#and I've never had any of this directed towards me but it's sort of just like

[honor-among-thieves]

I'm still going to make FHR fanart because I love FHR but I'm ngl my interactions with the fandom have killed a lot of my drive to do it, particularly quite a few interactions I've had over Discord.

[atimeofyourlife]

Time after time

written for @steddieholidaydrabbles prompt: uncle wayne adopts steve | rated: t | wc: 942 | cw: reference to abuse, reference of canon fake suicide | tags: steve harrington has bad parents, steve harrington needs a hug

The first time they met, Wayne knew the boy couldn't be much older than fourteen. Definitely younger than Eddie, who was fast approaching sixteen. It was early, a little before 6 am, during summer vacation, no less. Wayne had finished his shift and called into Benny's to get a coffee and breakfast, on the mornings he did this, he was almost always the first customer of the day. Occasionally beaten in by a cop, or a firefighter, or anyone else that had been stuck with a night shift. But he had never seen a kid in so early. Sat alone in the corner booth nursing a cup of coffee with an almost empty plate in front of him.

"Mornin' Wayne. The usual?" Benny asked.

"You know it. But, uh. What's with the kid?" Wayne replied, nodding toward the boy in the corner.

"Dick and Linda's kid. They're back in town, and he needs a safe place. So he comes here."

"Why don't you report it?" "You think I haven't tried? His parents paid off just about everyone from the mayor down. Kid's not lucky enough to have any other family around to look out for him."

The kid came over with his empty cup and plate.

"I've told you a thousand times that you don't need to do that kid." Benny said.

The kid just shrugged.

"What's your name, kid?" Wayne asked.

"Steve, sir. Steve Harrington." He replied.

"I'm Wayne. And I wish my boy was as polite as you."

The second time they met, it was in more unfortunate circumstances. Benny's funeral. There'd been weird shit going on in town, starting with the Byers' kid going missing. Wayne didn't believe any of the official stories. But especially not the story of Benny's supposed suicide. He knew Benny so well, and something like that wasn't the sort of thing to cross his mind.  He took his place in the community too seriously for that.

But the kid had changed. A few years older, and a lot more haunted. The look in his eyes giving away that he'd seen more than his fair share in his young life. And he was jumpy, almost always looking over his shoulder.  He kept to himself, away from everyone else there. Wayne didn't see much of him until after. Steve was standing at the edge of the parking lot, his hands shaking as he tried to get his lighter to work.

"Here, kid." Wayne held his own lighter out.

"Thank you, sir." Steve replied, after taking a long puff on his cigarette.

"No need for thanks, kid. You doing okay?"

"I. I think I'm gonna miss him. He's helped me out a lot." Steve admitted.

"That was Benny for you. Always ready to help anyone out. But do you have anyone else you can reach out to if you need it?"

Steve hesitated a moment. "Yeah, sir. I do."

The third time, it was less of a meeting than Steve yelling directions at everyone. Tabitha, a woman who lived on the other side of the trailer park, collapsed in the middle of Big Buy. The kid snapped into action without second thought, checking Tabitha for a pulse, for her breathing. He yelled at an employee to call for an ambulance as he started chest compressions. At another to clear space. At some other customers to block the end of the aisle so no one else could stand around and watch. Wayne approached as Steve gave rescue breaths, before going back to the chest compressions. When he noticed Wayne, he looked like he was about to yell at him, but Wayne spoke first.

"It's okay, kid. She's my neighbor. And I know CPR too, so when you need a break I can take over."

They swapped places a few times before the paramedics showed up and took over.

"You did good, son. You acted quicker than any adults did. You may have just saved her life." "Anyone would have done it, sir. I was just the closest who knew what to do."

The fourth time, it was at the hospital. Steve in the hospital bed next to Eddie's, identical wounds, but Steve's were infected. Wayne got to talking to Steve while Eddie slept.

"I tried to protect him the best as I could, sir. I patched him up, and made sure he got to the hospital in time. I know I should have done more-"

"You did more than enough. You kept him alive, now you need to focus on making sure that you're healthy. And you can drop the sir shit. It's Wayne."

After that, Wayne lost count of the meetings. From sharing the hospital room with Eddie, to being friends, to being more. He would do as much for Steve as he would for Eddie, and wanted to ensure that both always had somewhere safe to return to.

"Steve, if you ever want to get out of that big empty house of yours, you're more than welcome to join us here. We'd love to have you move in with us." Wayne said to Steve one day while they were cooking together. Eddie always conveniently disappeared when anything cooking related came up.

"Sir, Wayne. I couldn't put you out like that." Steve replied.

"Nonsense. You're as much my kid as Eddie is, it don't matter who your momma or daddy is. We want you here, you spend enough time here as it is, we might as well make it official."

"I, Wayne. I'd like that." Steve was quite choked up, so Wayne pulled him into a hug. All was going to be okay, with him and his two boys.

[enwoso]

GIRLS — alessia russo

a little something mostly from alessia point of view, just to change it up a little🙃

masterlist

alessia had always felt different about you since the moment she met you. not in a bad way. actually the total opposite. however, she didn't exactly know how to express it but you were different.

the blonde saw you in a different light because to her you were the prettiest girl she had ever seen. but the blonde kept these thoughts and feelings hidden in the back of her mind cause after all she would forget about them, wouldn't she?

to her you were just a close friend, who alessia thought was pretty. alessia's would look for you first in any room her face lighting up when she spotted you. when it was just the two of you, she could listen to you talk for hours and never get bored of your voice. everytime you hugged her, alessia would be hoping it would last just that little longer as she didn't want to let you go.

but you were just her best friend and that was it.

after all she could say any of her friends were pretty, couldn't she, it didn't mean she loved them in that way.

alessia had thought about maybe talking to someone about these feelings she was having towards her friend, but she was afraid. afraid of what they would say. what they would think. afraid of judgement.

each time she tried she would back down and pretend she had forgotten what she was going to ask.

"mum, can i ask you something?"

"of course sweetheart!"

a moment of silence would pass, before the blonde would begin to stutter and tumble over her words before saying her signature line she'd said with everyone who she's tried to have this conversation with, "um, oh it doesn't matter- it's nothing"

except it wasn't just nothing.

instead alessia did what she thought was best but ultimately was the only thing she knew how to do, push them away. putting her guard up, she couldn't let people know.

all of her teammates, especially you noticed the change in the blonde's behaviour but each time you asked you were met with the same small nod and quick smile before alessia would run off in the opposite direction.

"lessi are you sure your okay?" you asked the blonde once again, having had enough of the stand off behaviour you'd been experiencing the past few weeks. her shoulders were tense as if they were carrying a lot of baggage with them but you couldn't seem to figure out what.

you thought maybe it was you that was the problem, and while you sort of were, you thought maybe you'd forgotten something. her birthday? no it was in february and it was may.

were you supposed to meet her for coffee? no cause you'd messaged her and she hadn't replied so you took that as a no.

had you said something that had offended her? not that either cause apart from the fact you could barely get a squeak out the blonde the last thing you had told her was that she looked gorgeous in her dress she was wearing for a family event several weeks ago.

so it definitely wasn't anything that you had done directly to her.

worry had been racking your brain for weeks, a little sad your best friend was acting the way she was towards you.

"y/n! i've told you, i'm fine! just leave me alone!" alessia snapped, you takjng a step back from the blonde as she finished stuffing her things into her pink gym bag. storming out the changing room as your stood with hurt filling each inch of your body.

"woah, what's wrong with less?" leah came round the corner watching the last part as alessia stormed out the room. you shrugged as you sat down on the bench in front of your locker.

"i don't think i've ever seen her snap like that. what happened?" leah asked as she took a seat next to you, you yourself confused at what you had done or maybe said to her.

"i dunno, but she's been like that for weeks. i don't know what i've done le?" you admitted at leah hummed, she herself had noticed a change in alessia's behaviour but put it done to maybe lack of sleep or just having an off day. but then the thing is you don't have an off day for four weeks straight.

"i've noticed a change in her too but i'm sure it's nothing you've done y/n, your her best friend." leah comforted you as she gave you a side squeeze you letting out a breath you hadn't even realised you were holding in.

"doesn't feel like i'm her best friend at the minute" you sighed sadly as you fidgeting with the bracelet on your left arm. the one alessia had gave you, she had a matching one she had gotten them while she was in italy a few summers ago. claiming she saw them and they reminded her of you so she just had to get them.

"hey, it'll be okay. how about i try and have a chat with her and see if i can find out what's bothering her"

the minute alessia snapped at you she felt guilty, rushing out the room as facing your sad look was breaking her heart. slamming her car door shut as she sat with her hands in her head regretting the last ten minutes. wanting nothing more than to just tell you what was on her mind, but her head wouldn't let her.

alessia knew she'd been acting different, she knew you'd noticed as well as some of her teammates. some checking in and making sure alessia was okay, but already having her guard up that she'd built up stronger the past months. she couldn't let them in.

she'd spent months trying to figure out her feelings and while she was starting to understand them a little more as the days went on, she was still having a hard time realising what they meant.

alessia drove home, having sat in the parking lot too long. she drove in silence the only sound of the other cars passing her as her thoughts began to get louder and louder.

huffing and fiddling with her house key into the door opening it after a few minutes, throwing her bag in the doorway before kicking her shoes off before going to face plant the sofa. a loud groan coming from her but being muffled by the way she was lying.

however after what felt like seconds there was knocks echoing around the room, alessia praying that whoever it was they would go away so she didn't even make an attempt to move.

"less i know your in, your car is parked outside!"

the knocks continued as alessia made a slow attempt to move to her front door, her socked feet moving along the carpeted floor as she opened her front door.

"leah?" alessia looked confused, she couldn't remember the blonde saying she was coming over but then again anything anyone told her the past few weeks wasn't exactly going into her head. unless it was something you had told her, she remembered that. she couldn't forget that.

"hiya less, you okay?" leah asked as alessia let the blonde into her home, leah as always making herself at home as alessia hummed a response to her question, knowing if she tried to answer it would make it very clear that she wasn't as 'okay' as she had been letting on the past few months.

"mhm good" leah smiled as alessia sat next to the blonde on her couch. alessia just nodding along, not really sure of leah's intentions of being at her house. there being a slight awkward silence building.

"just we have noticed a change in you, and as captain but also a good friend of yours i just want to make sure that there's nothing happening and if there is, can we or i help?" leah cut straight to the point, as it was clear that alessia was going to tell leah up straight so she was going to have to try and squeeze it out of alessia.

"i shouldn't be feeling like this, i know i shouldn’t but their just too hard to resist." alessia whispered after there being a slight pause after what leah had said.

alessia cryptic words had leah confused, now leah was smart but riddles were definitely not her strongest attribute she had in her locker.

"who, are you talking about a boy you've met?" leah asked as that's all she could kind of pull from them words but leah's face quickly changed when she realised she must have said something wrong as alessia began to cry, her eyes all glassed over. her tears falling down her cheeks leaving their mark as they fell.

"not a boy, a girl... y/n" alessia managed to get out through her tears, it coming out as a whisper.

leah paused before speaking, not entirely sure of the full picture of what has happened. "less, i'm confused. why are you crying? did y/n do something?"

"no, no! it's not y/n, she hadn't done anything. it's me.." alessia paused as she got frustrated by the dryness in her throat as the tears fell down her face. "i'm just scared-"

"less, what are you scared off?"

alessia threw her head back in annoyance. "of everything! it's terrifying me, maybe i like girls maybe i don’t or maybe i just like the attention y/n gives me? if i like girls or even if i like girls and boys, what will everyone say? what will my family say, my friends, the fans? what if i actually don't like girls and i end up just leading me and y/n on? that's not fair to her! what if i lose people that i love all because i’m too busy chasing after a girl? and then i end up being wrong. it's just, all- just, it's just-" alessia could finish her sentence as her tears got the better of her, making her choke on her words.

"okay, ok less listen to me please, take a deep breath for a second" leah paused to make sure alessia could find a normal pattern of breathing again. alessia following leah's instructions taking a deep breath in as she shakily breathed back out.

"first thing does y/n respect you?" leah began as alessia nodded slowly "yeah, so much"

"good, and when your with her, or your talking to her do you get that funny feeling in your stomach or do you feel all giddy?"

alessia let out a small smile as she sniffed, "yeah i could listen to her talk for hours, i can't get enough of her voice"

"and when your with her do you picture what it would be like with her, or imagine what a future could be like?" leah asked finally as she watched alessia's face begin to think, as that small smile appeared again as the blonde was most definitely thinking about you before coming back to reality.

"mmhmm"

"then less, you've answered your own questions. you like her. no no wait listen to me" leah quickly rushed out as she watched as alessia's breathing began to quicken, grabbing the blondes hands to try and calm her back down again.

"you like her and so what. who cares if you like boys, girls or anyone! it's non of their business. you have to do what makes you happy, not what makes others happy. those who truly love you like your family will love you no matter who your with, whether that's with a boy or a girl. they'll just want you to be happy and that's all that matters at the end of the day. and if they can't except you for who you truly are then they clearly don't care about you as much as what you thought they did cause those who love you will want you to be happy, yeah"

alessia sniffed as she looked up at leah nodding, "yeah, i know"

"then fuck everyone else and their opinions. y/n is fit you've said it yourself and if it turns to nothing or whatever then your first experience with a girl is with a worldie, which is pretty impressive" leah smiled nudging the blondes shoulder slightly as alessia hummed agreeing a small giggle came from her.

she knew leah was write, alessia had to stop hiding and put herself first for once and stop being so afraid of everyone else cause like leah said if they truly care for alessia then they would want nothing more than for the blonde to be happy.

alessia wiped her eyes as well as her red and puffy cheeks, "she's so pretty it hurts"

"yeah she is, but less talk to her. tell her how you're feeling and if she feels the same then brilliant go for it at your pace and see where it goes. and if she doesn't then at least you tried. but don't rush it cause either you'll end up hurting her which i know you would never intentionally want to do or your going to get hurt in process." leah gives alessia some genuine advice some she wishes that someone could have given her when she was going through the same thing alessia is right now.

as the famous quote goes, slow and steady wins the race!

"your right, thank you leah." alessia says with a genuine smile for the first time since leah got to the blondes home.

"of course i am, now after my expert advice i think the least you can do is make me some food!"

"knew there would be an another reason why you would be here!" alessia said with a laugh and the shake of the head. "what do you fancy?"

"smileys and chicken nuggets please, thank you less and i'm so proud of you!" leah called out as alessia had already made her way to her fridge.

its been a few weeks since alessia had her small breakdown in front of leah, where she admitted her feelings for you. but alessia was still acting weird with you, and it hurt cause you were still left in the dark non the wiser of why alessia was acting the way she was.

leah had reassured you over and over that alessia would talk to you when you were ready but you were starting to think that, that day was never going to come and maybe you had done something to upset your best friends — especially for her to give you the cold shoulder for this long.

you been keeping yourself or more your mind busy with other things to keep your self from spirilling from all the possibility’s of what alessia may say to you, if she ever speaks to you.

alessia on the other hand had been trying to build up the courage to try and talk to you, knowing you were hurting with the way she was acting. but finally she got the courage and asked you in the changing rooms after training.

“um, y/n” alessia tapped you on the shoulder, you jumping a little as you turned a little shock appearing on your face at the fact alessia was actually talking to you.

“yes alessia?” you noticed the blonde had froze as if she was rooted to the spot while alessia was trying to stop the pang of hurt that was going through her at the sound of you calling her by her actual name and not her usual nickname you had for the blonde.

although alessia did kind of deserve her nickname privileges taken away especially after the way she had treated you in the past few weeks.

“sorry, i- um do you wanna come over to mine for dinner?” alessia winced as she spoke, her brain slightly scared of rejection.

“sure what time?” you smiled simply as the blonde blinking surprise at how fast you said yes.

“is erm seven okay?” alessia stuttered checking the time on her phone as you nodding moving back to pack up telling the blonde you would see her soon as you waved her goodbye.

now when alessia says she panicked, she had panicked. she wasn’t sure what was going through her head when she asked if you wanted to come to her for dinner as she hadn’t even been grocery shopping this week. her home was a state with dirty washing scattered around a long with bags of clothes from pr lying in her hallway.

so as soon as the blonde crossed the threshold of her home, she had went into turbo mode, cleaning every floor and surface as quickly as she could as she unpacked the groceries she had stopped on the way home to get.

beginning to prep dinner, making something she knew you loved and before alessia could even blink you were knocking on her door.

letting you in, you held up a bottle of wine you’d had lying in your cupboard. alessia nodding before asking you if you wanted a glass.

alessia scrambled to find you a glass, you opening the bottle as the small talk began but you couldn’t help but feel awkward. it had never been like this, even in the day you met it always flowed but tonight it wasn’t.

you could help but think alessia was holding something from you. dinner came and went and you were both sat on alessia couch, a film you’d picked playing but neither of you were paying the slightest attention to it.

“i’ve miss this” you blurted out as alessia turned her head to you, an eyebrow raising on her face.

“missed what?”

“us, hanging out. you hadn’t exactly been very present in the past weeks” you said quietly as a sharp breath came from alessia as she nodded slightly. she knew she hadn’t and she didn’t think this conversation would happen as quickly as what it was about to.

“i know, i’m sorry y/n i am, i’ve just had a lot going on in my head” alessia apologised as you gave the blonde a sympathetic smile. you could tell the apology was genuine.

“it’s just i’ve met this person, and i just don’t know how to tell them i like them” alessia admitted as you felt your heart stop for a second.

“what is he like?” you asked, assuming it was most likely someone she met when being out on a team might out that being the main time the blonde would fully let loose.

but alessia shook her head correcting you, “she”

“oh- sorry i didn’t mean-“

“it’s okay, you didn’t know”

“whats she like” you correctly yourself, asking the question again. alessia pausing before she answered.

“wells she the prettiest person i’ve ever met, she has the kindest heart, and her smile oh i love it” alessia had to bite the side of her cheek to stop the shit eating grin appear on her face as she talked about you much to your dis-knowledge

your heart felt heavy as you heard her talk about who you thought was someone else, wishing that could be you she was talking about, little did you know.

“she sounds lovely less, why don’t you just be honest with her.” you plastered a smile on your face, you were happy for the blonde as you wanted nothing than for your best friend to be happy.

a pop of the lips came from alessia, “she is, but i think I’ve kinda messed up a little. i haven’t been treating her like she should be treat. the first time i’ve spoken to her in a few weeks was asking her to come to mine for dinner…”

alessia trailed off, her voice was quiet as she fidgeting with her rings on her finger. waiting for your reaction to putting two and two together.

your head shooting up as her last words even though quiet you heard them and then rung around your head louder as it clicked. “i’m sure she will forgive you”

“i hope so cause i really really like her” alessia whispered as she looked up to meet your eye line a small shy smile appearing on alessia’s face, your face matching hers slightly red with shy smile.

“kiss me”

alessia felt the knot in her stomach tighten as you put those words into the open, alessia at first thought she was just hearing things.

alessia maintained eye contact for another moment before she leant closer to you, your arms remaining by your side scared that if you touch the blonde would be snatched from the moment they were currently in.

when your face was in front of alessia's she allowed for her own eyes to flick down to your eyes in front of her. her view being cut off by your eyelids covering them as you closed your eyes and leant in close. now close enough for alessia to feel your breath tickling her lips.

taking a breath, alessia closed her own eyes and allowed for your lips to meet. softly pressing against each others, you both holing your breath,

you pulled back ever so slightly, your eyes opening slightly to check alessia reaction, knowing this was all new to her. alessia's eyes remaining closed as she brought her hand up to your jaw, cupping your face with her hand and bringing you closer again so your lips could meet once again.

you followed her lead, closing your own eyes again and meeting alessia's lips with yours. the blondes bottom lip moving slowly between your top and bottom lip. alessia shifted herself slightly, not wanting to disturb the kiss as she placed a hand on your thigh, squeezing a little bit as you let out a quiet moan and used your perfectly manicured nails to run to the back of the blondes head and scratch against her scalp.

alessia felt shivers go down her back, only growing when she felt your tongue touch her bottom lip, allowing her mouth to open as their tongues met as both your breathing got heavier. neither one of you dared to move, even despite the growing ache inside both of their bodies

you eventually slowly pulled your head back, alessia's eyes fluttering open as you brought your hand from the back of her head, trailing your fingers against the soft skin of her cheeks. 

"was that.. okay?" alessia whispered, her head staying close to yours as you both rested your foreheads against each other. you out of instinct bringing your hand up to brush the baby hairs out the blonde eye line, tucking them neatly behind her ear.

"ten tens, would do again!" you mumbled, a small laugh coming from alessia. the laugh that you adored and would try and get from her as much as you could.

"oh, then that's good cause it means i can.." alessia trailed off as she leaned her head forehead a little pecking your lips with a smile, "do that!"

even though on the outside alessia looked confident, she was doing her best to push down the internal panic she was feeling. she'd never felt anything like that from a kiss before, she never had a kiss take her breath away either whilst equally making her feel like electricity was flowing throughout her entire body.

but what was scaring alessia, was this was making her feelings all the more real.

you both sat in silence, kinda not knowing what to do next. the silence was thick, enough to be cut with a knife.

“so..” you broke the silence first, alessia’s eyes gluing to yours as you spoke, a small nod coming from the alessia, she knew what you were going to say.

“can we take it slow? cause this is all-“ alessia began but before she could finish you cut her off.

“you set the pace less, i’ll be here. if i have to wait a day or a million days just know at the end of the day i’ll be here” you smiled as the blonde’s lips matched your smile as she intertwined her fingers with yours, her thumb rubbing against yours.

[myfictionaldreams]

Hey :) i would love to ask for a spicy Lucius Malfoy x Reader ☺️ something like Reader is a young Teacher in Hogwarts and Lucius and her are having an (very serious) affair (takes Place in the chamber of secrets).

The School Governor //Lucius Malfoy x Fem!Reader

A/N: Thank you so much for the request! I've never written Lucius before, but hopefully, you'll enjoy it!

Tags: 18+ readers only, smut, infidelity/cheating, secret relationship, rough sex, creampie, fingering, squirting, tension, praise kink, size difference, Narcissa bashing (sorry!), kissing, fluff/angst

Words: 2.8k

my masterlist 📚

AO3 Link

“Are you sure you’re supposed to be here at this time of day, Mr Malfoy?”

The corner of the man’s lip twitched up like he was trying to smile but attempting to conceal it by remaining stoic. You were then faced with his signature sneer, those piercing grey eyes wandering over your appearance as if he was assessing whether he even wanted to waste his time. “It seems I’ve become lost on my travels around Hogwarts. Might you show me the way out?” Lucius asked with disdain thick in his voice

“Of course, Sir. Just this way”, you pointed in the direction you’d just walked from. No one even blinked an eye in either of your directions as you led him away from the grouping of students who were all on their way to bed as the night drew closer to curfew.

Your head remained forward, not once looking over your shoulder to check if he was following as you knew that he would be. You thanked Merlin for having an office so far away from students and other professors as the main offices were already lived in. You were new to the school, recently hired to assist Madam Pomfrey with Herbology, as she was too busy trying to attend to the Mandrakes.

The job may have been due to the recommendations of the man following closely behind you, his cane clicking against the stone floor and billowing close, switching the dust in whichever direction he turned.

As you both approached further towards the greenhouses and, thus, your office, there was a blossoming of heat and anticipation spreading from the centre of your chest to the tip of your toes. This was always something that your body seemed to do whenever within arms reach of the school’s governor. Moreover, he always seemed to be at the school nowadays, stating that he was there on school business, especially with the latest attacks on the students.

This is just an excuse, however, pretending to look around the school to catch the Headmaster in a scheme, but really, he would be sneaking to your classroom, office or meeting in the Forbidden Forest.

It was wrong. More than wrong. He had a wife, whom he was incredibly unhappy with, having been forced into a marriage as soon as he’d finished his time as a student at Hogwarts. All to abide by the pure blood status and traditions without any sort of say in the matter. Forced to live a life of misery, reproduce and have heirs and then die in a loveless marriage.

This was the only reason you had continued to meet with him. The ache in your heart quickly succumbs to his negative life. You knew he was manipulative, quick-tempered and had questionable ideologies on the dark arts. But when it came to Lucius Malfoy, it was as if your mind purposefully ignored these warning signs, mainly because he never discussed or acted in a horrible way around you.

You were always his peace and tranquillity, his little saviour in the dark before the world's realities came crumbling down around him. There you were, gifted with the raw, passionate, and incredibly loving man who held your hand when walking past, stroking your cheek to catch any slipped tears when it was time to say goodbye for a few more weeks.

It was a complex relationship to have and made even more so when you were now having to teach his son, Draco, who seemed to be a smaller copy of his Father, to be even more arrogant at his young age. It meant that you could give him additional help to boost his grades and, therefore, please his father, which, in turn, helped bring positivity into the secret relationship.

As you were greeted with the view of the long corridor that led to your office, your steps slowed as Lucius snapped, “Dobby. Check the area is clear for any prying eyes”.

With a flash out of the corner of your eyes, Dobby appeared and disappeared, apparating further down the corridor in multiple positions to check if the two of you were truly alone.

“The area is clear, Master”, Dobby approached before disappearing completely. You and Lucius rushed the remaining way to the office. You opened the door wide enough for him to follow through and slammed closed. As your wand waved in front of the handle, thoroughly locking the two of you in, a hand gripped your hip, turning your body so that your back met the door's wood.

A leathery gloved hand then cupped your jaw, tilting your face back so that Lucius could kiss you with as much desperation and urgency as you felt in the centre of your chest. It almost hurt with how much pressure his face was applying to yours, his warm breath fanning across the apple of your cheeks with where his nose was pressing. Your hands lifted to grab any part of him and ended up clinging onto the opening of his cloak, harshly tugging him even closer until there wasn’t a gap between your bodies.

Releasing a soft moan from your throat, this seemed to begin moving further, both gloved hands now cupping both of your cheeks in a safe cocoon as his thumbs caressed careful circles against your skin.

The coldness of the material wasn’t enough to satisfy your need for him as you dipped your head to free your mouth. “Off! I need your clothes off!”

Lucius’s baritone laugh burst across your face as he stepped back to give the two of you some room. “Such a demanding little thing, aren’t you?”

“I am when you’re wearing so many layers! Take them off!”

He chuckles at your reaction once more but finally begins to remove the cloak from his shoulders and gloves from his hands, next attempting to undo the luxurious vest jacket that he wore. The buttons running down the middle were taking too long for him to undo, so you quickly gripped either side of the best and pulled hard, surprised by your strength as the buttons began to pop off and tumble.

“Do you know how expensive this was?” he asked incredulously, but humour still danced behind his bright eyes.

“I’ll fix it at the end”, you say breathlessly, wrapping both arms around his neck and pulling him in for another heated kiss. A perfect mix of lips, teeth and tongue, all moving together, nipping, licking and sucking. Neither mouth pulled apart from the other, making the actions more frantic and chaotic with the attempts to remove more of the clothing articles. Soon, you both became frustrated by the barriers and settled for the basics.

Leaving your jumper and skirt on, you kicked off the shows, tights and underwear you’d been wearing as Lucuius kept his white shirt on but undid his leather belt to loosen his trousers and boxers until they were around his knees.

Lucius pulled back from the heated kiss first, but only so he could turn you around and push you face-first against the door. You huffed at the impact but soon were groaning in pleasure as he lifted your skirt and began to rock his dick against your folds, teasing you with gentle pressure before finding its home in your warm cunt.

“Silenco”, Lucius whispers, waving his hand as the atmosphere becomes dense as the spell renders the area soundproof. With the safety of the spell, your mouth fell open, and a barrel of dirty moans left your lips as you didn’t hold back from telling him how good it felt to be stretched by his cock once more.

Lucius dipped his height so that his forehead could rest against your cheek, breathing heavily as he thrust hard and deep. The pace was bruising to the side of your face, resting against the door, but nothing in the world would get you to stop at that moment. To be able to feel his thick length fucking hard into your pussy was something you craved every day.

As your hand reached the back of his head, gripping his silky white-blond hair, you gasped, “I’ve missed you”.

Lucuius groans as he nuzzles into your neck, biting the skin just below your ear as his arm moves around your waist, angling your hips so your arse is sticking out slightly so he can deepen the thrusts.

“I’ve missed you too, little witch. So much more than you could ever know”. Your heart could have stopped at his words, falling even more in love with him than you had before, which tightened your drenched walls even further around him. “I know you’re close. I want to feel you cum around my cock Darling, cum for me like the good witch I know you are”.

As he praises you, the arm around your waist slips beneath the front of your skirt so that he can roll your clit in circles, matching the pace of his hips. Your thighs tremble, fingers clenching his hair until it hurt, but Lucius didn’t stop until you were crying out in pleasure, cunt clamping in spasms around his length, and he, too, joined you through his own orgasm.

Lucius didn’t stop rolling his hips until you were sated and calm from cumming, and his seed had soaked as deep as he possible, caressing your cervix and then dripping out down your thighs. The two of you sighed in contentment, staying together, pushed against the wall, and just appreciating the moment you had tangled against one another.

“I didn’t expect to see you for at least another week. Have you come because of the attacks?”

“I feel as a good Govenor; my answer should be yes”, he whispered against the shell of your ear, nipping the lobe with his teeth, causing goosebumps to rise down your arms. “I can’t deny, however, that it was you that brought me here. I meant it when I said I missed you”.

Even with his softening cock still inside of you, he knew how to make your knees tremble as you blew out a long breath as you asked, “Can you please stay?”

You could feel his shoulders dropping and knew his answer before he’d even begun to speak, and sadness spread through your body, replacing the euphoric sensation. Lucius gently kissed the back of your head as he carefully eased himself away from you, “I’m sorry, my love, you know I can’t”.

Smiling to hide the upset, you turned to him, “I know. I’m sorry I always ask; I just hope that one day you’ll be able to say yes”.

His warm hands cup your cheeks delicately as you do the same for him, carefully moving some of the messy strands behind his ears. “I’m sorry”, he says earnestly.

“Could you stay for a drink at least?”

“I would never say no to a drink with you”. Lucius began to dress, looking significantly more chaotic than before but always looking crisp before leaving. All you managed to do was pick up your discarded clothes and shows, straighten your jumper and wait for him to wave his wand between your legs, cleaning up the mess he had created with a smile.

Walking further into the office, you entered through the hidden door at the back of the room leading directly into your living area. The fire sparked to life as soon as you stepped onto the roof, instantly filling the vast space with heat and an orange hue. Pouring the both of you a hefty glass of dark liquid, you both cheered the glasses together, taking a deep swig of the alcohol that burned your throat deliciously and then settled into the sofa.

You sat remarkably relaxed with him, leaving your bare legs thrown over his lip as his arm settled around your shoulders to keep you close as you watched the fire lights dancing with the flickers of the flames.

“He’s nearly top of the class, but I think he’d have a hard time trying to best both Longbottom or Granger”, you explained sometime later as Lucius asked how Draco was fairing in your class. The man scoffs, only earning him a slap to his chest, “Hey! They’re my students; stop that”. Thankfully, he held his tongue and didn’t prattle on his biased opinions on pure-bloods or traitors, which he had quickly learnt was nothing you were particularly focused on. “Could I ask about what the governors are going to do about the attacks? I don’t want them to close the school, but it feels so dangerous now that students are being attacked”.

Lucius’ arm tightens around your shoulder as his lips press against your temple. “Nothing will harm you, Darling, and I’ve told you this already: I can’t speak of the Governor meetings. We’re sworn to secrecy”.

“It’s not me I’m worried for. It’s the children. It means - aren’t you worried about Draco?”

Your head tilts back on his arm so you can look up into his effortlessly handsome face, expecting him to be worried. However, he only appeared to be as calm and in control as ever, his grey eyes dancing with yours and the bottom lip you’d tucked between your teeth.

“Not at all. He’s in the safest house with the safest blood. I have no worries for my son”. His answer confused you, but you’d just put it down to his many prejudices and superiority complex. Reach up to stroke the smooth sin of his jaw, and you can’t resist the temptation to lean closer and kiss him deeply, tasting the alcohol on his tongue that matched your own.

“What’s it like?” you ask between kisses, unable to stop yourself from asking. “At home, I mean, what’s it like? Do you have any happiness at all?”

“You know I’m not happy and never will be with her”, he answers abruptly, to look at you with a questioning gaze.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I know you hate her”. You refuse to say her name both from shame and jealousy. “Do you have anything else that brings you joy? I hate the thought of you being alone in a big house with no one to give you any positivity”.

The hand lazily resting across your calves begins to draw circles into the skin as he contemplates his answer. “Without Draco there, I have no one. Narcissa and I may eat meals together, but that’s as far as it goes. We never talk; we even sleep in separate rooms. Everything is always for show, which is why these moments with you, where I get to be with someone I genuinely love, mean the most to me”.

You shake at his words, feeling the edges of your eyes water as you cling to him with even more desperation. What's more, the hand on your calf was beginning to slowly creep up the sensitive area of your inner thigh, distracting you from continuing the conversation as your legs automatically parted, giving him more room.

“Lucius”, you pleaded, eyes following his long fingers, the thick silver ring with the ‘M’ wrapped around his thumb adding extra sensitivity with the coolness of it against your skin.

“Shh, I’ve got you, little witch. Just relax for me”, he whispered against your temple as his fingers finally reached their goal. Your head tipped onto his shoulder as your back arched. All of your thoughts were centred on the skillfully trained fingers as he explored your dampening folds, spreading them with ease to give his middle finger the path to your eagerly awaiting hole.

You were a mewling mess as he eased two fingers into your cunt, coating the digits in your juices and rocking them in and out carefully. Lucius began to move the arm around your shoulders, relaxing his hold so he could lie you down on the sofa as he leaned over you, his mouth hovering just above yours.

“Are you going to be good for me, my Darling?” he asks, his warm breath teasing you once more as your legs try to clamp his hand in place.

“Yes!” Your shout was abrasive, but only because he’d already caused you to become a pathetic mess. Lucius smiled against your lips but didn’t move to kiss you properly as he applied more pressure with his fingers and thumb and stroked your clit.

You could feel his soft hair falling around your face as he began to curl his fingers inside of you, pounding that one spot within you that had you seeing stars. You weren’t able to say a coherent word as moisture squirted from your cunt, coating his fingers and wrist as he continued the action at a hard and fast pace.

The sloshing noise was obscene to your ears as he made you squirt over your thighs, sofa and his black trousers. You weren’t even sure you’d came as everything went from 0-100 with how intense his fingers had made you feel.

When he slowed his curling digits, you were a gooey mess in his arms. A grin erupted across your face as he sighed into the cushions, leaning further into his chest as he kissed your temple, allowing you to catch your breath.

“I must go; it’s getting late. You know I love you, my little witch”.

“I love you too, Mr Malfoy”.

[wileys-russo]

small intimate interactions II l.williamson x reader

this one might just be up there with some of my fave fics i've written so far small intimate interactions II l.williamson x reader

"can i help you with anything cheffy?" you turned to the voice of your best friend, meeting her beaming smile with one of amusement. "i don't know, can you?" you teased the older girl at her lack of culinary skills making her scoff and hold a hand to her chest in offence.

"i come in here offering myself and my services to you and you mock me, you know now i think you can do it all alone!" leah scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and looking dramatically off into the distance, though she still made no move to leave the kitchen.

"and yet, here you still are." you grinned tossing a tea towel at the blonde which landed on her head. "ow! leah." you squealed as she flicked you with it, sending a sharp crack around the room and a mischievous smile in your direction.

"take the tray of chicken out of the oven please, if you can manage that." you teased her, turning back to what you had going on the stove. "yes chef!" leah saluted with a serious nod, grabbing the oven mits from beside you and doing as you'd asked, careful not to burn herself or drop what you'd spent the last couple of hours preparing.

"need a hand?" steph appeared next closely followed by jen, both girls looking at you with raised eyebrows as you flittered around the kitchen.

"if you could start taking everything out to the table and get the girls to take a seat would be great, thank you!" you smiled appreciatively, starting to dish everything else up and chuckling as you heard a strong scottish accent scream that dinner was ready from the table.

"i could have done that jen!" you laughed as the woman only grinned with a shrug, helping steph to carry everything out. "it all looks delicious, as always you've gone above and beyond. our little hostess with the mostess!" leah kissed at your cheek fondly causing them to heat up as you turned away from her, attempting to hide your blush.

the english skipper been your best friend for a few years now, having gravitated toward you from the very moment you moved from australia and signed with her beloved arsenal.

seeing your obvious nerves at joining the team and the lingering homesickness of moving so far away from everything you'd ever known she'd offered to help you get settled and given you your very first tour of london.

and once you got to know one another properly you followed each other like a shadow, one very rarely ever seen without the other much to the teasings of all of your friends about codependency issues.

the two of you had always had quite an affectionate friendship but it wasn't anything that raised any sort of red flag for you, after all you'd always been a touchy person with your close friends back home.

so you never thought anything of it when leahs hand would intertwine with yours as you'd walk somewhere together, or gently brush your thigh as you sat beside one another in the locker room, or even how closely the two of you would sit pressed together and practically on top of one another on the bus to games, avidly chattering away.

it didn't seem out of sorts when you'd cuddle up together when watching a movie or would have regular sleepovers and share the bed at one anothers homes, or when her long arms would wrap around your waist from behind and she'd cling to you tiredly after a particularly brutal training session.

the two of you would regularly mess around with one another, play fighting and pushing, poking and wrestling like hyperactive school children.

you'd often spend your sleepovers not even sleeping, instead laying down backwards on the bed, legs draped against the headboard and heads hanging off the edge of the mattress as you spoke about anything and everything, suffocated by your laughter at how utterly absurd your topics of conversation would become as time gradually ticked into the early hours of the morning.

it wasn't out of sorts for her warm lips to press fondly against your cheek or forehead, or for her slender fingers to tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear as you rambled on about something. in fact the english girl could read you like a book, always knowing exactly what you needed sometimes before you even knew yourself.

none of that felt weird for you, or at least it didn't until you'd gone out for a nice meal with a small handful of the girls after training one evening, though you were minus leah who was unwell and had headed right home to sleep.

it was then that steph had casually asked when you and the english skipper had started dating, sending you into a flustered spiral. you'd of course denied it right away and asked why the older girl had even thought that, your national teammate rapidly back peddling at her mistake and apologizing profusely at her assumption.

caitlin however had taken a much less apologetic approach, stating that it was obvious to absolutely everyone but you and leah that the two of you were clearly and hopelessly in love with one another.

katie and beth backing her up right away it sent your cheeks bright red and you'd left the restaurant early, needing some fresh air and to go home and sort out the immense wave of emotions which washed over you at the thought of loving your best friend as anything more than just that.

that was around a month ago and you'd tried your very best to push it to the back of your mind and carry on as you always had with the blonde.

though now things that once seemed like a comfortable second nature for you raised alarms that hadn't been there previously, leahs slender fingers tracing shapes on your bare legs as you watched a movie and they sat stretched across her lap. or her arm draped across the back of your shoulders as you curled into her side on the lounge, even just the lingering hugs you two shared at every greeting or goodbye that maybe lasted a minute or two too long to just be friendly.

each and every small intimate interaction left you reeling and your mind a disgustingly complicated mess of overthinking. you had no idea what you were going to do about it, especially given that you couldn't even work out within yourself how you felt about the blonde.

you'd always loved her, but the thought of being in love with her was a foreign and terrifying one, and something you avoided dwelling on at any and all costs.

it seemed easier that way, to just be in sheer denial of anything at all changing or shifting, to just carry on as you always had which was of course an impossible task.

it left you clouded with doubt and plagued with the ever prominent and growing fear that acknowledging any of this could mean losing leah all together, in every capacity.

"oh there's another tray in here, do you want me to take it out?" the taller girl realized as she went to close and turn off the oven. "oh those are yours! i almost forget, yeah if you could please." you nodded, flicking off the stove and quickly running the now empty pots under some cold water, leaving them by the sink to be dealt with later.

with eight hungry footballers in your home that you were about to feed and entertain you were sure you could whip them into an assembly line to help you clean up later.

a lot of you not having had the chance to spend any sort of quality time together since the season had commenced you'd invited a few of the girls around for a dinner party. you'd always adored hosting and cooking for those you treasured, it was one of the main ways you showcased your love, and your team mates were always the most grateful of guests.

after all as they often said the way to someones heart, was through their stomach.

"you made me smileys?" leah grinned in disbelief as she grabbed out the tray and her crystal blue eyes lit up at the sight of the much cultivated childhood food.

"yeah, i know you don't like most of this so i wanted to make sure you'd actually get something to eat." you glanced over your shoulder with a sincere smile, not an ounce of teasing in your tone as leahs cheeks now flushed bright red at the sweet gesture.

"i'd have eaten. i always love your cooking!" she defended, quickly turning around to move them onto a plate to hide her flushed cheeks.

"that's because i only cook things that i know you eat whenever you come over lee, your palette is like my four year old niece. though even she can handle some mayo." you teased, bumping your shoulder into leahs as you appeared beside her, moving the chicken onto a serving platter with some tongs.

"oh i miss her! can we facetime her again soon?" the blonde asked hopefully and you nodded, the young girl just as much a fan of leah as leah was of her, even though she'd only briefly met her when she was in australia for the world cup it seemed to be an instant connection.

"my mum keeps asking when you're going to actually come to australia for a proper visit and not just for something football related." you chuckled with a small shake of your head, the woman forever on your case about not having met half of the people you held dear in your second home, much as you tried to remind most of them had their own lives and families scattered across the world to spend their minimal time off with.

"i'm just waiting on an invitation." the older girl smiled teasingly as you smacked her on the shoulder. "please like you don't know you'd always be welcome, i'd love to show you round properly. sometimes i swear you know me better than i know myself, plus my family already adores you and they've only technically actually met you like twice that wasn't over the phone!" the words slipped casually off your tongue and in the moment you thought nothing of it, but the thought of your family accepting her and you showing her around what she knew was your favorite place in the whole world had sent leah spiraling.

"i do apologise for the lack of ham sandwiches tonight though, tesco was all out." you grinned, nodding for her to join you as you grabbed the last of the food and headed for the table where the rest of the girls were sat and ready, leah shaking it off as she followed you out.

"you guys seriously couldn't wait?" you laughed at how most of them had already dished themselves up a plate, placing down the chicken in the middle of the table as forks clashed to grab at it. "some of us did!" steph rolled her eyes gesturing to herself and viv who indeed had empty plates.

"your loss, it is delicious!" laura grinned among a mouthful of pasta, viv sternly telling her not to talk with food in her mouth before she and steph dished up for themselves and you took your seat in between leah and beth.

"oi why's leah get her own special food!" katie realised the small mountain of smileys on leahs plate in leus of any of the other sides with a scowl.

"cause she doesn't eat most of this." you answered for her with a shrug, smiling gratefully at jen who handed you back your plate piled high with food from the other end of the table. "so she gets special treatment cause she eats like a weeun?" katie rolled her eyes and tried to snatch one, your hand reaching out to swat the irishwoman away on leahs behalf.

"smileys! i've not had those in years." beth gasped as the table errupted over leahs seemingly controversial meal, the blonde covering her food protectively as multiple hands tried to snatch at it.

"did i not cook enough food for the rest of you that you all feel the need to complain about one tiny thing?" you called out loudly over the top of them with a raised eyebrow, the complaining ceasing and immediately replaced with a shower of compliments sent your way.

"much better." you grinned, shoveling a forkful of pasta into your mouth as everyone settled, normal chatter resuming as you all enjoyed one another's company.

"thank you, you're the best." leah murmured quietly, her hand landing on your thigh and squeezing gently, pressing a grateful kiss to your cheek before turning back to her conversation with laura.

the blush coating your cheeks didn't go unnoticed by your australian teammates, both sending you a knowingly smug smile as you glared back at them from across the table, kicking caitlin harshly in the shin as she began to make kissy faces at you.

"ow, fuck you!" the older girl hissed quietly, trying to kick back at you as you tucked your legs under your chair, her feet instead finding poor beths ankle who cursed her out for it.

the rest of dinner passed through rather uneventfully, and sure enough it didn't take much convincing to have them all band together to help you clean up afterwards, the group of you now gathered in your living room piled on top of one another.

"-please don't be in love with someone else! please don't have somebody waiting on you!" you and beth belted out, twirling one another around as you sang the rest of the chorus.

all of you far too wound up after dinner for a movie you'd opted to bust out the karaoke machine some the girls had bought you for your birthday earlier this year instead.

"I was enchanted to meet youu!' you sang loudly, handing the mic to steph and collapsing basically on top of leah as beth finished off the final two lines, the blonde serenading a very rosy and loved up looking viv.

"what a natural, you're really wasting your life away as a footballer my girl." leah teasingly fanned you as you posed, head dropping onto her shoulder. "god its exhausting being hot, funny and talented." you sighed dramatically as steph and katie were next up and started to sing cruel summer.

"at least we can tick humble off the list then." leah grinned down at you as you smacked her chest halfheartedly. "hey can i stay tonight? i don't think i can be bothered driving home and i've hardly seen you this week with my rehab amping up." leah asked quietly and you nodded without a moments hesitation, moving around so your head was in her lap and your legs draped over laura who sat wedged on the other side of you avidly chattering away to jen.

"you missss me!" you sung out with a grin, wiggling happily as the blonde rolled her eyes and forced a sigh. "i mostly miss your king size bed and massive tv, don't flatter yourself." the older girl pinched at your cheeks as you pulled faces up at her.

"you missed me too though, just a little." you held up your thumb and pointer finger leaving a decent gap in between. "more like-" leah pushed them closer together so there was hardly a gap as you gasped and leah tangled a hand in your hair with a soft smile.

"you wound me lee, and after i made you smileys and invited you oh so graciously into my home!" "i have a key so really i'd just let myself in if there was no invitation, plus you always eat all the snacks at my house so consider us even." "i do not! i'd like to contest that accusation." "i, the honourable judge williamson, hear your case and find you....guilty." "wow i don't even get a lawyer?" "you don't even get a phone call kid, lock her up boys!" "i would like to once again point out that i am only exactly eleven months younger than you leah catherine." "the key word here being....younger." "you're truly insufferable sometimes you know that?" "oo that was a big word, where'd we learn that one from?" "your mum actually, when we were speaking about you." "i'd love to argue that but really i'm quite certain she likes you more than me sometimes." leah sighed with a shake of her head, covering your smug looking face with her hand and shaking your head to and fro for a second before you pushed her off with a grin and a teasing wiggle of your eyebrows. "oh speaking of she wants you to come round for dinner soon, something about missing you? i can't relate though, she's not yet been around you enough to know how positively irritating you really are." "fighting words for someone who just asked to sleepover because she missed me." "i don't remember the words 'i miss you' ever actually leaving my mouth?" "crazy, i just heard them?"

"excuse me lovebirds, we're gonna head off!" your cheeky smiles both dropped at beth's words and leah frowned as you picked your head up out of her lap and quickly shuffled away as if burnt by her touch.

most of the girls all agreeing to head off after checking the time you were yanked out of the small bubble you'd previously occupied with leah, standing up and walking most of them out, leah hugging her friends goodbye before sitting back down on the lounge.

"you not leavin?" katie frowned, lingering behind as leah looked up from her phone and shook her head. "nah gonna crash here, i'm tired." the blonde shrugged, eyebrows furrowing at the look on the irishwomans face at her word.

"what? i stay here all the time." "i know...exactly my point." "and what is your point?" leah asked the brunette with a sigh.

"why don't you just tell that poor girl you love her? the two of you do this little dance around your feelings every day and surely thats exhausting?" katie crossed her arms over her chest as leahs face flushed with embrassment.

"i don't feel that way about her. i wish you'd all drop this you're making it weird between us and its not appreciated, she's my best mate!" leah denied with a firm shake of her head, though she knew the words leaving her lips was a filthy lie, and katie did too.

"yeah leah, she's your best mate so just talk to her. whats the harm in that? i see the way you look at one another, i really don't think you'll be left disappointed." the older girl smiled sincerely, squeezing her shoulder supportively and striding out of the room.

which left leah to sink back into the sofa with a deep and troubled sigh, alone with her thoughts as she dragged her hands down her face and tossed her phone beside her, her head swimming.

unbeknownst to the defender you'd been cornered in the kitchen and given a similar talking to by your national team mates, both girls like older sisters they'd known you for years and made an avid point of stating they'd never seen you look at someone the way you looked at leah.

and similar to katie they pushed you to just talk to her about it, affirming they saw the way you both interacted and it was obvious to everyone that neither of you were being honest with one another, and over time things would eventually boil over if that continued to be the case.

though shortly after you'd waved everyone off and shut your front door for the final time, dead bolting it and flicking off the lights one by one as you made your way back to the living room.

not even needing to ask leah was already on her feet and following you to your bedroom as the rest of the house was engulfed into darkness. "oh hello gorgeous." leah breathed out as she belly flopped into your bed, sighing as the memory foam melded perfectly to her body.

rolling your eyes at her you disappeared into your wardrobe, grabbing out some of leahs clothes from your drawers, the two of you having spent so much time at one anothers homes you had clothes and belongings littered everywhere at each place.

"oi!" leah yelled out as the bundle of material hit her in the face where she lay down on your bed, peeling the hoodie off her face and sending you a look of disdain as you only grinned and dipped into the bathroom to change and wash your face, leaving her to do the same.

both of you now changed you settled into your bed where leah had already loaded the wizard of oz on the tv, the movie a favourite of both of yours making you clap happily as leah clicked play.

after around a half hour you found yourselves already tangled with one another, not an uncommon occurrence as you'd grown to be incredibly comfortable around one another over the years.

leahs head resting on your sternum the older girl was entranced by the consistent rising and falling of your chest beneath her, one hand tucked under her head as the other sat dormant on your hip, pointer finger lightly stroking the slit of tanned skin where your shirt had ridden up slightly.

your left arm had slipped up the back of her hoodie, nails scratching gently at the bare skin of her back, your right hand lay tangled in her hair which she'd pulled up into a messy bun, absentmindedly tracing circles on the back of her neck with your thumb.

as much as leah was relaxed and would normally be humming along to each song as she could hear you doing, internally she was a flustered mess, shocking herself with how still she kept her body despite how freaked out she was by her conversation with katie.

it lead her to overthink every little interaction she'd had with you, worrying if she'd ever made you uncomfortable with the small intimacies you shared almost daily.

which then just lead her to stumble blindly down the path of how she felt at all the silent ways you showed one another how much you cared.

like the way you'd lean in and fix her collar when it was crooked on nights out, or how she would always grab your boots for you when you inevitably left them behind after training or games.

how you'd hold your hair up and ask leah to put on your most prized necklace for you after you'd had to take it off for a game, or the way you'd mess about with her fingers and twist her rings sometimes when she knew you were overwhelmed.

or how leah knew you would always underestimate how suddenly british weather could change, never bringing a jacket when you needed to so she made sure to always drape hers over you instead.

or how occasionally you'd demand leah stay still as you ever so gently collected a stray eyelash off her cheek, holding it out on your pinky and ordering her to make a wish before you'd blow it away with a soft smile.

so caught up in her thoughts leah hadn't even realised the movie had finished, only yanked back down into reality as you nudged her and called out her name. "you okay?" you asked her with a concerned frown, noticing she was clearly out of it as leah wordlessly nodded.

pulling her head off your chest you quickly withdrew your hands from her body, shuffling backwards a little as the two of you settled in your new positions, laid on your sides and looking right at one another.

"have i got something on my face?" you teased quietly at her staring, leahs lips curling into a smile. "no its ugly as ever don't worry." the blonde quipped with a smirk, flicking at your ear as you gasped and kicked her.

which suddenly jolted the pair of you from your previously calm and settled state, leahs cold hands tickling at your sides as your laughter echoed around the room making her grin. yanking them away you pinched at her hips, the two of you smacking and slapping one another around giggling manically like naughty kids, hushing one another as if worried you might be caught out and told off at a moments notice.

"no!" you grunted out with a laugh as leah tried to sit on top of you, her slender fingers digging into your ribs mercilessly with an evil smile. wiggling your body furiously beneath her you shoved her off, quickly straddling her hips right as the blondes back hit the mattress.

attempting to pin her hands down was a pointless task as the stronger girl interlinked your fingers and pressed your hands together, trying to throw you off of her as her knee pushed into your side, causing you to collapse back into the bed with a loud pelt of laughter.

both of you now struggling to breathe among your giggles you called a truce, chests heaving and faces flushed bright red from the rumble, leahs head turning to admire your side profile momentarily.

feeling her gaze on your cheek your eyes flickered sideways, meeting her curious look as your laughter slowly ceased and you found yourself lost in one anothers wondering orbs.

for once her mind finally quiet leah ever so slowly began to lean in, her eyes flittering between you and your lips.

your heart hammering in your chest you made no move to stop her as the two of you edged closer and closer into one anothers personal space.

your lips now just milimetres from one another you turned your head ever so slighty, your nose brushing against leahs as the blondes tongue ran across her lips somewhat apprehensively, eyes seeking out any sort of green light from you before she made her next move.

before you could withdraw your mind from its scattered places leahs arms were around you, her hold familiar and comforting. though at the close proximity of your nervous bodies you felt again the rush of helplessness, the sinking yielding, the surging tide of worry that what happened next could make or break the two of you.

"can i kiss you?" "please."

consent gained leah closed the tiny gap between you, rosy pink lips soft and alluring as they pressed against your own. leahs head spun at the dizzying sensation of her mouth molding perfectly with yours, ravishing in the feeling of kissing you.

her hand moved to rest on your cheek, palm rough and callous but her touch tender as you lent into it, tilting your head slightly as leahs breath caught at the new angle.

her tongue traced along your bottom lip, dipping in the small cracks and grooves, your lips slightly chapped but still so plump and inviting as they moved in rhythm against her own.

her insistent mouth was parting your shaking lips, sending wild tremors along the tips of your nerves, evoking from you sensations you had never known to be capable of feeling from the simple action as her tongue swirled around your mouth sending you into a silent frenzy.

you'd kissed people before obviously, but never ever had one plunged you into such a swimming giddiness that spun your head round and round, almost drowned in the overwhelming pleasure of the small but intimate act with someone you trusted so dearly.

then suddenly, lungs screaming and vision foggy you both surfaced for air, lips parting from one another with a slight pop as your chests heaved and your eyes scanned one another features for the first sign of any kind of reaction.

"we should talk about that." you were the first to speak, voice cracking slightly as leahs eyes dropped back down to your lips which seemed to be calling to her like a siren from the very moment they departed her own.

"yeah...we should."

though it seemed that was all that needed to be said as now much more feverishly your lips smashed into one anothers, your hands tangling in leahs hair as hers traced down the curvature of your back, drawing your body closer into her own as your bare legs tangled, kicking down the sheets exposing your bodies more to the chill of the brisk autumn evening.

and it seemed that without really needing to talk about it, the two of you had finally unlocked what would become the much more apparent act of intimacy between the two of you.

that wasn't to say future conversations wouldn't happen, but right now as your bodies began to greet one another in an entirely new fashion you'd both got the confirmation you'd been struggling for oh so desperately that the internal battle wasn't one sided.

and one day you'd lay down together and laugh that all it took was some stupid smiley face potatoes.

[mamisfavmosher]

Hey love your work, can you do a fic where dom dom has to punish reader for the first time for being a brat with spanking corner time other smut.

thank you! hope you enjoy this!

something fun // dom!dominik mysterio x fem!reader

so this could have gone in multiple directions and i didn't really mean to make dom as dark as he was in the beginning....

warnings: spanking, time out in a corner with rice, p in v, slight spit kink, papi kink, let me know if there's anymore?

SMUT - MINORS DNI

Readers POV

It was an unusual attitude for me. Dom and I could both see that. But how was I supposed to react? Last night when I tried to go out with my friends to a bar, he made me stay home because of my outfit choice. Now, I've been making him deal with a bratty attitude from me since that very moment.

"Hey, sweetheart," Dom walked over to me as I lounged on the couch, kissing my cheek before sitting next to me and placing my legs on his lap. I gazed over at him, my eyes narrowed and annoyed. "There's no way you're still mad at me." He sighed.

"I'm not mad." The phrase was blunt as it left my lips. My eyes fell onto the flickering TV as he attempted to search my face for any sort of forgiveness.

"If you're not mad, maybe you should lose the attitude." Dom chuckled out. His hand reached over and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Just sayin'." He put his hands up in surrender as I shot a glare at him.

"How about you just leave me alone?!" My voice snapped at him as my legs swung off of his lap. Before I could move to stand up, his hands shot out to forcefully pull me towards him.

"The hell did you just say to me?" Dom gripped my chin and directed my head to turn towards him. "You want me to leave you alone?" A sinister glint passed through his eyes before a smirk grew on his lips.

I shoved at his chest and successfully moved his hand away from my chin. "Yes, I want you to leave me alone! You never let me have any fun!"

"Oh, you wanna have fun? We can do something fun!" Something within his voice was off and I immediately caught onto it. He pulled away from me and walked to the kitchen pantry.

I didn't know what he was up to, but I kept watching as he retrieved a bag of rice and walked over to a wall corner, beginning to pour the rice onto the floor. Once he poured an amount of rice to his liking, he smirked over at me. "Alright, sweetheart. Let's have some fun."

"What do you mean? What's the rice for?" I was hesitant to ask, especially as he stalked over to me.

"You said you wanted to do something fun. And since you've been such a little brat lately, I decided that we're gonna do something that's fun for me." He explained with little detail as he placed the rice back in the kitchen. "Get undressed."

I stared at him blankly in confusion, refusing to fulfill his demand. "But, what is it? What are we doing?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Get undressed and you'll find out." Dom taunted back, a cocky smile on his face. Begrudgingly, I pulled the clothes off of my body and awkwardly shuffled while waiting for the next command. His breathing notably hitched, "Now, come over here, baby."

I let him take my hand and lead me into the corner. "Dom..."

"Quiet. You wanted to be a brat, Papi will treat you like one." He walked behind me and gently moved my hair behind my shoulders, his hands softly rubbing up and down my arms. "Now, kneel." The heat of his breath against my ear caused warmth to pool in my stomach.

Slowly, I did as I was told and knelt down onto the hard grains of rice. Pain immediately began resonating throughout my knees and whines escaped my throat at the uncomfortable feeling.

"You're gonna stay there for ten minutes, pretty girl. And I don't want to hear any complaining." His voice had become stern. "Understood?"

I nodded with a wince, a small gasp leaving my lips as the grains only dug into my skin further with time.

"Use your words." He pressed. His fingers carded through my hair before gently pulling on it to get me to answer.

"I understand, Papi." I forced the words out in a soft, but audible tone.

Dom hummed in enjoyment from behind me before tilting my head back and prying open my mouth. He let a few drops of his spit fall onto my tongue and closed my mouth. "Swallow." Shutting my eyes, I swallowed the mixture of his spit and my own. "Good fucking girl." He practically moaned.

Hearing him walk away, I began to slightly wiggle off of the rice, attempting gain relief from the harsh grains embedded in my skin.

I jumped in surprise as he quickly appeared next to me with an annoyed expression. "I walked away for two seconds and you're already trying to be a brat again." He tutted. "Clearly, I'll have to add to the punishment if corner time alone isn't enough." Dom said and moved to the couch to sit and watch me until my time was up.

Small whimpers of pain escaped my lips every now and then along with slight wiggles of my hips to try and find relief. I kneeled on the rice for what felt like forever until Dom finally came over to me and helped me stand up.

"Alright, princess, let me have a look." Dom kneeled down and gently brushed the rice off of my knees before planting soft kisses on each one. "Take a little breather and then we'll finish your punishment, baby." He stood at full height again and pulled me over to the couch where he stroked my hair and softly kissed my neck and shoulders for a few minutes. "Okay, bend over my lap."

"You're gonna spank me, too?" I whined before being silenced with his glare. He didn't respond, only pulling me down onto his lap. "Papi, wait-"

I was cut off by his harsh hand leaving a stinging impact on my bare skin. A chuckle could be heard from him as he watched me jump from the first slap. "You better get used to this if you plan on being a brat with me, sweetheart." His hand relentlessly spanked me, my skin becoming more red and sore with each hit. Small moans and whimpers of pain escaped my lips as he began to use more strength. "...Papi... please..." I cried out in an attempt to make him stop. "Just a few more, baby. Wanna make sure that ass is nice and red for me." He said, his voice authoritative yet gentle. I wriggled and squirmed on his lap as he spanked me a few more times. My skin felt like it was on fire. His warm hands rubbed over the sore flesh, gently squeezing and kneading the skin. "So pretty, sweetheart..." He lightly moaned out. Dom carefully pulled me from his lap and stood up, positioning me so that I was facing away from him, my arms resting on the back of the couch and my knees resting on the cushions. He stood behind me, sighing as he began to unbuckle his belt.

"Gonna take Papi's cock like a good little slut, baby? Gonna be a little cockslut for Papi?" He breathed out, moving closer to me and running the tip of his cock through my wet folds. I whimpered, moving my hips back against him to try and gain some type of friction. "What did I tell you, chica...", His hand came down hard once more on my already red skin, "Use your words for me."

"Yes, Papi... please", I mewled out, shivers running through my body as he pressed his tip into me. "Please, I'll be a good little cockslut for you." My tone raised an octave, a cry falling from my lips as he fully thrusted himself into me. I threw my head back and Dom immediately grabbed a fistful of my hair, pulling me toward him so my back was against his chest.

"So good," He thrusted into me at a harsh pace, breathing into my ear. "Such a good girl for me..." His thrusts became faster as his free hand wandered down my stomach to my clit, his fingers rubbing in fast circles to bring me closer to the edge. "Cum for me, sweetheart. Cum for Papi." My breath shuddered as my senses were heightened. His hair tickled my shoulder, the cool metal of his gold chain chilled my skin, his fingers were warm and rough as he brutally rubbed at my clit. I cried out as I felt myself reach the edge, my climax coursing through my body. "Papi!" My voice rang out as my body slouched against him as he continued to slowly thrust into me, reaching his own climax.

He continued to hold me up for a few more seconds before carefully sliding out and pulling us both down to sit on the couch. I moved over to crawl onto his lap and his arms immediately circled around me, bringing me to lay on his chest. "Was that fun enough for you, baby?" He chuckled out as his hand gently ran through my hair. I giggled at his question before slowly nodding, tired from all the activity. "Yeah, I had fun, Papi." I leaned up and gave him a sweet kiss before snuggling back into his chest.

[helluva-headache]

I try usually to not get into discourse about the shows because it's exhausting but I'm just throwing this out there because it's bouncing around in my brain.

It's kinda wild to me how many Stolas haters there are that genuinely don't believe Stolas is going to have any sort of reckoning when it comes to his class/racial bias.

I've even seen people go as far as say the writers of the show are "just going to let it slide" and Stolas "won't face any consequences".

Like... the writers are the ones who wrote in Stolas' class/racial bias to begin with.

During Harvest Moon Festival, they purposefully show a shot of the crowd looking angry as Stolas addresses them as "tiny wrath ring imps".

The writers wrote Striker's dialogue in Harvest Moon Festival and Western Energy, clearly showing his distaste for royals and the disparity between classes. They wouldn't do this, especially in the scenes where Striker is talking directly about/to Stolas, if this wasn't going to be an important issue that will be addressed down the line.

It's even brought up in Full Moon and Apology Tour. In Full Moon, Blitzø's anger towards Stolas' attitude regarding imps is the climax of their argument at the end of the episode. He may not have expressed it in a way that Stolas would be entirely receptive to in that moment, but it's a huge first step as this is the first time Blitzø is directly expressing his frustration to Stolas' face.

And then in Apology Tour we have Stolas saying to Blitzø "I don't look down on you!" and "When have I ever?-" and then goes on to compare Blitzø's attitude to Striker's. This conversation is derailed when Stolas finds out about the first assassination attempt, but their conversation here is another big step in the right direction. This conversation shows Blitzø, and us in the audience, that Stolas doesn't actively believe he's better than imps, but passively without realizing it treats imps as if they are lesser.

This is important because it distinguishes Stolas' behavior from that of someone with malicious intent, perhaps like how Andrealphus did when referring to Striker as a "mangy stray". This distinction shows us that Stolas is capable of change. He's never had a reason to examine his class/racial bias, until he met Blitzø.

All this to say there are too many breadcrumbs intentionally left by the writers for this topic to not be addressed at some point. I understand some people who are especially fans of Blitzø may be upset because of a literal "anti-Blitzø party" in Apology Tour, and might feel like the show is unfairly digging at Blitzø without addressing Stolas' wrongs. However, I feel like it's reasonable for Blitzø's issues to be addressed first as he is the main character. And based on the season 2 trailer, I don't doubt that in one of the next few episodes the show will be digging into Stolas as well.

The show isn't over yet. If a major character flaw that has been referred to in multiple episodes throughout the entire series hasn't been formally addressed yet, trust the writers to address it before the show is completed.

[zablife]

Lee! Hope you're doing well 💋 so I so your prompt for the requests and if you're feeling inspired with this what about?

- ❛ I’ve killed for you. Who else can say that? ❜

with Tommy?

The Debt

Warning: Dark!Tommy 💀, mention of gun, blood, murder, trauma

You bit your hand to keep from screaming as the man in the long, black overcoat pushed you inside your small bedsit. The door slammed behind you as you stumbled toward the window, pushing the lace curtains aside with trembling fingertips. The remnants of blood were still there on the cobblestones beside the alley, though it was quickly being washed away in the driving rain.

Your memories of the violence carried out in your name would not be erased so easily. The bile rose in your throat as you thought of each shot striking its target, blood gushing over the pavement and splattering onto your shoes. You looked down to see the evidence of the stains that had ruined your new boots, an odd sensation washing over you as though you were staring at someone else's feet rather than your own.

"Come away from the window, love," a low voice rumbled across the room like thunder.

Your body shuddered involuntarily at the noise, a hand gripping the window ledge to keep upright. Feet uncooperative as your mind, you attempted to reply, but found yourself unable to dislodge the words from your brain. You shook your head fiercely, but the cotton headed feeling wouldn't budge.

The man scoffed at your disobedience, removing his coat to wrap around your shoulders protectively. He clamped a large hand over your shoulder, guiding you toward the little table in the corner. As he handed over a flask, he instructed, "Sit down and have some of this. It'll steady your nerves."

Suddenly you heard yourself stutter, "I...d-d-don't drink."

"Alright, tea then," he conceded. "Where do you keep it?" He leaned over you, eyebrow raised in question until your finger pointed in the direction of a far cupboard.

As he turned away, his gun came into view and your heart began to hammer at your ribcage until you thought you might faint. Pressing your fingers to your temples, you closed your eyes and attempted deep breaths. Eventually you pushed them out in labored waves, though your body was quickly wracked by sobs.

"Hey, hey...there's no need for tears," you heard the deep voice begin to soothe as you felt a warm cup being pressed into your palms.

Looking up through watery eyes, you sniffed, "Who are you? What do you want?"

Taking a seat opposite you, the man's crystalline blue eyes locked onto yours intently as he introduced himself as Tommy Shelby. "You don't know who I am?"

"No," you admitted. "I've only just arrived this week."

Tommy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That's what I thought. You'd never have taken that short cut if you'd known the sorts of bastards lurking."

A draft blowing through the crack in the windowsill crept across the back of your neck at that moment, triggering a phantom feeling of icy fingers upon your throat and you startled losing your grip on the china.

Tommy caught the cup before it landed on the floor, hissing as the hot liquid scalded his hands.

"I'm sorry, I felt his hands..." you mumbled, fingers tracing the delicate skin where the man from the alley had grabbed you.

"You've had a shock," Tommy stated, cleaning himself off with a rag. "But you needn't worry any longer. You're under my protection now." He stood with a determined nod, gathering his cap and placing it on his head.

For the first time that evening your shoulders relaxed and you breathed a sigh of relief. With a bit of effort, you banished the terrifying images of what you'd seen and tried to find good in the intimidating man before you. You even began convincing yourself it was fate that brought him to look after you in your new city.

However, as you stood to remove Mr. Shelby's coat, he casually announced, “You can bring it tomorrow when you see me about repaying your debt.” Then he proffered a business card.

You stared up at his chiseled face, partially covered in shadow. Unable to tell if he were serious. "I don't understand,” you admitted with a puzzled look.

Clicking his tongue disapprovingly, he pulled on a pair of black leather gloves. “So forgetful all of a sudden, aren't we," he scolded.

Your throat went dry, constricting painfully when you tried to swallow. "What do you mean?"

The leather cracked menacingly as he reached out to caress the apple of your cheek with the back of his hand. "I've killed for you. Who else can say that?" he reminded you in a voice far too flat and calm to offer affection.

Your eyes went wide as you searched his darkening pupils, panic shooting down your spine as you thought of what awaited you at the address printed on the card. The bit of paper shook violently in your hand as his thumb grazed your lips, leaving a powerful promise in his wake. "I've done something for you, now it's your turn."

When you bristled beneath his touch, he leaned toward your ear, a hiss escaping on his whisky scented breath. "I could return you to that alley if you like, but I think you'll find this arrangement far better." He turned without giving you a chance to protest. There was no need for once you owed a debt to Tommy Shelby, he owned you for life.

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

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@dearshelby

[incarnadinedreams]

This isn't really new or anything but the more I reread random passages the more convinced I am that there's something very unique about the way Jiang Cheng reacts to Wen Ning and it's just so interesting!

I'm convinced it's more than just being angry. It's more than just hating him, or blaming him for Jin Zixuan's death or his sister's life. It's more than being a Wen, and it comes long before so many of those tragedies unfold anyway.

There's a sort of urgent, visceral reaction to Wen Ning's presence that just has this different feeling to it than how he reacts to any of the other characters. Even characters he has strong emotional responses to, it's never with the same panic or recklessness. It's not the same as the whole "vengeful wrath, fathomless hatred, or raving ecstasy" situation he's got going on with Wei Wuxian (sexy as that might be).

When it's Wei Wuxian, it's all "...well, well. So you're back?" and "Haven't you got anything to say to me?" Even when he's not being very nice, even when he's throwing teacups and furious at Wei Wuxian, there's still an edge of calmness in the way he lashes out. He's fucking mad but he's had more than a decade to think about this and he's got things to say and he's trying so hard to get a reaction from Wei Wuxian that he just won't give him.

But he can't tolerate having Wen Ning anywhere near him. Much of the time he instantly lashes out, physically, in ways to create space between them. He's mean to Wen Ning, but he doesn't really have much to say to him; he just wants to get away from him.

It really stuck out to me how instinctive and instantaneous and emotional that reaction is when I was reading this passage from chapter 81 (ExR translation since I've got it on hand in digital text form), when Jin Ling returns Zidian and rushes back into the fray during the Second Siege:

When Jiang Cheng was unaware, he stuffed Zidian's ring back into his hand and sprinted toward the crowd, all the way up to the most dangerous area before the mouth of the cave. Jiang Cheng was about to chase after him when he managed to slice a few corpses, staggering. He felt that Sandu was no lighter than hundreds of pounds. Two female corpses threw themselves at him from both directions.

Jiang Cheng cursed. As he lifted his sword again, another pair of hands tore the two corpses into pieces, "Sect Leader..."

Jiang Cheng lost his temper as soon as he heard the voice. He kicked Wen Ning away and cursed, "Get the fuck away from me!"

Obviously that is not very nice and poor Wen Ning didn't deserve a kick for being legitimately helpful there, but the point is that not only does he lash out - the reaction happens even when he's clearly got higher priorities going on in a chaotic situation. Throughout that entire event he reacts in a somewhat more even-keeled way to almost everything except Wen Ning being in his vicinity.

And it's not just after Wen Ning's death, not just after he became Wei Wuxian's greatest weapon, not just after he was forced to kill Jin Zixuan - it's specifically a pattern established from the moment he woke up in the Supervisory Office without a core:

Before he could say anything, those sun robes reflected against Jiang Cheng's eyes. His pupils suddenly shrunk.

Jiang Cheng kicked Wen Ning, toppling over the bowl of medicine. The black liquid all spilled onto Wen Ning. Wei WuXian wanted to take the bowl of medicine. He pulled up Wen Ning as well, who had been shocked speechless. Jiang Cheng roared at him, "What's wrong with you?!"

At this point he doesn't even know how he was rescued, since he was unconscious for all of that, and thinks they're in a Wen trap and likely going to die (or worse). But there's so many echoes of that interaction again, and again, and again between them.

And combined with Wen Ning's remarks during the scene just before this, where he tells Wei Wuxian about the discipline whip injuries and how Jiang Cheng 'should have other injuries as well', the way the narrative is so deliberately ambiguous on what exactly occurred, it all makes me want to crawl up the walls and gnaw on the light fixtures wailing WHAT DID YOU SEE, WEN NING?! WHAT DID YOU SEE?

At a minimum, Jiang Cheng knows that Wen Ning was there at Lotus Pier prior to his capture by the Wen guards, because they'd both seen Wen Ning examining Jiang corpses on the training field before they fled for Meishan.

But everything after that is only implication and subtext and suppositions and speculation, not directly stated in the text. But based on his reaction, you can pry my headcanon from my cold dead hands that that Wen Ning probably witnessed all or much of what happened to Jiang Cheng after he was captured, and Jiang Cheng knows it.

I've also posted before how I think there's an at least nonzero chance that Jiang Cheng was never directly told that Wen Ning wasn't actually there with Wen Chao when they saw him early on, but came later to try to help (because when Wen Ning gives Wei Wuxian that information Jiang Cheng isn't conscious, and nobody tells Jiang Cheng anything. I don't think that headcanon changes much either way, but there is a slight difference, at least emotionally, between 'I helped you while I was there to slaughter your clan and destroy your life' and 'I came when I heard my crazy cousin was slaughtering your clan and tried to help you' and I think it's a juicy thing to add to the pile of misunderstandings they each have of the other's motivations and actions).

Which, if I go with these two ideas together, really drives home what a bespoke and specific nightmare the way the Golden Core reveal played out - not only the substance of the reveal, but the fact it was Wen Ning who revealed it.

He was already furious that they were even there at Lotus Pier, particularly Wen Ning. But the way it all happens it feels like it's not just echoes of the amplified emotions of the confrontation with Lan Wangji & Wei Wuxian in the Ancestral Hall, it's not just Wen Ning being a Wen, or even Jin Zixuan's death, the way the narration calls out. It feels like there are deeper layers to it.

I also feel a bit stupid for not noticing before this probably extremely obvious to literally everyone else who isn't a dumbass like me parallel of Wen Ning getting a gruesome scorching whip mark across his chest at Lotus Pier in the course of saving Wei Wuxian (more or less, sort of - we know as readers Jiang Cheng was intentionally trying not to hurt them with Zidian, but I don't think Wen Ning knew that when he jumped in).

Jiang Cheng looked to find that the uninvited guest was Wen Ning. Immediately, he raged, "Who let you inside Lotus Pier?! How dare you!"

He could manage to tolerate others, but definitely not Wen Ning, the Wen-dog who put his hand through Jin ZiXuan's heart and ended both his sister's happiness and her life. Just a look, and he felt the urge to kill him right there. How dare he step foot on the earth of Lotus Pier—he really was looking for his death!

Because of the two lives and many other reasons, Wen Ning had always felt guilty, and so he'd always been somewhat scared of Jiang Cheng, consciously avoiding him all the time. Right now, however, he blocked Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi as he faced him, taking the hard lash. A gruesome scorch climbed across his chest, but still he didn't flinch.

I don't know that it actually means anything but it's making me FEEL THINGS incoherently at this specific moment, so. Also I find it legitimately sad that Wen Ning has to live with guilt over things that happened when he was controlled by someone else, though the scene before the Ancestral Hall when Jin Ling starts crying on the boat is probably a better example of that. Anyway.

It's just there's so, so many layers to how uniquely horrible it is for Jiang Cheng that he not only finds out about the Golden Core transfer this way, but also that Wen Ning, specifically, directly witnessed this life-shatteringly huge deception and sacrifice too - while Jiang Cheng was unconscious, no less.

And, well, we know how everything got capped off in that scene...

Obviously the shock of the information was going to get a huge reaction no matter what, no matter who or how he found out. Even without the Wen Ning element, it already hits every one of his deepest weaknesses and insecurities and fears.

But to come from the guy who'd witnessed his family being slaughtered, who'd witnessed who-knows-what humiliations heaped on him (who also happens to be the same fucking guy that Wei Wuxian thought it was worth leaving Yunmeng Jiang for, breaking his promise for...), the guy he blames for his sister's tragic fate (whether that blame is misplaced or not), the guy he exhibits a panic response towards even decades later, and goddamn.

There are just so many layers to this perfect little nightmare reveal on so many different levels aren't there?

There's just SO much meaty stuff for these two to dig into post-canon and all we get is an extra with a 'oh yeah sometimes Jiang Cheng yells on night hunts and Wen Ning is there' about it?!

I should probably just shut up and go read some Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning focused fics or something (whether romantic or platonic that's probably an area I really haven't explored enough vs. the amount of sheer interesting hints and material the novel gives to work with! If by some miracle anyone made it to the end of this beast feel free to drop any recs that explore them, especially that 'what did Wen Ning see?!' aspect of the whole situation because that is the current little brain worm haunting me right now).

[yunietunie]

Look at Me

(nsfw)

König was a quiet yet authoritative Colonel at the base. His eyes always seemed to look as if he was searching for something, wanting something. How long would it go on for before he caved?

fem!reader, colonel!könig, smut, MDNI, 18+, unprotected!sex, pnv,

A/n: this one has got to be my favourites, enjoyed writing it. This was one I had before i even started using tumblr.

let me know who you want next!!!!

König. The man you laid your eyes on when you first came to KorTac. Unsure if he’d ever look your way since you were just only a private, he a Colonel. You were a knife specialist, ranging in hand to hand combat, it being your strong point. In meetings you would catch his eyes darting to you every few seconds, obviously searching for something.

Months had passed and you didn’t really think much of König. Sure, he was somewhat alluring but he didn't even talk to you, and everytime you did he seemed to not respond back. He seemed nervous or something. But it was for sure, he enjoyed eye contact with you.

This game of cat and mouse played constantly with your irises fighting for dominance. Through his sniper hood, you could never tell what he was thinking or saying, his eyes displayed a poker face like expression. His voice seemed commanding in the field, but outside of it, he was very impassive. 

Whenever he did talk, it was never directed at you. You must admit, that man’s voice alone was enough to make you want something from him. Your fingers would fulfill your thoughts when you were alone in your barracks room. You hoped he never would find out.

While you were cleaning your knives from a previous mission that went sort of bad, you heard a knock on the side of the doorframe behind you.

“Verzeihung..?” The 208cm Austrian man asked you as you swiveled your head to meet his gaze. His eyes staring right down at you while he shifted his weight onto one hip. “Yes..?” You said quietly looking up to meet his icy stare. He looked… disheveled? Like he wanted to ask you something but was being held back by his own conscience. You raise an eyebrow to his stance and his sudden appearance. He was always busy… why was König standing before you at your desk?

“Can.. I borrow you for a moment, bitte?”His velvety voice corarsed you, with a type of uncertainty in his tone. He also seemed rushed. He motioned you up from the bench, hoping you’d oblige. You reluctantly nodded and got up from your seat. You thought it was to discuss your actions in your previous mission. But worst of all, you thought it was because he was going to ask you about what you thought of him.

 His breath would hitch in his throat as he would see you standing below him with a smaller frame than his own. Leaving the area, König walked down the corridor quickly, with you tailing behind him. Concentration filling his aura. As you both stride to his destination of his choice, your eyes landed on a door. His quarters. A thousand questions filled your head as to why he asked you to come to his quarters in the middle of your work. Opening the door and leading you inside, he closed it, locking it behind himself. Your eyes would wander around his neat room, everything was clean and well organized.

“Sitzen.” He spoke to you, motioning towards the edge of the bed. His sniper hood never dismissed from his face as he stared at you. You sit, he watches. You move, he took note. He was watching you as some type of prey. This raised even more questions as he began walking closer to you and looked down upon your body as you sat near the edge.

“I brought you here because it is more quiet.” König would begin as he watched your eyes for any expression. He was beating around the bush, especially since he was fidgeting with his gloves, slipping them off after a few minutes of contemplating. “Mein Schatz, I've noticed your eyes on me.” 

Shit. You were so sure he didn't see you at all. You seemed practically invisible, at least at work and rank wise. Yeah, the two of you would make eye contact but you assumed he didn’t think much of it. You only gave a nervous laugh, almost challenging that comment as he spoke it. You looked around the room, hoping to find some excuse, but before you could König would step even closer. “I don’t mind it really. Especially when I first saw you.” 

You were stunned. No, shocked that the Colonel would be talking to you like this. You couldn’t help but feel flustered. He still seemed desperate. Antsy even. He began taking off his tactical gear, tossing it aside, whilst keeping the hood over his face. 

“Have you been thinking of me?’ He asked the question you feared. It wasn’t really a question, well, since he already knew the answer to this. He’d catch your attention when he’d give meetings or when he was in the break room drinking some water. And what about those dreams?

“Yes…” You admitted quietly, a little bit embarrassed at yourself. This pressure began knotting in your lower stomach.

“So ein ungezogenes Mädchen.” König replied back with an airy smirk you could tell that was under his hidden face. You didn’t quite understand what he was saying, however goosebumps began to cover your skin. Your eyes seemed to drift away from his body, trying to think. He moved closer, towering over you, placing a hand under your chin to force direction back to his eyes. That only made the pressure in your lower stomach begin turning to a throbbing one.

“That’s okay,” He said as he continued looking down at you. He took note of your small squirming to readjust your sitting position. “Liebling. I must admit… I've been thinking about you too.” König continued his wording. In truth, you could feel yourself getting wet by the way he talked about you. The way he admitted he thought about you. So he did know and now he was just watching you. 

He moved closer, bending down to your eye level, which instinctively made you jerk your head backwards. He moved even closer. You moved back. He came closer. This would go on until he had you backed up against the headboard of his bed, crawling over your squirming body. Caught in a stare down between each other.

“I need you, liebling.” He said with a slight quivery tone, moving his face closer to yours. Your eyes flutter at the very thought. You’ve been only dreaming about this moment. Now he admitted he wanted you.

“Then you’ll have me.” You purred confidently as you stared back at him. There was going to be no hiding it now, especially with your slick folds giving away your thoughts.

You could hear a scoff given under the hood as he placed his thumb on your lower lip, looking at the plushness of it. He had you in his grips and he was not letting you go. At least not right now. König would take his time taking off the top of your uniform. He wanted to be gentle. He knew if he could, he’d tear you apart in an instant. Brushing your uniform top off, König’s eyes landed on your chest. It almost seemed like he was growing needy, especially as he rushed to slip your bra off.

Grabbing one of your breasts, he placed his other hand under you on the small of your back, lifting you slightly towards him. He moved his hood slightly up and placed his lips around your supple nipple. That earned him a small gasp from you. 

His tongue swirls around it, making it more sensitive with each movement. He occasionally nibbles lightly on it, sending jolting sensations down your body. While he was tending to your breast, he made sure to keep eye contact with you. How he loved your eyes when you enjoyed yourself, the reactions from them.

Soon after, he moved to your other breast, giving it the same attention as you gave small whimpers to the gesture. He removed his hand from your lower back and grabbed it on your waist. Giving it a gentle squeeze before letting it travel down between your uniform pants. 

Two fingers rubbing against the fabric of your pants. He was teasing you and you knew it. His warm wet lips soon left your hard and sensitive nipple. On top of you, you turn your head away to avert your gaze from him, only for him to move his face closer to yours and speak to you in a whisper.

“Look at me… I want to see your pretty eyes.” He pleaded quietly, turning your sight to his direction once more. He wanted you to watch him. He wanted you to watch him see how much of a mess he could make you with just a few words and a few simple touches.

His calloused hands made their way to your pant button where he unfastened them. Along with your top, he threw it down to the floor as well, disregarding them. König would look down and his eyes widened to the coated wet spot between your panties.

“So wet for me already, liebling?” He would ask quietly while rubbing your clit through your panties in small tight circles. He’d continue the soft motion while your body trembled at the gentle touch. His fingers tore away from your pussy, slithering them under the side of your panties. Sliding them down your ankles, he kept one hand on your hip for grip support.

“I need to stretch you out. Or else I'll break you in half.” His accent rolled off his tongue. He looked down at your folds, pushing one finger into your greedy hole. A wince ran through your body as he curled it. He was teasing you again. König put his gaze back to your irises that were pleading for more. His voice was inviting when you clenched around his fingers.

He began pumping your pussy, his finger coated with your juices, becoming more slick by the second. Small whines would escape your lips as you kept looking at the scene. The pressure building once more as your clit began to throb. 

Without warning, he pushed another finger into you, making sure to spread you open. If this is what only two of his fingers did to you, imagine what his cock would do to you. As he continued to move at a slow and steady pace, that needy aura gathered around him again. His other hand moved down to your pussy as well. 

Slathering his thumb with saliva from under his worn out hood, he placed it on your clit. The rest of his hand applies pressure on your lower stomach. König’s thumb began rubbing in small circles as his fingers desperately tried to find your sweet spot. The only thing to fill the room were whines and moans as you began squirming around him, not able to keep still.

You instinctively try to shut your thighs back together. “It’s okay, liebling. Open up for me.” König‘s angelic voice would command you. With that demand, you give into his authoritative voice. 

Your cunt was throbbing and it felt so good to be stretched out by your own Colonel. His fingers now sliding in and out with ease, due to your own pussy betraying you. He curled his fingers. He found it. The spot that made your body writhe under him. Your desperate moans got his pace to move forcibly, even on your clit. 

For a man who was afraid to talk to people, he sure knew how to ravish you. It was almost unfair with the amount of teasing and toying he did with you. Then it was nothing. He slipped his fingers out your vibrating pussy then placed them in his mouth under the hood. Sucking your juices off his textured fingers. You were left with a shallow breath. Well, that was until he unbuttoned his pants and slipped his cock out.

It twitched, his eyes never wavering from your glistening and watering eyes. He was painfully hard, and even though you couldn’t see his full face, you knew he wanted it badly. Wanted you badly.

“Bitte.” He begged, he pleaded, he wanted as he inched closer to your cunt that was still longing to be filled once more. Your pussy would clench at nothing, but the size difference made you turn your gaze away from him. The anticipation of it slipping inside was enough to make your body squirm.

“Look at me, liebling. I won’t do anything until I see your pretty eyes.” He purred looking down at you as the tip of his cock rubbed against your heated slit. You slowly turned your gaze to him with a hot face, your lips pursing into a fine line.

He toyed around your pussy with the tip, just trying to make sure you were wet enough for him. The same desperate eyes meeting with your own. A sudden pain filled your lower stomach as he began pushing his hips closer to you. His cock entering your slick cunt. He was just head deep and it felt like he was going to tear you apart. You look down at the damage but his hand moves to your chin to look at him once more, then back to your hip. Squeezing it. Preparing you.

“Jesu–” Before you could finish your one worded comment, his cock already smothered against your cervix, bending it into his personal mold. A grunt escaped his mouth as he filled your pussy up. He loved the idea that you were smaller than him. König loved getting this reaction of pushing his cock into your needy cunt and stretching it out.

You were a mess, especially as he began pulling in and out, admiring your face as he did so. 

He slightly whimpered himself when he looked down and saw the large bulge from your lower stomach from him pumping in and out. He was trying to be gentle. Trying to go at a pace that wouldn’t break you. He was holding back. He didn’t know how much longer he could do that. His eyes looked back up at you for permission. You give him a nod.

Rocking his hips faster now, your cervix was already beginning to become bruised. He was so deep in you now, you thought your uterus was going to break open. His body slapping against yours, your moans and whines, his grunts and groans were the only thing filling the room. His grip on your hip is even harder, making a red mark from his handprint. 

“You’re taking me so well.” König would say between thrusts. He would put his weight on you, his face close to your ear as he moved even faster. He tried. He tried to hold back but you felt too good. Your tight cunt wrapping around his cock like a fucking glove. There were no words coming out of his mouth and definitely none coming from yours as his tip decimated your violated body.

His other hand found itself on the other side of your hip, gripping it hard as well. Leaving yet another hand print. König would move his ear closer to your mouth to hear how good he was fucking you, how good he was filling up your cunt with his cock. 

“Fuck.. So warm.” König muttered under his breath while feeling your warmth engulfing him inside you. He began at slow paces, making sure to get you adjusted to his shaft. It twitched and jolted within your walls. In and out, in and out, his body now slamming against yours as he hugged onto your body. You arched your back in response, squirming and writhing under his thrusts.

He stopped and lifted himself off you to look down at the mess he created of you. There were tears prickling the corners of your eyes. His hips would pound into you vigorously, bruising into your cervix. He would grunt into your ear, wanting you to hear how good you made him feel. König’s grip on your soft waist would begin to become painful, perhaps even leaving a bruise around the area. 

“Bitte. Bitte, liebling. Let me please you. Let me fill you. Bitte.. I need it.” He pleaded with an airy and shallow breath as he was still deep in you. You couldn’t give a response right away as you were still trying to find words. Instead, you wrapped your legs around his pelvis and your walls tightened around him, giving his cock permission to spill into you.

A groan would expel out of his mouth, a few whines when he began to feel himself getting closer.

Another round of plundering movements would meet your cervix, he began to move with even more force. His breath was ragged and heavy, his chest falling fast. The bed shook under you, your vision was beginning to become hazed by the pleasure you felt. You couldn’t help it, you moaned his name out with neediness it was almost embarrassing. You cunt clenching around his cock, hoping to squeeze him off every last drop. 

"So close." He moaned out next to your ear, his hot breath trickling with a bit of desperation when he felt himself become closer to his climax. The feeling of being swallowed by your warmth was throwing him into a feral overdrive.

“Oh.. Just like that. Please.” he would whine whilst his eyes kept themselves trained on yours. You couldn't help but feel as if he was trying to spear you open, but you could admit that the feeling was immaculate. The feeling of your legs tightening around his waist only made his thrusts more forcible and his voice more prominent.

This guy was really plundering you down to the depths of hell. "Inside?" He asked whispering, his brows furrowing slightly. "Inside." You would confirm, your arms wrapping around his neck.

A few hard thrusts gave before you felt his hot seed spill into your insides. He let himself ride his own orgasm out, giving a few movements before stopping while still inside you. König would fuck up into your pussy and into your cervix, making sure that you’re fed with every ounce of his cum. His breathing was shallow yet heavy as were yours. Panting, he placed a hand on your cheek, looking at you in a fond way. 

“I might be seeing you more often, liebling.”

[lea-russo333]

you're not alone (arsenal x teen reader)

I'm back! very sorry pt2 took so long but thank you for waiting :) there will be a pt3 (wouldn't mind people sending some ideas of how it should go) which will try to get done in the next week or 2. anyways, enjoy!

warnings: eating disorders, illusions to throwing up, angst with some fluff at the end (pls let me know if I've missed anything)

proofread: sort of

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The warm water trickled down your body. You were sat in the shower, eyes staring at the tiled floor. Your fingers had started to grow soft and wrinkly. You don’t know how long you had been in there, lost in your own thoughts about dinner tonight. What would you order, what would you wear, would people judge?

Team dinners were nights you use to enjoy, nights filled with fun and laughter, but that was before everything. Now you just felt uncomfortable and awkward, never knowing what to do with yourself. You hadn't attended a team dinner, or any team bonding's that involved food, for a good while. Always coming up with some excuse as to why you couldn’t attend.

Beth and Viv had insisted that you go to this one though, leaving no room for arguments.

You slowly stood up turning the hot water off. Grabbing a towel and heading straight for your room, slamming the door behind you.

Viv flinched at the sound, looking towards Beth who was sitting on the couch wrapped in a blanket with Myle. Walking over, she placed a soft kiss on top of the older girl's forehead, sitting down next to her. Beth smiled in return, resting her head on top of Viv shoulder as a comfortable silence filled the room.

The two hadn't talked to you about what happened today, both wanting to wait till tomorrow; when you all had the day off, to bring it up with you. They weren't sure how to go about it, both scared at how you will react, will you accept that you need help? Or will you deny what they both knew was clearly happening and sink further in to the walls that you had slowly started to put up.

The comfortable silence was soon interrupted by your loud footsteps coming down the stairs. They both turned in your direction and taking in your form, you didn’t look great if they were being honest, you looked tired, your lips were chapped, skin pale and dark eyebags plagued your face, you looked sick.

You stood there, awkwardly holding a hairbrush in your right hand and a hair tie in your left.

“Would one of you be able to brush my hair please” your voice was hoarse and scratchy, standing there fiddling with the hair tie between your fingers waiting for an answer.

“OfCourse love” Beth said, sitting up straight from Viv's arms, lightly patting the floor Infront of her.

A small smile graced your face as you mumbled a quiet thanks and shuffled your way towards her. sitting down with your legs crossed handing her both the hair tie and brush.

As Beth started to slowly detangle the ends of your hair, your mind started to wonder again. You thought about the events that took place earlier that day and guilt quickly started to spread across your body. Why had you yelled at Caitlin like that? All she was doing was checking in on you and you had gone and snapped at her Infront of your teammates.

“I'm sorry about today” you whispered out. Beth stopped her movements for a brief second before continuing as she spoke.

“it's okay love, but it's not us you need to be apologizing to” She was almost surprised, not expecting you to apologize so fast.

“I'll apologize to her tonight, it's at her and katies places, isn't it?” you asked, turning around to see both women nodding their heads.

It was silent again after that. The only sounds coming from your tangled hair as Beth tried to run the brush threw it as gently as she could, not wanting to hurt you. You sat like that for at least half an hour while picking at your nails; an unhealthy habit you had picked in your early teen years.

“How do you want your hair liefde?” Viv asked while switching spots with Beth. Viv had always been better at doing hair, she braided it for you on most game days, but she wasn’t as gentle as Beth when it came to brushing out the tangles.

“Just a half up half down, please”

Viv nodded and got straight to work. As soon as your hair was finished you rushed up stairs to put on outfit, opting for a pair of baggier jeans and your arsenal hoodie. Both the older women waiting for you by the door, Viv jiggling the car keys in her hand.

“Ready to go then?”

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Katie and Caitlin's house were already packed with cars out the front when you arrived, with most of your team already there. You got out of the car and waited for Beth and Viv before walking up to the front door and knocking 3 times.

You stood behind Beth as Caitlin opened the door, ushering you all in and giving each of you a short hug. Beth and Viv both made their way to the living room, Caitlin quick to follow them but before she left, she felt your hand clutch around her Rist.  She turned and looked towards were you held her Rist with furrowed eyebrows and then back to you.

“I- uh sorry” you said while dropping her hand “I just wanted to apologize for today, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that Infront of everyone. I was in a horrible mood today which isn't an excuse, but I still wanted to apologize” you rambled as you played with the sleeves of your hoodie, eyes looking anywhere but at Caitlin, feeling too guilty to look her in the eye.

“Hey, it's okay, I get it we all have bad days” she pulled you into another hug “thank you for apologizing though.”

The two of you walked into the living room where everyone was spread out. Your eyes searched the room trying to find Beth or Viv, they soon settled on Beth who was arguing with Krya over what movie they were going to watch during dinner, Lessie being stuck between the two girls.

“you two are children, honestly” she said while snatching the remote out of their hands and putting on Beths choice. You walked over and sat next to Beth, resting your hand on her shoulder.

“where's Vivi?” you looked up towards her.

“She in the kitchen helping with dinner, pretty sure were having some form of pasta and salad.”

You gulped at the thought, you hadn't eaten pasta in a while and the thought of eating it in front of the team made a shiver go down your spine.

Maybe you could just have the salad? That won't hurt, you thought while picking at your nails, Beth took notice and grabbed your hands.

“You know, you always complain about how your nails never grow yet you still continue chew them off every chance you get” she let out a soft chuckle “what's on your mind love.”

“I apologized” was all you said to the women. You felt her lightly kiss the top of your head before pulling you into a little side hug.

“Good job, I'm very proud of you” her words brought a genuine smile to your face, Beth was always good at that, even on your toughest days she always seemed to find a way to but a smile on your face, even if it was just a small one.

“Alright everyone dinners ready! Come and serve ya selves” the soft moment was interrupted by katies loud voice calling out to everyone.

You all made your way over to the kitchen, grabbing bowls and plates, everyone putting the food of their choice on their plates. As you went to grab your own you were stopped by someone calling your name, turning around to find Viv already holding a bowl out for you.

“I got all your favorites” she said with a smile while handing it to you. She was right, it did contain all your favorite, cheesy pasta, 2 pieces of garlic bread and a bit of Caeser salad. You mumbled a thank you while walking back towards the couch and squishing yourself as far as you could into the corner of it.

You moved your food around with your fork for a bit before bringing a small amount up to your mouth, hand shaking slightly, you took a deep breath hesitating slightly as you put it in your mouth, chewing slowly. You could feel the tears well in your eyes as you took another small bite, hands getting shakier and shakier every time you brought the fork to your mouth. You felt a tear fall down your face slightly, quickly bringing a hand to wipe it before anyone notices it.

Someone did though. You didn’t know it, but you had several eyes watching you as you ate your food. Leah, Viv, Beth and Alessia had all been taking glances at you throughout dinner. Your shacky frame and tearful eyes didn’t go un-noticed by any of them.

As everyone got up to put their dishes in the sink, you took the opportunity to sneak off to the bathroom, leaving your half-eaten dinner on the arm of the couch.

You turned the light and fan on when you entered, locking the door behind you. As you kneeled in front of the toilet you tied the rest of your hair back taking a deep breath.

Alessia hadn't watched you go to the bathroom, but your absence didn’t go un-noticed by her as she looked towards your now empty spot of the couch and your barley eaten dinner left on the arm. She wasn’t sure where you had gone but she had small hunch she knew where shed fined you.

You jumped as you opened the door, almost falling to the ground, Alessia was standing right Infront of it with her fist raised ready to knock. She too jumped back surprised. She stood there awkwardly playing with her fingers starting at you, thinking over what she was about to say to you.

“Do you need the bathroom? Or…” you spoke breaking the awkward silence.

“Oh ah, no sorry” she took a small step back “I was just wondering where you went, you were gone for a little bit.”

“Well, I was in here, no need to worry” you gave her a tight-lipped smile while awkwardly raising your hands. You liked Alessia, you had only met her a few months ago when she signed for arsenal, but she was a kind girl and in the short time Shes been here she had already felt the need to look out for you as most of the girls did after they met you, perks of being the baby of the team.

“Look, I know you're sick of people asking this but are you sure you're, okay? You barely touched your food, and it looks like you’ve been crying” she tried to look at you in the eyes but yours were looking anywhere but her. “it's alright, you don’t have to talk to me about it, but I am here if anything's bothering you” she said while ducking her head down to finally meet your eyes with a soft, warm smile.

You took a deep breath “there's nothing to talk about, I just ate something before we got here, and it made me feel a little sick is all.’’ You picked at your nails while you talked.

A silence fell between the two of you again as she looked at you. She took in your watery eyes and the way the rest of your hair was tied behind your ears now.

“Can I go now?” you huffed.

She stood there for a moment contemplating whether or not to say the next words that were about to fall out of her mouth. You tried to get past her, but she stopped you with a hand on your shoulder.

“what's really going on y/n?” she questioned and when you didn’t answer she took it as an opportunity to push you a bit further. “Talk to me love”.

You don’t know why, maybe it was the comforting hand of your shoulder or the way she spoke so softly to you, but you felt tears well up in your eyes. She noticed to and quickly pulled you in the bathroom again and locked the door, pulling you in to a tight bear hug. That’s what really got you crying, your faced and Alessias jumper quickly getting soaked.

“it's okay” she was lacing her fingers through your hair, rocking you side to side in at a comforting pace.

“I'm sorry” you chocked out, burying your face into chest more while sobbing.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for love, okay? I  ju-” she cut her self-off before continuing “we, just want to help you, okay? But we can't do that unless you tell us what's going on” she spoke, still playing with your hair softly.

“You won't be mad?” you sniffed, finally taking your head out of her chest and looking down at the tear-stained patch that was left behind.

“Never” she said while holding your face in her hands, gently wiping the tears away.

You fully pulled back from her now, moving over to sit on the toilet. You sat there for a while trying to gather your thoughts and were to start, your leg was bouncing up and down while you were lost in thought. A soft hand on your knee brought you back.

“Whatcha thinking?” she asked, her fingers rubbing soothing circles on your knee.

“I don’t know what to say” it came out as a whisper and if less wasn’t as close to as she was right now, she's sure she would have missed it. “Everyone just been so mean since I came back…I mean I knew I had gained a little weight, but I didn’t think it was that bad” you took a deep breath “but then everyone started pointing it out online, so I turned my comments off on Instagram but then they started saying stuff on our official Instagram and then on twitter and…” you trailed off.

“And what?” she pushed.

“I don’t know why I read them in the first place” your eyes started to sting again “it just started off with missing breakfast and few extra trips to the gym but no- now I can't stop” you broke down again, clutching on to the girl Infront of you as she wrapped her arms around you for a second time.

“I didn’t mean for it to go this far” you sobbed out.

“Shh, it'll all be okay, okay? We’ll get you the help you need alright love.”

“No!” you shot out of her grasp “no you can't tell anyone" You looked at her with pleading eyes.

“y/n, you can't keep doing this to yourself, it's dangerous, really fucking dangerous.” Her voice was stern this time “I've been in a similar position to, and I can assure you that I was not strong enough to perform at the level that we do, and if I wasn’t strong enough then you definitely aren't.” She sighed looking at your tear-stained face. “You need help y/n, I know it's scary to ask for it, but I promise you no one is going to judge you for needing it. We’re all worried about you love, Beth and Viv especially” you nodded with every word she said, just staring at the floor. You had never meant to worry Beth and Viv; you hated it when they worried about you.

“I’ll talk to them tomorrow” your voice was horsed and sore from crying.

“I'm so proud of you for saying something, I know that wouldn’t have been easy for you” less stood up bringing you up with her and pulling you into one more hug.

“you're not alone in this” she whispered.

[shhrrroooommmmmyyyyyy]

HB Generational Trauma: Paimon → Stolas

→ Octavia

*Before I get attacked, nothing I say is to defend the actions described. I am simply trying to explain and make sense of it.*

Many fans approach the topic of Stolas being a good or bad father with either black and white-good or bad or completely gray answers. The black and white are pretty straightforward, usually going something like "he says this but does this anyway" or "he's neglectful", which are all valid opinions here. As well as the gray opinions, usually saying "he really tries, he just doesn't get it right".

Honesty, I can't say I disagree with any of these opinions honestly. I don't have evidence to back this up, but I have a feeling I know where the writers are going with this. I think they will, maybe sometime soon after hearing via's line in the trailer, have Stolas sort of "wake up" in a sense and realize what exactly he does. Get hit by the good ol' self awareness train, if you will. It's called character development.

I've seen many people call this bad writing but I disagree. I think that's the direction they're going for Stolas's character development. I think with the episodes so spread out, people forget we're only three episodes away from only being halfway through the series as a whole. There's still plenty of room for development.

Anyways, back on topic. Let's look at Paimon and Stolas from the Circus episode. I love the Loo Loo Land parallel with it.

Paimon enjoying himself from home while Stolas is miserable and clearly doesn't want to be there. The only thing that gets him through it without crashing out is Blitzø. Paimon seems to not notice he's even there at all until he starts enjoying himself watching Blitzø. And when he figures out what's making him so happy, he literally buys Blitzø later to keep himself from having to deal with him all day. Of course Stolas is too oblivious and distracted by Blitzø to realize, but that makes complete sense seeing how oblivious he is as an adult.

So now let's look at Stolas and Octavia in the Loo Loo Land episode.

Stolas is enjoying himself, but actually present. Him actually being there is an improvement; however, Octavia's not enjoying herself. She already didn't want to go because she was too old to enjoy it. And on top of that, Stolas flirting with Blitzø the whole time made her uncomfortable (which he was also too oblivious to realize).

I think the parallels here are interesting. Overall I think the writers ave done an excellent job of writing generational trauma, hence the title of this post. Now let's look at Stolas' line from Western Energy:

This line made a slight change in their dynamic from my perspective. It's clear he loves her and would do anything to protect her. Much different from Paimon. I think he tries so hard to be better than Paimon that he subconsciously ends up doing what Paimon does. This is called the ironic process theory or ironic rebound (psychology nerd here, as you can tell). However, the difference between him and Paimon is that he apologizes and recognizes that he made a mistake. He's trying. And even so, what examples of a good dad would he have had growing up that would've guided him in the right direction?

Although he keeps making mistakes, he is still trying. He's not prefect. I think Via knows this; nevertheless, it's hard for her not to get frustrated at him for making them sometimes. Especially when he promised he would do something with her and didn't in Seeing Stars.

No matter the extremity of the efforts made toward doing so, generational trauma will never be completely healed in one generation (look at me using smart words). While Stolas has made a pretty big dent in the healing process, it takes more than one person to erase the trauma. Although Via is as far as the line will go with her being confirmed asexual, I think Stolas has done a lot more for Via than people realize.

I have a few notes about Blitz and Loona on this topic as well. I might wait till after Ghostfuckers in case it gives more info to put in that post

[luimagines]

Since requests are open... may we perhaps have the Chain with an SO who's really into astronomy and space? Just the biggest star and planet nerd to ever walk Hyrule.

(Totally not inspired by my own geeking out over how gorgeous the night sky is in TOTK, nope, not at all).

I'm going to have to do some research for this one. ^.^* But I'll do it for you, Nordic!!

Masterlist

Content under the cut!

The ship rocked softly back and forth on the seas, cradling the sleeping heroes as the moon gently draped the bedazzled sky with it's softer toned light.

Wind was still awake, as were you. Both of you were trying to keep the course of the ship on the right track.

Your lantern light was the closest thing you had for a light source to look at your maps and charts. You consider yourself lucky to have this on hand. Only Wind seemed as well versed in the stars as you were, hence the agreed upon decision to leave you both to your devices while everyone else went to sleep in the hammocks the small ship provided.

Wind was silent as he stood by the wheel.

You mapped out the course for the next island you were to make land, following your previous notes and comparing them to a map you had purchased before you had set sail.

A short sigh escaped your lips as you started to pack up. You couldn't keep doing this. Your eyes were strained and the moon made it difficult to see the needed stars for you figure out if you were going the right direction. You'll give it an hour or two- let the moon move further across the night sky and then start recharting what you needed.

"Going to bed?" Wind asked quietly.

You shook your head. "I'm tired, but I'm not going to leave you alone just yet."

An bitter chuckle tumbled from your lips as you stretched. Your spine and ribs popped and cracked from the needed release of strain. You saw Wind flinch but ignored it.

"If only it wasn't the full moon tonight. It would make this a lot easier."

"I can't even see the Farore Constellation." Wind sighed in despondent agreement. "I know these stars... but we're technically sailing over an island right now, so I doubt I'd actually be of much use as a navigator."

You snort. "That's why I'm up with you and not sleeping in the hull of the ship with the other guys."

There's no other sounds afterwards. There's a moment of stillness, save for the callings of the wind and the waves in their frequent call and response symphony.

"I've actually never been on a ship before." You admit, breaking the moment.

Wind jolts, almost as if he was startled awake. He tilts his head with a cheeky smile growing on his face. "Really? You're a natural at navigating. I never would have guessed."

That sets your frustrations at ease for a bit. You sit down against the railing, turning your body to talk to more experience sailor. "I just like looking at the stars for fun."

"Fun?" Wind gets a credulous look as he giggles. "I just knew the stories I was told as a kid. But I wouldn't say that comparing them to maps was fun."

"I know the stories too, sir and it's fun for me." You rolls your eyes playfully. "It just means we make a good team. I wouldn't be able to steer the ship for the life of me."

"You literally just turn the wheel left or right."

"I'd steer us right into a cliff face."

Wind giggles again.

"You actually know what you're doing but I actually know where we're going." You grin. "It works out."

"I guess so." Wind shrugs. "Better us than any of the others guys."

"They'd capsize the ship."

"Don't joke like that. Bad luck."

You smile. You don't necessarily believe in luck, but you've heard sailors to be the suspicious sort. You'll let him have this. "I retract my statement then. How far along are we following The Star of Demise?"

"About 15 knots, why?"

"Change coarse to sail towards Nayru's Trident." You grin. "We'll hit land fall by morning."

"Perfect."

[amourlyns]

hey. I already made a request, but if you have a limit you can scrap that one.

My cat has been gone for 3 days (shes never been gone this long, shes an in door cat). We just got a ton of snow and I just overheard my parents saying they think the neighbor did something to her. I've had her since I was 11 and she means so much to me. I've been having a hard time having any sort of fun with my family for the holiday season and if you could I could really use any windbreaker characters of your choice comforting reader about that scenario?

❛ HEY VENGEANCE. ❜ ➜ ⁽ masterlist ⁾

✧ 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕: a jealous owen, reminding you that you’re his forever and always. after hearing a fan compliment you after one of his races.

✧ 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: none

✧ 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔: owen uses a lot of praise, but he’s also getting his ego fed bc he’s a brat. insane by summer walker was on repeat ngl + imagine that one video of asap hearing riri’s laugh. 😭i’m sorry to hear about your cat!! i hope yall found her in the end. hopefully this fic helps.

⟡ ⠀ | Owen Knight is not insane, you know that and he knows that. So, why is he hearing your voice ? And why does it ring out so clearly in the stadium ? You’re supposed to be in the UK.

Korea wasn’t going to work with you schedule, he knew that and begrudgingly accepted it. So who the fuck is making you laugh and giggle like that? Yeah, he won the race but at what cost ? Where is his baby at—

There you are.

Now you don’t see him, but you could definitely feel his gaze on you, he knows you can. So why aren’t you looking at him? The race was over— and you came to Korea just for him.

So why was another man hogging your attention ? You didn’t even seem remotely interested. Your eyes eventually meet with Owen’s, a smile graces your lips. You’re already making hasty strides in his direction.

Even though all of your attention is on Owen now, his stare still lingers on the man you were talking to moments ago. Owen was always transparent about his feelings, you could read him like a book. He was vocal, and if he was thrown off by something? He would make it known.

He starts it off slow, discussing your appearance in Korea and what a lovely surprise it is, it really was of course. So there was no lie there, but he does mention the man you were talking to before.

❛ Why did you sit closer, baby? ❜ Owen pouts, jutting out his lower lip. You place a quick peck on his lips, cupping his cheeks and chuckling at his own behavior. He’s such a drama king, you’re not quite sure how you manage, especially with him.

❛ Owen, sweetheart I’m only here for you. And you only, so why are you worried? Hm? ❜ He flushes at this, maintaining eye contact. A hand reached out towards your wrist, sending soft kisses around your finger tips. ❛ I deserve all your attention, you know it. ❜

Your practically beats out of your chest, it takes you a moment to remember you two are in a very public space. And he didn’t mind the PDA at all? ❛ Owen, slow down. ❜ It comes out much more softer than intended, he stops. Looking at you with wide expecting eyes. What’s next?

❛ Did he say anything? ❜ Owen huffs, pushing further into your personal space. A smiles graced your lips at his intensity, he is so in love. Isn’t he? ❛ The guy complimented my shirt, he knew I was supporting you. ❜ You’ve obviously struck a nerve.

Owen scowls, pursing his lips at the thought of some stranger complimenting you. Despite the shirt and all. ❛ And that was seriously it? But he was staring at you for so long— ❜ Lips find purchase on his. Quickly silencing Owen in the most effective way.

He’s already asking for another by the time you’re backing up. Trailing you like a lost puppy dog. You let him, of course. Telling him to pack up so you can cuddle at home and enjoy each others company. He’s already agreeing—

[luneariaa]

✧ faciens certus.

✰ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : { ps5 } harry osborn x reader.

✰ 𝐰. 𝐜. : 1k+

✰ 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : harry stays over your place for the night, and tries his best to convince you that he's alright.

✰ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : just pure fluff bc he deserves the world <33

. dividers by @/saradika-graphics !! 🏹

"Just your luck."

You simply said at the auburn-haired male, who just arrived at your place. He settled himself comfortably by the couch of your home, as it started to rain quite heavily outside, hitting every part of the window that's present.

"Gotta admit that I missed the rain. It's been heating up so badly lately." You handed him the glass of hot chocolate with a small smile.

Harry thanked you while grabbing the drink that you gave him, keeping his eyes on you even after he does so.

"Yeah, it feels nice, doesn't it? I mean, the rain makes it colder than usual, but still nice in its' own way."

You nodded a bit as you returned his occasional brief gazes, before shifting your eyes at the TV, which has lost its' signal due to the harsh weather outside, which prompted you to switch it off for now.

Harry gradually puts the glass of his now finished drink down on the table nearby, before letting his eyes stayed upon your standing figure. "Mind if I stay over for the night?"

"You're always welcome to stay here, Har."

An appreciative smile is plastered across his handsome face, deciding to walk toward your direction after bringing a chair along with him, placing it just next to yours. All while his gaze never once averted elsewhere.

"Mhm, you kept staring at me for the past few minutes."

"Got something in your mind?"

The auburn-haired male elicited a chuckle, now managing to fully catch your attention.

"Honestly?"

"I was just thinking, like, you know-- those old times where we used to spend our time with each other here, watching movies till the early hours of dawn.."

By this point, his eyes are shifted elsewhere as he continued further. "My illness, my dad sort of.. kept me away from meeting you before. Surely, there are valid reasons, but still.."

"It's just nice being able to see you again like this with no one else around."

"Ah, I get that." You leaned your back against the chair you're sitting on comfortably. "I missed you for that too."

"But.."

"Nothing's gonna happen to you after this, right..?" You don't know what has driven you to ask such a question since he is, well, already there looking all healthy and fine. You couldn't help yourself-- the deep fear of potentially losing him in any time scares you so much.

His smile gradually falters upon hearing your words; simply because he wasn't expecting that type of response from you-- not in a bad way though.

"You don't have to worry about me. Nothing's going to happen anytime soon. I've taken care of everything."

Harry tried his best to reassure you, yet deep down, he hated himself for a bit due to how much he worried you.

Maintaining his cheery demeanor, he forces himself to bury the feelings of guilt deep within him, knowing quite well that you have every right to feel this concerned over his wellbeing.

He doesn't want to be a liar, but he had to, for your sake. He cared about you too much to see you in this state.

Harry just.. wanted to be normal again, and he missed how things were between you two.

"Nothing's gonna stop that now, right?"

You eventually nodded it off, processing his words within your mind. "Yeah, you got a point."

"I'm sorry, I just.."

Any other thoughts are being shut out for now, his focus-- full of pure tenderness, is now completely on you.

"Hey, you don't have to apologize."

"Just please.. Don't worry about it anymore, okay? It makes me all sad seeing you this way about me. I appreciate you for that, always."

You eventually nodded, albeit wordlessly; not knowing what to say as a reply. Sensing the sudden slight of change, Harry finally decided to stand in front of you-- placing a finger gently beneath your chin.

"I'm fine, see?" He then grabs ahold of one of your hands while squeezing it lightly, which made you stand with him as well. The shared gazes lasted longer than necessary, but none of you cared much.

Just by the way your eyes looked up into his own; it's enough to make his heart race and melt at the same time. Dare he say-- you're so precious to him. He would shamelessly show it through his actions, even after all these years.

Even words couldn't be described with the way you gazed at him like that-- it's too much, yet never enough.

Slowly, and delicately, he guides your hand towards where his heart is; allowing you to feel the beat of his heart, and how he's very much alive to you.

He wouldn't lie, but he smiles so fondly, noticing on how his heart picks up just by the mere touch of your palm against his chest.

"Feel it as much you want."

"Isn't this nice?"

The warmth radiates from your hand alone, but you thought the opposite-- thinking that his heart and body are the ones who provide the most warmth. You needed this.

He's standing in front of you and alive. That's what matters.

A warm chuckle escaped from your lips, trying your best to stay composed since you started to feel a little giddy and silly.

"You're right.. This feels comforting."

All while letting his soft grip upon your hand stays, he now moves your hand from his chest, and onto his forehead. "You can-- I mean, check for my temperature as well, just to try convince yourself further, yeah?"

In truth, he just wanted to feel your touch for much longer, especially right at this moment. The rain outside was almost being forgotten.

Harry smiled over his own words; partly joking about it, but at the same time, he wasn't. You returned his actions with such ease, simply letting your hand stay upon his forehead for a bit longer.

You were being cautious as ever, as if not wanting to accidentally hurt him or anything in that way.

"You don't have to be so careful, you know," he remarks, finding your actions quite amusing to behold, to which you simply laughed it off.

"But I wanted to."

You did something that could be considered as bold afterwards; where you actually gave his cheek a small, yet sweet kiss. It's quite new, as you never had the courage to do something as such despite being friends for years.

"That should take all the remaining sickness away, hopefully."

As much as a sap you're being right now, you couldn't help yourself, especially when he keeps his gaze at you like that. He's just so.. You can't even resist him; feeling the urge to squish him if he was a plushie or anything akin to it.

It's just a kiss on the cheek, but why would he freeze and appear to be surprised by the sudden gesture? You're scared if you might have gotten too far with your actions--

But then, his expression is failing him once the reddish hue starts to form upon his cheeks, sharing a sweet and heartwarming laugh along with you.

Harry knows how much you cared for him; on how gentle you are with him. Even if the whole ordeal turns out to be a platonic one, he wouldn't mind the slightest, as long as you are within it.

@luneariaa. do not repost; reblogs are alright. all rights reserved.

[blogthebooklover]

I'll Never See Him Again (Mae)

Author's Note: Here's the one from Mae's perspective, once again inspired by Disney's Pocahontas. This is also available on Wattpad. I've included three human OCs for this one shot! I also snuck two familiar names from Supernatural, however, it is not the beloved characters exactly lol. This is also my first time writing a character who is nonbinary/genderfluid/androgynous; and the character uses they/them pronouns. I did my absolute best to be as respectful as I could. I also apologize in advance if there is any indication of negative stereotypes, because that was not the intention.

They took him.  Her human companions took Noa.  All because he wanted to see her again.  Mae dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands.  She was only trying to help rebuild the human race, under the direction of her leader.  On her mission, the only ones to show any sort of empathy and compassion to her, were the evolved orangutan and chimpanzee.  So soon after the deaths of her team.  

Her affiliation and alliance with them during that time, created the beginning of a conflict within herself.  The girl raised a hand to her neck, and pulled out the medallion of Caesar.  The last connection to Raka as well.

It was Noa’s gift to her to reflect on their time and her grief.

And it was the first one that wasn’t given to her by her parents or friends.

She felt tears stream down her cheeks as she clasped the medallion in her hands.  Mae did not consider herself to be spiritual or religious, she remembered her history lessons about the past 200-300 years and before.  How humans always had conflicts regarding religion and science.  However, whomever this Caesar was to the apes, she prayed silently to him.  She went down on her knees, still clasping the necklace in her hand.  The young woman prayed for Noa’s safety.

Her silent prayer was interrupted by the sounds of footsteps coming down the hall.  It was a former classmate of hers, from her history lessons as a child.  That’s right, they went by Gem now and presented as androgynous.  “Mae,” they said, crouching down to the girl’s level, “are you all right?”  

“No, I’m not,” the girl replied, “they took my…my friend.”   

“That monkey?”

“He’s an ape, not a monkey.”

“Sorry,” Gem muttered, “is he…the one you mentioned on your journey above?”

Mae nodded, sucking in her lips to keep from crying again, “All this happened because he helped me, and I…I almost killed him…Twice.  And now…I don’t know what our commanding officers will do to him.  Either keep him for experiments or kill him.”  “He was already outside the bunker, Mae,” Gem explained calmly, placing their hand on Mae’s shoulder, “he had a weapon on him.”

“Merely for protection,” Mae argued, “I’ve seen it for myself.”  Gem bit the inside of their cheek, thinking about the next thing to say.  

“Forgive me, but were you praying just now?” they raised an eyebrow toward her.  Mae decided she couldn’t lie anymore and nodded her head in response.  “I don’t recall you being the religious type.”  Mae felt a small smile tug at the corners of her lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes, “Perhaps I did so for my friend’s sake.”

Gem’s head shot up quickly, they had an idea.  “C’mon, I know what to do.”

X.X.X.X.X.X.

An hour later, Gem and Mae walked down the hallway deep inside the bunker.  The two came upon a laboratory the scientists and doctors used for research, as well as an infirmary.  Two guards, who were also former classmates from Mae’s history lessons, stood watch over the entrance of the lab.  Gem greeted the two, giving each a nod, “Dean, Sam.”  The two returned the greeting. 

“Mae wishes to speak to the prisoner,” Gem explained sternly, maintaining strong eye contact with their former classmates.  “On what grounds?” Dean asked, placing his hands on his hips.  Mae bit her lip, thinking up any lie she could to get into the lab to see Noa.  Then it hit her, “I have some questions for him.”

“The general already interrogated the prisoner,” explained Sam, reciting it like he had memorized the words from a textbook.  Gem and Mae exchanged a quick glance with each other.  “He sent me to conduct further questions,” Mae lied, sensing the subtle change in the atmosphere.  She secretly hoped the two guards bought the lie.  

It was Dean who caved in, “Be quick, they might return at any moment.”  He turned around and punched in the key code for the door.

He stepped to the side to let Mae through.  The young woman glanced over her shoulder to Gem, offering them a small smile in thanks.  Gem returned it in kind.  Mae inhaled a deep breath, and stepped through the door.  

X.X.X.X.X.X.

Mae walked into the lab and glanced around for any sign of Noa.  It was dimly lit and there was the low hum of the computers.  Her blue eyes widened slightly when she eventually found him.  

They placed Noa in a cage.

His back was turned to her, he was hunched over and she could see he was hugging himself tightly.  Mae walked slowly over to the young ape, when she was in front of the cage, she crouched down to his level.  She reached out her hand slowly to him, debating on whether to touch his shoulder.  Regardless of his cognitive abilities being so close to humans, he was still an animal.  

And just like humans, animals did not belong in cages.

She lowered her hand and called out softly to him, “Noa?”  The young ape perked up at the sound of her voice, and glanced over his shoulder.  When he saw it was her, he turned around fully to face her.  Noa locked his golden jade eyes with her own sky blue ones.  It was the same expression he had given her, when her human companions took him away.  It was also the same one he had that day, when she aimed her pistol at Proximus Caesar.  A silent plea.

“Mae,” he whispered, reaching his hand through the bars.  She took hold of it with both of hers.  The young woman noticed how huge just his one hand was between her own.  She felt tears well up again in her eyes.  The ape took notice of her tears, reaching up his free hand and softly brushing his knuckles against her cheek to wipe them away.  He cupped her face with that same hand and she leaned into it.

There was only one thing that was on her mind.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“For what?”

“For getting you placed here.  For lying to you.  For…for almost killing you and your clan.”

Noa’s eyes widened slightly at this, this time she was sure he could read the sincere truth in her eyes.  “Mae…” he couldn’t find the words to respond to her.  However, there was one way.  The hand cradling her cheek gently pulled her closer, as best as he could from the bars, he placed his forehead against hers.  She breathed a shuddering exhale against his lips.  She felt the emblem of Caesar brush against his chest.    

 The young chimp inhaled through his nostrils, she briefly wondered if he had picked up her scent.  “I am sorry, too,” Noa whispered, “I should not…have come here.  But I am glad…I did.”  Mae pulled back slightly to look at him, biting her lower lip, debating on what to say next to him.  “Maybe…it would’ve been better if we never met,” she said , choosing her words as carefully as she could.  However, she doubted the chimpanzee in front of her believed her words.  He was too intelligent for that, briefly recalling their conversation in Trevethan’s room, and what was supposed to be their farewell outside of his village.

“I do not regret it,” Noa breathed against her lips, “I see you…as my friend.”

Mae felt more tears well in her eyes, she felt Noa’s thumb gently stroking her cheek, brushing away the ones that fell.  In the distance, she heard the door to the lab open and Gem calling out, “Mae, we have to go.”

The young woman sighed sadly, nodding her head so slowly it was hard to tell.  Noa noticed it, though.  “You must go,” he whispered, letting go of her face, “your clan is coming.”  Mae locked eyes with the male chimp once more, “Noa…”  “You will always be my friend,” he whispered, she noticed there were tears welling in his golden jade eyes.  He took a gentle hold of the medallion between them, “Important.”  She let her tears fall like the last time he said that word. 

She stood up, the move forcing Noa to release the necklace, she still had a hold on to his large hand.  She briefly glanced down at their entwined hands, noticing how small hers was compared to the chimpanzee’s.  The young woman reluctantly let go of the ape’s hand, which was still in the air reaching out to her.  Mae turned away slowly, walking toward the door to the hall.

When the door shut behind her, she could hear Noa release a feral screech of pain and sadness.  She could also hear the banging of the bars, she darkly imagined he was throwing his whole body at them.  Mae rolled her fingers into fists, clenching so tight her knuckles turned white, to keep from releasing more tears again.