. He kicked his bottoms off the rest of the way as Y/n wrapped a hand around the shaft of his cock. They let spit drip from their mouth onto the tip of his cock, and spread it around to the rest of it with their hand. “Oh, Mammon, you’re so wonderfully excited aren’t you.” Y/n teased before taking the head into their mouth and sucking. They kept their hand stroking at moderate pace, and swirled their tongue around the tip in their mouth. Mammon pushed a hand into their hair, he was breathing heavily and gentle moans and whimpers fell from his mouth freely. Y/n pulled his cock out of their mouth with a pop. “Fuck Mammon, you taste so good,” the were practically purring as they moved down to swipe their tongue against his balls, then dragging their tongue back up the underside of his cock before taking it back in their mouth. They began to bob their head up and down his shaft, stroking around the base with one hand and fondling his balls with the other.

“F-fuckkk..” is all Mammon could manage as he threw his head back. Y/n then pushed their head down as far as they could, filling their mouth and throat with him. They moaned on his cock, causing Mammon to buck upwards a few time into them. Y/n kept their head there for a few more seconds, before pulling back with a slight cough.

“Your cock fills my mouth so well, so warm and hard for me,” they punctuated each work with a kiss or lick, “but I want more, I want you in me, I wanna ride you Mammon, God I want that so badly.” Mammon nodded rapidly and Y/n pulled themself up so they could strip themself bare. Mammon leaned over to his bedside drawer, grabbing the bottle of lube out. He gazed up at Y/n, now naked and grinding needily against him.

“Lemme warm you up.” As much as Mammon wanted to get inside Y/n, he also wanted this to be as pleasurable as possible for the both of them. Y/n nodded in response.

“Please- hurry,” they basically whimpered. Y/n leaned back on their hands to provide him better access, and he squirted a fair amount of lube onto his fingers. He brought his now lubed fingers down to Y/n’s entrance, and started rubbing gentle circles around it at first. He then slipped a finger in, he slowly fingered them, curling his finger to hit all the right places. Y/n moaned and panted, as he slid a second finger in. He could feel Y/n tensing around his fingers as he worked and stretched them. He worked their hole until he couldn’t hold back any longer, and pulled his fingers out.

“I wanna fu-fuck you Y/n.” He had already grabbed the lube, and squeezed out some to slick up his cock.

“Yes, oh yes please Mammon,” Y/n’s voice was full of need. “Please put it in, fill me up with your cock mmh.” Mammon lined himself up, pushing into Y/n slightly, before he grabbed their hips, and pulled them down onto him. Both Y/n and Mammon let out loud moans as they slid down him, quieting slightly as they bottomed out. “Oh fuuck Mammon, you’re so big, filling me so good,” Y/n moaned out words of praise. They leaned forwards, placed their hands on Mammon’s chest, and slowly began to move. They rolled their hips as they moved, doing their best to pleasure Mammon. At the same time, Mammon took a hand off their hip, and placed it onto one of Y/n’s hands, slightly holding it. Y/n’s mouth hung open as the bounced and rolled on Mammon’s cock, picking up a bit of speed.

“Lemme flip ya over,” Mammon said between pants. “I wanna fuck inta ya, make ya f-feel as good as you’ve made me feel.” Y/n nodded and stopped moving long enough for Mammon to swiftly flip the two of them, so he was now leaning over them, arms resting on either side of their head. He rested his forehead against theirs, and felt Y/n wrap their legs around him. He began to thrust into them, a strong, steady pace. Y/n ran their hands through his hair and against his neck as they stared into each others eyes. Happy smiles spread across both of their faces as Mammon fucked into them, speeding up and slowing down seemingly at random.

“I love you so much, my wonderful Mammon.” Y/n’s words were partially lost behind moans, but Mammon fully understood them.

“I-I love you too-” his thrusts were getting more frantic “-I love you my-” a loud groan “-my treasure..” They were both very close at this point, and Mammon tilted his head to kiss Y/n. A deep, loving kiss. Y/n squeezed around Mammon inside them. Mammon pulled away from the kiss and whimpered “I- I’m gonna-”

“M-Me too, sso close mmnh.” Mammon bit down on Y/n’s neck as his thrusts turned short and quick, Y/n held tight onto him, trying to have as much contact with him as possible. Mammon let out a muffled groan as he came inside Y/n without slowing down his thrusts until he heard Y/n let out the most wonderful sound he’d ever heard, and felt them twitch and pulse around him. He slowed, then came to a stop, he released Y/n’s neck from his teeth, the skin surprisingly still intact, but bruises were already forming. Mammon flopped over to lay next to Y/n, his cum oozing from them slightly. Y/n turned and shakily took his hands in theirs.

“That was amazing Mammon.” Their voice was light and breathy as they praised him more. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life.”

“I should be sayin’ that to you Y/n..” Mammon struggled to find the right words. “Ya really make me feel like.. Like I’m worth somethin’.” Y/n kissed Mammon’s hands, and then his nose, and a quick kiss to his lips. They both stayed there for a little while, basking in the afterglow, and in each others love.

“Hey, Mammon,” Y/n whispered. Mammon hummed slightly in response. “As much as I would love to stay right here as we are, we should probably get cleaned up.” Mammon groaned and turned his face into the pillows.

“I knoooooow,” Mammon said, voice severely muffled by the pillows. He pushed himself up and climbed out of the bed. He went to the bedside drawer, and pulled out a pack of wet wipes. “Here, lemme getcha cleaned up.” He pulled a wipe out of the packaging.

“Thank you hun.” Y/n smiled at Mammon, and adjusted how they were laying to make it easier for him. He cleaned them up, cleaning up a bit that had spilled onto his sheets, and tossed the wipe into his trash can. “Now we can cuddle as long as we want~” Mammon climbed back into the bed, pulling the blanket back over them before wrapping himself around Y/n.

“As long as we want eh? Guess you’re stuck here then.” He nuzzled his face against their neck.

#obey me #shall we date obey me #mammon #mammon avatar of greed #mammon x mc #mammon x reader #smut #obey me smut #fluff #light angst #my writings #obey me one shot #obey me fanfic #not sure what else to tag #mammon is soft and deserves better treatment #adrians writing

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catgrump · 4 years ago

Note

Hii how are you?? I recently found this blog and im in love with it so may i request Byakuya proposing to his s/o?

Oh Anon. You don’t know what a Good Choice you made by asking me to do this.

Idk if folks know this, but my Day Job is a Wedding Photographer. I will make Engagement/Wedding Stories/Headcanons about anyone (that isn’t on my Blacklist). And I’m in love with Byakuya unfortunately so this is just * muah * chef’s kiss

Also ty for the kind words 🥺

🌻🌻🌻

You started expecting Something when Byakuya asked you to clear your calendar for a long weekend trip abroad.

It’s not often that he takes time away from his work for luxuries like this, but you always get excited when you get the chance to travel together.

He debated keeping your destination a secret, but realized you need to pack properly, and showed you the plane tickets

“Italy?!” You couldn’t help but drop your jaw, “What’s this about; what’s the occassion?”

“You said you’d never been,” he explained with his smug smile, “My S/O deserves to experience all the finer things in life, and I’ve been needing a break, so I figured I’d whisk you away.”

When the day finally comes, of course you fly first class.

And a chauffeur drives you from the airport to a waterfront hotel, and then Byakuya takes you to your penthouse suite.

He planned everything out, rather meticulously. Sight-seeing (for you; he’s seen it all before, so he claims), private authentic Italian dinners, relaxing by the water

You didn’t get to travel much with your family growing up, so you are always grateful when Byakuya takes you on trips like this.

He always wants to see you experiencing things for the first time

He confided in you that he cherishes seeing your face light up when you see a monument or a breathtaking view

So that feeling of expecting Something came back when he told you he booked a spa session for you on the last day of your vacation. Just you.

You said he should come with you, but he insisted you take time for yourself

After your massage and facial, you head back to your room. “I’m back, honey,”

Byakuya is normally eager (in his own, unassuming way) to greet you when you arrive, but you can’t seem to find him anywhere.

Confused, and trying to not assume the worst, you wander into the bedroom. “Byakuya?”

He isn’t in the bedroom, but there is a garment bag displayed on the bed, an envelope placed on top of it, and a brilliantly red rose next to it. Suddenly, you’re washed with relief. He’s planning something.

You pick up the envelope, with your name adorned in calligraphy on the front, and break the wax seal keeping the contents contained. You remove a note from the envelope, and read it:

“Y/N, meet me cliffside. I picked out something for you. I hope you like it. -Yours”

He didn’t need to sign his name. Signing it “Yours” is enough.

You gently place the rose on the duvet and unzip the garment bag, revealing a crisp, clean, luxurious outfit just your size

It fits like a glove. You smile at your reflection, but start breathing heavier as you pick up the rose, anticipating what could possibly come next.

You’ve been with Byakuya for a long time now. This thought has always crossed your mind, but he’s talked with you about how his family handles marriage. It’s not exactly a welcomed practice. But you can’t help imagining yourself walking down an aisle, him waiting for you at an archway...

The sun is setting into brilliant pinks and reds as you see him cliffside, his back to you

You spin the rose in your fingers, trying to keep calm

You couldn’t help notice two rows of tea lights in glass jars directing a path to him.

You slowly make your way toward him, calling his name once you’re close enough

He turned around and smiled at you with pride. “Hm. I do have good taste, don’t I?”

You giggle and blush. You know he was making a smart ass remark about the clothes he picked out for you, but you also know he meant You.

He grabbed your hands, and his smile changed. This was your favorite smile of his, and it made your heart run at full speed in this moment. He looks so content when he smiles like this. “Y/N, you’ve changed my life,” is this happening? “And I don’t want to imagine it without you. Tradition be damned.”

And now you’re overcome with joy as you realize this Is Happening. He kisses your hands, closes his eyes, and gets down on one knee.

You can already feel yourself nodding your head ‘yes’ fervently as you drop the rose, covering your mouth with your hands to contain your excitement as he removes a velvet box from his coat pocket

He doesn’t even have to ask the question. He knows you know what he wants to ask. “Well? What do you say?”

He flicks open the lid of the box, revealing a golden ring with a large dark blue stone at its center, as if that was needed to convince you.

You can’t speak. You feel the tears running into your fingers as you nod your head in affirmation even stronger than before.

You close your eyes and try to restrain your sobs. He gets up, and holds you by the waist, bringing you close to kiss your forehead. He brings his hands to your face and wipes your tears with a satisfied smile. “Come here,” he whispers

He takes your hands away from your face, and places the ring on your finger. It feels like it was always meant to be there.

You laugh, finally letting the happiness consume you. “I guess I’m officially part of the family.”

“No. We’re our own family. If any other Togami chooses to support us, great. But I don’t need them like I need you.”

Requests are Open!

Tip jar available on Ko-fi 💛

#danganronpa #danganronpa fanfiction #danganronpa fic #byakuya x reader #danganronpa byakuya #byakuya togami #danganronpa trigger happy havoc #trigger happy havoc #danganronpa oneshot

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buzzybeesinlove · 4 years ago

Note

Just read your jealous blake! And I can't stop thinking how would you write a jealous ruby! Lol

hmm a jealous ruby huh... i can try my best my friend!

im so sorry it took SO long for me to put this out, for some reason I was having major block on how to write this. and i hope what ive done is pretty okay? im not sure how i feel about it, but ive stalled way too long on this prompt, so i tried it with whiterose because it’s my main ruby ship.

it’s set during volume 7, before ironwood turns on them. it’s a different kind of take on jealousy... i just feel like ruby is so self-sacrificing sometimes and would want others to be happy in this situation rather than butt into things if she were jealous, you know?

anyways, hope you like it!

It was a simple day in the training room at Atlas Academy.

Ruby was across the room, practising her semblance with Ren and Oscar, and doing quite well in her opinion, and she felt a surge or pride through her when Oscar looked at her in bewilderment after she split herself into three around the pillar.

“Whoa. When did you learn that?” Oscar asked in awe, watching from his spot near the wall, and Ruby flushed a little, shrugging and letting out an awkward laugh.

“Just now?” Ruby replied.

“That’s amazing.” Oscar said, and even Ren had stood up and was giving her an impressed look at what she’d done. Ruby just scratched the back of her head, cheeks heating up at all the praise.

“Nah, it’s nothin’.” Ruby brushed it off, clearing her throat and unsheathing Crescent Rose from her back, glancing between the two boys in front of her. “You guys up for sparring?”

Oscar’s face fell and he sighed, shaking his head.

“Sorry, I should actually go see Ironwood right about now. He… Had something he wanted to talk to me about.” Oscar muttered, and Ruby frowned at the uncertainty in Oscar’s tone and expression.

“I’m sure it’ll be okay.” Ruby offered, and Oscar gave her a tiny smile, the boy nodding to her and Ren as he began to leave, walking over to the other side of the room towards the exit.

When she looked back to Ren, he also looked apologetic.

“I think… I’m going to continue meditating over here. Sorry, Ruby.” Ren said, placing a hand on her shoulder before turning away from her to sit back down where he was previously, leaning himself back against the pillar and closing his eyes.

Ruby frowned and turned away from him to look back at the rest of the room, taking note of everyone practicing and sparring.

Blake and Yang, as usual, messing around on the tops of the pillars. They were laughing together as Blake continued to make copies of herself while Yang attempted to catch her, their eyes bright and their laughter melting together. Ruby smiled a bit as she observed them, happy that they were in a better place now.

She saw Nora and Jaune sparring with Neon and Flynt as well, trading blows back and forth and Nora currently chasing the other girl around while her skates propelled her to a faster speed to get away.

Ruby giggled as Nora bumped Neon into the wall with her hammer, but she bounced back up just as quickly as she continued to skate around, both of them having fun with each other.

Ruby scanned her eyes some more, and suddenly stopped on her partner across the room, her rapier pointed to the ceiling as she summoned some glyphs around herself. She was alone, Ruby noticed, and she lit up at the thought of sparring with Weiss again.

Their fighting styles were completely different, but worked just as well together and whenever they fought together in battle, or sparred and practiced together, Ruby always found that Weiss understood her the most in battle, supporting her and always having her back no matter what.

She loved that about her, among many other things.

It was that thought that made Ruby start to walk over there, the question on the tip of her tongue, when out of seemingly nowhere, the Ace-Ops had made their way inside the training room, and Ruby froze mid-step when Marrow walked up to Weiss, breaking her concentration on her glyphs to talk with her.

Ruby blinked, watching them from afar, noticing the awkward nature of her partner and the light blush on her cheeks. Her eyebrows furrowed as Marrow rubbed the back of his neck, looking awkward and stiff as well, but he still smiled at Weiss, which she returned.

Since when were they so friendly?

Ruby felt a twitch to her brow when Marrow motioned to Weiss’ rapier, saying something about it, and Weiss raised it up, showing him the blade without much hesitation. Ruby’s stomach churned and coiled with an unfamiliar feeling all of a sudden when Marrow stepped closer to her, and her hands clenched around Crescent Rose when his hand touched Weiss’.

“Sheesh, I can feel that heat from over here, Rubes.” Yang suddenly had dropped down next to her from the top of a pillar, startling her and making her jump, and Blake followed suit, landing on her other side and giving her a small smile when she looked at her.

Ruby sputtered and whirled on her sister, annoyed at the smirk on her lips.

“You sure it’s not just your own? Your semblance includes your hair going on fire you know.” Ruby grumbled back, and Yang snickered at her, throwing her arm around her shoulder and sighing lightly. She shared a look with Blake over top of Ruby’s head, a silent conversation happening with their eyes - something that Ruby didn’t appreciate in her presence - and then Yang let out another sigh and looked down at Ruby, giving her a soft smile.

“Are you, perhaps, a little… Jealous, baby sister of mine?” Yang said, smile turning cheeky and devious.

Ruby’s cheeks warmed up and she shoved Yang away from her, ignoring her cackles and groaning a little, glancing back over to where Marrow and Weiss were still conversing, Myrtenaster still raised up between them.

“Of course not. They’re just talking - and, Weiss and I aren’t...” Ruby said, trailing off at the end, a slight pang in her heart when she saw Weiss lightly giggle at something Marrow said to her.

“Right… Totally.” Yang sounded unconvinced, but Ruby decided to ignore it, shaking her head.

“I don’t remember them ever being that close before.” Blake stepped into the conversation with that light observation, her voice contemplative, and Ruby was inclined to agree with that.

Sure, they’ve all been getting along with the Ace-Ops these past few days, sparring with them and taking on missions with them every so often, learning the ropes of being full blown Huntresses’. It’s been an amazing experience, one that Ruby was not taking for granted and was thoroughly enjoying. However, she didn’t consider any of them… Super close to the Ace-Ops yet, and she chalked up this feeling inside of her as one of confusion and worry over why Marrow was being overly friendly all of a sudden.

“Beats me.” Yang said, shrugging and placing her hands on her hips. “They look like they’re very well acquainted though.” Yang mused, and Ruby elbowed her in her ribs, Yang grunting a little at the pain and flicking Ruby’s ear.

“Hey!” Ruby protested, but Yang just laughed at her.

“Listen, Rubes. I was just teasing before, but…” Yang suddenly turned serious, looking down at her and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. “I think you’ve got more going on in that head of yours that you should probably unpack. I mean, if you’re feeling a little off seeing those two hitting it off, well…” Yang trailed off, half-shrugging and ruffling Ruby’s hair, messing it up even more than it was.

Ruby huffed and pushed her hand away, levelling her with a knowing look.

“You’re telling me to unpack my feelings?” Ruby shot back, and Yang’s cheeks turned a deep shade of red, her eyes widening for a brief second. Ruby lifted an eyebrow and glanced at Blake on her other side, whose ears had lowered a bit and her cheeks had shifted in colour as well. Ruby rolled her eyes at them both before letting out another sigh and returning her eyes to her partner, Marrow making her laugh again.

Ruby couldn’t deny that Yang… May have a point with that. She really did feel off seeing Weiss getting along with him, and she truly wasn’t sure why. Weiss has gotten along with others plenty of times before - she gets along with Team FNKI just fine, and the other Ace-Ops as well. There was back in Beacon when she was kind of into Neptune, and sure, maybe Ruby wasn’t thrilled about her talking about going to the dance with him, but she was overall happy for her.

Ruby suddenly honed in on that memory of Weiss and Neptune, how Weiss was smitten with him for a while, and although she believed that was long gone now, it left a bad taste in her mouth to even imagine Weiss in his arms, making her laugh, when Ruby could do all those things just fine.

Ruby blinked at her own thoughts, and she whipped her head up with wide eyes, Blake and Yang glancing at each other, then looking back at Ruby with questions in their eyes.

“Oh.” Ruby said, suddenly feeling like the biggest fool in existence. It all made sense now, when she thought about it much deeper - why it bothered her so much back at Beacon when Jaune confessed his little crush on Weiss, when Neptune sat with Weiss at the dance, and now, when Marrow got a little too close to her while talking with her, and made Weiss laugh and smile.

She could name that feeling in her stomach now.

And that feeling was suddenly tenfold when Marrow touched Weiss’ shoulder, giving her a soft smile. Ruby clenched her fist at her side, but was quick to try and dispel her anger at the situation.

She and Weiss weren’t… Anything, and she only just fully realised what she was feeling a few seconds ago, albeit still somewhat confused about when and how those feelings developed. Maybe they’ve always been there, in the depths of her heart, waiting to crawl out, and the moment she’s able to fully focus on them, it’s at a difficult and hectic time for them all.

And, she realised, she truly had no right to infringe on her partner’s happiness, if she truly was getting along with Marrow. Weiss deserved to be happy, and although the thought of it not being her hurt her heart and increased that jealousy even more, it wouldn’t be right of her to saunter over there and demand that Marrow leave her partner alone.

So, instead, she deflated and leaned up against Yang’s side, and her sister blinked down at her in confusion, wrapping her arm around her to pull her in a bit closer.

“You okay, Rubes?” Yang asked, and Blake was looking over at her with concerned eyes as well, but Ruby just sighed and nodded, quickly picking herself back up and pulling away from Yang, gripping onto Crescent Rose a little tighter.

“I’m alright. I just… I think I’m gonna go sit down for a bit.” Ruby mumbled, and without another glance at them or Weiss, she walked over to the furthest wall from Weiss and Marrow and sheathed Crescent Rose on her back, sliding down to the floor and sitting there, lost in thought about the revelation she’s just had.

It took her far too long to actually come to terms with that, and although it made sense given that Ruby never really paid much attention to feelings, it also made all the more sense that she couldn’t imagine her life without Weiss. She couldn’t imagine either of them having their bond with anybody else, and she couldn’t imagine not being by Weiss’ side.

She sighed and covered her face with her hands, shaking her head at her own thoughts. It was really an awful time to be having a crisis like this, when Salem could be on their doorstep at any moment and they had training to do, but Ruby’s life never really went how she wanted nowadays, did it?

“Ruby?”

Ruby froze at the familiar voice, the person standing just in front of her, and she gulped down the lump that formed in her throat. She took a breath and removed her hands from her face to look up, silver eyes meeting the worried blue ones of Weiss Schnee.

“Hey, Weiss.” Ruby croaked.

The worry only increased tenfold in her partner’s eyes at that response.

“What’s wrong? Are you… Doing okay?” Weiss asked.

It was careful, her partner approaching with caution as if Ruby was on the verge of breaking apart. Ruby swallowed again and looked down, resting her arms on her raised knees, shrugging her shoulders weakly.

“I’m okay, don’t worry.” Ruby said.

It didn’t sound very convincing to her own ears, so she wasn’t surprised when Weiss huffed and walked up to the wall beside her, sliding herself down right next to her, so close that her body heat radiated off of her and melted over Ruby, their thighs only a slight breath apart.

“Listen, I know… Things have been hectic here, and we haven’t had a lot of time like we used to. But… I’m always here for you. You can always talk to me.” Weiss said. Ruby glanced over to her, her eyes already on her, and Ruby’s stomach fluttered nervously when Weiss threw a gentle smile her way, one that was so often hidden from other people. “You know that, right?”

Ruby did know that - she knew Weiss was always there. She never had to look very far, because her partner would always be there, not far from her, always lifting her up and believing in her. She was always there with a comforting hand on her shoulder and that small, soft smile that Ruby had noticed was usually only reserved for her.

She knew all of this, and yet, she couldn’t help but think that one day, someone else would have all of Weiss Schnee, and she would have far less than she’d like.

But Ruby tried her best to push those thoughts away, send them far down into the depths of her mind in order to flash a strained smile, nodding a little towards her partner.

“Of course.” Ruby replied, maintaining the smile on her face as best as she could.

Weiss fell silent as they looked at each other, searching each other’s gazes for a solid minute before she hummed and looked away, sweeping her eyes across the training room.

Ruby followed her gaze, and noticed Marrow towards the exit of the room, talking with Harriet about something serious, if Harriet’s expression was anything to go by. She saw Weiss’ eyes linger over there for a second, and Ruby’s heart constricted painfully even as Weiss pulled her eyes away.

She felt like she had to say something - anything to break the uncomfortable atmosphere that had settled around them, mostly due to her own awkward feelings towards her best friend who was clearly interested in another person.

“So,” Ruby cleared her throat, garnering Weiss’ attention. “Sorry if coming over here interrupted your glyph practice.” Ruby said, tacking on a lighthearted laugh at the end, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes fully.

Weiss furrowed her eyebrows.

“Why are you apologising? Don’t be silly.” Weiss huffed, rolling her eyes with fondness and knocking their shoulders together, a light smile on her face. “I may be enjoying all this rigorous training, but it would never come between time with you, no matter how little.”

Ruby’s heart quickened, but she desperately tried not to get sidetracked - an image of her and Marrow cosying up to each other flashing in her mind, reminding her of what brought her over to this wall to begin with.

“Right.” Ruby sighed, flashing a brief smile at her. “It looked like Marrow was… Giving you lots of advice, though.” She continued, hoping that her voice was level enough that Weiss didn’t notice how much this was truly affecting her.

Now Weiss’ cheeks tinged a bit pink, but she let out a huff, rolling her eyes again - this time with a bit of annoyance, much to Ruby’s surprise.

“Sure, if by advice you mean tell me things I already knew while he was a stuttering mess, then you’d be absolutely correct.” Weiss said, letting out a sigh. “It was just… Very awkward, and while I appreciated his attempts, I told him I was fine.”

Ruby was now thoroughly confused - it looked like they were getting along super well, cosying up to each other and laughing together, looking almost smitten and flirty.

“I mean… You were pretty flustered though.” Ruby said, hoping her voice didn’t waver too much at that moment as she knocked her shoulder against Weiss’ again, attempting to jest with her.

Weiss blinked and narrowed her eyes at Ruby, firmly knocking her shoulder back.

“Absolutely not. That’s just… Downright ridiculous, even for you.” Weiss said, and it almost sounded convincing to Ruby, but her insecurity around the whole situation made her believe Weiss was simply projecting, denying the possible truth that hurt Ruby more than anything.

However, she just wanted Weiss to be happy, in the end.

“You were all… blushy and stuff, though.” Ruby said, poking her in the shoulder, and Weiss’ cheeks flared up once again. However, she only seemed to become more irritated rather than embarrassed, and she just shook her head at Ruby, narrowing her eyes at her.

“It’s because it was weird, Ruby.” Weiss replied swiftly. “He’s… Nice, and seemed genuinely helpful, but it just felt awkward alone with him because I barely know him outside of the Ace-Ops. I just tried to laugh through it, to be honest.” Weiss sighed at the end, leaning herself back against the wall and turning her gaze back onto the others as they practised around the room.

Ruby blinked, heart thundering in her chest at what Weiss just said to her. It was taking her a bit longer than usual to catch up, and when her silence persisted longer than normal, Weiss glanced over to her, tilting her head questioningly.

“Would… There have been a problem if I was okay with his attention?” Weiss said, curious eyes aimed on her.

Ruby felt her face heat up and she shook her head immediately, trying her best to pick up the pieces of this conversation that she never expected would go this direction.

“No, ‘course not. You can… You know, um, talk to whoever you want.” Ruby said, clearing her throat and shifting herself on the floor. She looked away from Weiss’ piercing blue eyes to gather herself for a moment, before saying, “As long as you’re happy, Weiss.”

She truly meant it - even if she was masking how uncomfortable she was at the thought of Weiss with someone else, she knew in her heart that it was completely up to her partner in the end. She was genuine here, despite the rest of the conversation being her masking her emotions about the entire thing.

Weiss hummed next to her, then startled her when her hand reached out to lay over top of Ruby’s on her knee, squeezing gently. Ruby shot her eyes up to meet hers, Weiss’ soft smile overtaking her face again, her fingers curling around Ruby’s.

“I’m pretty happy right now.” Weiss said, a light pink tone to her cheeks as her smile turned a bit shy, and Ruby truly had no idea how she didn’t pass out right then and there, considering she had sucked in such a harsh breath and was now not exhaling.

Weiss was waiting on her to answer though, so she puffed out a breath and slowly nodded.

“Good.” Ruby replied, hoping that her hand wasn’t gross and clammy, and hoping that Weiss couldn’t hear the pounding of her heartbeat from where she was.

Weiss seemed to search her eyes for a moment, and whatever she found seemed to make her smile again, as if stumbling upon a secret in Ruby’s silver orbs that she was trying to keep hidden. It was as if she uncovered something she wasn’t exactly meant to, and Ruby saw a bright look in her eye when she suddenly leaned against her, laying her head on her shoulder and snuggling up to her.

Ruby almost choked on air as Weiss settled in, letting out a gentle sigh.

“By the way,” Weiss said, her fingers curling a bit tighter around Ruby’s. “Marrow is so not my type.”

Ruby swallowed down the gasp that threatened to escape when Weiss leaned further into her side, her breath ghosting the side of her neck and leaving goosebumps behind on her skin. Ruby glanced up at the ceiling, threw out a silent prayer to any of the Gods out there, and took a small breath.

“What is your type, then?” Ruby said.

She tried to sound unassuming and innocent - just a curious friend asking another friend who she would be into, if she had feelings for someone. And whether or not she was successful in that was unclear, as Weiss just hummed and kept her face turned away from her, giving no indication whatsoever.

Finally, Weiss spoke again.

“Someone that knows me, and all the cracks and frail parts of my armour that I hide behind. And someone that knows that they wouldn’t need to be jealous about someone simply speaking to me, because at the end of the day, I would be sitting next to them rather than with anyone else.”

Ruby seized up immediately, panic rising inside of her at those words. There was no way it wasn’t about her, and for a moment it startled her just how easily Weiss could read her sometimes, could understand what was in her mind even before she could at times. It was a bit scary, but Weiss didn’t pull away from her at all, so Ruby deemed that a good thing as Weiss continued on.

“Someone that would be patient with me, while we figure everything out.” Weiss mumbled, and it was then that Ruby realised she was assuredly speaking about her, and it was then that Ruby also realised that Weiss was possibly in the same boat as her.

It was something out of their comfort zone, something completely new and alien to them both, but they felt it for each other. They felt that bond with each other, and although Ruby had spent most of this training session wallowing in her own thoughts with her heart full of green, it all vanished the minute Weiss said those words.

It was silly to be jealous, Ruby realised. Because Weiss was there with her.

And although it may take them a bit to understand these feelings between them, Ruby was okay to wait however long to figure it out with her best friend.

And perhaps, once they’ve navigated that, it would be even more than just a friendship.

But for now, Ruby would wait.

Weiss was definitely worth it.

#rwby #whiterose #weiss schnee #ruby rose #ask #answered #anon #anonymous #otp: thank me later #my fics

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disaster-fruit · 3 years ago

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67 with the pairing of your choice?

67) “If you want to cum you’d better beg.”

I wasnt gonna write this one with brarg since oxiosa already did it but then i realized we didnt actually get to see martin begging, so yep, its brarg.

Trans luci again because im in a mood these days apparently

CW: sounding

Martín considered himself a simple man in love. Love, the feeling, could be messy and intense and painful, but was, at its core, extremely simple. So was love the act. He never quite got the appeal of complicating it, of adding to it more than what came naturally and easily.

Loving Luciano challenged this a little. Martín, who had never used a single toy before, now had memorized the different sizes and feelings of each option in Luciano’s small dildo collection, and interrupting a make-out session to announce in a breathless whisper his choice for the night had quickly become a habit. He got used to these small changes, these moments of interruption and of waiting, but loving him was still, at the end of the day, extremely easy and extremely simple. Most of the time.

But once he got used to one type of toy, curiosity about others got the best of him. And Luciano, who had more experience with those things, was always more than happy to indulge his curiosity, but he had his own curiosities too. Mostly, about Martín himself, like an object of study, of a fascinated pursuance on how best to break him.

And that’s how they ended up like this.

Martín was on his back on the bed, with his hips settled on Luciano’s thighs. He wasn’t restrained, in theory, but in practice Luciano’s order – said softly like a request, a mere suggestion, but with a firm edge underneath – was very clear. Martín had both hands busy holding his legs spread up in the air, offering himself, granting Luciano full access, which was somehow much more embarrassing than having the choice completely taken from him with a physical restrain. And he was to remain like this, because Luciano needed both hands free.

Luciano was comfortably seated over his ankles, with only the tip of his vibrator inside Martín, buzzing lowly at minimum speed. All his focus was on the shiny metal rod on his hands, sliding on his palm to generously cover it with lube. It was about the size of a straw, but silver and cold, with small ridges along the length and a ring on top. It was something called a sound, and it was more intimidating than it had looked on the website.

“Remember,” Luciano said with a small lazy smile. “That you can’t come with this inside.” He took Martín’s erection in one hand, holding it straight. “But don’t worry, I’ll take it out when you’re close.” His other hand positioned the sound hovering over the small entrance on Martín’s cock. “If you ask nicely.”

Martín swallowed at the hidden threat behind these words. He closed his eyes shut when Luciano gently pushed the tip of the rod inside, but a hiss escaped from his mouth. The sound slid down easily with its own weight, controlled by the little ring on the top so that it would go slowly. Its ribbed body somewhat reminded Martín of Luciano’s textured dildos, but the feeling itself was quite different, and completely new. Every tiny ridge seemed to go through a thousand nerves in his cock he had never known were there, and though it burned, the pain itself was surprisingly little. Martín groaned in approval and slowly opened his eyes to find Luciano smiling it him, holding the sound still by the ring before it was fully in.

He pushed his hips slightly forward, making Martín moan in surprise as the vibrator went in a little further, stopping also not fully in, but very close to his sweet spot. Luciano moved again, very little, and when Martín let out a helpless cry of pleasure as he hit it, he halted.

He turned the vibration up a few points, making Martín’s entire body shake. He was used to being pounded and filled, but that constant, loveless stimulation of the vibrator only in enough to hit his spot was its own experience. Satisfied with his reaction, Luciano remained still and let the sound slide down all the way, and that was when Martín understood the trouble he had gotten himself into.

He gasped at first then threw his head back in an open moan. His heart was racing on his chest, his nails dug deep on the soft flesh of his tights to the point of hurting as a lightning strike seemed to destroy the whole world around him. It hit, so, so right, so strange yet familiar, overwhelming and maddening and new.

He read on the internet about how sounds could be used to hit the prostate from inside, in a way that was even better than the usual way. That had seemed very interesting, but Martín wasn’t expected to get both at the same time, and certainly no one could’ve prepared him for this. And Luciano was using a free hand to calmly stroke him from the outside, in such a combination of sensations, so much at the same time from every direction, yet Martín was thankful for the warm touch of skin, soothing him, taking care of him. The position didn’t let them kiss, but Luciano was softly rubbing his cheek against Martín’s leg, that was what he had closer at reach, grounding him to his loving attention.

“Good?”

Martín nodded a little more desperately than he would’ve liked, but Luciano looked very pleased. He pulled the sound slowly and Martín had to bite his lips to hold a moan as he slid it down again. He settled into a rhythm, sliding a little further every time, but pulling back before he could quite hit it again, at least most times. He would randomly let it slide down all the way to drink from Martín’s helpless reactions, but making each time a complete surprise. Martín had never imagined he could be fucked there, but yes, there wasn’t another word for it. Fucked inside out, there was nothing simple, nothing easy, nothing natural about it, but it was so, so right.

At some point he didn’t even quite see, Luciano raised the speed of the vibrator a little more, and Martín felt himself close incredibly fast, but using every will in his body he held it back.

“Something wrong, honey?” Luciano asked in an infuriatingly smug tone. “Close already?”

Martín refused to answer.

“Cat got your tongue?”

Martín bit down his lip harder. Luciano let the sound down completely, and his world was spinning. He was so close, if he talked, if he moved, if he let it go for even a second, he would come.

“Just say it, baby. Just say it and you can cum.”

His voice was so sweet, like warm honey luring him in. Martín was decided not to ask, Luciano couldn’t torture him forever, he told himself he couldn’t, but he was shaking and his body was promising such delicious release, he couldn’t hold back forever.

“Please, I-”

Luciano giggled, and, looking at him with his eyes full of love, thrusted his hips forward and buried the vibrator completely in him for the first time. Martín screamed in shock, and he would’ve come, he would’ve come beautifully but the sound was still fully in place.

“You can do better than that.” He whispered, so softly it could’ve been sweet loving words, if Luciano wasn’t evil. “I love making you feel good, baby. But if you want to cum, you’d better beg.”

Martín wanted to cry. He had held back orgasms before, to make a moment last longer, but he had never been denied one. He’d never let someone have such power over him, such control of his pleasure as to demand something like this. He didn’t beg, he- But Luciano was fucking him again with that evil little sound, pulling it by the ring like an evil puppet master about to make him say anything he wanted. Martín held his breath, not ready to give in even as he pushed it down, slow, always slow, and the vibrator now fully in him and at maximum speed, and well, at least Luciano wasn’t properly fucking him there too, it was already too much as it was. But he was smiling, such a relaxed little smile.

“Spread your legs a little wider for me, love. You’ve closed them a bit.” He asked, or it sounded like an ask, but it very much was an order.

And Martín hated following orders, so it was incredibly frustrating that the hidden authority in his words were more arousing than anything else. And Martín obeyed.

“Good boy.”

He would die on that bed, he was sure of it. He wouldn’t survive this man. Luciano started rocking his hips slowly, settling everything in one single rhythm, from the hand stroking his cock to the sound and the vibrator inside him. Martín felt his whole body shiver, his denied orgasm wasn’t even allowed to dissipate, and now Luciano was sliding the rod all the way every time, making sure to drive him mad. It was so much, from all directions, the tension pooling in his stomach was begging for release, begging for him to beg.

There was just so much he could take.

“Please, Luci, please. Please my love, I’m-” his voice came in breathless desperate gasps. “Let me- Please.”

He heard a chuckle. Luciano pushed his entire body forward, buried the vibrator all the way inside him, and pulled the sound out in one swift move. The way out was in itself maddening, with every single ridge passing through again, and the moment it was out Martín felt his orgasm take over completely.

After such delay, so much accumulated lust, it crashed like an ocean wave breaking against stone, magnificent and perfect and so intense and everything promised to him and more. Then, as it faded, Martín found himself floating, satisfied and relaxed from head to toe. And Luciano was smiling.

“How are you feeling, love?” Luciano asked in a whisper, running his fingers softly through his hair. “Was it too much?”

Martín opened his eyes slowly to meet his lover’s. All he wanted now was to bury his face in the safety of his chest.

“A little bit, yes. But I liked it.” He answered, doing exactly that.

“I’m glad.” Luciano kissed him on the crown of the head and closed his arms around him “I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Don’t worry…” Martín raised his face to give him a peck on the lips. “It’s hot when you get all bossy on me.”

Luciano let out a laugh.

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure I could make you beg. You’re stubborn like a mule.”

Martín laughed too, snuggling closer to him. That, at least, was still as simple and easy as breathing.

“You’re very persuasive.”

#im actually happy with this one!! earth is healing #thank you for coming to my sub bottom martin ted talk

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zosin-ya · 5 years ago

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Hello my dear friend! I really loved your headcanons with Killer and Hawkins walking in on their crush, and i wanted to ask if we can have a part 2, where this time it's their crush who are walking in ~ SFW or NSFW i let you choose 🤗 (im pretty you were surprised by my request 👀👀)

[Part 1!] [Headcanon of Killer and Hawkins walking ino n their crush changing]

[Totally did not expect this ask...no... 👀 So Since I already like the setup, I will recycle that one. Especially the forest part with Killer, and i continued with Hawkins part. And I made it SFW since it’s two characters and I didn’t want it to be too long ;°; My apologies. Hope you enjoy!]

Your captain had given you the task to go collect something edible. May it be mushrooms, berries or any other obscure plant which wouldn’t poison the pirates. You were the ships medic, and you had the knowledge for it. Especially after you prepared yourself before your crew anchored at this nature-dominated island. You have found some fitting literature for this specific island which had given you the information on what to eat, and what to stay away from.

While you walked in the humid atmosphere, you got thirsty at some point and followed the sound of the river. Your steps were light and quiet as usual. When you arrived, you felt a too familiar presents close by, and tensed up. You looked around, only to spot a wild blond mane. Staying hidden behind a tree trunk you watched him. He was closing the buttons on his jeans. His shirt, his mask and his weapons were laying in the grass. It seemed like he took a quick bath, his hair seemed damp from the water. Understandable considering how many days you’ve been on this island now. All the walking through mud and bushes didn’t do well on the crew hygiene. His bare back was turned to you, and you kept watching him from the distance. He didn’t move, just stood there. You noticed how his back muscles tensed up. His behavior was off.

Within seconds, Killer had one of his scythe in his hand, turned around and threw it into your direction. The speed the blade was spinning at you made your heart stop. Without even thinking you pulled your sword out, enough for the blade to keep the tip in the sword sheath, and blocked his scythe. It crashed against your blade, and made you stumble backwards for a bit. “You should know better to not stalk people when they’re changing.” Without his mask and his shirt, he walked over to you, his voice somewhat amusing. You needed a second to catch your breath, before you pushed your sword back in. Sneaking up on Killer wasn’t smart. “Throwing your scythe wasn’t necessary.” You said with a sigh and stroke your hair back, before you faced him. Seeing him without his mask wasn’t new to you. He was quite comfortable around you, and you were well aware of that. Yet, the way the sun hit against him and contoured his edges wasn’t something you were used to. He caught you starring, again.

Killer snipped in front of your face, trying to get you back to reality. You blinked a few times in irritation, before you pulled your eyes away from his torso and faced him.“I knew it was you. Wanted to test you.” He grinned slightly, and picked up his scythe to put it back into it’s sheath. He knew your skills, you wouldn’t be a member of this crew if you wouldn’t be strong. “Hope you enjoyed it.” He tilted his head, self-confidence beaming from him. He knew how you felt for him, that’s what made him so cocky. Situations like this weren’t rare, the two of you flirted a lot when the others were not around. Throwing suggestive comments at each other whenever you could. You knew it was mutual, yet still hidden. “Of course, thanks for the show.” You said and grinned up to him. He clicked his tongue and bowed down to you, capturing your chin between his fingers. The way his broad form hovered over you made goosebumps spread over you skin. You didn’t back down, and leaned into his touch, a grin still hovering on your lips. “It’s not for free...” His voice was deep and raspy, almost a whisper.

This cat-and-mouse game was going on for a while now, and there were many opportunities you could have taken. Like this one. No one was around, no one would hear you two. However, you didn’t want this to be some friendship with benefits. You’ve seen this with many women on man-dominated crews. It seemed enjoyable, but you wanted something more. Your crush had developed into a love interest, and you were not a toy Killer would play with however he wanted.

Before he could react, you had your dagger pulled, pressed against his throat. It was in no way threatening, Killer was aware of that. It was rather playful, just like him throwing the his scythe. A smirk formed on his lips and he raised an eyebrow. You pressed the blade slightly against his skin, just to let him feel the cold blade. “Ask me out, and I will repay you.” Killers shoulders shook from the chuckle he held back. He loved that on you. You played along with all those dirty jokes and suggestive looks, however weren’t easy to get. A women with dignity and self-confidence. Just his taste.

“Alright.” He pulled away, and walked back to were his shirt and mask was. You put your dagger back and watched him gather his stuff with a smirk. “If we survive this shithole island, I will take you out. Deal?”

“Deal.”

You were really thankful that you were allowed to use his bathtub. It calmed your mind and relaxed your body more than ever. Not only taking a bath, but generally the atmosphere in his bathroom was so cozy. He had a good sense for decorating the room, and those essential oils for the water were amazing. He knew how to relax, that was clear.

The last time he allowed it to you, without you asking. It was an offer you gladly took. This time, you wanted to ask him for a second allowance. The relationship between you and your captain seemed pretty down to earth from an outta perspective, yet you two get along really well. So well, that he indeed allowed you a second time. The crew had noticed that you sometimes got a different treatment from the captain, and they didn’t begrudged it. They actually liked seeing you two together and only waited for the moment when it would finally happen. Your personalities fitted perfectly for each other, which you had noticed as well. But for now, you thanked your captain for being able to use the bathtub again. You agreed on the evening, since the crew had business to take care of the whole day.

That business ended in a bloodbath, a glory victory for you crew. Some small injuries but nothing to be worried about. Your clothes were soaked in blood which slowly beg an to dry and smell of iron. Dirt and blood from your enemies covered your hands and some drops even landed on your face. You felt disgusting and the only thing you wanted was that promised bath. A quick visit to your own room to grab your stuff, before you headed to the captains cabin. You knocked, yet no one answered. Thinking Hawkins wasn’t there, you opened up the room and peaked inside. It was empty. You closed the door behind you and were about to step into the bathroom, when you spotted that the door was open. You froze in place when you saw your captain sitting on the edge of the bathtub. He had his shirt removed, and tried to scrub the blood stains away. A red splash of it was on his face and on his torso. He looked like he came freshly from combat, which he actually did.

He didn’t look up, yet spoke to you which made you flinch just a bit. It felt like he didn’t notice you, yet he was well aware that you were in his room. He didn’t forgot the promise he made. “My apologies, I will leave in a minute.” You nodded and stepped into the room, to place your fresh clothes in your hand on a stool close by. He was still scrubbing his shirt, but at some point gave it up. He tried to remove the fresh blood as good as possible, so the later washing would do the rest. Looking up, he faced you, and watched how you placed your neatly folded clothes aside. His eyes then darted to the bathtub. He’d love to take a bath right now, he felt as dirty as you did. You caught him looking, aware of what he was thinking. A silent sigh left your lips as you sat next to him on the edge of the bathtub. “Hawkins...I think the thing between us is pretty obvious now isn't it?” He looked at you for a moment and nodded. He thought the same. “I guessed you would want to speak about it today. It was time anyway. Waiting longer wouldn’t do any good.”

There was a short silence between you two, both trying to think of words to say. The right words. You mind was circling over so many thoughts and questions you had, you couldn't decided which one was the right one. “...Should we?” You finally broke the silence and looked at the blonde one. This questions was probably one he could answer better than you. Not only with him reading cards, but also him having a good gut feeling for decisions. That was the reason he was the captain after all. He knew when the risk was worth it, and when not. Hawkins looked into his lap and tilted his head. He was thinking about it. He had thought about it for a long time actually. And the answer was yes every time, the chance of a successful relationship with you only grew by time. However, he didn’t want to answer with a simple yes.

Actually, he didn’t answer you at all, and simply stood up. He turned around to close the plughole of the bathtub, before he turned on the water. You watched him curiously, knowing you captain would give you an answer eventually, which didn’t have to be verbal. He took a few of the essential oils, looked at them and tried to decide which one to pick. A floral one got chosen. He let a few drops fall into the water and put the glass bottle back into the basket. The candles in the room got lit, and the bullseye covered with the curtains. When he closed the door of the bathroom and stayed with you, you knew you got your answer. It was a clear ‘yes’. A small smile formed on your lips and your heart raced liked wild. Even more when he began to strip down completely and sat into the tub. He looked at you, nodding into the water. You of course understood his silent demand, and removed your blood soaked clothes. Hawkins held a hand out for you and helped you get into the tub. You made yourself comfortable between his legs with your back resting against his chest.

His arms wrapped around your form, and he leaned his head back, closing his eyes. “Well, since it’s official, how about we share my room as well. How does that sound?”

#hawkins was pretty fun to write actually #one piece imagine #One piece killer #Killer x Reader #reader insert #one piece x reader #basil hawkins #hawkins x reader #one piece supernova #romance #hawkins hc #killer hc

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youvebeenlivingfictional · 4 years ago

Text

Love Isn’t Always On Time Part Thirty Seven

Previous Part | Next Part | Masterlist Notes: Not Beta-Read. Also if you’ve asked to be added to the tag lis and I haven’t, I’m sorry! This is my sideblog and I can’t reply to messages without it being my main (if that makes sense) so just shoot me either an IM or a message on my inbox and I’ll add you I hope everyone’s doing well :) Warnings: Some cursing? Summary: Call me old-fashioned, but I thought three people standing at a bar, all wearing sunglasses and baseball caps may stand out a little.

The twenty minutes that had followed the broadcast had been status quo for the last two years of my life, and had been the modus operandi in my time with the Howlies - “Grab your shit, we need to be out of here in twenty.” New mission, new parameters. But there were new lines now that we were in danger of crossing. Any actions that we took to go after Bucky wouldn’t be sanctioned by General Ross, by the UN; everyone would be watching us way more closely now.

Steve was tracking down what he could on recon when it came to Bucky; Sharon had promised to feed back what she could without suspicion and while keeping her head above water with the investigation. The image of Bucky was everywhere - a collar pulled up around his neck, a black cap fitted over his head, but he looked directly at the camera.

Sam and I were waiting at a coffee bar as Steve made contact with Natasha; the bombing was on every single channel, everyone around us was talking about it. I kept my head down as much as I could, feeling conspicuous even in black baseball cap and sunglasses. Call me old-fashioned, but I thought three people standing at a bar, all wearing sunglasses and baseball caps may stand out a little. “Something is off about this,” Sam grumbled, “After all of the trouble he’s gone through the keep his head down for the past couple of years, there’s no way he’d slip up just to attack the Accords and then get caught out like that.” “Unless some HYDRA asshole got to him and he’s been reactivated,” I offered quietly, “Or it’s not him at all. Remember that mask ‘Tasha had when we were in D.C.? He could be framed. And he’s already been forced to do so much, wouldn’t be implausible that he’s been made to do something else.” We quieted down as Steve came back in; I could tell from the tightness in his jaw that the conversation with Natasha didn’t go the way he wanted it. “She tell you to stay out of it?” Sam asked. When Steve didn’t answer, he tacked on, “Might have a point.” "He’d do it for me,” Steve pointed out. “In 1945, maybe. I just want to make sure we considered all our options. The people that shoot at you usually wind up shooting at me. And this one hasn’t spent that much time since she splashed back down in the 2000s,” Sam tacked on, nodding in my direction. Steve caught my eye over the top of his sunglasses, and I averted my eyes. “If you have reservations about this, Wilson, have them, but don’t drag me into that,” I argued softly. Sam grunted in turn, quieting down as Sharon settled in beside Steve. “Tips have been pouring in since that footage went public. Everybody thinks the Winter soldier goes to their gym. Most of it's noise. Except for this. My boss expects a briefing, pretty much now...so that's all the head start you're gonna get,” She relayed, passing Steve a file. “Thank you,” He mumbled. “And you're gonna have to hurry,” Sharon warned. My blood ran cold when she added, “We have orders to shoot on sight.”

“I don’t like this,” I said quietly, glancing up at the building. Sam was stationed on the roof, and I was keeping to the alleyway of the building, waiting on a rented motorcycle that Steve and I had driven over on. Steve looked at the cowl in his hands. We didn’t have the time to contemplate, but I couldn’t shake the feeling in my gut. “Stay out here, keep to the comms, fall back unless I tell you,” he repeated. I pursed my lips and give him a tight nod, averting my eyes to the street. Steve cupped my chin, forcing me to look at him. “It’s safest this way,” He reminded me gently. “I know,” I mumbled, “Just... Go, and be careful.” Steve pressed a kiss to my forehead before he fitted his cowl on, buckling it and heading inside. I watched the door shut behind him before I looked up to the roof at where Sam was peering down at us. I gave him a wave, signalling that Steve had gone inside. “... I’ve got German special forces approaching from the South,” Sam warned. I grimaced, leg shaking impatiently. “Come on, Steve,” I mumbled, waiting for him to open the comm, to give the all clear to come up, something. I didn’t get that. What I got instead was the sound of gunfire, yelling. I kept my eyes on the sky, waiting for a signal from Sam or a call from Steve. What I did see was Bucky jump from one roof to another, then another person jump after him. I brought my hand up to my ear. “Sam, what the hell is that?” “It looks like a cat man!” Sam yelled back. “A fuckin’ what?” I asked, unable to help a delirious laugh. “They’re heading for the sidewalk,” Sam warned in place of another answer, “Southwest corner!” I started my bike up, pulling my helmet on and pulling the visor down as I sped in the direction Sam mentioned. I could see them - there was Bucky, Steve, and another figure running at an unreal speed. “They’re heading for the underpass,” I groaned, picking up speed. I wasn’t sure what was worse at this point - Bucky jumping carelessly into oncoming traffic, the unidentified CatMan chasing him, or the fact that we still had German Special Forces on our tail. Even in my time in the 40s, even the recon mission in Roessel hadn’t presented me with so many opportunities to die on the spot. German Special Forces had largely paid me no mind, and I used that to my advantage, focusing my energy on defensive driving, diverting other vehicles from the chase, offering Steve and Sam space and cover where I could. I managed to follow Steve’s order, hanging back until Sam flicked the CatMan toward a detonation and fell back onto my bike to keep the both of us from getting caught under the fall of rubble that Bucky had set off. I would’ve taken a harder fall if it hadn’t been for Sam’s wings. I pushed off of the ground, hurrying out of the artificial light with Sam and spotting Steve and Bucky where they’d finally come to a stop with War Machine. “Stand down,” Rhodey warned from behind the visor. Sam and I brought our hands up, crowding closer to the others as German Special Forces closed us in. Bucky and Steve turned their heads to see who else he could possibly be addressing; I saw recognition wash over Bucky’s face in a quick, painful wave before he turned back to the matter at hand.

I would’ve moved closer, but there was Sam’s hand on my shoulder, carefully anchoring me in place to stop me from doing something stupid, like breaking into a run when there were god knows how many guns pointed at us. Part of me didn’t care. Bucky was here, he was in one piece, he saw me and he knew exactly who I was. But I also wasn’t the only one in the line of fire, and one stupid word or step out of line could spell even worse consequences for all of us. I cast Sam a pleading look despite this, and he gave me a small shake of his head. I kept carefully quiet as I watched soldiers shove Bucky to the ground and cuff him. Across from them, CatMan retracted his claws, reached up, and pulled off his helmet. My eyes widened at the sight of Prince T‘Challa. It took everything in me not to fight the cuffs being put on me, not to argue as I was strong-armed toward a vehicle with Sam and Steve and Prince T’Challa. “Shouldn’t he be getting a limo?” Sam muttered as we were nudged into a van. I shot him a look, fighting the smile that pulled at my lips. We were fucked, and we knew it. The Accords had been signed, we were way out of jurisdiction; we had gone essentially gone rogue. The ride was fairly quiet. Until, “So, you like cats?”

Tag list: @gloryevans @redryderdesigns @winter-scolder @aactuaaltraash @secretagentben @staplerrrr @elliee1497 @adayinmymeadow @allonszassbutt @mannls @witch-of-letters @niallssweetheart22 @uneniffler @rinthehufflepuff @panic-angel3314 @firstangeldragonranch @kaetastic @mcuwillbethedeathofme @skeletoresinthebasement @i-dont-know-what-im-doing-yay @kkaos15 @iamnotoverlyfondofwhatfollows @bassclarinety @tomshelbystits @rvgrsbrns @marvelmenarebeautiful @tenaciousperfectionunknown @intricate-melody @stuffandstuff-stuff @fanfuckingtastic04 @messybunnyartist @anescapefromtheworld @shesa-riott @bihoeofmanyfandoms

#stucky #stucky x reader #stucky x you #Steve Rogers #steve x bucky #steve rogers x bucky barnes #steve rogers x reader x bucky barnes #bucky barnes x steve rogers #Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x reader #Love Isn't Always on Time

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ultradiplr · 4 years ago

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Dip’s Reader Insert Kinktober 2020 Day 1 - Mutual Masturbation w/ Reinhardt.

Tags: Mutual Masturbation, Gender neutral reader, no serious harm just some light bruises and the like. No plot.

Plot: Reader and Reinhardt have fun while recovering.

A/N: Well, look at that, I am back on my fanfiction feet, sorry if the fic is a little rough to read on the technical side, im pretty rusty. Hope y’all enjoy!

You and Reinhardt have been sharing a makeshift hospital room for a few days now, still healing from a clash with null sectors outside of the city, not official Overwatch business of course, just two friendly vigilantes who were over their head. In your case much more over your head than him, you knew you should have just urged Reinhardt to wait for Brigitte to join him and protect him, but ah, its been so long since you’ve joined him on the battlefield yourself.

You turned over to look at him from your bed, giving him a sympathetic look as he all but absolutely spilled out of the smaller bed, but other than that, he was doing much much better than a few days ago. So good in fact, if it wasn’t for Torbjorn’s and your chiding of him, you were sure the big lion of a man would be out fighting more omnics right this second.

You tried to sit up and groaned as you felt a small pinch in your lower back, still sore from when you were knocked back by some sort of large omnic, the memories of that day fading a lot, and that stirred your partner enough for him to turn toward you.

“Something wrong?” He asked with a yawn, though concern clear in his voice.

“No, nothing at all, just a little stretching pain.” You said assuredly, stretching your back out as you sat up and rubbed at it, “Thats the last time I try to act young again, I don’t know how you do it.”

Reinhardt chuckled at that, a warm deep sound that felt as healing as any medicine, and he began to sit up as well, “There is always work to be done, fights to be won, its about honor, not glory.”

You smiled up at him as he sat up across from you, and admired the way the morning light trickled across his skin and toned scar covered muscles, “I know that, of course, but I am still in awe of your might, just like I was when I met you.”

He hummed as he looked at you back, those beautiful eyes, one white and the other a crystal blue, my, he was certainly handsome. A true viking of a man. So big and tough and strong, with chiseled features hidden away in that big soft beard. Had you not been as banged up as you were, and had not been given specific instructions not to, you would have glided across the floor and climbed on his lap to give good morning kisses on his rough skin and rake your fingers through those white locks.

His smiles wider, giving you hints of those pearly teeth, and you can feel your heart swoon at this knight, “Schatz, you flatter me, but thank you.” he winked at you and you chuckled.

“I wish I could really thank you like normal, mein Löwe…” You said with a slight bite of your lip and a flutter of your eyes, earning a sort of flustered cough from the older man.

It was always cute to you how easy it was to make the great Reinhardt Wilhelm blush. Though of course his shyness was quickly replaced with bravado and he chuckled lowly and deeply, his voice slipping into his more intimate tone.

“What do you suggest as an alternative than, maus?” He asked with a smirk, daring you to make a move.

You made a quick glance around, the hospital room empty besides you and Reinhardt, and the staff wasn’t very large at this specific facility, especially in your wing and especially since you and Reinhardt were in no need for much looking after for some bruises and muscle pains. You were tempted to stand and lock the door for extra security, but you also knew that lunch was a few hours more off, not like this was going to take that much time. You licked your lips and looked at him, locking eyes with him before sitting back on your bed and pulling up your hospital robe and pulling down your undershorts.

You saw Reinhardt suck in a breath at the sight of you as you spread open your legs lazily, giving him a sultry smile, the blush on his face expanding to the tips of his ears though his serious look did not leave his face.

“Playing a dangerous game, mauschen.” He said as the giant man himself began to sit back comfortably as well, pulling his own gown up to paw at his growing erection through his own shorts, his voice thick and heavy with growing desire.

“I know.” you said cheekily back as you let your hand glide its way over your leg and between them, playing slowly with yourself for him.

He lets out a soft moan as he watches you, eyes locked on your hand as he squeezes himself though the fabric, his bulging shorts making your mouth water. You set a steady pace for yourself, watching him watching you, letting the heat and desire take over.

Reinhardt slipped his shorts down enough to free his cock as you got into it, his cock drooling as he watched your hand move, aching to feel and touch and taste you. He took his cock in his hand and began to stroke himself, matching your speed, and applying pressure to mimic your hot body on him. He shivered as you call his name softly, not too loudly to alert anyone, and he coos to you back.

“Lovely, hot, sexy.” He murmurs to you, encouraging you to find your own peaking pleasure, as he himself was lost in it.

Before you know it the both of you are in the throws of passion, as you desperately try to keep yourself up enough to watch his hand furiously jack his dick. He on the other hand is practically drooling watching you, his face red, his pants and grunts hot and heavy, his body shaking with the building pleasure. It had been a while even before the fighting, and god had he been craving you. He imagined getting up right now, doctors be damned, and holding you down on that mattress and drilling his large cock into over and over again until this entire building knew who was giving you his load. And you would let him, hell, if he told you he wanted to do that he knew you would beg for him to, and that in itself made his cock throb wildly.

You both did not last long, you lasted a bit shorter than him, cumming with a whine of his name and letting your legs fall open for him, only for him to follow soon after and exploding his load into a few hastily grabbed napkins.

You watched him lazily as he caught his breath and threw away the evidence of his actions, doing much the same as you wiped yourself down, both of you feeling warm and good in your afterglow. Well, until another sharp pain ruined it and you flopped helplessly down on your bed once again.

“I am not as young as I used to be.” You said with a pout, and Reinhardt could only laugh as he settled back into bed as well.

#Reinhardt #overwatch reinhardt #reinhardt overwatch #reinhardt/reader #reinhardt wilhelm #reader insert #fanfiction

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vertyblog · 4 years ago

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Dead By Daylight Killer Concept: The Blaze

whoops im nerd and when i hyperfixate on a videogame i game design at it

say hi to The Blaze! A fire-based killer with a short ranged attack and some area denial capability.

also i still have dyscalculia do not expect me to provide hard numbers like DBD usually does

Lore: idk the entity grabbed an arsonist i got nothing interesting for you here in terms of backstory. His actual humanity beneath the mask is almost entirely silent, all of his audio presence instead comes from his big stompiness or the audio of his flamethrower, fuel sloshing, flame burning, whining of pressurized gas, etc. and most of his animations reflect that cold lack of humanity, or focus on the status of the flamethrower e.g when pallet stunned his flamethrower is damaged and he only stops to repair it.

Weapon: A Flamethrower. When The Blaze attacks, he swings the flamethrower one-handed like a club. On a miss, he jostles the flamethrower enough that he has to adjust the pressure gauge on the top. On a hit, he outright damages the flamethrower, which lets out a plume of smoke as he needs a second to repair it.

Power: Ignite. Hold M2 to wind up, during which time The Blaze slows down as he adjusts gauges, flicks switches, and aims it forward. The windup takes some time and can’t be interrupted. Once it finishes, he fires a cone of fire in front of him for a few seconds, during which his movement remains slowed, and his turning speed is reduced. Once Ignite has been used, the Blaze has a short stun, and has to “reload” his flamethrower before he can use Ignite again, which leaves him totally stationary.

Survivors hit by direct attack are set Ablaze. Objects, including generators, walls, pallets, etc. and the ground hit by the flame are set on fire, leaving a burning trail. Survivors who touch a burning object are set Ablaze, including touching an Ablaze survivor. Fire on the ground or objects lasts a short time before fading on it’s own, and any fire on the environment fades immediately if The Blaze uses Ignite while there is still flame on the map.

Ablaze survivors are on fire. When initially set ablaze, they gain a speed boost and damage resistance as if taking damage, though their damage state is not changed. After a few seconds of being on fire, they take an actual injury. This delayed damage repeats until they are put in the dying state, though they continue to be on fire on the ground for a moment longer.

Ablaze Survivors cannot perform normal actions, but can roll on the ground to put the fire out. Rolling on the ground leaves the survivor stationary for a short time.

Additionally, being on fire comes with the actual visual of being on fire, and thus makes Ablaze survivors easier to track.

Perks:

Familiar Scent: You become obsessed with one survivor. When your Obsession is in the healthy state, they leave a green trail where they go, as if they were bleeding. The trail is not visible to survivors, and is affected by other abilities related to blood trails.

Hex: Sadism: For every survivor currently in the Injured state, but not dying or hooked, Hex: Sadism gains a token. Hex: Sadism loses a token when a survivor changes state out of Injured (healing or being downed). Spend 3 Tokens the next time you injure a survivor to instantly send them to the dying state.

Accelerant: When the Killer is nearby a completed generator, they gain haste.

Addons!

...I mean most of them are probably gonna be “fire lasts longer” “ignite lasts longer” “ignite reloads faster” “movement speed/turning radius while igniting” etc. etc. thematically they’re a mixture of various burned objects, and pieces of scrapped technology to upgrade his flamethrower with, and accelerants.

Possible interesting addons might include aura reading or killer instinct on Ablaze survivors, Ablaze survivors still having a glowing cinder-y effect for a few moments after being put out, Ablaze survivors also having oblivious, maybe letting the initial Ignite blast do a real damage step in exchange for a longer windup or shorter burst, and possibly some perks affecting the actual shape of the flame cone.

If he needs a nerf, it’s pretty easy to change his windup, increase the amount of time Ablaze takes to tick damage, or make clearing it faster. And of course, if he needs a buff, then there’s always removing the turning radius part and just letting him spray in a big ol circle everywhere plus the various number adjustments.

But ye here he is. I noticed no killers really used fire as a mechanic in general and wanted to do something with it. He’s pretty slow and his main mechanics take a while to set up but they are also OPPRESSIVE if he gets you with them.

Mori:

The Blaze places a foot on the Survivor’s back and removes the tank of fuel from their flamethrower, tipping it over to dunk all over the Survivor’s back and their own foot. They step back, re-attaching the tank to the flamethrower, and reach into their pocket where they pull out a single match. They strike it against their coat and admire the flame close up for a moment, then toss it onto the Survivor. Once the flames die down and the Survivor stops moving, the Blaze cocks his head at the corpse, then looks up and moves on.

#Dead By Daylight #Dead By Daylight OC #DBD: The Blaze #vert's game design nerding #dbd

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kitanoko · 5 years ago

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tdmm mafia AU

Note: hello everyone!! im back with more tdmm ...written fast and for the hell of it I thought wow since i’m playing a mafia game...im getting tdmm vibes...so here it is. I dunno if there’ll be a part 2, probably? Enjoy!

Momo is a preschool teacher that had just started working at the school in her neighbourhood. Her longtime friend and roommate, Jirou, works in the same school as a music instructor. To Momo’s dismay, Jirou had tried many times before to match Momo up with someone. “You’re beautiful and smart…I really don’t see why anyone would reject you!” Jirou had always said. Momo laughed every time and told her friend how she wasn’t looking to date.

“Now you and that guy…Kaminari –“

Jirou cuts her off immediately and the round of teasing stops with Jirou blushing from ear to ear.

Truth be told, Momo hasn’t met anyone with whom she felt particularly attracted to just yet. It’s also a known fact that after 8 p.m. no one would dare go out, in case they got caught in the crossfire between the different families of the mafia that ruled the city. Every single night she’d hear bangs and booms outside her window. Curiosity got the better of her and she’d peek through the curtains to see blood splatters and sometimes even bodies being dragged towards the alley. Momo shuddered, flashbacks of her parents being captured, never to be found, once again flooding through her memory. She still hasn’t discovered their whereabouts but surely she will, even if it cost her her life.

Aizawa is a close family friend of Momo’s, once a disciple of her father’s and now a great private eye. He occasionally contacts Momo and makes sure she knows some of the discoveries that he encovered about Momo’s parents. One day, he tells her that he’s been getting some leads but was unwilling to share more than that.

“It’s to protect you,” Aizawa would say every time. Momo was frustrated and decided to follow him that very night. It wasn’t easy that’s for sure, with Aizawa being such an experienced investigator.

After twisting and turning and driving through back alleys, she ends up at the pier in front of what looked like a drug trade!

Momo is standing quite close to the dock, and she was freezing. Should’ve brought a scarf or something, she thinks. She watches closely….Aizawa was across, glaring at someone who she recognized straight away. It was the leader of the Shigaraki family…Shigaraki Tomura.

But wait a minute. Momo looks to the left and sees 3 younger men, around her age, standing there in expensive tailored suits. The green haired one whispered something to the peculiar white and red haired man. They were the other party involved in this trade? They look way too young to be mafia!

In the corner of her eye, someone else caught her attention. A familiar face hovered somewhere on one of the boats and she gasped. Was that…her father? Her eyes teared up. No way. This must be a joke or something. She could see Aizawa having the same reaction and it was then she knew it was real. Her father looked solemn, aged so much that she hardly recognize the gentle eyes he once had. Was he working for Shigaraki now? What was going on? The fear crept up her spine and she held onto a nearby crate to steady herself, except of course the worst situation happens…the crate tips over and crashes 3 ft below where she was.

“WHO’S THERE?” Momo sees Shigaraki usher his men over as the noise startles the crew. All of them were holding guns and running. They had seen her!

Oh no. This was NOT good. Momo rushes down the platform. Even if she could stay alive after this ordeal, Aizawa would murder her!

Momo bit her lip, trembling as she ran across to where she had parked her car, bullets were wheezing past her now. Good thing their aim is worse than stormtroopers, which is saying something.

Her legs weren’t moving fast enough and her ears were ringing from anxiety. Before she could reach the pavement, a car zooms past her. The window is down and the same green-haired man that she saw earlier commands her to go in the car.

“BUT..BUT…I don’t ---“ She doesn’t finish. A bullet scrapes past her cheek and bounces off the car door.

A blond man wheels down the passenger window. “HURRY THE EFF UP WOMAN. YOU GOT A DEATH WISH OR SOMETHIN’?” Momo had no choice, she wasn’t about to get gunned down before she could meet her father again. Mustering all her courage, she hops into the car. These 3 strangers could kidnap her or worse but she tries not to think too much.

She hears herself sigh in relief when the car speeds out across the bridge. A full five minutes pass without anyone saying a word, she knew the three younger men had saved her from certain death but somehow she didn’t know if she should be thankful. They ARE mafia after all…who knows how many people they had murdered?! Are they going to hurt me, she thought, and she finally looks up.

The first thing that greets her were heterochromatic eyes, very steel cold, as if she was staring into a mirror.

“You okay?” The man asks, “Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you. But you better stay with us for awhile.”

Momo scrunches her brow in confusion. “Stay with you?” She repeats.

The blond one scoffs. “Do ya hafta ask, Todoroki? Just drop her off somewhere and let her find her way home.”

So, he was the infamous Todoroki?!

The girl immediately eyes the man in front of her. He was so close she could smell his perfectly gelled hair.

“You’re the boss of one of the biggest mafia families here,” Momo says, “I…I…”

She couldn’t finish. Her mouth was dry and staring at his face….okay he was handsome, she had to admit. Momo was slapping herself inside. He could’ve killed thousands of people in the past year and she wouldn’t know! She had morals. Right?

“You mean, THE biggest mafia families around? Yes.” The green-haired one answers while driving, “I’m Midoriya by the way, nice to meet you. The yapping one is Kacchan.”

What a cute nickname, Momo notes.

“He means Bakugou, the murdering KING of EXPLOSIONS,” The blond refutes and made idiotic hand gestures as if things were being blown up.

Momo couldn’t read the atmostphere at all. It was almost like they weren’t part of the mafia.

Todoroki finally clears his throat and speaks. “You should take my offer. If you want to live, the only way for you to stay safe is within our estate. Shigaraki saw your face. He’ll have men hunting you down in every part of town. He has people in the government, the police force….you name it.”

Momo thinks for a bit. Jirou would be worried if she doesn’t come home…and living with these strangers, how would she ever feel ‘safe’?

“We’re here,” Midoriya says. Momo looks around and sees their estate, bodyguards lining the yard, fences all around. Reminded her of her childhood.

Midoriya opens Momo’s door and she follows the men inside.

The house is decorated with modern art, very contemporary which was something Momo had not expect. Todoroki leads them to one of the rooms and offers Momo some tea.

“Thanks,” Momo takes the cup and says but all should do was shakily place it down on the endtable beside her. She wasn’t feeling like drinking anything. Who knows if it was poisoned.

Todoroki reads her mind and pours some for himself. He takes a sip.

“It’s not laced with anything, miss.”

“It’s Momo.”

“Ah…Momo,” Todoroki sits down beside her while Katsuki snickers, “Can you tell us why you were at the port.”

Momo hesitates and bites her lower lip. She felt herself tremble again.

“I was there because…I was looking for someone. For something. I wasn’t sure what, but trust me. If you’d let me go, I won’t say a word about tonight. Nothing at all!”

Todoroki puts a hand on her shoulder and she backs away. She wasn’t going to let anyone touch her.

“Sorry,” The white and red haired man notices her anomosity, “We can’t let you go. You know too much and now that Shigaraki’s seen you, he’ll have you dead in a matter of minutes. Let us at least help you. What were you looking for?”

Momo breathes hard. No, this was not happening, she had to get home!

“My friend…Jirou, please at least, let me call her?”

Todoroki eyes Midoriya and the green haired man nodded.

“I’ll make you a deal, Momo. You can call her tomorrow, but for now, let Midoriya show you to your room and you can rest up.”

Midoriya takes her to a suite, and as if reading her mind, he takes her phone and leaves her with some toiletries and water.

“Let me know if you need anything else,” he had said before closing the door. Momo sits silently and curls up in the unfamiliar bed. Hoping this was all a bad dream.

The next day proves to her that the dream continues. She had phoned Jirou right away when Todoroki hands her back her phone after breakfast with the 3 of them. She barely had appetite but watching Bakugou and Midoriya’s bicker was entertaining and she had learnt that they were both childhood friends of Todoroki’s who ended up being taken in by Todoroki’s dad due to their parents passing away when they were young. After Todoroki took his father’s spot and lead the group, Bakugou and Midoriya became his right-hand men and advised him whenever he needed. It was almost endearing, Momo had thought, their friendship.

Was she crazy? Clearly she was supposed to be sickened by them. They were criminals for Pete’s sake!

Fast forward. Right now she stands shaking, hugging Jirou in the middle of their apartment. Jirou’s cry becomes a whimper as the bloody dead body lays flat beside their couch. Todoroki had shot that man dead when Momo found out her friend had been held hostage in their apartment when Shigaraki’s man, and not Jirou, had answered the phone. Stumbling inside just 5 minutes earlier, Momo saw Jirou tied up to a chair with eyes widening in alarm. Momo called out to her friend and Shigaraki’s man attacks her before Todoroki came and stood in front of Momo just the right second. Next thing she knew, he had shot him dead.

“Everything’s okay now Jirou, I’m so sorry, this is all my fault!” Momo says and she could see her friend’s confusion through her wet eyes.

“They’re mafia, I have to stay with them to keep us both safe,” Momo notes and pats Jirou on the head.

“How would they keep you safe Momo?!”

Todoroki sighs. “With this man dead, it acts as a warning to Shigaraki. Don’t worry, I’ll have bodyguards watch over this place.” He makes a signal to Midoriya and Bakugou and the two rolls the man in a carpet and drags him out. “They’ll take care of the body. I’ll get you a new carpet if you’d like.”

Jirou could only slump against Momo while the latter attempts to explain what she could to her.

She wasn’t even sure if Jirou was paying attention.

“Relay the message to Aizawa please. Let me him I’m safe and I’ll call him when the time is right.”

The next few weeks go by with new events, one more absurd than the other. For one thing, Todoroki proposed a plan with her so she could still go out in public (with guards of course) but with additional safety measures.

“You’re now my fiancee.”

Momo blinks.

“What?”

Todoroki sighs and repeats again. Bakugou was curling up laughing at her reaction.

“Oh I FEEL BAD FOR YA. HAVE TO BE ‘IN LOVE’ WITH THIS FCKING LOSER.” Bakugou keeps laughing and Momo keeps silent.

“Being my fiancee gets you immunity. It’s a rule. Mafias don’t mess with each other’s family members. It’s unspoken but stands true.”

Momo could only nod.

And so the next several nights, she goes out with Todoroki on dates and parties. Galas become a pasttime and in some ways, she starts feeling….something for him.

No, nononono, Momo you cannot fall in love with him. No matter how nice he is to you. No matter how …charming he is!

Sometimes they’d even do the fake ‘kiss on the lips’ for people to see and oh God, Momo’s mind swirls every time. There’s girls she could see eyeing her like she was a target. There’s no doubt, they want to be the one in her ‘pretend’ shoes.

One night at a dinner party, Momo sees Todoroki standing really close with a woman about their age. She was gorgeous, blonde, tall, overall very model-esque. She feels her face heat up and locks eyes with him as their dialogue continues. Momo gasps and quickly runs back to her seat at dinner.

When Todoroki comes back, she feels herself distancing away.

This is all for show, Momo. He doesn’t actually love you and you’re not his actual fiancee!

He watches her eat and tries to make conversation and she shys away.

“Is something wrong?”

Momo ignores him.

Todoroki scrunches his brow and grabs her hand as she stands up.

“I need to use the powder room if that’s okay.”

“Momo, you can tell me if I made you upset in anyway.”

The girl still doesn’t look at him. “Why don’t you find company with the pretty lady over there. She seems overly pleased to have you around.”

Todoroki gives her hand a squeeze. “You’re jealous? Of her?”

“Of course not! That’d be…that’d be silly!”

He stands up and wraps an arm around her. Todoroki’s eyes were so captivating that in so many ways, Momo couldn’t help but to listen to what he had to say.

He leans in to whisper. “There are a lot of people here. Lets talk out in the garden.”

#todomomo #todoroki x yaoyorozu #bnha #todoroki shouto #yaoyorozu momo #my fanfic

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ask-de-writer · 4 years ago

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SEA DRAGON’S GIFT : Part 65 of 83 : World of Sea

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT

Part 65 of 83

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

140406 words

written 2007

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

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Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

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New to the story? Read from the beginning. PART 1 is here

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Tanlin grinned widely. “‘Ere’s our messenger.” She fluffed Thunderhead’s crest feathers. Getting up and putting the Wide Wing onto the table, she got a small harness off the shelf. Thunderhead took the opportunity to raid the snack tray for left-over skelt fillets.

Proudly Tanlin said, “Master Selked an’ Oi made t’is for ‘im. ‘T ‘as room for twa message capsules. T’ey willnae come off by accident, even wen ‘e dives for fish but ‘e can pull t’em out of t’e ‘arness all by ‘imsel’.” Tanlin was strapping the harness snugly about the bird, who took up a good part of the room when he partly spread his wings to help the process.

Tanlin held up two small capsules made of thin, finely crafted Strong Skin. “T’ese’ll carry our messages t’ t’e fleet. T’ey’re woterproof, but just t’ be safe, we’ll write wit’ Shelled Hag ink. Tis woterproof once ‘t dries.”

Kurin reached for a writing case on the shelf. Surprised, she turned it over in her hands and asked, “Where did you get this? It looks like the one Captain Huld uses.”

Tanlin responded, “We bought ‘t from t’e Soaring Bird boot’ at t’e same time t’at we got Sula’s book.”

Kurin selected a pen with a fine, flexible tip of Wing Ray bone, prepared her ink and began to write in a small, neat hand.

To whoever receives this:

This note is from Kurin Behar Longin. Whatever you may have heard, I am aboard the Grandalor of my own free will. Please relay this note to Captain Sarfin of the Dorton, Head of the Captain’s Council and also to Captain Sula of the Dark Dragon.

Certain crimes and other issues need settlement. The Grandalor seeks to have the Council Resolution of Outlawry set aside because the edict is in violation of the Second Great Law. A proper legal trial under the Great Laws and fleet Law is requested.

Recognizing the difficulty of gathering a quorum of the Captain’s Council, the Grandalor will accept Captain Sarfin as the sole judge, providing that he carries signed proxies for a quorum of the Council. We await Captain Sarfin at 800 North by 00 West. Follow the bird. He will guide you to us. The Great Dragons assure safe conduct to all in their waters for the purpose of this justice.

Kurin, boat-builder Journeyman.

Kurin set the note aside to dry and asked, “Who is the second note to?”

“Oi do believe t’at t’e Longin wonts ye bock.” Tanlin said dryly. “Might be polite t’ tell t’em where t’ find ye. From w’at ye’ve told m’, t’ey ‘ave a large financial stake in gettin’ ye bock.”

Kurin gave a sad little smile at that. “I left my post. I hope that they aren’t too angry.” Taking another parchment, she began to write.

To Mord Halyn, Captain of the Longin:

Captain, I apologize for leaving my post. I felt little choice when it became clear that we were refusing rescue in violation of the Fifth Great Law, granting the right of rescue to any in distress. We all broke the Second Great Law in convicting the Grandalor officers without a proper trial. In accepting the verdict of the Council without question, I became a part of that same violation. For our own sakes, we need to defend the Grandalor’s rights and safety until she is brought to a legal trial. As you now know, I came with them voluntarily.

Please come.

Relay this message also to Captain Sarfin. He must get the Edict of the Council set aside and come to sit in judgment on the case.

Sula has been asked to come also, by the same means that this letter was delivered.

The bird that delivered this will guide you to us. Follow the bird. If you get separated from the group, the Grandalor and I are waiting for you at 800 North, 00 West.

In Justice, Kurin, boat-builder Journeyman.

Kurin waited until the ink was totally dried and waterproof before folding and rolling the notes and putting them into their capsules. Tanlin mounted the capsules to Thunderhead’s harness and the big Sea Hawk clambered up her arm to her shoulder and settled himself comfortably.

“He acts like he’s done this before,” Kurin observed.

“‘E ‘as,” Tanlin answered, tilting her head to see around Thunderhead. She spoke over her shoulder as they all went up on deck. “Wen Master Selked an’ Oi made t’e ‘arness, we all t’ree practiced wit’ ‘t. Not only did ‘t ‘ave t’ be secure an’ comfortable, ‘e ‘as t’ be able t’ fish wit’ ‘t on. Flyin’ can be ‘ungry work.”

Tanlin turned to face the wind, her hair streaming out behind like a rich flag from her Arrakan Captain’s Braid. She chucked Thunderhead under his beak and told him, “Go now. Fly swiftly sout’ until ye find t’e Dark Dragon or t’e Soaring Bird. Give t’em t’e message on yer right. T’en seek t’e Longin. Give t’em t’e message on yer left.” She held out her arm and Thunderhead strutted down to her wrist. “Dari give ye fair winds beneat’ yer wings!” she called and swept her arm forward, to help Thunderhead launch himself skyward.

Kurin watched in fascination as Thunderhead spread the huge wings that gave his kind their name and soared away, quartering down the wind, now skimming barely above the waves but gaining speed. He turned gracefully into the wind and climbed over thirty feet before his momentum began to wane. Smoothly he turned downwind losing only a few feet as he swept in a great circle, building speed on the downwind leg and gaining altitude on the upwind turn. It took a surprisingly short time for Thunderhead to gain a thousand or more feet. He turned south and vanished into the distance, a dwindling speck in the blue of the sky.

Kurin turned to speak to Tanlin and saw the absent look on her face. Kurin felt a pang of envy as she realized that Tanlin was sharing the sky with Thunderhead and wondered, as Barad and others before her had also, what it felt like to fly. In a few moments, Tanlin shook off the connection and her spirit returned to her body on the deck of the Grandalor.

“T’under’ead’s on ‘is way,” she announced unnecessarily.

“How will he find the ships?” Kurin asked.

“T’at’s t’e easy part. Dari’s got t’e location o’ t’e ships from Iren an’ is ‘elping T’under’ead t’ find t’em. T’will take ‘im about five or six days t’ get t’ere an’ deliver t’e messages. I’ t’ey get underway immediately, t’ey could get ‘ere in anot’er t’ree t’ four weeks,” Tanlin said casually.

“The Dragons are helping? How did that happen?” said Kurin incredulously.

“Mecat gave m’ a Dragon Gift too, i’ ye remember. She gave m’ peace where m’ past is concerned. W’at’s lost is gone an’ Oi nae longer frustrate over ‘t. She also bonded m’ wit’ Skye and T’under’ead. T’en she gave us asylum ‘ere in t’e Dragon Sea so long as we’re seekin’ justice from t’e Naral fleet.

“T’e Dragons ‘ave been keepin’ tabs on us, t’ be sure t’at we’re workin’ t’ ‘onor our side o’ t’e bargain…”

Kurin interrupted, “You mean that the Great Dragons are keeping an eye on us now?”

“Well, aye. Frath comes by regularly an’ we talk. Dari showed up once t’ look in on Skye an’ T’under’ead. T’ey represent a major ‘abitat change for t’e whole range o’ Wide Wing species. T’e change in t’e ecological situation needed direct observation an’ quest’nin’ o’ t’e birds by Dari ‘ersel’.

“Ane o’ t’e t’ings she told m’ is t’at she’s t’e ane ‘oo turned a few species o’ t’e warm-blooded fish into all o’ t’e variety o’ birds. She got permission from all t’e ot’ers, particularly Blind Mecat, t’ create new species t’ exploit t’e aerial ecological niches. Oi just wish t’at Oi understood ‘ow she did such a wonder.”

Enviously, Kurin said, “I wish that I could talk to Dragons regularly. I miss Mecat. I didn’t even know that she was a Dragon. She just knew so much and tried to share it with me. Then she made her change and went back to the sea. I haven’t seen her since.”

Tanlin heard the bitterness in Kurin’s response and sympathetically said, “She’s t’e busiest o’ all t’e Dragons but she hasnae forgotten ye. T’e Longin’s whales ‘ave been keepin’ ‘er up wit’ all t’at ‘appens concernin’ ye.”

“How do you know that?” asked Kurin in bitter curiosity.

“Frath an’ Dari bot’ told m’. I’ ye wont, Oi’ll ask i’ t’ey’ll relay a request for ‘er t’ come see ye.”

“I wish that you would. I still want to talk to her about a lot of issues, not the least of which is the present problem,” Kurin said seriously.

“Then ask the Orcas, Little Fish,” a third voice put into the conversation. “They always listen to everything that happens aboard every ship and report it to us. I will always come to talk to you if I can. I have missed you too.”

Kurin whirled about and beheld a huge white head looming up over the rail. It had frills and spines and tentacles about a huge mouth filled with fangs. Its blind eyes stared just past her in a most comfortingly familiar way.

“Cat!” Kurin called out in delight, throwing herself fearlessly at the monster Dragon. With complete trust she cleared the rail and landed in the midst of the tentacles, hugging the huge snout as well as she was able. The tentacles caught her, gently holding her safe, and hugged her close in return.

“Little Fish,” the Great Dragon asked in quiet amusement, “who taught you that it was safe to leap into the jaws of the biggest predator anywhere about?”

Comfortably nestled in the warm nest of Blind Mecat’s tentacles, Kurin answered impudently, “You did, Cat. You taught me that trust in a good person is never misplaced.”

“Hmm. . . Little Fish, perhaps the lesson went a bit beyond my intent. Maybe a finger or two — — no, I’d barely taste that…” the Dragon considered in mock seriousness. “I know! A hand! — — and the arm too, of course.”

“That might upset Dari,” Kurin replied, also with mock seriousness. “She’s studying the Grandalor as a new habitat for Wide Wings, and I’m part of the rookery flock.”

“Of course you are,” Mecat replied, ruffling Kurin’s white hair with a tentacle, “I can tell by your feathers. Seriously, what do you think of the situation? It is unprecedented. I know what the birds think, naturally. I asked them myself.”

Kurin tapped her lip gently as she thought. “I think that it is a good thing. It gives the birds a safer habitat and more help with their young. The people of the ship benefit as well. The birds help to find fish schools and scout further than lookouts can see, watching for danger. It seems that they can be trusted to deliver messages between ships as well.

“I personally like the chick that calls itself High Cloud. I can almost understand that little bird. I’d like to take him with me when I go back to the Longin, if he wants to come.”

“Good answer, Little Fish. I was hoping to hear that last bit. Some people would not consider the feelings of the bird along with their own.” Mecat’s tentacles shifted Kurin to a seat on top of her snout. “Habitat changes can have many consequences to an ecology. They have to be very carefully worked out. Even though this one was the result of an accident, it looks to be favorable. I will allow the experiment to continue.

“Now, I believe that you had some concerns that you wanted to discuss.”

TO BE CONTINUED

<==PREVIOUS NEXT==>

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#SEA DRAGON’S GIFT #Part 65 of 83 #World of Sea #Written by De Writer

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aethelflaedladyofmercia · 4 years ago

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The Whole Truth - 6

(This chapter is another long one, so use this AO3 link to read more comfortably, or catch up on any you missed! Aziraphale and Crowley find a solution to the curse problem...)

Friday

“Good morning, dear,” Aziraphale said, soft and gentle, when Crowley finally started to stir. He kissed the demon’s forehead, then his nose. “You’re so lovely when you sleep. So warm. So—”

“Knock it off,” Crowley mumbled with a sleep-heavy smile. “Ruin my reputation.”

“You’re a very heavy sleeper, you know,” Aziraphale continued, feeling perfectly content. Some time ago, he’d sat up against the headboard and Crowley had immediately shifted, curling up to lay in his lap. It made for a stunning contrast, the black clothes and red hair against the white duvet.

Aziraphale leaned down and pressed his lips against Crowley again, the temple, then the cheek, the jaw. “I’m going to kiss you today, my love,” he said calmly, though Crowley’s eyes opened in alarm. “I won’t be able to stop myself.”

“Do you…still want me to stop you?” The back of his fingers brushed Aziraphale’s cheek.

“No. I don’t want that at all. But I still think it’s the best idea. Also, I needed a distraction, so your hair is ruined. I’m not sorry, though, and I’m sure you told me bed hair is popular. This probably isn’t what it means, but you could start a new trend.”

Crowley pressed a finger to Aziraphale’s lips, but he was smiling, and his eyes were gentle. “I have things to tell you. But we should get up first.” Crowley sat up, causing his hair to shift. It flared out in every direction, in spikes and waves that defied gravity. Aziraphale’s fingers had been very busy for nearly an hour. Crowley patted at the hopeless mess. “I need to fix this. Then we talk.”

Crowley entered the kitchen just as Aziraphale was setting his omelet on the table. “Sorry, dearest, I know I didn’t ask to use your stove, but as I said…distractions.” He glanced up and, oh dear, Crowley had changed his hair into loose waves and curls again. Aziraphale’s fingers ached to reach for it, to see how much softer it was without all that product in it to keep it in place…

He quickly sat down and started eating.

“How are you feeling? You know, aside from…”

“Aside from the need to constantly assure you of the depth of my love? It is truly fathomless. Do you remember, back in Rome—”

“Yes, besides that.” Crowley still hovered back by the counter, looking nervous.

“I feel…anxious. Defenseless. I’m very much afraid every time I begin to speak, not knowing quite what I’ll say or do. And when I remember this isn’t some random chance, that it was a deliberate attack by a demon, even if directed at another angel, I feel…” he tapped his fork against the plate. “I feel violated.” A weak smile. “And yet, so very glad you’re here, my dear.”

“Angel, I don’t…” Crowley sank into a chair facing Aziraphale, clearing his throat nervously. “You’re not going to like what I say next.”

“Well, I’m already disappointed in this conversation.” He said breezily, watching with horror as his mind hopped to another subject. “I was hoping you would sit in my lap. Next time I’ll have to hide the other chairs.” Oh, not again. He resumed eating with frantic speed.

Long fingers moved across the table and grasped his free hand. “Aziraphale…there isn’t a demonic curse on that book.”

“I beg your pardon?” Aziraphale put his fork down, very nearly pulled his hand away. But then Crowley squeezed his fingers and he decided he would never let go for the rest of eternity. “Yesterday, I cornered someone outside a coffee shop and told them in exquisite detail about the time you and I met Christopher Marlowe. I told a customer on Tuesday that he couldn’t purchase a book because I didn’t like the way he smelled. And just now I have the overwhelming urge to tell you I once spent a century trying to teach myself to draw just so I could have an image of you, but I could never quite get the nose right; but now the lighting in this room is absolutely perfect and I want to try again with you in front of me and – Crowley, how can you say this isn’t a curse?”

The demon calmly waited for the words to subside, then inched his chair closer, closer, until their knees brushed under the table, until he could reach around the plate and take Aziraphale’s other hand as well.

“I said it’s not a demonic curse. And it’s…a human curse wouldn’t affect you. Which leaves…”

“Angels? No, we don’t – angels don’t make cursed objects.” He tried to pick up his fork, to indicate that the matter was closed, but his mouth refused to play along. “I suppose we could. I mean, what’s really the difference between a cursed item and a blessed one?” The horrifying thoughts rose in his mind, one after the next. “I’ve – I’ve certainly done my share of curses, covering for you. They aren’t structurally all that different. And I’ve seen angels create objects that heal, or deliver inspiration…ones that can be used to locate and identify wicked or deceitful beings…oh, Lord.”

His hands convulsed, and Crowley held them, tighter. “I know, Angel, I know…”

“It forces you to tell the truth. To confront secrets you hide from yourself.” His stomach twisted. “That’s not demonic at all. How did I…I’m so stupid. How could I miss something like that?”

“No, come here—” With a tug, he guided Aziraphale over to him, pulled the angel into his lap, wrapped arms around him. “You were looking at the book, not the magic. Like you said last night – it was the perfect trap. For you. A mystery you couldn’t quite solve. How were you supposed to resist? And the longer you touched it, the stronger the compulsion.”

“I’m…the target?” His mind whirled, even worse than before he’d slept. “But who…why…no, the raid…”

“There was never any raid, Angel. Everything’s been quiet on our end for months. It was all a lie.”

“A…another angel…did this to me? On purpose?”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Don’t cry, Aziraphale, please.”

“I’m…” Aziraphale sniffed, and realized his cheeks were drenched with tears. When had that started? He wasn’t upset, or angry. He felt strangely calm inside.

No, not calm. Numb.

Crowley held him closer, rocked him, pushed Aziraphale’s head down to rest on his shoulder.

“Have to tell Gabriel. He’ll help me. Always so…so kind. Gives me…so many chances…when I fail, or…or…” He shut his eyes. “He’ll help me…”

“Angel. He gave you the book.”

“No, he…he can’t know. He’s an Archangel, they…they watch over us…care for us…”

Crowley’s lips against his forehead. “I’m sorry. The – the blessing…it’s too strong. One of the Archangels created it.”

“He said if – if I tried to remove the curse, I’d be incinerated. Never even checked for myself.” Stupid, stupid angel. “If it were true…I’d…I’d have felt it immediately, wouldn’t I? Like you did?”

“Yes, but – you’re not – you’re not experienced with these things. You didn’t know you were supposed to feel anything.”

“Gabriel called me an expert. Asked me for a favor. I was so proud. I want…wanted to prove myself…”

“I know. I know.”

Crowley held him, and Aziraphale cried, quietly, his heart breaking into pieces.

“So, what do we do?” Aziraphale and Crowley sat on the sofa, an hour later. Aziraphale tried very hard to watch Crowley’s eyes, but his own gaze kept drifting down, just a few inches.

It wasn’t that unusual. He often watched Crowley’s lips when he spoke; with his eyes usually hidden, the best way to catch what the demon was thinking was by those tiny quirks of the lip, the little smirks and frowns at the edges of his usual scowl.

And if Aziraphale wanted to press his lips to the corner of that mouth now…

“Well,” Crowley was saying, and Aziraphale pulled his gaze back up, trying to focus. “I can’t take the blessing off the book. Gabriel might have exaggerated, but it’s still more than either of us can handle.”

“What if we worked together? Combined our powers somehow?”

“Probably make it worse.” Crowley’s lips twitched just a bit, a hint of a smile. “These things are delicate, and combining angel and demon powers…”

“I suppose you’re right.” The tip of Crowley’s tongue appeared, just for a fraction of a second, wetting his lips, and Aziraphale’s own tongue moved in sympathy. Just a little quick kiss, right there at the side of the mouth, what would it hurt? He loved Crowley so much he was about to burst—

“Oh, come here,” Aziraphale snapped, pulling Crowley down to lay across his lap, gliding his fingers through that hair. It was even softer than he’d imagined, strands separating and flowing like water. “Sorry. I hope you don’t mind, but I can’t focus on anything right now, apart from making sure you know how very much I love you. And on how, ironically, that thought is going to get us both killed.”

“I don’t mind,” Crowley sighed, settling against his thighs. “Do your worst, that’s what it’s there for.”

Aziraphale sank both hands into those thick red tresses, running through them from root to tip. “Oh, God, I love you.” He closed his eyes, absorbed in the luxuriant feel. “So, if we can’t take the curse – blessing, I mean – off the book, can we take it off me?”

“That’s easier, generally,” Crowley agreed. “Not even that complicated, it’s like…untying a knot. But this one’s stronger than anything I’ve seen. It’d take years. Decades, maybe.”

“Well, we have six hours. Possibly a bit more, Gabriel always runs late when I’m expecting him.” He tilted his head back to look at the corner, where brilliant white wall met brilliant white ceiling, and ran his fingers through Crowley’s hair again. “Which I’m now realizing is probably not just an unfortunate coincidence, is it? It makes me feel like I’m some – some irritation, like I have to state my business as quickly as possible so he can go back to more important things, apologize for taking up his time, and of course that’s what he wants. Why did I never realize? Why am I so naïve?”

“You’re an angel. You trust the people you’re supposed to trust.” His fingers reached up to brush Aziraphale’s chin, and the angel immediately turned to kiss them, reveling in their slightly salty taste. “Sorry.” Crowley pulled away. “Any idea why he would do this now?”

“Well…I have been avoiding work rather thoroughly lately.” He smiled down at Crowley. “Ever since we reconnected, almost thirty years ago, I’ve been finding every excuse to spend time with you.”

“I thought as much.” Crowley’s fingers traced across his waistcoat, and even through all the layers, it made him shiver. “I mean oh, Crowley, I’m not going to be at the bookshop tonight, I have a reservation at my favorite sushi restaurant. So if you’re planning to bother me, don’t come here. Not exactly subtle.”

“It worked, though, and you showed up in that lovely dress, which I wasn’t expecting at all, black with the embroidered red flowers, your hair all up in a knot. You were beautiful, darling, don’t even try to deny it, I could hardly take my eyes off you all evening and…” Aziraphale bit off the rest of his words. “Yes, well. I have avoided at least…eight assignments that would have taken me outside of London for considerable lengths of time. I couldn’t bear to be apart from you. I suppose my excuses have been rather transparent of late – I told Gabriel I couldn’t go to America because the London sewers were…er…on fire.”

Crowley tipped his head back and laughed, sliding across Aziraphale’s thighs. “He might have started to catch on at that point. But it’s still just a few missed jobs.”

“It’s disobedience.” One finger scratched near Crowley’s ear, and the demon purred. “He doesn’t really need more than that, does he?”

“Nnnnh. Is there more?”

“Oh, Crowley.” Aziraphale’s fingers brushed through his hair again. “Centuries of it. Long before the Arrangement. I’ve had doubts. I’ve avoided assignments. I…never questioned, but I’ve come close, skirted the line, pushed the boundaries.” Anxious hands twitched. “Has it finally become too much? Has he been trying to catch me out for centuries, and I’ve just been too stupid to notice?”

“Stop saying that, Angel. We both know how clever you are. If he’s trying this on you now, it must mean that in six thousand years, he’s never had anything to go on. That’s good.”

“Whatever he’s looking for, Gabriel’s going to uncover a great deal more tonight than he ever expected.” The panic began climbing its way up his throat again. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m going to betray you, Crowley. I can feel it. I’m going to tell him everything.”

“Look, even if you can’t lie, you can twist it around. Make it sound like all those restaurants and bars and wine tastings and movies and walks in the park were just by yourself?” His thumb caught one of the buttons and rolled across it. “I don’t know how much trouble you’ll be in, but…if they don’t know about me, it won’t be as bad.”

“Impossible.” Aziraphale took Crowley’s hand and raised it to his lips again, kissing each knuckle. “Two days ago, I could resist, perhaps, but not anymore. And what if it keeps getting worse? Imagine what I’ll be like in a week…I’ll happily confess to everything.” He thought Crowley’s fingers were trembling, but no – it was his own hand, holding them. “Do you…do you think I’ll Fall? No, that would just send me to you, and I’m starting to believe Gabriel isn’t even that kind. He’ll…he’ll destroy me. No, he’ll destroy you, in front of me, so I can—”

“Angel, shhh, it’s not going to come to that.”

“I won’t let him, Crowley. I told you, I’ll never let them hurt you, I meant it.”

“Shhh.” Crowley tugged his hand, pulling Aziraphale’s towards him, pressing it open to lay kisses on his palm. “There is…one other option. But you’re going to hate it.”

A choked laugh. “Crowley, I’ve hated every one of your ideas for the past six thousand years, and yet I’ve always gone along with them.”

“Because I’m usually right?”

“No, because I’m in love with an idiot.” He bent over with a smile, kissing Crowley’s forehead, then kept going, a line of kisses – the brow, that perfect nose, and…

Crowley put a hand on Aziraphale’s chest, stopping him, holding him back as their breath caressed each other’s lips. “You said you shouldn’t,” Crowley reminded him.

“I know. I shouldn’t. But I want to, my darling, dearest Crowley. I want to kiss you right now, and kiss you until you can’t breathe, and – and – and – I haven’t actually considered what comes next, but we have six hours until we die, we can figure it out. Let’s go back to bed, stay there to the end. Let me groom your wings, let me touch you, I need to tell you, to show you—”

A thumb gently brushed across his lips, though Crowley’s face had gone quite red. Aziraphale was sure his own matched. “Angel,” and his voice sounded a little strained now. “We aren’t going to die.”

“No, you won’t. I’ll find a way to keep you safe. If you return to Hell, you should be…no, the rumors will reach them soon enough. You must leave. What’s that star system you always talk about? Alpha Centauri? Start there, and—”

“A-zir-a-phale,” Crowley drew the name out. “I’m not going anywhere. You said you’d let me be there for you.” The angel nodded weakly. “Neither of us is going to die, because I know how to stop this. I have a plan. But you’ll have to trust me. And stop squeezing me like that.”

Aziraphale realized his arms were clutching at Crowley protectively. He let go, and the demon sat up, resettling on the sofa next to him. Crowley picked up the angel’s hand, pressing it between both of his. “Alright. The blessing has infected your mind. I can’t untangle it fast enough. But I can isolate it, I can pull it out. You’ll go back to the way you’ve always been.”

“Just…like that? It seems too easy.”

“Well, there are a few problems. I’ll need to put it somewhere…so I’ll take it on myself.”

“What? No!” Aziraphale jerked back, but Crowley still held his hand. “That’s – that’s absurd, Crowley, it’s far too dangerous and furthermore, it won’t work at all, as you’d just – just go around babbling to everyone, and your superiors will find out anyway. No, I forbid it.”

Crowley shook his head. “This blessing was designed for you, fed by the time you spent bent over that book, handling it, breathing it in. I barely touched the thing, it’ll be weaker for me. I won’t be able to lie to you, but that should be the only effect.” He smiled. “Won’t even notice the difference. I’ve never lied to you.”

Aziraphale felt his smile return. “Not ever? Even when you said – no, no it’s not important. I’ll concede, it might work, but we obviously can’t stay that way.” He leaned forward eagerly, squeezing Crowley’s hand. “I’ll find a way to undo it. You said years, decades, but I have hundreds of reference tomes in the shop. Surely I can find a way to—”

Crowley lifted Aziraphale’s hand and kissed it. “It’s, um, more an art than a science. You leave that to me. Especially because…because when I take the curse, I’m going to remove all the memories connected to it.”

“No.” This time Aziraphale pulled away, sliding back across the sofa, trying to escape Crowley’s words. “Take my memories? All this last week?” What was his heart doing? His breath? Lord, he was dying right now, every muscle in his body tense and straining. “All those things you said – everything we – you told me you love me. I won’t…you can’t take this from me, Crowley. I won’t allow it.”

“It’s the only way.” Crowley inched towards him, and Aziraphale felt his panic rising. He shrank back, hiding behind his hands, pushing the truth away. “You said – Angel, you said you’d die to keep me safe. But this way no one has to die, or get hurt, or…”

“Dying would be easier! Crowley, I can’t go back to – to not knowing!”

“Look, I can – I can say it again, Angel. Tell you properly this time, take you out for dinner—”

“No, no, I won’t want to hear it, I’ll just – I’ll reject you,” he realized with horror. “Oh, Crowley, I’m sorry, I swear, I’ll think I’m doing it to protect you. You must understand that I – I won’t mean it, but I will...”

“So, I can…I can explain. Tell you about the book and Gabriel and—”

“And I won’t believe you. Oh, Lord, Crowley, I’m going to trust him again. After everything he did…” Aziraphale hunched over himself, arms pressed to his chest, heart palpitating. “I can’t…can’t go back to that…” He could picture himself, following Gabriel around like a puppy, not even aware of how many times he’d been kicked. Had the Archangel ever liked him?

“There’s got to be something we can do. Write yourself a letter, make a video, tell me something only you would know…”

“And then what? Once I’m convinced, I’ll – can you return the memories? That’s what I’ll ask.”

“Yes. I'm not - they won't be destroyed, I'll just be holding them for a while.” Aziraphale felt himself begin to relax. Put that way, it sounded...not good, but at least not terrifying. “But until I’ve removed the blessing you’ll just…wind up like this again. Back where we started.”

“And how long will that take? You said decades…”

“Twenty years,” Crowley shrugged. “Maybe thirty. As I said, untying a knot – if you rush it, it gets worse.”

“That isn’t…so bad,” Aziraphale admitted, rubbing a hand across his face. “But that means…oh, Lord, we’re going to do this, aren’t we?” He moved back across the sofa, set his head on Crowley’s shoulder. “It means you can’t tell me. Not until the memories are ready, because I’ll just insist you return them immediately. And round and round we’ll go. So, you can’t tell me about the curse, or about Gabriel, or…or even…”

“That I love you,” Crowley half-swallowed the word, as if it hurt. He slid his arm around Aziraphale’s waist and pressed his lips to the angel’s temple. “And I’ll have to stand by while you try to please that – that – that—”

“That arrogant sod? That self-righteous pus stain? That condescending, pusillanimous, egotistical, cold-hearted—”

“I was going to say ‘bastard.’ Or maybe ‘wank-wings.’ Where did you even learn that sort of language?”

“I read, darling.” Aziraphale sighed, leaning into his embrace. “We’ve waited six thousand years. What’s twenty more?” He picked up Crowley’s hand and studied it. “Can you restore them as soon as they’re ready?”

“Technically, yes. But even with the blessing removed, you’ll probably be unable to lie for a day or two. Residue. I’ll have to wait until we’re somewhere we won’t be disturbed. And you can be very stubborn about going off the grid.”

“Then try not make it sound like some – some illicit activity and maybe I’ll come along.” He kissed Crowley’s cheek. “And do be sure there’s at least a double bed. Oh, don’t blush so. I don’t plan to let go of you for two days, it’ll need to be big enough for me to hold you while you sleep.” He remembered the way Crowley had looked, in the dawn light, nestled in his arms, and he would happily have lived in that moment for eternity.

They sat together for a few minutes, not talking, just feeling the love flow between them. It was the most honest Aziraphale had ever been.

“So,” he finally broke the silence. “How long will this take?”

“Extracting the blessing and memories – maybe an hour? And you’ll need to rest at least an hour more while your mind recovers.”

“That leaves us…four hours.” He rested his hand on Crowley’s knee. “Closer to three and a half. And I think I’d rather make the most of that time.”

Crowley swallowed, fingers twitching nervously. “Anything you want, Angel.”

“Anything?” He tilted his head up to meet those golden eyes and grinned wickedly. “Anything at all?”

Eliza looked at the earrings in the glass counter of the pawn shop. “I mean, they look nice,” she grumbled, “but I still think mom would rather have a watch for her birthday.”

“Would she?” her sister smirked. “Or are you just saying that because the earrings cost more, and you want to go see that band? You know, with that cute drummer from your Uni? What’s their name…?”

“Not everything is about romance, Rebecca,” she said, blushing. “They’re just – it’s a good band, ok? And, yeah, tickets are fifty quid, and the bakery doesn’t pay that well, so—”

The door of the pawn shop flew open and two men walked in – the pale figure Eliza recognized from the bakery, and a tall, lanky bloke with red hair.

“Attention everyone!” The bookseller called cheerfully. “I am Aziraphale, owner and proprietor of A.Z. Fell’s in Soho, which is a perfectly wonderful pseudonym, despite all complaints I have received. This exquisite creature is Anthony J. Crowley, my best friend, the love of my life, and the most darling being in the entire world. We are here to celebrate a love that is entwined into the whole of human history, and anyone who wishes to join us is invited to meet at the duck pond in St James’s Park in half an hour. Anyone who does not approve is invited to go sit on an egg!” He beamed proudly at the man beside him, whose face was almost as red as his hair.

“Yeah, I still don’t think you have that last part right, Angel.”

“Nonsense, what could be more unpleasant than sitting on an egg? You, good sir!” He pointed to the owner of the shop. “We are here to look at jewelry!”

Eliza sighed and turned back to the argument with her sister, but froze at the familiar gleam in Rebecca’s eyes. “No. No we are not going to the park! There’s probably nothing going on! Yesterday that man told me he controls the weather!”

“But they’re in love!” Rebecca squealed. “And whatever’s going on it’ll probably be a riot.” She gasped, grabbing Eliza’s arm. “We should bring cake!”

“No, we’re not – you can’t use my bakery discount for…whatever this is!”

“Oi. Humans.” They looked up to see the man with the dark suit and red hair. His eyes were brilliant gold with slit pupils, like a cat, focused on the case behind them. “You’re standing in front of the rings.” His tone was harsh, but his face was still flushed pink.

“Congratulations,” Rebecca giggled, even as Eliza pushed her out of the way. “There’s a really nice gold one in the back!”

“That’s it,” Eliza groaned. “We can – just – buy mom that dress we saw. Let’s go.”

“Aw, you’re no fun. Look, I’ll pay for your half of the gift, and buy you those concert tickets. Please can we go?”

Eliza rubbed her eye. “What kind of cake?”

Half an hour later, Aziraphale stood beside the duck pond, hand tapping excitedly against the fence. The weather was perfect, almost a dozen people had gathered, and most importantly…Crowley was there, pinning a red rosebud to Aziraphale’s lapel.

“You have to stop looking at me like that,” Crowley complained. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Well, anything else would be a lie.” Aziraphale reached up and straightened the white daisy in Crowley’s buttonhole.

“Are you sure you want to do this here? Where we…had our fight?” His eyes tightened just at the mention of it.

“Where better? If we hadn’t fought, I wouldn’t have tried to stop that spy ring, and you wouldn’t have had to save me – and I wouldn’t have realized I love you more than all the wine in France.” He gazed out over the water, and noticed the black swan was there again. "Besides. It was always one of my favorite spots. And when we...weren't speaking...I would come here to remember you."

“Nnh.” Crowley leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together for just a second. “Fine. But…” he turned his head, stealing a glance toward the spectators. “I didn’t think so many would come.”

“You can put your glasses back on, you know. I only mind a little, but your comfort is far more important to me than having this moment be completed by the sight of your gorgeous eyes.”

“No.” He straightened up, and the smile that hovered at the corner of his lips was more brilliant than the light of Heaven. “I told you, while you don’t have your defenses, I don’t have mine.” His eyes darted to their audience again. “Just…why? I thought you didn’t want anyone to see you like this.”

“Because, my dearest love, if I’m not going to remember this moment, at least all of them will.”

“Ngk. If you want. Just.” Another anxious look. “Don’t make me talk to anyone.”

“Just me, I promise.”

Aziraphale pulled out a silver chain from his pocket, and draped it around Crowley’s neck. None of the rings had looked right but this…somehow…was perfect.

“Anthony J. Crowley,” he began, loud enough for his voice to carry. “My darling. My love. I trust you with everything that I am, as I always have, as I always will, forever and ever. You have cared for me, when no one else did, kept me close when I pushed you away, came to my aid when I thought all was lost, with never a moment’s hesitation. You are my best friend, have been for centuries, and I want nothing more than to be by your side for centuries to come. For eternity, if we can have it.” He smiled and ran his fingers across Crowley's new chain. Yes. Perfect.

Crowley glared at his feet, biting his lip. “For Satan’s sake, Angel…” his eyes drifted up, filled with tears. “How am I supposed to follow that?”

Aziraphale took his hand. “However you wish, my Crowley. My love for you isn’t going to change because of a few words.”

“I hope not.” With one last glare towards the crowd – which was perhaps meant to be intimidating, but utterly ruined by the way he blushed – Crowley leaned forward and whispered in Aziraphale’s ear.

“Yes, dear. That…that will do nicely.”

Aziraphale held out his hand and Crowley produced a golden signet ring. He slid it onto Aziraphale’s pinky, where no one would suspect it meant a thing, least of all Aziraphale and twined their fingers together. Both their hands trembled.

“Well,” Aziraphale said, blinking his eyes clear. “I – thank you all for coming. I suppose that’s…”

“Kiss!” A young woman’s voice called from the crowd. “It’s not official until you kiss!”

“Rebecca, shut up,” another voice cut in.

Aziraphale took both of Crowley’s hands in his. “Well. You heard the excitable young lady.”

“I don’t think there’s anything official about any of this,” Crowley said dryly, but he leaned closer, hesitating. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m sure.”

The first brush of Crowley’s lips stole his breath away.

The second destroyed him, tore him apart, left him hollow and raw.

The third breathed new life, filled him with a love and hope beyond anything he’d ever experienced.

After that, his tongue brushed Crowley’s bottom lip, and he rather lost track of things.

“Wow,” Rebecca said, eyebrows vanishing into her hair. “I did not know old men kissed like that.”

“Why are you so weird?” Eliza sighed. “Are you happy now? We saw their…semi-wedding. Can we go?”

“Eliza, you can’t leave the wedding before the cake.” She held the box up. “Oi! Anyone want cake?”

Aziraphale broke off the kiss, turning so suddenly Crowley lost his balance and would have fallen in the pond had the fence not stopped him. The demon gasped for breath, trying to think through the brilliant, golden sparks that filled his mind, trying to feel anything beyond that wonderful, eternal glow of—

“Darling, did you hear that? Someone brought cake!”

They sat together, one last time, on the shop sofa, watching the seconds tick away.

“It’s…it’s only twenty years, Crowley,” Aziraphale said, head resting on his shoulder, twisting the new ring on his pinky. It had little wings. Utterly perfect. “It’ll be over before you know it.”

“Nh,” his husband grunted, running a thumb along the silver chain. “Long as something doesn’t go wrong.”

“What would go wrong? The blessing? You’re sure you can unravel it? It might be different from a curse—”

“No,” Crowley interrupted, resting a hand on Aziraphale’s temple. “I can see it clearly now. Twenty…maybe twenty-one years. But what if Gabriel tries something else? You won’t even know to look out for it.”

“Yes, I’m afraid I’ll have to trust you to keep an eye on…well, me.” He carefully unpinned the rosebud from his jacket, spinning it between his fingers. “Don’t let me take any foolish risks, either. I…I’m going to think protecting us both is my job. I’m used to taking care of these things. Be patient with me, and know that I love you.”

Crowley kissed the top of his head. “How will I know when you’re thinking about me?”

“Oh, my dear. I always am.” He sat up to meet those golden eyes. “If I’m talking, I’m trying not to say I love you. If I’m silent, I’m trying to hold it in. If I smile, I’m remembering how much I love you. If I get annoyed, it’s because I can’t believe I love such an idiot. There is no moment that my heart isn’t full of you.” He looked at the clock. Two minutes to go.

Crowley’s fingers landed on his chin, turning him back.

“I – I – I suppose I’ll see you in twenty years?”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Crowley smiled. “Movie night.”

“Oh, yes. Something with a wedding at the end, I think, regardless of what I say.” His eyes darted to the clock. “Crowley. Kiss me again.”

It was just as soft – as tender – as passionate – as glorious as the first.

Crowley’s fingers pressed to his temples.

“I love you,” Aziraphale whispered, one last time.

An hour later, Crowley stood up, arranging his husband – his best friend – his angel on the sofa.

One last kiss on the forehead. It would have to hold him over for a few decades, and he had a feeling the 2000s were going to be rough.

“Goodnight, Angel,” he said, softly, pulling his glasses out of his pocket, sliding them on his nose. His defense against the world back in place.

Crowley walked out of the bookshop, and began to pick at the edges of the blessing in his mind.

The Archangel Gabriel appeared in the dusty collection of records Aziraphale was so fond of. He arrived two hours later than scheduled, knowing it would make the Principality anxious and eager to please.

He had waited thousands of years for this moment.

Ever since Eden, really – since the Guardian of the Eastern Gate had questioned the decision to throw the humans out. It had been a small question – are you sure? – but these things always started small.

He’d been watching for signs of rebellion, signs of doubt. He had his suspicions. Some angels flaunted their disobedience, others carefully hid it, walking the line, pretending to believe while harboring wicked, deceitful thoughts. Well. They all slipped up eventually.

All except Aziraphale.

There he was now, wandering out from a dark corner, eyes stuck on another of those – those books. He glanced up, then jumped, startled. “Oh! Oh, Gabriel. Oh, my. What brings you here?”

“I’ve come for your update.” He folded his hands and waited.

It was the perfect trap. Aziraphale would have spent the last five days touching the blessing, breathing it in, rolling it through his mind and weaving it in his thoughts as he tried to decipher the infinitely-changing text. It should have a complete hold on him now, compelling him to express his deepest secrets. Finally, finally, Gabriel would have the confession he needed to prove Aziraphale was a corrupt, worthless angel.

The Principality blinked his over-bright, nervous eyes.

“Update? On…? I’m sorry, I’ve been terribly busy this week.”

“The book,” Gabriel prompted. Aziraphale shook his head. “The cursed book?”

“Oh, the book! Oh, oh, no, I forgot entirely!” Aziraphale spun, searching the room, hesitating for just a second on a vase full of flowers. “I’m sure I have it around here somewhere. I put it on my desk, thinking this should be quite interesting. Yes! There.” He crossed the floor and picked it up, holding it out to Gabriel with a bland, sheepish grin.

Gabriel waited again, but still no compulsion seemed to loosen Aziraphale’s tongue. “Well? What did you find out?”

“Nothing. I’m sorry, as I said, I’ve been quite busy. Only had a chance to glance at it two, maybe three times.” He tipped up the book to look sadly at the cover. “Fascinating stuff. Pity it has to be destroyed.”

“Yes,” Gabriel said, jaw tight, pulling the tome from his hands. “Pity.” It had taken seven years to create that book, and another three to perfect the blessing. How, how could it have failed? “What have you been up to this week?”

“Oh, this and that. Various concerns of London. Minor healing here, bit of good luck there. Nothing to concern you with, but sadly it kept me out of my shop for days on end.”

That was all. The same blathering, unconfirmable nothing as ever, hidden behind that simpering, smirking face. The lying, treacherous bastard was about to get away with it again. Whatever it was. Gabriel had to fight not to lose his temper, throw the book, smite the disrespectful Principality where he stood.

“Well.” He dropped the book onto a chair. “Sorry to hear that. Perhaps we can get an extension—”

“Oh, no,” Aziraphale frowned. “No, this all sounds quite dangerous. I’m afraid the best thing is to get rid of it as soon as possible. I’ve had a bit of time to think, and mystery aside, there’s not likely anything to be learned from it. After all, the demons associated with it were all killed, correct?”

“Yes,” Gabriel grunted. “I did – I told you I was counting on you for this, didn’t I?”

Aziraphale’s face crumpled into guilt. At least that still worked. “Yes…you did say something to that effect. I’m – I am sorry to disappoint, but—”

“Disappoint? I ordered you to get answers. You know what this means?”

“I – I – I—”

It was almost enough to make Gabriel smile. But that panic wouldn’t do him much good – this job hadn’t been sanctioned by anyone in Heaven, so the worst Gabriel could do was berate the Principality in private, and make a show of forgiving him. That might buy a few years of quiet obedience, but it didn’t solve the core problem, that defective knot that he knew lived in Aziraphale’s soul.

“I – I don’t believe you did.”

“Excuse me?”

“No, I’m sorry, Gabriel, but when you came here on Monday, you said you wanted to consult with me on a cursed book. I…that is, you said this was a favor, not an – an actual order as such. So, while I am sorry to disappoint you, truly I am…”

The Archangel clapped his hands, squeezing them, imagining the core of Aziraphale’s true form was being crushed between them. “No! You’re right. This – this was a favor and…well…” He floundered.

And that absolute bastard smiled at him. “Jolly good. Glad that’s sorted. But, please, Gabriel. Anything you need in future. I would very much like another chance to assist you.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll find something.” He picked up the book and prepared to depart, then hesitated. There was a suspicion that had lurked in his mind for nearly a thousand years. “By the way, was that demon…what’s his name…Crowley? Was he involved in any of this…this business of yours?”

That stupid, nervous smile flashed across Aziraphale’s face, but he was almost entirely calm when he replied: “No, I haven’t seen Crowley all week.”

“Well. See you soon.”

The next instant, Gabriel was back in Heaven, in his private office. He tossed the book aside. So much wasted effort.

Still. There was one big project on the horizon. Something Aziraphale couldn’t help but fail at.

He pressed a button on his desk phone. “Get me an update on the Armageddon plans.”

Gabriel left, and Aziraphale felt the knot of worry untie in his stomach. The whole situation with that cursed book had entirely slipped his mind while he…

While he…

What had he been up to this week?

He remembered bits and pieces. Wandering the streets, talking to people, the usual. He’d picked up this lovely golden ring somewhere, and had already grown quite fond of it. But the week had flown by in a rather extraordinary way, and he couldn’t quite account for it.

Well, be that as it may. He was quite glad to spend the rest of the evening in his favorite chair, perhaps reread Hamlet or one of Georgette Heyer’s novels. Yes, he was very much in the mood for a happy ending tonight, though he wasn’t sure why.

On his way to the shelves, he noticed the vase full of daisies again. He couldn’t recall where they came from, but they did brighten up the room wonderfully.

(Thank you! Notes for this chapter can be found on AO3, but especial thanks to @under-a-linden-tree for help writing Aziraphale’s wedding vows, because it was just a bit sappier than I usually go! The final two chapters are quick epilogues, which I will have up as soon as possible.)

@black-velvet-roses-tea @witchingwhovian

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