#and I like how May handle this jealousy so classy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mypoisonedvine · 4 years

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The Perfect Fit | Bucky Barnes x reader (part 2)

(part 1)

summary: after getting fitted by you, bucky’s going to try on the custom-made suits he’s bought. unless he makes his move now, he may not get to see you again, and he can’t let that happen.

word count: 6.5k

warnings: smut!!, fingering, oral (m and f receiving), a little d/s energy, mirror kink, stomach bulge kink, slight pain kink?, creampie kink, pussy spanking, light bondage, bucky being jealous

Bucky had a bone to pick with Tony, which was usually true but this wasn’t work-related for once. It wasn’t hard to find him in the same place he’d seen him last— eating his lunch in the kitchen, with Sam nearby chowing down on lo mein with a spring roll.

“Hey lefty, what’s cracking?” Tony greeted, mouth full but talking loudly anyways.

"I went down to that tailor you recommended—" Bucky began, but Tony was quick to interrupt.

"You went there? Dude, it's a really nice place, you can just call and she'll come to you instead, way more convenient."

"So now you say 'she'?"

Realization dawned on Tony’s expression. "Ahh, I get it. You're not used to a female tailor. Adds a little spice to getting fitted, huh?" he grinned, elbowing Bucky playfully.

Bucky’s throat felt a little dry when he heard that. "Don't tell me that's why you use her…"

"Hey now, I'm not a creep, I use her cause she's the best, and those house calls are great for discretion— you know, being a celebrity and all. The eye candy part is just gravy."

"Gravy candy sounds disgusting," Sam chimed in, missing the point entirely.

"Yeah, well, she mentioned some stuff that sure made you sound like a creep."

"Okay, well, you can't blame me for getting caught staring when I'm surrounded by fucking mirrors. Makes it hard to be stealthy."

"You could try not staring,” Bucky suggested flatly.

"Is that what you did?"

Tony smirked when Bucky failed to reply immediately. "Okay, so it's easier said than done,” Bucky admitted with a frown, “but still, I hope these house calls were strictly professional."

“What’s it to you, man? I think somebody’s jealous,” Tony purred.

“What? No, it’s not that,” Bucky denied.

“You love her,” Tony sing-songed, completely ignoring Bucky. “You looooooove her!”

"You are so immature," Bucky rolled his eyes, even though his heart was racing and he was pretty sure he was blushing.

"No, it's good for you! She's a catch, you're all brooding and stuff— maybe she can melt the Winter Soldier's frozen heart, hm?"

Sam laughed heartily. "Stark, you read too many comic books."

"You're saying you don't wanna see Icy Hot here shoot his shot with my tailor?" Tony asked, turning his attention towards Sam.

Sam pondered that, much to Bucky's dismay. "Depends. How hot is she?"

"Mega," Tony smirked confidently. "Legs for miles, and she wears these skirts that make her ass look—"

"I think I've heard enough," Bucky groaned. "I'm leaving. And don't ask when I'm going to see her again," he instructed, interrupting Tony just as he'd opened his mouth to speak, "because I won’t tell you.”

As Bucky left, he could hear Tony calling out into the hall: “But I’d be such a great wingman!”

Truth be told, Bucky had put off mastering the use of his smartphone. It wasn’t just that new technology made him feel old, but that he knew nobody would be calling or messaging him anyways; if the phone didn’t work, he would spare himself the embarrassment of waiting up for nothing.

But once he knew you were going to call? Suddenly, he was motivated to figure the sucker out.

A few hours later and now all he had to do was stare at it to make sure he wouldn’t miss you. Luckily, you didn’t make him wait too long. He recognized the number and decided to let it ring a few times before picking up, so it would seem like he had other things to do besides talk to you.

“Hello?” Bucky asked when he answered, so it would seem like he had other people calling him besides you.

You introduced yourself so formally that he was a little afraid that all that fun energy between you two would be gone. Thankfully, once he asked what you were calling about, you were back to being cheery and casual again.

“I was just calling to schedule when I could come by with your new suits!” you explained, sounding chipper.

His fingertips were a little tingly just from hearing you talk, nervousness making him antsy (in a weirdly good way). “I know you said it’s a one-person operation,” he responded smarmily, “but I figured you would outsource delivery.”

You scoffed, though it sounded more amused than irritated. “It’s not just delivery, I have to check the fit and make sure everything’s exactly to your liking.”

“Oh, well, I’m free all day tomorrow— and I think you already know my address.” Was it too forward? Too obvious? And why did Bucky spend half the time when he was talking to you second-guessing himself?

“Yes, Stark Tower is a relatively common destination for me. If he doesn’t mind us using it, Tony has a dressing room with plenty of mirrors so you can get a good look. But, I’d be happy to just go up to your quarters if that’s easier.”

He was not at all ready for you to see his room. No way he could clean it enough in the next twelve hours; and even then, lots of the team had made fun of how empty and plain it was, so he knew it would just make you think he was boring.

“I’m sure Tony won’t mind you using his dressing room, but he might mind me using it,” Bucky chuckled.

“Well, if he makes a fuss I’ll be sure to set him straight,” you decided confidently. Somehow, imagining you cursing out Tony was almost hotter than imagining you doing anything else. “Be sure to bring down your dress shoes so you get the full look and everything.”

“Uhhh…” he trailed off as he scratched the back of his head, trying to remember if he owned anything other than combat boots. “Not sure I still have those, to be honest.”

"Okay, you'll need shoes too,” you noted aloud, your voice a little distant; he figured you were writing things down, which was why you sounded distracted. “What size are you?"

"Thirteen."

"I'll bring a selection tomorrow,” you announced firmly. “And socks, of course. And some watches, maybe? And pocket squares."

"Is that it?" he asked sarcastically.

“Oh right, I’m bringing the ties you picked out, too. I’ll throw in some alternates in case your original choices don’t match the way you were hoping.”

“You really are full-service,” he chuckled.

“I get that a lot,” you replied, a hint of coyness to your tone.

There it was again; that jealousy. He hated it because he knew it was wrong, but he couldn’t stop it either. As much as his mind was completely aware that you were an independent, modern woman capable of handling herself, his heart was equally determined to protect you, and spoil you, and do whatever was necessary to make sure you were safe.

Worse, his gut was less innocent. Mine, it demanded, all mine. Nobody else’s.

He pushed it down and just tried to get through the rest of the call without saying something he’d regret. You confirmed the date and time with him, and he tried not to be too aggressive when he said he was looking forward to it.

He hung up his phone and sighed, staring off into space. Now all that was left to do was wait, and be overwhelmed with anxiety. Thankfully, he was good at the second thing.

"So, what do you think?"

I think you look so damn good from every angle. I think I might spend all my money on suits just to be sure I can see you again. I think you need somebody to love you the way you deserve. I think you’d look like an angel waking up in my bed.

You waved your hand in front of his face for a moment, calling his attention back to reality. “Helloooo?”

Drawn out of his trance, Bucky finally looked in the menagerie of mirrors surrounding him and admired his reflection, amazed by the perfect fit of his first suit. The difference in quality between this and something off the rack was beyond apparent. Most of all, your talent was undeniable. "I think it's beautiful."

You smiled proudly. "Of course it is, but do you like how you look in it?"

"Honestly? I feel a bit… out of place. I'm obviously not classy enough for a suit like this."

"Oh, nonsense," you dismissed.

He frowned, convinced this was all flattery. "No, seriously, this is… maybe I should just wear tactical gear to every event."

"Well, you'd still look good, but you're not always a soldier. Sometimes you're only a man. And every man should own a fine suit."

It was much too profound of a thing to say while you casually straightened his jacket, only to pop out from behind his reflection to smile at him in the mirror.

“Let’s get the next one on you,” you decided, helping him lose the jacket but having him move into a private dressing room to switch trousers and shirts. “I put a turtleneck in there instead of just a regular button-up,” you explained through the door as he changed, “in case you wanted to see it that way.”

Once he’d put it on, he stepped back out and you were looking at him so proudly— well, you were looking at your handiwork with pride, really, but he could pretend it was for him and hope actually impress you that much one day.

“I went with a shawl lapel on this one, as opposed to the last one which was notched,” you explained as you traced the line with your finger. “Spoiler: the next one has a peak lapel. But enough about that one: what do you think of this one?”

“This looks like something my friend Sam would wear,” Bucky decided as he looked at himself in the cranberry suit and black turtleneck. The shoes you’d had him try on with this were intricate as well, with subtle stitching in the leather and a shine so immaculate he could almost see a reflection in them.

“Well, is your friend Sam stylish?” you asked.

“He would certainly say so,” he smirked.

“I’m inclined to agree, because you—” you gave him a thorough glance up and down, so thorough in fact that he felt a bit exposed under your gaze, “—look marvelous.”

“Not pretentious?”

“No, no, it works on you,” you assured, “you’ve got the looks for it.”

“And what looks are those?”

“Um… good? Good looks?”

He definitely remembered a time when that seemed like the obvious answer, because he had relied on being good-looking for a lot of things in life, but that felt very far away now. Maybe it was just that people who didn’t know what he’d done could still think he was good looking, but everyone else saw the evil within beginning to leak out the way that he did.

But you knew what he’d done, didn’t you? You had to. You knew Tony, you were here at the Tower… unless you were intentionally not up-to-date on current events, you must have heard of the Winter Soldier.

“Don’t act so surprised,” you huffed, “as if it’s a big secret or something. You’re obviously very attractive.”

Bucky cleared his throat nervously. “Uh, thanks.” He wanted to return the compliment, but thought it might be inappropriate or rude somehow. You broke the silence quickly as you held up two pocket squares in front of him.

“Which of these do you prefer?” you prompted. He selected the solid gold one, making you smile. “I knew you’d pick that one.”

“How?”

“I dunno, just fits you,” you shrugged as you folded it and gently placed it in his pocket. Even through so many layers, your touch on his chest made his heart flutter. Your fingers brushing over his as you slipped a watch onto his wrist was enough to cause palpitations.

He looked better in this ensemble than he expected. This version of himself looked much more likely to be invited to parties than any other version. If only he actually wanted to go to parties.

You put him in the pinstripe suit last, after putting a few pins in the cranberry suit to indicate minor changes you would make later, and stepped back to ponder your work.

"Hm, unbutton those top two buttons for me?" you requested with a raised eyebrow.

I will if you do, he thought to himself, but silently unbuttoned his own shirt anyway.

"I mean, it definitely works like this, but I wanna see you in a tie. And I've got juuuuust the one," you smiled. Soon you were approaching him with a red paisley tie, and helping him button up his shirt and tying the tie for him— you explained something about how it was a unique knot he likely couldn't do himself, but he was too lost in having you so close to notice. It would be so easy to just reach up and grab your waist, pull you into a kiss, finally tell you how bad he wants you.

Well, it would be physically easy, but it would be very scary. Just imagining it had his heart racing.

“I heard from Tony this morning,” you informed him suddenly, slipping the tie around his neck and popping his collar up for him.

“Really? Is he in need of a wardrobe update?”

“Yes, but he hasn’t realized that yet so that wasn’t what he called about.”

He laughed a little at the jab, though it also made him a little worried what secret opinions you held about his own style (or lack thereof).

“We talked about you, actually,” you added.

“O-oh,” Bucky stammered, “uh, he’s not exactly my biggest fan. So whatever he said probably isn’t true.”

“He said that you have a crush on me,” you replied nonchalantly, not even looking up from your work on his tie.

Bucky gulped, and he knew you saw the bob of his Adam’s apple because you were staring right at his neck.

“Like I said, Tony isn’t a very reliable source,” Bucky replied, but his voice cracked in the middle and he cringed internally.

“I’ll write it off as another one of Tony’s off-color jokes then,” you dismissed, perfecting the knot of his tie and stepping back to observe him. He always felt nervous when you looked at him like that, like he couldn’t hide anything from you.

“What… what did you say, when he told you that?” Bucky asked nervously.

“I asked him what he was smoking and if I could have some,” you laughed. “I thought it was totally impossible— and don’t worry, I didn’t tell him that you got hard when I did your inseam.”

Bucky’s throat became dry at the same moment that his palms got clammy.

“I— um, I was just—”

“Oh, it’s fine,” you dismissed quickly, still talking about this all so casually which only made him even more confused, “you’re not the first, it happens.”

“I’m not the first?!”

“Yeah, if anything you were one of the few who didn’t say something creepy about it, which is always appreciated. It’s just a bodily reaction, you can’t control it.”

“Did Tony ever say something creepy?” Bucky pressed, his hands involuntarily tightening into fists— another bodily reaction he couldn’t control.

“You know, Tony said you were really worried that he had been inappropriate with me, or even that he and I had a fling or something,” you added as you stepped back, giving him a quizzical look, “and now it’s sort of sounding like he was right.”

“No, no, it’s not that, I just—”

“Was he right about anything else?” you pressed, raising an eyebrow.

“I was being nosy, I’m sorry,” he sighed, “it’s just that… and I know it’s none of my business, but the idea of him and you… it isn’t a pleasant mental image.”

You laughed a little, in a way that made him feel kind of small. “Why not? You know how he is. Definitely has a wandering eye… and occasionally a wandering hand.”

Bucky winced. “I swear, if he ever put his hands on you, I’ll go find him right now and beat him senseless.”

“What if I wanted him to?”

He nearly saw red, but he knew he had no right to be angry. You were a grown adult and he had no ownership over you… he just sort of wished that he did.

“So it’s true then? You and him…?”

“No, Bucky,” you laughed, “it’s not. Nothing’s ever happened between us. I generally don’t get involved with clients like that.”

“Generally? Is there an exception?”

You chewed your lip, seemingly a little thrown off by his question. “Uh, I mean, no— I’ve never been involved with a client, no, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Why would you say ‘generally’ then?”

“Uh, I guess I just… I wouldn’t want to rule anything out, that’s all. Never say never.”

And for a moment he almost wondered if you were flirting with him. Certainly not, with him having come across as both a jealous hot-head and a bumbling dweeb who pops a boner faster than a randy teenager, but just for a second the way you looked at him was… questionable.

“I mean, who knows,” you continued, “what if, hypothetically, some gorgeous guy walked into my store one night— a sensitive guy, who made me laugh and put up with me rambling about ties for the better part of an hour— and I was supposed to dress him up when all I wanted to do was undress him?”

Your finger started to trail down his chest lightly, tickling his skin through the dress shirt.

“I wouldn’t want to think he was off-limits just because he’s a customer… right?” you asked quietly, looking up at him and biting your lip.

He was afraid to make the wrong move, but he really really hoped this was flirting.

“I don’t think anyone would object to being dressed or undressed by you,” Bucky responded, hoping he could stay neutral until he was sure what you were talking about.

You chewed your lip, looking away as if you were thinking about something.

"I know I certainly haven't. And wouldn't," he added, feeling the need to say something.

You nodded, placing his tie inside his jacket and seeming happy with your work.

“You know, the fit looks great," you announced, "but I’m a little worried that one of the measurements was wrong. Mind if I do your inseam again?”

His throat was dry all of a sudden, but he responded quickly anyways. "Uh, go ahead…"

You looked up at him as you started to sink to your knees, very slowly. That little move looked real good in the mirror behind you. “Last time I did this, there was something getting in the way, made it difficult to know if I was doing it right…”

"M-my apologies," he whispered.

"Oh no, I'm not complaining," you purred as you slowly began to run your fingers up the side of his leg, keeping searing eye contact until his knees felt a little weak.

When your hand reached the top of his inner thigh, the back of it brushed against his balls and he shivered. Delicately, and so excruciatingly slowly, your hand moved higher and gently rubbed his erection through the fabric.

“Fuck,” he whispered under his breath.

It must have been all the anticipation that made it so intense, made shivers run up his spine every time your hand moved over his length, made his toes curl inside the ridiculously fancy shoes you’d put him in.

“I’m gonna take it out now, okay? I promise I won’t measure you here,” you winked.

"You can if you want," he shrugged, deciding now was the time for feigned confidence if there ever was one. “I mean, if you’re worried about fit…”

You bit your lip, and he was proud to see the effect his words had on you. “I’ll be honest, I am a little worried it won’t fit…” You were quick with his belt, but slow with his button and fly, apparently having more fun teasing him. “Fuck, Bucky,” you groaned softly as you took his cock out.

“Don’t look so excited, doll, you’ll give me an ego,” he purred.

“Can’t help it,” you sighed, “looks delicious.”

You licked a long wet stripe up from the bottom all the way to the tip, making a show of licking up the bead of pre-cum before taking his head into your mouth, and Bucky blinked a few times to be sure that this was actually happening.

"Been wanting to do that since I first saw you," you admitted, grinning as you stroked him right beside your face, which only helped to illustrate how big he was compared to you.

"Dirty girl," he praised with a smirk.

Flirting, he wasn’t so good at. Conversation in any form typically stressed him out. But this? This he was still pretty good at. And he’d never wanted it so bad before.

When you took him in your mouth again, you didn’t stop until you started to gag; he couldn’t stop himself from moaning through his teeth when you did it.

"Look up at me, princess," he instructed softly, grinning when you obeyed quickly. "Now look over there at that mirror. Look how good you look on your knees for me, choking on my cock."

You moaned around him when you made eye contact with your own reflection, and it felt so fucking good he almost lost it right then and there. He held your jaw, almost too tightly, and guided you as your head bobbed on his length. Your mouth was so warm he thought he would burn up— and it only got warmer the deeper he managed to get. God, he was so ready to pump his load right into your throat, but he wanted to do so much more to you first.

In one quick motion, he pushed you off of his cock, pulled you up to face him, and flipped you around, holding you to his chest with the metal arm and letting the flesh one start rubbing your thigh. This way, both of you were looking at the mirror in front of you, and he loved watching you gasp and moan as you felt and watched his fingers move higher and higher.

“I think it’s time to find out if you really are ‘full-service’,” he purred right against your ear, making searing eye contact with you in the reflection. “You’ve seen so much of me, but I haven’t seen nearly enough of you yet. Been daydreaming about what you could be hiding under these tight little skirts.”

As he pulled up the plaid-patterned fabric, he saw that you were wearing white, lacy panties and he groaned deeply.

“What are you wearing these for?” he teased, rubbing along the edge but never getting where you wanted— and he knew you were getting desperate, because your hips were starting to buck up into his hand. “Were you expecting something would happen today, sweetheart?”

“I— I was hopeful,” you stammered; instantly, he slapped you right on your barely-covered pussy, just hard enough to make you yelp and squirm in his grasp.

“You’re so shameless,” he chuckled darkly, “and I love it. I just hope this isn’t your usual routine— acting all innocent and batting your eyes so your clients will fuck you.”

“No, I swear, it’s just you, Bucky,” you whimpered, “there’s nobody else, please…”

“Please what? Tell me what you want.”

“I want you to… to touch me more,” you whispered, as if it was a secret and not patently obvious.

He slipped two fingers underneath the thin fabric, finding your clit right away (not difficult at all with how swollen it was) and rubbing it in gentle circles.

“Oh god,” you sighed, “Bucky…”

WIth his hand on your hips, it wasn’t hard at all to push you back into him so he could rub his aching cock against you.

"What material is this skirt made of?"

"It's a silk blend," you answered breathlessly, "about 30% cotton."

"It's soft," he purred before yanking your skirt up higher and pressing his cock against your ass instead, "but not as soft as you."

Next to go was your blouse, which he tore open to the sound of buttons flying every direction and bouncing off of the mirrors and floors.

"Bucky!" you yelped, but he could see your nipples harden through the lacy white bra. If there was any doubt that you had intended to seduce him today, the matching undergarments dispelled it.

After teasing your nipples between his fingers for a moment, he reached back down between your legs— and when his fingers slipped through your folds and moved down to your opening, he actually moaned just from how wet you are.

"Fucking hell," he growled, "you are drenched, princess. You liked sucking me off that much?"

"Not just that," you clarified, "you look really good in my suits."

He gave you a toothy smile in the mirror, using it to nibble on your ear a bit. "You deserve most of the credit for that," he purred.

"No, no, I don't," you whined, "you'd look sexy in a paper bag, honestly… you turn me on so much, Bucky."

“Did you… think about me? After I left your shop the other night?” he asked playfully, already foreseeing your answer from the way your thighs clenched and your lips let out the subtlest gasp.

“Yes,” you whimpered.

“You’re smart enough to know I want you to be more specific than that,” he chuckled.

“I thought about you that night… after I got into bed…” you elaborated slowly, clearly distracted by the way he was moving his fingers: delicately, but with obvious intentionality. “I thought about what it would’ve been like if you had grabbed me and kissed me, shoved me against the wall, fucked me right there on my desk… in front of the glass wall, where anyone could’ve walked by and seen you claim me…”

His cock was throbbing, and he wasn’t sure if it was from the image itself or from the knowledge that you’d been fantasizing about it. “Were you touching yourself?” he growled.

“Yes,” you sighed, your thighs starting to visibly shake, your knees bending towards each other in the mirror.

“Show me how,” he demanded. “Show me exactly how you were playing with your needy little pussy while you thought about me.”

Your hand found its place on top of his, your fingers starting to move his to the specific place, guiding his movements to be faster and rougher.

“Oh, I see,” he grinned, “you don’t like to tease yourself, do you? You like to jump right into it, come as many times as you can and rub yourself raw in the process?”

You nodded feverishly, panting and whining and writhing in his grasp.

“You’re so desperate, honey… such a shameless cockwhore for me.”

“For you,” you repeated through your trance, “Bucky, ‘m close… keep touching me, please…”

He kept his thumb on your clit but gently slid one finger inside you, both of you gasping at the sensation (if for different reasons).

“So tight,” he hissed, already pulling it back out, “fuck, and just for one finger…”

“More, please,” you begged mindlessly.

“More? Sure you can take it?”

You bit down on your lip as you nodded, and he pushed a second finger in beside his first. He felt you struggling with it, both in your walls and in the way you winced a little, but you softly begged him to keep going so of course he couldn’t stop. You adjusted quickly, your wetness starting to run down his hand.

“Fuck me,” you whimpered, “now, please, can’t wait anymore.”

“Yes you can,” he encouraged, “and you will, cause I need to taste you first.”

Pulling his fingers out of you, he flipped you around again, finally kissing you the way he’d been dreaming of since he first saw you. It was intense but not too dominating— in spite of everything. It was a romantic sort of kiss, maybe too romantic for the situation (that being his cock out and hard and pressed against you, and his fingers covered in your arousal) but perfect nonetheless.

“That’s not what I thought you meant when you said you wanted to taste me,” you giggled when he pulled away.

“No, I meant it the other way,” he smiled, “I just wanted to do that first.”

He picked you up suddenly, making you gasp a bit, but knelt down to lay you on the floor pretty soon after. You looked up at him with wide eyes as he lifted your leg and kissed his way up. He could smell your need, and he worried it would drive him wild before he reached his destination.

Pulling your soaked panties aside, he realized he could probably come just from looking at you. “Such a gorgeous pussy,” he growled his praise, leaning down to plant a few more teasing kisses over the inside of your thighs. Finally, he started with one long lick, just like you had with him, but you weren’t so patient to tolerate it. Nearly instantly your fingers pulled his hair, clearly trying to guide him to tease you less, but he couldn’t be swayed to go easy on you.

“I hope you’re not forgetting who’s in charge,” he smiled hungrily.

“And what if I am?” you returned, clearly looking to get on his nerves so he’d get rough with you. He was happy to oblige.

Bucky sat up and loosened his tie, slipping it off of his neck with a smirk. "Now, this is 100% Venetian silk, so it should feel nice around your wrists," he cooed. You offered your hands willingly, and he got a chance to show off a few complex knots of his own. "Now be a good girl and keep those hands above your head, alright?"

You did as he asked, freeing him to hold your legs open as he devoured you, alternating between teasing your bud with the tip of his tongue, and fucking you with it.

"You taste like heaven, doll," he growled when he came up quickly, "and the way you moan when my tongue's inside you? I swear I could die happy right now."

"I wish you wouldn't though," you whimpered.

He laughed a bit before he got back to it, letting his tongue focus on your clit while he filled you with his fingers again. Your walls clenched down on him occasionally, and when it became more frequent just as your moans became louder, he knew you were close.

"Stop, stop," you sighed suddenly, pushing him away.

"Are you alright?" he asked, nervous he'd done something wrong.

"No I'm fine, I just… I don't want to come yet. I want you inside me first."

"And what about what I want, hm? What if I want to watch you come just from my tongue?" he offered instead, though he was definitely still very persuadable in this regard.

"I know you wanna fuck me, Bucky, don't make me wait any longer,” you moaned, your back arching up a little from the floor.

Not needing to be told twice, he flipped you onto your elbows and knees, making sure you could support yourself with bound wrists before letting you go. His hands running over your exposed ass and thighs made you shiver, and he smiled down at you. At this point, he was probably more desperate than you were, but he was doing a much better job of hiding it, even taking the time to reach up and undo a few of the buttons of his shirt, because wow suits are warm and not meant for his level of physical activity.

Still, he figured he had waited long enough— he needed to fuck you while he still had at least a shred of patience left. He was going to need it if he was going to give you time to adjust to him.

Holding his cock and rubbing it through your folds, he chuckled when you whined and dropped your head down in a pout. He loved watching your expression shift into a gasp as he pushed in.

He went slow, but he didn't stop either. He wanted to test you just a little. He wanted to stretch you open.

"Fuck," you cried, "god, you're so… you feel so…"

"Look in the mirror," he instructed coldly, although the coldness was just a front for the way he was holding himself back as your body swallowed him so beautifully.

You moaned again, higher-pitched and weak, just as he finally got all the way in. He waited until he felt your body relax a bit before he asked if it was okay for him to move yet. You answered with a quick nod, a breathy "please," and he didn't need any more encouragement.

It was probably too fast to start off with, but god, he'd been waiting so long to fuck you like this.

"Baby," he whispered, "you're so perfect."

He held you steady and thrusted deep, so deep that it made you gasp each time. You looked incredible, and you felt incredible, but the way you sounded was just… divine. He could never have imagined the beautiful way you would sound when he was bringing you pleasure like this. Having heard it, he wanted to make you sound like this as often as possible from now on. Technically he couldn’t even be sure he’d get another chance to, but surely sounds this perfect meant you had to be having a good time, right? Ideally a good enough time to call him again?

He was snapped back to focus when he saw your eyes flutter shut with pleasure.

"Don't look away from that mirror, honey," he growled, "don't close your eyes. Look how pretty you look like this."

He could tell you loved it from the way your channel fluttered and flexed.

"You like watching yourself get fucked, princess?"

"Yes," you sobbed as he grabbed your hips harder, hoping to leave a bruise, "it feels so good, Bucky, please don't stop!"

"I won't stop, pretty girl. Not until you cream on my cock," he grunted.

"Fuck, I'm close," you whined, "Bucky, I'm gonna come— oh god right there!"

And he was sure it couldn’t be fake from the way your body tightened and released so many times, the way you quivered and your breathing seemed to stop for a moment. Even though he could barely take it, he kept fucking you through it until you were shaking so violently that he worried about your health.

“You feel so goddamn good when you come, princess,” he moaned softly. “Tryin’ to milk my cock for all it’s worth, aren’t you?”

You laughed a little, sounding exhausted, but as he kept fucking you he could feel how sensitive you had become. When he reached down to push your skirt back up to your waist after it had started to fall down a bit, he felt his own movements in your gut and it took so much not to lose his cool in that moment. Instead, he pulled your upper body into his so that you could see in the mirror the way your lower stomach was bulging a bit each time he pushed in all the way.

"F-fuck, Bucky," you whimpered.

"Anybody ever been that deep inside you before?"

"No, not even close," you moaned.

"Am I hurting you?" he asked gently, kissing up and down your neck slowly to match his lazy, teasing thrusts.

"A little," you admitted, "but it feels good. Don't stop."

He wasn’t so brutal with his thrusts, still deep but with a patient, measured pace. It staved off his orgasm a bit longer, and it made you moan all slow and throaty which was not better or worse than the needy, high-pitched moans, but enjoyably different. You didn’t sound as desperate anymore (probably because you’d already come), instead seeming relaxed and calm— if still arching your back and biting your lip nonetheless.

"I wanna come inside you," he whispered right against your ear; he could feel the way you shivered as a result.

"Please," you whimpered.

"Is that what you want? Wanna be full of my come?"

"Yes," you sobbed, "yes, please Bucky I need it so bad!"

"Fuck, gonna fill you up so good, doll," he promised gruffly. "Want me to make you mine, beautiful?"

He knew it was a risky thing to say, but his risks had paid off so far, and he wasn't in his most cautious mood.

"Already yours, Bucky," you sighed, "I'm yours, please come in me…"

It hit him suddenly when you said that, and harder than he expected. He hadn't come like that in… he hadn't come like that ever. He preferred not to think about the sudden, wavering moan he let out in that moment because he wondered if it sounded unsexy, but thankfully his mind was distracted by the overwhelming sensation of his softening, sensitive cock still within you.

He managed to maneuver you in the way he needed as he pulled out, leaning you back into him and holding your legs open to the mirror in front of you.

"Look in the mirror, sweetheart,” he instructed, his whisper a little labored as he was still catching his breath, “watch my come leak outta your pussy."

You seemed to be in awe of it, despite it being the obvious outcome of what had just happened. To be fair, he was in awe of it in a sense, too; a thick, slow stream of sticky white come dripping down from your swollen hole and onto the floor… it was mesmerizing.

Your body was limp in his arms as he finally allowed you to rest, your eyes falling shut as you melted into his embrace. He took a moment to untie your wrists, tossing the garment aside with an exhausted sigh. “Bucky…” you mumbled sleepily, apparently just to say his name.

“Was that… sort of what you were hoping for today?” he asked softly, kissing your temple.

“And more,” you giggled. “Oh my god, I… I don’t even know how to describe that… you’re so… fuck, I don’t know, my brain is totally jelly right now.”

“In a good way?”

“In the best way.”

He smiled, admiring your vacant-yet-pleased expression and feeling satisfied with his work. You turned over to lay your head on his chest, and he gladly draped his arms around you in response. Holding you like this felt so purely right, in a way so few things did to him. Funny enough, even just having fucked you on the floor and already holding you afterwards right now, he felt nervous again that he would say something wrong. You were a modern woman, after all, and maybe this was this ‘hook-up culture’ he kept hearing about.

“Was that true what you said, doll?” he asked gently, feeling you stir a little and slide a leg up to rest over his. “Did you mean it when you said that you were mine? Or was it just, you know, the heat of the moment…?”

You smiled a little, looking kind of embarrassed. “Um, yeah, I meant that… I’m yours, if you want me to be.”

He didn’t feel as guilty for feeling so possessive over you now. Clearly it was appreciated, in the right context. And he was now at least 75% sure that this wasn’t a hook-up. “Well, I’m yours, too,” he replied with a soft laugh, “whether you want me or not.”

“I want you,” you confirmed.

You laid in silence together for some unknowable amount of time, but it was a purely unawkward silence. A peaceful silence, and one filled with possibilities, but not uncomfortable. Maybe it was uncomfortable in the sense that the carpet, while still being very plushy and expensive, was still the floor and not as forgiving as a bed… but it was completely worth it.

Part of him feared to ruin the moment by speaking, but much more of him feared that you would slip out of his grasp if he didn’t say something. "This may be the wrong time to ask this— or maybe just the wrong order to do this stuff in— but I wanted to ask if you'd like to join me for dinner sometime."

You laughed, but cuddled deeper into his chest. "Um, yeah, that would be nice."

"I just hope I'll find something nice to wear," he grinned.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes headcanons #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n

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pluviophile-bookworm · 3 years

Text

Some previously unshared HSMTMTS thoughts because it’s apparently my new hyperfixation

I decided to rewatch the Belle audition scene this morning (and have been watching it on loop for hours since), and I just... I love it so much! So now I’ve got some things to say about it and about the series in general because it’s all I’ve been able to think about for over a week.

My favourite parts, in no particular order:

Carlos starting off the song (Frankie’s voice just, how you say, butters my toast, waters my crops, clears my skin... is that what young people say these days? Boy, I feel way too old)

Seb's expressive singing - he should have been given a part that actually gets to sing and I will die on this hill

Ashlyn absolutely nailing the role of Belle (can we talk about her facial expressions and gestures in the 'no sir, not me...' part tho)

Ricky absolutely blowing the audition... how he got the lead is still a mystery to me. Being awkward and unprepared is in character for Troy, but not for Beast [side note: I usually refer to the Beast by his actual name, Adam, and I just find it funny that his name literally means ‘man’... IDK, this is old news, like last-century old, but that doesn’t stop it from being funny]

Gina doing a French accent... or at least trying to. Also, it’s totally visible in her audition why she got Babette, whereas some other people’s casting is questionable at best (*cough* Ricky as the Beast and Seb as Chip *cough*)

Big Red being adorably awkward and hiding behind his sheet music

Carlos' high-pitched rendition of Gaston's part - he was like, yeah, I'm not even gonna bother - and we love him for that

EJ just effortlessly being Gaston, while Ricky does that ridiculous fake deep voice (so adorable btw)

Just literally everyone being themselves and having their little quirks. Not Lily, though. That girl can go to Hartford, Hereford and Hampshire and I hope she stays there.

Some things I want from upcoming episodes and I want them NOW:

Their version of ‘Gaston’ - I need EJ to finally sing again, plus if they don’t give LeFou a tap solo I will riot! They can’t just waste casting my Reddy in the role, right? Right?

Carlos singing, nay, performing ‘Be Our Guest’ (I need more of Frankie’s voice this instant) and putting on a French accent that is lowkey better than Antoine’s, which will eventually lead to the revelation that ‘Antoine’ is not French at all, and his name is, like, Anthony or something. IDK, that’s just a little theory I’ve had for a while. Just... let Frankie sing more, ok?

[On that note, who is their Cogsworth? I’m lowkey hoping it’s Kaden, he was cool in the auditions. Or will Cogsworth be given the Ryan treatment from last season? I guess when someone is cast opposite Seblos that person turns into a living prop, which... cool for my boys getting their time to shine, but the background characters are kind of underrated. Be that as it may, I need answers re: Cogsworth now!]

More of Seb calling Kourtney ‘Mom’, that was precious plus I miss their interactions. I’m still bitter that Seb didn’t get an actual singing role, but if that’s how things are, let’s try and make the most of it, right?

Big Red confronting Antoine about Ashlyn, but like, in a mature and classy way. That would be so cool! I mean, I know it’s probably not happening, but a girl can dream, right?

WHOLESOME SEBLOS WHOLESOME SEBLOS OK please don’t let them have a fight or anything I can’t handle any more relationship drama, the Redlyn jealousy arc is quite enough please and thank you

#hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #hsmtmts s2 #ricky bowen #ej caswell #gina porter #ashlyn caswell #carlos rodriguez #seb matthew-smith #big red redonovich #kourtney greene #beauty and the beast #seblos #redlyn #jnk

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dariaslore · 3 years

Note

1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 16, 20, 21 for Griffin x Valtor

1.What was their first impression of each other?

Well, the first thing that crossed Valtor's mind as he saw her was to play her. He was in front of a good looking witch and he thought she would've been swooning over him in no time. Valtor had just found his new puppet, ready to satisfy all of his ego's whims. He began flirting, but little did he know, Griffin hated his attitude. She hated his manners, everything about him seemed over stressed, emphasized and fake, he was playing a character she didn't like at all, plus she couldn't stand his bigger than life ego. Griffin could see what he was aiming at and she immediately tried to be straightforward and it turned out like "Everybody knows you're hot, but I'm here to work. I don't have time for sex."

3.Describe their relationship dynamic.

Bickering couple, they take everything as an intellectual fight and live for their bantering. Debating is their favorite activity and the topics can range between "what is best to eat for lunch" and "is the Council biased?". They tend to joke (some are very sexual) a lot, sass and sarcasm at their full potential, who can annoy the other the most is the winner.

( Valtor: Take that stuff away from my room!

Griffin: It's my plants, I live in this room now and I want them to stay with me.

Valtor: I don't care!

Griffin: Poor thing, I forgot they ruin your whole 'dandy wizard' aesthetic!

Valtor: Exactly. Buy me red roses instead, they look good with marble. Better if almost rotten, the decadence, the sweet perfume of death, you know?

Griffin: *facepalm* )

When it comes to feelings he's very closeted, but she tries to get him out of his shell.

4.What was their relationship like before they got together?

Bad. Griffin hated him and he hated her. Coven' members were annoyed by their dynamics and couldn't understand how childish their 'cracked to be power duo' was.

6. What do they love about each other?

Valtor is in love with her brain. He finds her simply brilliant and is always listening to her in awe whenever she comes up with a new plan. She's got wit and sass, her heart is as big as her brain is. He loves how she doesn't mock him for everything he does and she is willing to pay attention to his interest (something his mothers never did), so he feels comfortable enough to share his passions and doubts. He doesn't feel under scrutiny when she's around, he can be free to be and her smiles when she's proud of his doing are priceless. He loves the fact she truly cares about him and she's soo confident (it makes her so hot).

Griffin is a die hard for his charisma and she was quite surprised when he turned out to be most sensitive person she had ever met. She fell in love with his soul.

7. What do they have in common?

They are both ambitious and so into magic knowledge. Without magic and their drive for knowledge they would've never met. Their love bloomed between researches, books, ancient spells, strategies and missions, that's why even after they had gotten together, they still referred to each other as "partners" and not "boyfriend or girlfriend". Their partnership was almost sacred with a very deep bond. They're both dreamers, even though she's way more pragmatic and he's an hopeless decadent, they're prideful, vain and value their privacy. They may share some similarities and common interests (magic, history...) but their strength comes from the differences.

9. What made them realize they were in love?

They were fighting and teasing each other as always, they realized the might've liked and enjoyed that merciless bantering.

Griffin and Valtor started growing closer and their partnership got stronger and stronger as time passed. Sex came first, there was sexual attraction and they became "partners in crime with benefits". Then, after overcoming some barriers, they began to get to know each other more and more, he was finally showing her something real and she liked the fact he trusted her so much that he put aside the mask of the almighty and fabulous sorcerer from time to time. Valtor had gotten used to having her around, she was a great company and when he felt jealousy inside him for the first time by seeing her talking to another member of the Coven who had wanted her for a while, he realized that maybe it was more than just a partnership between the two of them. He hated to stay away from her and all her sides he had hated before, were now his favorites: the same witch he had thought a control freak and mean, whose now he adored the intelligence and sarcasm. Griffin knew she was slowly falling in love, but she was in denial, she believed it would've been just a fleeting crush and she tried every way to make it go away, she calculated pros and cons and looked for every single flaw in Valtor's personality to make him repulsive. But she loved those flaws. The witch was in love.

16. What do other characters think about this relationship?

Coven's members were happy they kinda stopped fighting all the time, some women (and men) were envious Griffin was his partner and lover. Griffin's friends were thrilled and found their couple really hot (where did she find such a good looking man?).

The Ancestral Witches had a controversial point of view, whilst they were satisfied they finally got along, their convergences were a blast and Valtor had a babysitter (the witches knew about his mental state, at least there was someone keeping him safe and sane now. The years before meeting Griffin had been really dark, the Ancestral were tired of the wizard self destructive behavior.) they feared the relationship might've distracted their son from fulfilling his destiny (he was created to be a weapon, not for love and kisses). They saw a threat in Griffin's figure, therefore they never treated her roughly, but always kept an eye on her. When Liliss found out of their relationship she said "This is going to end bad." Belladonna and Tharma were thrilled, Liliss was not, she knew the repercussions on their son if she ever left.

Griffin's father wasn't happy, he was worried and he tried to warn her daughter about what she was getting herself into, but she had to follow her path and he couldn't stop her from living her life and making choices (the witch was too stubborn).

Faragonda was also worried, very worried.

20. What does a typical date look like for them?

They're partners in crime, always together, and they can make a date out of nothing. A raid on a planet? That's a date. Stealing spells? Date. Spying on enemies? Another date. Theft on Eraklyion? The. Best. Date. Ever.

Whisperia is a bustling planet (I hc they lived there), there's always a ton of stuff to do. They didn't have a lot of free time, but they managed to make it worthy by going to some very classy nightclubs and going shopping (for Valtor's happiness. She's into fashion as well, but he's addicted)

He sometimes likes going to the theater and the opera (the drama queen he is), she doesn't understand a thing she's watching and it can bore her to death, but he's happy and she loves seeing him so engaged while he's explaining to her what is going on (she has to admit he's a wonderful storyteller and his humanistic culture is astonishing). She will definitely drag him to museums and scientific and political conventions where they discuss about magic and Magix's politics in a very technical way. Stargazing was another main activity, they could've spent hours talking under the dark sky (they did).

21. What’s a really significant moment in their relationship?

One of the most significant moment in their relationship was the first night they hang out together. The Ancestral were tired of their tantrums and decided it was time for them to bond, so Valtor and Griffin were forced to spend some free time together. The Witches thought it was important for their partnership to be strong also out of the battlefield, only in that way it could've unleashed its true potential. They had a new mission and it was building trust. And that night was just the beginning. (They were both slowly introduced in each other's own world). Another significant moment was Griffin seeing his demon form for the first time. It was a divide, a fracture, after that, their relationship was in free fall. Darkness became too much to handle, he was breaking, his mental health spiraling down towards insanity and she couldn't fall into pieces with him. It was toxic, his behavior, how Valtor got so obsessed with her she couldn't leave him alone for more than a minute. Griffin was sleeping next to a ticking bomb ready to implode, pressure from his mothers was too much, the demon rising, and she was afraid to hurt him.

There was no communication, she tried to understand and he erected walls, pretended everything was fine and at the same time he blamed it on himself if she was sad or angry for whatever reason. A dichotomy, the demon pursuing his mother's biddings and the man living just for her smile, fleeting sanity still standing in the name of their love.

#this took a long time #thank you for your question💕#winx #winx club #winx griffin #winx valtor #griffin × valtor #covenshipping #darkpoisonouslove

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solarianvoidthearoace · 3 years

Text

Excerpt#5 from my JonGerry AU WiP

CN/TW: misunderstanding, relationship miscommunication, jealousy

By the time they left to pick up Martin, only five minutes later than planned, they were back to their playful banter. Laughing while walking through the evening air, feeling like teens when they had snuck out at night to talk for hours.

When they first met with Martin, he looked like he very strongly wanted to comment on their appearance, but nonetheless he kept quiet.

Only after they had arrived at the art show, Gerry walking off to find Gertrude after putting on his lanyard marking them as an assistant, Martin and Jon got a moment to themselves.

“You look stunning”, Martin finally mumbled. Gerry had done a good job, picking Jon’s outfit. He wore wide ‘Marlene’-pants, almost passing for an ankle-skirt. Combined with a blouse similar to the one Jon had worn on the party but floatier while patterned in a colourful paisley.

Smiling a bit flustered, Jon brushed his hair back,

“Thank you. You as well.” Before offering his hand and interlacing their fingers.

Gerry got his share of compliments from Sasha.

“Damn, I didn’t know you could look this classy”, she nudged his shoulder when they left the final briefing with Gertrude. Gerry barely stopped himself from scratching at their head. Jon had spend about half an hour, as soon as their hair was dry enough, to put it into a decent hairdo. What Gerry ended up with, was a crown braid. Obviously Jon had left the broad strands framing their face to fall loose, but a few centimetres back sat the rather thick braid atop Gerry’s head like a hair circlet. After putting the attention to that part of the style, Jon had simply continued the two halves of the crown braid as French braids. Positioning them to run along the back of Gerry’s head without really looking like they were one. Instead, after there was no more space to French braid, Jon had tucked just the tail ends underneath. The rest-length of the braids that would hang loose was pinned underneath the circlet in the back. In a way so it covered the entire back of Gerry’s head, from the nape up to the main braid.

Instead they fidgeted with one of the loose strands, smiling a bit sheepishly,

“I feel like that compliment goes to Jon, actually. He put the work in. And you don’t look half bad yourself. As always.” Sasha grinned them. Her dark skin did contrast nicely with the airy lime-green blouse she had donned for the night. The fabric shifting gently but extensively as she shrugged,

“Still, it’s you looking good in it. And now go, I know you don’t want to abandon your date.” Gently pushing him back to the area around the entrance, she turned towards the growing crowd of guests.

As Gerry made their way back to Martin and Jon, he got stopped twice with a question about the paintings on sale. Politely explaining he was the one with in-depth knowledge about the themes, art style and technique, the talks ended rather quickly. As per usual, people looking to buy art weren’t exactly interested in knowing the actual interpretation or any technical specifics about the paintings.

When they caught up with the two men again, the two were seemingly discussing a painting they stood in front of. Smirking, Gerry just waited, admittedly trying to listen in. For someone who had proclaimed to not know anything about art, Jon actually had a good feeling for what the painting was not only illustrating but also the subtler, more in-depth interpretation of it. When Martin continued to look doubtful, he made his entrance.

“If I may help the gentlemen. I’m here as the expert on the artist’s technique as well as how to interpret the works in regards to their individual themes”, he even threw in a slight bow for good measure.

After a slight shove from Jon, the evening continued more or less as anticipated. The two of them looked around, Gerry easily explained the paintings they asked them about.

It even lead to some more people approaching him, suddenly interested in more than just the looks of the art works.

After one such presentation of a painting, Gertrude approached them. Jon and Martin had wandered into the next part of the gallery, leaving Gerry to their task.

“I don’t know what you did, Delano, but we have already had more definite sales as we usually have this early into a gallery show. People didn’t just reserve specific works, they actually wanted to set up paperwork.” Gerry snorted,

“Apparently I should bring someone with more often. As soon as I was talking, people around us got interested and asked to have other paintings explained as well. Sure, almost nobody asked about technique anything, but the themes seem to make an impact.” Gertrude had to stretch, considering they wore 6 inch platform-heels, against her wishes, and pushed at 2 metres as it was. Still, she patted him on the shoulder,

“You’re good at what you do. And you knew how to sell yourself even before I got to refine that. This is exactly why I want you on these shows, once you get talking you draw people in.”

She drew her hand back to wag a finger at them,

“Don’t let that get to your head, though.”

Gerry made a face, trying his very best not to laugh,

“Trudie, if I remember correctly…”, they raised a hand placatingly,

“Of course, you handle the finance and management side of things, without you I never would have made it this far. But it’s still a fact that the both of us have been making good money for years now. I think”, he finally did grin,

“I am somewhat allowed to have a bit of an ego.” She huffed, lightly slapping their still raised hand out of the air. Shaking her head in exasperation, she put her hands on her hips,

“You are a nuisance, I stand by that. But, you are also worth more than the time and work I put out to build you up. I’m proud of you, Gerard… Gerry.” He blinked. This was far from the first time Gertrude openly praised them but it always was a rare and far in-between thing, elegantly framed by reprimands to not slack off.

“Now, don’t get all soft and emotional with me. The evening isn’t over!”

Jon and Martin had sat down on one of the padded benches. Just sitting together for a moment, taking in the art they were surrounded by. Martin was more interested in paintings and other forms of art, while Jon didn’t really care to know much about it. Or so he had thought. Tonight had proved him wrong, when Jon’s guess at several pieces’ interpretation had been confirmed by Gerry themself. It was nothing Gerry had praised him for, nothing Jon had gotten smug about. But it was something Martin had noticed as distinct nonetheless.

He tried to make the best of the evening with Jon while Gerry was occupied with their job. After all, Martin had wanted to take Jon to an art exhibit at the museum or something similar, so he wanted to not miss out on that. But for now they just sat together, chatting politely and lightly, not even particularly about the art.

It was nice, amiable.

Jon drew back his arm from around Martin, again reaching to interlace their fingers. The smile blooming on his face made Martin trail off, instead looking at Jon in adoration. Cautiously, as he was so attentive to always treat Jon, Martin lifted their hands. He was about to press a kiss to Jons fingers, when he noticed something.

“Huh”, leaning back, to instead inspect the fingers, he looked at Jon,

“Did something happen before you came here? Your nails are tinged.” Jon blinked, pulling his hand back to take a look for himself. Judging by the colour of it, he had a pretty tangible idea what had happened. Shaking his head, he was more laughing to himself about it, really. At Martin’s still questioning look, his giggle turned into a smile,

“Gerry felt the need to put semi-permanent purple over the black hair colour I helped him with.” Martin smiled, a bit reserved, still,

“Oh, so you helped them again?” Jon shook his head, feeling the heat creeping onto his cheeks to accompany his giddy smile with a blush. “No, well…”, he ducked his head,

“We showered together before we got ready.” Clasping his hands in his lap, he pressed his lips together, trying to suppress a new grin.

“Oh”, Martin sounded off, somehow,

“That’s nice. I guess.” Jon blinked, looking up at his boyfriend. His expression rapidly becoming quizzical, brows creasing,

“Is something wrong?”

“No”, Martin answered a bit too quickly,

“No, no. It’s fine. Of course there is nothing wrong”, he waved the idea away, huffing a bit,

“It’s fine, really, Jon.”

Jon slowly became concerned, Martin was definitely upset, despite denying it so insistently. But before he got another chance to ask, Martin’s gaze flickered up, over Jon’s shoulder. The man’s posture stiffening even more. Now actively listening for it, Jon heard Gerry’s heels drawing closer. When they came to a stop behind him, he didn’t turn, keeping his eyes on Martin.

He looked… bristly. Not exactly irritated, per se. But something was upsetting him in a way that made him withdraw. Clam up and shut Jon out.

“Looks like the night is drawing to a close”, Gerry began. Instead of sitting down like a sensible adult, he leaned forward, resting his arms on Jon’s shoulders, looking over his head.

“Are you ready to get going for that dinner we had planned?” Martin stood abruptly, distancing himself from where Gerry and Jon were. Clearing his throat, he took a deep breath,

“I… I think I should go”, his voice returning to its usual softness, tentativeness,

“I don’t want to… to intrude on your evening. A-any more, that is.” And without so much as a proper goodbye, he walked out on them.

After a moment, having stood up again, Gerry softly clicked his tongue,

“Okaaaaaay… what did I miss?” Jon sighed, shoulders slumping as he finally turned towards them,

“Same thing I don’t understand, apparently.”

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rosekmorgan · 4 years

Text

I am in a medical trial for a supplement to make people more perceptive. Unfortunately, it works.

[check tags for cws]

“Question thirteen,” I was mid-beer-sip when the announcer, a cheerful man who I knew only by the name of “Trivia Guy”, read out the next question. “In a human body, bacterial cells outnumber actual human cells by a ratio of three to one, ten to one, or six to one?”

“It’s ten to one,” Jack said. He sounded pretty confident about it, too.

“That’s a common misconception,” Lis responded, her eyes shining with the unmistakable joy of someone who is about to tell someone else they’re wrong. “It’s actually a lot closer to three to one. I was reading this article about gut microbiomes and fecal transplants the other day, and --”

“Jesus,” I looked at the plate of nachos shared between the four of us. The pile of chili on top didn’t look as appealing as it had moments before. “Can we not?”

She grabbed a chip herself, then, in classic Lis fashion, continued to talk through her full mouth.

“Alright, fine, but I’m telling you, it’s three to one.”

Jack grunted, writing something down on the answer sheet. Seeing as Lis was a bio major and Jack was in CompSci with me, I hoped he took her answer.

“Question fourteen,” Trivia Guy pulled no punches. “According to a poll from Cosmopolitan magazine, the worst vacation fashion trend was speedos, socks and sandals, or Hawaiian shirts?”

“Socks and sandals.” Sadie spoke up first. She didn’t even wait for anyone else to comment before she snatched the answer sheet from Jack and began to write it down.

“Oh, definitely,” I agreed, a few moments too late for it to matter. But hey -- Sadie was the reason our trivia team was ever anything besides dead last (not to mention the only one of the four of us who’d ever cracked open a copy of Cosmo). I took another sip of the beer and cringed slightly. Corona is not what I’d normally go for, but that night, the price point meant a lot more to me than the quality.

The night continued on in a haze of shitty beer and nachos that went cold far too fast. We didn’t place this week, but we were all slightly buzzed, so we got over it. As Trivia Guy made his final remarks, the waitress came and gave us our bills. My total for the night was $40, and that was before adding a tip. I could cover it, but just barely. Sadie watched me as I pulled out the cash and put it down on the table, completely emptying my wallet of change.

I stood up. My head spun for a moment, but it wasn’t too bad.

“I think I’m gonna have to skip next week.” I didn’t know why I felt the need to announce it to everyone. Probably the vodka that had come before the Corona. I regretted it the moment I said it -- way to look like a broke loser in front of everyone. Great one, Brent.

We shuffled out of the bar in a sea of other beer-sticky, stumbling students. Lucky for us, it wasn’t a long walk; All four of us lived on campus. There were probably cheaper places to get drunk on a Thursday, but there weren’t more conveniently located ones, and certainly none with trivia.

We said goodbye to Jack first, then Lis. I had a vague awareness of the May air being frigid, but it didn’t register with me on a physical level. The alcohol had taken off the edge of a Canadian spring that still thinks it’s winter. A coat would have been a more responsible way to handle it, but hey. Whatever works.

“You’re broke.” The words weren’t stated, but slurred. I watched Sadie as she swayed side to side. In the bar, it hadn’t been clear just how drunk she was. A delayed reaction, she clasped her hands over her mouth, then said something that was probably “I’m sorry!” into the palms of her hands. I just laughed.

“Yeah, I’m broke. What gave it away? The fact that I have no money?” Not my cleverest comeback. Not technically true, either -- I didn’t have money to throw around, but it’s not like I’d starve. I still had my meal plan and two parents who tolerated me, so I wasn’t exactly in dire straits.

“I’ve got an idea.” She grabbed my arm, her nails poking me through my hoodie, and I recoiled. Sharper than they looked. “No, really!”

“Alright, what is it then?” I half expected her to try and sell me on the essential oil bullshit I knew her sister was into, but then again, Sadie was always the brighter of the two.

“Dr. Davidson asked us to try and get him some subjects for some experiment he’s running.” She grinned. I had no idea who he was -- being in CompSci myself, I wasn’t familiar with any of the professors over in the psych department. I thought she’d said the name before, but I was never good with names -- especially the names of people I had no reason to care about.

“Okay, and?” I’d gone into experiments at Sadie’s behest before and never really gained that much from the experience. In one of them I got two marshmallows, which I appreciated. Most of them just involved watching videos of shapes dancing about on a screen and then writing a story about whether you thought the triangle and the square were friends or enemies. Neither of those were going to help me buy another night of beers.

“He’s paying participants $100 for being a part of it.” I froze in my tracks. $100 wasn’t life-changing - not for me, anyway - but it was more than enough to solve the problem of not having the spare cash to get wasted. “I wanted to do it myself, but he says we’re not allowed to if we’re in his class. He doesn’t want to ‘inadvertently prime’ us or anything.”

“Hell yeah,” I nodded, though Sadie hadn’t asked a question. “Yeah, I’ll do it. That sounds great. Do you think there’ll be any marshmallows?”

Before long, we were at our dorm complex. I helped Sadie to her room, and in return she promised me that she’d text me the details in the morning.

I made my way back to my own dorm. I unlocked the door and sighed. I hated the room. It was small -- scarcely room for a single nightstand between Tareq’s bed and my own. He was asleep already, a flat cardboard box that smelled of pepperoni flipped open on the nightstand. He was a good enough guy, but God, the number of pizza boxes that room had seen must rival all of Italy.

I was asleep by the time my head hit the pillow. I awoke what felt like five minutes later to the blaring of my alarm. The morning began like any other -- with me blindly grasping for my phone. Alarm turned off, I noticed a text from Sadie. She’d kept her word (as she always did) and sent me the details on where and when I could find Dr. Davidson.

Lucky for me, I had no classes that Friday. I’d done my damndest to cram everything else into the other four days of the work week to extend my weekend. When I finally rolled out of bed around 11:30, there were only two things on my mind: breakfast and Davidson.

After pancakes and coffee -- thank God for meal plans -- I took another look at the text. Davidson’s office was, to my surprise, in the science complex. Most of Sadie’s classes were in the McPherson building - an ancient brick monolith crawling with ivy - and that was where all the studies I’d been a part of before had taken place. I’d assumed that’s where I’d find Davidson, but apparently not.

Davidson’s office hours weren’t until three, so I headed back to my room to get showered. I didn’t know exactly what kind of test subject he was hoping for, but I figured being halfway presentable would probably be a good start. I nearly tripped over Tareq’s iPad in the process. He had a habit of leaving it unlocked on the bathroom floor, for reasons I tried not to learn.

Stone-cold sober, I made the decision to wear an actual jacket as I headed off to the science complex. The building had a name other than “science complex”, but I could never remember it since no one called it that. It was the newest building on campus, one of those angular glass monstrosities that makes any fan of classical architecture cry and bemoan the decline of society. I liked it well enough, but I was in the minority.

I got lost finding my way to Davidson’s office -- it was in the basement, and none of the elevators seemed to go down there. It was only after talking to a group of tense zoology students that I managed to get conclusive directions.

As far as basements went, the science complex’s was pretty damn classy. Since they couldn’t exactly carry on the whole glass-walls theme underground, they’d gone with a smooth black faux-marble. Comparing it to the basement where one of my small-group sessions took place -- where the black on the walls was almost certainly mold -- I felt a surge of jealousy.

Davidson’s office was not as classy as the surrounding corridors. Papers lay scattered around an oak desk clearly much older than the building itself, a man even older still seated behind it. His hair was dark, but streaked with grey that he made no attempt to cover, and his face was softly wrinkled. Looking at him, I had no idea how old the man was, but presumably old enough that he should have done a better job cleaning the place. I knocked on the open door and he looked up. His brows knit together and he squinted, the face of someone trying to figure out if they’re supposed to know you or not.

“Dr. Davidson?” I asked. His name had been on the door, but it didn’t hurt to confirm. He tilted his head like an inquisitive puppy, and I winced as his neck cracked. He didn’t seem to notice.

“Yes?” His voice caught me off guard - it was smoother than I would have assumed from his appearance. He waited patiently, big brown eyes staring expectantly in my direction.

“I’m here about the, uh, study.” It would have helped had I known what he was researching, but Davidson beamed up at me. Clearly he knew what I was talking about, even if I didn’t.

“You’re interested in participating?”

“Yeah. A friend of mine, Sadie, she’s in one of your classes,” I watched him process the name, trying to figure out who Sadie might be. “She said you were doing a study with compensation.” I winced after saying it -- way to look desperate.

“Yes,” He smiled, shaking his head, bemused. “A hundred as soon as you’re approved, and a hundred at the conclusion.” My eyes bulged. Sadie had said there was $100 compensation total -- I guess she’d finally been mistaken about something. All the better for me.

Davidson rifled through the papers on his desk, licking his thumb to help him separate a set of sheets. “We’ll need to make sure you’re fit first, of course.” He held two pages out, and I finally left his doorway to approach the desk. “Both of these can be done at the clinic on Stonemason Ave.”

I frowned as I took the papers. This I wasn’t expecting. One was a letter requesting an EKG, and the second a blood test. “You’ll need to put your info at the top of those there, but once you’ve filled them out you can get tested. They fax the results straight to me, same day.”

For a moment, I wondered what kind of psychology experiment needed an EKG and blood test, but the doctor continued. “Once I’ve got the documents, you come back and we can fill out your consent form. And,” he paused, grinning, “get you the first payment.”

Despite my moment of apprehension, I was grinning back at him. I took one more look at the papers, and gave him a nod. “Awesome.”

Davidson let me know my deadline for the testing, but he didn’t need to -- the second I was out of the science complex, I was on my way to the clinic. When both tests were through, it was dinner time. My parents were coming to visit on Saturday and Davidson had no office hours Sunday, so I resolved to visit him right at three on Monday.

The weekend flew by. It always did when my parents came. It was their mission to cram as much family time as possible into every visit. They lived just an hour away from the campus, but I was an only child. I didn’t really know what it was like for them, but I must have made the house feel different for me to not be around. Dad was always saying how empty it felt, while my mom told me how happy she was that I was pursuing my passion. Mixed messages, maybe, but think they just missed me. I missed them too. We always were close.

I woke up at 7:45am on Monday. I was one of the few who liked morning classes; I thought it was more practical to get class done early in the day so I had the afternoon to do whatever I wanted. This meant by the time three rolled around, I was finished class for the day and ready to pay Davidson another visit.

His office was tidier than it had been the last time. Papers were still scattered around the room, but they had coalesced into semi-defined piles. He seemed excited to see me.

“Wonderful news!” was how he began the conversation. The blood test and EKG had come through normal, which meant that it was time for me to sign my consent form -- and receive my first payment.

I skimmed the document. I didn’t understand a lot of it, but I also didn’t care. Much to my surprise, this wasn’t going to be another marshmallow or shape storytelling study. This was a full-on medical trial. Or, well...something like that. I was fuzzy on the details. Myself, and the other subjects, were going to be given some sort of supplements. I wasn’t on any medications they could interfere with, and I didn’t have any heart conditions that they could aggravate. Animal trials had indicated that, in mice, the supplements boosted reaction times and functioning in tests of reasoning. The most notable finding was that the rodents were more “generally perceptive”, whatever that meant.

The last sheet of the document included a list of seven other names. Below that were two lines for me to sign - one confirming that I consented to take part in the study, and the other confirming I did not know any of the seven listed people. I scrawled Brent Haywood twice*,* wrote my phone number and email below, and a few minutes later I was walking out of the room with $100 cash. I was giddy. $100 wasn’t much, but at least I wasn’t going to miss trivia after all.

I didn’t see Davidson again until Thursday. He’d emailed asking me to meet him and the other participants in the science complex. This time we didn’t meet in the basement, but in a small aboveground lab. I thought I was prompt, getting there right at three -- but when I walked in, there were already nine people present.

Davidson stood at the front of the room, a tray of bottles behind him. He flipped through some papers, whispering to the woman standing next to him. The other seven, clearly students, were in chairs organized into a rough semi-circle. One seat remained right on the end, next to a girl who looked to be a year or two my senior. Her brown eyes were warm and inviting, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested. She smiled as I sat down. I opened my mouth to greet her, but Davidson cleared his throat to gather our attention, cutting off any attempts at flirting.

“Hello!” He smiled and waved, and I couldn’t help but smile back. In the light of the lab, not crammed behind a desk, he looked a bit better off. He had an energy about him, that kind that radiates from anyone who has a genuine passion for what they do.

“You all know me, but I’d like to introduce you to Ms. Gill. She’s a fantastic woman and she’ll be assisting me throughout the duration of this study. Ms. Gill and I have worked together for the last few years, and she has even taken the lead on some of our most recent animal studies.” Davidson beamed like a proud parent. The faintest pink blush graced her cheeks as she smiled.

“Nice to meet all of you. I’ve got all of your consent forms here, but I would like to ask one more time before we begin: do any of you know each other?”

I looked down the line of chairs. Counting me, there were four men and four women. It struck me as an awfully small group, but this wasn’t my field. I didn’t know any of them. One man looked familiar -- I’d definitely seen him before. I was about 90% sure he worked at the Subway on campus. That hardly counted as knowing him, though. I looked back to Gill and shook my head. There were some murmurs of no from my cohorts.

“Excellent. Now, it is absolutely critical to the integrity of this study that at no point do you attempt to contact any of these fine folks outside of the context of the study. As we want to measure your individual responses to the supplement, we don’t want to muddy the waters by having you discuss your experiences with each other outside of the lab.”

I shot the girl next to me an exaggerated frown. She stifled a laugh, and turned her eyes back to Gill.

Gill went on to explain the process. She would be giving us each a bottle of the supplement. We were to take one pill each morning at eight o’clock. Failures to take it on time would need to be reported immediately. Every weekday, we’d report back to the lab at an assigned time and complete some basic reasoning tasks to assess any impact the supplement had on our abilities over time. For me, that meant I’d need to haul my ass out to the science complex at seven o’clock in the evening for the foreseeable future. I scowled - that was going to be annoying. The good news was that we had no need to show up on weekends.

The next morning, I woke up at 7:45 with a mild hangover. Trivia had been the night before. I’d thanked Sadie again for the lead, and she’d admitted she was surprised about the fact that there were only eight people there.

“I’d expected more,” she told me, sipping on her cider. “Assuming half of you are actually taking the supplement, the rest a placebo, that’s only four people in each group!”

“Who cares?” I asked, holding up my own. No discounted Corona this week. “Cheers to Davidson!”

It didn’t take long to make my hair look tolerable and pull on some clothes. A second alarm went off at eight, reminding me that it was time for me to take my first dose of the supplement. Tareq, not a morning person, growled into his pillow.

I didn’t give the pill itself much thought - it looked like a multivitamin, and it tasted like something that’d fallen to the back of an oven and continued to burn there for over a year before someone realized and pulled it out. I nearly gagged, but it was nothing half a bottle of Sprite couldn’t help with.

Nothing felt that out of the ordinary throughout the day, but I wasn’t really sure what I’d expected. It sure as hell wasn’t the pill from Limitless. The only difference I really noticed in my own behaviour was that I was overanalyzing everything I did and trying to figure out if it was the pill’s fault. Was I slightly jumpier today? Was I thinking about the pill too much because of the pill?

No. None of that. Obviously.

At six, I grabbed a quick dinner with Lis, Jack and Sadie. When I was done, I headed off to the lab and arrived just before seven. Subway guy was leaving as I went in. We gave each other a nod of recognition as we crossed paths.

Inside the lab, Gill and Davidson were seated at one of the black lab countertops. In front of them were some sheets of paper and some red and white tiles. I recognized them from when I was younger. In grade four I’d had to do some sort of test with those tiles where they showed me a picture of a completed pattern and I had to assemble it myself. I hadn’t expected to see them again at twenty-two.

Davidson seemed happy to see me, and gestured for me to come sit. The next twenty minutes were spent on a variety of tasks - not just reasoning, but memory as well. In one of them, they’d read me a series of numbers, and then I’d have to recite them backwards. I didn’t do particularly well on that task. I was more confident with the tiles, at least. Time flew by.

Gill was the one who actually administered the tests, while Davidson took notes, grinning the whole time. I wondered what he was so excited about; It couldn’t have been my test results. Finally, they took my blood pressure and sent me on my way.

As I went to leave, the brown-eyed girl from the first day was coming in. She smiled at me, and before I knew it I was smiling back. I just barely managed to choke back a hi before we’d walked past each other and I was back out in the hallway, alone.

In the empty hallway my heart was racing, and I couldn’t tell you why. I felt sweat instantly start to build on the back of my neck. I’d almost said hi to her when I wasn’t meant to. Davidson wouldn’t have been happy -- was that it? Or was it the simple fact that she was hot and I wanted to talk to her? Whatever it was, it felt stronger than it should have -- but -- goddammit, I was just overthinking things again.

Days passed, following the same pattern -- I’d get up, I’d take the pill at eight, and I’d spend the rest of the day overanalyzing everything I did. Each day it worsened, because I had another twenty-four hours of evidence that I was overthinking. My heart was getting one hell of a workout, though Davidson and Gill never commented when my blood pressure was taken.

A feedback loop sparked to life deep inside my chest. I’d hear my heart hammering away and I would feel anxiety make my hairs stand on end -- then I would think about what I was experiencing and the panic would grow deeper. I couldn’t talk myself down from it. Every time I tried, my body would fight against me, digging in its heels, turning up my nerves.

By Monday, I was on edge in a way I'd never experienced. In the past, I hadn’t been a leg-shake. Now, crammed into my lecture theatre seat, laptop balanced on the tiny desk, my right leg was positively vibrating. I nearly leapt out of my seat when Jack asked me if I could double-check a piece of code he had written.

“Jesus, dude,” He looked me up and down. “Are you alright?”

I nodded, but speech hadn’t come back to me just yet. I closed my eyes, breathing deeply and rhythmically in an effort to calm myself down. After a few moments passed, I was able to speak. “Yeah, it’s just...the study I’m doing. I think it’s getting to me, man.”

Jack shook his head, incredulous. “Yeah, no shit.” He turned, and as he did his arm clipped the edge of his laptop.

Something in my chest exploded, and my vision completely greyed out. When it came back, my hand had Jack’s laptop in a death-grip. It was still sitting on the desk, but it was clear it had nearly fallen. Jack, mouth slightly ajar, stared at me.

I swallowed hard, gently nudging the laptop into a more secure position on the table. As I pulled my hand back, it was quivering.

“What the fuck, Brent?”

A few moments passed, the instructor droning on in the distance.

“It was going to fall,” I finally answered, my voice weak. My heart was still throbbing, and the beginnings of nausea tickled at my stomach. It was too much. I closed my laptop, slipped it into my bag, and walked out.

The instructor paused to stare as I walked to the doors. I managed to choke out the word “sick” before I was out of the room. In the corridor, I broke into a run. I needed to go home.

I needed to lie down.

I spent the bulk of the day as a heap in my dorm room. I wasn’t an anxious person by nature, so it had to be the supplement’s doing. What a fucking shame. I feel like I’m going to die but I don’t feel any smarter.

Thankfully, I had my laptop and Netflix. I stuck to watching comedies for the rest of the day. Eventually my heart rate slowed to the point where it wasn’t dominating my every thought. By the time seven rolled around, I was in a state you might almost mistake for normal. A benefit, since I needed to haul my ass down to Davidson and Gill.

I didn’t see Subway guy leaving the lab this time. I wondered if he’d left early -- or maybe last time he’d left late. Oh well.

It was much the same as Friday -- little puzzling questions, tests of memory, rearranging tiles. If anything, I thought I did worse than I had on the first day. As it continued, anxiety began to rise in me again, building in my chest, setting my nerve endings on fire. I managed to keep it together until the very end.

As I finished up the last of the tile activities, my thoughts were consumed by the fact that there was someone behind me turn around now they’re behind you --

I nearly snapped my neck spinning around to look behind me. There was no one there -- at first. A second later later, the brown-eyed girl walked through the open door. Our eyes instantly met, and for the first time I saw her frown. It was probably off putting to walk into a room and find someone staring directly at you. I turned, gingerly rubbing my neck, back towards the researchers.

Neither was facing me. Instead, they were looking at each other. Davidson’s grin was wider than ever, and a smile was playing at Gill’s lips. Whatever that shared look said, I was deaf to it. Davidson turned, and offered me words that gave little clarity in the moment.

“Brent, you’re becoming an awfully perceptive person.”

Before I could respond, Gill stood up and gestured for me to leave. As I walked past the girl, she refused to look at me.

That evening, I received an email from Davidson. There was going to be a slight change to our regimen -- I was now to come in at 7:10pm. The message said that a greater effort should be taken to “space out” the subjects.

I was feeling pretty spaced out myself. By the time I was back in my dorm, all I could think about was going to sleep. But it did not come easily. No matter how long I lay in the bed, tossing and turning, I never felt at ease. Eventually, with the help of a meditation app my mother had emailed me months ago but I’d never bothered trying, I calmed myself to a point of stillness. That was when things got worse.

I am not sure if you have ever experienced sleep paralysis, but if not, consider yourself blessed. Instead of drifting to sleep, I felt a tingling sensation crawl across my limbs. I went to shake them out, and found I was frozen in place. I couldn’t see a damn thing -- my eyes may as well have been glued shut. There were no dreams, no hallucinations to break up the blackness. As I lay still as a corpse, the tingling gave way to numbness. Before long the only sensation I could experience was one of impending doom. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t feel.Unable to form rational thoughts in this dark void, I was absolutely certain I was going to die.

I don’t know how long it was I lay there in that worse-than-nightmare state, but eventually it ended. I woke up groggy, no memory of any dreams.

I don’t know why I kept taking the supplements. Maybe it was morbid curiosity. Perhaps it was the manifestation of some deep-seated self-loathing I’d never bothered to unearth, some sort of pill-popping l'appel du vide. It doesn’t matter why, it just matters that I did. I skipped classes over the next few days, only leaving to get food and to visit Davidson and Gill for the next round of my testing. The researchers would watch my actions and smile at me, but I have no idea if I improved. Davidson seemed thrilled, but he wouldn’t tell me why.

“What’s your problem?” Tareq had asked me on Thursday. I shrugged, my duvet pulled tight around my body. I was acutely aware of the dark shadows that hung below eyes -- sleep was getting harder. Every night, the pins and needles, the numbness, the sensation that Death Himself was in the room with me seemed to take up a greater percentage of my sleep cycle. I was anything but well rested.

My phone vibrated on the bed next to me, and I was angry. I shouted a string of expletives at the phone for daring to disturb me, at whoever was on the other end of it for having the gall to try and contact me, before tossing the damn thing to my bedroom floor.

“You’ve fucking lost it, dude.”

My skin prickled as he picked up a slice of pizza from the newest box he’d added to his hoard. I watched as he lifted the greasy, floppy triangle up to his mouth. When I realized he was going to drop it, I buried my head in my blanket. I didn’t want to watch. I didn’t want to be right. I didn’t want to be perceptive.

Through the blanket, I heard a muffled “fuck”. I screamed into the fabric.

“Fuck’s sake Brent, it’s just pizza.”

I didn’t respond. My hands shook, and I held the blanket tighter. I gripped it so intensely I feared my nails might tear through the fabric.

“Hey, it’s almost seven. Shouldn’t you be leaving?” Tareq spoke, clearly not out of a genuine interest for what I was supposed to be doing but because he had found a great way to get rid of me. Motives aside, he was right. I leapt off the bed, dropping the blanket on the floor as I went to pick up my phone from where it had landed.

Moving helped, terrifying though it was. Walking across the campus managed to lessen the feelings, or at the very least, distract me from them.

I broke down crying during the testing. Davidson lacked his usual grin, replacing it with a look of concern which, as far as I could tell, was genuine. He stopped the last test early. In what was clearly a breach of some sort of ethics code, he reached out to give me a pat on the arm.

I recoiled before his fingers could touch me, the hairs on my arm standing on end like I’d stepped out into a hailstorm without so much as a jacket. I stared at him, rubbing my face with my other arm to try and get rid of the tears. Finally, he spoke.

“I don’t understand.” He said it quietly. At first I thought he was talking to me, but he wasn’t facing my direction. He was looking down at the sheet where he’d been taking notes. Then he said it again, more forcefully. “I don’t understand.” He turned to Gill. She shrugged.

“What don’t you understand?” I asked. There was a tickle on my arm where Davidson had nearly touched me. Just a faint sensation, like a tiny spider had found its way onto my skin when I wasn’t looking. I tried to brush it off, but it wouldn’t go.

He didn’t respond. He spoke again, but to Gill rather than me.

“We need to stop this.”

“What don’t you understand?” I meant to just ask, but somehow I was shouting. Somehow I was standing, scratching my arm as I shouted.

“You were our most promising candidate, Brent.” His voice was quiet, and he refused to make eye contact. “Your scores have gone up every day, by a significant margin. You’ve become so much more perceptive, but -- “

There it was again. That word -- perceptive. I supposed it was accurate, too. I noticed people, sounds, things about to happen. I paid more attention to the world than I ever had before. I obsessed over it, whether I wanted to or not.

“But?”

“Maybe...too perceptive?” Gill whispered. As she looked up at me, I could see pity in her eyes.

She was right. As I stood in front of the two, I felt everything. I felt the fabric of my hoodie rubbing up against my chest, and the pressure of my jeans tight around my legs. I felt the crawling sensation growing across my skin, moving from one arm up to my neck, to my face.

For the final time, I ran from the lab back to my dorm room. Outside, the gentle wind hit my face, stabbing into my skin like icicles. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I screamed as it buzzed up against my leg. I pulled it out, glancing at the message from Sadie -- “you coming to trivia?” -- and I threw it as hard as I could against the pavement. I did not stop to look and see if it cracked. I left it behind and kept running.

Back in my dorm room, the first thing I did was tear the sweater off. It was too much to bear. The rubbing of fabric against my body was nauseating, and the sensation of unseen spiders creeping across my skin had reached an apex. No matter how much I scratched, I couldn’t stop it. In my absence Tareq had left, so I had free reign of the dorm. I headed for the bathroom, hoping to scrub away whatever plagued me.

It worked, to some degree. The itching lessened, but did not dissipate entirely. When I stepped out of the shower, I took a look at the mirror. I could see nothing there but my own face, the same as it had always been. There were no bugs visibly crawling across my skin, but I could feel them. Less than before, but still undeniably present.

I towelled off, then sat on my bed attempting to comprehend what was happening. This wasn’t imagination -- not according to Davidson, anyway. This was not simply hallucination brought on by lack of sleep. No, he’d said that I had become more perceptive. So what the Hell was I perceiving? As I sat scratching my arms, the explanation came to me.

When people say “the answer was inside you all along”, I don’t think this is what they mean.

It started with a tickle in my throat, the kind that lets you know you’ve got the beginnings of a cold. I coughed, an attempt to make the sensation go away, but it failed. If anything, it made my throat itchier. I stood to grab a glass of water, and my legs shook beneath me. Something was deeply wrong. The itching, the crawling, had sunk far deeper down into my throat than any cold ever reaches.

Once the awareness was there, I could not return to ignorance: There were things moving within me, and I would never be rid of them. Deep inside of me, there were billions of things squirming and twitching and pressing up against my internal organs, and I could feel every one of them. Now that I had become perceptive enough to feel them, there was simply no way to stop.

I tried to scream. I felt the movement of my throat and stopped because it was agonizing. I tried to stand, but the billions of living things inside of me crawled and shuddered as I moved. Innumerable flagella smacked against the walls of my intestines as I shifted, miniature whips cutting into me. I wanted to destroy each and every one of these legions of invaders who I had never asked for but who I would die without. I wanted to lacerate my abdomen, pry myself open and scrape them all out until only I remained, just me.

I tried to stand, but I hated it. I despised them writhing and scratching inside of me. Unable to take the sensation, I fell to my knees. The carpet burned like I had fallen into a lit campfire. Everything was too much and there was no escape because it was on me and within me. I started to sob and the tears seared my flesh like acid. I don’t know how long I was there on hands and knees, gasping as everything within me twitched and moved and boiled.

There was nothing I could do to quell the sensations, crashed there in the middle of my dorm room, but I knew how to make it stop once and for all. And so I began my mission of dragging myself to the bathroom. I pulled myself there on my hands, and my knees dragged. They turned red and raw and they felt like they had been shredded to the bone. The things in my guts wriggled and whipped and the things on my skin itched and crawled.

It was an agonizingly slow process. Eventually, my desperate, reaching palms were met with the cold tile of the bathroom floor. It was like passing from a volcano to a glacier, but I forced myself onward. My hand grasped for the latch on the cabinet under the sink.

I sit here with a bottle of drain cleaner in one hand, the other pressed to the floor as I try to hold myself up. Every second that passes, I still feel them, on me and in me. I’m not an idiot, you know, but there’s only one way out of this. The good news is that I’m going to take every one of those little fuckers down with me.

There’s one thing, though, that I can’t help thinking about as I sit here, trying to overcome the sensations long enough to do what needs to be done.

For my family’s sake, I hope I wasn’t in the control group.

#horror stories #writers on tumblr #original fiction #creepypasta #i mean not really but maybe people will click #self harm / implied suicide cw #original post

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jojoingjoseph · 5 years

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i. Which character trope are you?

The Anti-Hero

A central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes. They often fail many times and are known to be flawed. Opposite of the Tragic hero, you often do things out of selfishness so you can advance and grow as an individual. This is often done unconsciously. When people ask for favors, you expect rewards in return. Your personality can be seen as complicated and you often can through a cycle of moods in a matter of what seems like seconds. You're seen as typically aggressive and full of emotion. There would be times where it seems like you are completely calm and then at a flip of coin be upset about something. You have a lot on your mind 24/7 and it's hard for you to handle. Sometimes your attempts at showing you care can backfire, since you often get too into the emotional aspect of the situation.

ii. Which Eeveelution are you?

( it kept giving Leafeon no matter what choices were picked. )

iii. Which chess piece would you be?

The Queen

Any true chess player knows that the Queen is absolutely NO ONE to be played with. The loss of the Queen can sometimes mean the loss of the game entirely. You are the backbone, the protector, and the caretaker - all rolled into a glamorously caped package that can kick some major chass (that's chess derriere for all the classy folk). Long story short, you're a total boss. Tiaras are only for the true gangsters.

iv. What’s your love type?

The Thinker (INTP)

In love, you are honest and serious about commitment. You try to be the best partner possible. For you, closeness is something you think about and desire a lot of the time. Your sweetie also tends to be your best friend. Overall, you are pure in your affection and feelings. You don't let anyone astray, and you are honorable in your intentions. However, you tend to be suspicious and distrusting at times. You've been burned before, and it hurt! Best matches: ENTJ and ESTJ

v. HOW YOUR MUSE LOVES!

Based on the Color Wheel Theory of Love. repost, don’t reblog. Bold the traits of each type of love that are most relevant to your muse.

ALL THESE TYPES OF LOVE ARE VALID WITH BOTH BENEFITS AND PITFALLS. PEOPLE EXHIBIT THEM IN DIFFERENT WAYS WITH DIFFERENT PEOPLE BUT TEND TO FOLLOW TRENDS. EVERYONE EXPERIENCES MORE THAN ONE.

PRIMARY LOVE

[EROS - ROMANTIC LOVE (Sensuality, Intensity, Passion)]

Feels strong physical and emotional connection throughout the relationship | Begins with a partner who is a stranger and evokes immediate excitement (this depends, but maybe) | May be exclusive but not possessive | Seeks early sexual adventure, variety, and technique (again, maybe) | is ready for love and the risks.

[LUDUS - COMPETITIVE LOVE (Teasing, Attention, Fun Before Commitment)]

Is not ready to commit to anyone | Has no intention of falling in love | Is anxious about a partner who is too intimate | Allows early sexual activity only for fun, without emotional connections.

[STORGE - FAMILIAL LOVE (Loyalty, Siblings, and Friends, Commitment)]

Is not looking for love but is ready if encountered | Is quietly possessive but not overly jealous | Believes love comes from friendship but not a goal of life | only has sexual desires after the commitment is declared.

SECONDARY LOVE

[MANIA - OBSESSIVE LOVE (Obsessions, Possessiveness, Jealousy) - Ludus-Eros]

is anxious about falling in love and has expectations of pain | Quickly becomes overwhelmed by thoughts of their partner | Forces partner into showing affection and emotion | Is easily frustrated and does not enjoy sexual intimacy | Is very possessive and jealous.

[AGAPE - ALTRUISTIC LOVE (Unbreakable, Forgiveness, Wholistic) - Eros-Storge]

Is attracted to several types of people | Meets people easily so most likely will begin with a stranger | Feels concern and care for each partner they have | Is neither jealous nor obsessive | Enjoys sex and is willing to improve it

[PRAGMA - PRACTICAL LOVE (Rationality, Realism, Collaboration) - Storge-Ludus]

Is certain of their preferable “types” | Begins a relationship with an already familiar person | Believes a loving relationship is desirable for a happy life | Expects reciprocation with feelings | believes sexual compatibility can be worked out.

#★ Headcannon Related #( feel free to take / pick and choose which ones. no tagging back or anything necessary. uwu )

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gaasaku-fanfests · 6 years

Text

Enslaved (Part 7 & 8)

Title: Enslaved Author: Pikaboubou Rating: E Word Count: LOL 86,775 Summary: AU; Suna succeeded in the Konoha Crush, enslaving their people. Years later Sakura is forced into the care of the man who destroyed her village, and is surprised by what she finds in him. Gaara, on the other hand, is interested in becoming more… ‘social’. Warnings: sexual assault, abuse, stockholm syndrome, graphic sexual content, murder, torture, physical abuse, verbal abuse, foul language. Author’s Note(s): Both Sakura POV and Gaara POV. Despite the warnings this is actually not as a dark as it sounds, and does in fact have some comedy and romance. There’s some OOC moments, but hey, its fanfiction. (Also have plans for a sequel if well received) (Additional note: Mild dub-con elements in the early section but not a dark story. If you don’t like dark Gaara you may still like this.👍😊💕) [Due to the size (and 10 parts) this story has been merged into 5 parts/posts.]

Prompt chosen: AU, War

Partner: saku-harem

Part 7

The next few days were ridiculous.

Sakura would sleep in his room at night, and when Gaara would leave someone would fetch her to bring her back to that strange bedroom. She would be forced to change into some sort of ridiculous harem attire, and made to sit in one spot for him to return.

Now he was just beginning to expect it, and would immediately come up to 'her room' to bring her back down into his. It was exhausting, and she made sure to complain about it every single day.

Today seemed like she would be going into the same ridiculous routine, leaving her to groan as the door to his room opened.

"Oooh don't you people ever give up?! He doesn't want me staying up there!!" Sakura turned away from the window to stare down whoever was taking her away today, but ended up blinking in surprise.

"Sakura Haruno, yes?" The blonde kunoichi waltzed in like she owned the place, well she technically did. "I require your company today."

Immediately the pinkette flushed, thinking that this beautiful woman, who also happened to be Gaara's sister, desired her for darker reasons.

"What for?" Sakura asked before wringing her hands.

"I'll be prepping you for tonight's festivities." Temari answered, beckoning her to follow as she exited the room. The pinkette rushed to follow after the blonde, wearing only her casual red dress with black shorts. Outside the room she hurriedly slipped on her shoes, and scurried to keep up.

Temari walked at a fast pace, that was for certain. Within a matter of minutes they were already walking down the city streets.

They rounded a corner, surprising Sakura when they were at an entrance to a hidden spa.

"Alright, hurry in. We need you to look classy if you're going to be on Gaara's arm." The blonde pushed at her back, and almost immediately upon entry the women in the shop set to work.

The pinkette was tugged this way and that, her only moments of rest was a mud bath and a relaxing facial. Other than that they roughly exfoliated her skin, put weird things in her hair like mud and oils repeatedly washing and drying her. It was a strange phenomena that she never wished to experience again. They plucked her brows, exfoliated her lips, cleaned her nails, scrubbed her hands and feet with harsh pumice stones, applied paraffin waxes, oils, lotions, potions; you name it and it was done to her.

By the time they applied her small amount of makeup she was exhausted. Temari seemed to be going through similar treatments, but handled it with the grace of a pedigree cat. Sakura was amazed by this woman's resilience.

"So, my brother, what all have you two done together?" The blonde didn't even bother looking at her as she asked the shameless question. The pinkette stumbled for a moment, wincing as her hair was yanked back into an elegant twisted hairstyle.

"I don't kiss and tell--"

"Ah, so you have kissed him. I'm surprised he hasn't killed you yet." Temari was cruel, but Sakura was certain it was merely a defensive act. Something told her that this woman was actually kind.

"He says he likes me enough that he'll protect me like he protects himself. I think that spells out how he feels." The pinkette could play this game, she grew up with Ino after all. It seemed to get the blonde's attention rather quickly.

"If you think you can tame him then think again. Gaara is ruthless--"

"You obviously don’t know him well, because I have experienced a gentleness from him that no other man has ever shown me." Sakura knew that this woman would not hesitate to beat the crap out of her if she felt like it. However, she merely smirked at the pinkette's boldness.

"Sounds like you like him, that's surprising too. Most women are scared shitless of him." The blonde gave a small laugh, completely at peace with the woman behind her yanking her hair into a high spikey bun.

"I'm not most women. I don't fear pain, and I don't fear death. Only humiliation." Sakura brought her eyes forward, and her words seemed to silence the powerful kunoichi sitting next to her.

Once they were finished the were given robes to walk back in, what they were going to do with her clothes she didn't know, Suna was a strange place.

Temari walked side by side with her up the stairs, but when the pinkette went to keep going the blonde yanked her back.

"My room, I have some things for you." Without even the opportunity to argue Sakura was pulled by the wrist into the blonde's elegant bedroom. It was very classy, draped in many fine purple silks and decorated with fans that the pinkette knew had to double as weapons.

Temari disappeared into her closet then came back out with a box of powder, and a velvet box that Sakura could only assume was some sort of jewelry.

"Perfumed powder mixed with diamond dust, it's extremely expensive so don't spill it. Also, this is one of my best bracelets, I hope it will go with whatever the hell you're wearing tonight." The blonde tried to sound tough, but it was obvious that she seemed to be enjoying this a bit too much. The pinkette nodded in thanks while taking the trinkets. "Kankuro brought Gaara with him to pick out corsages, yes this is a very elegant engagement. The annual Suna banquet celebrates the history of our people, and schmoozing up political officials. Don't fuck this up, keep your mouth shut, and just look pretty. That shouldn't be hard for you."

The sneaky compliment Temari threw in did not go unnoticed, and earned a smirk from Sakura.

"I'm a smart girl, I can blend." The pinkette snickered, and surprisingly the blonde laughed a bit before shooing her out of the room.

Now it was time for Sakura to prepare herself for probably one of the strangest nights of her life.

--- ... --- ...

The elegant black and nude dress was on, the black heels with ankle straps being slipped into. She had dusted her collarbone and shoulders with the perfumed sparkling dust, and it made her skin look shimmery, like she didn't belong on this plain. She reddened her lips a bit more, but just enough to look bitten. A wide crystal choker was placed high on her long neck, and the bracelet, which luckily was a diamond one, matched rather well with her choker.

Last but not least she placed a crystal pin in her hair in the shape of a cherry blossom. It went well with the elegant hairstyle. With her bangs brushed to the side she nodded at her appearance. This was probably the most beautiful she would ever look in her life.

She chose not to wear a bra underneath from how skin tight the dress was, and her underwear was the lacey kind that left no indentations. Her whole form looked sleek and fluid, elegant and sexy.

She wandered back out into Gaara's bedroom, not expecting him to be there. When she heard a light sound, like someone opening their mouth to speak she turned her head to see who it was. The redhead was wearing that nice cream suit she had seen in his closet the other day with a sharp red shirt underneath, and a white tie. He seemed completely dumbstruck.

"Cat caught your tongue?" Sakura straightened before jutting out her hip seductively.

Gaara was dumbfounded for a moment, but then quickly shook himself out of his daze. His eyes narrowed dangerously, and he practically slammed the door behind him making her jump.

"Woah, I was just teasing--"

"We're not going." He huffed as he tried to roughly take off his tie, blinking in confusion she closed the distance between them.

"Why? Is something wrong?" The pinkette tried peering into his eyes, but he refused to look at her.

'That's strange...' She studied him, but couldn't find an answer to his strange behavior. Finally he gave an exasperated sigh.

"I don't want anyone seeing you like this--"

"-Oh for heavens sake, Gaara! If you hated the dress why did you agree to buy it?!" When he wouldn't answer she grew frustrated, ripping the tie out of his hands to synch it back up to his neck, then she pulled him by said tie to lean forward. "We are going."

"No, we are not! I can't have every man lusting over you! I'll end up killing everyone in the fucking room!" The redhead sounded legitimately stressed about it, as if what he was saying was the truth. "Those men imagining you in disgusting ways... I can't--!"

"Let them imagine it then, I'm not going home with any of them." Sakura tried not to snicker about it, but her smile still peaked through. She undid his tie finding it had gotten too messed up, and began remaking it.

"Sure, walk around like that. Let every man eye-fuck you while I watch!" Gaara hissed, and as his voice started to rise she hushed him gently back into a calm state.

"Yes, but I'll be on your arm. You'll have the prettiest girl while they have the mediocre ones." She wasn't trying to flatter herself, rather she was trying to make a point that he could show her off, and revel in their jealousy. "Even if I'm wearing rags there will still be men who will desire me just because I'm female. There is no getting around that--"

"If anyone looks at you wrong I will kill them." The redhead huffed stubbornly making her smack at his chest.

"You will not! What is it going to take for you to be okay with this? Do I have to get on my knees, and beg you or something?" The pinkette gave an exasperated sigh before tightening up his tie. She glanced up to see him looking off to the side, trying avidly to avoid her gaze. "Well?!"

"Or something... could you elaborate?" Gaara murmured softly, awkwardly clearing his throat before staring off in a different direction. She blinked at him in disbelief.

Was he trying to get something perverted out of this?! Was she going to have to bargain with him?! She almost couldn't believe it.

Almost being the key word here. She knew that he had that side in him, he just hadn’t utilized it until she had came into his life.

'Fine.' She mused to herself before letting out a sigh of resignation.

"Well, it could be one something... or a few different somethings. Maybe I could let you choose one 'something' you'd like, but you have to show me that you can be a gentleman tonight." She smirked, knowing full well that his mind would probably be racing with possibilities. He licked his lips for a moment before looking down.

"I get to choose?" The redhead spoke shyly above a whisper, it was adorable.

"As long as it's not full penetration, then sure. Whatever you want." His eyes widened at that, and she moved in to swiftly kiss him on the cheek. She teasingly slipped past him, not failing to notice how quickly he turned to follow her as she made her way to the exit.

In a split second he was there, opening the door with the fiercest blush she had ever seen on him. Before she could step through it, however, he shoved something towards her.

It was a corsage of pink roses that matched the color of her hair. She outstretched her one bare wrist, and he tied it down with a stern expression. Once again, he was acting too innocent for his own good.

"It's beautiful, thank you." She admired the flowers attached to her wrist with a smile. He nodded quickly before gently ushering her out of the room.

--- ... --- ...

"I hate these things." Gaara huffed bitterly, walking steadily with her arm linked in his. She gave a small giggle at his expense.

"Don't forget about what we talked about. I want you on your best behavior if you want to get that 'something' tonight." Sakura smirked as she felt him tense under his jacket. They just rounded the corner when they came face to face with the legendary puppet master.

"Oh ho! Did my ears really just hear that--?"

"Shut up, Kankuro." The redhead narrowed his eyes threateningly, forcing the puppet master's smile to disappear.

"Gaara, knock it off." The pinkette warned before turning to Kankuro. "You look nice this evening."

"Heh, in comparison to you I look like road kill--"

Gaara started to growl, receiving a smack to the chest once more from his date.

"Do that again and you get nothing." Sakura glared at him, and while he tried glaring back at her his anger eventually waned.

"Two 'somethings', or no deal." The redhead put it out there so blatantly that it was obvious what he was bargaining for. At first she gaped at him in disbelief, but then finally narrowed her eyes.

"I get to pick the second 'something'--"

"No, I get to choose both--"

"Quit being greedy, you get what you get or you can have nothing. We can turn around right now, and I'll sleep upstairs. Alone." The pinkette was a ruthless haggler, and his eyes blinked in shock over how she was willing not only to deny him 'something' but also take even more away. She was certain that he hadn't taken that into consideration.

"Wow, Gaara, you should take the deal." Kankuro looked between them with interest while the redhead continued to glare daggers at her.

"Three 'somethings', and you can choose two." A small smirk started to form on his mouth, and finally she began to feel relief over the fact that he was becoming playful.

"Deal. Be sure to grab a drink while we're there cause it's going to be a rough night for you." Sakura gave him a teasing smile that had him looking off to the side.

"Likewise." Gaara grinned then, and that's when she was pretty sure she had just sold her soul to the devil.

"So, Sakura... do you have a sister--?"

"The closest thing I have to a sister is already a part of your harem. Try bantering with Ino, she's just as bad if not worse--"

"Really, billboard brow?!" Speak of the devil and she shall appear, Ino walked up with Temari before slipping her arm through Kankuro's. She wore a rather scandalous purple dress that was quite strappy all over.

Sakura couldn't believe it, she never thought that she would see her best friend again, let alone tonight of all nights. The smile that stretched across her face made her cheeks hurt pleasantly.

"Ino-pig!!" The pinkette detached herself from the redhead to throw herself at her best friend. They hugged it out so tightly that the rest of the group didn't know how to feel about it. "I missed you so much!!"

"You too!! Are you okay?! I thought they were going to kill you!" The blonde ran her fingers down her best friend's cheek, checking her over for any marks. Sakura felt a tidal wave of emotion begin to rush through her, but pushed it down in the sake of professionalism.

"I'm fine. They threw me in with this broody fellow over here, and he's actually a huge sweetheart don't let his glare fool you--"

"Sakura." Gaara warned, and it made her giggle for some reason.

"Ooo, yeah you can have the violent ones. I got the goofball--"

"H-hey!" Kankuro huffed at the girls as they erupted into a fanfare of giggles. Suddenly the two best friends linked arms to continue down that hallway, Temari seemed to say nothing about what was happening, but her smirk let on that she was amused.

Gaara growled for a bit as he followed behind them, but Sakura decided to not pay much attention to it. Instead the two girls clucked away over what they had been doing over the past few weeks. When it came to something nitty gritty they would begin whispering to each other, looking back at their dates, then break out into giggles.

The redhead growled a bit louder--

"Hey man, I get that its irritating, but look at it this way. They are two very beautiful girls practically smooshed together, it just takes a little bit of imagination and then--"

"Are you kidding me?!" Ino whipped around to poke Kankuro in the chest. "We don't do that perverted stuff, get your head out of the gutter!"

The redhead blinked owlishly, before noticing that Sakura was slipping her arm back into his. She knew Kankuro originally wanted her to be a part of her harem, now she wondered just what he would have done with her had she actually went along with the other girls.

"Well, now I know what your brother is into." The pinkette gave a scoff before urging the redhead to go forward down the hall. She could hear Ino chewing Kankuro out even as they turned another corner to go down a flight of stairs. It seemed she didn't have to worry about Ino at all, she obviously had the man wrapped around her finger.

‘She seems happy too, I’m glad.’

"What is my brother into, exactly--?"

"I really shouldn't have to spell it out, but I can be nice just this once. Lesbians." She tried to remain serious, but as his face distorted at the thought she nearly snorted with laughter.

"I don't understand. If women only have love for each other, and none for a man, then why would that be attractive? It makes no sense, the man would get nothing out of it." Gaara's naked brows furrowed in confusion as he tried thinking it over.

"I don't know, what would you do if I decided to just go over there and make out with Ino--?"

"I would kill her." His tone was practically murderous, and yet she had to stifle a laugh.

"What if I asked you to join?" Sakura smirked when he went completely silent. His lips formed a thin line while his brow continued to furrow. "Does it make sense now?"

"...I'm not really sure." The redhead tried to focus on something, his knuckle coming up to his mouth to bite at it in deep concentration. He was always so cute when he couldn't quite understand something.

"Have Kankuro explain it then--"

"Explain what now?" The puppet master had jogged to catch back up to them, leaving his enraged date in the dust.

"Gaara needs a crash course on the birds and the bees, especially between women--"

"I do not!! I understand it well enough!! I just don't care!!" Gaara hissed at the both of them, where Kankuro grew a bit nervous the pinkette busted out into laughter.

"Oh whatever! You're such a liar!" She snickered under her hand, watching him just about boil over.

"Does it work both ways?!" The redhead fumed while stopping dead in his tracks. She blinked at him for a moment as it caught her off guard.

"I'm not following--"

"Do women enjoy seeing two men together?! It's not that hard to understand--!"

"Um... I can't really say for myself but some women like it." Sakura bristled when he stepped closer. His haunting eyes had her mind stolen, hypnotized by the darkness that surrounded the ghostly opaque color.

"I want to know what you think about it." Gaara spoke in a low tone, making her hairs stand on edge. Why was he suddenly so interested in this topic?

"I've never seen anything like that, how should I know?!" The pinkette snapped, and surprisingly he straightened with a calm expression setting her at ease.

"Let's find out." The redhead said matter-o-factly. She stared at him incredulously, wondering just what the hell he was talking about--

Then he did the most strangest thing. He leaned over, and kissed his own brother on the mouth. It wasn't a truly intimate kiss, but it was longer than a peck and it was enough to make her shriek.

"GAARA!! What the hell are you doing!?!" Sakura quickly yanked him back towards her, forcing him to break contact with his utterly stunned brother.

"Well? Did it do anything--?"

"Did it do anything?!?! YOU JUST KISSED YOUR BROTHER!!" The pinkette screamed at him, and Kankuro immediately stepped in to try and save the day.

"Hey now! It's okay! No harm done! It's not like we're jacking each other off--"

"Oh my god NO!!" Sakura slammed her hands over her ears before storming away from the two. She chanted gibberish to herself to try and get the image out of her mind.

It took a few minutes to get her head back in the game after that fiasco.

--- ... --- ... ---

"I said I was sorry." Gaara murmured softly to her as they waited to be announced. Apparently everyone needed to be announced before entering the banquet, and she was already on edge from his shenanigans earlier. "I don't see what the issue is, though. It's not like he's female--"

"It's still incest, Gaara. Please don't defend things like that." Sakura groaned, but then stiffened when she heard him chuckle.

"Your face was priceless." The redhead broke out into a genuine grin, taking her breath away with how handsome he was when he smiled.

It was then that the doors opened, and whoever was paying attention on the other side got a good view of his wonderful smile before he quickly turned to stone. With a hardened expression he walked forward, a crowd of well dressed people started clapping from the get go, but then it quickly died down into a strange wave of whispering. He rose a hairless brow at the odd situation.

"That's the first time that's happened." Gaara murmured while he looked around himself curiously, then walked her towards a large table meant for the guests of honor.

"Why are they doing that?" The pinkette looked around too, noticing many eyes were staring at them.

"I've never brought a date to any function. I assume they think I must have snapped or something--"

"Or 'something' indeed." Sakura teased, and got a suggestive glance for her effort.

"Don't tempt me, I will make a scene." His eyes shamelessly sized her up before pulling out her chair. Even though he was teasing her back, the redhead still managed to play a gentlemanly card.

"That sounds like fun, let's get kicked out for fooling around on the buffet table." The pinkette laughed before sitting in her spot. He took a seat next to her, and funnily enough Kankuro was sitting on his other side. They were the last to be announced, thus the last to take their seats.

"Or we could give them all a real heart attack, right now." He gave her a devilish grin that made her wither.

"Please don't kiss your brother again, I swear to god--"

Gaara leaned in quickly, capturing her jawline in his hands before placing a soft kiss on her lips. Before she could say anything a hushed silence fell on the crowd of people in the room, and someone somewhere dropped a glass that happened to shatter loudly.

Kankuro snickered behind his hand, and it was irksome enough for Gaara to pull away to glare at him.

"Why are you laughing?" Even though the redhead was trying his best to be intimidating the puppet master couldn't contain his giggles.

"You didn't wipe your mouth first. She just got an indirect kiss from me-- OW!!" Kankuro winced as he recieved a hard punch to the shoulder. "Hey man, it was a joke!"

"Not a funny one, you should work on your punchlines." At first it sounded like a normal response, but when Sakura looked deeper into it she nearly squealed. The two boys looked at her suspiciously before she broke out into giggles.

"You made a pun! 'Punch' lines! Get it?" The pinkette clapped her hands giddily, enjoying the fact that sometimes the redhead could act like a normal person. It wasn't long before Kankuro started chuckling too, yet all they could get out of Gaara was a smirk.

The night started off strangely, what with everyone freaking out and staring at them, but then a few boring speeches were made. Certain council members gave these droll monologues that made not only her yawn, but Gaara too. She was beginning to understand why he hated these things.

Next there was dinner, and it was very delicious with several of Suna's signature dishes. Gaara got his own plate of what looked like a cooked tongue. She shivered at the thought, but he seemed to be excited about it. She happily had the chicken.

Desert was surprisingly cake with ice cream, and while she giggled at the thought of a children's birthday party the rest of the table raised their brows at her. Except Ino, she knew why it was funny.

All that was left was essentially drinking, and dancing. A few men had actually come up to ask her for a dance, but had left with their tails between their legs when Gaara would answer for her; in his most threatening tone possible.

They stood there, wine in hand, watching everyone else twirl on the floor. She sighed wishing she could do the same.

"What's wrong?" The redhead queried, leaning against the wall looking like a complete punk with a bad attitude.

"I want to dance." The pinkette huffed before giving him a pair of classic puppy eyes. His face actually started to look like his heart was breaking a little bit.

"I don't know how." He flushed lightly at his admission, and she gave him a sympathetic smile.

"I see..." Sakura stared back out at the crowd, watching them twirl to the beat of the music.

"Wait here." Gaara suddenly walked past her, leaving her alone on the wall. He left the room completely, which worried her a little bit.

"Well, I guess I'll just stand here--"

"I'm shocked that Lord Gaara has brought such a beautiful flower with him tonight, one that should be dancing rather than standing against the wall." One of the younger council members, still in his mid thirties however, approached her while holding out his hand to shake.

"Hojo, it's a pleasure, miss?" He waited for her to respond, and finally she kicked into gear.

"Sakura." The pinkette smiled handing him her hand, to which he surprisingly kissed the top rather than shaking it. It made her instantly nervous.

"Lord Gaara must be smitten with you--"

"Yes, he really is." Sakura decided to press that point, hoping that this man would back off. Yet his eyes drank in her appearance in a way that she would deem as inappropriate.

"You're not native, I see. It shows in your hair." Hojo grinned, his dark locks swaying into his eyes. Something about this man made her uneasy, and it wasn't just the perverted way he looked at her. She had met many perverts that she still felt comfortable around.

This man, Hojo, was clearly a cunning person who killed with slow acting poisons rather than with knives.

"I'm from Konoha." She finally answered truthfully, and got a strange expression in return.

"Oh, I see. That's why he likes you." The councilman's face cracked with a dark laugh making every hair raise on her body in alert. "Makes perfect sense why you were able to tame him--"

"Caring for one another does not make us a beast, and tamer. You would do well to watch what you say, and not just because I'm Gaara's date either." The pinkette threatened, letting him know that she could be just as dangerous as some of the other ninja here. However, she merely received another laugh discrediting her.

"Konoha women, so spirited. In more ways than one--" He went to stroke her hand, but was quickly intercepted by a very protective big brother.

'Oh thank god--'

"If you don't want to die tonight you'll back off, do you understand? Gaara will kill you if he sees you touching her." Kankuro grabbed Hojo's arm, and the man wiggled his fingers in surrender. Like this was just a game to him.

"I'm merely playing, I wouldn't dream of touching the jinchuriki's concubine-- er sorry, forgive me, his 'mate'." The middle age man sized her up before turning away to talk to other guests. A few people were watching curiously, probably wondering what the hostility was about.

"Fucking bastard." Kankuro nearly spat, but Sakura shook her head.

"Don't tell Gaara about this, it will ruin his night." The pinkette looked back out onto the floor wondering where he had even gone off to. In a matter of seconds of him leaving she had become shark bait.

They were already trying to use her to get to Gaara, it disgusted her.

"It's no problem, I just know if Gaara starts a fight it'll be really bad. Not only for him, but for you as well. Sometimes he just rushes in just because he knows he can, and that he is strong enough to get away with murder... literally--" Kankuro looked pale at the thought, but she really couldn't blame him after having to deal with the redhead's odd behaviors. In the beginning he was a ranting lunatic, but he seemed to have mellowed out since she started giving him the attention he needed.

It made her smile, knowing that she could make a huge difference for someone.

"Back, let's go." Out of nowhere Gaara appeared, not stopping as he made a beeline for the dance floor snatching up her arm on the way there. She stumbled after him, trying to balance on her heels as he forced her to powerwalk.

"Gaara, where did you go?" Sakura asked, but was quickly distracted when they got to the dance floor. He turned abruptly attempting to put his hands on her, but instead furrowed his brow in thought. "Start with the waist, we can just sway if you want."

"Rrrright." The redhead's speech sounded off, something wasn't right here, but he managed to put his hands on her waist... then let them slip down to her hips. She gave an exasperated sigh, wrapping her arms around his neck.

That's when she smelled just a hint of alcohol--

"Oh no, you didn't do what I think you did, did you?" The pinkette suddenly felt extremely worried, she had no clue what kind of drunk he was, and now she was stuck in a very precarious situation.

"Ha! That's a weird sentence!" The redhead gave her a funny kind of smile, and her point was proven.

"Oh my god, oh no. Oh nooo--" Sakura started to panic.

"Whassup?" Gaara tried tilting his head to see her more clearly... even though they were literally inches away from each other.

"What kind of drunk are you? Happy? Sad? Murderous?" The pinkette bit her lip in concern, watching him tilt his head to the other side.

"I dunno... never drank like this soooo, guess we'll find out!" The redhead laughed genuinely, practically like a normal person. He seemed relaxed, casual, but still a bit drunk.

Okay, maybe this could turn out for the better. He could seem more sociable--

"Heeey... did I tell you that you're really gorgeous?" While Gaara had attempted a whisper it was still loud enough for a few couples to hear. Sakura almost grimaced, but stopped herself as she knew that he was honestly trying to compliment her. She forced a small laugh for his comfort.

"You're not so bad yourself. You clean up nice--"

"Woah now! I know you want my body, but we should take things slooow." The redhead snickered before growing a bit more ballsy, and started to nearly waltz. She kept up with him, but still kept her eyes sharp watching for sharks in the water.

"Yes, you know me so well." Sakura rolled her eyes, but still carried a smile for him. She was surprised at how well he could dance now.

"I do! I know you better than anybody--"

"Oh really?" She played into his game, getting the biggest grin she had ever seen on his face.

"Yup, I know what you look like naked--"

"SSH! Gaara!" Although she smacked his chest she couldn't help but snort at his comment. With a laugh he twirled her outward, then pulled her back into his embrace rather hypnotically. It made her dizzy for many reasons.

"Good thing we already did stuff cause you're in trouble, pretty lady." He was clearly teasing at first, but then his eyes truly focused on her. "You're in a lot of trouble... big trouble..."

"Are you playing the hero then? Am I the damsel in distress?" With another giggle the pinkette was spun outward, then with greater force pulled back in. His eye's were so focused on her own that it seemed like he was thinking they were alone in this room full of people.

"Not a hero... I want to be the villain." Gaara purred softly, and as she blinked owlishly at him he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I'll tie you up... and make you scream for mercy..."

Her heart started pounding wildly, her cheeks inflamed at the thought.

Sakura thought of pushing away, thinking that perhaps someone might have heard him say that to her, but everyone just continued dancing like nothing happened.

"Eeeh... you're blushing. Hehe..." Gaara snickered, and for his boyish behavior she smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "I don't want that expression to go away."

"Since when did you become such a pervert--?"

"That day when we were running and you got attacked, I licked a cut on your leg... and you blushed just like this-" His hand came up to trace his thumb over her cheekbone, the action made her tremble. "-I want to do that tonight--"

"Gaara, stop saying things like that in public." She tried to warn him, but it only made him grin devilishly.

"Why? Afraid someone might hear me? Hear about how I'm going to strip you down later--?"

"Gaara!" Sakura hissed at him, and he raised a devious brow at her. He went to speak, but she immediately hushed him. "Say one more word about it, and I will start taking back the 'somethings'."

He blinked at that, and then surprisingly gave a bitter expression.

"Fine. Take them. I don't care--" The redhead huffed stubbornly, she almost couldn't believe the instant change.

"Really? You're going to throw a fit right here?" The pinkette groaned with frustration, and then pulled away from him.

"Hello, may I cut in?" A different council member approached them with enough balls to ask Sakura for a dance. While she was prepared for Gaara to tell the man 'no' he actually continued to glare at her.

"I don't care anymore. Dance with her, she enjoys being a people pleaser--"

"Gaara!" The pinkette blinked at him in disbelief, and he merely shrugged.

"I'll see you later, I'm going for a walk." The redhead turned his back on her quickly, and her stomach dropped. The older man grinned expectantly at her, holding his arms out for a dance. She turned to call out for Gaara but he was already gone in a cloud of sand.

She was alone... stuck with the wolves while she was nothing but a lamb to them.

Sakura moved in to dance, trying to play off confidence as this older man spun her around like a rag doll.

"Hojo told me good things about you, I just had to see for myself--"

"Did he now?" The pinkette went apathetic, acting as if that man didn't scare her.

"He did, you're an ex-leaf kunoichi aren't you? You certainly are high strung like one--" The older man was despicable straight out of the gate, and it took everything in her power not to stamp on his feet.

"I wouldn't say 'high strung', we just know our worth." Sakura hissed bitterly as she glared daggers at the man, his smile turned into a evil smirk.

"Yes. Now that's a look I wouldn't mind changing. When Gaara is finally through with your outrageous antics I'll have the guards send you my way. I know just what to do with that pouting mouth of yours, leaf slut." The councilman chuckled darkly, and she balked at his disgusting behavior. Not being able to stand it any longer she tried breaking free of his grasp, but he held on rather tightly. "Don't make a scene, my dear. It will reflect badly on your owner--"

"Get your fucking hands off of me!" The pinkette spat venomously at him, but it only made him laugh more.

She felt trapped in more ways then one. She needed to get away from these people. This was turning out to be a very frightening evening.

"You know what? I think a few of my colleagues would enjoy your company as well, you obviously must have some sort of 'charms' going for you, otherwise Lord Gaara would never keep one of your kind--"

"For the second time today I have to tell one of you assholes to get the hell away from Sakura." Kankuro appeared at her side, gripping at the councilman's shoulder with hands itching to kill. She had never felt so relieved in her life, in fact she instantaneously thanked him for it. The older man narrowed his eyes, clearly offended.

"I'm not done with her--"

"Not your choice, you gross old lech. I overheard what you fucking said. You're a nasty old pervert, and you should be ashamed of yourself." The puppet master gave the councilman a hard shove, getting complete disbelief out of the man.

"How dare you, Kankuro!? Dishonoring your village for some worthless leaf whore--!!"

The crack that resounded around the room was loud, and sickly, but it made the pinkette so happy she could cry for joy. Kankuro hit the older man so hard that she was almost one hundred percent certain she heard his jaw break. The councilman dropped so fast that he looked like a sack of meat falling to the floor, and Kankuro was practically steaming he was so pissed.

Alright, the puppet master definitely deserved an award for best gentleman of the night.

"Kankuro!? What are you doing!?!" Temari stormed over to her brother, and opened her mouth to scold him up and down. He stopped her before she could even start.

"I'm getting Sakura out of here, that's what I'm fucking doing. No wonder Gaara was pissy about being here tonight, even the council is filled with disgusting old fucks--!"

"Kankuro!" Temari warned, but he shook his head angrily.

"Nope. I'm done. I'm taking her to a safe place. Fuck'em." Kankuro snatched up the pinkette's arm, tugging her after him in a rough way. She stumbled a bit, but she knew he was just urgently wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible.

"What about me?!" Ino shouted after him, and he groaned.

"Have Temari bring you back!" The puppet master shouted, and threw open the main doors to the ballroom dramatically as they made their exit.

Her heels were clicking against stone double time in comparison to his dress shoes, his gate was much longer as well so she had to nearly run to keep up.

The halls around the area doubled as walkways around the courtyards, the night air was dry and cool under a bright silver moon. Had she been with someone else, she would have found it romantic.

"Let's stop here for a minute." Kankuro guided her to a stone bench, and practically forced her to sit down. She followed his demands, and rested for the time being. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you--?"

"No! No... it was just unnerving is all. Embarrassing..." Sakura looked out into the night, she was beginning to feel shittier by the second. "I hate this place. No offense, but I hate your people too. They are savages."

Her words were cruel, but at this point she just didn't care anymore. She wished she could just leave.

"We're not all like that, but I can understand why you'd think it. Since we took over Konoha our people have grown cocky. They forget what it was like to be honorable, and instead revel in the fortunes of war." The puppet master sat next to her with his hands on his knees, his fingers tapped away like they had strings attached to them.

"They're misguided, I want to change that. However, the 'council' deems me to be unsuitable for the title of Kazekage. They don't think I'm strong enough, they want someone like Gaara to do it."

"Why won't he?" The pinkette pressed, and the man next to her laughed.

"It's not that he won't, it's just that they don't think he's perfect for the job either. Gaara is violent, selfish, and unmerciful. While he could get us far just by riding his coat tails it would only make for more wars, and he would not hesitate to kill his own people--"

"He's not like that anymore! He's making great changes-!!" Sakura tried arguing, but Kankuro hushed her.

"Do you really believe that? What do you think he does when you're not around, hmm? Do you think he just sits on his ass, eating a lollipop?" The puppet master grew a bit angry over the topic, and she could tell that it had been bothering him for a while. "I bet he's maiming someone right this very second--!"

"Just because he stormed off doesn't mean he's going to kill someone. The only threat I heard from him tonight was that he would kill anyone who came on to me. To be honest you should be happy he left, otherwise he would have killed two council members--"

"He gave you away to one." Kankuro said lowly, and it seemed that he had been there to witness the whole entire exchange.

"Gaara didn't know that those men were going at my throat, and he doesn't need to know either--!" She was about to tear him a new one when low and behold Gaara walked up the steps from the courtyard.

'Uh oh...'

"I just love it when people talk behind my back, especially the ones I favor most." The redhead's eyes were glowing, but with what emotion remained unclear. It were as if he were perfectly calm, laying in wait like a silent panther. Yet there was something off about him.

"You deserve it." The puppet master huffed, and she watched as Gaara's head turned painfully slow in his direction. The moon glinting strangely off his eyes.

"Excuse me--?"

"You heard me, you ignorant bastard." Kankuro looked him dead in the eye without a single trace of fear. The redhead seemed to smirk at this.

"You're not afraid of me." Gaara seemed amused while his brother violently shook his head.

"No, I am done with your bullshit." The puppet master hissed before standing, storming over to him with the intent to harm. Before she knew what she was doing she put herself between them.

"It's not his fault, Kankuro! He didn't know!" Sakura suddenly started to yell, as if it would defend the man behind her more.

"I didn't know what, Sakura?" The redhead's humor left him instantly, chilling the air with his aura while also heating it with the sound of her name. She couldn't open her mouth, she didn't want him to be angry...

"Well, for starters, that guy Hojo cornered her at one point to creep on her. Then when your ass decided to ditch you left her in the hands of that old guy Hebiki, who might I add called her a 'leaf whore'--"

"Kankuro, that's enough!" The pinkette tried putting her hands over his mouth, but Kankuro quickly pushed them away.

"He said that once you were done with her he'd have the guards send her his way, so that him and the rest of the council can do whatever the fuck they want to her--!!"

"ENOUGH!!!" Sakura screamed at him, at first gaining a glare of betrayal from the puppet master, but his face quickly changed when he saw her begin to crack. "I didn't want... I didn't want him to know..."

She quickly tried to conceal a tear by wiping her cheek with the back of her hand, but another just fell forward to replace it.

"I'm going to bed... I don't want to talk about this anymore." The pinkette couldn't look the redhead in the face, she felt so embarrassed over the whole thing. Instead she merely began making her way back to the main building.

The two she left behind began talking normally to each other, and she was grateful that at least her outburst had now kept them from fighting.

--------- …………… ----------- …………..

Gaara hadn't planned for something like this to happen. If anything he actually had high hopes that the night would end well, but of course his rotten luck would have it turn sour.

'Perhaps I really did get bad luck when I broke that mirror--'

"So, are you going to kill them? If you do, you know the rest of the village will be in an uproar." Kankuro spoke, still a bit bitter over the events of the evening.

The redhead couldn't say anything, he was at a loss for words. He had left her all alone with the very men that he knew had it out for her. He was a failure as a mate, and his shame was beginning to make him immobile.

"Are you fucking listening to me--?"

"Yes. I'm sorry." Gaara blurted out before walking dejectedly over to the railing to look out into the night.

His vision was a bit off, still woozy from the alcohol he had snatched from one of the more drunken guests. Luckily for him the alcohol seemed to metabolize fast due to the fact that he was a jinchuriki.

He remembered leaving Sakura in able to go find the 'liquid courage'. No, he had never truly gotten drunk before, but from what alcohol he had in the past he knew that people always thought of him to be friendlier with a drink.

Surprise-surprise, Gaara was a giddy drunk.

At any rate he knew that people did ridiculous things when under the influence, so he thought he would use that to his advantage.

Turns out that he's a bit more than 'happy' with half a bottle of hard liquor. For some reason he turned into a rather forward flirt. He knew he had been hitting on her when he had returned to Sakura's side, but literally half the conversation was a blur.

The redhead did remember her shooting him down, and the bitterness that came with it especially after they had made plans for 'private' activities later. It had left him for a complete loop.

Then he did something extremely stupid, he left her with the very crowd he hated most.

'I'm such an idiot.' Gaara shamed himself with a sigh, noting his brother now was on the approach.

"You said to them that if they disrespected her that you would torture them. To be honest I think you should act on that promise." The puppet master leaned with him against the balcony, looking out at the same night sky. "Teach them a lesson, and then go apologize to Sakura."

Silence fell again at the sound of her name. The redhead felt like burying himself in a hole out of guilt.

"You made her cry--"

"I fucking know that!!" Gaara surprised himself with his own outburst. He had never felt so guilty before, nor had he ever cared about someone else's wellbeing in such a way. His chest was starting to hurt. "Will she feel better... will she smile again?"

The redhead had meant to keep such questions to himself, but he felt that his mind was becoming more and more scattered every day.

"Just go beat those idiots up, and then apologize to her. If she starts turning her attitude around then seize the moment, and do something you know she'll love." Kankuro patted his younger brother on the shoulder, but something about it felt off. He felt tense.

The inkling had been there for a long time. From the first moment the puppet master had mentioned taking her, to him always questioning about her, even tonight with his gallant 'rescue'.

Gaara had heard them, he had been out in the courtyard practically underneath them at the foot on the large staircase.

He had heard his brother's anger, his malice towards the younger for his selfish behavior. However, had it been a different woman the redhead knew that Kankuro would have acted differently. He wouldn't have given a single shit about any other female...

But Sakura... she was special, and he knew that there was a jealousy there that bubbled under the surface.

"You like her, don't you?" Gaara murmured softly, and while he didn't want to know the answer he knew he had to know it anyways.

It went quiet, nothing but the breeze was heard between them for what seemed like an eternity. Finally Kankuro shifted, and cleared his throat.

"She belongs to you, not me--" His older brother dodged the question, making it painfully obvious how he truly felt on the matter.

"I'm not talking about that. Do you love her?" The redhead pressed, and the silence that followed was palpable.

He didn't want to know, but he had to know. She was important to him, as was his own brother. Gaara had never felt so torn in his entire life--

"I don't know her that well to answer such a question, but I'm sure if she had came to me instead of you I would have fallen head over heels... but...." Kankuro gave a pitiful laugh before shaking his head.

"...I may like her, but you love her, so I will only ever further your relationship with her. You don't have to be concerned about me sabotaging anything. You are my brother... I could never do that to you."

Gaara felt his brother's words wash over him, dousing the redhead with a wave of care that awakened him. Kankuro was his brother, and he knew he could trust him regardless of his feelings for the pinkette.

For some reason it felt like so many peaceful doors opened up in his mind. There were so many thoughts... good thoughts.

"I trust you." Gaara murmured, not failing to notice how his older brother tensed up completely.

'I've... never said those words before in my life... he must know this too.'

"Heh, well then I guess I'm going with you to kick some council ass. Someone has got to watch your back!" The puppet master gave a hearty laugh.

Yes, this was an alliance that the redhead had truly needed. For once he felt grateful to have an older brother.

--- ... ---

"I told you all what would happen, yet you chose to ignore my warnings. Why is that?" Gaara purred at Hojo, reveling in the man's fear as he was held captive in a coffin of sand. "It's almost as if you had asked me to kill you outright--"

"NO PLEASE!!" The middle aged man shrieked, squirming in his sand entrapment. It pleased the redhead to no end, the man who had made his mate feel uncomfortable was about to receive that feeling tenfold.

Gaara reared his dominant hand back, and pushed it faster than his sand could follow. He was able to strike the man in the cheekbone with a bare fist, and even though it stung it was just as equally satisfying.

Hojo groaned with confusion, but before he could collect himself the redhead struck again, and again, and again.

The sand was trying to keep up, but wasn't fast enough. Every bare fist connected beautifully as he beat this horrid man in the face--

"Woah woah!" Kankuro stepped in then, grabbing at the pummeling arm to hold it back from laying down another strike. "Hey, I know it's great getting revenge, but if you kill him it'll be your head on the chopping block--"

"Just one more--" Gaara argued, but the puppet master shook his head.

"Gaara... he's already unconscious." The older brother pointed to the limp person within the redhead's sand, and sure enough Hojo was out for the count.

'Damn.' Gaara inwardly cursed, wanting nothing more than to continue punching the guy until he felt better. However, he had to admit that his knuckles were definitely going to bruise after this.

He loosened the sand, and watched as Hojo fell unceremoniously to the ground in a heap.

"Alright, who's next?" The redhead cracked his neck, and then his knuckles before shaking them out.

"Hebiki is unconscious too, remember? I handled that one--"

"Well, I'll just break his legs then..." Gaara snickered for a moment, but his face dropped when he saw a strange look on his brother's features. "What?"

"Dude, it's done. Go take care of your girl." Kankuro frowned for a moment, but then a sly smirk graced his face. "Fine, if you want to go pummel some faces be my guest. I'll go visit Sakura, and make sure she's okay."

"No, you will not." The redhead barked at his brother, getting a snicker in return.

"I specifically remember you telling me how to handle my women, that I needed a firm hand?" The puppet master grinned ear to ear, making the younger brother uneasy. "Well, right now Sakura needs a 'gentle' hand. Maybe a nice massage, and a steamy bubble bath--"

"Is that what you want written on your tombstone?" Gaara glared with every fiber of his being, but didn't expect the bellowing laughter that followed.

"I'm joking! Get a grip, man! I'm not going to fuck your girl, but you need to step up. I've never seen a woman look so god damn stunning, and your standing here looking for a fight rather than doing her proper! You need to get those priorities straight before she finds 'comfort' somewhere else." Kankuro scolded him thoroughly. The redhead went completely dumb, he knew his brother was right, but he was so pissed that he didn't want to admit it.

"Gaara, go find Sakura! Fucking hell--!"

"Alright!!! I'm going!!" Gaara barked ferociously before beginning his trek towards the living quarters. He heard Kankuro shout a few lewd well wishes, but it didn't soften his stomping feet as he moved angrily through the halls.

--- ... --- ... ---

She wasn't in his room, and that was a bad sign.

Gaara thought about leaving her to her own devices for the night, but then again he knew he had to make things right as soon as possible. With a groan he made his way to the harem room, but didn't bother knocking on the door before entering.

The room was empty, but her dress was on the floor. In fact, all of her beautiful items were strewn everywhere, most likely in a fit of anger.

A bubbling sound caught his attention, and he saw that the stone bath had been filled to the brim with hot water. Sakura was at the bottom of the tub, eyes shut tight as she let the air escape from her lungs.

He waited for her to come back up, but then noticed that she seemed to be making it a game to practically drown herself.

He reached in, unceremoniously grabbing her from both sides to yank her to the surface. She jolted, gasping for air as she struck him hard in the chest like an enraged feline.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!" She screamed with every strike, not bothering to open her eyes.

"Stop acting like a fool, and I will!" Gaara seethed, tightening his grip around her until she finally calmed. He eventually let her go with a sigh, and watched mournfully as she sank back down to shoulder level.

"What do you want? I'm busy--" Her tone was not appreciative.

"Sorry to take you away from your 'drowning', but I want you to know that those men will not approach you again." The redhead huffed stubbornly. She whipped around, wiping her vision of water while looking him over. She seemed almost confused by his appearance.

'She's expecting blood...' He finally guessed.

"I talked to them, isn't that a surprise?"

The pinkette's mouth hung open slightly, completely shocked by his testimony. However, he wasn't being completely honest.

"Alright, I threatened a little bit... well... okay more than threatened--"

"Gaara." Sakura spoke in a warning tone, forcing him to look off to the side shamefully to avoid her judging eyes. "Did you torture them?"

"Torture is a strong word, more like 'physically pressured'..." Gaara broke into a small smile for a moment, but then cleared his throat when he caught her glaring. "I didn't mangle them, and you can blame Kankuro for Hebiki's broken jaw."

She didn't seem amused, and he found himself scrambling.

"Just know that I took care of it, and if it happens again they know full well that I will come to kill them. I made that fact more than crystal clear." The redhead sighed as he sat on the edge of the tub. She was still glaring at him, as if expecting him to say something else...

'What does she want--?'

"Do you regret leaving me?" Sakura murmured softly as she brought her wet knees to her chin. Her words finally hit him, and he realized that he had forgotten something crucial.

"Yes, but I also wish that you could have relaxed a bit on the dance floor..." Gaara huffed stubbornly, but regretted it as soon as her face soured.

"Gaara, there were more than a few eyes as well as ears on us. I had to be careful--"

"They already assume that we've gone all the way, why does it even matter--?!"

"Because they think I'm your whore! Not your girlfriend, mate, partner, whatever you like to call it... they think that I am your... sex slave." The pinkette sighed, turning on the hot water faucet. While her words stung, he could also see now why she would be hesitant, but she also hated these people so why should it matter?

"Who cares what they think?! They are all useless wastes of space! Meaningless in the grand scheme of things! All that matters is how I feel for you!" The redhead started to argue vehemently, but never rose up from his spot on the edge of the basin.

"And how do you feel about me, Gaara? Do you love me?" The pinkette stared at the water, shocking him to the point where he couldn't respond right away.

'What am I to say to that?! "Yes, I love you. Please, be mine?" I can't say that to her!!' His mind was running a million miles per minute, and he felt every muscle in his body clench as he finally found some word vomit to spew at her.

"Don't ask questions that you don't want to know the answer to." Gaara huffed, looking away from her with a small flush. Then he heard the water shift, and two wet arms wrapped around his center as she molded herself to his back.

'Just say it. "I love you." It's not that difficult--!'

"You're getting me wet..." The redhead huffed, and inwardly slapped himself for his stupidity.

Suddenly he felt a great pull from her, and his whole world turned as she pulled him into the hot water. His whole body was able to go under, and for a second he flailed splashing water everywhere.

Finally he came back up to the surface with a snarl. It scared her enough to squeal, and attempt flight, but his reflexes were quick enough to snatch up her ankle to yank her back under the water.

They wrestled, fought, pushed and pulled until the bath turned into a stormy ocean. Somehow he was underneath her, wondering why she was sitting on his waist before she slammed his shoulders against the edge of the bath in frustration.

"Apologize!!!" Sakura barked. He bared his teeth at her in response, causing her fist to yank at his red hair. Pulling his head back painfully he gave a harsh groan of discomfort, but something about it was strangely erotic. He was beginning to like how her dominance felt.

"Say you're sorry!! For everything that happened!! For leaving me! For... not being nice to me..."

Her hand finally relaxed, and she leaned in next to him to rest her head on the side of the tub. He reached for the tap, turning it off with a long sigh of resignation. He knew he was going to have to humble himself to make this right again.

They remained silent until the water was finally still.

"Sakura... I'm sorry..." Gaara murmured softly before his head dipped into the crook of her neck. His arms wrapped around her possessively as he nuzzled against her. Her naked form felt so soft under his gripping hands. "I'm sorry. I've been too... neurotic. My desires have turned me into a shameful man..."

The redhead adjusted himself into a more proper sitting position, her body slid down until she was nestled sweetly in his lap. Her form felt small in his arms, almost breakable. Like he could snap her if he truly wanted to.

Only he didn't want to kill her, if anything he wished that all barriers between them would disappear. Had he just stripped down before all of this they could have been in a perfectly precarious situation.

Well... they still could be.

The pinkette pulled away to look at him in the face, and the hard blush that hit her cheeks was flattering as well as telling.

"While I do apologize for it, can you really blame me for wanting you? I've tasted you... touched you... I've become greedy for it, and you keep so much to yourself." Gaara's hands gripped at her bottom, and he pulled hard on her hips to grind with her. A small gasp escaped her, and it left him wanting more.

His desire finally reached a tipping point, it left him licking his lips before purring gently.

"I want to be inside you... I want to feel you around me."

Part 8

Sakura sank into the giant stone bathtub, she had no desire to stay in Gaara's room tonight so she went to the one room she hated most. Thankfully she brought her own clothes this time.

The pinkette sat in the water for a long while, and had already washed her hair. At the moment she only had conditioner sitting on it, but with a hard sigh she dunked her head under the surface. Her eyes clenching tight as she sunk to the bottom of the deep bath.

She held her breath for as long as possible, and even after she released it she continued to stay under for an even longer time. She already felt a bit dizzy, and wondered if it would be okay if she just drowned--

Something reached in, grabbing her from both sides to yank her to the surface. Once above, she inhaled with a sharp gasp before hitting the assailant repeatedly in the chest.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!" She screamed with every strike, not bothering to open her eyes.

"Stop acting like a fool, and I will!" The rasped voice barked, and she didn't have to hear him speak twice to know it was Gaara.

Of course, who else could it be? He could never leave her alone to bathe.

"What do you want? I'm busy--"

"Sorry to take you away from your 'drowning', but I want you to know that those men will not approach you again." As that sentence sunk in she feared for the worst. She wiped her vision of water, expecting to see him covered in blood, but there was none to be found. He had lost the jacket and tie, and his knuckles seemed to be raw from hitting something. Other than that there was no carnage. "I talked to them, isn't that a surprise?"

The pinkette's mouth hung open slightly, completely shocked that he just admitted to not murdering in her name.

"Alright, I threatened a little bit... well... okay more than threatened--"

"Gaara." Sakura spoke in a warning tone, forcing him to look off to the side shamefully. "Did you torture them?"

She waited in silence, anticipating an apology or a confession. His expression flittered a few times before continuing.

"Just know that I took care of it, and if it happens again they know full well that I will come to kill them. I made that fact more than crystal clear." The redhead sighed as he sat on the edge of the tub. She could tell that an apology was on the tip of his tongue, but his pride was preventing him from saying it.

"Do you regret leaving me?" Sakura murmured softly as she brought her wet knees to her chin. She hugged her legs for self comfort, yet it still didn't do much to ease her.

"Yes, but I also wish that you could have relaxed a bit on the dance floor..." Gaara huffed stubbornly, and it made her frustration skyrocket once more.

"Gaara, there were more than a few eyes as well as ears on us. I had to be careful--"

"They already assume that we've gone all the way, why does it even matter--?!"

"Because they think I'm your whore! Not your girlfriend, mate, partner, whatever you like to call it... they think that I am your... sex slave." The pinkette sighed, turning on the hot water faucet for extra added heat. The temperature was almost blistering already, but she was still feeling cold.

"And how do you feel about me, Gaara? Do you love me?" The pinkette questioned him.

Why was she asking that, and why did it seem so sad coming from her lips? Perhaps she wished that he did, and that would be at least one person who truly loved her like she always wanted. Someone who wasn't already dead, or had left her behind.

Sakura wanted to be loved, but all of her relationships, even with friends and family, ended up failing in some way.

"Don't ask questions that you don't want to know the answer to." Gaara huffed, looking away from her with a small flush.

She was done with this. This weird dance with him was driving her insane. She reached up, hugging him around the waist feeling him tense.

She just needed to be comforted, she needed to feel close to someone. The desperation was there, and it was glaring.

"You're getting me wet..." The redhead turned his head further to huff, and she felt something snap inside her. With every ounce of her strength she yanked him into the large bath. His whole body was able to go under, and for a second he flailed splashing water everywhere.

He turned around while snarling at her like a vicious dog while she practically jumped out of the water. She squeaked when his hands dove under, pulling at her ankle until she was submerged.

Sakura splashed around, coughing and breathing fresh air as soon as she was able. Her fingers latched onto his wet shirt, tugging it away from his skin in able to regain balance. He started to snicker, and in another wave of anger she kicked at his legs, sweeping him back under the hot water.

The bath had turned into a wave pool, splashing out over the floor while more water was still being poured in by the faucet. Some how she got him completely under her, and she slammed him by the shoulders against the wall of the basin while she sat on his waist.

"Apologize!!!" Sakura barked, and when he bared his teeth at her she fisted her hand in his hair. Yanking his head back painfully he gave a harsh groan of discomfort. "Say you're sorry!! For everything that happened!! For leaving me! For... not being nice to me..."

Her hand relaxed, and her head rested next to his. She felt the coolness of the stone basin on her forehead, while his abdominal muscles seemed to tense under her thighs. She felt him reach for the tap, turning it off with a long sigh.

They remained silent until the water was finally still.

"Sakura... I'm sorry..." Gaara murmured softly before his head dipped into the crook of her neck. His arms wrapped around her possessively as he nuzzled against her. "I'm sorry. I've been too... neurotic. My desires have turned me into a shameful man..."

The redhead adjusted himself into a more proper sitting position, the water coming up just under their chests. Her body slid down him naturally, and she found herself quickly seated in his lap.

The pinkette pulled away from him to gauge his thoughts, and was shocked by the intense gaze he gave her. While his eyes were surrounded by darkness she could now see the water dripping sinfully off his lashes. His red hair sticking to his forehead in a piecey mess. He looked far too sultry to be real.

"While I do apologize for it, can you really blame me for wanting you? I've tasted you... touched you... I've become greedy for it, and you keep so much to yourself." Gaara's hands gripped at her bottom, and he pressed down hard in able to get her to rock against him. A small gasp escaped her lips, and she watched carefully as his eyes grew lidded. "I want to be inside you... I want to feel you around me--"

"Gaara, no. I'm not ready for that..." Sakura tried turning away from him, but one hand turned her chin while the other wrapped around her waist. His hips rose up to meet hers again, gaining a soft groan from both of them.

"I know that, but it doesn't stop me from thinking about it." The redhead panted, his fingers gliding along the skin of her throat. He wrapped his hand around it gently, rubbing her jugular with his thumb. "Every day... I think about it. I try to imagine what it would feel like to be inside you, pleasuring you--"

"Stop this." The pinkette batted his hand away, but he pressed her hips down hard as he lifted his own. She shook violently, and gave a true moan while he looked on in wonder.

"That sound, make it again... I want to hear you beg for me." Gaara held onto her tightly, grinding against her. His mouth went in to suck at her neck, and it had her so overwhelmed that her voice went up in pitch.

Sakura could feel how hard he was through his pants, and how his muscles would tense every time he moved. She wanted to feel them directly under her fingertips.

Her hands traveled to his shirt, plucking each button one by one on the way down to reveal his smooth wet chest. There was no netting this time, just silky pale skin that was hot to the touch. He broke away from her to watch as she finished undoing his shirt, his eyes glazed over with an emotion that she knew all too well.

"You're so beautiful..." Water dripped hypnotically from his lips as he nearly whispered. The redhead's unfocused eyes devoured her nudity, but it seemed that just grinding against her was not enough to quench his thirst. "Let me have you... please--"

"No." The pinkette was stern, but continued her own war of rolling her hips against his while slipping her hands into his open shirt. Her fingers reveled in the feeling of his working muscles, making her whimper with each hard movement. His hands lowered between them, and she knew exactly what he was doing. "Gaara... I said no..."

The redhead ignored her, and suddenly she felt his hand adjust his length out of his pants. He moved his hips in a way that the underside of his erection could slide against her folds, leaving him practically breathless, and her surprised.

"I wont go in... but... it's so close now...." Gaara panted excitedly, his hands now going to her hips for his fingertips to dig into. "This is my 'something'... I hope that's okay with you..."

'Clever bastard.' Her eyes narrowed, but he was correct, since it wasn't penetration it didn't count... but it was cutting it close for sure.

However, she found herself more humored by it rather than upset. She locked her eyes onto him, and rolled her hips sinfully against his. A whine erupted out of her as she did it, and he seemed to follow with a moan of his own.

The water around them made small waves as they moved together. At times he would get a bit antsy and begin kissing her chest, neck, jaw, and then eventually her mouth. The longer they did it the more intense his actions got. Occasionally he'd give a hard squeeze to her bottom, suck hard at her breasts, and sometimes bite at her neck and shoulders. He panted heatedly against her flesh while starting to groan continuously from the attention.

All his hard work was beginning to become her undoing. She rode her naked hips with his with an intensity that she didn't realize she had in her. Her body was pulsing for more, urging her to take it further when she knew she couldn't. She took out her frustration on his chest, clawing down the muscles as they tensed under her touch. His hands ran up her sides to tangle into her wet hair while she leaned forward to suck lasciviously along his neck.

"Fuck--" Gaara cursed as his coal rimmed eyes fluttered shut, she could feel his heart pounding rapidly in his chest as he whimpered. Her fingers latched in his hair for a light tug, and got a heavy whine for her effort. His movements grew more frantic, and his arm around her waist was holding her bruisingly tight so he could rock his hips even harder.

She moaned on his neck, then turned her face up to his ear, mewling against the shell while he shivered with each needy cry.

"Gaara... please..." Sakura knew he would be weakened to it, and as good as this felt she did not want to finish this way. Instead she wanted to really feel, and witness him do it. While she whined loudly next to his ear she heard him give another curse, this time it sounded almost like desperate prayer.

'He's so close...' The butterflies in her stomach wouldn't stop fluttering, the more he cried out in desperation to climax the more she felt those cries pang through her body in the most shameful of ways.

"Sakura--!" The redhead tilted his head back with a pitched moan, his hips rolling against her as his voice continued to cry and break. His breathing was panicked, his body arched up for one last grind before he came hard. She felt like she might be riding a bronco with how much he writhed beneath her. It was so incredibly sexy that she almost ended up getting there herself, and was somewhat disappointed when she felt her veins pulse with the absence of orgasm; screaming at her for being too cruel.

Gaara held her to him fast, his erection still pushing out what had been building up between them. The pinkette leaned her face upwards to kiss at his neck, occasionally giving long licks to wick away the water that had gathered along his pulse. She was in a state of arousal that had her doing strange things at the moment.

The redhead seemed to notice, and even in his hazy state he ended up raising a curious naked brow at her.

"I... seem to be the only one who got there...huh?" It was a rhetorical question, but for some reason he ended up laughing at himself. "I'm not very good at this--"

"No... you're wonderful..." Sakura ran her hands up his chest, and into his hair to scratch playfully at his scalp. His eyes watched her as if she were the most interesting thing on the planet. "I held off... on purpose..."

"Why?" His hairless brows furrowed, and his hand came up to trace her bottom lip with his thumb.

"I wanted to watch you first." The pinkette felt a sense of shamelessness, as if any and all truths could be told at this moment. He blinked at her owlishly for a second before looking away.

"Well... I hope I didn't disappoint... " Gaara formed a shy pout with his lips, and a flattering blush had tinged his cheeks. She almost couldn't take it anymore, and began reaching for his hands.

"You didn't--" Sakura pulled his hands over her wet frame, watching his expression carefully as he managed to swallow hard. She pushed his right hand downwards, and in between her legs. "--but now I need you to touch me--"

"Sakura, wait." The redhead held his hand firmly away from her, and she almost cried at the lack of feeling. He began moving them, but all she wanted was for him to touch her. She started to throw a fit, whining and smacking at him while he lifted her up out of the water to sit on the edge of the tub. Her feet were still submerged, but the rest of her body was exposed to him. "Forgive me, but I'd like to take the second choice of 'somethings' for tonight--"

"That's not fair--!!" The pinkette went to argue at first, but he ignored her completely. Distracted in her anger she didn't realize what he was doing until his hands had parted her legs. He nestled his chest between them, wrapping his arms around her waist sweetly before kissing her stomach. "Wh-what...are you--??"

"I want to taste you properly." Gaara answered huskily, and she was shocked that he could already be so worked up after just finishing himself. His kisses went lower, and lower.... and lower....

Sakura gasped as he quickly put one thigh over his shoulder, and placed his mouth over her aching heat. She mewled in approval, fisting her hands into his red hair to pull firmly at the locks. He let out a heated breath that flayed against her wet folds, and a slight breathy laugh escaped him before he took a few lascivious licks.

The pinkette whined, her figure started to rock itself shamelessly in ecstasy while he lapped at her. The occasional sucking had her throwing her head back in a hard pant while scraping her nails against his scalp.

The more he did it, the more strongly she'd react. She was already so worked up when he got to her that it didn't take long to get her to a steady point.

Sakura had never felt like this before, it was nothing like anything she could do to herself, and it was so intense that it had her trembling with the need to finish. There was no pain in the friction, no discomfort, only pleasure. As his mouth became more ardent she felt her legs clinging to his back while his fingers dug into her hips and thighs.

"...Gaara... yes...." The pinkette whined, her heart starting to race as her orgasm was fast approaching. Her body was shivering with need, and he answered by licking her as firmly as he could. When her hips went to buck in pleasure his strong hands held her steady, allowing her to have that fight that she needed for a great climax.

It was like a gunshot, loud and fast. Her hands pulled hard at his hair, and he groaned against her folds as he tried to keep up. She gave out high moan that quickly turned into a scream of ecstasy. Her blood pounded so hard that it was all she could hear in her ears. Her heartbeat was the only thing left of her before she took a much needed sharp inhale, coming back down into her body once more as oversensitivity took over.

He was still going, and as much as she liked his enthusiasm her body just couldn't handle that much attention.

"Stop!" Sakura squealed, her legs trying desperately to close even though he was still there, however his grip on her was great enough that she did not succeed.

Gaara pulled away from her with a lidded expression at first, but then a genuine smile made it's way across his features. He ended up chuckling as her expression grew more flustered.

"H-hey!! Stop laughing--!"

"I'm sorry... you looked so cute..." The redhead panted slightly, and ended up licking his lips which only made her more bashful. "Did I do it right?"

The flush that took over her whole body was intense, she made a weird expression before hiding her face in her hands.

'Oh my god... I was screaming!!'

"Sakura? I asked you a question..." She felt his hands go back to her thighs, steadily creeping up her frame to her waist, but she refused to look at him. "Did I do it right? Or perhaps I should try again--?"

"You did fine!!! Go away!!" The pinkette shrieked at him before swinging her legs out of the tub. She quickly grabbed the towel next to her, and wrapped herself protectively in it. However, it didn't protect her from his laughter.

"There's no need to be embarrassed." He teased. She heard water sloshing around, as well as a drain being pulled. Then one by one his soaked clothing seemed to be plopped over the edge of the tub. She jumped when she saw it, and scurried over to the bed in the center of the room. Acting quickly she hid deep under the blankets, encasing herself in darkness.

Sakura knew he would follow her there, but at the moment she didn't want him to see her face, or tease her for how she had reacted.

"Sakura... Sakura... in spring sky as far as I see... is it mist or is it a cloud?~" Gaara sang her name in a familiar song, and hummed the rest of the tune as he approached. The edge of the blanket lifted, so she huddled further down. "There you are, cherry blossom, no more hiding--"

"Go away!!" The pinkette pouted, and his brow furrowed before a sly smirk graced his features.

"Not a chance, not after hearing you scream like that..." His tone grew dark, sultry even. "How dare you tease me, and then hide away."

Suddenly he was crawling under those very same blankets as her, and for a moment it seemed that he was not dressed.

No, he truly was not dressed. At all.

"Stop!!" Sakura shrieked as she felt him pawing at her in the dark. Her body was being pulled to him easily on the silk sheets. His mouth was on her flesh in an instant, kissing along her chest and up her neck. She didn't know why, but her hands clawed sinfully along his back making him drag his teeth down her jugular.

"I want to hear it again... say my name... scream it..." The redhead spoke huskily, tilting his mouth towards her ear to purr. "I am starving, and my appetite is insatiable--"

"Gaara, please! I can't take any more, it's too much!" The pinkette tried moving away from him once more, but his hands pulled hard on her hips bringing her under him. With one arm he held himself over her, and with the other his hand immediately found it's way between her legs. "Gaara!! Stop--!!"

"Ssh... hush now, I'm going to do something a little different--"

"It's going to hurt!!!" Sakura kicked her legs, and only recieved a breathy laugh for her effort. The feeling of his lips against the shell of her ear had her breaking out in goosebumps all over her body.

"You really think I would be so cruel? I have only showed you gentleness despite the fact that I have an intense desire for you." Gaara's words were whispered, but the meaning had her feeling a bit guilty. She began to relax, and a small sigh escaped him. "Yes... just relax..."

His fingers stroked gently at her wet heat, humming in approval over the state of arousal that she still seemed to be in. Suddenly her folds started to part, and she felt him slowly insert two digits inside of her.

Sakura was not completely foreign to this, as she had grown curious a few times, but having someone else do it had her tensing up almost painfully. As he moved his fingers out slowly she felt her sheath wanting to hold him in despite the fact that she wasn't sure if she wanted him there in the first place.

"You're burning up inside, I can feel it." The redhead panted excitedly against the shell of her ear. She squirmed slightly with shame, placing her hands over her face even though the blankets already hid them from the light. When he pumped them again she felt a familiar sensation, but it was also different. The fingers that were invasive before were now filling her with a pleasure that she hadn't felt before, a pleasure she was slowly starting to warm up to. "Is this okay?"

Although he asked a perfectly normal question she had to turn her face away, and this seemed to not sit well him. He removed his hand, and then flipped back the blanket to blind her. She felt as if it were agony, being teased in such a way only for him to stop so abruptly. He glared down at her, and it made the pinkette feel small.

"I wont do it unless you tell me that you want it." Gaara scolded her, and while she would usually feel upset by it for some reason she found it somewhat alluring tonight. "Say it."

The redhead was impatient, dark, and dominant. It was turning her on, and surprising her at the same time. She maneuvered her body into more relaxed position while keeping her eyes on his, and she let herself become vulnerable underneath him. Yet all it did was make him click his tongue.

"No, while I do appreciate this I still asked you a question. You will give me a verbal answer--"

Sakura whined like a spoiled child who refused to ask for something politely, and it got the redhead to raise a hairless brow at her display. A small smirk tried to make it's way across his lips, but he quickly narrowed his eyes instead.

"Say you want it." When she shook her head his voice lowered to a soft growl. "Say it."

Her heart was pounding so fast, and truth be told she wanted him to do it more than anything, but she didn't want to have that choice. She didn't want to come off as some sort of sex crazed nympho--

"Alright, I'm leaving." Gaara's lips formed a tight line as he began to move away from her, but before she knew it she was grabbing at one of his arms desperately. That tight line quickly formed a devilish smirk that he unfortunately could not hold back. "Say it then."

"I want it." The pinkette's voice came out small, but it seemed to have a good effect on him. She could see him breathe hard at her admission, goosebumps showing up on his skin while a shiver went down his spine.

"...Say it again." The redhead growled as he turned towards her, an animalistic instinct washing over him quickly. She could practically feel the heat radiating off of him.

"I want it." Sakura spoke more confidently, and that same shiver rippled through him as he pressed his mouth over hers.

She could taste a hint of herself on his lips, but it didn't bother her in the slightest. If anything it had her burning up at the reminder of what he had done to her. He pressed her back down onto the mattress, and held one knee up to her chest while his hand stroked her exposed sex. She gave a needy whimper, and he answered by slipping in two fingers. It was more accepted this time, and the more she relaxed into it the better it felt.

Gaara moved back slightly to get a view of what he was doing, and it was enough to make her squeak in bashfulness. However, the tone quickly changed as he began working a firm and steady pace on her. Forgetting her shyness she started to writhe in pleasure, her body moving like a snake as his digits pumped into her.

"You're getting so tight..." The redhead chuckled slightly, and although she felt thoroughly flustered by it the only thing she could do was moan for him. Her emotions didn't seem to matter anymore as her natural instinct took over. "Does it feel good?"

The pinkette mewled in answer, rolling her hips with his working hand finding it to be just that much sweeter. His eyes roamed her frame greedily, enjoying every second of pleasurable torture he placed on her. Soon he was hovering over her again, leaning in for a kiss that she was far too eager for.

Sakura moaned against his lips, occasionally panting his name in between rough kisses that took her breath away. Her nails raked against his skin, carving her way down his lean hips and toned thighs leaving him trembling underneath. When her hand accidentally ran across his groin she felt his hardened length, and grabbed hold of it with an almost painful firmness.

"Stop being...sneaky..." Gaara panted in between desperate kisses, and decided that moving faster was the best option. She tried stroking him, but was greatly distracted by what he was doing to her. Her head shot back as her body arched with his hand, stringing her tight like bow's string. She was too close to function properly anymore, so holding him tightly was all she could do. "That's it... scream for me--"

As he pushed harder she felt herself clenching around his fingers, crying out wildly from high pitches to low ones. Her body was breaking out into a sweat as the noises heaved from her throat, slowly causing her vocals to rasp from overuse. Her pink hair clung to her face as she rolled her head in pleasure. Just when she thought it was too much his hand began to slow, and she regained the breath that she had lost during the intense moment.

The redhead pulled back, chuckling slightly in a breathy tone while his eyes continued to study her. As she came back to reality she looked over to him, her heart still racing from what he had done to her.

"I've been wanting to do that all night." Gaara laughed genuinely then, and his smile was far too beautiful.

That same smile that he only ever showed to her. It was a gift, and she wanted to return it.

"You're too stunning for your own good, I was completely enchanted when you walked out of the bathroom in that dress." His eyes closed for a moment, as if he were remembering it fondly.

"Is that so?" She didn't know why at first that she was suddenly crawling over to him, and it didn't become apparent until she had placed her hands on his hips that she actually had a plan in mind. It was spontaneous, but she didn't care, this would be her 'something' for the night. "You didn't think about yourself... at all?"

His eyes opened as her hands stroked at his skin, they darted around her frame curiously before he bit his lower lip for just the briefest of moments.

"I tried not to... I'd just chase you away with the things I'd want to take from you--"

"Such a martyr, the demon that loves only itself is a total lie isn't it?" Sakura smirked, taking his erection into her hand to tease it with feathery strokes. He let out a slow, yet shaking breath, his eyes starting glaze from the second she had reached for it. "So, oh selfless one, I guess you wouldn't be interested in me putting this inside myself, would you?"

"Don't be cruel." Gaara narrowed his eyes in warning, but it only spurred her on.

"Are you sure? You could try begging for it. Who knows, maybe I'm in a giving mood--"

"You already told me 'no', and I already prepared myself for that rejection." The redhead snipped, his temper started to flare just the slightest. It seemed he was not one to be teased, even lightly.

"I didn't mean 'that' way. You assume there is only one part of me that can take you..." The pinkette lowered her head for a moment, and licked the underside of his length as his breath hitched. His breathing from then on out was a forceful pant.

"Do you want it?" She purred.

"Yes." There was no waiting, no thinking involved, he simply put his desire out there on the table. She snickered for a moment at his eagerness, finding him to be fairly innocent yet struck with a carnal need.

"What's the magic word?" Sakura giggled looking up at him from below his waist. His eyes unfocused, became lidded, and glazed over with lust as his lips parted.

"Please..." He breathed the word, and it made every hair raise up on her body.

"With sugar on top-" She gave a long lascivious lick before continuing. "-And ice cream in the middle?"

The redhead blinked at her for a moment as his cheeks began to flush. He looked like he might faint from the attention.

"Yes... sugar... ice cream... middle..." Gaara's words came out choppy, as if he forgot what language was. She full on laughed at his display, but decided against teasing him any further.

The second the pinkette wrapped her lips around him he let out a groan of relief. His fingers tangled in her pink hair, but he was incredibly gentle with her scalp.

She remembered things that Ino had told her about her 'oral' encounters. There was to be no touching from her teeth, that was a given. The tip was the most sensitive part, that was second. Last, but certainly not least, the penis was not the only part that was to receive attention; the testicles were just as important.

It was funny how other women would rave about their talent in merely placing their mouth on a man, and calling it a day, but Ino had made sure that Sakura knew that there was a lot more to it than that.

As the redhead let out a rather youthful whimper she seized that moment to cup him gently in her hand. The fingers in her hair clenched while he gave a full moan.

He was far too precious, sounding like a young teenager during his first sexual experience. She reveled in the idea that she was tainting him in some way; tainting this 'monstrous' man who always seemed to have blood drenched in his clothes.

Sakura was enjoying herself, and that scared her a little bit, but just because it was new and odd didn't mean that she would stop herself. That would be true cruelty.

"Sakura..." Gaara whimpered, his hands clenching and opening in her hair. As she swirled her tongue around his tip she witnessed him not only cry out harshly, but tremble as well. He was shivering hard, and his skin started to sweat while he gave shaking breaths. He would whisper her name, whimper it, and cry it out like a mantra. It left her feeling high with how she could bring such a 'frightening' person literally to their knees. "S-stop... please..."

She didn't, she knew why he wanted her to do so, but she didn't care. His hands tried to push her away, weakly one might add, but she stayed regardless of the fact that he was also trying to pull her hair. She became more vigorous, and soon his hips were rising up to meet her with each bob of her head.

"No! Stop!" The redhead cried out, but after it was said she went harder, and she could practically feel the shock go through him as he groaned loudly through his teeth. She felt him start to pulse on her tongue, and as a wave of bitter salt splashed into her mouth she quickly tried gulping it back. It wasn't as fluid as she would have liked, but it wasn't awful either.

The fingers in her hair loosened, and all the muscles that were clenched up relaxed almost instantly. The only sound left was that of his panting breath. Pulling away she wiped her mouth smartly, giving him a rather smug smile.

"Did I do it right?" Sakura teased, and while he did blush he also got a tired laugh out of it.

"I think so... however we could try again--" Gaara said with a exhausted smile, and she balked at his suggestion.

"Stop getting greedy!" She smacked at his thigh, gaining another laugh for her trouble. "How about instead of acting like an ass you can thank me with a glass of water?"

As much as it made him wince he also couldn't stop his snickers. While she turned to lay on her stomach she felt the bed move as he got up to do the exact thing she had told him to do.

'He's such a puppy.' The pinkette giggled inwardly, thinking how he could literally eat from the palm of her hand while also licking it completely clean. 'Oh, boy... He's got a talent for that too...'

"Here." The redhead was now holding out a glass of water for her, and surprisingly wearing a nice black robe. When she looked him over questioningly his cheeks managed to tinge pink. "Um... it was by the closet... I can get you one too--"

"No need." Sakura smirked as she rolled onto her side, taking a long drink of the water he had given her. From the corner of her eye she could tell he was studying her naked form, and for some reason she liked the attention. She pulled the drink away from her lips to place it down on the nightstand before truly staring him down. "Well, thank you for such a wonderful evening. You were a fantastic bed partner, but now I must bid you farewell. The door is that way."

She pointed to the door, and gave him a sinister smile, which he returned in kind.

"Kicking me out--?"

"Well, that's what you're here for right? To please me? You've done your job well enough." The pinkette looked at her nails, pretending to be aloof with him just to get under his skin. It seemed to be working for the most part. "Oh, I forgot to ask what your going rates are-- AAACK!!"

With a ferocious snarl he tackled her onto the bed, and while it surprised her she couldn't help but laugh hysterically as he growled against her neck. He seemed to understand the joke, and it put a nice spin on things.

"Back! Back I say! You little beastie--!" Sakura almost snorted as she smacked at his shoulder, but he stopped abruptly to glare at her.

"I am not 'little'." Gaara spoke in a low tone that sent pleasant shivers down her spine. She lowered her lashes for him, and bit her lip.

"You're right. You're a big, intimidating, enticing, and handsome beast." The pinkette purred, and as he tried to inch closer she proceeded to crawl away.

"Flattery will get you nowhere--" He smirked.

"Wrong! You're already trying to paw at me again, you're incorrigible." Sakura turned her head defiantly, but it only gave him an opening to kiss her neck. "Hey! I'm tired--!"

"Hello, tired. I'm incorrigible, it's a pleasure to meet you." Gaara bit down, and when she jolted his hands gripped greedily around her frame. She smacked at his shoulder a few times, receiving a snicker against her skin.

"I can't believe you just made that joke!" The pinkette scoffed, but quickly became putty in his roaming hands while he worked his magic on her neck. It had her humming, and relaxing in his strong arms. "I'm about to fall asleep..."

"Let me sleep next to you then..." The redhead's heated breath flayed against her skin, and his weight on top of her was more than welcome.

"You really shouldn't." Sakura pet his hair while he kissed down her collar to the center of her chest, it was the place where he finally rested his head despite the fact of it being bare.

"I know...but I still want to." Gaara's arms gripped her possessively, and her heart began to sink thinking about his predicament.

"Have you talked to 'him' about it? You two talk often don't you?" The pinkette kept her tone gentle, as she was prodding at a very delicate topic. He nuzzled further against her chest at first before giving a tired sigh.

"It's like talking to a wall. He is stuck in his ways thinking that everyone must die--"

"Including me?" Sakura blurted, and felt stupid for asking such a thing. When he didn't answer she felt that she had recieved her answer.

"I don't... like to talk about you with him... but I can tell he likes you. However, I don't want to share you with him..." The redhead's hold tightened, but his words confused her.

"What do you mean by 'share'?" She asked carefully, and when he stiffened she felt a bit nervous to know the answer.

"We share a body... he knows what I know... and can feel what I feel.... I believe this is why he likes you." Gaara almost whispered, then some sort of desperation came over him. It inspired him to move upwards to hold her more protectively. She could feel a sense of anxiety wash over him as he held her. "He made me an offer recently... after our first... whatever you'd like to call it, and I don't think the risk is worth it."

"He made an offer? Like what?" The pinkette was already suspicious of the being inside of him, and felt her caution become validated rather quickly.

"Time with you... in exchange for the first peaceful night's sleep I've ever had in my entire life." The redhead sighed before shaking his head. "I'd rather die of insomnia--"

"You should accept it." Sakura stated calmly, and he instantly pushed himself up to truly look at her face. He looked absolutely horrified.

"You can't be serious! He would kill you--!"

"If he wanted to kill me he obviously wouldn't care enough to want my company." The pinkette deadpanned while he gaped at her for even trying to defend the beast.

"And what if it's something more sinister than that?" Gaara narrowed his eyes in warning, jealousy clear on his features. While she was worried about something like that she also knew that any chance he had at getting some rest was probably worth it.

She'd probably have to bargain with this one, and with the last card in her hand no less. However, she desperately wanted to give him some sort of peace... so handing over her final ace seemed only natural.

No, it was more than that. She honestly just wanted him to have it.

"You can take the bargain... after you've had me for yourself..." Sakura said it in a small voice, but it made a great enough impact on him that he started to forget how to breathe.

"Sakura... I... I can't do that--"

"Oh don't lie, you know you'd fuck me in a heartbeat." The pinkette scoffed, and while the idea seemed to dawn on him with a fierce reddening of his cheeks he also seemed to shake the thought literally from his head.

"I...no---wait... yes... I mean... yes. Yes, I would, but it's not right for me to feed you to a monster just so I can actually sleep for once." While he seemed a bit mixed in his emotions she could see the weariness in his eyes. He just... looked so exhausted. The idea must have been haunting him for so long now...

She'd have to force him to do this somehow, yet an idea came to her quicker than she thought.

"Gaara, I give you full permission to have sex with me whenever you so choose, but afterwards you will answer to the one tail's demands. Then you can finally get the rest you deserve." Sakura laid out the bargain for him, and he merely stared at her as if she were insane.

"You can't be... serious--"

"Deadly serious. I'll meet him head on for you, I'm not scared of him."

That was a filthy lie, ever since that day in the forest she was scared shitless of the bijuu that lived inside of him. The sand beast had almost killed her, yet she was sure that Gaara had somehow made it so she could live another day. She truly believed that deep in her heart.

His face started to twist, and his jealousy seemed to erupt.

"Then I guess I'll just stay abstinent!" The redhead barked at her. She frowned, thinking that he was blowing this out of proportion.

However, there were sneakier ways to get what she wanted, and she decided to use what she had at full force.

"That's too bad... I was really looking forward to it." The pinkette stretched languidly underneath him, and just like that she had his undivided attention. "After the amount of talent you've shown me tonight I'm positive that you must be a complete animal in the bedroom. I guess I'll just have to use my imagination--"

"Stop teasing." Gaara growled at her, making her raise a well groomed brow at him.

"What am I going to do? I don't think I've ever wanted anyone so badly in my life..." Her hands wandered her own body in the most sensual of ways, making him stare at her with a hungry expression. "Don't you want me too?"

As she reached up to stroke his cheek he leaned his head into her hand before kissing longingly against her wrist. His eyes were dark with desire, holding an almost bitter expression.

"You're so cruel..." The redhead murmured against the inside of her delicate wrist. She watched in wonder as he inhaled her scent while growing more enraged. "Why don't you ever shut up? I'm so sick of your twisted bullshit--"

"Excuse me?" Sakura furrowed her brow both in insult, and confusion. Her words seemed to wake him up to his odd behavior, cueing a horrified look in his eyes as he realized that he had spoken aloud.

"N-not you! I'm sorry, I wasn't talking to you!" Gaara seemed truly upset by this, and while she loved to watch him act like an innocent little boy she didn't truly want to cause him any harm. She reached up to soothe him, scratching with a feather light touch along his nape.

"Ah, I see. Well, if you're going to talk to him out loud can you make sure to let me know that its 'him' you're talking to, and not me?" The pinkette snickered while another blush graced his cheeks, although this time it was merely out of awkwardness.

The redhead couldn't seem to speak, and her only confirmation was a quick and awkward nod of his head. He was too distraught to tease any further, so she decided to end their discussion for the night.

"So, am I sleeping here? Or downstairs?" Sakura smiled warmly at him, and he blinked as if he were stunned by her somehow.

"I don't want you to get dressed..." Gaara started pouting, causing her to roll her eyes at him.

"Oh my god, you are such a brat!" While her words sounded mean, the little smile that went with them told him that she was merely playing. He seemed to take it well enough, managing a smirk if his own. She rolled over, and felt him cuddle up close to her. With a wave of his hand the sand in his gourd by the bed started to move at his will, going around to each oil lamp to douse them for the night.

Sakura watched curiously as the grains sparkled in the moonlight, wondering how he could get them to move on a chakra level. She felt him nuzzle the back of her neck, and breathe slowly. It were as if he was truly about to go to sleep, although she knew better than that.

"Goodnight, Sakura." The redhead whispered as he clung to her naked frame under the sheets. She moved even closer to him.

"Goodnight, Gaara, sleep well--"

"You know I wont." He huffed, and it was cute enough to make her laugh.

"I know, but I can still wish for it, right?" The pinkette hummed before truly feeling fatigue hit her, and she started to drift to the sounds of his calm breathing.

"I love you."

She could have sworn she heard him say that, but she wasn't completely certain. Perhaps it was only a dream.

Yet, it warmed her heart in places that she thought were completely destroyed. Places she could have sworn were broken inside of her.

She wished it were real.

#GaaSaku #gaasaku-fanfests #GaaSaku Fan Fest 2018 #Pikaboubou #fanfic

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