#although i can tell the tone of it is a lil more than friendly

[grimmweepers]

i really do self sabotage when it comes to irl dating 😭💀

[raccoon-eyed-rebel]

Part 6

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Part 5 🟣 Part 7

A reverse harem vampire AU ft. Mikey, Marshall, August and Sherlock

Series summary: Somehow, you've managed to live with your boyfriend and his roommates for months before finding out they're vampires, but the real shock first comes when they find out you have a special quality. A quality the guys would love to make use of...

Warnings: Mentions of blood, biting, vampire stuff.

Word count: 3.3k

A/N: Even more information incoming! And that conversation we've been waiting for...

@geralts-yenn @deandoesthingstome @summersong69 @teamfan7asy @mis-lil-red @ellethespaceunicorn @sillyrabbit81 @manysecrets2020 I know you didn't ask to be tagged but I figured... Sorry if I overstepped

The others indeed came back shortly after your conversation ended, and Mikey had a rather defeated look on his face. August immediately asked if you were up for it to talk to all of them, and seemed very happy when you said you were. All five of you moved to the living room, where you sat next to Mike on the couch. He immediately pulled you against him.

“Do you mind if I sit on the other side of you?” Sherlock asked politely. Something in his eyes told you the effect from the feeding hadn’t worn off completely.

“No problem at all,” you said with a smile before turning to the group in general. “So… Where do we start?” August opened his mouth to reply to your question, but Marshall quickly raised a hand.

“Mike,” he said, giving him a nod that clearly meant something – although you weren’t privy to what exactly that ‘something’ was.

“The guys want to…” Mike looked extremely uncomfortable as he struggled to find the words to explain what he was trying to explain, “… propose an arrangement, of sorts. I’m sure Sherlock has brought you up to speed on what the general idea is?”

“He has,” you answered, “it was very intriguing.”

“See?” August sneered from the other side of the room, but Marshall shut him up immediately. It was a good thing: Mike looked just about ready to jump him.

“Guys,” you interjected, “I’m willing to hear you out, but that’s all I’m promising. Besides, I’ll give you a fair warning upfront: Mike doesn’t look on board with this, and if he isn’t, then neither am I.” That seemed to relax him a little; you felt the tension in his body slack as you said it. At the same time, you noticed he felt colder than Sherlock. It was a very subtle difference, but it was definitely there. Marshall took over, telling August that he could get out of the room – only he used stronger terms – if he couldn’t behave.

“Thank you for at least taking this into consideration,” he said, “I understand it can be a very strange request if you don’t have any hands-on experience with the concept.” You noticed he wasn’t just talking to you, but to Mikey, too.

“Well, please allow us to drink your blood hardly feels equivalent to can you bring me home some chips from the store, so I’m definitely still adjusting,” you said. It was the truth: even though you were incredibly intrigued by the concept of these agreements, and – if you were being completely honest – very curious to find out what it would be like, it was still an overwhelming amount of information, and a rather uncomfortable topic.

“So is Mikey,” August said, and this time his tone was friendly enough for Marshall to let him speak, “he hates it when I say this, but he’s just a baby.” You could feel Mike tense up again, and a very low growl emerged from his throat. If August heard it – which you doubted – he paid it no mind. He didn’t pay much attention to Marshall’s warning, either.

“You’re the only one who has never experienced this type of thing?” You asked Mike carefully.

“Yeah, the others all have. At least, we assume that in nine hundred years, Sherlock’s…” Mike was clearly as uncomfortable talking about this as you were, and the others gave each other a few funny looks because of it.

“I have, indeed, been fortunate enough to experience this particular kind of relationship,” Sherlock replied kindly, telling Mike and the others what you already knew.

“Fortunate enough?” Mike repeated, seemingly a little lost for words.

“Yes, Mike, fortunate enough. At the time, the alternative was to feed from captives, often with the specific goal to kill them. We’re talking about the Middle Ages, for crying out loud, it was a far cry from a walk in the park in most aspects of life, Mikey.” Sherlock sounded vaguely desperate as he briefly recanted the story about his arrangement, giving them the exact amount of information that he had given you earlier in the afternoon. Marshall and August exchanged looks, and August scoffed when he saw the terrified expression on Mike’s face.

“You’ve never had to kill to feed, have you?” Mike shook his head slowly as an answer to August’s question.

“Has the… modern way, I guess, been around that long already?” You asked.

“Yes and no,” Marshall answered, “I very distinctly remember the time when they – government – decided the best course of action was to feed us exclusively animal blood.” Even Mike shuddered next to you when that was brought up.

“There was the ‘supplemental’ approach, I believe they called it,” August remembered, “diet of mainly human food, supplemented with donated blood every month. The amount was barely enough to last a week. Thank God for butter…” Butter? What the hell was he talking about?

“Couldn’t help but overhear,” Marshall said. You caught yourself as you were beginning to find his talent less annoying. “We’d end up just eating sticks of butter to keep from starving. It was ridiculously expensive, too…”

“Basically, you would be paying for enough food for a family of four, but it was just you,” Mike added. “There were volunteers in the eighties and nineties, but it was largely illegal. Do we have photos from those decades? Marshall with an eyebrow piercing is a sight.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I met Mike because he hung out with a bunch of goths,” Marshall answered, but it sounded like he was avoiding something.

“What he means,” Mike added, “is that he was hooking up with my ex.”

“Ouch,” August blurted out. You were surprised he’d never heard this story before.

“It’s not common to disclose our entire histories,” Marshall answered that unasked question, “in cases like ours or – even worse – Sherlock’s, we’d be talking for a while.” Ok, that actually made sense.

He continued: “And Mike is right, I was hooking up with his ex. She went kinda nuts for the whole vampire thing… Actually, Mike… She wasn’t your ex when we started hooking up.” August’s eyes shot daggers at Marshall. He was no doubt thinking he’d for sure ruined any and all chances Mike would ever get on board with the proposal now. And he probably wasn’t wrong about that.

“I know,” Mike answered to everyone’s surprise, “I knew it when it was happening. Just didn’t care. She was shagging two or three other guys on the side; we weren’t all that committed.”

“Mike!”

“Hold up, you had no problem with your girl back in the day getting dicked down by other dudes, but you’re all up in arms about us feeding o-“ Marshall sighed and buried his face in his hands as he listened to August’s rant, and Mike interrupted him before he could even finish his sentence.

“Yeah, because this time around, I actually am committed, asshole.” 

“Wh- Mikey?” That was actually quite flattering. You leaned into his side and allowed him to hug you. “You’re forgiven. Ish.”

“Thanks, babe,” he said as he leaned his head against yours. “It was a long time ago.”

“Yeah, it’s kinda freaky how long ago…”

“Don’t dwell on it,” August said, which was probably the first piece of actually helpful advice you’d ever gotten from the man.

“Anyway,” you said, trying to move the conversation back to the topic to be discussed, “we’ve been circling this whole thing nicely. I promised I’d listen to your proposal… So, what is it?”

“Well,” August started. He sounded very calm, and ready to answer your every question. You guessed that of the three of them – Sherlock, Marshall and August himself, that was – he wanted this the most. “If you’d be open to some kind of arrangement, you’d be part of the negotiations of that agreement, of course, so there’s not a lot of specifics to present you with right now.”

“Just tell her what you told me,” Mike sighed as he grabbed you a little tighter.

“What we would like, is an opportunity to feed once every two weeks,” Marshall said. You were surprised; didn’t Mike say before that most vampires only fed once a month? The guys looked slightly uneasy when you asked about it.

“He did say that, and it’s the truth,” August answered your question. “It’s just not the whole truth. The experience is… annoying, and inconvenient, and not something you want to do very often. It takes out a good chunk out of your day, it’s… Just not very good.”

“They’d like to feed comfortably, instead of overfeeding to make it through as much time as possible,” Sherlock said. It was nice of him to draw the simple conclusion to all of this, but you noticed something strange.

“You say ‘they’, but you mean ‘we’, don’t you?” You were never certain of your ability to read others, but somehow you were extremely confident that you were right in this particular instance.

“Ah, yes. I won’t lie; I wouldn’t be opposed to the type of arrangement they’re proposing. But only if you’re entirely willing.” Sherlock said with an apologetic smile, as if he’d been trying to manipulate you through his use of words. You were fairly sure that had never been his intention. Nor could you find out to what end he would have said what he said.

“That applies to all of us,” Marshall said quickly, “none of us want to do this if you’re not up for it.”

“The rest of it, Marshall,” Mike urged. He was beginning to lose his patience, and had clearly agreed to go along with this for the duration of this conversation, but he didn’t look prepared to pretend to be unbothered by this for a second longer than was strictly necessary.

“Alright. A condition on your part would likely be that you run no risk of being turned, which would be a term we’d more than willingly agree to.”

“Garlic?”

“The same daily dose we’re already taking,” Mike clarified. Considering the kinky little secrets that were exposed earlier today, you weren’t surprised they were all taking precautions already. Marshall laughed when he heard your thought, but didn’t seem intent on sharing it with the others, which was awfully nice of him.

“Sherlock wasn’t able to accurately explain why ‘McBloodDrive’ didn’t cover all elements of such a relationship,” you said, “and he was hoping you’d be able to clarify. I really am curious about that.”

“It’s a great deal more intimate. Like you said yourself; letting us feed from you is a long way from just getting someone a snack. Or even cooking for someone.” Marshall folded his hands in his lap and sat back.

“Look,” August said, “there’s no denying these relationships are quite intimate. There’s a reason Sherlock wanted to sit next to you. The reaction to the feeding is quite strong, it can get a bit crazy at times. It can definitely be beneficial to you, you could ask us to do pretty much anything for you. We would like to ask you to not abuse that position, though. Other than that, there’s a degree of intimacy and affection involved that is tough to explain. You wouldn’t be just a food source to us. You’d allow us to exchange something inconvenient, uncomfortable, impersonal and generally just rather awful, for something that’s the complete opposite.” They were probably the friendliest, most sincere words you’ve ever heard August say, and you thanked him for the explanation.

“Maybe this is a weird question, August, but… You don’t even like me.” Mike and Marshall both laughed when you said that, somehow indicating to you that it wasn’t necessarily true.

“I wouldn’t say he doesn’t like you,” Mike said, “I know for a fact he liked you a little too much when I first introduced you to the guys.” What? August had a crush on you?

“He did,” Marshall said. August seemed to avoid your eyes on purpose – and you could imagine why.  

“That’s one of the reasons I’m very much opposed to all of this,” Mike murmured.

“You’re afraid I’ll leave you for him?” you asked, and Mike nodded. “That wouldn’t happen, Mike, I love you. But that does settle things for me, guys. It’s not happening.”

“Well, we gave it a shot,” Marshall said. August, on the other hand, didn’t seem intent to just let this go.

“Is that the only reason you’re opposed to this, Mike?” he asked. The look in his eyes told you more than enough; it was. Now that you’d formally and definitively rejected their proposal, you noticed that there was definitely a part of you that wanted to do this for them – even August. It was the same thing you had felt when you had impulsively offered Sherlock to let him feed on you.

“It is,” he said flatly, as if he was understanding some implication made by August that you were missing – and in all fairness, he was probably getting loads more information because of his gift.

“And you don’t care that it goes against her nature?” What? No, you know what, before Marshall was going to answer that question, you were just going to ask it out loud.

“What?”

“There’s a certain… willingness we see in your kind to let us feed,” Sherlock answered. “In some Naturals it turns into more of a need.”

“That’s right,” August said smugly. “He’s not worried about it at all. He’s just planning on using her as his personal buffet. How do you justify that? Were you ever going to be…” The atmosphere in the room turned cold and hostile, and it wasn’t long before Marshall interrupted.

“August, that’s enough!” he snapped. It was enough to get August to shut up, which was nice. Mike relaxed again, and you sighed in relief when the pressure of his fingers on your hips disappeared – You were fairly sure there were bruises where his hands had dug into your skin.

“Did I hurt you?” Mike asked softly, gently stroking the spot he’d just assaulted to further soothe the lingering pain. You nodded, but barely. It was more than enough for all of them to notice, though. “I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry.” You thought about what August had said, but you weren’t going to continue the conversation with the others still in the room.

“Was he wrong?” you asked Mike when you were finally alone in your room again. He slumped down on your bed with a massive sigh.

“He wasn’t,” he said. You weren’t shocked; August was perceptive – even for a vampire, you guessed – and it did sound a lot like Mike to do something like that, even if he didn’t mean any harm by it. “I figured, if your inclination turned into a serious need – apparently that’s pretty common when a Natural lives with vampires, as far as anything surrounding your kind can be called ‘common’ – I’d ask if you’d be okay if I fed on you.”

“Were you going to manipulate me into it?” There was about a zero percent chance of getting an honest answer to a question like that if he had been planning on that, because why would he tell you the truth?

“There was a plan that someone might consider to be that, yes. Which is exactly what August pointed out to me when I told him about it. I should have known he would use it against me. I wasn’t going to go through with it,” he explained. In the end, that made August the manipulative one, which made more sense than Mike taking on that role, honestly. That being said, you were still pissed at Mike and you and August were overdue for a talk.

“August,” you said as you stepped into his room without knocking, “I think we ne- oh my God, I’m sorry!” You turned around immediately. Funnily enough, August didn’t move.

“If you go back outside and knock I might just put my cock away and let you in.” Why did everything he said have to be rude, abrasive and… he was just downright impossible. His next remark only made things worse: “If you’re gonna stand there, I’d rather you turn around and watch me, to be honest.”

That was it. You closed the distance between you two with a few aggressive strides.

“August Walker, put your dick back in your pants, go wash your hands, then get your ass back in here because we need to talk,” you snarled at him. He didn’t move, so you spoke again: “Move!” This time he did listen, and you were impressed with yourself.

He was back before you knew it, sitting on the edge of his bed as if he’d never moved.

“You wanted to talk?”

“Why do you have to be such a… cunt?” If there was a nice way to phrase that, you were less than inclined to look for it.

“I’m not the only one being a cunt, sweetheart,” August growled, “Mike is being a pain in the ass. He needs to grow up.”

“Mike doesn’t need to do anything, August.”

“He’s being greedy, keeping you all to himself. Do you think he’d react the same way if you decided to… sell?”

“’Sell’ as in… turn it into a job?” Somehow, the idea of letting strange vampires suck your blood for money seemed very… escort-y to you. Not that there was anything wrong with that, of course. It’s just not a job you saw yourself in. Now, that didn’t stop you from being extremely curious about it…

“Yeah. Do you have any idea of the kind of money you could make?” Sherlock had mentioned that vampires paid good money to feed on your kind…

“Oh, but you lot just want to use me as a free buffet?” That was downright insulting! Somewhere deep down inside you knew you were grasping at straws here, looking for a reason to stay mad at the guys so you wouldn’t have to confront the fact that there genuinely was a part of you that didn’t like the way that conversation had ended. A part of you that wanted to be there for them in the way they had proposed. Besides, it was almost impossible to forget the way it had felt…

“We never said anything about ‘free’, princess, we said you’d be part of the negotiations.” August snarled. “The second you said ‘no’, Mike knew what you really wanted. Even before that, but he was in denial. He knows he’s hurting you. He knows you want this. He’s just being a kid about it.” You thought about what he said for a moment, especially the part about the negotiations. For the first time, you realized you had never actually considered what those negotiations could really entail. It was too late to ask about it now, of course. And you were happy with your decision, right? You were doing this – or rather; not doing this – for Mikey. Right?

“Is that a bad thing?” You asked softly, remembering what Sherlock had said. Fine; what you had said to Sherlock – and that Sherlock had confirmed: Mike was only baby-vampire. And you should never tell him that out loud.

“Taking into consideration the fact that he is a kid? Not really. He needs time to adjust to the idea, I guess.” August sighed and put his hands on your shoulders. “Look, I’ll try to be less of a prick, okay? But I’ll do that for your sake. Not his.” It seemed to you like that was all you’d get from August, so you agreed.

[lalaangeldust]

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐱 𝐠𝐧!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 [ 𝟑𝐤+ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 ]

[ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 ] : gross sticky icky fluff // friends to lovers troupe <3 // hanta is a huge dork, we all been knew this // hanta is also sickeningly sweet and affectionate // GOD, I JUST LOVE HIM SO MUCH

[ 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ] : on a clear night, you go out to stargaze on the dorm roof; nothing out of the norm for you but in the middle of admiring the stars, sero comes out to join with something big he needs to get off his chest.

[ 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 ] : you - blue // sero - orange

[ 𝗺𝘆𝗸𝗶𝗲'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 ] : i'm totally not projecting my fantasies onto sero and i'm totally not a sucker for friends to lovers fics :| /s

Sitting on the cool concrete of the dorm roof, the night illuminated by nothing but the streetlights below you and the stars above as you lay in silence with your legs propped against the roof's ledge. You've always thought the best part of UA was how it was out of the way so the stars are clearer than they were back in the city. Although graduation is soon and end of year exams are menacingly looming over you, you couldn't resist the urge to come out and soak up the full moon's gorgeous light. Nights like these, alone on a clear night, soft music playing through your headphones, scanning the vast sky, connecting the dots as your eyes wander to make constellations of your own are arguably one of your most favorite things in life.

The only thing that could possibly make this better is... him.

Eyes trailing to the brightest star you can find and admiring how it sticks out from everything else in your vision, your mind uncontrollably wanders to Sero. How that star kinda reminds you of him...

Ugh! what a ridiculous thing to think! Damn him for always finding a way to worm into your thoughts. Your hands fly to your forehead with a smack, outwardly groaning as you drag your fingers down your face in an attempt to shake off your thoughts. You've been friends with him for nearly three years! You would think you'd be over your petty crush on him by now. You two are practically siblings with how you two are almost always attached at the hip, always causing trouble together, always there when the other needed it, always making you feel safe... It would be weird to have feelings for him... right..?

But before you could rationalize your emotions any further, a hand reaches for your headphones, lifting one side off your ear as you hear a soft voice murmur behind you, “The moon’s beautiful tonight, isn't it?”

You practically jump out of your skin, immediately shooting up to take a defensive position. Although you can’t make out the silhouette you’re now facing, the all too familiar laughter that comes from them is more than enough to give away who this false intruder could be and you sigh in relief.

“Sero! You scared me half to death!!” you exclaim, relaxing your shoulders at seeing his familiar frame emerge through the dim light.

Tall and lean with a smile that could nearly rival the sun, the boy chuckles at you. His long pitch black hair he's been growing out for the past year cascading down the sides of his face, just barely brushing past his shoulders framing his face in a way that makes his dashing features stand out even more. Sero approaches you wearing a loose muscle tank top with his hands tucked in ill fitting sweats and a pair of black stud earrings he stole from you in his ears.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Sero chuckled, "I didn't mean to scare you so bad, doll". You send him a deep glare through the darkness and he throws his hands up out of his pockets to either side of his head in defense.

"...Maybe you shouldn't sit out here with music blasting in your ears,” Sero snarks back, “I could’ve been a villain,” he continues mockingly, “Not to mention that horrible stance you took. I don't think you’d fair very well against a villain while sitting down,” he teases with a wide grin smeared on his face. You scoff and roll your eyes in response.

“Are you only here to tell me how much of a hazard I am? Or do you want anything else, tape face?” you grumble.

“Oh, you wound me!” Sero exclaims dramatically, “I was simply wondering what my lil’ muffin was up to,” he muses, the dimples on his cheeks becoming visible as his grin only stretches wider as he speaks.

“Oh god, muffin!?!? ew!” you groan, “What the hell, I thought we agreed on no more stupid pet names,” you say with a giggle while scrunching up your nose.

“I didn't think it was stupid,” Sero huffs as he plops himself down next to you and wrinkles his nose back at you, “Muffin is a valid nickname. You just have no taste,” he concludes with a short nod, still smiling like an idiot.

You just roll your eyes and stick your tongue out at him before tilting your head up to go back to looking at the stars. Sero chuckles softly, staring at you for a moment while admiring you as you look at the sky with a softened smile on his face.

“Why you up so late?” he inquired.

“I could ask you the same thing, Sero,” you reply while throwing your head back down to look at him.

“Mmm, well, I was sleeping but… I suddenly woke up and couldn't go back to sleep,” he grunts as he adjusts himself into a more comfortable sitting position next to you.

You hum in acknowledgment before you look back up to the stars in the sky and Sero is left to admire you once again. How your eyes glimmer with the stars as the full moon softly illuminates your frame is a breathtaking view he would never tire of. The look on your face when you gaze at the sky, the look of pure adoration and awe is a look he hopes, prays, dreams you’ll give him one day.

“What’re you thinking, hun?” he softly asks, hoping you’d give him just the slightest glimpse of what goes on in your head. You pause for a moment, taking in his question and wondering how to answer it.

“Just thinking. Thinking thoughts. Nothing notable or important, I can assure you. Just enjoying the clear night,” you say, swerving his question to avoid the real answer. him.

“Ah, that was a rather vague answer,” he jests, mildly disappointed that you didn't let him in and you only hum in response.

“What about you?” you ask, “What made you wanna come up here?”

“Oh, well..” he begins but is held back by a lump that suddenly lodges in his throat, not really wanting to fully admit why he came up here with you.

In reality he hadn't slept at all. He’s embarrassed to admit it but he couldn't stop thinking of you all night, all day in fact. You just about consume his every thought and tonight, no matter what he did, he just couldn’t shake the thought of being with you.

After being so close with you for years now, people often assume the two of you are dating but the idea is almost always dismissed by a shy laugh and an averted gaze... Sero would be lying if he ever said he didn't relish the idea of being in a romantic relationship with you but... You never seemed all that interested in the idea and Sero was too scared to push the idea you may like him even half as much as he likes you. Never going farther than light hearted flirting and banter, some may call him a coward maybe but to him? Being your friend was enough. Well, that was until Mina and Kiri gave him a harsh wake up call earlier that morning.

They were scolding him on how painfully obvious it is how both you and Sero are nearly head over heels for one another, how they've spent the past year pining for one another, yet the both of you have stayed so blind to the fact you have feelings for each other. Absolutely dumbfounded by this, he asks what he should do about it, about you, to which they immediately and overwhelmingly demand him to confess his feelings for you. That is the real reason he came to find you.

“When I was trying to go back to sleep, I thought about something someone said… about taking chances,” he spoke in a soft and thoughtful tone, “Taking that blind leap of faith into the unknown things we’re afraid of because... what’s the worst that can happen…?” he pauses, rubbing the back of his neck, suddenly realizing how silly he probably sounds as he looks at you, “I dunno- sounds kinda dumb now that I say it out loud,” he says dismissively.

“No, no. I don't think it sounds dumb at all. I think it’s very insightful” you say, ushering him to continue by resting your head on your palm as you look at him intently to show your interest.

“Well, uh,” butterflies swarm to his chest as he tries to find the words to speak, finding it much harder to talk when he knows he has your full attention.

“Well, it led me to think about you 'cus I know that's something you talk about a lot as well… and I figured since it's a full moon tonight, you'd be up here,” he concludes. His gaze nervously shifting to his feet, averting his eyes from you to try and calm the fluttering nerves in his chest.

“I’m glad you did,” you hum, a low warmth growing in your chest from knowing he thought about you, “I enjoy your company,” you add thoughtfully. Though you probably just meant it in a friendly way, it didn’t change how much it meant to Sero to know you like having him around.

“I’m happy to hear that,” Sero chuckles nervously, a light blush dusting his cheeks as he slightly scooches closer to you. You take notice and you subtly tilt to the side, leaning in his direction not yet touching shoulders but leaving an opening to do so if he wanted.

“I uh- I also wanted to tell you something- In regards to what I was thinking about…” Sero mumbles nervously, hoping you didn’t catch what he said so he would have an excuse to not go through with his confession. Pretend like nothing happened and move on to just enjoy the simple friendship you two share.

“Oh?” You inquire, “What do you want to tell me? I’m all ears,” Sero fiddles with his thumbs, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before he speaks as you patiently wait for him.

"I- uh, I love you," he blurts, head swimming as he looks at you, eager and insatiably nervous to hear how you may respond, horrified you may not reciprocate his feelings and ultimately ruining what relationship you two did have.

"I love you too, Sero," you giggle.

Sero's heart drops, confidence dwindling as he assumes you thought he said "I love you" in the way you two always have. Just as friends. But he didn't. He meant it. He meant it in so many more ways he couldn't even begin to describe. He didn't expect you to reciprocate his feelings in the first place but that doesn't make him hurt any less.

"No, you don't understand," Sero sighs as he runs his hands through his long, thick hair, "I'm in love with you," You turn you head to him, Did he-? eyes widening at what Sero said, unsure if what you heard was a wishful hallucination or not. When you said "I love you" back, you genuinely meant it in the same way he does now. God, you've been in love with him for what seems like the first moment you two met but you would've never guessed Sero felt the same for you.

You sit in silence for a beat trying processes what Sero had just said to you. Your friend, your closest friend, is in love with you..? Something you've dreamt of becoming a reality. You start to get dizzy from the overwhelming euphoria and anxiety the realization simultaneously brings. You look at Sero, placing your hand on his to ground yourself as you look up at him, a warm smile spreading on your face.

"I love you too, Hanta," you say earnestly. Sero's heart leaps in his chest at your words. Not only did the person of his dreams reciprocate his feelings but they also addressed him by his first name?! He might as well be dreaming. Hearing his name fall off your lips like warm honey for the first time sends him flying through cloud nine.

"Y-you mean it??" Sero stutters, still unable to believe it. You give him a heartfelt smile as you squeeze his hand before standing up. You wordlessly walk around Sero and crouch behind him.

Utterly confused and growing increasingly flustered at your sudden close proximity, Sero opens his mouth to ask what you could possibly be doing but you shush him before he can say a word. Leaning against him, you ask permission to grab his hand and Hanta lets you guide his finger to the brightest star in the sky, hyperaware of every subtle shift, adjustment and breath you take behind him, clinging onto every passing moment.

"You see that star? The really really bright one right there and how it's brighter than the others?" you ask.

"Yeah... why.?" he questions, eager to hear what you have to say.

"Forgive me if this is too cheesy but it sorta reminds me of you," you say softly.

"Wh- I don't think a follow," Hanta replies and you give a short, breathy chuckle in response.

"Out of all the stars in the sky, you stick out to me to most. You're the brightest star," you murmur close to him, guiding his hand back down and you make your way to sit next to him. Hanta takes a moment to process what you said. Him? A star? He doesn't understand how you view him in such a way when there isn't much special about him in the first place... but he tries not to pay any mind to those thoughts as his eyes are glued to you sitting back down beside him.

"Pff, that was super cheesy," he snorts.

"Shut up, I'm trying my best," you grumble, "And... that's what I was really thinking about before you came," Hanta looks at you in awe, nothing but love and kindness filling his eyes as he gingerly grabs your hand, lifting it up level to his face.

"It's aright, doll, I was only teasing.. I think it's cute and~," he hums before placing a soft kiss on your knuckle, "I'm ok with cheesy," he concludes with a wink. Heat blooms on your cheeks at his action and you throw your head to the side, covering your mouth and cheek with your other hand in embarrassment. Hanta chuckles, just about ready to burst at how adorable you are and gets a sudden burst of confidence coursing through him from seeing your flustered form.

"Aw, don't get shy on me now, love," he coos, tugging your arm to usher you to look back at him. You look at him with a flustered scowl and Hanta isn't sure if you did it to intimidate him or what but all it did was make his heart scream for you more. His hand slides to your forearm and his other hand goes to grab your other arm, pulling it away from your face.

"Here, come here, baby," he murmurs, pulling your arms to guide you to his lap. You give little resistance as you follow Hanta's hands, shifting around to make yourself comfortable against him as you settle between his thighs. As soon as you got comfortable, Hanta's arms find their home around your waist, hugging you close and breathing you in. You sigh contently as your back rests against his strong chest, never feeling safer than you do right now in his arms.

"It's ok if I call you baby now, right..?" Hanta asks, not wanting to be too much at one time.

"Well, it would be if we were dating," you tease with a raised brow.

"Wha-?" Hanta looks at you confused for a moment before he realizes, "Oh! How could I forget," he chuckles softly, cupping your face in his large palm, guiding your face too look at him, his dark eyes practically engulfing you in his loving gaze.

"Would you care to be my partner..?" he purrs, voice dipping to a soft and low tone that sends goosebumps down your spine.

"W-well, when you put it like that how can I say no?" you mumble, not being able to help the heat rising up your neck, painting your cheeks pink once again from how small you feel under Hanta's enchanting gaze.

"So... is that a yes..?" Hanta inquires, hand still placed tenderly on our cheek. You nod your head against his palm, fingers caressing up and down his forearm as he holds you.

"Mhm, I would love nothing more," you reply in a soft and tender tone. Hanta melts at your words, feeling on top the world and like he can do anything. An uncontrollable smile erupts on his face, charming dimples ornamenting his cheeks as he hugs you tight to his body not wanting to ever let go.

You shuffle in his arms to turn yourself around in his lap. Now facing him, you tuck your face into the crook of Hanta's neck, wrapping your arms and legs snuggly around his torso. Hanta holds you equally as close, affectionately running his fingers up and down your back in complete bliss with you snuggling up to him.

"Can I kiss you..?" Hanta asks, voice just barely above a whisper. You lift your head up to look him in his deep eyes and you cup his face in your hand. Hanta leans into your touch, grabbing your hand on his face and guides it down just enough to plant a chaste kiss to the edge of your palm. You sigh and softly smile, nodding at the boy's question.

"Please kiss me," you murmur, leaning closer into his body. Hanta places his hand on the back of your neck, pulling you and a colliding your lips together. Though it was clumsy at first, you quickly adapt and your lips lock together like puzzle pieces. Tenderly, Hanta pulls away from you and rests his forehead against yours. The kiss you shared was short and sweet but still left the both of you breathless and yearning for more.

"May I kiss you again?" Hanta questions playfully and you giggle in response while nodding your head against him. He leans in, smiling against you as you mash lips with together, the both of you sighing into the other's mouth. This kiss a lot more confident than the last as Hanta takes the lead to explore every bit of you he can, taking note of every noise, movement and reaction you give. This time you pull away, surfacing for air from Hanta's intense hold on you.

"I can kiss you again, right?" Hanta asks again.

"How many more kisses do you want??" you giggle.

"That is a dangerous question to ask, my love," Hanta purrs into you, his breath ghosting your neck as he nuzzles his face underneath your jaw and lays a soft peck where his face lies, "I'd take all of them," he says, scanning your face for any discomfort but once he sees you're ok with him continuing, he lays another peck on your neck.

You laugh at the ticklish feeling, lacing your fingers through his dark hair as he continues showering you with short kisses.

"Let me know if I'm being too much, yeah?" kiss on your neck, "I don't wanna be too much," another kiss on the neck, "or overwhelm you," kiss on your jaw, "'cus that would be sad," kiss on the corner of your mouth.

"Hanta!" you squeal through giggles.

"I'm sorry, hun" kiss on your cheekbone, "I just can't resist," kiss on your cheek, "you have no idea," kiss on the chin, "just how long," kiss on the nose, "I've wanted," kiss on the eyelid "to do this," kiss on the brow, "And now," kiss on the temple, "I can't," kiss on the forehead, "Stop,"

Erupting with giggles, you desperately try to squirm away as Hanta continues to relentlessly shower you with kisses.

"No, no, no! Hanta!" you cry through your laughter, "No more!"

Giving you one last peck on the lips before pulling away, Hanta finally gives into your pleas and stops his assault of kisses. He presses his forehead against yours as you calm down from your laughing fit, pulling some giggles from Hanta as well because of your contagious laugh.

"I love you," you sigh once you've finally calmed down. Hanta hums in response, placing his hand on the back of your head, letting his fingers lace through your hair.

"I love you too," he says, heart feeling full and beaming with joy.

Forever and always~

𝒇𝒊𝒏 . ✩

[ lil easter egg of sorts for those of you who don't know~ in Japanese when you ask someone "The moon is beautiful, isn't it?" or

『月が綺麗です���』 // "tsuki ga kirei desu, ne?"

it's actually a very poetic way to confess your love to the person you're asking ]

[ I think it's literally so fucking cute 'cus i myself am deeply in love w/ the moon :) ]

[ if this were a thing in English and someone confessed to me this way, i would immediately demand for their hand in marriage >:| ]

[ god, japanese culture is so cool, i love it sm ]

ALSO- CAN WE NORMALISE ASKING SOMEONE OUT BY ASKING THEM TO BE YOUR PARTNER INSTEAD OF BF / GF????

"would you care to be my partner?" UHBIJNIJAHHHH LITERALLY SO ROMANTIC AND GENUINE HOLY SHIT- i'm making myself simp

RAAAHHHHHHH

[pinkfey]

i was tagged by @arklay and @aartyom to fill out this fun lil prompt; tysm my beloveds 😚😚 tagging: @liurnia @mrs-theirin @taliaferros @xoti @solasan @yharnams @lvllns @rennasrise @calenhads @celticwoman @shadowglens @cultistbase @steelport @mendev @sanguinettii and you !! ♡ ♡ ♡

NAME: Jael Khatri

NICKNAME(S): Pup (used as less a term of endearment and more a taunt by her professors as well as students at the academy)

NO. OF SPOKEN LANGUAGES: 1 / 2 / 3 — Jael did not have any sort of education prior to being admitted to the academy and in her village the only language spoken was Common

TONE OF VOICE: high / average / deep

ACCENT: yes / no

DEMEANOR: confident / shy / approachable / hostile / other — cheeky, cocky

POSTURE: slumped / straight / stiff / relaxed — Having been constantly hunched in a box during her formative years, Jael’s spine did not develop properly, resulting in a curved posture

HABITS: head tilting / swaying / fidgeting / stuttering / gesturing / arm crossing / strokes chin / er, um, or other interjections / plays with hair or clothing / hands at hips / inconsistent eye contact / maintains eye contact / frequent pausing / stands close / stands at a distance

COMPLEXITY:

VOCABULARY: ⬛⬛⬜️⬜️⬜️

EMOTION: ⬛⬛️⬛️⬜⬜️

SENTENCE STRUCTURE: ⬛⬛⬛⬛️⬜

PROFANITY:

FREQUENCY: ⬛⬛️⬛️⬜⬜

CREATIVITY: ⬛⬛️⬛️⬛️⬜

BOLD ALL THAT APPLY.

arse. ass. asshole. bastard. bitch. bloody. bugger. bollocks. chicken shit. crap. cunt. dick. frick. fuck. horseshit. motherfucker. piss. prick. screw. shit. shitass. son of a bitch. twat. wanker. pussy.

THIS OR THAT.

straightforward or cryptic? / fighting the right word or using the first word that comes to mind? / masculinity, neutrality, or femininity? / formalities or with abrasiveness? / praise or equivocation? / frankness or lies? / excessive or minimal hand gestures? / name-calling or magnanimity? / friendly or blunt?

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.

DO PEOPLE HAVE A HARD TIME UNDERSTANDING OR HEARING YOUR CHARACTER? almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never — Jael occasionally gets lost in the bit and pontificates too much, resulting in a “Wait… what?” every once in a while

DOES YOUR CHARACTER’S POINT COME ACROSS EASILY WHEN THEY SPEAK? almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never

WOULD YOUR CHARACTER INITIATE CONVERSATIONS? almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never — Jael prefers to have people approach her rather than her approach them

WOULD YOUR CHARACTER BE THE ONE TO END CONVERSATIONS? almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never

WOULD YOUR CHARACTER USE ‘WHOM’ IN A SENTENCE? yes / no / only ironically

YOUR CHARACTER WANTS TO MAKE A COUNTERPOINT. WHAT WORD DO THEY USE? but / though / although / however / perhaps / mayhaps

HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER END CONVERSATIONS? walk away / ask if that’s everything / say that’s everything / give a proper goodbye / tell their company they’re done here / remain quiet / they don’t

WHAT SOCIAL CLASS WOULD OTHERS ASSUME YOUR CHARACTER BELONGS TO, HEARING THEM SPEAK? upper / middle / lower — Jael may not always understand some of the words she uses in order to seem higher class, but by god can she fake it

IN WHAT WAYS DOES THE WAY YOUR CHARACTER SPEAK STAND OUT TO OTHERS? accent / vocabulary / tone / level / politeness / brusqueness / it doesn’t

NAME: Ursula

NICKNAME(S): Ursa (used only by Talyss)

NO. OF SPOKEN LANGUAGES: 1 / 2 / 3 — Common

TONE OF VOICE: high / average / deep

ACCENT: yes / no — Norse (italicized because I haven’t totally decided yet :P)

DEMEANOR: confident / shy / approachable / hostile / other — unimpressed

POSTURE: slumped / straight / stiff / relaxed

HABITS: head tilting / swaying / fidgeting / stuttering / gesturing / arm crossing / strokes chin / er, um, or other interjections / plays with hair or clothing / hands at hips / inconsistent eye contact / maintains eye contact / frequent pausing / stands close / stands at a distance

COMPLEXITY:

VOCABULARY: ⬛⬛⬛️⬜️⬜️

EMOTION: ⬛⬛️⬛️⬜⬜️

SENTENCE STRUCTURE: ⬛⬛⬜️⬜️⬜

PROFANITY:

FREQUENCY: ⬛⬛️⬜️⬜⬜

CREATIVITY: ⬛️⬛️⬜️⬜️⬜️

BOLD ALL THAT APPLY.

arse. ass. asshole. bastard. bitch. bloody. bugger. bollocks. chicken shit. crap. cunt. dick. frick. fuck. horseshit. motherfucker. piss. prick. screw. shit. shitass. son of a bitch. twat. wanker. pussy.

THIS OR THAT.

straightforward or cryptic? / fighting the right word or using the first word that comes to mind? / masculinity, neutrality, or femininity? / formalities or with abrasiveness? / praise or equivocation? / frankness or lies? / excessive or minimal hand gestures? / name-calling or magnanimity? / friendly or blunt? — Ursula doesn’t have much of a sense of what’s masculine or feminine. While I’d personally put her in the more neutral category, it isn’t as if she’s purposefully neutral. She just is.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.

DO PEOPLE HAVE A HARD TIME UNDERSTANDING OR HEARING YOUR CHARACTER? almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never — Ursula can be very quiet when she isn’t the one leading.

DOES YOUR CHARACTER’S POINT COME ACROSS EASILY WHEN THEY SPEAK? almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never

WOULD YOUR CHARACTER INITIATE CONVERSATIONS? almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never

WOULD YOUR CHARACTER BE THE ONE TO END CONVERSATIONS? almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never

WOULD YOUR CHARACTER USE ‘WHOM’ IN A SENTENCE? yes / no / only ironically

YOUR CHARACTER WANTS TO MAKE A COUNTERPOINT. WHAT WORD DO THEY USE? but / though / although / however / perhaps / mayhaps

HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER END CONVERSATIONS? walk away / ask if that’s everything / say that’s everything / give a proper goodbye / tell their company they’re done here / remain quiet / they don’t

WHAT SOCIAL CLASS WOULD OTHERS ASSUME YOUR CHARACTER BELONGS TO, HEARING THEM SPEAK? upper / middle / lower — It’s less that they know her class and more they know she’s a pirate.

IN WHAT WAYS DOES THE WAY YOUR CHARACTER SPEAK STAND OUT TO OTHERS? accent / vocabulary / tone / level / politeness / brusqueness / it doesn’t

[peachyteez]

lost puppy ≫ DAY FOUR, CONFRONTATION

being abandoned by your owners is never fun. but yunho takes it as a chance to explore the world as his owners were never the kindest people. having wandered around jiyu’s condo, seonghwa discovers the lost puppy and said puppy is offered a second chance at a place to call home

PART OF THE HEAVEN SERIES.

✧ taglist: @defsoul15, @choisaniskillingme, @joongiebug, @sunsethw4, @t-tbinnie, @danibookmarks, @chanyeolol, @hello-its-ya-boi, @murralyn, @alienmashup, @panini, @moon8894, @taetae123094, @luv3rxcha

can’t be tagged: @koasworld

feel free to let me know if you would like to be added to the list! :)

✧ notes: things get a lil intense, oops. she might me a lil lengthy hehe.

✧ WARNINGS: mentions of abuse, whip marks, and blood, indirect mentions of sexual activities, degrading names (mutt, bitch)

back。| next。

"jiyu, it’s eight in the morning on a saturday, why are you up so early?” seonghwa asked as he padded out to the kitchen in his pajamas. he rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes as he took a seat on the stood next to jiyu’s at the kitchen island. 

"i’m just trying to see how i can legally remove yunho from his current home,” she yawned. “he may have ran away, but his owners technically still have custody of him.”

the two were engulfed in silence. the only sounds that could be heard was jiyu typing on her laptop. “is that who you were giving the food to?” jiyu suddenly asked.

seonghwa’s eyes widened. “how did you know i gave him food?” he asked. he doesn’t remember ever mentioning about it too jiyu.

“ms. kim saw you a few days ago going out with a bag of food,” jiyu chuckled. “don’t worry, i was just curious. i knew something was on your mind for the past few days, but i didn’t want you to feel entitled to have to tell me everything so...”

seonghwa thoughtfully nodded. “he was hanging around the dumpster alley,” he revealed, making jiyu slightly gasp.

“poor thing, i wonder how long he’s been there,” she mumbled as she continued reading up. she bit her lip as she read. “is he still asleep?” she asked, looking up to seonghwa, who softly nodded in response.

she pursed her lips in thought as she closed her laptop. “i guess we can take him shopping for a few pairs of clothes later today,” she thought aloud. suddenly, she remembered a question seonghwa had asked her a few days ago. would you be okay with another one? was he talking about yunho?

“hey, hwa,” she called out to the hybrid next to her. “were you talking about yunho when you asked me about another hybrid the other day?” she asked.

seonghwa bit the inside of his cheek before meekly nodding. jiyu softly smiled. “i don't mind,” she said, making seonghwa snap his head towards her out of surprise.

“really?” he thought he heard her wrong.

jiyu nodded. “my only concern now is that this apartment might be too cramped for the three of us,” she chuckled. “i think the previous owner moved out of the penthouse last month, and as far as i know, no one moved in yet,” she recalled. “if anything we can just move there if i can get custody of yunho.”

seonghwa’s tail excitedly started wagging as he smushed jiyu into a hug. “i have another friend now!” he cheered as he rubbed his cheek against the top of her head. a smile was spread across his face.

she chuckled as she reached up and scratched his head. “come on, let’s go get yunho so we can get breakfast and shop around, yeah?”

half an hour and five failed attempts later, the three were all ready to go out. yunho had to borrow seonghwa’s clothes again, although he protested and said he could wear his own. jiyu insisted since his old clothes had some holes and rips from his life on the streets.

“okay, let’s go get coffee then we can shop around for some clothes for yunho. sounds good?” she asked the two hybrids in the backseat. 

yunho cocked his head in confusion. “why would i need clothes? i thought you said i can borrow seonghwa’s clothes.”

drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, she turned around in her seat to face the two. “yunho, how about you live with us once if i can remove you from your owners’ custody?” she offered. 

yunho blanked out, thinking he was daydreaming. “pardon?”

jiyu softly smiled. “you and seonghwa already seem to have grown attached to each other. plus, i don’t feel right sending you to a shelter after all this is over,” she explained. “we’re not forcing you, it’s just a suggestion so don’t feel pressured to accept. we’ll understand if you turn down the offer,” she said before starting the car. “but you’ll still need some clothes just in case.”

yunho stared out the car window throughout the whole wide to the cafe. him? living with jiyu and seonghwa? can he really do that? can he really risk it to try and live with another owner again? endless thoughts floated around his mind. he was so deep in thought, he didn’t realize that jiyu left the two in the car as she went in to get her coffee. 

seonghwa waved a hand in front of yunho’s face. “earth to yunho,” he called out. 

yunho snapped out of his thoughts as he looked around. he sheepishly chuckled. “sorry, i was just thinking...”

“about our offer?” seonghwa asked.

yunho slowly nodded. seonghwa understood his hesitance. after living with abusive owners for who knew how long, he knew yunho’s reservations and hesitance about living with another human. heck, he had the same thoughts while in the recovery center. 

“she’s different,” seonghwa mumbled as he peered into the coffee shop at jiyu. “did you know she saved me from being put down?”

yunho’s eyes slightly widened in surprise at the revelation. seonghwa humorously laughed. “to be honest, i was like you about a year ago. ran away from my...owners and became a stray until stray patrol found me and handed me over to the recovery center.” seonghwa didn’t know what compelled him to share his life story with the golden retriever, but he thought he could offer him solace if he revealed how similar the two were. “my old owners weren’t the best people either. they used me like a toy for their pleasures and whenever i tried fighting back, they returned the fight twice as hard.”

seonghwa craned his neck and slipped his collar down a little to show yunho the damage. yunho gasped. he noticed a maze of whip marks on the wolf’s neck that snaked down farther down his back. seonghwa sighed as he continued. “sometimes i’d even be stuck laying in their basement bleeding out. if they felt nice, they'd send someone to patch me up. other days...i did it myself.”

yunho went silent. it was at that moment he realized that they were, indeed, more similar than he had thought. the only difference was that seonghwa received the help he needed, whilst he was still wandering around with no destination. 

“that’s why when i say she’s trustworthy, she really is.”

at that moment, jiyu came back. “sorry guys! the wait took a little longer than expected, but i got you guys drinks, too,” she said before handing them each two cartons of banana and strawberry milk. 

seonghwa’s eyes sparkled and his ears twitched in happiness at the drinks, while yunho stared at the drinks as if they were treasure. “thank you...” he gratefully said before glancing at seonghwa, who was happily sipping from his carton. he seemed so different. no one would’ve ever thought that he went through years of both physical and mental abuse from the smile on his face at that moment. maybe there’s a chance for me, too?

half an hour later, they came to a little shopping mall in the middle of the city. yunho’s eyes sparkled with fascination as they walked through the various stores. he sometimes was so distracted that seonghwa would have to come back and drag yunho with him so he wouldn’t get lost. jiyu chuckled. he looks exactly like seonghwa. she noted.

despite yunho’s protests again, jiyu and seonghwa eventually convinced him to pick out outfits. yunho’s eyes bulged out when he read the price, but jiyu insisted it was alright and he was free to chose whatever he wanted. seonghwa and jiyu waited while the golden retriever went to try on the clothes. pursing her lips, jiyu realized that they would really have to find a larger place if she wanted to house both seonghwa and yunho. 

“excuse me.”

turning around and snapping out of her thoughts, jiyu noticed a man and woman standing behind her and seonghwa. they seemed to be a little older than jiyu, maybe late twenties. despite them dressing casually like a normal person, jiyu could recognize wealthy people from a mile away—their haughty aura and tone gave them away pretty quick, not to mention how they both sported gucci watches. 

she plastered a fake smile on her face. she's dealt with plenty of condescending ceo’s and their wives during company parties. “hello, may i help you?”

the woman gave her a sickly sweet smile. “we couldn't help but notice a golden-retriever hybrid you had with you a while ago.” jiyu tensed. yunho.

“does this look okay—”

coming back from the dressing room, yunho froze when he noticed the man and woman talking to jiyu. all color drained from his face, giving jiyu the confirmation she needed. they were his owners. 

the man plastered on a fake smile as he walked past jiyu and seonghwa towards the trembling giant puppy. “there you are yunho! did you know how worried we were about you?” he asked, his eyes glaring at yunho despite his friendly tone. he reached out towards yunho. “say thank you to the young lady and let’s go—”

jiyu lunged forward and smacked the man’s hand away before he could grab yunho. she protectively stood in front of yunho and coldly glared at the couple. seonghwa and yunho’s eyes widened at her actions. “don’t touch him,” she warned.

the man scoffed and glared down at jiyu. “he’s our hybrid and we have the right to take him back home with us. so unless you want legal actions against you, then hand him over right now.”

yunho winced whilst seonghwa started growling at the couple. the woman stared back at seonghwa with disgust. “and learn to train your hybrid better! don’t you know any manners?” she taunted jiyu.

by this point, they were already attracting a crowd. 

jiyu humorlously laughed. “you’re one to tell me about manners, miss. you can’t even treat your own hybrid with care and respect,” she retorted. 

the man grew red with anger. “young lady, unless you want a lawsuit against you for theft of property, then hand him over. we have witnesses, you know,” he smirked, gesturing to the crowd around them. 

jiyu clenched her hands into fists as she felt her angle almost burst at the seams. theft of property? they really view him as an object?! glancing at the people around them, she noticed them whispering amongst themselves while some were recording the whole scene.

the woman rolled her eyes as she gestured to yunho. “yunho, darling, come to us. now.” her tone was hard and demanding. yunho hesitated, glancing at the younger girl in front of him. she glanced back at him with determined eyes.

gritting her teeth at yunho’s disobedience, the woman reached out towards yunho. “yunho, you useless mutt! what did i say—”

at that moment, something snapped in yunho. eyes hardening, he started to growl, making the woman freeze in her tracks. “no.” he firmly stated as he looked at his “owners”. “i’m not going back with you.” he glared. 

jiyu and seonghwa were surprised at his change of character. he was no longer the shy and smiling puppy. he now had the most intimidating glare, his eyes burning with hatred for the couple in front of him. 

the man exploded as he focused back to jiyu. he had enough. “do you know who we are?! we’re the ceo’s of star enterprise, and we can ruin your life with a snap of our fingers—”

as the man continued with his threats, seonghwa protectively stood in front of both yunho and jiyu. he towered over the couple, growling as a warning. the man gritted his teeth, slightly stepping back from seonghwa. 

“star enterprise?” jiyu mused at the familiar name. she remembered her father mentioning to her about how he had acquired their company. she smirked, realizing she had the upper hand. “then you don’t seem to know who i am.”  

the woman scoffed. “excuse me? you’re just a little bitch that—”

“does jiyu hwang ring a bell?”

suddenly, the man and woman’s eyes widened at the name. of course they knew who she was. she was the daughter of their acquirer, hwang enterprises. color drained from their faces at the sudden revelation. 

she walked around seonghwa and stood her ground in front of the couple. “i’ll make this short. i have proof of the both of you abusing this poor hybrid. now, we can make this simple and you can give me custody of him, and i won’t tell my father about any of this,” she smirked seeing their somewhat terrified expression. she knew how much they needed her father’s help in the industry. “unless...you want to wake up tomorrow morning with half of your stocks gone and your names labelled as hybrid abusers on an article. 

the man stumbled back. he had heard rumors of how ruthless hwang enterprises could be if you messed with them. now, he was witnessing it first-hand. unlike her husband, the woman still tried challenging jiyu. she scoffed. “you little bitch. you think you can threaten us using your father’s—”

“shut up, unless you want us bankrupt by tomorrow morning,” her husband hissed.

the woman was flabbergasted. “but—!”

ignoring his wife, he plastered a fake smile on his face as he bowed. “our apologies, we didn’t realize it was you, miss hwang!” 

jiyu fought the urge to roll her eyes at his switch of personality. “it’s fine.”

“although i’m quite unsure about why you want such a useless mutt, we can definitely hand him over. you’ll have the papers by tomorrow morning!” he said, trying to suck up to the younger female after his and his wife’s fatal mistake. 

jiyu plastered a smile. “i’ll be expecting them,” she curtly said before grabbing seonghwa and yunho’s arm to drag them away from the crowd. “and you should know, the hwang’s don't appreciate tardiness or lies.”

she pulled the two far from the whispering crowd and humiliated couple. seonghwa and yunho were shocked. that wasn't the jiyu they knew—it was like she was a completely different person. 

“oh my god, what did i just do?” she squealed when they made it back to the car. she face-planted onto the wheel as the other two climbed into the backseat. “i’m an idiot!” she berated herself.

“u-um...” yunho hesitantly spoke up. “are you okay?” 

she sighed. “yeah, i’m fine. are you okay, though?” she worriedly asked as she peered back at him. her normal, worried self was back. 

yunho nodded as he looked down, fiddling with his fingers. “t-thank you f-for that,” he mumbled. no one has ever done something like that for him. and it made him realize that maybe, just maybe, the universe was giving him a second shot at a place to call home.

she softly smiled before gently patting his head. “of course, yunho.”

“i think...i’ll take up your offer,” he shyly said, making jiyu and seonghwa grin. seonghwa cheered as he embraced the puppy. 

jiyu smiled. “welcome to the family, yunho.”

yunho grinned. “also, please remind me to never get on your bad side.”

seonghwa nodded. “that was cool, but scary.”

jiyu pouted. “i’m not that that scary, i promise!”

as the two teased her on the way home, jiyu gripped the wheel a little tighter. she never intended to show that side of her to them. as a matter of fact, she never intended to show anyone that terrifying side of her. the moment she left the main house, she locked that side of herself away forever, or so she thought.

as much as she hates to admit, she and her father shared many similarities—and their ruthlessness was one of them. she hated that side of her. discreetly glancing at the rearview mirror, she saw seonghwa and yunho laughing with each other.

that was when she knew she was different. while her father used his ruthlessness for money and power, she used it to protect her loved ones. she would do anything to keep them safe, even if it meant showing them glimpses of that side of her again.

“but now we have another problem,” she realized.

the hybrids cocked their head in confusion at her words. she sheepishly chuckled. “we’re gonna need a bigger living space.”

[scorpioxsith]

Don’t you agree?

I was totally on my bullshit after watching Chapter 13 last night, I smoked a joint and, god damn I was feeling inspired, I wrote something, whatever my imagination was doing at 1AM.

It’s just a little something. I tidied up the grammar to coherency but i kinda like it being organic as it was, to reflect reader being not-sober (just like me baha). 🤪

Also influencing this, I’m in the UK and we’ve been in lockdown for the past month and it ain't about to end for me anytime soon, so i am pining for a night out (idk just some fun god damn) and some mando attention. 

I felt like sharing it because it’s kinda fun and lighthearted and if it helps someone else escape right now then cool. This is some #realthirstyhotgirlshit, reader is flirty and a lil confident but also a lil shy because heck I can be confident (lies) but put me in front of Mando and you bet I would be total jello. (also i dont think mando is necessarily OOC in this BUT if he is idc i just want him to be my daddy lmfao) 

Im living for season 2, someone give Filoni an award NOW!! 

warnings: references to alcohol/drug use. its not smut but its flirty. if i carry it on it'll go “further” but I’m scared of commitment so

Drabble below the cut.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You hanged off of Greef Karga in a friendly embrace and giggled in the spice lounge. You were howling about a story he had just told you and the two of you were almost crying with laughter. You’d just come back from a very successful mission, and when he'd asked if you wanted to celebrate the win with him, you shrugged your shoulders at him with a playful smirk “alright then.”

two hours later and you were both inebriated. it was bleeding into the mid evening, the night at its peak. energy buzzed in the spice lounge with the music and fluttering ebb and flow of conversations, carrying an infectious energy into the air. 

your body felt relaxed, your mind loose. 

it was a little foolish, given you are in so doing letting your guard down, but you hoped if you were unlucky enough to be accosted in this state, with Greef by your side you felt a safe bet you could still take most people. 

Although you didn’t particularly have much in common with him, he had a playful demeanour that made for a fun drinking partner. 

Karga tapered his hysterics off into a deep chuckle, “ah, you know-” 

“Karga.” 

A blur of silver came into yours and Greef’s vision until it materialised before your eyes into a Mandalorian. A hot Mandalorian. You had no idea you had a thing for that but it was the first thought that sprung to your mind. You quickly looked to Greef, playing off your fluttering lashes and hoping the Mandalorian hadn’t noticed your astonishment. Or…maybe if he had, maybe it wouldn’t be totally the end of the world. Who knows. 

Greef Karga also took a moment to summon a response, frozen for the barest of moments, but you saw it. He was taken aback by the Mandalorian's presence. Then, he flew into a huge bravada of an introduction. 

Maker, you were both so high. 

“Mando!” Greef bellows, “well I never. I never thought I’d see you in this particular establishment!” 

The Mandalorian cocked his head impatiently. “I’m only here because I was told this is where I’d find you.” 

His voice went straight through you. Fuck. 

Greef turned to you. “Allow me to introduce my associate…” 

you smiled awkwardly at this, oh god - why were you feeling shy? I mean…well actually...you do know why, don’t you? 

“Good to meet you,” you said carefully - you didn’t want to spook him, so no heavy flirting yet but your tone was warm and a little sultry. 

The Mandalorian’s helmet turned to you and you weren’t sure if you imagined it but you were sure you felt some sort of tension almost immediately bloom as he continued to hold your gaze. Your skin prickled in a path down your body as if his very gaze was passing over your curves and leaving a blazing fire in its wake. 

Your voice lazy, a little sexy, as were your sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks. “I'm Y/n.”

“Mando,” he responds huskily. You think that will be it, but then- “I haven’t seen you around here before.” 

His voice is run through a modulator in his helmet, making it hard to pin down his tone. You couldn’t tell what his angle was but something inside of you hoped he was feeling the same magnetism as you right now.

You realised he was waiting for an answer, and you hope you mask the subtle cheeky glint in your eye before you respond. 

“I am new to this parsec, yes. I have been in the Guild for a couple months now but I’m often out on mission.”

“Is that right?” There’s a smoothness to his voice that makes you blush slightly, you hope its not obvious. To Greef, that is. It'll definitely be obvious to Mando’s heat vision, but you could live with that embarrassment. He continued, “I assume as you are here, your previous mission was successful.”

You nodded up at him, thinking wow he’s so tall and big and yes and he’s looking down at you too, until a hand clapped on your back and Greef came into the picture again. 

“Indeed!” Greef commended as if it was the best thing in the world. “An impressive one hundred per cent success rate! She’s almost as talented as you, Mando, I like this one!” 

Karga gives you a joking side wink and you can’t help but laugh - he forces it out of you when your eyes meet as if something is so hilarious but you’re not even sure what it is, mainly just the fact that he’s chatting absolute shit and you can’t take it seriously. Mando gazes at you as he waits for you both to finish your ridiculous and illogical giggling fit.

It takes longer than a minute for you both to get control of yourselves, your laughter filling the air of the spice lounge. Mando's hands went to his hips and he cocked into a stance that had you wanting to drop to your knees. That stopped your giggling. 

Karga wipes another tear from his eye, you’re not sure if he’s doing it for dramatic effect and it almost sends you off the edge again. 

“Forgive me, I’m feeling loose. Speaking of, I’m going to go get myself another Gin ’n’ Juice,” Karga announced playfully. “Mando? Drink, Y/n?” he asks you. 

“Just a water, please,” you said sweetly. You needed it. 

“Karga, I came here to talk,” Mando quipped impatiently. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Karga rolled his eyes, “and if I’m gonna listen to you, I need a drink. Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll be right back.” 

With that he whirled away, leaving you with the Mandalorian. 

You weren’t sure whether to start conversation or wait for him to ask you something, but then there was the predicament of what to say. The armour was sexy as hell, but it did make him difficult to read. 

The Mandalorian was watching Greef retreat to the bar, before seeming to roll his shoulders and relax slightly, consciously, then looked down at you. 

Then, he adjusted his weapon away from his body so he could take one large stride over to the now unoccupied space by you. He sat close, but still too far away. However, he relaxed into the seat a little more, the bulk of him spreading out further and inching closer to you. It was like some kind of erotic display and you couldn’t help but gaze at him in a way that betrayed your desires. 

His helmet tilted at you and he chuckled knowingly. “Careful, kitten.”

  Your eyes widened in surprise and a sudden warmness whooshed through your whole body. It was dizzying and immediately a hot aching began to pulse in your core. His voice danced through your tingling senses and you were enraptured. 

You wanted to touch him, desperately, even just get a little closer. Encouraged by his boldness, you summoned the courage to teasingly reach out and slowly trace your fingers over his thigh. You hear a staticky breath come out of the modulator. 

One of his large hands snapped down to rest over yours, except he didn't snatch your hand away. He held it in place, his hand heavy and hot over yours, pressing down on his firm thigh. Your breath hitched as movement in your peripheral barely caught his other hand coming up, too late and you were taken by a shudder when you felt his gloved fingers trail gently down the sensitive curve of your exposed neck. Your head tilted in compliance, lashes fluttering, barely in control of the longing gaze of desire you were levelling back into the visor of the helmet.

"You should be careful, cyar'ika," he murmured, "Some would take advantage of this right now." 

You barely held back a whine, but you knew he was right. Shit, his righteousness only made you want him more. 

He pulled back swiftly, though it was a gentle touch when his hand gripped and lifted yours off his thigh, placing it back onto your own lap. His fingers ghosted over your forearm as they retreated.

Moments later, Karga returned with more drinks you knew one single man could carry, and you gaped at him. 

"Karga, I said water!" you pouted.   

"I got that, too," he replied, pushing a glass filled with clear liquid towards you, condensation beading down the side. 

You drank half of it immediately. You eyed the pink drink he'd also brought you back, unsure if it was wise. You weren't really one for drinking and smoking at the same time, it was risky business that. 

Greef lowered himself into the seat across from Mando. "Get on with it then, before I change my mind," he said to Mando, urging him to get the business talk over with, because he knew for sure that must be the reason for this highly unexpected appearance. 

  You didn't miss the way the Mandalorian looked at Karga in a silent challenge, daring him to cheek him again. Karga laughed it off, bumping one of Mando's pauldrons and slid one of the drinks across the table to the Mandalorian.

Mando's shoulders rose and fell in a sigh of defeat, like he just couldn't be bothered with the hassle.

"I think the puck you gave me was intended for someone else." With that, Mando slammed the puck onto the table, startling you slightly and some of the fuller drinks jumped out of their glasses onto the table. 

The puck's holo beamed up a second later, a picture of a wealthy, androgynous looking human male. 

He continued, "You know I can't be going anywhere near the Inner Rim." 

Karga peered at the puck. "Ah yes..." he glanced at Mando, then you, before chaotically spinning the puck across the table towards you. 

"Dank ferrick!!" you cursed, barely catching the puck under your palm as you slammed your hand down to the table quickly. 

  Karga burst out laughing, "coincidentally it was meant for her ladyship here. Very chivalrous to bring it to its rightful owner, Mando." 

  The Mandalorian's head spun to pin you with an unreadable gaze. After a tense moment, he said, "Who said I was returning it?" 

  You blinked at him, palm suddenly burning where the puck was sitting innocently beneath it. 

  Karga chuckled again. "Apologies for the assumption, old friend. How can I resolve the matter?" 

  Mando's gaze returned to Karga, briefly releasing you. "You promised me payment for this. The only solution I can see is a partnership for this bounty."

The Mandalorian turned back to you. "Don't you agree?" 

[theonetheycallhannah]

The Treatment of Capt. Syverson-Chapter Two: Therapeutic Procedure

Pairing: Captain “Sy” Syverson x OFC (Shane Benton)

Summary: Shane and Sy share some moments during their treatment sessions…and a phone call that could set the tone for the next few weeks.

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: None, yet… ;)

Author’s Note: Sorry, I was so eager and excited to post the first chapter of this last night, I totally put some inaccurate info in my description notes. I will correct that in the original post and  try to do better henceforth! Hope you enjoy Sy and Shane totally flirting some more and getting more friendly in this chapter. Feedback is appreciated! Even constructive criticism! :D

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism. 

Tags: @onlyhenrys @cavillryarchive @summersong69 @titty-teetee

Let me know if you wish to be added to the list! I’m happy to do it!

Shane woke up that morning with knots in her stomach. She dropped every product she picked up in the shower, she was shaking so much. She accidentally ordered the wrong coffee on her way to work and was now drinking something much less caffeinated and far too sweet for her taste. The barista had informed her it was a grande caramel macchiato with an extra pump of vanilla and extra caramel drizzle…with only two shots of espresso…she couldn't begin to describe how wrong that drink was for her. But it was better than nothing, she told herself, not fully convincingly.

She had chosen her clothes with extra care, even though, with the dress code, her options were limited. And she had made sure to put on a bit of mascara and just a touch of perfume, even though they weren't strictly supposed to wear it…she didn't know why she was bothering.

Well, actually, she did know why. She had been checking her schedule extra diligently lately to make sure she didn't look like a hobo when Sy was coming in. He'd been coming for three weeks now, and after the initial bellyaching about Jordan not being as pretty as her…her heart!...and his feeling extra sore after his visits with him, they were on a roll and had a great chemistry together as far as their treatments went…she tried not to think about…beyond the world of therapy.

She thought back to their first session after she got back from her trip. And the conversation they had.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I think the next time you can't see me, I'm just going to cancel." he had sulked as he wiggled his mass of muscle onto the mat.

"Sy, no. you need therapy. Don't be like that to Jordan. He's an excellent therapist."

"He ain't you though." he smirked, sending her heart racing with that smile that somehow managed to look both boyish and rakish under his full, dark beard. Fucking hell. He needed to stop.

"Well, we can't fault him for that, can we? Lay back, Mister." She demanded. Done with the niceties of the evaluation and onto the treatments where she was in charge. The boss.

"Yes, sir!" she laughed at his clear avoidance of calling her ma'am.

"So where'd you go last week? Vacation or stay-cation?" he asked, the term "stay-cation" sounding downright comical coming out of his country-boy mouth.

"I went to the beach. Gulf Shores."

"I thought you looked like you got some sun."

"Yeah," she pretended his noticing the detail of her awesome tan did not send her reeling. "My folks rented a condo right on the water for my siblings and I to come and stay with them. They're still there. It was tough to leave all that beauty." the beach, pretty much any beach, was her favorite place to be.

"I bet…" he looked at her, something dreamy in his eyes, but he looked away before she could process it. "I thought I had my fill of sand and sun when I was over in Iraq. But you make it sound…like paradise." he smiled softly up at her as she worked on his knee, trying to break apart some of the scar tissue from the injuries and surgeries he'd had…and focus on that, and not the warmth rising in her.

"That's the perfect way to describe any place on the Gulf of Mexico. I doubt it's anything like Iraq, since there's so much water around. It's my favorite vacation destination. Well, apart from London."

"Them British folks always seem so stuck up. Don't know if I'd get along with any of 'em."

"It felt like a second home for me. Everyone was very kind and polite, for the most part. At least it was no worse than it is here."

"Maybe it's just because you're so nice."

"Wait 'til about week eight or ten of your protocol. You won't think I'm nice then. You'll be cussing me out and ready to ring my neck."

"Promise?" he asked, a dark grin on his lips and in his eyes…she faltered for a moment, gulping.

"Cut it out, Syverson." she rolled her eyes, covering…without great effect the way he made her feel.

"Yes...ma'am." he smirked with satisfaction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now, today, she'd be treating him again, fairly early in the day, and she had to prepare herself. She'd checked the policy, and although there wasn't anything strictly against dating a patient, it was clearly a conflict of interest, and would be frowned upon by her frigid tyrant of a boss. Best to let things remain platonic for now.

Her 9:30 was a no show, so she finished up some notes and was working on some continuing education credits when messenger popped up around 10:00.

Sergeant Sexypants is here. He's quite early and he knows it…*smirk emoji* he must like you, Shane!

Heather, come on, be respectful…he was discharged at the rank of Captain! *rofl emoji* and I think you might be right about him liking me…*nervous emoji*

Oooooooooh!!! You guys are gonna *couple kissing emoji* *eggplant emoji* *okay emoji* *explosion emoji* *baby emoji*

Omg…*three facepalm emojis* I am going to go ahead and start him early since my 9:30 was a NCNS.

Don't finish him too early. Make it last. *smirk emoji*

Jeez. She closed the chat and went to grab him from the waiting area.

"Hey Sy, you ready?"

"You bet, sunshine!" he flashed her a crooked smile. He was calling her sunshine now…ad that to the list of things she'd have to pretend didn't make her swoon.

"Great. Let's start on the bike. How's the knee feeling today?"

"Oh, it's…about the same. Stiff. Lil' sore."

"Well, it's a slow process, like I told you at your eval. You've got a lot going on in there."

"I know…just…it hasn't taken me four weeks to do anything in my life." he sulked. "So…thinking about this taking…twelve or more…" he grimaced as he sat down on the bike, and adjusted it for his longer than average legs, putting his feet in the pedal stirrups.

"You may not see it, Sy, because you're so close to it, but trust me, you're making progress. I can tell you're doing your exercises at home, and you're always willing to put in the work here. You have no idea how much that sets you apart from…some of these other people." she leaned in closer and spoke the last part more quietly to him. It was true. So many of her patients were either lazy or just in it to appease their MDs into writing them scripts for pain meds. That wasn't Sy.

"You really think so?" he gave her the side eye with his baby blues, crushing her with the color like the waves of the ocean she'd just returned from.

"In fact, I know so." she placed a reassuring hand on his broad and thick shoulder. She felt the tension between them hum, like electric current.

"Now, level one, and a steady pace. You're not trying to win any medals here. I'll take those crutches."

"When ya think I can 86 'em damn things?" he griped as he handed over the assistive devices.

"Well, you see Potter again tomorrow? I'll write an update today and send it to him. If he likes what he reads, or more likely pretends to read, regarding your progress, he may discharge them. Do you feel like you can be good to the knee and treat it nice without using crutches? I don't want you to regress and re-injure yourself. That's not gonna get you into your running shoes any sooner."

"I'll be nice. Real gentle." he winked at her…he wasn't just talking about the knee. And she knew it. But again, she pretended she didn't, ignoring once more those butterflies threatening to choke her they were multiplying so fast in her belly.

"Okay, I'll put that in my note. Patient compliant with instructions to be nice." she laughed.

They talked as they biked, Shane sat on the one next to him and pedaled along with him for something to do other than be idle. She thought it made him feel better as well. Like he wasn't doing it alone. They covered the subject of her siblings, an older brother in IT and a younger sister who was an MA, and his German Shepherd, Aika, which he was allowed to bring home from Iraq after they were both honorably discharged. Music, both of them completely in agreeance about the superiority of classic rock.

"I noticed you've worn a Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt a few times and meant to say something before now."

"Yeah, they're one of my favorites. But there are a few newer groups that I like a lot, too. Kings of Leon got me through some tough times, honestly."

"Oh, they're great! I love their sound. And their lyrics…poetry."

"No shit. Sorry." she shook her head and raised up her hands to indicate that he didn't need to apologize to her for swearing. She'd been known to make sailors blush when she was off the clock. "Only by the Night…that whole album is…it's just in my blood, ya know? Ya ever have an album do that?"

"I have. Whole artists catalogs, actually."

"Which artist?" he prodded.

"The Beatles. Pretty much every song. Like you said, it just, like, I dunno, it's almost deeper than the veins. It's in the marrow. My soul." she stared off out the windows ahead of them, thinking about her favorite band in the world and how magical it was to experience Sir Paul McCartney playing some of her favorites live…twice…and the timer on the bike went off, pulling her from her daydream.

She looked over at him, startled by both the noise, and the dreamy look in his eyes that was becoming all too familiar.

"Sorry." she stood, grabbing his crutches for him and handing them back to him from where she had leaned them as they rode.

"Hey, don't be sorry for…ahem…for loving what you love. We should all…hold on to the things that make us feel like that." she nodded.

"Thanks…I don't think a lot of people…understand the way I…my tendency to take things like music, movies, and shows…books…so deeply to my heart." they walked to the treatment room from the gym, taking their time, since they had it. A rare occurrence for Shane, always needing to capitalize on every spare minute. To make productivity a priority.

"I think…that…well, seeing a pretty grim side of the world like I have…seems like there's enough darkness and bullshit making everyone miserable. If we find something…or…someone…that brings us some happiness or even just makes that misery bearable…we oughta hang onto 'em real tight. Cherish it like gold." the silence in the small room was loud with that electrical hum of their tension again. He'd said all the right things, as he always seemed to, but under the absolute wrong circumstances. She just nodded.

"They teach you philosophy in Basic?" she giggled. He laughed back in response.

"Oh, no, Basic was way easier than…whatever goes on inside of us."

"Speaking of which," she segued deftly, "lay back, and let my try to get some range out of that knee before I take new measurements for this update I'm gonna write."

"Yes, ma'am!" he chuckled.

"You get some sick thrill out of calling me that, don't you?" she scowled playfully at him.

"Oh, you have no idea…ma'am." he winked at her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Shane was wondering how Sy's appointment went as she ate her soup at lunch and caught up on her morning notes. She got a ping on messenger.

You have a gentleman caller…*eggplant emoji*  hehe, he's on line three.

Geez…thanks Heather.

No need to ask for a name. She knew Heather meant Sy.

She picked up the phone at her desk in the treatment room.

"Hey Sy! How'd the appointment go?"

"Hey, sunshine…eh…he said I'm doin' good, but he wants me to stay on crutches another two weeks." she could hear grave disappointment in his voice. She felt for him.

"Aww, I'm sorry Sy. I know you wanted off those. And I know they're a pain. Literally and figuratively."

"Why wouldn't he want me off 'em?" he was so frustrated. He must have just left the office.

"Did you ask him that question?"

"You know doctors, Shane. Not like I would have got an answer in plain English. Figured you'd know."

"Well, I haven't seen your post-visit report, but it's my presumption that he wants to play it safe. You know he spent most of his day in the operating room with you, right? An eight hour surgery, you had. He probably doesn't want to undo all that by d/c'ing the crutches too soon."

"I was gonna be careful though, Shane!" he was worked up properly, and she could hear it over the roar of his pickup in the background.

"I know you were, Sy. I'm sure you were going to take all kinds of precautions. But what if you're walking into your kitchen, during a storm, and there's a loud clap of thunder, and Aika gets startled and busts past you? What if you're feeling good one day, and forget about it, and jog to catch up to someone holding the door open for you and miss a stick or something under foot? You can't prepare yourself for every pebble or patch of mud in your path, Sy. Accidents will happen. Some circumstances are beyond our control…we just have to do the best we can. The crutches are going to help you until we get you stronger. That's what we'll focus on until those two weeks are up."

"Why is it you can calm me down like this?" he asked, sincere and truly calmer than he had been.

"I'm just a good therapist, is all."

"Ya don't think that's really all, do ya?" the sound of his deep drawl in her ear from the receiver made her shiver. He was implying something that she just couldn't entertain. It wasn't possible for them right now. Maybe…down the road…in a few weeks…

"I'll see ya tomorrow, Sy. Come ready to work that knee."

"You didn't say no…" he was too hopeful. Damn it, he was cute when he was hopeful. She was glad she couldn't see his face light up like she knew it was doing.

"You may have noted I didn't say yes, either."

"Yet. See ya in the mornin', sunshine."

"Bye, Sy."

She put the receiver in the cradle and her face in her hands.

"Shit."

She had a feeling this particular patient was about to become much more complicated.

Up Next: Chapter Three-Therapeutic Activity

[yanderecandystore]

the yan teaches with a darling who’s an active delinquent ( possibly due to home abuse ). maybe even more infamous then da twins, perhaps reaching next-little-miss-red level? But it turns out the darling is super cute and mild-mannered looking despite their firey no-nonsense attitude? thx so much!!!!

Anon, thank you for asking this, it's wonderful! I'm sorry but I may have changed a little bit of your ask ;-;

Reader is a bit of a "delinquent" in the eyes of the strict rules of the academy, but I made them focus more on their own self defense rather then causing chaos to others if that makes sense. Like, reader does cause a bit of trouble to the school's faculty, but nothing much inside school (maybe they focus more on doing things outside of school time, idk, I just think I low-key fucked up your ask, I'm sorry ;-;)

(I just really wanted to focus on these two, because I love them so much)

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

"- Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no!" [Yandere! Teacher x Delinquent?!Reader - Headcanons]:

→Matthew Robinson:

Oh yeah, he heard about that.

He never really understood what it meant, but he heard a lot of things under the name of Lil Miss Red. Some of the stuff was enough to put someone into jail.

He knew that it was something related to a delinquent from another institution called Saint Bernard, but no one really told him the full extent of the story. More so because no one really knew what happened to that place.

Even though the whole case can be considered a mysterious event, the title of Lil Red seemed to be something well known throughout the whole state. It was a talk subject even in Amaryllis Academy, which hasn't dealt with delinquency ever.

Or at least that's what the school's reports said. Matthew is aware of a case of delinquency really recently in the school, but since it was caused by only one student, the school staff decided that it would be the best to keep that a secret from the general public.

A couple of students know about the incidents, but they have no proof to confirm that a boy really had caused so much problem to the school's faculty.

Stories inside the school get exaggerated to no end, so to hear students say that someone was trying to reach the title of Lil Red inside the school's walls was not exactly a worrying statement. It was honestly kinda laughable, as the first people he thought about were the twins.

They were little troublemakers for sure, but he knows they aren't capable of reaching the level of actual delinquent behavior. And that's when he thought that maybe it wasn't the twins Coldwell, after all, they already have a title of their own, why would they want to change the title of essentially celebrities to delinquents out of nowhere?

And that's when he saw you single-handedly, if you can forgive his English, beat the shit out of some students causing you trouble, students were all around you whispering and gushing at the scene, and only one thing was on their mind.

You were wearing a red hoodie while doing this, so it must be you who is trying to be the new Red.

Now, it's true that any faculty member should be able to give you a punishment for attacking other students, but he decided to take a more delicate approach to the situation as he doesn't know what type of person he would be dealing with.

He demanded that you came to his class after school to have a talk. He was expecting you to tell him to fuck off, so he demanded it in a more affirmative tone. He wasn't expecting you to look so defenseless and almost crying at the thought of getting expelled.

He was so caught off guard by how many times you begged him to give you another chance to stay at the academy and that you were only defending yourself, and that it was an involuntary reaction.

Matthew was just in awe. He was expecting the rudest person to just come in and dictate their rules, not someone so cute, in a way.

All words just flew out of his head. He knew it was self-defense, and he was only planning on confirming if you were indeed the delinquent he was hearing about.

When asked about Lil Miss Red, you're confused, you haven't heard that name yet, he was sure you didn't really know what the title meant in any way.

Relief was clear in his face, he was glad you weren't really the person everyone was assuming you were. Yes, you had started fights here and there in the spend of one week, but you were only defending yourself.

He decided to take his time and pay closer attention to you through the next couple of days. He discovered a couple of things, most of them were really surprising for him.

You didn't care about anyone's opinion about you, you did what you liked and wanted to do, you were confident in your own abilities but also knew when to be humble and ask for help.

These traits were all combined to the fact that you didn't intend on hurting anyone that didn't deserve it. You were friendly despite striking such a stand against those that wished you harm. He really liked that about you.

And then, well, he found out the last thing he needed to know. He should have known this fact in the first place, though.

Instead of learning through exterior methods, you were the one that talked to him about it. You told him how you used to live with abusive parents not so long ago, but when you managed to get enough money and the age to move out, you got out of that hell whole without thinking twice. You learned throughout the years of staying in that house, and then living alone, on how to defend yourself when you needed the most.

I hope you're aware how shocking this is to him. Not only about your story, but the act of you telling him all of this on your own, is shocking to him. He doesn't think he is the best person to talk about personal issues.

But he is glad you told him this, maybe you just wanted to get that out of your chest, right? Or maybe, you saw something on him that you could rely on, to tell him what's on your mind when no one else really understands you.

Maybe he is hoping that it is the latter.

This whole experience is really interesting to him. Matthew still doesn't know who is or was Lil Miss Red, but he got to learn more about you, and that's more than enough for him.

→Madeline Allen:

Oh, dear God, no.

Can we like, not???

How about no? How about she just, pack her things and fire herself out?

She can do that, right??!!

Every single day she hears someone comment something about "Lil Miss Red". Every single day there is someone new trying to be like…. Her!?! Why???

She doesn't understand why she, or more specifically, her ex-title, means so much to people. People never really cared about her until she put some goth clothes and makeup and started calling out her homophobic principal. Or when she dunked her bullies face into the toilet. Or when she burned the whole library and a classroom filled with documents about her. Or when she-

The point is, she is a different person now. It gives her headaches to think about all the things she did when she was inside Saint Bernard. Is, honestly, kinda a traumatic event to her.

Oh yeah, she remembered when she was going to work at Amaryllis and a biker girl was wearing all red and doing that… Stupid ass pose Madeline used to make when she was younger.

Give her a brake, she thought it was cool at the time.

In a way, Madeline hates to think about her past. She is aware that she made some good things but she did it in a violent way. And when things escalated she should have stopped right there, not continue the whole performance like a goddamn live theatre 24/7.

See? She is even cursing, she stopped cursing a long time ago, but whenever her memories come up she just hates herself so much. She sometimes wishes she never was Lil Miss Red.

You know, she only wanted to find out who was responsible for her best friend's death. Only that.

Something that Madeline doesn't know is how important her title means to many of the people that thrive to be like her. She was someone who standed up to people that harmed her. She would sometimes stand up to people she didn't even know personally. Many people see Lil Miss Red because of her physical strength, but only a couple remember how her strength was directed to, even Madeline herself.

Who still blames herself for not doing anything sooner.

She was really planning on getting out of the academy if the rumours were true. She didn't care that she was only working there for a couple of months now, she really didn't want to see someone acting like her again. She didn't want to look at said student and see herself again.

But, when seeing you, she didn't see that part of herself that she hated. She saw someone who has been hurt, and was now standing up for themselves. Ironically, that's exactly who she was when she was younger, but she still doesn't know that.

She felt like she was being selfish by running away from the academy. She felt like it wasn't fair to judge you only based on flimsy rumours she heard. She isn't like this, she shouldn't be like this!

She makes up her mind, and decided to get to know you better. Just like Matthew, she confronts you and asks about your recent behavior inside the school, to only find someone who is sweet and kind, just standing up for themselves, like she thought it was.

She isn't surprised like Matthew, but still a little bit relieved when knowing that the students were only misunderstanding you.

A couple of weeks later after confronting you, she decided to help you with getting more comfortable inside the school as if you continued to cause trouble, you would be expelled.

And although she was curious, she never really asked how you became so efficient in self-defense, it was you who decided to tell her.

Did you trust her enough to tell her that? Or were you just exhausted from carrying this with you?

When you tell her about your abusive household she was so mad with everyone that decided to gossip about you and make stupid rumours, and so mad at herself for judging you without getting to know you.

She even thought you were still living with them, you needed to calm her down to explain everything to her.

She was, glad, that you weren't in that terrible situation anymore, but doesn't things get too tough for you to be on your own? Without family members or friends? Oh, you poor thing…

She wonders if she can help you in any way.

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

[thedyingwriter]

Ravenclaw male X Slytherin female au

Ravenclaw : Axel Knight

Slytherin: Cassandra Bennett

Synopsis: Axel has liked Cassandra for a while now but has been vary about asking her out as it's rumored that she may be secretly dating Draco Malfoy, her best friend. What happens when they bump into each and other and can't stop with the flirtation anymore.

I hope you like this one shot au. It was something requested by my best friend and her wish is my command.

Cassandra was casually sitting in the library with her book in her hands, her legs placed gracefully on the nearby table not bothering the looks she was getting from the group of ravenclaw girls sitting next to her. She could still never believe that she was almost placed into Ravenclaw just because she was intelligent and a reader.

She was engrossed in her book about animagus. She had always been interested in the shape shifting quality some wizards and witches possessed. It always intrigued her. While she was busy in her own world she was oblivious to a pair of eyes who had been staring at her for the past half an hour.

The ravenclaw couldn't help but be attracted towards the Slytherin's charms. She wasn't like any other girl he had met. Despite being a pureblood she cared and respected everyone. Her attitude towards people weren't discriminated on the basis of blood but how they treated her and how much she could trust them. Axel has been find of the Cassandra since he saw her in the house sorting ceremony. He always wondered would they have been friends if she was sorted into his house? From the past 4 years he had never actually looked at her in a specific way other than just mild curiosity. She was a friendly person. She got along with everyone. She was known to be wrongly sorted into Slytherin just because of her pure blood status. He although felt she had a Royal aura about herself which she carried with pride.

"You should stop staring before you make it anymore obvious how extremely attracted you are to her" He heard the voice of none other than the devil himself, Draco Malfoy. He scoffed.

" Mind your own business Malfoy. I don't know how my eyes concern you but I would suggest you walk out of the library before anyone has a wrong idea that you may possibly even be interested in academics. " This time Draco laughed right at his face.

"For a ravenclaw you sure do have a sharp mouth. I suggest you may do something about your oh so obvious crush on Cassandra before someone else takes her away. With a beauty like hers and yule ball approaching its hard not be the center of every Slytherin male's attention. You may never even get a chance. " Draco said with mischief behind his eyes as he walked past Axel towards Cassandra.

Axel cursed under his breath. It was common knowledge that she got along pretty well with Malfoy too. He may be a complete asshole but it seemed he had a soft spot for her. They were close friends and some even believed they may be secretly dating.

He has never actually talked to her but after what Malfoy just said it was pretty obvious that if he wanted anything, even friendship to happen between them he would have to make the first move and that too before it's too late. There was no possibility in hell that she would approach him otherwise.

Cassandra was brought back to the real world after Draco took her book from her hands and lightly tossed it on the table. She gave him what seemed like a glare but she couldn't help but smile. Draco and her had been good friends for a while. Some people judged her harshly for it but he was a gentleman to her and being a Slytherin he was family. Hermione had once questioned her on how she tolerated his huge ego and flirtatious nature. She honestly never minded. He was just a nice friend to her.

"Mr Malfoy I assume you have something very important to discuss that you marched towards the library and spent your time bothering me while I read. " She said playfully.

" Oh yes I do Ms Bennett, I suppose since you are completely oblivious to things going around Hogwarts I should fill you in so that you don't feel like a deer caught in between headlights " He answered her with the same tone of sincerity.

"Oh please can we talk in human language and not like we live in Renaissance London. " She said laughing

" Sweetheart, it seems like Yule ball is approaching and you have a secret admirer. I think someone wants to ask you out here but is chickening out seeing how you have me around. "

Cassandra hit him with her book and an "ow.. Merlin woman calm down" Came from his mouth.

" I should not hang around you if that means I may lose a potential date to the ball who had less of an ego then our all might Draco Malfoy. " She said while walking down the library corridor back to her dorms.

" Whatever, you know you love me" Was last thing she heard from the blonde as she disappeared around the corner with a smile on her face.

. . . ..

Later in the evening she was walking towards the gryffindor table to return the book to Hermione and greet the golden trio when she bumped into someone. She almost fell from the pressure but was caught by the attacker as she layed in his arms her waist firmly held by his strong fingers. She looked up to see a pair of beautiful grey eyes of none other than the ravenclaw chaser Axel Knight. He was quite popular among females even though he was more of a shy, keep to himself kind of guy.

"Easy love we don't want the chaser to be killed by a Slytherin before the Friday game do we. " She teased him while getting back up and picking up her books. He blushed slightly but his smirk was intact.

" Who said you would kill such a pretty face like mine now? " He countered. She was taken aback because never had she ever seen the bold side of Axel before. She passed him a soft smile.

"I suppose we haven't formally met. I'm Axel Knight. And you must be the infamous Cassandra Bennett. " He said with his hands out. She placed her hand in hand while he softly planted a kiss on her knuckles. She looked at the pike of books in his other hand.

"Pride and prejudice. That's something I didn't expect to see in the hands of a quidditch player. I guess I may have mistaken you to be more into boyish stuffs then a revolutionary feminist novel written by a muggle. " She said eyeing the copy in his hand it was a beautiful illustration edition she had always wanted that version with its beautiful fine print.

" If I knew that a pretty lady like yours may guess so much about me without ever having a conversation I may have bumped into you a lot earlier I suppose. And I definitely am in love with this novel. I suppose you may be a fan of Mr Darcy. " He said. A man who knows his literature and has it's charms. Why had she never met him before.

" Mr Darcy is a lil too overrated, dare I say I was in love with the author herself. " She said with flirtation directed on her tongue.

The entire ravenclaw table was watching the conversation with the utmost interest until the heard the commotion and whisper they wee taken aback from the transe they were in and reminded of their surrounding.

"I guess I'll see you around Cassandra" She gave him a wink and walked passed him towards Hermione who was looking at her with mischief in her eyes awaiting lots of questions.

.......

The week had passed like this with flirtatious winks being passed between the pair in between corridor and classes.

She had grown to like this boy more than she thought and they were barely strangers.

She was lost in her thought while walking towards the astronomy tower in hopes of getting some peace and quiet form everyone asking out someone for the ball at every corner.

She looked at the vast sky in front of her and was distracted by the slight voice of someone in deep slumber. She turned to find Axel asleep leaning on the wall with his book half opened on his chest.

She lightly walked up to him and admired the beautiful face of the stranger she has grown to like. She imagined what it must feel like laying her head on his lap while she read him some beautiful poems filled with love. Her thoughts were short lived when she lost her footing and fell onto Axel's lap waking him up to a beautiful woman in his arm.

They were dangerously close and his eyes kept wavering between her eyes and luscious lips which gleemed of her cherry chapstick.

She tried getting up but he pulled her towards him again which ultimately led to her falling over him.

Her brunette hair covered her face and she could feel her heart hammering at the speed so high that it may even have bursted right then.

He pushed her curls to the back of her hair brushing her cheeks lightly.

" I may have talked to you for the first time last week only but how do I tell you this without sounding like a creep that you have intrigued me for years now. That how much I had wished to have you in my arms like this. That how much I hated when Malfoy flirted with me knowing I liked you just to annoy the living shit out if me. " He was brushing her cheeks with his thumb lightly. His other hand stroking the side if her waist.

She got up from his hold her cheeks stained red due to his words. For the first time the confident Slytherin seemed lost for words. She has never really had a romantic encounter that would make her so flushed.

"Axel I suppose I should go to the dorms now. It's soon gonna be past our curfews. " She started backing away when she was pulled by her wrist and landed straight on a hard chest.

" I'll let you go but before you go I wanted to do something for a long time. I'm gonna kiss you now and if you aren't comfortable please tell me now. " He pulled her closer to him and put both his hands on her neck bringing her close. She was breathing heavily and closed her eyes due to the parade of butterflies in her stomach caused by his words and touches.

He kissed her softly at first deepining the kiss when she reacted to him the way he wanted. He broke the kiss breathless after what seemed like an eternity.

" I have been thinking about doing that for a while now. " She confessed. Her breathing still heavily sounding between them.

" I know you don't know me so well but I wanted to ask you if you want to go out with me to Hogsmead this weekend. I want you to get to know me before I ask you to yule ball. I promise you won't regret it. " He asked returning back to his shy self. She looked at him, his cheeks a shade of pink now.

" I thought you'd never ask" She teased him and they both laughed while they cuddled together against the wall thinking of how this day had become one of the best they have had in a while.

I apologize for any typos, this was written spontaneously and just randomly.

[drawing-way-outside-the-lines]

The true scent of Medieval times.

Pt 1. *The room was musky, a scent of old wet stone and mold hanging thick in the air, it was dark, and barely lit by a few torches here and there. But as far as the eye could see, it seemed to be a dungeon type of basement, somewhere deep below ground, judging by the sound of dripping water echoing through the surrounding hallways* Sparkle: *She sat quietly on a large wooden chair, her heart beating fast and anxiously, not quite sure how she got there, not quite sure if she even wanted to be there. Were was he? He said he was just going to get something and would be right back. That was at least 5 minutes ago.* Bard: *In a thick Irish accent* Ahm sorry ferr keeping yeh waiting, lil lassie. *His charming smile was spread into a long wide grin as he stood next to her, shoulder length golden wavy locks framing his face* Something for the pain, yeh? *He reached a hand out with a small shot glass of golden red liquid* Ireland’s finest for the lady! *He grinned even wider and inviting* Sparkle: *She looked hesitating at the glass* Bard: Come on now... yeh going to trust me with yerr life, an errrything yeh hold dear to hearrrt, but yeh can't trust meh teh pour yeh a drink before weh get starrrted? Tsh *he shook his head and played off as being hurt and offended* Come on lassie, Ahm about teh change yeh life and give yeh what yeh have always wanted, and yeh can't even have a wee drrrink with meh firrrst? Sparkle: *She grabbed the glass, but still looked at it hesitating* Bard: Yeh ‘ave ‘eard of Whiskey, ‘aven't yeh? *he chuckled friendly* Me taught weh were friends?

Sparkle: *She sighed soft and nodded* No you're right, you're right. *She looked at the glass a last time, then swallowed the liquid in one mouthful, a not so familiar taste of Whiskey filling her mouth. She had tasted it before, of course, over the years. Knowing Congo for over a decade, well, it would have been a surprise if this would have been her first Whiskey ever. She swallowed hard as the liquid burned the back of her throat*  WOOOH!!! *She shook her head and gasped for air, bursting out a soft chuckle* Bard: That's the spirrrit *he chuckled warmly and grabbed the glass, placing it on a small table next to them. He grabbed a small suitcase from the floor and opened it, placing it on the table as well. Bottles of herbs, potions, scissors, knives and some instruments that looked mostly like something out of a horror movie, came to her eyes, sending a shiver through her body, but before she could react, Bard had already grabbed a wooden stool and sat down in front of her, his strong hands resting firmly on her naked knees* Are yeh cold? Yeh seem a wee tense, and ah'm afraid ah left yeh wait for too long, naked in a damp basement. *He smiled somewhat apologizing* Sparkle: *She chuckled nervously* I'm not naked... *she tucked a bit on the thin wooly blanket wrapped around her shoulders, but felt much more naked than she had ever felt her 30-something years of living* Bard: Rrrright... so lets get teh ett so yeh wont catch a cold before we done *he chuckled soft* now what exactleh do yeh want? *His thick Irish accent was thicker than the usual McKinney's she had come across, but she still understood him well* Yeh told me something about you wanted teh be taller? Sparkle: *She took a deep shaky breath* Same shape... as well as it will translate... but yes... taller... a bit below average... for a.... boy.... *she frowned softly* clean shaven..... everywhere.... Bard: As in can't grrrrow body hair, orrr just clean? Sparkle: No body hair... just hair on my head... blonde.... blue eyes..... feminine.... but not too much... light voice, but with some deeper tones..... full lips..... not too cute a nose, but not big either... not crooked.... a lot like.... hm.... I like yours.... Bard: N'awww that's sweet darrrling... ah made it mehself! *he smiled warmly* Teeth? Sparkle: Keep them as.... no.... keep the strength of them as they are but change them enough to look different..... no.... shit.... *She sighed deep* I don't know? Bard: ....... rrright... let me ask you this.... what do you plan to do with the child? Sparkle *She looked at him confused, she hadn't told him about Penny?* Bard: Ah assume yeh still want herrr in yerr life? So what is the thought about this? Mum suddenly being a daddy? And if so... how will yeh explain that to her? She's still a toddler, rrrright? Sparkle: Yes, she hasn't aged up yet, although we expect it to be any day now, as she both talks and walks like a child. Bard: So yeh would wait and tell her when she reaches child stage? Sparkle: *She nodded nervously and fumbled with her hands* Bard: So yeh would keep her... well.... that would mean he would have teh know sooner than later, who yeh are.... or else he would certainly ask questions why a strange boy treats HIS child as if he was her mum. A mum who strangely disappeared. Sparkle: *She frowned deep* But I thought the agreement were.... the spell... he would fall in love and it would no longer matter cause I would have the right kind of body and Bard: Yes, but sooner or later things will surface, they always do. This is not a matter of a stranger. The two of yeh know each other for years, yeh have a family tegether... yeh ‘ave common friends.... it's a much more complicated matter if yeh want me teh simply wipe the slate clean and give yeh a completely new start with no questions asked.... a start where yeh get to be a parent to yerr daughter without anyone finding it strrrange. Sparkle: *She nodded soft and sighed* I'm sorry for taking up your time then. *She was just about to jump down from the chair, tears gathering in her eyes, as Bard pushed hard against her knees* Bard: Ah said it was complicated..... not impossible! *He took a deep breath* close yerr eyes, and concentrate on as detailed a sketch as possible, of what you want yerr new life teh be like... take as much time as yeh need, to give me the best possible view. The more you add, the more material I have to work with. Try teh vision how yeh will look, sound move. Skills yeh will have, things yeh will like or dislike. The complete anatomy of yerr body, the scent of yerrr skin, the tone, the smoothness. Sizes. Fears, hopes, dreams. How yeh want him to feel about yeh when he sees yeh the first time, how yerr love will unfold.... how deep yerr love will eventually grow. Do you want marriage, more kids? A house together? What should yerr job be if yeh have one? Are yeh rich? Middle class? Poor? And if poor are yeh on the streets, have room mates or a small flat of your own? Perhaps this time yeh want to be famous... or a Prince? There is no limits! Are yeh back to being regular human, still immortal? Do yeh have any powers? Give me as much material as yeh can possibly come up with, the more the better result. I told yeh, there's no reversing it, and this is yerr new life, yerrr future, it is up to yeh teh make it the best possible. Sparkle: *She took a deep breath, nodded and closed her eyes* Bard: Alrrright... let yerr thoughts flow freely.... I'll read them as they come. *Hours passed although it seemed like just minutes* Sparkle: *Finally she seemed to run out of more to add, and instantly felt her knees getting forced apart so her legs spread wide open* Bard: *He sat between her legs with one of the horror movie looking tools, a not so friendly grin plastered on his face* So let's get to it lassie... or should ah say lass from now on? *he laughed hollow and arched his back* Remember, no reversing once am done with meh work! A deal is a deal, and ah will claim meh price whether yeh are a satisfied customer or UUUNGH!!! *a loud groan sounded from Bard, as something seemed to punch him out of thin air, and he got instantly knocked off the stool, landing on the cold wet stone floor* Sparkle: *She gasped loudly and tried to get up, but now noticed she had been strapped to the chair by old leather straps, the fear of being trapped with what appeared to be her biggest mistake yet, left her whimpering in fear, desperately trying to wiggle herself lose* Bard: DAMN YEH BRANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!! *He stood up with fiery red eyes, spitting blood on the floor* A DEAL IS A DEAL!!!!!! SHE BELONGS TEH ME WHETHER YEH LIKE IT OR NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY DON"T YEH COME UP HERRRRRRE AN FIGHT MEH FOR 'ERR THEN?!? YEH FUCKING COWARD!!!!!!!

[mccncrane]

INTRODUCING — LILITH RUSSO 

“ I AM OUT WITH LANTERNS, LOOKING FOR MYSELF. ” is that VICTORIA PEDRETTI? oh no, that’s LILITH RUSSO, born on the 20th of JULY, 2021. i heard SHE (CIS WOMAN) is the COOK for THE IDAHO HUNTERS. apparently, they can be SENSIBLE and LOYAL but also known to be GULLIBLE and JUDGMENTAL. spends most of their free time ON THE ROOFTOP WATCHING THE STARS, probably smells like SPICES AND SUGAR. is that a bite mark i see? no, must have been a trick of the light.

HISTORY: (tw for some *gaslighting content)

Lilith got adopted into the a big family [Teddy's family] when she was still really young. She grew up with an array of siblings, and it was good. She was quiet, and she didn't always like being in the constant loud chaos of such a big family, but she loved them.

She was still too young when their mother died. No one told her anything -- or at least, not that she can remember. She was a kid, no one wanted to tell her what had really happened. And then her father talked in hushed tones of this magical place they needed to run away to, a place with a town, where they could get shelter.

The night came for their planned great escape and Lily just wanted to hide. She'd always been one to hide -- she liked the quietness of fitting herself into a secret nook, ignoring everything and everyone else. She was smaller than the rest of them, and easily overwhelmed. That night, while her family escaped, she slipped away from the rest of them, hid into an impossible corner, covered her ears, and wished it would all go away.

It did. When she crawled out of her spot by the next morning, the other Hunters told her what had happened -- they lied, but she didn't know that. They told her that their family had left her behind on purpose, because they didn't want her anymore.

* She believed them. She grew up raised by their community, believing she had been abandoned by her family. By the time she grew up to be a teenager, she already couldn't trust her memories of that night anymore. Fabricated images of her father yelling at her filled her brain; her siblings turning their back, with their planned escape that didn't include her. She believed the Hunters, and for a while, she hated her past family for leaving her. The Hunters made her the cook, and she never quite felt like she fit in with them, but it never occurred to her to go anywhere else -- not until now.

Only recently, the stories of her past have come back into her mind, festering, growing. Now, she starts to wonder about that night. If the stories are true. If her past family made it to this promised land at all, or if it was all nonsense talk from a crazy widowed man. She doesn't hate her past family anymore, although she doesn't crave some teary hug-filled reunion, either. It's simple, deeply human curiosity. Are they still alive at all? Do they remember her? Why did they leave her behind, if they really did at all? Now, she finally concocts a plan to go see things for herself.

TL;DR because i feel like i'm not making sense today: (again tw for gaslighting)

her (and teddy's) family planned to escape the hunters. lily at the time was a small kid who felt v overwhelmed and decided to hide, instead of running away with them, bc she was dumb and didn't know what was going on. the father tried to go back to find her, but got killed. teddy and the other siblings made it to jackson.

lily hasn't seen any of her siblings in a shit ton of years, and she doesn't exactly miss them bc the hunters fed her lies and told her that the family abandoned her. she grew up rly believing them, to the point where she can't trust her memory anymore. but she's curious now, so that's why she tries to find jackson town.

PERSONALITY:

she's a cancer zodiac, what else can i say. she can be a big crier, but that won't stop her from arguing with anyone. LITERALLY that one gifset of rachel from friends going "i may cry, but these are not tears of anger or of sadness, but just of me having this discussion with you". she still has a lot of bitterness and anger inside of her, she's not A Baby, she's just more of a quiet personality next to all the big voices in the hunter group.

she just wants to feel like she belongs, so she latches onto anyone's opinions, she's terribly gullible. she believes she's been left behind by her family so she grew up very fucked in the trust issues department. rey from star wars energy, but minus all of rey's courage.

a bit meek and cowardly but has a heart of gold and a smile that lights up her entire face, she's rly just trying her best. gets overwhelmed easily and likes to be alone (but hates being lonely). also her food's incredible, of course.

EXTRA:

CONNECTION IDEA 01: someone she can trust within the Hunters to keep her safe in there, because she's probably very wary of some of them. This doesn't even have to be someone who likes her, just someone who she has deemed A Safe Person and who she can stand next to in big events where the noise is overwhelming and everyone else is acting drunk and stupid.

CONNECTION IDEA 02: i mean i have hc'd that she just started thinking about her family on her own now that she's older and more mature, and eventually curiosity finally got the best of her. just like a natural progression of her personality and all. BUT if anyone wants to have a character who knows about her family's true story and fed her clues or planted the lil seed of doubt in her brain so she could go look, i'm here for it too.

CONNECTION IDEA 03: she was a kid when she was left behind, so someone had to raise her. i kinda hc that she was raised by no one and everyone, just kind of one of the hunter kids, raised by the community and whatnot, never rly had One stable parental figure. but if any older hunter characters want to take on that role, let's plot it out babey

some other vague ass connections ideas are: anyone friendly at the hunters, anyone unfriendly as well. / someone who knows of her family's escape and has lied to her with the others, telling her the family left her behind. / or someone who grew up with her, and doesn't know of the full story either. / a bff that she can talk to about her doubts? / someone who might be suspicious of her? / anyway, give me anything, really.

[keyenuta]

TW One-Shot: The Spider and Snow White

Context: for the psst few days, me and a few friends began joking about a Crack ship between two-faced!Neige and Anansi. And just like usual, my shipping but actually began to like the idea of the ship. So here's a one shot about it, hope y'all like it!

Laughter echoed throughout the white gold room as Neige and Anansi interacted with the chat. Teasing and playfully flirting with Neige's fans as the pair didn't exclude the other in this either. In slight jabs, and quick teases, the two little shits teased and messed with the other. A slight poke here, a tickle there, and haughty look there were each thrown back and forth. But both parties knew they couldn't go too far, it was the internet after all. And after a while, suddenly a bright blare of snow white's hum blasted from the laptop as Neige ooed at the donation.

"Ah, thank you so much for the 50 madool Donation Skele-mom67, it truly means the world to me~ heheh" Neige gave a closed eyes smile as a rush of "awwwws" filled the chat, while snickering Anansi poked Neige's cheeks, shifting a playful look at the prince beside him as he finished the message, giving the chat a faux valley girl accent.

"Hey Neige~ love your work, you're sooo, adorable, but I was wondering could you and your "prince" sing a song together? Againthsbkyiusomuch" giving a friendly smile to the camera, Neige swatted Anansi's hands from his cheeks as he giggled

"Heheh, well thank you for calling me adorable dear, it's very appreciated. And as for a song, hmm, that sounds fun, what do you think Nansi?" Quipped the prince, to the resting spider, gifting the camera a fanged smirk, Anansi shrugged

"Sure I'm up for it, although~" he sang leaning forward winking to the chat, Anansi held a hand next to his mouth as he loudly whispered "I don't think Neige could handle it, ya know all the flirting would keep him from finishing the song dearie" at the whispers, Neige pouted as soon it transferred into a sharp smirk only Anansi could see, as in moments Neige whispered into Anansi's ear in a sly tone.

"I bet i'd get you to blush before i do, little spider~" he teased sweetly

"Oh-ho? Try me dough boy, give me all ya got~ but don't complain if you're in this "lil' spiders" web again~"

"Heheh, oh i doubt I will, hope you enjoy being number 2 dear~"

"Careful princey, fly too close to web and you'll get caught. But sure, let's go!"

Reaching into his pocket, Anansi took out a "borrowed" black-blue phone and played a karaoke version of the song as the chat began to blow up in hype.

Song

Chuckling and bobbing his head to the music, Anansi's red orbs closed, while moments later, a silky melody escaped his pursed lips "Oohh~dada-oh-da-oohh," a creak sounded as Neige leant forward in his chair, he knew the spider could song, but still, each time that melody soared, he felt a chill down his spine, his little spider wasn't going to make this an easy bet hm? He thought, and right as that thought echoed, a feathery touch brought him from his mind. The hand, although coarse, held so much warmth, and with them both being in camera, he had to give his fans a show.

So leaning into the hand, Neige fluttered his eyes shyly, watching the comments go crazy with excitement as Nancy continued on, getting closer and closer with every verse,

"The very first time that I saw your brown eyes~" lifting up his head, Neige went with the song, and gazed lovingly at Anansi, ready to see just what his prince had in store for him. And just like that, the gap between the was closed on seconds, as the spider leant forward. Touching their heads together, slick black locks met kinky dreads as the heat between the two filled the small gap as the lyrics drifted on,

"your lips said "hello," and I said "Hi"~ I knew right then you were the one~ " at this, the actor felt their lips brush with every lyric, and despite all this, Neige hid his smirk and teased the spider with an eye roll. Tell me that's not all you have dear~ his eyes said, but in a second a rapid verse dissipated that tease

"But I was caught up!" Rapidly, Anansi yanked the prince towards him, twirling him to rest his back against the spider, while his drifted across his jaw, while Anansi smirked against his ear, his fangs tickling his love while the melody continued, as once more, Neige went with the music. Leaning his head back, gifting the spider an easier angle as the two gazed at the fans in the chat, exploding and typing frantically with energy, only fueling them both even more. "In physical attraction~"

"Oooh~" hummed Neige

"But to my satisfaction~" meeting Neige's face, the two leant forward once more, both smiling as the song continued on as Nancy turned up Neige's chin, only for the actor to whisper "well, aren't you handsy today, my prince~" as Nansi replied

"but, baby you were more than just a face~ And if I e-(N:ever) fall in love" now straddling Anansi, Neige and him sang together, Anansi's baritone intertwined with Neige's tenor in a beautiful vibrato

Duet: Again~

Anansi: I will be sure that, the lady is a friend~

Anansi: And if I eeee-

Neige: (ever fall)

Anansi: in love again~ I will be sure that the lady is a friend(x2)

As the chorus reached its last notes, Anansi couldn't shake the pater in his chest, nor could he get rid of the wide grin he got from the last verse

Anansi: and if I ever fall in love so true~, I will be sure that, the lady's just like you~

As the words left his mouth a scarlet eyes met brown, and for the briefest of moments. Despite the teasing grins and the grounds of the bet, Neige and Anansi both felt a spark that usually only showed up behind closed doors when their masks are off. But with the show having to continue, Neige used this spark, and truthfully smiled lovingly at Anansi, cupping his brown face in his pale hands, giving his prince a truly loving smile as Anansi finished his last verse, wrapping his arms around Neige's waist, gifting him the same.

"I swear that next time, they'll be~ a friend" the note drew out like a whisper on a breeze, as if it was a real promise. Nodding to his words, Neige took in a breath, nearly singing in a whisper as he rested his head against Anansi, as his rosey lips parted into,

"If I said that I, can be your one and only~" gulping, Neige sang "promise that you'll never leave me lonely~ I just wanna be the one you need" as the sound vibrated, Neige rested his arms in Anansi's neck as the spider mutters something illegible. But what was easy to see, with a smile gracing his lips. Neige kept on, "I just wanna be the one who serve- (A:serves you~) and now once again, their voices melded together in a fusion of want and emotion. As now, despite themselves, through this song, it was as if the two spilled their hearts to one another with every note

Duet: Sometimes i feel as if I don't deserve you~

Closing his eyes, Neige kept going, leaning even more against the spider, their chests meeting as he sang out, nearly kissing Anansi with how close they were, a scent of apples and spice wafted between the two as their heads rested together.

Neige: I Cherish every that we share~ And if I e-(A: Ever fall) In love again~ I will be sure that, the lady is, a frieeend!" As Neige held out the note, every E flowed up an octave, cascading down Anansi's back like a waterfall, gifting him a chill this time, but As well, the spider also viewed it as a challenge, amd so, knowing what notes came next, he prepared his voice for what was to come. Lightly pushing Neige away, the two continued to sing.

Neige: and if I e-(A: Ever fall) In love, so true~ I will be sure that(sure that) The lady(the lady's) like you~

As Neige sang, a low "my friend" raised up more and more, every lyric that Neige sang, the louder and higher, and longer the note became. The second my friend eclipsed the first, and after that, Anansi got so high, he approached the limit of a baritone, and with the final my friend, he let it run out, no longer able to keep it going that high for so long, as in the chat, and as well in Neige's eyes, there was a look of shock at those notes, as now, all that was left to do was ride the song out.

And as the lyrics reached their ends, but by bit, both of the students got closer once more, until their voices were nothing but a whisper, as finally their lips once again brushed together, and with one peak to the chat, both saw one message that flooded the stream.

"KISS!" and so, not wanting to disappoint their viewers, and sealing each of their promises, the two students kissed, as both their faces burnt bright red. Seems like this bet was a draw after all.

[fruit-teeth]

Matters of Time and Fate (3)

Engineer took a few boxes to the upstairs bedroom, where he paused along the way to look at an old light fixture. It was definitely going to need some repair...he wasn’t sure how long they were going to be here, but he hoped he could have time to do a little renovation.

Just as he set the boxes down, the bedroom door from across the hall opened, and the Administrator stepped out. The sight of her nearly made Dell jolt - he wasn’t expecting her to actually stay with them, yet here she was.

She locked the door, only to glance across the hall and make eye contact with him. Engineer cleared his throat, not wanting things to be awkward.

“Hey, ma’am,” he took a step closer, wanting to keep friendly. “How are ya settling in?”

Helen just shrugged, crossing her arms. “Fine, I suppose. It’s a shame I don’t have my cameras, but I meant to inquire if you would be willing to buy some,”

“Of course!” Engineer nodded. “I can do that...I ain’t too good with cameras but I can certainly help you set ‘em up...” he knew she was only going to use them to spy on the others, but he maintained his friendliness for the time being.

“Ah, good,” Helen have a curt nod. “I should also let you know that Saxton called: he will be here within a few hours for the signing,”

Engineer clapped his hands together. “Thank the lord! I mean, I’d rather have him in charge than, uh...” he glanced over his shoulder, making sure Olivia wasn’t around before turning back the Administrator. “A little girl,”

“Mm,” was Helen’s only reply, but it seemed like she agreed. “But there will be some changes to the company, you can be sure of that,”

“Yep,” Engineer glanced away, hands going to his pockets, before he took a breath. “Hey, uh...I meant to ask about Olivia: once the signing happens and Hale’s in charge again, what’s gonna happen to Olivia?”

The Administrator’s eyes darted up at Dell. “Why?”

“Because...” Engineer trailed off, sending something was wrong with what he just asked. Still, he continued. “Because she’s still just a kid. How old is she, anyway? I think it’s best if you send her to an orphanage or—“

Helen cut him off there. “She’s six years old, and she’s not going to an orphanage. Do not tell me what’s best, I know what’s best for her and I’m going to do it,” her tone had shifted considerably, and she seemed incredibly defensive all of the sudden.

Engineer started to feel some unease brewing within him, and he took a step back. “Okay, sorry...I was just wonderin....”

“Of course,” The Administrator turned on her heel, heading down the stairs. “And from now on, I ask that you respect my decisions during this time...”

This interaction stuck with Engineer as he got the bedrooms and bathrooms ready for everyone to use, and when he took a break an hour later to play cards and drink coffee with Spy and Demo, he knew he had to bring it up to them.

“And then she just left,” Dell finished, sipping at his mug. “I dunno...I mean, I have to say I know her pretty well compared to the rest of you fellas, my pa worked with her and my ma was friends with her, but she usually ain’t act that unless she’s got a secret...”

Demo shrugged, draining about half of his coffee mug. “She’s always been like that tae me...but I dunnae spend much time ‘round her, she always gave me the creeps,”

Spy hummed in agreement. “Yes...although that is rather interesting. I doubt she wants to protect Olivia from something, she’s never been motherly,” he pondered the thought. “I will have to look into it,”

Engineer sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I dunno...at any rate, I don’t want Olivia to stay here, I dunno about y’all. I feel bad for the kid, she lost her pa and all, but she’s too violent, too much like him...”

Spy made a face at the last statement. “Well, actually - I don’t believe she is,”

Demo snorted. “Aye, no? I mean, did ye see her go after Scout back there? Knife and all!”

“True, but consider,” Spy cleared his throat. “When we were in Gray Mann’s house this morning, I took a look around. You can tell very much about a man and his life just based on the house he lives, you see,”

Dell raised an eyebrow. “Where you goin’ with this?”

Spy went on. “I got a glimpse into Olivia’s room as well, just for a moment, and do you know what I noticed?”

“Huh?” Demo set his coffee mug down, the mug leaving a pale brown ring on the placemat beneath it.

“There were no toys,” he stated simply. “No dolls, no stuffed animals, nothing. Just books and manuals. She’s six years old - why wouldn’t a child that age have any toys?”

“Oh,” Engineer thought for a moment. “I mean, yeah, that’s kinda weird, but...does she behave the way she does just ‘cause she doesn’t have any toys?”

“It goes deeper than that,” Spy went on. “When I spoke to Olivia, the only thing she believes herself to be good at is making spreadsheets. Can you believe it? Spreadsheets!” He shook his head, his lips pursed together in frustration. “Based on these things, I don’t believe I’m incorrect in thinking that Gray Mann never actually wanted a child, he just wanted a carbon copy of himself. So he never gave her toys, he never let her play, and if my thinking is correct, he must have put her to work the moment she learned to talk...she’s never gotten a chance to be a child, and it’s harmed her significantly,”

Engineer let this sink in. “Wow...” he replied after a moment. “I never thought of it like that...damn that Gray Mann, for lettin’ someone else kill him before we could,”

Demo, however, was feeling more of an intense sympathy for Olivia. “It’s just not right!” He exclaimed, his brow furrowed. “Lil’ lass is just six...and that ol’ rat just took her and—!” He took a breath, holding himself back. He shook his head. “We gotta do somethin’...if she’s gonna be here a while, we gotta help her,”

“I’ve been trying to,” Spy confessed. “It will take a while to get her to trust us, but once she does I believe we can help her,”

“Yes!” Demo agreed, getting up. “Ye know what? I’m helpin’ Jane and Zhanna make a shelter out of the shed out back, maybe we can spend time with her after...”

“That’s a good idea,” Spy nodded. “But tread lightly, you don’t want to overwhelm her,”

Demo nodded, putting his used mug in the sink and heading out of the kitchen. “Of course! I’ll go get ‘em...”

[cultureaddictconfessions]

Don’t Get Caught - A Cubicles sequel - CYO Adventure + Marauders Workplace AU

re-read Cubicles here

After your enchanting evening at James’ after-work soiree, you're feeling nervous to interact with your office crush, with whom you shared a special moment. They’ve made it clear that there’s a spark, but navigating an office romance can be tricky if you don’t want your co-workers to know the situation. With that in mind, you must find sneaky ways to fan the flames of your delicious dalliance. Will you steal another moment with your sweetheart or be found out? 

—————————————

As always, Y/N=first name, Y/L/N=last name. When you get to the end, click one of the titles to get your chosen ending! You can also be added to the tag list for this series (I’ll probably write more sequels, as this is a personal favorite of mine and I got ideas!) This is my present to my Tumblr fam, hope you have a wonderful holiday and see ya in 2020! <3 Bri

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The weekend was fairly uneventful. You spent Lazy Saturday with Lily, as always, before the pair of you joined the other office girls for drinks at a hip rooftop bar. Sunday was spent in a lull of running errands and dreading Monday and all that it might bring. You hadn’t mentioned anything to Lily about your party rendezvous for fear of her reaction. You didn’t know how many people bore witness to what happened, but if you could keep it under wraps, you would feel much better. It was tough enough dealing with Rita and the stresses of the workplace, let alone trying to integrate a blossoming crush on one of your co-workers who you would have to see almost every day. You groaned, curled up in your favorite lounge chair in the reading nook you set up in your apartment. 

You had flirty conversations with more than one person on Friday when you thought about it. You just happened to have sparked feelings with one of them. You weren’t the type to kiss and tell, so what did you have to be worried about anyway? Still, you couldn’t help blushing fondly over the memory of that night. It was cliche to call it “magical”, but that was exactly what it felt like. You sank deeper into the chair and tried to focus on the book you were reading, before spending the rest of the evening failing to eat and agonizing over what you would wear the next day. Once settled, you spread on a face mask and turned on your favorite show on Witchflix to distract yourself. You crashed halfway through the episode.

You’d woken up in the middle of the night, tossing and turning anxiously. You got up a little earlier than usual and decided to go pick up coffee for you, Lily, and Rita in an effort to feel productive. The Potion Truck was your favorite little cafe and food truck near the office. You swept in, rattled off the orders without a second thought, then went to wait for them a few feet away. You spotted Emmeline Vance standing nearby, scrolling through her phone with a bored expression. Her shiny black hair was slicked back into a low ponytail, draping over her shoulder. She was clad in a classic trench coat, and her tortoiseshell sunglasses were perched on her head; always the picture of style. You strode over, managing a small smile as you tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up.

“Hi Y/N, fancy seeing you here! Can’t believe it’s Monday again already. What a weekend! Sorry I didn’t come out for drinks on Saturday; I had rehearsal that ran way too late and I went straight home to sleep.” She chuckled, pocketing her phone. Emmeline happened to be a talented hip-hop dancer. You had gone to one of her recitals, and you’d been debating attending one of her classes just to see how much fun she was having. You nodded in commiseration, wishing you were back in bed. The barista called Emmeline’s name, so you were left to yourself for a moment. You wondered guiltily whether she’d seen you at the office party. 

 “That sounds very busy indeed. You have to let me know when your next show is. Emm, I just realized… I don’t remember seeing you at the party on Friday!” You mumbled, fishing for information. She made a bemused expression. Uh oh.

“Well, I saw you making your rounds, Miss Popular! Did you have too much of the spiked punch? I guess we didn’t get to chat, so I can see why you might’ve thought I wasn’t there. I was rather preoccupied myself if you catch my drift.” She gave you a saucy wink, making the color drain out of your face. Maybe she had caught you and a certain someone getting hot and heavy. You didn’t have time to ask because the barista finally called your name. You scurried up to grab the drinks, and as soon as you returned, Emmeline motioned for you to follow her to the office. Your stomach was turning as the two of you walked, with Emmeline chatting amiably about the details of the party, not revealing anything helpful. You made a mental note to shoot her a text message later to find out real gossip.

You passed Alastor at the desk with a soft greeting before arriving at the elevator. Emmeline worked on the floor below you in operations. Not only was she a talented dancer, but she was a clever controller as well. Before the elevator could close, you were joined by the Prewett twins and Peter Pettigrew. Emmeline tensed up slightly beside you, only to the degree that you would notice. You gave her a curious look, but she gave you a sidelong glance and shook her head. 

  “Morning ladies! Looking lovely as ever!” The twins chimed together. You smiled, and Emmeline gave a curt nod.

  “Hi Y/N, hi Emmeline! The brothers and I were just talking about that new baking show everyone’s been raving about! I watched 4 episodes on Sunday afternoon, not even going to lie.” Peter bubbled with laughter as he addressed the two of you. He looked so adorable when he talked about his passions.

“You should audition, Pete! I bet you could show them a thing or two…” Emmeline grinned, winking at him. He flushed at her compliment. You nodded in encouragement, but you couldn’t help but feel a little caught off guard by the easygoing banter Emmeline and Peter displayed. She was a total Cool Girl™, and he was the office dormouse. Since when had they become so friendly? You turned your attention to Gideon and Fabian. They certainly stood out from the crowd, tall and well-built, with shocks of red hair. As you recalled, they happened to be rather athletic and were part of a club outside of work which some of the other office members frequented… though obviously not as devoutly, based on the brothers’ chiseled physiques. You engaged them in light conversation before they and Emmeline stepped off on their floor, leaving you alone with Peter.

“You looked really lovely on Friday, Y/N. I don’t think I got to tell you that.” He smiled softly, hands twisting in front of him. You blushed your attention fully on him. Peter rarely voiced his opinions, much less made such a confident declaration. It was a nice change of character if you were honest.

 “You’re a sweetheart for saying so, Pete, thank you. I had a lot of fun! I think I had a little too much to drink by the end if you’ll forgive me. Feels like a dream…” You sighed, a grin slipping across your lips as you laughed. He laughed along with you, looking at you with appreciation. He seemed as though he were about to say something when the elevator opened. Noticing Rita standing in her office on the phone and looking angry, you were forced to bid the young man goodbye. You didn’t notice him staring after you as you walked swiftly to the time clock.

Lily was already at her desk, so you placed the coffee in front of her with a pat on the head. She swiveled around in her chair and grinned brightly up at you.

 “How did you have time to go and get me coffee, Y/N? Couldn’t sleep?” 

  “How are you so early today, Lils?” You countered, to which she stuck out her tongue. She picked up the drink and sipped thoughtfully, a grateful expression melting her. You were glad you could return your best friend’s favor since she was always the one who went for early-morning drink runs. Rita didn’t come out of her office, so you wrapped up her coffee, sat down and began going through your emails and voicemail. You were completely caught off guard when James Potter came over and leaned on the partition between yours and Lily’s cubicles, grinning like a Chesire cat.

“Evans, where were you on Friday?! We missed you at the party! Y/N was gracious enough to help me decorate, the whiz that she is. Very good company.” He queried Lily, smoothly winking in your direction. You felt your body warming up, but not from your coffee. Lily, however, was not amused and threw a scathing glare at James. You were surprised that he would come and bother her over the party, considering what had transpired. However, it was well known around the office that he had a soft spot for your best friend, despite her obvious distaste. You had to credit the guy, he was nothing if not persistent.

 “Amscray, Potter, I don’t have time for your attempts at witty banter this morning. Rita has been on the warpath all morning and your decorator just arrived. Thankfully with coffee, of course.” Lily spat at him, softening her tone when she mentioned you, although you noted her resentment in referencing you helping James. You clammed up, as did James, though you exchanged a look of concern. Your friendliness toward her rival was quite a sore spot.

“Well, there’s always the next one! Maybe Y/N can convince you to attend…” He commented, trying to maintain his bright demeanor despite being shot down by the other woman. James gave you a meaningful look before he turned on his heel and stalked off toward the marketing department. Lily groaned in frustration but didn’t look up as he walked away. She hadn’t said anything about Rita when you got there, although you’d seen your boss glowering at the air in her office. Why did Lily feel the need to bring it up to James? Was she annoyed that you chose to go to the party? You’d spent Saturday with her, and she hadn’t said anything about it at all. Had his appearance brought up those unpleasant feelings that she hadn’t addressed with you over the weekend? You sighed, not wanting to push her buttons any more than James already had, electing to focus on your current project. Rita had emailed you some of the details so you could get started, although she expected you to sit down and talk with her further.

Rita came barging out to your desk about an hour and a half before lunch and ushered you into her office. She kept you in there for the whole time and a little more before dismissing you. You felt exhausted after that conversation and would have skipped lunch entirely to debrief, except Remus Lupin was standing beside your desk looking sheepish. You glided over to him and an easy smile crossed his face. You were surprised to see him there. Usually, it was Sirius…

“You look like you’ve been run through Rita’s gauntlet, Y/N… if there’s anything I can do to help, please never hesitate to ask,” his voice was soft but tender, and you couldn’t help but beam up at him. He really was one of the most thoughtful men in the office, if not in general.

“That, however, can wait. You are cordially invited to join us for lunch at Molly’s in 10 minutes. I’ve been sent to fetch you, with your acceptance, of course.” He smirked, recognizing the confusion that was evident on your face.

 “Sirius get bored of being the errand boy?” you quirked an eyebrow at him, to which he shrugged, “I really shouldn’t… this project Rita assigned to me is going to be a nightmare. But… in that case, I probably should come with you, since I’ll be holed up forever after this point.” You sighed dramatically. Remus snickered.

 “I think Miss Skeeter can afford to lose you for an hour, don’t you?” He held out his arm, ever the gentleman. You took it shyly, slinging your coat and bag over your shoulder as you did. You couldn’t help but feel lucky to have made such… charming connections at work. Your last office had been full of old codgers who were bitter about their own lives and couldn’t be bothered with friendliness. 

You and Remus made your way around the block, chatting pleasantly about the weekend. He mentioned that he’d gone to a book signing on Saturday, though he wished he’d had a companion to bring along. You couldn’t tell if that was his attempt at flirting, or whether he was just being friendly. You blushed regardless.

 “I did run into Dorcas, though, so that was lovely. She’s very sweet when she’s outside of Marlene’s company.” Remus was only half-joking, judging by the grimace that passed over his face. Marlene McKinnon was a well-known troublemaker around the office, much like James and Sirius. She was a loud, attractive blonde who was confident and very popular with your male co-workers. If one wanted to have fun, Marlene was the best person to go out with any day of the week. However, she was also very reactive and had a vindictive streak. 

Hell hath no fury like Marlene scorned, and Remus had made it very clear one evening when she drunkenly made a pass at him that he was under no circumstances an interested party. She didn’t take too kindly to that, and promptly turned tail and stole Sirius away for the rest of the night. Remus considered her a bad influence and was not shy in expressing this to his friend.

 “Say, Y/N… I wanted to talk to you about Friday…” He said his voice barely above a whisper. You were startled, your head jerking sideways to see him blushing. You couldn’t imagine what Remus might’ve been thinking about since the weekend, but luckily you didn’t have to, because you arrived at the cafe. He seemed to realize this as you reached for the handle, and couldn’t hide his frown.

 “I… can talk about it with you after work if you’d like?” You murmured shyly, unable to look at him. You could see the tension fall out of his shoulders, relief evident on his face. He nodded, managing a small smile and reaching past you to open the door. Your hand brushed his as you pulled yours back. The two of you stepped in, blushing brightly.

“There you two are, bloody hell! Thought you’d gotten lost on the way!” Sirius was the first to pipe up as soon as you spotted the table where your friends were seated. He seemed delighted, but that tempered when he saw the close proximity between you and Remus. When you came to the high top, Sirius shot up and pulled out your chair in a smooth flourish. Your whole body alighted in a moment of emotional combustion before you managed to compose yourself, giving him a million-watt smile in thanks. He gently pushed you close to the table, fingers brushing your shoulders expertly. You sucked on your bottom lip nervously as he returned to his seat, conveniently located beside you. If the other guys noticed this exchange, they pretended not to care. The waitress came over after spotting new arrivals, and you and Remus placed your orders before she flitted off.

“The waitress is pretty fit, am I right? Pete, you should give her your number…” James half-whispered to the table, waggling his eyebrows at the other man. It was Peter’s turn to blush, and he mumbled something about how James should do it if he was so interested. Sirius snickered at this moment but also gave you a sidelong glance to check that you weren’t annoyed by the conversation. At this point, you were used to the guys talking about other potential love interests in front of you. You would only intervene when the discussion veered into inappropriate or disrespectful topics. So, you just snorted and rolled your eyes, to which he grinned back with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

  “You’re so predictable, Jamie. She’s alright, but I’ve seen prettier women in the office, Merlin’s sake… or have you given up on your favorites already?” Sirius smirked, his tone jabbing at his best friend. James scowled, pouting angrily.

“The girls in the office are too busy with work to agree to anything beyond friends-with-benefits, in my experience,” James’ comment was laced with a bit of resentment, “but maybe I’ve just got rotten luck… Hey, Y/N, why don’t you have a boyfriend? I am honestly shocked thinking about it now… I don’t think you’re lacking suitors from the gossip I hear.” He turned his full attention to you, his petulant tone dissolving into suggestive curiosity. You couldn’t help narrowing your eyes at him then, but you composed yourself quickly. Despite Lily’s similar intimation that you were a popular object of affection among your office mates, you still weren’t convinced that their intentions were fully-formed. Remus coughed, looking away from James in distaste. Peter frowned, but he seemed to wonder along with James. Sirius seemed to be the only one who felt the urge to retort.

“You’re a nosy little blighter aren’t you, Potter? I feel like we’ve agreed that kind of talk about Y/N is off-limits. Her business is her own. She’s our friend, after all.” There was a thinly-veiled hostility to his tone which surprised even Remus. The waitress returned with the food before anything more could be said, and the rest of lunch was far quieter. James shut his mouth and looked away, eyes burning.

You were too uncomfortable to make any response one way or the other, though you didn’t really want the men to get into an argument over such trivial things. ‘Is it really trivial though? James is kind of right… why aren’t I dating anyone? I have a crush… why don’t I act on it? It seems to be reciprocated, from what I gather. Or was that just the effects of alcohol…’ You were so lost in thought that you barely ate. The waitress brought you a box to pack up your leftovers. 

James was the first to leave after paying, without a word to anyone, although you caught an apologetic glance as he walked away. Peter popped up quickly and tagged along behind him, giving you a small goodbye wave. An audible sigh slipped past Remus’ lips as he stood up.

“While I agree with you, Sirius, I don’t know if that was the most effective way to deal with James’ query. But I understand… and I’ll go handle damage control since I already had the pleasure of Y/N’s company to myself. Thank you for joining us, by the way, Y/N. Sorry it didn’t go over as smoothly as we’d hoped.” His voice was firm but resigned. You shrugged and gave him a soft smile, knowing that there was nothing that could have been done about what occurred. You still had to speak with him later anyway, so he gave you a nod and followed the other two out the door, leaving you alone with Sirius, who was worrying at his cufflink. You turned to him, tilting your head at the door. He seemed to remember himself then and loped toward it alongside you. He took the box gently from your hand.

“Well, that was a lovely lunch, wasn’t it? I’m sure you’re itching for my next invitation now, aren’t you? You can plan for everything but this, I suppose…” Sirius tried to chuckle, but it sounded hollow. You reached out and gave his arm a gentle squeeze. He looked at you with a doleful expression, so you smiled back.

 “I’m just happy I could get away from my desk and spend some time with all of you, really. Don’t worry about me. Your chivalry is noted, however…” Your tone was all velvet and sweetness, and this seemed to bring the warmth back to Sirius. You strolled in comfortable silence together, occasionally brushing shoulders before you finally arrived at the office building. He paused, looking up at it.

 “Well, you’re always invited to lunch with us, regardless of our behavior. It makes me sad seeing you stuck at your desk all the time. I like to see you outside of your office persona. The party girl is just as cool as the businesswoman to me.” He purred as he handed back your box and opened the door. You could’ve sworn he winked as he mentioned partying; you couldn’t help blushing again. 

It felt rather warm as you rode the elevator up together, and you had pointedly avoided the look Alastor gave as you two had passed by. You didn’t dare look over at Sirius for fear of him discovering your nervous demeanor, though you could feel his eyes on you. You let out the breath you didn’t know you were holding as the elevator reached your floor. You stepped out before Sirius stopped you, placing a hand on your arm. You started, turning back to him.

  “You know I care about you, right? I mean, we all do, but I don’t want to have crossed a boundary defending you to James. And the whole thing with the party… I’m not sure what you think of me, but it’s important to me that those thoughts are positive. You’re… different. Special, you know?” The wholehearted vulnerability it took for Sirius to admit all of this, in the office potentially within earshot of other people, shook you to your core. It was a very rare man indeed who felt comfortable enough in his self-awareness and masculinity to admit all that. You didn’t quite understand why all this came to him now, but that didn’t matter.

“I do. And they are, trust me. Thanks for trying to wrangle James, but don’t worry about it for next time. I know him pretty well already to not take everything he says at face value, nor does he say anything to me that’s malicious. We’re all friends like you said. No need to dwell on it when we already have so many worries! But…” you paused to catch your breath and consider your final verdict, “I feel the same about you. You’re definitely a character, but a wonderful one!” 

It was Sirius’ turn to blush, but you squeezed his hand on your arm before slipping out of his grasp and sauntering away to your desk, leaving him to stare in wonder after you. You didn’t look up until you were already seated, but he was already gone. Lily leaned back in her chair, giving you a look. You frowned, mouthing an apology before tucking into your desk. Rita had already sent another email making sure that you were on task. You’d made up your mind about talking to your love interest, but you would have to make time for that later...

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Thanks for reading, friends! You can now choose which path you want to finish up this little vignette below. Please specify if you want to be added to the tag list. Sorry for the repetition, but I had some people miss the rules last time so I want to be double sure you know what to do!

1. ...In the Office Kitchen

2. ...In the Floo Hub

3. ...In the Supply Closet

4 ...In the Testing Studio

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Tag List

@supremequeenofthenerds​, @wizardwritings​, @couragetocontinue​, @fudgefight​, @lionnottheanimal​, @crtreg​, @shehassomuchsoul​, @formersovietunion​ and anyone who needs a rest from denouncing JKR for supporting nastyass TERFs! :)

[poedamern]

You’re my Joy. ⏤ Jasmine x Female Reader

PAIRING: Jasmine x Handmaiden!Female Reader / LENGTH: 2.1k / DISCLAIMER: Gif is not mine! NOTE: i’m so happy you requested this! #HAPPYPRIDEMONTH / SUMMARY: aladdin AU where aladdin and jasmine meet all the same but have become really good friends who go on secret adventures together instead of becoming lovers, due to jasmine falling in love with her handmaiden. jasmine still desires to be sultan as the princess but makes ground on becoming one with each and every day. / WARNINGS: bi vibes all round! jealousy, a lil angst, comedy and fluff for the heart. also mild nudity. (sorry!)

The way her hair fell down her back, the stylish outfits she wore, her friendly aura and how soft her hands were against Jasmine’s neck whenever she took off her royal jewellery for the night. Jasmine always felt small sparks lighting against her skin and the smallest of touches. It was ridiculous, truly, Jasmine would have never imagined she would feel this way about one of her handmaidens but she did, deeply and unconditionally.

“How does that feel?” Y/N asks, making sure to store away the jewels back in their safe boxes before undoing the clasp tied in the back of Jasmine’s hair, letting it fall comfortably over her shoulders. “Perfect.” Jasmine smiles softly, grabbing onto Y/N’s hands, squeezing them lightly. “What would I do without you?” She asks, sighing softly. “You’d be getting into all sorts of trouble and we both know that. Even Dalia knows that.” Y/N laughs, turning to fetch some tea for the princess. “Dalia can be very brash in her responses, though, we’re used to it of course.” Jasmine teases, running a hand on top of Rajah’s head as he makes his way to Jasmine’s side, never too far. It has been a long day for all of them, several meetings with cities across the way, debates on poverty, the wellbeing of Agrabah with her father and Jafar’s antics. She was just so happy she could be alone with those closest to her at the end of the day.

“Dalia’s honesty will always be cherished.” Y/N chuckles, heating the tea to it’s proper temperature, remembering exactly how Jasmine likes it, different temperatures for morning and night. As much as Y/N was a handmaiden to Jasmine, taking care of all her needs and wishes, she was more than that. A great friend but to Jasmine, she wished for more.

“Princess? Handmaiden?” You both hear a familiar voice come from the Princess’s balcony, turning to look in the direction of the sound, giving each other a look of speculation as to who it could be. Rajah is the first to make his way over, sniffing the air, ears flicking before taking a seat in the middle of the balcony as a figure climbs over the railing. “Aladdin!” Jasmine yells, ready to scold the street rat for yet again breaking in to the palace. Aladdin falls over the other side of the railing in reaction, causing Y/N to laugh. “Jasmine, you don’t want the guards to hear right?” – “Yeah Jasmine, We’ve been through this almost several times now, it’s practically routine now.” Aladdin jumps up from his spot and gives some welcoming pats to Rajah, who purrs contently in return, tail swaying from side to side.

Jasmine rolls her eyes, crossing her arms. “So now you two are ganging up on me are you? My own handmaiden and the street rat?” Walking down the balcony steps she checks the surrounding area for any guards on watch, some had gotten word of thieves breaking into the palace but for Aladdin’s safety, she always denied the claims. “And how exactly is your handmaiden doing?” Aladdin asks, bowing in both of your directions. Y/N smiles as Aladdin takes her hand and gives it a light kiss, playful and endearing. Jasmine tries her hardest not to scowl at the act. “Just fine, without you.” Jasmine retorts, as if it’s matter of fact.

“Though, I don’t mind the occasional visits, right Jasmine? We can always use an extra friend or two around.” Y/N says, ruffling Aladdin’s hair in a teasing manner. Rajah grunts in response. “Of course you’re always first pick Rajah, you know that. Spoilt little thing.” Y/N goes over to rub his furry cheeks together. “Little? Has she lost her mind?” Aladdin jokes, taking a seat up on the balcony railing. Jasmine laughs softly under her breath, admiring the way Y/N interacts with Rajah. “No, just in a world of her own.” – “Oh, where’s Abu?” Y/N perks up, curious to find the smaller animal. Aladdin looks surprised and turns to look for him. “He was right behind me– Oh Abu!” He jumps off the balcony and towards Y/N, moving her dress to the side to see him hiding in the fabric. “What are you doing there?” Aladdin scolds Abu. Abu shrugs with his characteristic chirp before jumping up on Y/N’s shoulder.

“Well hello to you too Abu. You better have not stolen anything Abu, here I was thinking Aladdin was the cheeky one.” Y/N teased, bringing her finger up to scratch under Abu’s chin. Aladdin laughs and rubs the back of his neck, slightly flustered. “Well– I do take after Abu just a little bit. But this one likes to cause a whole lot more trouble.” He points an accusing finger at Abu. Jasmine watches from the small ottoman she sits on, Rajah now by her side once again. Y/N and Aladdin so deep in their own conversation she feels like a witness to it all, a strange sense of anger rising in her chest. Was this jealousy? How was it that they got along so well but she struggled just to say the right things around Y/N? She’d blame her upbringing and not being able to socialise like a normal citizen but– she had all the chances to learn. Nothing was scarier than facing her true emotions.

It hurt to see their chemistry grow each time they got to see each other, she couldn’t take another moment of it. Standing from her place, Rajah purrs curiously, concerned for his master as she walked back to her chambers. “Is there something you need, Princess Jasmine?” Y/N asks, worry written across her face. “No. You’ve done enough.” Jasmine tries to say with indifference but it comes out colder than expected. She flinches at her own tone but makes her way to the bath, leaving Y/N and Aladdin to their own devices. “Jasmine, wait–” Aladdin tries to talk to her but it’s too late. He exhales, disappointed he didn’t get the chance to talk to her more. “Do you think she’s okay?” He asks. “I think she’s just had a long day. I’m sorry Aladdin. Is there something you would like me to send on to her?” Y/N takes his hand, apologetic. “No, I’ll be back tomorrow night– By then I can tell her my plans for our next adventure.” His wide charming smile back like nothing ever happened. “Make sure Jasmine rests well and that you take good care of her okay? For all of us. For all of Agrabah.” Aladdin waves goodbye, slipping back over the balcony railing. “See you tomorrow, street rat.” Y/N teased, watching as the boy jumped down and over, Abu following close behind. “Let’s go Rajah, we have a Princess to care for.” Y/N says with a new sense of determination, Rajah following closely behind.

-

Jasmine never usually sets up the bath, hasn’t done so in years, but after minutes of figuring out what oils, essences and soaps to put in the bath, she was soon surrounded by comforting bubbles, the hot water soothing her jealous feelings. “Oh, Princess Jasmine?” Y/N sing-songs, Jasmine watching as her shadowed figure walked across the bath screen. “Yes handmaiden?” She responds, not using her name. “Do you need any assistance?” – “No, no. I am perfectly capable of taking a bath.” Jasmine hears Y/N giggle from behind the screen, even her figure through the layer of drapes was beautiful, graceful. “Well the smell of spearmint and thyme tell me otherwise princess, you know thyme is your morning routine and lavender is your night.” Y/N says as she walks into the bathroom without warning. Jasmine tenses and looks away, bashful. “I–I guess it slipped my mind.” Jasmine stutters, Y/N had seen Jasmine naked on several occasions due to hygiene and general health care but she never got used to Y/N’s eyes on her body.

Rolling her sleeves up, Y/N takes a seat next to the bathtub, bringing one of the bowls of lavender oil to the edge, pouring it into balance out the thyme. “Thyme can irritate the skin if it’s not poured and warmed correctly with the right carrier oil.” Y/N speaks, although it doesn’t sound like it’s directed right at Jasmine, just more of a fun fact, knowledge to be shared. “Irritation can be caused by other essences too such as spearmint, cinnamon, clove, oregano–” – “Y/N.” Jasmine interrupts, her eyes glued to the side of her handmaiden’s face. Y/N looks up at Jasmine, eyes curious, almost doe like. Jasmine’s heart catches in her throat. “What are your thoughts on Aladdin?” She may be considered petty for thinking such things but she needed to know. “Thoughts?” Y/N tilts her head, slightly confused by the query. “Do you find him– attractive? charming?” Jasmine runs her hands over the water’s surface, watching the bubbles swirl around.

Y/N laughs softly, sounding like a wind chime in a summer’s breeze to Jasmine. “Unlike Dalia, I don’t fawn over many men. I don’t fawn over many people to be truly honest with you. Aladdin is kind, has a good heart.” Jasmine purses her lips at the reply, scared. “But–.” Y/N’s hand slides down her forearm down to her hand, pulling it up above water and rubbing the palm of Jasmine’s hand with experienced technique. “He doesn’t bring the same sort of joy as someone else in my life does.” She states, simple as fact, her face calm and collected. Jasmine looks at her in shock, frowning slightly. “Who brings you that joy?” Jasmine asks, as if it’s the golden secret hiding beneath the cave of wonders. “You. Jasmine.” The name rolls off of Y/N’s lips so elegantly, so poised. “I guess I’m the luckiest handmaiden in all of the country to be able to be by your side, watching you be the strong woman that you are without a care for other’s perceptions of you.” She smiles up at Jasmine, laying her hand back down in the tub.

“Y/N– I–” Jasmine struggles to find the words. Y/N just shakes her head, grabbing a hold of Jasmine’s long thick hair, bringing it back over her shoulders as to not get wet. “Whatever it is you need from me, I will do without question. Please know that.” She goes to stand from her spot next to Jasmine only to be stopped by the grasp of Jasmine’s hand on her wrist. She was right, Jasmine was strong and powerful but she was also determined without shame. Having given her the confidence, Jasmine stands from the bath, hair cascading down her slender back, body now exposed to Y/N as she pulls her closer. Y/N only looks from her wrist up to Jasmine’s face, patiently waiting for her Princess’s words. “Would it be selfish of me, as a Princess, to ask her handmaiden to be accepting of her love?” Jasmine asks in a soft whisper, their faces now only inches away. Y/N’s eyes widen before they glimmer in the reflection of the night light coming through the chambers bathroom stained windows. “Only slightly selfish. But a Princess who is not selfish for her own quality of life is a Princess living in fear.” Y/N answers Jasmine’s question. “I do not wish to live in fear anymore, Y/N.” – “Neither do I.”

The warm touch of Y/N’s breath cascading across Jasmine’s lips as she leans closer is captivating, her eyes slowly closing, welcoming Jasmine into her space. With lips parted, Jasmine leans in and latches her lips onto Y/N’s with a silent hum of contentment. Jasmine can feel Y/N shiver against the touch, her hands coming to rest on her arms. Jasmine brings a hand up to Y/N’s cheek and slightly deepens the kiss, wanting to cherish it, every moment, every second. They stay like that, for a moment’s pass until Y/N pulls back, a flushed look on her face. Jasmine pulls her back, only to press their foreheads together, whispering. “I promise to give you as much joy as you deserve.” – “And I promise to remind you every day of how effortlessly your presence gives me joy.” They chuckle under short breaths. The remainder of the night they stay glued to each others sides, their hearts burning with love and cheeks hurting from smiling so much. Jasmine was ready to face the entire world for Y/N, nothing could stop her– not now, not ever. 

[thehoodsweetheart]

Sandcastles | Part III.

A/N: Sandcastles is officially a series! I really hope this is up to par. Please excuse the mistakes.

Warnings: Fuckboy!Erik (?), Angst!, Use of the N-word (I’m Black. I have that right).

Summary: If you have not read Sandcastles Part 1 and Part 2, please do so before reading this. Although, it may not be totally necessary to do so but it helps. The reader is a Black Woman, always has been always will be.

Word Count: 2.4K

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           Fear. Erik didn’t possess the concept of fear. He’d overcome that emotion in his early years. Somewhere between finding his father dead and his first mission as a secret operative, that feeling had been wiped from him. At least that’s what Erik believed. Who could possibly still possess that emotion after witnessing and partaking in such horrendous acts? Fear equated weakness and he prided himself of not being weak, never letting anyone in close enough to expose a weakness. That was until he did. He let you in.

            When Erik realized that he let you in, he tried to push you away but you didn’t tolerate it. This was before you and Erik were even in a “real” relationship. Erik thoughthe was able to give people the cold shoulder, but yours could get colder. Erik had grown accustomed to stringing women along, fucking them, leaving them, and popping back up whenever he felt like it. When he attempted to ghost you, you completely ghosted him. You did not go for the ‘I’ll pop up in a few months to see if I can still hit’ game. When he saw you on what he thought was a date, he lost it. He wasn’t going for that shit. He knew that he had to make y’all relationship real. Erik fearedlosing you. This was something he would have to come to terms with quite a few times. He actually feared losing and loving you.

           This kind of fear was one that perplexed him. He wasn’t like he was afraid you could get him killed or kill him. He’d done his research after meeting you the first time. This fear was childish in Erik’s mind. It was the fear parents provoke when they threaten to take away something after you misbehave. One where you know you could live without it but you still feel like you need that thing or just really want to keep it. Or possibly it was the fear of what became his new normal being stripped from him? It wracked his brain until he’d have a lapse in judgment. The fear of loving you led to him doing things that would risk you leaving. It was a cycle.

         The birth of Iman only added to his paranoia. He never put much thought into having children because he simply never thought he would live long enough to have them. When Iman was born, he questioned everything he’d ever did wrong. Was he even good enough to have a love so pure? What if his past came for him and he lost you and Iman? He feared walking into a repeat of his childhood. His father’s death haunted him. Death was something he could accept. It was second nature but not with you two. Erik would give his life to spare you both.

         These thoughts invaded his brain as he sat in a long drawn out meeting. Queen Mother Ramonda came to Los Angeles for the benefit and there was quite a bit of business to handle since she was in town. Erik was the first to present her updates with his social outreach work at the center, along with some technological advances he worked on with Shuri. But once he was done presenting, his thoughts began to invade him. Erik constantly checked his watch and peered out of the closest window spacing out. For the start of the day, Erik felt normal coming back to work, confident even.  There was a shift. He could feel it in his stomach as if something wasn’t right. It could have been paranoia.

       Erik received a notification to his phone that only heightened his paranoia. Iman’s Kimoyo beads dropped offline. It wouldn’t have been odd but this was the third time he’d gotten this notification that day. Iman’s Kimoyo beads never went off more than once, two times max. Why would Y/N take off Iman’s kimoyo beads so many times in only a few hours? His leg bounced as he slouched into his seat bringing his hand that now formed a tight fist to his mouth. It didn’t help that Y/N’s kimoyo beads had been offline since the night of the benefit. They were the final item Y/N threw at him before leaving.

       Erik’s eyes scanned the room as if he was searching for an answer that was obviously not in that conference room. Shuri shot him a quizzical look. He could only assume she had received the notifications for Iman. By the time the meeting wrapped up, Erik had not received a new notification signaling that they were back online. It had been 32 minutes since the last alert. He didn’t need his iPhone to tell him that. He had counted. He brushed past everyone being the first to exit the conference. He needed to figure out what was going on. He knew he could easily check once he was in the privacy of his own office. Before he could reach his office, he felt a small hand grab his shoulder. Erik spun around with annoyance only to see Shuri with a concerned look on her face.

“Hey cuz…Is everything cool? Have you talked to Y/N? Iman is still showing offline.” Shuri asked with her eyebrows furrowed together.

“Don’t even worry about it lil cuz. I’m about to give her a call now.” He tried to wave her off and continue his walk to his office. Shuri stopped him again.

“You know, I know right? I’m young but I’m smarter than you, American.” Shuri teased. Erik scoffed. “I’ll do an override to tap into the beads. See if Y/N left your sorry ass...again” She whispered her disapproval.

“Nah, I don’t need you doin all that. Y’all all up in my business bad enough as it is. Iman probably had an accident and needed to take an extra bath.” Erik stared down Shuri with cut eyes.

“We wouldn’t be in your business, if you didn’t mix business with pleasure in your office…and if that scenario makes you feel better, believe what you want. WHEN you need an actual answer I’ll be in my lab.” Shuri waved her hand turning to leave him.

“Yeaaa…please focus on something important kid. I know you have some new developments that you haven’t completed yet. Maybe a new toy?”

Shuri rolled her eyes raising her hand holding a middle finger high, unaware of her mother sauntering through the hallway.

“Shuriiii”, Ramonda scolded. Shuri groaned stomping away. Erik chuckled only to earn a side-eye from his aunt.  She mumbled a ‘mmhmm’ before walking away.

           Erik entered his office immediately dialing Y/N’s number. He listened to it ring for a while before going to voicemail. He tried not to think much of it. That was his first time calling her. Erik hung up dialing her number again only to get the same result. He took in an uneasy breath trying to calm his heartbeat. He took a seat at his desk, his leg bouncing as he debated if he should call her for a third time back to back.  You normally answered his calls if he called twice in a row, even if you answered just to tell him you’d call him back. He decided against calling again. Erik knew he should give you some time and not let his paranoia overtake him. Maybe he was too used to you being available? Or maybe Shuri was right?

           He couldn’t fight the urge anymore. Erik swiveled around in his chair, his fingers moving with no hesitation as he logged into his work computer. It had been 44 minutes since Iman’s kimoyo beads sent the last notification with no indication that they were back online. He doubled clicked the icon for the program that allowed him to view the activities in his home via the cameras he installed throughout the house. Each room assigned to its appropriate label.

          The first room to come into view was the living room showing no sign of disturbance. Erik could feel his adrenaline spike as he double clicked the label for Iman’s room. Her nursery appeared but he could see her crib was empty but the kimoyo beads lay in the center of it. Did she bounce and take the baby? What if she just left to run errands and the Kimoyo beads fell off by accident? Or she could be giving Iman a bath. Erik hoped it was one of the later scenerios. His chest tightened as he scrolled through the current activity of the various rooms seeing that Y/N and Iman were not at home. But where could they be? He gave Y/N a call once more. This time it went straight to voicemail.

          He picked up his office phone about to dial his assistant’s phone number when it hit him. He no longer had an assistant. The intern, Arya, was taking on the role as his assistant. In the past six months she had full access to his schedule, followed him around everywhere, and managed to keep up with him without getting in his way. That was until they crossed that professional friendly line and began an affair two months ago. For Erik the affair was a physical thing, no real emotion lived there. Nonetheless, Arya was not worth losing his family over. When T’Challa made the decision to let her go during Erik’s one-week leave of absence, he didn’t care. That was one step towards fixing world that crumbled before him.

       Erik opted to call Shuri instead. He knew Y/N formed a close bond with Shuri and Nakia over the past few years. It was strong possibility that Shuri could get an answer from Y/N faster. He wasn’t going to lie to himself and say she had forgiven him completely. Shuri answered in a knowing tone.

“Did Y/N mention her next doctor’s appointment?” Erik’s voice rushed almost sounding as if his question was one word.

“Whoaa, slow down. It’s not until next week or something but I don’t keep your wife’s schedule. You should know that.”

“Tell him to stop trying to spy on his family from his computer.” T’Challa interjected only for Erik to smack his teeth.

“Nigga nobody’s spying. I’m trying to make sure they’re okay.” Erik countered.

“Ah, is that what we’re calling it now? Okay. Well maybe you should head home? You probably won’t stop checking the cameras until you see them come back anyway.”

“Shit nigga, wouldn’t you?! I knew I shouldn’t have come into work today. I could’ve did that damn presentation from my home office.” Erik ranted as he snatched his blazer from the couch in his office. He scrambled to put it on while looking for his keys.

           Erik quickly ended the call rushing out to his Acura NSX. He sped the entire way home. Despite trying to be optimistic and think they were running errands, something just didn’t feel right. It was nagging at him since the meeting. Maybe it was his conscious reminding him that he still fucked up and needed to right his wrongs with his wife? But after last night and this morning, the way she screamed his name and clung to him, just as she always had, he thought he still had time to fix things.

           He arrived to the house in record time. He walked in calling Y/N’s name only to be met with silence. He checked the garage seeing that your car was in fact gone. Erik clenched and unclenched his fist while beginning to count backwards from ten. The pressure he was feeling in his chest was beginning to weigh him down. He couldn’t explain why he was anxious about walking upstairs in his own house to his own room. Nevertheless, his feet carried him there.

           He reached their taking in his surroundings. The gleam from your 7-karat pear shaped diamond ring caught his attention. Approached the nightstand noticing the handwritten note under your ring. He read and reread the note three times trying to internalize what you wrote. His nostrils flared as his eyes began to burn. He balled up the note with hast throwing it across the room. He screamed ‘fuck’ storming out of the master bedroom. You really left him and you took his heart with you, Iman. To top it off, you didn’t want to be apart of this new pregnancy. His chest heaved just thinking about it.

         Erik made his way to Iman’s nursery seeing the closet was open. For whatever reason, he hadn’t noticed her closet while checking the cameras earlier. His mind was centered on the Kimoyo beads then. Iman’s closet was practically empty. There were only a couple of onesies and dresses left. He counted five. Erik walked over to Iman’s crib grabbing the plush pink elephant that Iman loved. He leaned over the crib’s railing clutching the stuffed animal inhaling its scent. Y/N really took his baby. His family was gone.

        The sound of slamming doors followed by the doorbell ringing snapped him out of his thoughts. Using the back of his hand, he wiped his tears. He rushed downstairs hoping it was his wife, but why would she show up after writing that note. He opened the door without even checking to see whom it was, only to reveal two men in khaki colored uniforms. He squared his shoulders feeling his internal rage grow.

“Who the fuck are y’all?” Erik barked. The men blinked a couple times looking taken aback.

“Uhh…Umm…We’re from Enterprise Moving company. We were sent to get Mrs. Udaku-Steven’s belongings.” The shortest one stuttered. Erik’s frown deepened.

“Y’ALL NOT TAKIN’ SHIT! GET THE FUCK OFF MY PROPERTY!” Erik slammed the door in their faces and immediately went to call you.

      He got your voicemail once again. It took his entire strength not to throw his phone. There were knocks at the door followed by the doorbell once again. He clenched his jaw as he heard the moving men asking his to open the door. Erik decided to text you.

You better call that moving company and tell them to leave before I body ALL these mothafuckas!

           Erik knew you were screening your calls. It was confirmed when his text appeared as read a minute later. The gray bubbled with three dots popped up, then went away, and popped up again before going away. His phone began to ring as you picture appeared. He pressed the green button answering. Before he could even say hello, your voice blared through the speaker.

“ERIK! PLEASE DON’T!”

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