#and also grabbing her like the brat cat she is when she knocks a glass of water off a table or something

[poisonouspastels]

@beegswaz good news my brain projecting worked and she drew it

[madamechrissy]

But it's Better if You Do

ৎ୭ Pairings ৎ୭ Nanami Kento x Fem Reader

ৎ୭ Warnings ৎ୭ MDNI- in this chap- Blow jobs, rough oral sex, overstimulation, smacking, explicit sex, cunnilingus, dirty talk, Nanami hair pulling bc YES

ৎ୭ Word Count ৎ୭ 5.8k

ৎ୭ Summary ৎ୭ Every weekday for a year, Nanami Kento comes into the coffee shop you work at, and he orders the same damn thing. You have it bad but are too nervous to do more than doodle on his cups. You have a double life, because you're also 'Foxy' a featured dancer at a strip club once a week. A bachelor party for Satoru Gojo has you dancing, and he's there. Nanami fucking Kento. You end up both in a VIP room, awkward, nervous, but then... it's your chance. He doesn't know it's you, right? What harm can a lap dance do? Surely won't be awkward the next day...

Chapter 4 - Masterlist

ৎ୭ Chapter 5

“Details! Details, bitch!” Nobara comes into your apartment, flinging the door wide, your cat Sebastian slinks over to her, she snatches him up, hugging him, and Yuji follows, instantly going for your fridge.

“Help yourself.” You tease, and he snatches out some beer, cracking three open, one for each of you. “Ah, thank you.”

“They’re yours, goofy. But, yes, details. Did you finally get some?” Yuji asks, sipping his beer and coming to sit on your little tan couch, casually spreading his legs as Nobara comes to sit on the other side, crossing her legs and sipping.

“You did! Look at you, you got fucked.” Nobara exclaimed, petting Sebastian, who also looked at you with wide eyes of judgment.

“Oh gosh, you two. I didn’t get fucked.” You pop on music, sitting between the two of them, grinning, they both leaned in.

“No, you did. You seem way less bitchy.” Yuji earned a shove, then, but you sigh, leaning back and closing your eyes.

“I didn’t fuck so my four year streak is still on. But I totally came. Like a lot.” Nobara was jumping up and down, then bent over to hug you.

“Oh my god, did he eat you out!”

“He did . And jesus fucking…”

Knock Knock Knock

“What if it’s him?” Yuji asked, quietly, eyes wide. You shake your head.

“No way. I’ll grab it, you two chill.” You go to open the door, and then the beer nearly falls from your hand, as Nanami Kento is standing there, in khaki slacks and a blue dress shirt, smiling at you.

“Nanami!” You exclaimed, blushing as you realized what you were about to spill to your friends. Nanami reaches out to caress your cheek, and you freeze, eyes wide as you look up at him.

“It’s your boyfriend!” Yuji jumps up, and Nanami looks away, a little awkward, as do you, clearing his throat.

“Yuji! Not boyfriend. Yet. Right? Or… maybe lovers!” Nobara comes up as well, and now Nanami is rubbing the back of his neck, looking down.

“Oh God, I’m sorry.” You mumble, and Nanami peeks back up at you, and there is humor in his hazel eyes, behind those glasses that you wanted to rip off. Luckily he takes them off just then.

“No, no I am interrupting you guys. I’m so sorry.” He runs a hand through his silky hair, and you vividly recall gripping it while he’d licked every thought out of you, feeling heat pool from just that movement.

You were fucked.

“Not at all! Come have a beer!” Yuji yanks Nanami in by his arm, and you roll your eyes with a little giggle. Nobara gestures wildly behind their backs with two fingers and her tongue and you cover your face, mortified.

“We were just going to watch a movie, Nanami, you are more than welcome to come join. Right?” Nobara asks you, saying your name, and you barely register because you’re watching Nanami tilt his head back and sip a beer.

“She’s got it bad for you.” Yuji says, and you both awkwardly look away again, making Nobara and Yuji snort in laghter. “You all are so shy it’s ridiculous. Especially when you were just saying he-”

You run to Yuji and put a hand on his mouth, he’s laughing against your palm like a little shit. “I’ll give you my cheap shitty beer, brat.” You threaten, his eyes go sad, ad he looks adorable like a puppy.

“Fine, fine. Was just gonna say… you ate-”

“Delicious sushi! Uh huh!” You scowl, and Nanami looks confused for a moment, but then he smirks, as if he knew.

Shit.

“Ah… it was delicious. The best I’ve had.” He says, his voice silken and teasing, and you damn near faint, overheating, Yuji and Nobara’s mouths are open.

“It… was? The best?” You ask, and he nods, coming over toward you. Yuji gets yanked towards the couch by Nobara as you two stand in your little kitchen.

“The tastiest meal.” He murmurs, brushing your hair back, you lick your lip nervously, leaning forward, hands on his chest.

“Oh god, this is better than fanfiction.” Nobara says, and you peek back to see her and Yuji were literally eating popcorn and staring wide eyed.

“You guys!”

“Kiss!” She exclaims, you shuffle nervously, and Nanami does too, so close yet both of you couldn’t handle pressure well.

“You all hurt to watch.” Yuji says with a full mouth.

“Why don’t you two kiss?” You say, and they look at each other, blushing furiously and scooching away. You smirk.

“I thought you two were together, actually.” Nanami says, and they both are now bright red, shoving and pointing at each other.

“Him? Never. Yuck.” She says, nervously holding her chest, you tilt your head curiously, seeing something maybe you’d not noticed.

“Yeah… wait, yuck? Why, I’m so handsome!” Yuji scowls.

“You’re gross.”

“You’re mean!”

“You all do like each other! Hmm… I’m here for it.” You tease, and then get popcorn thrown at you. Nanami catches one and pops it in your mouth, and you giggle, chewing on it as another lands in your hair. He gently pulls it out.

“I’d love you to hang out with my friends sometime too.” Nanami says softly, and you melt just a bit at it.

“I’d love that! I’d love you to stay… if you want.”

“Of course I want to.”

“God, just kiss. The tension!” Nobara is grabbing another beer now, and you sigh, yanking Nanami down by his shirt, pecking his lips shyly.

“A better kiss than that. Acting like two teenagers.” Yuji throws another popcorn at you, and you roll your eyes. Nanami is smirking, clearly finding this amusing, hand gently cupping your face now.

“A better kiss.” He says softly, then his lips descend on your own, sweet but firm, and he tastes like something chocolatey you can’t describe, his tongue darting in your mouth for just a moment, before kissing you softer. You moan, uncaring of the audience, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“Oooh!” Come your friends' voices behind you all, and you pull back, covering your mouth, nearly squealing. You were acting like a whole teenager, they were completely right.

“Ya’ll need to fuck. Should we leave?” Yuji asks, and you turn to him incredulously, eyes open.

“Nanami takes his time. He’s like a gentleman. You wouldn’t understand, little man whore.” Nobara pinches Yuji’s ear, and he smacks at her.

“You’re a whore for clothes!”

“And I’m a pole dancer so… we are all whores here. Except you.” You tease Nanami, and he chuckles, sipping the beer once more. “Oh god, I didn’t ask why you came over? I'm so sorry! Are you busy?”

“Not at all. I should have called… I just really…” He grows shy again, for a moment, then his eyes hit you and they’re breathtaking. “I just wanted to see you, I was out here so… it was spur of the moment. Which is very weird for me.”

“That is, Mr. Plans Everything.” You’re stupidly happy at his words. “I’m very glad that you did. Oh! Sebastian.”

Your cat awakens, and slinks over, and the room is tense, for everyone there now knew Sebastian hated almost every man there was. He sees Nanami, who bends down, on his haunches, holding his hand out and waiting for him to come closer. You watch with bated breath, and Sebastian does the unthinkable, he rubs his face on Nanami’s hand, purring.

Nanami smiles, sitting fully on the ground now, so sweet it melts your heart, and he’s petting your mean ass fat cat. The cat literally rolls onto his back, and all of you are in shock, he is letting him pet his belly.

“You’re a beautiful cat, Sebastian.” Nanami says, and you jump up and start clapping then.

“Yes! Yes, finally!” You pump your fist in the air, and everyone in the room laughs together. Sebastian lets Nanami pick him up, cradling him like a baby and standing, bringing him over to you.

“He likes me.” Nanami says, peering at you, suggestively.

“Your streak will be over!” Nobara exclaims.

“Nobara!”

“What? You finally have your cat’s approval!”

“Wait, he likes me, why did I have no shot?” Yuji demands with a frown, you snort, shaking your head.

“You’re my annoying brother, Yuji.” You pat his head and he smacks your hand away, crossing his arms.

“Mean women all around me.”

“Mmhmm… let’s pick a movie you all! I’ll order us pizza.”

***

You yawn, eyes feeling heavy as you all watched the second movie, Yuji and Nobara were actually cuddled on the couch, and you again thought how cute they’d actually be, but then they shoved at each other once more. Yuji snatches up the last piece of pizza, and Nobara bites it.

“So mean to me, see Nanami?”

“You should let the lady have the last piece.” Nanami says casually, brushing his hand up and down your arm. You two were cuddled on the loveseat, his arm around you, making you feel safe, sleepy.

“So gentlemanly.” You muse, pecking a kiss on his cheek, your hand resting on his hard muscled thigh.

“I try.” He says, and inhales a bit when you nibble his ear.

“We should head home. Are you good?” Nobara comes to kiss your cheek, you nod, hugging her.

“I am! Thanks for coming out!” Yuji comes to hug you too, kissing the top of your head. “Love you guys.”

“You’re so sweet when you’re sleepy.” Yuji muses with a laugh, then snakes an arm around Nobara’s shoulders. She scowls at him, but she stays.

“It was so nice to get to know you more.” Nanami says, and shakes Yuji’s hand, taking Nobara’s and kissing it. You watch Yuji tense as Nobara swoons. You just smirk, leaning against the cushions, yawning.

“Good night you two!” Nobara waves and they head out, leaving you and Nanami alone, it was clearly dark out now, and the screen was just sitting on the Netflix logo. You yawn, stretching your arms, and standing, starting to clean up after everyone. Nanami instantly begins to help.

“You’re a guest, please don’t.” You stop his hand, he shocks you by pulling you against him. “Nanami?”

“Kento.” He corrects, and you sigh, relaxing in his strong embrace, tilting your head back to look up at him in your dim living room.

“ Kento. ” You correct, and he pulls you up, holding you tight and kissing you so deeply. You fall into the kiss, into the embrace, as his hands wrap around the narrow of your waist, so big they nearly cover you. “Mmm, Kento.” You whisper again as he pulls away.

“I have been dying to do that all day.” He whispers, easing you down, but kissing you again, again, again. Each more heady than the last.

“Me too.” You whisper, peeking up at him.

“I… when they said I’m your boyfriend…”

“Oh no, ignore them! They’re silly.”

“No… I…” He clears his throat, such a mix of shy and self assured it was honestly endearing.

“Yes?” Your heart is thudding in your ears.

“I think I’d like that. If you were my… girlfriend.” He says softly, and you eagerly kiss him again, yanking him down, tilting up on your tiptoes.

“Really! For real? I… mean… ahem… I’d like that too.” You try to save face, but he’s grinning then.

“You’re so cute.” He kisses your forehead sweetly. “So it’s official then? I’m your boyfriend.”

“Yes, it is. I’m your girlfriend.” He easily picks you up, sitting you on the back of your couch, your legs wide around his hips. Your pussy is soaked from just your kiss, now it’s hot too, aching, and he seems to feel it, because he’s rubbing you over your jean shorts, which are damp now.

“Oh darling…” The word sounds so hot from his low raspy voice.

“I know, super soaker pussy.” You grumble. He laughs, shaking his head, pressing his touch further. You hiss at the sensation of the rough, damp fabric pressed against your clit, shooting sensations through your body, desire ramping up in the quiet living room.

“I love it.” He kisses down your throat, his simple words tearing through you, and he’s yanking you hard against him, so that you could feel him against you. “Let me taste you again?”

“Fuck you’re hot.” You cry out, nodding eagerly, and he’s unbuttoning your shorts, sliding his hand down. “Can I taste you?” You ask, and he pauses, looking up at you, those little flecks of green dancing in his eyes, lidded with desire.

“You’re so hungry for that are you?” He teases you, but you nod, eagerly, easing off the couch with his help and taking his hand.

“Come to my room.” You say heatedly, hands running down and across his chest, and to his arms, inhaling and exhaling slowly, trying to steady yourself. He nods, quietly, and you take him by the hand to your room, lit up with little red led lights on the ceiling, making Nanami look like pure sex when the red enveloped him.

You start to unbutton his shirt, hands trembling, but he’s patient, he lets you… inch by inch of his hard body revealed under the red lights, casting shadows on the planes of his muscles. You slide off his shirt, tossing it on your dresser, then your gaze meets his, and his eyes are full of the same desire. He’s slipping off your tank top with gentle hands, your skin shivers at the contact.

Now you start to take off his belt, then his pants, and he has your jean shorts off, turning you quickly so that you are against him, kissing slowly, his big hands on your body. He takes control then, pulling back and ever so lightly pulling your hair by the nape of your neck, making you gasp.

“Get on your knees, darling.” He says softly, and you do just that, knees against the plush rug at the bottom of your bed, as Nanami finishes undressing, until he’s sliding off his boxers. You watch greedily, hungry for the sight, feeling your pussy get wetter as your hands are on your thighs, waiting.

His thick, long cock slaps his stomach, past his belly button, and you can’t stop your moan, hands on his thighs now, nails digging in just a bit as you silently beg for it in your mouth. This was also something you’d only done a couple of times, but you were eager to do it, mouth drooling at the sight. Nanami tilts your chin up, standing so tall, staring down at you.

“Will you do a good job for me, pretty girl?” He asks, commanding but soft, and you nod eagerly.

“Yes, yes I will.” He takes two fingers and opens your mouth wide, easing the tip of his cock against your lips, you flick your tongue teasingly on the tip.

“Tell me what you want.” He tortures you.

“I want your cock in my mouth, please.” You say, voice breaking, hurting so bad, holding your mouth open wide. “ Please , fuck my mouth.”

Was that really coming from you?

You are still there with your lips open, back arched, and he finally slides it in, thick and hot, and you taste precum on his tip, sucking gently, enjoying as he grows harder in your mouth. Soon he’s slowly sliding in and out, you’re relaxing your throat, trying to take as much of him as you can, and he’s guiding you, each stroke, looking down at you.

He closes his eyes, groaning for a moment, when you wrap your tongue around his length in a circle, sucking harder, enjoying every movement so much you were shifting, thighs rubbing together, soaked. Seeming to notice, Nanami pauses, easing out, bending a bit as he pulls on your hair, and the sensation of being dominated by him makes you throb.

“You’re doing such a good job, but I think you could do something better… Do you want to be my perfect girl?”

“Yes, yes, anything. Ah!” He pulls a little more, and your back arches, mouth eager for his cock again.

“Play with that little pussy, would you? I want to feel your moans around me.” You cry out, doing as he asks, sliding between your thighs and finding yourself slick, so wet it was slippery as you press your fingertip to your clit, you moan around him. “That’s it, you’re such a good girl for me.”

You really wanna call him daddy but he doesn’t like it.

You’ll call him that in your head, though.

Because Nanami was totally a daddy, whether he liked it or not.

Nanami starts gently fucking your mouth, movements easy, careful, as if not to hurt you, but they grow bolder as he sees what you like, what you can take. You are running your fingertips in little circles on your clit, anticipation fucking killing you, wetter as each stroke hits your throat, making tears hit your eyes.

“You're taking me so good.” He caresses your hair, praising you, you feel yourself close, pressing fingers deeper against your clit, and then he stops. “Ah-ah. No cumming yet.”

“Mmm, I hurt though.” You’re pouting up at him. “Please?”

“No cumming until I say so. Got it, pretty?” You ease your fingers off, whimpering. “Now, I didn’t say stop. You’re not listening well.”

He sighs, and you giggle then, making him yank you up, hands strong on your arms, you go to kiss him but he instead sits on your bed, bending you over his lap. You grow nervous but excited then, wiggling, turning your head back and just grinning up at him. His hand runs down your ass cheek, gripping, while the other presses you down on his lap.

“You’re very bratty.” His words are a caress, just like the gentle fingers running in little circles, you moan softly.

“Daddy, you’re gonna punish me?” You tease, peeking up at him, but then the smack stings your ass, hurting but also fucking exhilarating. 

“No calling me that.” He chides, then rubs your ass like an apology, sliding a finger down between your thighs, finding your pussy dripping wet. You bite back a moan, arching up for more.

“But you are such a daddy, it’s not my fault.” You earn another smack, and you hiss at this one, on the other cheek, the air hitting it and making it throb. “Don’t act like you don’t like it!”

Another smack.

Another moan.

He’s teasing you again, finger sliding between your folds, rubbing your sensitive clit. “Are you going to listen now, brat?”

“Mmm, I like you smacking me. So no. Daddy. Ah shit!” He smacks you hard now, right between your ass cheeks, stinging so bad it burned, even hitting your pussy, to fucking good. “Ow! Sorry… fuck.”

“That’s better. Mmm.” He’s playing with your pussy again, you can hear how wet you are, sliding your ass up, covered in his hand prints, for more of his touch. “You like being punished, I see. Troublesome little thing.”

“I am… troublesome. Mnh. Fuck.” He’s fingering you now, long thick fingers so deep inside of you, massaging your G spot, your tummy clenches as you’re full of desire, crying out and burying your head in your arms as you lay on his lap. He reaches spots in you that you couldn’t, making you crave more, more, more.

“You’re so fucking wet.” He murmurs, then he’s flipped you around, to where you’re sitting on the bed now, scooching you up and laying his head between your thighs. You brush his hair back gently, tummy trembling, he kisses your inner thighs, nipping them.

“ Kento. ” You cry out, feeling his breath on your oversensitive clit, making your legs jerk from just that, closing you legs, he presses them wide open.

“Keep them open.” You nod, pressing your feet into the mattress, as your hands grip the blanket beneath you, anticipation killing you. “What would you like me to do, my darling?”

“Lick me. Please.” His head dips.

You moan then, and he’s parting your lips with his fingers, licking a line up your slit, all the way to your clit, flicking his tongue against it and bringing you close in an embarrassingly short time. He is moaning as he starts to fuck you with his tongue, sliding in and out your entrance, bringing out all the wetness more and more, and you’re shaking, breaths in little pants.

His hands wrap around to your hips, and he’s dove into you, you’re dying, aching for him, for his cock, arching your hips up to press against his face. He picks up your hips, leaning forward and his tongue is lavishing every inch of your cunt, your entrance, your lips, your clit, until he starts sucking on it, and you start to fall apart.

“Can I cum? Ple-ease…. Kento…” You’re begging, and he peeks up for a moment, kissing your hip and nipping it with his teeth.

“You can, you’re being so good now.” He praises you, teasing in his hazel eyes, his smirk, the wetness glistening on his chiseled face and full lips.

You feel things, as your climax starts to rock you, lots of things for him, as he slides his finger inside you, where you’re throbbing, starting to cum, but you crave more, need more. He moans, pausing for a moment as he feels your aftershocks, and it grows quiet save for your labored breaths mingling.

“Kento… we could… you could…”

“Could what, love? Tell me what you want.” He flicks a tongue against you again, teasing you, keeping you right on that edge. You arch your back, body begging for more of his talented caresses.

“ Fuck me . Please, Kento, please. Mnh.” You’re begging, and you had no shame in it, you wanted it so bad you couldn’t think. His hands tense on you, and he’s just as affected as you are, your breaths loud in the quiet room.

“Are you ready for that?” He asks softly, and you nod, eager, hands shaking as they caress his hair. “You don’t have much… experience.”

“I know… but I’ve wanted this since I met you.”

Your voice is hoarse, raw with emotion, and he slides up your body, holding himself above you, hovering, just a breath away as he studies your features in the dark. You feel his heat emanating from his strong body, hard length against your thigh, and you reach out to grab it, watching his expression, the parting of his lips, the tensing between his eyebrows.

“We can wait. We have all the time, even if we have to work a ton because life is kind of bullshit.” He murmurs, and you giggle at that, running a hand up and down his length, hot against your palm, watching him tense up.

“You don’t really want to wait, do you? I bet I feel so good.” You lean your hips up, and he inhales sharply, arm muscles tensing above you.

“Fuck, you drive me crazy.” He positions himself at your entrance, and you both tense, as he pushes forward, stretching you, and your chest is heaving, hands on his arms, nails digging in as he teases you, barely pressing.

“Mnh, fuck… Kento…” You’re whispering, and he pushes further, filling you, so much pressure it was hard to handle. He was like nothing you’d experienced, twice as big as you’d had if not more, burning just a bit. You tense, breathing heavily, trembling as he’s on top of you, watching you, caressing your face, eyes full of desire but also concern.

“Are you all right, my darling?” He is so caring and affectionate, you nod, trying to loosen up, breathy moans coming from your throat. He’s brushing back your hair from your sweaty brow, pressing in further, and you hiss, as the pressure builds. He keeps himself still, watching you carefully.

“It’s just… a lot.” You manage, and he eases out, making you miss it instantly, even if it was pushing you beyond your means.

“Focus on this, love. You’re so tiny.” He murmurs, and presses back in, but now his hand is reaching down between your bodies, he’s rubbing your clit, spreading the wetness around, easing out then back in again, and it starts feeling good, so good you feel every nerve ending light up.

“Kento! ” Tears are pricking your eyes just a bit as he goes in more, inch after inch, so many…

“Can you take all of me, pretty girl? Do you think you can try?” He is whispering to you, against your lips, still playing with your little bud, making you drenched with desire, struggling to loosen up. Your nails are digging into his arms.

“I’ll try but how many more inches? God.” You mumble, he laughs a bit breathlessly above you, then eases your hands down off his arms, pressing them above you, holding both wrists in one hand.

“Almost there.” He teases, then slides fully in, against your cervix in one stroke, and you scream, echoing in the room, at the sensation, so deep you had no clue where he ended and you began. It made you see stars, made you start floating on nothing, your entire body pulsing with pleasure and pain.

You’re so full, too full, he’s stretching you beyond your means, pressing in more, against your cervix, just staying there, exhaling.

“You feel so fucking good, darling. So good.” He bites the words out, moaning, grabbing one of your legs and raising it around his hip, easing out and then pressing back in, starting to feel so good you lose your mind, so careful. “Mmm, are you… is this okay?”

You nod, raising your hips up experimentally, and you feel yourself close, as he presses in again in a long stroke, hitting you again with mind numbing pleasure. “So good, so so good.”

“Hold on to me, beautiful.” You cling to his shoulders, eyes catching his, then he began to move, thick and rock hard, and you’re clenching around him, soaking wet, making his movements easier, the friction fucking delicious. You scream then, so close. “Too much?”

“No, no… fuck… cumming!”

He fucks you through it, pressing in, watching as you cum all over his cock, throbbing around it, and it grows impossibly harder, and his thrusts speed up, more sure, just a little rougher. You adjust to all the new sensations, feeling a rise once again, he’s kissing your lips, messy, sloppy and desperate, as you both fall into each other more and more.

“So beautiful.” He speaks soft words against your ear, as he nips it, licking and sucking your neck, starting to fuck you harder now, pressing your legs up more, even deeper somehow. You feel like you’ll break, like you’ll never get enough. “You’re taking me so well, darling, you’re doing so good.”

“Mnh… Ah… thank… fuck!” You’re coming again, body shaking, head arched back as you cling to him, your headboard is smacking against your wall, your bed is creaking under the weight, under the motion, as he keeps hitting and hitting that spot, making you so sensitive it’s unreal.

He’s kissing your lips again, yanking you down further on his length, your hands are entwining above you, and he’s fucking into you hard now, still with care but he is opening up, losing himself in you, as you are him. Your eyes meet, as your body rocks with each thrust, and you’re staring into his eyes, lidded, feeling him inside you, feeling him on you…

You’re falling.

Already?

Shit.

You struggle to hold in what you cannot say yet, it’s too new, and it’s wild… you’ll scare him more than already. Though you feel it, and convey it with your eyes, with your lips, your body, losing yourself in him, in Nanami Kento. Who is watching your every emotion, studying you nearly, your cunt is throbbing around his cock, soaking wet down under you onto the bed as you cry out.

He’s tensing a bit, and his rhythm slows, your foreheads are touching, you’re so close… so close to him, and nothing has felt this good. You’re starting to cry, tears falling down your lashes, your body is on fire, every inch of it so sensitive to every touch, every caress, clinging to him now, holding on to some shred of reality when you just were losing it all.

“You’re so tight, fuck. So wet… I… Mmm. Feels so fucking good.” He’s just falling into your kisses, you feel his muscles tighten, he’s hovering over you, breath heavy. “Where do you… I’m close, love.”

“Oh! Oh… fuck… on me wherever, I don’t care.” You see him laugh a bit, shaking his head, sweat dripping off his chest onto yours.

“You’re kind of insane.” He fucks you quicker now, harder, and you’re tightening around him, eliciting a loud moan.

“Mmhmm.”

“Come with me once more, beautiful, can you?” He presses against your cervix, playing your clit one last time, and you nod, pulsing around him, and he moans, clutching you so tightly, brows drawn low, fucking you hard for just a moment, a taste of another side of him.

“Kento! Fuck!” You’re trembling everywhere, spent, and he pulls out, and you feel him cum hot, thick white ropes along your tummy, and he’s groaning loud, it’s hot as fuck, as he whispers your name, sounding so good as he’s cumming on you.

“Fuck. Mmm.” He’s easing up a bit, and you play with the hot sticky cum on your stomach, taking a bit and licking it, watching his nostrils flare, you giggle. “Why do you have to be so hot?”

“I just read it once.” You shrug, and he shakes his head with a sigh.

“I think I’m addicted to you now.” His words kill you.

“Yeah, same.” You gently caress his handsome face, damp with all the exertion of having made love to you.

“Let me clean you up.” He stands, and you point to your bathroom, hearing running water as you try to calm yourself down, overwhelmed with feelings for Nanami Kento, as you try to come down from the insane amount of times you have orgasmed at this man’s hands.

He walks back to you, body glistening, chiseled, and it leaves you further breathless. He has a wet washcloth and he’s wiping you carefully, kissing every area that was clean on his way. You giggle at the sensations, tickling you, making your overheated body start to cool down while he blows on your skin, as the cool wet cloth hits between your thighs.

He’s wiping you off so easily, eyes raking over every inch of you, drinking you in slowly. “You’re perfect.”

“No…” You shake your head a bit, but he puts a fingertip to your lips.

“I’ll have to punish you again, hmm?” You flush.

“I liked it.”

“And I’m the freaky one?”

“You are! Totally freaky.”

“You just licked my cum off your tummy.” You squeal, covering your face and giggling.

“Maybe I am a bit too. This sounds silly and you don’t need to say anything, but that’s the best thing I’ve ever done.” He sighs, smiling softly, brushing your hair back and licking his lower lip, you feel so pretty as he watches you.

“It’s not silly, and I feel the same.” You blink, shocked.

“How? You’ve gotta be… Nanami I know you get bitches, you’re way too fucking hot not to.”

He snorts in laughter, shaking his head. “ You’re drop dead gorgeous, you know.”

“Thanks but… you’ve had bitches.”

“I’ve had lovers, yes.”

“You’re so gentlemanly.” He eases you up to sit, pulling you against him, and you hear his steady heartbeat against his chest, soothing.

“I don’t think what we just did was gentlemanly.”

“It still was. You were so sweet to me.” You kiss the tip of his nose.

“Sweet… cute… gentlemanly. You know I just spanked your ass right?” Vivid images hit you, and you realize your ass is sore now, but in a delightful sort of way, that you enjoyed.

“You did… because I called you daddy .”

“You better stop, I have a belt.” He rolled his eyes at your grin. “Don’t be so insatiable, considering you had quite a hard time taking me.”

“You’re fucking huge! I think I did good, thank you.”

“You did amazing… but I say some rest would be good. And maybe a shower or a bath.”

“You act like you’re leaving?” You say with a frown. He shakes his head, still holding you.

“I don’t want to… but I figured you’d…”

“No, I’d love you to stay. It’s late anyway. Does it make it seem too official to you or anything?”

“No, if you want me to stay I’d love to.”

Your heart flutters, your body feeling so much relief. “Then stay. I have big baggy shirts that I sleep in, if you want.”

“Should I be mad about this? Are they the exes?” You snort at that.

“Honestly, probably… I stole most of his hoodies and shirts. But that’s been years. Nanami, are you jealous ?”

“I’m disgusted by the thought of this guy. How do you not eat pussy, it’s actually appalling.”

“Oh gosh! Well I only… did a blow job like twice myself. So we both kind of sucked I think.”

“Twice?” He raises a brow, helping you stand up, your legs are wobbly, so he holds you carefully, letting you balance on him.

“Yeah…”

“You were so good at that. I couldn’t tell.” He rubs your lower lip softly, looking down at you, and the energy is so good, so fucking tense too, as if there were things unsaid, but so much in that look you shared.

“You were so dom, it was really hot. But like, you need to let me call you daddy if you’re acting like one.”

“Never.”

“Whatever!”

“How red is your ass?” You turn so he can see, and he looks, then smacks you hard again, you hiss, grabbing it and hopping up and down as he grins deviously. “There, a little redder.”

“You are so aggressive because you secretly like it!” You run as he prepares another smack, and he chases you into the bathroom, you’re both breathless and laughing. You pull him down to kiss you, he has you in his arms, lifted, holding you so tight.

“Sure don’t.”

“Mmhmm. Let me start a shower.” He eases you down, and you start running the hot water, sitting on the edge of the tub, peeking at him, finding him staring at you, affectionate… loving?

No way.

You just fucked Nanami Kento…

And you think he’s ruined you for anyone else.

Now you two are gonna shower and…

You think you could take another round.

Chapter 6

Ao3 link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/56003029/chapters/143272936

[lissacmonster]

Wrong Place, Right Time

TMNT x (Gender Neutral) Reader (Non-romantic) Synopsis: Reader goes into an abandoned building to find their dog, and ends up finding a lot more than their dog. Rating: Teen Genre: Action/Thriller Pairings: None Content Warnings: The dog is in danger for some of it (but isn’t actually hurt) Other Tags: Funny, Combat, Short Story, Fanfiction, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Shredder

When you left your apartment that night, you had no way of knowing how unprepared you were for the events that would unfold. Armed with a flashlight and a roll of doggy bags you and your dog Cody had slipped out into the fresh, cool night air. You also brought a can of bear mace in case you ran into any creeps. Bear mace wouldn't have necessarily been your first choice, but it was leftover from the time you went camping and you wanted to put it to good use.

The dog was just happily sniffing around and relieving himself when he suddenly stiffened up. Following his gaze, your eyes landed on a cat. The cat was happily strutting across the street, unperturbed by the dog even as he began barking hatefully and straining against the leash. You held your grip and started pulling him back the way you had come. But he turned around, dug his heels in and managed to pull out of the collar.

The cat suddenly noticed it was in danger and darted around, looking for a place to hide. Cody followed the cat in circles around a parked car, then he chased it around the corner.

You ran after him, "Cody! Get back here!"

You were half angry, and half worried that he would run out into the street in front of a car. Instead, when you rounded the corner, he was wriggling his way into a boarded up building. His tail disappeared through the space in the boards just as you leapt forward to grab him.

"Cody! NO! Get back here, now!" You said, using your best angry parent voice.

But Cody was on a mission to find that cat. You knew that he would be single-minded until he found what he was looking for. It might have been admirable if you were coon hunting together out in the countryside, or something. Instead, it was annoying because you were on an evening walk in the middle of Manhattan.

You groaned in exasperation and looked up at the building. It was an old apartment building or something, a rough brick structure that was 5 stories high. The windows were mostly boarded up, and the ones that weren't were missing their glass. There were no lights on inside. It didn't look like anyone had been here for a long time. At least, nobody you wanted to run into...

And nobody you wanted your dog to run into either! Your protective instinct kicked in. You called through the hole to him for another 30 seconds. When he didn't reappear, you started looking around for a way in.

In the alley where you were standing, there were lots of bits of metal and you took a second to poke through them and find a good one. First you found a weird, 3-pronged dagger of some kind, which you tucked into your belt. Maybe you could use it for protection in case somebody dangerous was squatting in there. (Although, if you were being honest, you mostly kept it because you thought it looked cool.) Then you found a metal rod that seemed sturdy enough to work as a crowbar. In no time, you were squeezing through a gap you had made in the boards covering the doorway.

After clicking on your flashlight, you noticed that you were standing in an old lobby. There was a torn up spot on the floor where the front desk had obviously once been affixed. The wallpaper was peeling. The hardwood floors, which had probably been gorgeous when they were kept up, were covered in a thick layer of dust. Cobwebs were hanging in the corners and doorways, with their own gathering of dust.

You followed the sounds of Cody's feet skittering against the floors.

"Cody!" You whispered harshly, creeping towards him. If there were any questionable people around, you didn't want them hearing you guys. Luckily Cody wasn't raising hell yet, which told you that he must have lost track of the cat.

You spotted him at the end of a hallway.

"Cody, c'mere," You called, sweetly.

He looked you dead in the face and then turned and walked through a doorway into pitch black nothingness.

What. A. Brat.

Gazing down the stairway, you wanted to cry so bad. That damn dog had just run down into what must be the basement. You stood at the top, feeling sorry for yourself, trying to see down the steps. After a minute you realized that it wasn't actually pitch black. There was some kind of light that was dimly illuminating the bottom of the steps.

Gathering every last ounce of courage, you made your way down the steps. Every step creaked horribly, and with each one, you felt certain that your foot was about to sink through rotten wood. A dank smell invaded your nostrils more as you descended. How long did you have to breath black mold in before it would make you sick, anyway?

Once you reached the bottom of the stairs, you found that you were standing in a hallway. The floor here was even more dirty than the ground floor above. There was garbage piled all over the place. If anyone had ever squatted in this building, you were willing to bet that they'd done it here in this basement level.

A voice sounded from down the hallway. Your head snapped towards it in alarm, but after a few seconds it was clear it wasn't directed at you. It had come from a doorway at the very end of the hall which was slightly ajar, pale blue light spilling from it. You fought the urge to sprint back up the stairs and instead crept down the hall towards the voice. You tucked the metal rod into your belt and pulled out the strange dagger, ready to strike if someone suddenly rushed out at you. The voice was speaking again.

"...think you can defy me, turtles, but once again I've proven you wrong."

"You're not gonna get away with this, Shredder!" A second voice, female this time. She sounded scared. What were you walking into? You felt strangely numb as you continued to move forward, your heart pounding.

"I already have. Look at them! Once I have what I need, I'll dispose of you all," It was a deep, rich voice with a cold fury beneath.

"And then what? You took the mutagen out of our blood when we fought you years ago. So what could you possibly want with our blood this time?" Another male voice countered, sounding calm, but angry.

"Th-that's right! Our blood is free of mutagen, you can't use it to mutate anybody!" Another, nervous-sounding male voice agreed.

You reached the doorway and peered around the doorframe very slowly...

Within the room was some kind of makeshift laboratory. One bulb hung from the ceiling, casting the whole scene in harsh bright light. Several figures were visible in the large room. The first one that caught your attention was the huge figure in the center of the room. It looked like a man wearing a thick, heavy suit of strange armor. The armor had lots of sharp angles and spikes on it. You couldn't see anything else about him because he was silhouetted against the harshly-lit room. He was facing two figures who were lying on the floor.

One of the people on the floor was the woman. She had dark hair and eyes and was wearing a yellow jacket. Her hands were bound and she was glaring hatefully at the armored man. Next to her was another man. He wasn't talking, and he was lying very still... Was he ok? Or was he...?

You didn't finish that thought because you caught sight of four... somethings against the far wall.

They were... turtles, you guessed. But they weren't like any turtles you had ever seen. They were tall and buff with humanoid faces and bodies. Each was wearing a different colored mask, as well as various gear. They were strung up against the wall by lots and lots of chains. There was some kind of machinery connected to them, but it was hard to make out what it all was from this far away.

The spikey man- what had she called him? Shredder? He was speaking again, "I don't need to mutate anybody. All I need is your DNA, and I will have an unstoppable army."

"He's cracked, you guys," A new voice. It was gruff, and it came from the largest turtle, who was wearing a red mask.

"Oh no... I-I think I know what he's talking about!" The nervous voice was coming from the tallest one, in the purple mask, "He wants to clone us!"

"Is that true?!" The orange one finally spoke up, "Man, you can't make another Michelangelo! I'm the one and only!

"Stockman, how much longer before they're drained?" Shredder interrupted.

You nearly jumped out of your skin as an answer sounded out from very close to you.

"Another 2 hours, Mr. Shredder!"

"Why must it take so long?" Shredder asked, threateningly.

"W-well... We only had so much equipment..." Stockman defended, "I mean, there are ways of removing it faster, if you catch my drift. But if you want a clean, untainted sample, this is the best way to go!"

"Hmm... Very well." Shredder agreed after a moment.

You were now pressed against the wall just outside of the door, clutching your chest. That Stockman guy had been no more than 4 feet from you just inside the door! He was against the wall that you couldn't see, though, so you hadn't noticed him.

Stockman was talking again, more to himself, "Aw man... That cat got in again..."

A soft growling sounded from within the room. Oh god. Cody.

"What the..." Stockman started and then yelped, "HEY!"

His chair clattered to the ground as Cody's chorus of barks started up. You rushed back to the door and were frozen to the spot as you watched the scene unfold. It was utter chaos as Cody tore around the room after the cat, which was leaping around on the equipment and furniture. Cody managed to knock over 2 chairs, jump up on a table, and upset several important-looking instruments before he was caught around the neck by the monstrous man's hand. Cody's high-pitched cries snapped you out of it.

"STOP!" You hurled yourself forward. Everything in the room seemed to stop in time. All eyes settled on you and every face held surprise. Shredder's helmeted head turned towards you, observing as you sprinted toward him. You had the dagger drawn back with the intent to jam it into the metal of his stupid, shiney armor.

You didn't even feel it when he swatted you away like a fly. All you noticed was that suddenly you were flying backwards. You quickly sprung back to your feet. Your skin felt electric as adrenaline coursed through your body. There was a throbbing feeling in your face where he had struck you. The strange dagger had skittered out of your hands.

Cody was no longer in his grip, that was the good news. The bad news was that now you were getting an up close and personal look at this Shredder guy. You could see every facet of the armor from here. The most striking part was the helmet, which resembled a leering skull.

You wondered what his face looked like behind the helmet. Did he look as surprised as everyone else? His voice didn't betray any surprise, only amusement.

“Well, well, well, look what we have here... A new hero, come to save the world. Such a pity you’ll have to die."

You tried to keep your voice steady as you explained, “Look man, I don’t know what you’re talking about- I’m just here for my dog!”

"Really, turtles, is this weakling the only ally you have left?"

None of them answered. They were still staring at you and glancing at one another, like they were trying to figure out if they knew you from somewhere. This was getting awkward.

"No, really, I don't know them," You insisted.

"Is that so? Well, then, how do you explain that." He lifted one of his huge metallic arms. It took you a second to realize he was pointing at your shirt. You looked down and gasped.

Save The Turtles was emblazoned across your chest in bright green letters, complete with a cute little cartoon rendering of a turtle.

God damn it. Of course you had chosen to wear the shirt you got from that time you volunteered at the turtle sanctuary.

"Uh- that's-!"

Before you could explain it to him, Shredder cut you off, "ENOUGH! Stockman, restrain this fool."

"ME? I'm not here to be your muscle!" Stockman sounded indignant.

Shredder was just throwing out another line about how weak you looked, and that restraining you would hardly require "muscle," when you darted around him and over to the far corner where Cody was cowering. You had to climb around some equipment that seemed to be collecting blood from the turtles. You were uncomfortable being so close to them, as you had yet to discern whether they were friendly or not.

"Hey, that's my staff!"

You looked up at the turtle with the purple mask. He was peering down at you through glasses that made his eyes look 3 times bigger than they actually were.

You glared at him, "No, that's my dog!"

"No, I mean that thing on your belt!"

Was he talking about the metal rod?

"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! DUCK, KID!" The one in the red mask was shouting.

You dropped instantly to the ground. A huge BANG! sounded from above and drywall rained down on you. There was a big piece of metal embedded in the wall where your head had just been. Cody scampered away, whimpering in fear.

"He's coming up behind you!"

You whirled around to find Shredder was advancing towards you. You glanced around for an escape, but you were boxed in by equipment.

Suddenly Shredder stopped dead in his tracks and whirled around. Stuck in his back was the dagger you had dropped. The girl in the yellow jacket was standing there, having plunged it into the battery pack on the back of his suit.

You stepped carefully out of the way of the equipment and cast around desperately for a way to help her.

"Quick! Use the staff!" The purple one called.

When you looked clueless, he clarified, "The thing on your belt!"

Oh, the rod! Great idea! You grabbed the rod, jumped on Shredder's back and started pummeling his helmeted head with the thing. This drew a chorus of complaints from the turtles.

"Aw MAN! C'mon, kid!"

"Duuuude, that's not funny! Kick his butt for real!"

Purple was fighting desperately to be heard over all the commotion. He sounded completely exasperated by this point, "No, I meant-! Press the button!"

What button? There were no buttons on the-! Oh, wait. There was a button on the rod. How had you missed that? You pressed your thumb down on small, red button. Instantly, both ends of the rod shot out, extending it by about 5 feet. In the process, it struck Shredder's helmet, launching it violently from the man's head. With a startled cry you toppled off of Shredder's back. The man rounded on you. You looked for the staff, but it had launched itself far out of reach.

"Now, I'm going to put an end to this little game," He said, and you could see the full extent of his fury on his face.

The four turtles were all shouting things and you couldn't make out any of it. All you could see was the hate in the man's eyes as he approached. His long black hair hung in his face untidily. He was panting and his lips were pulled back in an angry grimace. He looked like some kind of beast, like a lion, or like a...

"Bear!" You shouted suddenly. You tugged the bear mace out of the little pouch on your belt.

Shredder was towering over you now. He raised one of his bladed arms, poised to strike. Popping the top off, you raised the bear mace, pointed it at him, and pressed the switch.

Shredder was suddenly engulfed in a cloud of orange smoke. He roared and stumbled backwards. While he was distracted with that you scrambled to your feet. The woman was busy unlocking the chains that were trapping the turtles.

"Thanks, Angelcakes!" The one in orange said gratefully as he shrugged off all of the blood-collecting equipment.

He came over and stood next to you. You eyed him warily, but he was just looking at you with interest, "Hey, that was pretty rad how you stood up to Shredder like that! You pretty much ruled, even though you kinda-sorta... suck at fighting!"

Your pride had never been particularly tied to your fighting skills, so you just said, "Thanks. What's your name?"

"Michelangelo. But the ladies like to call me Mikey."

The two of you kept an eye on Shredder while the woman continued unlocking the turtles chains. You even sprayed a few more times in his direction when he got too close. Eventually he managed to rip the metal armor off of his hands so he could rub his burning eyes. Now he rounded on you again.

He looked truly out of his mind by this point, his blood red eyes were streaming and his face looked pinker than any face you had ever seen.

"Whoa... I think he's gonna-"

Before Mikey could finish, suddenly Shredder was charging at you. Mikey yanked you aside as someone barreled past you. The one with the red mask slammed into Shredder, colliding with him with the force of a refrigerator.

"Oh, shit! Is he ok??"

"You mean, Raphael? He's fine! He gets thrown into cars and stuff all the time," Mikey waved his hand dismissively.

Raphael rolled to his feet, pulling the dagger out of Shredder's back as he did so. He walked back to where you guys were standing, "Thanks for bringing one of my Sais, kid."

Things were kind of a blur from there. The turtles restrained the Shredder. The one with the blue mask was apparently the leader, and his name was Leonardo. He was on the phone with the chief of police. Wow... So your local police department was cool with these turtle ninjas? Who would have thought... Maybe your uncle's conspiracy theory about reptiles controlling the government wasn't totally crazy.

Donatello, the one with the purple mask, was attending to the man who had been lying on the ground when you came in. The man's name was Casey, and he wasn't dead as you had previously thought. He did have a pretty nasty concussion, though, and kept repeating the same phrases over and over (A common symptom with concussions, Donatello told you).

Don also took a look at your own injuries while he was at it. Your face was beginning to swell from where Shredder had struck you, and you would be sporting a nasty-looking bruise for a while. Other than that, you would be just fine.

After everything was said and done, and you had talked to the police, and Shredder had been loaded into an armored vehicle and hauled away, you and Cody were finally leaving to go home. You were back in the cool night air, walking your dog on his leash. You wondered if Cody would think twice about chasing a cat next time, or if the whole event had gone over his head? He definitely didn't look like he cared that he had just been in life-threatening danger.

Before you could ponder it much more, the brothers suddenly appeared around you.

"Heeeyyy, let us walk you home!" Leo offered aggressively.

"No, that's ok! You don't have to!" You really just wanted to be left alone now.

"We insist." The grin on Leo's face looked mostly threatening.

Leo threw his arm around your shoulder, as if to make sure you wouldn't run away, and started practically dragging you along.

They took you on the coolest shortcut you had ever been on. You scaled buildings and leapt across rooftops. It was just like in Assassin's Creed! Of course, they had to carry both you and Cody the whole way like a couple of carry-on bags.

When they set you down finally, you were in the alley next to your apartment building.

"Thanks guys," You said, "But how the hell did you find out where I lived?" You hadn't ever given them any directions.

"I have my ways..." Donatello said. He adjusted his glasses and they glinted dramatically like in an anime.

They were all kind of staring at you in a vaguely menacing way, "Uh... Are ya'll gonna... kill me because I know too much or something?"

"What the-! Of course not!" Donnie yelled.

"Hey, relax, buddy! We're not those kind of ninjas!" Mikey laughed, "That's not how we handle people who know too much!"

"Not any more, at least..." Raph said, narrowing his eyes at you, "The chief said it was too messy to keep covering it up."

You gulped nervously.

"Raph! Don't tell people things like that!" Leo shoved him and turned back to you, "Don't worry, he's joking. YOU'RE JOKING, RIGHT RAPH?"

"I'M JOKING. JESUS CHRIST!" Raph yelled back, "Just, don't go runnin' your mouth about us, aight?"

The leader in blue leaned in uncomfortably close to stare into your eyes, "If you say anything about us, we will come back to see you..."

"Aaaand PUNISH YOU," Mikey added, "In a gentle, non life-threatening way!"

You put up your arms defensively, "Trust me, I am not telling anyone that I fought some kind of terminator samurai to save my dog and some turtles."

You thought you saw a twitch at the corner of his mouth before he straightened up and lead his brothers away. They scaled the walls of the surrounding buildings with ease, and then they had vanished just like that.

============================

Will you ever see them again? Would you LIKE to see them again? I hope so because I have a lot of ideas for this series.

Thanks for reading, ya’ll. It’s the first story I have finished in ages and it feels good to be back.

[wonkasmissstarshine]

The Chocolatier’s Rose {Willy Wonka x OC} Ch. 10

GIFs not mine. Credit go to owners.

Summary: The remaining guests are shown the Nut Sorting Room. Veruca is revealed to be a bad nut, something that Rose has known from the start.

Tagging: @holdmeicant​ @willymywonkers​

"Without the boat, we'll have to move double time just to keep on schedule" Willy told everyone as they walked down a red and white hallway. "There's far too much to see"

"Mr Wonka?" Charlie piped up.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you decide to let people in?"

"Well, so they could see the factory of course" Willy stated. It was a simple answer, but it seemed that there was more behind it.

Charlie inquired further. "But why now? And why only five?"

Mike pushed past Charlie and asked greedily, "What's the special prize, and who gets it?"

"The best kind of prize is a sur-prize!" Willy answered Mike and then laughed.

Veruca pushed past Mike. "Will Violet always be a blueberry?" The little spoiled brat asked. She seemed all to happy about the fact that Violet became a blueberry, and now she was out of the way.

"No. Maybe. I don't know" Willy answered her. "But that's what you get from chewing gum all day. It's just disgusting"

"I agree" Rose said. She knew that Violet's gum chewing would come back to bite her in the butt.

"If you hate gum so much, why do you make it?" Mike questioned.

"Once again, you really shouldn't mumble 'cause it's really starting to bum me out" Willy retorted.

Charlie asked yet another question. "Can you remember the first candy you ever ate?"

Willy came to a stop. He mumbled out "No", before he gazed off, growing distant again. He was like that for a moment, before Rose placed a hand on his arm and snapped him out of it. "I'm sorry, I was having a flashback" He said dreamily.

"I see" Mr Salt said, eyeing Willy cautiously, pulling Veruca closer to him.

"These flashbacks happen often?" Mr Teavee asked, also eyeing Willy cautiously.

An off smile appeared on Willy's face. "Increasingly.... today" He continued walking and everyone else followed him. He brought them to a room named Nut Sorting Room.

"Ah, this is a room I know all about" Mr Salt remarked. "For you see, Mr Wonka, I myself am in the nut sorting business" Mr Salt gave Willy one of his business cards, but without sparing even a glance at it, Willy threw it over his shoulder. Rose laughed in amusement at this. "Are you using the Havermax Four Thousand to do your sorting?" Mr Salt asked, oblivious to the fact that Willy tossed away his business card.

"No" Willy said to Mr Salt. He laughed. "You're really weird" Willy opened up the room, allowing everyone inside. The room was bright white, and beyond the railing everyone was standing behind, was a white floor with blue swirls on it with a hole on the middle of it. Large glass containers containing nuts were suspended in the air. Tubes were attached to the containers which dropped the nuts into stations. But the most amusing part about the room was the fact that there were about a hundred squirrels, each sat on their own stool. It would seem that the squirrels sorted the nuts.

"Squirrels!" Veruca chirped happily and wide eyed.

"Yeah. Squirrels" Willy nodded. "These squirrels are specially trained to get the nuts out of the shells"

"What a clever idea!" Rose said, making Willy smile in her direction.

Mr Salt, however, seemed to have a different opinion on the matter. "You use squirrels? Why not use Oompa-Loompas?"

"Because, only squirrels can get the whole walnut out almost every time" Willy explained. "You see how they tap each one with their knuckles to make sure it's not bad?" One of the squirrels tapped the nut on the edge of the feeder, and held it up to its ear. "Oh, look!" Willy pointed to that squirrel. "I think that one's got a bad nut"  The squirrel threw the nut behind itself. It tumbled down the swirly floor until it disappeared into the hole.

Veruca looked up at her father. "Daddy, I want a squirrel!" She demanded. "Get me one of those squirrels. I want one"

Rose whispered in Charlie's ear. "I don't think this is going to end well" He nodded in agreement. Based on what she saw happen to Augustus and Violet, Rose just knew that Veruca's spoiled attitude was going to get her in a sticky situation today.

"Veruca, dear, you have many marvellous pets" Mr Salt definitely did not what to deal with this right now.

"All I've got at home is one pony and two dogs and four cats and six rabbits and two parakeets and three canaries and a green parrot and a turtle and a silly old hamster!" Veruca listed off. Wow, even with as many pets as she has, she's still not satisfied. Rose wondered what it took with this girl and how her parents ever put up with her. "I want a squirrel!" Veruca stomped her foot.

Rose rolled her eyes, and mocked Veruca. "I want a squirrel!" She silently mouthed with exaggerated gestures and expressions. Willy laughed at Rose's imitation, finding it rather amusing.

"All right, pet" Mr Salt gave in to his daughter's demands. "Daddy will get you a squirrel just as soon as he possibly can" Rose groaned and rolled her head back. Willy was watching the two Salts with a blank expression.

"But I don't want any old squirrel" Rose pinched the bridge of her nose. She didn't like where Veruca was going with this. "I want a trained squirrel"

Mr Salt sighed. "Very well" He looked at Willy. Willy looked back at Mr Salt, a fake smile on his face, knowing the question that was going to come out of Mr Salt's mouth. "Mr Wonka, how much do you want for one of these squirrels? Name your price" Veruca also looked up at Willy. A big smile was on her face, thinking that if she acted cute, that she'd get her way.

"Oh, they're not for sale" Willy denied them. Rose smirked, feeling slightly pleased that things weren't going the spoiled brat's way. "She can't have one"

Veruca smile dropped. She turned to her father, absolutely fuming. "Daddy!" She threatened, as if that was going to change anything.

Mr Salt just stared at his daughter, at a loss of words. "I'm sorry, darling" It wasn't Mr Salt who said it. It was Willy doing a perfect imitation of Mr Salt's voice. "Mr Wonka's being unreasonable"

Veruca glared at Willy again before she turned it to her father. "Fine. If you won't get me a squirrel, I'll get one myself!" She decided. She slipped through the gate and descended into the squirrel's work area.

"Veruca" Mr Salt warned.

"Little girl?" Willy tried to call to Veruca. She ignored both of them.

"Veruca, come back here at once!" Mr Salt called to her again, his voice a little more strict. "Veruca!"

Veruca looked around until she had her eyes set on the perfect squirrel. She started approaching it. All the squirrels stopped their work, and stared at the girl. "Little girl?" Willy tried warning her. "Don't touch that squirrel's nuts. It'll make him crazy!"

Again, Veruca ignored him. She marched up to her chosen squirrel. She and the squirrel looked each other straight in the eye. An evil grin came across Veruca's face and she reached out to the squirrel. "I'll have you!"

Before she could grab the squirrel, all the other squirrels jumped off their stools. They all ran to Veruca. Mr Salt was growing terrified. He shook the gate. "Veruca!" Willy took out his ring of many keys. "Veruca! Veruca!" Mr Salt was still calling out to her. By now, all the squirrels had jumped onto Veruca. They had knocked her down to the ground. Mr Salt desperately shaked the gate again.

Willy looked through his many keys. "Let's find the key" He tried the first one. "Not that one"

"Daddy!" Veruca called out desperately to her father.

"Veruca!" He called back.

Willy tried another key. "No!" Rose took note of the amused smile on Willy's face. It was like he was deliberately taking his time with the keys. The squirrels started pinning down Veruca. Willy tried yet another key. "There it is.... there it isn't"

"Daddy, I want them to stop!" Veruca pleaded. One of the squirrels hopped onto her stomach. Veruca raised her head to look at it. The squirrel began touching her face. It tapped on her forehead and then listened to it.

"What are they doing?" Charlie asked.

"They're testing to see if she's a bad nut" Willy answered. The squirrel squeaked. "Oh my goodness, she is a bad nut after all"

"Veruca!" Mr Salt shouted in horror when the squirrels started carrying Veruca to the hole.

"Daddy!" Veruca yelled for help.

"Where are they taking her?" Mr Salt asked, his eyes still on Veruca.

"Where all the other bad nuts go. To the garbage chute" Willy answered.

"Where does the chute go?"

"To the incinerator" Willy said it so lightly, but there was a rather dark meaning behind his words. "But don't worry, we only light it on Tuesdays!"

"Today is Tuesday" Mike pointed out.

Willy shot Mike a glance. "Well, there's always the chance they decided not to light it today!" The squirrels had accomplished their goal and threw Veruca down the chute. Rose would have felt bad for the girl, if she hadn't decided to try and commit theft when things weren't going her way. Willy turned to Mr Salt to try and explain. "Now, she may be stuck in the chute just below the top. If that's the case, all you have to do is just reach in and pull her out. Okay?"

Willy had the correct key in the lock. He turned it and then pulled the gate opened. He stepped aside so Mr Salt could get by. Mr Salt began descending the stairs, and Willy closed the gate. That's when the Oompa-Loompas came out and sang another song. Willy and Rose both nodded their heads along to the music.

Veruca Salt

The little brute

Has just gone down the garbage chute.

And she will meet as she descends

A rather different set of friends

A rather different set of friends

A rather different set of friends

A fish head for example cut

This morning from a halibut.

An oyster from an oyster stew

A steak that no one else would chew.

And lots of other things as well each

With its rather horrid smell (horrid smell)

These are Veruca's new found friends

That she will meet as she descends

These are Veruca's new found friends

Who went and spoiled her, who indeed?

Who pandered to her every need?

Who turned her into such a brat?

Who are the culprits?

Who did that?

The guilty ones

Now this is sad

Are dear old mum, and loving dad

The Oompa-Loompas had guided Mr Salt over to the chute. He peered down it, trying to see if he could find Veruca. One of the squirrels hopped off of its stool and pushed him into the chute. Willy laughed a little when Mr Salt fell in. Rose tried to hide her laughter by pressing her lips together. That didn't stop her amused grin, however.

An Oompa-Loompa tugged on Willy's coat. Willy squatted down and let the Oompa-Loompa talk in his ear. "Oh, really?" A smile appeared on Willy's face. "Oh, good!" He stood back up and informed the others. "I've just been informed that the incinerator broken. So there should be about three weeks of rotten garbage to break their fall!"

"Oh, well that's good news" Mr Teavee replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah," Willy said, his eyes trailing over to Rose. "Well, let's keep on trucking" He held out his arm to her, offering her to take it. She gladly accepted his offer and held onto his arm. And, with that, everyone left the Nut Sorting Room.

[rocket-remmy]

A New Perspective || Luce and Remmy

TIMING: A little after Luce got back in town PARTIES: @divineluce and @whatsin-yourhead SUMMARY: Luce is back in town and Remmy needs to see her with their own two eyes. CONTENT: Food poisoning mention, Domestic abuse mention

“If you bite me, I’ll stick you in the closet with the hamster.” Luce warned Rhiannon, as she played with the large grey cat that batted at the toy she dangled over the cat’s fuzzy head. For once, the cat seemed to listen to her, which earned her a scratch under the chin. Glancing over at the clock, Luce saw that it was nearing midnight and let out a sigh. As soon as she stopped petting the cat, she felt claws press into her leg, just at the edge of her shorts. “Jerk.” She said to Rhiannon before making her way out of her room. Being back here, after she’d been gone for so long, it felt like she was walking on eggshells. She’d left her sisters. She’d left the people who cared about her, just because she couldn’t deal. And yeah. It was the right decision, she still believed that. But, it fucking sucked that no one else could seem to get that. When the knock came at the door, Luce opened it, tilting her head inside. “Hey.” She said, not looking directly at them. She really didn’t want to fucking see the judgement in their face, not right off the bat.

Luce had been gone for over a month and Remmy really should have been angrier with her-- but all they felt was relieved. They’d missed her, god they’d missed her, and their skin was vibrating as they raced down the road towards the Vural house. They wanted to know where she’d been and they wanted to know what made her come back. They wanted...a lot of things, but they also wanted to make sure Luce understood they weren’t there to force her to do anything. She needed to decide this on her own. Either way, whatever happened here, it was going to be easier than what they’d been dealing with here. Lydia and Deirdre and Morgan and...all the people who had hurt them, lately. All the people who had decided their commitment to non-violence was too much for them. For a moment, their heart hitched and they slowed. They could feel their heart pounding, the ghost of it at least, from when they were “alive” in their costume. Took a moment to regather themself before they made it up to the door and knocked. “Hey--”  they started, but Luce was already walking away. Remmy scrunched their face, but stepped inside, closing the door. Remmy reached out to grab her hand, stop her from walking too far away. “I’m glad to see you,” they said, “thanks for letting me come over.”

Luce didn’t really want to linger in the hallway-- she didn’t want to get in Nell’s way, or Bea’s for that matter. She’d put the two of them through enough shit. She didn’t really want to deal with them running into Remmy and have to handle multiple people who were pissed at her for disappearing from town at the same time. But, as she made her way down the hallway, heading back towards her room, Luce felt Remmy’s hand reach out for her. She felt the comforting cold of their skin against her own. Still not looking at them, she shrugged. “Yeah. For sure.” She said before looking down the hallway again. “Can we get back to my room? I don’t really want to run into Nell or Bea out here.” She said, shifting slightly so her hand tugged theirs. It wasn’t enough to free herself from their grip, but just enough to pull against them.

Remmy could feel the resistance in Luce’s steps, in the way she tugged on their hand. They sighed and nodded, but found that she wasn’t even looking at them. Was she afraid to? Did she really want them here? “Yeah, sorry, of course,” they agreed and followed after her. Admittedly, they also didn’t want to run into Nell or Bea here, they knew it would be strange and awkward, and they didn’t want to deal with that, either. They wanted to talk to Luce. When they made it to her room, they waited for her to open the door before stepping in, closing it quietly behind them. They looked at her with the same soft expression they had when she’d opened the door, which they now realized she hadn’t even seen at first. “Better?” they asked once they were alone.

Nodding, Luce led Remmy back to her room. With every step she took, there was a strange sensation in her stomach-- dread? Fear? No, it wasn’t either of those, not exactly. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was, but she knew that prolonging this wouldn’t make it any easier. When they entered the room, Rhiannon’s eyes flicked open from where she was sleeping on the bed, but didn’t move otherwise. Luce leaned against her desk, resting a hand next to Iggy’s terrarium, her familiar’s back the color of smoldering embers as he slept. “Yeah. Things have been… tense, since I got back. Which, no shit they have been, it’s just a lot right now. I didn’t want you to get caught in the middle.” She said before looking at Remmy for the first time. And, for a moment, she was startled. Their face-- well, their eye. Their eyes. “Oh.” She said, confused. “That’s new.” She said, gesturing to their left eye. They looked so different without the eyepatch she’d come to associate with their face. Younger. Softer, in a way. 

“How sweet,” Remmy said, with only a bit of sarcasm. They weren’t here to judge Luce, though, or to make things more complicated for her. They just wanted to know that she was okay. Physically, at least. Finally, she turned to look at them and Remmy watched the confusion wash through her face. For a moment, they weren’t sure what it was about, but then she cleared things up and Remmy reached up to touch the corner of their eye. “Oh, yeah,” they said, shrugging, “it’s glass. I got it a few weeks ago. My old one had shattered well--” they rubbed their head, “--a long time ago.” When Morgan had died. When they’d been crushed by a car and watched her bleed out in front of them. They cleared their throat. “I can take it out if it’s too weird,” they teased, giving her a little grin. “I’ve still got the eye patch.”

Shooting an annoyed look at them from the corner of her eye, Luce resisted the urge to sigh. But, she really didn’t have much of a leg to stand on when it came to getting annoyed with people, did she? So, instead, she studied their face. It was still strange. Had she ever seen them without the patch? “Glass. That tracks.” She said, tilting her head as she continued to stare at them. Raising an eyebrow, Luce held up a hand, nose wrinkling at the thought of them taking the glass eye out of their skull. “Yeah, don’t do that. It’s not weird, just different.” She said. For a minute, she stood there awkwardly. A first. She didn’t do awkward. But, she really didn’t know what Remmy wanted, why they’d wanted to see her. Was it because they were pissed off at her, because they wanted to yell at her in person? Or was it something else? She didn’t fucking know. “Congrats on the eye, though. It suits you.”

Remmy frowned a little. They figured Luce was going to be resistant, she always was, but they didn’t know if they expected this dejection from her so early on. Did she think they were going to yell at her? They’d already yelled at her, there wasn’t much else to say, really. “Yeah, thanks,” they said, moving around awkwardly. “So, how was it?” they asked, then, looking back and forth, then over to Luce. “Wherever you went. Um--” their eyes fell to the cat on the bed and they shuffled by Luce over to her, kneeling in front of the bed. Held their hand out to let her sniff, which she did gently, before going back to sleep. Remmy scratched her head and glanced back over at Luce. “Who’s the cat?”

There had been moments of tension between her and Remmy before. Anger, frustration, irritation, fear. But as they stood here in her room, the distance very apparent between them, Luce couldn’t put her finger on the particular kind of silence. Blinking, she nodded. “Boston. I have a friend who has a shop down there, spent some time working with him.” She said. “It’s a cool city. Worth the trip down, at the very least.” She drummed her fingers against the side of her desk and watched as they reached out to Rhiannon. The cat regarded them with mild disinterest before curling up again. At their question, Luce shrugged. “Rhiannon. She’s not mine, I’m watching her for--” Not a friend. No, Nadia wasn’t exactly a friend. “Nadia. She wanted to make sure that she was safe and I volunteered.”

“Boston, huh?” Remmy answered, lifting themself up enough to sit on the bed next to the slumbering cat. They regarded Luce with concerned eyes, but tried not to let their look get too intense. They knew she hated that. “I was stationed in Boston before they sent me overseas. I always liked that city.” Remmy reached out to pet the cat again, smoothing the fur on the top of her head down with thought. “Nadia’s cat?” they blinked. “Oh.” Nadia wasn’t what Remmy had come here to talk about, but they knew Luce was worried about her. They wondered if she had tried to contact her. “That was nice of you,” they answered finally, “to volunteer.” Glanced sideways at her. “Can I ask how you are?” 

“Yeah, I know.” Luce said, the words coming out before she realized she’d said them. She remembered them talking about it, how they’d been there when they’d first joined up and were in EOD classes with the military. Why the fuck did she remember that? Instead of trying to figure out what that meant, Luce watched as Remmy continued to pet Rhiannon. Maybe it was because she was tired and it was late, but the cat was a lot more docile with them then she was with Luce. Brat. “It was the right thing to do.” She said after a moment, thinking back to how she’d seen a flash of Nadia in the mirror that night. How she’d stayed over that night, before she realized what had happened. She’d tried to do the right thing, tried to study up on the runes that could be used to banish a ghost, but it hadn’t mattered. She’d been too scared to try anything and now? She’d never get the chance to. Nadia wasn’t there anymore. At their question, Luce shrugged. “I mean, you can do whatever you want.” She replied.

Something seemed to be bothering Luce, or at least preoccupying her mind. Remmy didn’t mind all too much, but they did frown a little, furrowing their brow. Whatever she was going through, whatever had made her run away, it clearly was still happening. “Do you wanna sit?” they asked, shifting on the bed to make room for her beside the cat. “Are you gonna give me an honest answer if I ask that? Cause, like, if not, then there’s no point in asking it, really,” they continued on after a moment, looking from the cat to Luce. They didn’t know what to do with their hands anymore, aside from pet the cat. They sighed. “If it makes you feel better, I’m not here to yell at you, Luce. I just genuinely wanted to see for myself that it was actually you and that you were actually, I dunno...okay. Alive.” They looked at her with a sad smile. “I just missed you.”

Luce didn’t really want to sit. As confusing as the distance between them was, distance was something she was used to. Sitting next to them would be closing that gap, at least in a physical kind of way, and what was meant to happen after that? But, she was too tired to think of an excuse out of it, so she sat next to Remmy. Rhiannon let out a sleepy mewl before butting her head against Luce’s thigh. She liked the witch’s warmth, something that her owner had also seemed to like. Something that Remmy had liked too. Leaning back on her arms, Luce nodded. “I’m alive. And as far as how I am,” She paused, letting out a breath. She was tired. Pissed, but she wasn’t allowed to be pissed off, was she? Everyone else got to be angry at her, for leaving, but she couldn’t be angry at them for thinking that she could just keep going when things kept changing around her, when it felt like the world was on the verge of coming crashing down every day. “Well. I’m alive.” She offered a tight lipped smile, more grimace than grin. At their words, she wanted to say that they shouldn’t miss her. But, the words caught in the back of her throat. Luce chose instead, to ignore the words. “What about you? How are you?” What happened to you? was what she wanted to ask, though.

“Alive is…” Remmy started, but they didn’t know what to tack on to the end of it for a moment, “good.” They finally finished but it didn’t quite feel right. Still, they let it lie. Looked over at Luce as she came to finally sit by them, but the awkward uncomfortable distance made them wonder if they shouldn’t have invited her to sit at all. She looked...tired. And anxious and maybe even worried. They supposed there was a lot to be worried about, though, wasn’t there? “Me? Oh, I’m, well--” fine and okay certainly weren’t the right words, but they weren’t sure Luce wanted to know how they actually were-- “working through some things, I guess. Complicated things.” Well, maybe not complicated, but certainly not easy to explain. If they even could. Their tongue still caught whenever they tried to talk about Lydia or think about her. It always reminded them how much they actually missed her and then the pain would start all over again. “I learned some not so fun things about people I trusted and sort of decided...I can’t trust them anymore. So that’s uh...fun.”

Idly pressing her fingers against the tattooed skin of her leg, Luce traced over one of the images above her knee, moth that Rory had done a few years ago. She ran her finger tip over the wing before focusing on them. “Working on things.” Luce echoed, eyebrows bridging together but she let them finish their words. “What happened?” She asked, voicing the question she’d wanted to ask them when they’d first messaged her since she’d gotten back. “You don’t need to tell me everything, but… what happened to you?” She wanted to reach out to touch their face, to look at them and try to see just what was going on in that head of theirs, but she held back. She didn’t know if she was part of that group, of people who’d lost Remmy’s trust. 

“A lot happened,” Remmy grumbled, unsure where to start. “Like....the uh, the person I’ve been staying with for a while, I sort of found out something...shitty about her. Something I couldn’t get along with.” They found that they wanted to tell Luce-- that somehow Luce was one of the only people they wanted to tell about this-- but they just couldn’t. Whatever loyalty Lydia had built in them, they couldn’t bring themself to out her. They just couldn’t. Their love for the woman, no matter how tainted, remained intact. “I’m fighting with Morgan because of it, too. It’s just...a lot at once, I guess,” they mumbled. “I moved back into the haunted mansion, too. But-- oh, you’ve never seen it. You should come by sometime. It’s nice and quiet. Erm-- at least for people who can’t see ghosts. Do you mind ghosts?” They were rambling now, and they knew they were rambling, but they couldn’t help it. “Um...they’re all nice, though. They mind themselves, really.”

“Do I know her?” Luce asked, partially out of curiosity but mostly out of concern. What could this woman have done to lose Remmy’s trust like that? What could have changed them so much? They weren’t the same person that Luce had left behind a month ago. And, Luce wondered, what could she have done that would have caused a fight with Morgan? Luce didn’t particularly like the other woman, didn’t want to like her. But, she knew that Morgan mattered a lot to Remmy, for a whole host of reasons and vice versa as well. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like a lot to go through.” She nodded. “Are you-- Is there something I can do that would… help?” Luce asked, the words tentative. She didn’t know what she could do or what they’d accept. But, seeing the way they sat there, so crestfallen, so unsure? She just wanted… to make up for what she’d done. “The haunted mansion, huh?” Luce raised her eyebrows at the mention of ghosts, expression turning grim for a moment. Looking at Rhiannon, she rubbed the cat’s head for a moment. “No, I don’t like ghosts. But,” She glanced up at them, “I could make an exception.”

“I don’t know if you do,” Remmy admitted. They really didn’t know that much about Lydia’s actual life, when they thought about it, but digging into her personal life via the internet almost seemed intrusive. Not that she deserved that dignity, it just didn’t feel like a line Remmy wanted to cross. Still...they had to wonder, how many people had come before Chloe? If Lydia was older, in her 60’s she had mentioned to them once, then there had to have been more before her. The thought soured Remmy’s stomach and they bit the inside of their lip. “No, I’m-- well, not fine, I guess, but I can handle it. It was my choice after all, to walk away. I should live with it,” they answered finally, determined to not let it show how much everything really was affecting them. They let out a long sigh and flopped back on Luce’s bed, rubbing their palms against their forehead. “Everything’s just gonna suck for a bit, but, like, at least it doesn’t suck in a ‘I almost died or get ripped in half or poisoned by a friend’ kind of way, right?” Peeked at Luce from behind their fingers. “Oh, uh, yeah. My friend Nora named it that, she’s kinda like...really into Goth stuff. She owns the place. Erm-- she bought it. It’s a huge house, got like twelve bedrooms, and all those strange, fancy rooms old houses have. Like a foyer? And a conservatory? What even are those for?” Smiled wearily at her. “Wow? Just for me? Careful, Luce, I might think you care,” they teased.

“If she’s out of your life now, that’s really all you can do, right?” Luce asked. Whatever this woman had done couldn’t have been good. But, she wasn’t going to push. Remmy didn’t need to tell her shit, she didn’t need to know and, fuck, she really didn’t deserve to know. So, she sat and listened as they talked. It sucked, seeing them like this, hurting in a way that they couldn’t just heal from. She watched as they lay back on her bed, rubbing their head with their hands. “That’s one way of looking at it.” She said, though neither situation was “better” than the other by any stretch of the imagination. Christ. Even before she’d left, they’d been fucking through it and then all of this? Leaning back so she was propped up on her arms, Luce grinned, “Sounds like you’re living large. Ghosts and all.” But, at their joke, her smile faded and she shifted her gaze. She did care. She cared about them more than she wanted to admit. Why couldn’t she just say it, act like it? Because Remmy deserved better? She’d hidden behind that excuse before, but it was truer than ever right now. Shifting, she shrugged. “Fooled you, huh?”

Remmy frowned, furrowing their brow. They looked at Luce so often, but somehow seeing her here, in this quiet peace of her bedroom, she looked sadder than normal. Remmy looked away. They didn’t know where their heart landed with Luce anymore. They liked her, a lot, and if she’d ever give them a chance, they’d say yes-- but they weren’t sure it was ever going to happen. And...maybe that was okay. Maybe it was okay to just be this way. Still, they longed to reach out and touch her, feel her. Kiss her. Swallowing, they looked back up at the ceiling. “You can’t fool me,” they mumbled after a minute, “not anymore.” 

Glancing down at Remmy, Luce caught them staring at her, watching her. They’d done that before, looked at her many, many times before. But, there was something different about the way that they looked at her. Instead of the defiant frustration that she’d seen on their face when they’d had similar conversations, all she saw was… defeat. And, she should be satisfied with that. She should be glad that she put that mistake to rest. But. “Fuck.” Luce swore under her breath. What did they do to you? What did I do to you, she wondered, but didn’t say the words. 

Instead she said, “You’re right. But, not entirely right. I don’t think I ever fooled you.” Luce reached out to touch them, gently cupping their face with her hand. She wanted to hold them, to kiss them, to feel the cool relief of their skin against hers. She shouldn’t. She should. She wasn’t enough. But they wanted her, they’d wanted her once, so maybe that meant she was enough. She didn’t know how to care about someone. But maybe she could. “Can I? Care about you?” She wasn’t just asking permission; could she even do that? Did they think she could?

The touch came as a surprise. While Luce often initiated their more sexual moments, the intimate moments were few and far between, and it was usually Remmy acting on them. They looked up into her eyes, still splayed on the bed, and blinked, confused for a moment. “What do you mean, can you?” they asked, then scrunched their brow. “Of course you can, Luce, that’s never been up for debate.” Lifted their hands to cover the ones on their face, dropping them down to hold Luce’s wrists loosely. “It was just about whether or not you would let yourself. I fought you for so long on that, all I ever wanted was for you to admit you could care,” they mumbled, eyes tearing up a little, “it didn’t even have to be for me. Although, that woulda been a nice bonus.”

The familiar, comforting coolness of their skin was something Luce hadn’t even realized she’d missed until the moment they held her hands. “You’ve got a lot more faith in me than I did. Do.” She said, still not sure if they were right. She didn’t know how to be there for people, not in any real kind of way. She ran away from her problems, she left the people who mattered behind, she’d always done that. She was still running. And, though she’d vowed to be different on her birthday, the fear of what the prospect of changing had overwhelmed her. She’d done the exact same thing she’d always did. And it had hurt everyone that mattered-- her sisters. Remmy. Ulf. Fuck, even Nadia wasn’t in her body any more. If she had stayed, could she have helped them? Could she have defended her sisters against the threats to the coven and all the spellcasters in White Crest? Could she have helped Remmy with their falling out, been there for them? Could she have stopped Nadia from losing her body? She’d never know. Because she’d been too busy running. And she had to stop. She had to. “I care.” Luce swallowed before continuing, “I care about you. And I want to be here to prove that. If you want me here.”

Luce was silent for a long time, but Remmy knew to give her the space she needed to work through her thoughts, her feelings. They could see it in her eyes, watching the cogs turn behind the dark hues. The relief that flooded through Remmy was one that felt nearly overwhelming. How long had they been waiting to hear those words? It felt like years. They felt like maybe they’d been waiting for a moment like this their entire life. For someone to finally pick them, choose them. Want to be with them. Want them. After all the shit, after all the pain, Luce finally said it. Remmy couldn’t help the smile that grew on their face. They reached up, then, and met Luce’s face halfway, pressing their lips together. Kissed her with a vigor they had been holding back for ages, smiling against her. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say those words,” they chuckled after a moment. Finally, finally, something good in their life.

Their smile eased some of the tension in Luce’s shoulders. They wanted her. They still wanted her, even after everything she’d done. They deserved better than the way she’d treated them, they did. But in this moment, a warming radiating sense of happiness filled her. It was a foreign feeling, one she wasn’t used to experiencing when it came to other people. The charged energy of the kiss brought her back to the present, pulling her back to Remmy. She could feel the way they smiled, feel how their lips curled against her own. Drawing back, she rested her forehead against theirs, suddenly breathless. “I’m-- Sorry. I just, I don’t know, how to do this. But I want to.” For you.

“You know,” Remmy said, looking up into Luce’s eyes, “it’s really not that hard. But...I don’t mind having to teach you.” After all, they’d gone so long in life without being able to freely choose someone. Simply always going along with what other people told them was right, what they should do. Maybe they’d held on so long for Luce because she was their choice, she was the one their heart picked, and letting that go felt too painful. Or maybe it was just that Remmy really never gave up on people. Or, they didn’t want to, at least. There were circumstances, obviously, lines that needed to be drawn. But here, now, they weren’t important in this moment. Just they were. Just Luce was. “Rule number one, though-- don’t run off without telling someone,” they tacked on with a crooked smile, “okay? Leave like...a sticky note or something. Anything.”

[wheresfury]

White Mustang

~Pairing: Natasha Romanoff/ fem!reader

~Warnings: Mommy kink, degradation, dirty talk, blood and violence, knife play, gun violence, face-slapping, spitting, spanking, rough sex, roughness, oral sex, vaginal fingering, implied/referenced non-con, breathplay, BDSM, Dom/sub, marking.

~Word count: 6,328

~Summary: You are away on business when you meet  the most gorgeous woman you have ever seen. Too bad she was a killer. Wrong place, right time?

~Author’s note: Hello! I hope y’all enjoy this little one shot (definitely will be a series of one shots.) To finish writing this I listened to Lana Del Rey’s White Mustang hence the name. It was too perfect, I think. Any who hope you like it! 😏😭 Also got lazy with the Russian pet names halfway through. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It was a cold night in London. You walk faster down the street to a local pub, arms wrapped around your midsection. You wore a black pea coat, jeans, and some doc martens. You were in London on business, you had about a week left before you had to go back to the States. You had been frequenting this pub named Dirty Dicks. It was a weird name but the drinks were good and it was pretty quiet most of the time you were there.

Once you arrived you grabbed a seat at the bar. You ordered a rosé and sat back, surveying the place. There were only three other people in this bar. There were two men sat at a table in the very corner, they were dressed in business casual clothes, speaking in hushed tones. The only other person in the place sat at the very end of the bar. She had a glass of red wine in front of her. Her hair as red as the wine she was drinking, and her eyes the color of a lily pad. She wore a black leather jacket, a black shirt underneath, black jeans with a utility like belt as well as black heels with red bottoms. She was absolutely breathtaking. You continue to stare at her and you notice her subtlety looking at the two men. You stop staring once the bartender places your wine in front of you. You thank him and take a sip, savoring the fruitiness of the rosé. You set your glass down and glance over at the woman again, not being able to stand another minute not appreciating her beauty. You realize you are most likely coming off as creepy or insane but she has yet to notice you, at least you hope she hasn’t. You notice her again looking at the men, you’re first thought was that she was interested in them, wanting to take them home. The moment you finish that thought her eyes catch yours, one eyebrow raised. Your eyes widen and you quickly look away, blushing as pink as your rosé. You can feel her eyes on you, burning into the side of your body.

Fuck. You need to learn to be more subtle.

Out of the corner of your eye you see her checking you out, or at least you hoped that’s what she was doing. You take a sip of your drink and nearly spit it out when she gets up from her chair. You stare at the wall in front of you as you feel her stop behind you. You feel her breath on your ear as she leans forward, one hand on the bar.

“Why so curious, котенок (kitten) ? Didn’t your mother ever teach you some manners?” You shiver as she whispers into your ear. She’s Russian and fuck that’s hot. Your eyes squeeze shut as you try not to whimper at her raspy accented voice. She leans closer where you can now feel her plump lips on the shell of your ear.

“I think you just want to be fucked. Don’t you, шлюха (slut) ? I can tell you’d be such a brat. Why me? Hm? Why not those men over there? I’m sure they would love to fuck a pretty little thing like you.” She licks the shell of your ear and you shiver. You shake your head side to side in an effort to convey what you couldn’t say. She clicks her tongue, clearly upset with you.

“Speak, little one. Or I’ll tell them you’re interested.” You open your eyes and turn your head to look at her. Your breath hitches, she was much more beautiful up close. God those eyes. Her hand that was on the bar wraps around your bicep and squeezes, to the point of pain. You let out a pained whimper.

“No, please don’t. I’m not interested in them. Please.” She smirks, wickedly and releases your bicep.

“Good girl. It’s a good thing too. You see those men over there? They have done some pretty gruesome things. To poor, helpless, pretty little things. Just like you. Now I may be heartless but at least I respect when consent is not given. Unlike these assholes.” You were very confused at this point. Why does she know so much about them? Your confusion shows on your face and the woman lets out a low, cold chuckle. It sent shivers down your spine.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about what I know or why I know it. That doesn’t matter what matters is that I will fuck you. All you have to do is stay right here. Can you do that, котенок (kitten) ?” You look at her with a look that can only be described as what the fuck? Did she really just- you lose her attention as the two men get up from their corner table. After her weird subtle look over at them she turns her attention back to you. She raises an eyebrow as you are still in shock. I mean who does she think she is? Like why would you stay here and wait patiently for a one night stand? You’re not that pathetic.

“Okay. I’ll be here.” Well fuck. She smirks again and your eyes fall down to her lips, how badly you want to kiss her right now. Once the men have left she waits a solid thirty seconds before she leaves after them. Not even giving you a second glance. You wait all of two minutes before you couldn’t stand to wait any longer. You were just too damn curious. You grab your wallet from your pocket and leave enough money to cover your drink. You then get up and exit the pub.

You shiver as the cold winds had picked up since your time at the bar. You look ahead of you and try to determine where they could have gone. You walk past a few buildings until you come across an alley. You look down the alley and a chill runs up your spine. It had started to rain at this point, which did not help with how cold you were. You should probably think twice before walking into the alley but honestly you couldn’t care less right now. You had a bad feeling about it but you couldn’t go the other way, your curiosity outweighed your consciousness telling you otherwise. You’re shivering like crazy now as you slowly walk into the alley. Inside your pocket you have your hotel key in between your pointer and middle fingers. Any kind of protection would do right now, it’s better than nothing. Your eyes survey the alley, mostly trash cans and trash. You pass by a homeless man who appeared to be sleeping. You come up to a corner when you hear some scuffling. You quickly hide behind a dumpster before peeking over the edge. You gasp as you see the redhead, the two men on the ground bleeding heavily. You quickly cover your mouth not wanting to make any more noise as you see the woman produce two glock 26’s with silencers. Oh my god! You could see her lips move but were unable to hear what she was saying. The men seem to be pleading for their lives. I mean who wouldn’t. She smacks both of them in the face with her guns blood spraying the building behind them. You flinch as you hear deafening cracks as you hear them scream in agony. You then see her bring the guns up and quickly put two bullets in each of their heads. Shocked you were unable to contain your screech. Your eyes widen as she looks up and straight into your eyes. You quickly start to run and get the hell out of there. You didn’t even make it to the homeless man before you are harshly tugged back and slammed into the brick wall of a building. You scream and she brings a hand up and hits your neck making you choke and bring your hands up to ease the burn. She knocks your hands away and grips your throat tightly. Her left hand points a gun at you. You gulp as best you can.

“Did I not tell you to wait, котенок (kitten) ?” She slams you back into the wall again making you whimper in pain.

“Please… don’t…” You struggle with your words unable to speak much with her hand around your throat. She tightens her grip on your throat and you feel the barrel of the gun on your temple.

“No witnesses. No problems. It’s just what I have to do, little one. Besides curiosity killed the cat, did it not?” You bring your hands up to scratch at hers holding your throat, when that doesn’t work you try to pry it off your throat enough to talk.

“I won’t… talk… I promise!” She tuts and shakes her head.

“What makes you think I’ll let you go? Hm? Because you will still most likely let me fuck you? I don’t work that way, you whore, if that’s your attempt to get out of this.” She growls. She fucking growls. You couldn’t help yourself and your eyes roll back at the sound. Fuck. She notices and smirked darkly.

“You fucking slut. God I was right about you. You’re such a submissive. You still want me to fuck you, slut. Even after you know I can easily kill you?” You close your eyes in shame. You wish you hadn’t stumbled into this situation. You should’ve stayed put! Dammit. Your eyes open when you feel the gun leave your temple, you see her holster it and you breathe a sigh of relief. She then brings that hand up and slaps you across the face. You gasp as much as you can with her hand on your throat. Your cheek throbs in pain. She releases your throat and slaps you again. You bring your hand up to cup your cheek as you scream from the pain.

“Answer me, bitch.”

“Yes! Okay yes, I still want you to fuck me. Okay! Are you happy?! I get it alright, I’m sick! Well guess what so are you! Even more so.” She smirks at your answer.

“I see you’re in fact a brat. I love brats. Getting them to obey is my favorite hobby. For future reference you always answer me when I ask you a question and only when I ask, no speaking otherwise. You will not speak out of turn. You will also address me as Mommy. Is that clear, kitten?”

“Yes, Mommy.” She strokes your cheek and smiles a wicked little smile.

“Good girl. Now where are you staying?”

—————————————————————

Your hands shake as you try to put the key into your hotel room lock. You can feel her eyes on you and your nerves grow tenfold. She rolls her eyes and huffs.

“For fucks sake, give me the damn key!” She yanks the key out of your hand and proceeded to open the door with ease. You slowly walk in after her not entirely sure what she wanted from you yet. Both of you a little damp from the rain but drying quickly. She looks around at the slight mess in your room, you're not the best at keeping organized on business trips. She bends down and picks up a red laced thong. You blush as she twirls it around her finger, smirking. She looks you up and down, probably hoping to catch a glimpse of what you were wearing underneath. She drops the thong back on the floor as she makes her way to the chair in the corner. She takes your suitcase that was sitting open on top and tosses it to the floor, clothes spilling everywhere. You gasp at the audacity and glare at her.

“What the fuck?!” She glares at you and sits down on the chair, crossing her legs.

“You spoke out of turn, котенок (kitten). You will be punished for that.” You continue to glare at her as her smirk gets bigger. Your face burning with anger and also slightly swollen from her harsh slaps.

“Strip.” You look at her as if she were crazy.

“Do not make me repeat myself, little girl. You want to get fucked, you listen to me. You want to get killed, disobey me.” You stand in shock at her words. You had almost forgotten that you witnessed a double murder. You needed to ask a question but didn’t want to stack onto your punishment. You decide to raise your hand as if you were back in a classroom. She rolls her eyes and huffs.

“You get one question, go.”

“How do I know you won’t kill me even after we have sex?” She chuckles darkly. Honestly you don’t think she’s ever genuinely laughed.

“You don’t, kitten. However if you’re good I may keep you around for future occasions.” Your eyes widen.

“Like a sex slave?” Her gaze hardens on you.

“Well now that I think about it, I do prefer that over booty calls. Now strip, you’ve already disobeyed me twice. My patience is wearing thin. My little brat, you’ll love being punished I bet.” You hold in a whimper as you start to strip. You start with your pea coat slowly unbuttoning it. You wanted to give her a show. As much as she scared you, you kind of really liked that about her. You were soaked you could tell already. The minute she pinned you in the alley you were a total goner. You were a sucker for women who scared the shit out of you, must be the submissive in you. Once you got your coat off you tossed it on the dresser, starting to unbutton your silk blouse. You see her smirk growing as you reveal your black lace bra. You throw the blouse as well and reach behind your back to undo your bra.

“Leave it on.” You pause as her words sink in and blush. You bring your hands back down to your jeans and unbutton them, you bring them down to your thighs and bend down to untie your boots. You kick your boots off then take your jeans off the rest of the way. You stand back up straight with nothing on but your black lace lingerie.

“Turn around, kitten. Give Mommy a full view of your beautiful body.” You do as she says and slowly turn around, shaking your ass. You come to a stop in front of her after making a complete turn. She uncrosses her legs and tilts her head to the side. She beckons you closer with her finger. You make your way closer to her and straddle her lap with her say so, unsure of what to do with your hands you rest them on your thighs. She takes her left hand and traces up your figure starting at your hips and making her way up to your breasts. She takes both of your breasts into her hands and squeezes. You moan at the feeling. She looks straight into your eyes as she squeezes harder, twisting your nipples making you scream in pain. The fabric of your bra making the burn worse. You bring your hands up to her hands trying to get her to ease up. She twists harder making your eyes water. To your absolute horror you release a moan, eyes widening. Once a single tear escapes your eye she releases her hold on your nipples. You sob in relief.

“That was part one of your punishment, little one. How did that feel?” You dry your tears with your hands, whimpering.

“It hurt, Mommy. But I kind of liked it honestly.” You’ve never experienced something like this before, your sex life has been pretty vanilla so far. Maybe this is exactly what you have needed for so long. She hums at your answer.

“Yes, kitten. It seems I have a painslut in my arms tonight. Which is perfect because I love giving out pain. However I respect it if you cannot handle everything. If you feel as if you cannot handle it anymore say red. I will stop everything if you say red. Understand, kitten?” You nod profusely, in awe of this woman. Who has seemed so cold and yet has a little heart for a safe word. Your heart warms a bit at the action.

“Yes, Mommy.” She nods in acknowledgement. She stands up with you in her arms. You yelp and grab onto her arms. She sets you down on your feet and roams her hands all over your body. She squeezes your breasts again and you moan at the sensation, nipples very sensitive and erect. She trails her hands down your tummy making her way to your lower back. She grabs your ass squeezing deliciously hard. Fuck. She releases your ass and grabs your hips spinning you around, your ass now facing her. She grips the top of your underwear and tugs them down. She helps you step out of them and tosses them to the side. She slowly trails her hands up your thighs squeezing them and leaving kisses all over your ass. You feel her bite down on the curve of your ass, you moan as her teeth sink in further, marking you completely. You wince as she pulls away, leaving a stinging sensation. You smile as she kisses the mark she just made. Her hands grasp onto your hips holding you firmly. She makes her way up your back leaving a trail of kisses on the way. She pushes your hair out of the way to leave kisses and love bites on your neck. You moan at her ministrations and bring a hand up to her hair. She pulls away from you grasp and slaps you hard on the ass. You let out a high pitched moan at the spanking.

“I did not give you permission to touch me, kitten.” You roll your eyes at her words.

“You let me touch you literally two minutes ago! What’s the difference now?!” She growls at your bratty attitude and spins you around roughly. You yelp as you stumble forward trying to grasp onto her so as not to fall. She dodges your grasping hands and smiles as you fall to the ground. You groan as you rub your arms and knees, slightly stinging from the fall.

“You bitch, why would you do that!”

“Stand up.” You glare at her in indignation. You sit up and cross your legs as well as your arms in a show of defiance. You can clearly see the veins in her neck popping out. Fuck that’s hot.

“I said stand up!” Her voice extra raspy with anger. You look straight into her eyes and raise a brow at her. You think the veins on her neck may burst with how much angrier she just got. You swallow harshly. Maybe you didn’t think this through, she was a killer after all. She raises a hand and brings it down on your cheek. A loud smack is heard as you cry out from the stinging pain. She doesn’t give you time to recover as she grabs your hair in her fist and yanks your head back, eyes shining with tears.

“You fucking brat. Just asking to be treated like the bitch you are. Don’t fucking cross me again, bitch. Unless you want to be bleeding like those two idiots in the alley.” Tears fall as you’re reminded of the horrific event you experienced earlier. She was harsh in her words but damnit if that didn’t make you even more wet. She gripped your jaw with her other hand digging her fingers to the point you had to open your mouth.

“Stick out your tongue, slut.” You quickly obey not wanting another slap to the face. She spits into your mouth, your tongue dripping with her saliva.

“Swallow my spit, my little slut.” You swallow her spit and moan as she tastes like the red wine you saw her drinking earlier. She releases your jaw and pats your cheek, you flinching as it stings a little still.

“Are you going to behave now, kitten? Or are you not done being a brat?” You turn your head and kiss her palm that was resting on your cheek. You see her stoic face falter slightly before she realizes what she did and removes any emotion again.

“Yes Mommy, I’m done misbehaving, I promise.” She clears her throat and straightens up again, releasing her grip on your hair.

“Good. On the bed now, all fours.” You clamber up as quickly as possible on the bed. She hums in satisfaction and trails her hand up your body to the clasp of your bra. She undoes your bra and let it fall to the bed. You take your arms out of the straps and she takes it and throws it to the floor.

“Scoot up, kitten.” You move up till you hands were right underneath the pillows. Once you leave her enough room she climbs onto the bed kneeling behind you.

“Good girl, little one.” She runs her hands all over your ass giving it some squeezes every once in a while. She particularly traces the bite mark she made earlier, she smiles at her work.

“You look good with my mark on you, kitten. How does it feel knowing I marked you? Marked you as mine.” You let out a moan at her possessiveness.

“Fuck. Really good Mommy. Please!” She hums in satisfaction.

“Please what, baby doll? You’re already begging like a desperate little slut? Pathetic. You’re not even close to getting what you want.” She pulls away from you and gets off the bed. You let out a cry of disbelief, you hear her laugh in response.

“Kneel at the edge of the bed, kitten.” You do as she says, reluctantly. She smirks and gets on the bed sitting against the headboard.

“Across my lap, baby doll.” You go to lay across her lap when she stops you.

“Other way, kitten, I’m left handed.” You turn around to where your ass faces her left hand. You stretch out across her lap, folding your arms under your chin. You feel her hand start to rub your ass, you moaned at the feeling. You slowly start to fall asleep with the soothing movements she was making on your ass. You’re almost out when she takes her hand away. You scrunch your eyebrows and open your mouth to complain when her hand comes down harshly onto your left ass cheek. You instead release a choked sob.

“Falling asleep on me? Here I thought you were having a good time. I want you to count every one and thank me for it. This is the last of your punishment, unless you fuck up again. Understand, kitten?”

“Yes, Mommy. One, thank you, Mommy.” Her hand comes down again, this time on your right cheek. You hold back a moan before speaking.

“Two, thank you, Mommy.” She showed absolutely no mercy in your spanking. At one point she went so fast you lost count and had to start all over. Your ass was on fire and yet your pussy was soaked. You were discovering so much about yourself it scared you. She brought her hand down on your bruised ass once more.

“Fifty! Thank you, Mommy!” Tears were streaming down your puffy face. She starts to message your ass and thighs. You hear her snicker as she feels the slick on your thighs.

“Such a slut for Mommy. You enjoyed getting spanked, didn’t you kitten?”

“Yes Mommy, please! Please, fuck me!” Your voice hoarse with arousal.

“You know I usually prefer begging when it’s for someone’s life, however, I love to hear you beg for me, kitten.” Her fingers make their way closer to your heat but never touch where you needed her most. You whine as she pulls away completely. She rolls you off of her till you are on your stomach, on the bed. She gets up and takes off her leather jacket. Fuck. She was fully clothed this whole time? You let out a low moan at the realization. She tosses it to the side and unbuttons a pocket on her utility belt. She pulls out a thin black cotton rope.

“Hands behind your back, kitten.” You do as she asks your body buzzing with arousal. She ties the rope in a handcuff knot and puts your hands into the holes before tightening the knot. You feel her check to see if they’re too tight and you smile at her thoughtfulness. After she sees that the rope isn’t too tight she grabs onto your shoulders and helps pull you up onto your knees. She then steps back once you’re stable and takes off her heels. You pout as she does, not wanting them to go just yet. She smirks at your reaction and takes off her shirt then unbuttons her jeans taking them off as well. She then takes off her bra, all that’s left now is a red thong. Your mouth waters at the sight.

“Come here, kitten. On the floor.” You immediately do as she says, without falling face first. You quickly get back onto your knees and look up at her with the biggest puppy dog eyes.

“You’ve been such a good girl so far, kitten. I think you deserve a little reward.” You’re mind is numb right now, all you can do is nod feverishly in agreement. She smirks and slowly takes off her thong, then she slips back into her red bottomed heels. She slowly moves towards you, your eyes focusing in between the apex of her thighs. You lick your lips as she stalks closer to you. She places her right foot on the bed leaning closer to you, making you lean back a little, her other firmly on the ground by your thighs.

“Fuck.”

“What was that, little one?”

“Nothing, Mommy.”

She grabs your hair in one hand pulling you closer to her dripping cunt.

“I want you to make me come, kitten. Ravish your Mommy, then I may just return the favor.” You do not need to be told twice. You dive in latching onto her clit, sucking hard. She grunts at the bold first move. You release her clit and move your tongue down her folds to her entrance. You stick your tongue in as far as you can and you feel her start to ride your tongue in earnest.

“That’s it, kitten. Fuck. You’re good at eating pussy. Fuck… right there.” She then pulls away from you. You frown trying to get closer to her again.

“Stick your tongue out, baby doll. Touch your chin. Don’t move.” You do as your told, even if it confuses you to no end. She returns her pussy to your tongue and rubs her cunt all over your tongue. You moan as she grunts in pleasure.

“Fuck, little one. Your tongue is amazing.” Her juices are all over your face at this point and dripping down your chin. She starts to fumble in her movement, getting closer to her release.

“Suck my clit again, kitten. Make me cum.” You retract your tongue and move back to her clit sucking it into your mouth. You swirl your tongue around it as her grunts turn into moans. It wasn’t long before she pulls your hair and releases the sexiest moan you have ever fucking heard. She pushes away from you and falls onto the bed as she came down from her high. You move to face her kissing and sucking on her thighs. She pats your head as she recovers. She looks down at you and sees you staring at her.

“What is it, kitten?”

“Will we ever exchange names?” You see her face go from relaxed to stoic real quick.

“I don’t need to know your name to fuck you. Same goes for you.” You pout at her response. You just gave her a mind blowing orgasm and this is how she treats you? Oh wait, shes a fucking maniac.

“I would like to know what name to scream, when the time comes.” She tsks at you and shakes her head.

“The only name you need to be screaming is Mommy. Now if you want to cum, slut, I would shut the fuck up if I were you. Now get on the fucking bed.” You get onto the bed, angrily. Why can’t she just tell you her stupid name? It’s not like it’s that big of a deal. She pushes your face down onto the bed and you grunt at the rough treatment. She undoes the rope around your wrists and roughly picks you up to turn you over onto your back. You moan at her ability to do that with ease. She grabs your hands and pulls them up towards the headboards and reties your wrists around one of the boards. She tightens them a little too tight this time. You were about to say something but the glare on her face stopped you in your tracks. She leans close to you and starts to kiss down your neck. Sucking harshly on your pulse point, she then kisses up to your ear.

“You will be punished for asking stupid questions. I can fucking smell your cunt from up here. Too bad I won’t be giving it any attention for a while.” You whine as she leaves kisses and bites all over your neck. She took her time around your chest, licking your nipples and sucking them into her mouth. You moan as she bites down onto one of your nipples, pinching the other one roughly. After some time she switches to your other breast. Your pussy leaking onto the sheets, staining them with your lust. The smell of sex permeates the air.

“Mommy, please! I can’t take it anymore!” She hums around your nipple making your back arch. She releases your nipple taking her hands and twisting your nipples and pulling on them as well. You release a scream of pleasurable pain.

“Don’t make me gag you, kitten. I would hate to not hear your screams of pain and pleasure, slut.” You pout as she releases your nipples and moves down your torso, nipping around your stomach. She sucks a few hickeys on your stomach and practically makes out with your belly button. As weird as that felt you still moaned like the bitch in heat you were. She finally made it to your hips, sucking and biting them all over. You thrust your hips up to try and get her to where you needed her the most. She growls and throws an arm over your hips holding you down.

“Stay still, шлюха (slut) or I’ll make you.” Her other hand reaches towards her thigh and she produces a knife. Oh fuck. She traces it along your thighs and you shiver. In fear or arousal you weren’t entirely sure. You try to stay absolutely still so she doesn’t cut you accidentally. She traces the edge of the knife to your belly button and sets the knife there. You let out a breath in relief. She then takes her arm off of your hip and spreads your legs. She settles herself in between your thighs. She nips and licks all over your trembling thighs. Never coming close to your center.

“Mommy, please!” She hums and stops sucking on your thigh to hover over your dripping pussy. She blows on it as you shiver in anticipation. She looks right at you, her green eyes dark with lust. She maintains eye contact as she licks a broad stripe up your cunt. You moan lowly at the sensation you’ve been waiting forever for.

“So fucking desperate. Such a slut for Mommy.” She licks another stripe up your drenched pussy. You moan at everything she is doing, it’s been way too long now. She attaches her mouth to your clit and sucks harshly. Your hips buck up into her mouth and your moan is cut short as the knife moves. Your eyes widen as you still your hips, not wanting to hurt yourself. She pulls away from your clit, chuckling. Her fingers make their way to rub your clit in tiny circles.

“What a pretty puffy pussy you have, kitten. So wet for Mommy, so tasty.” Your eyes roll back into your head at her words. Fuck.

“Yes Mommy, only this wet for you. Please! Please, fuck me Mommy!” She hums and reattached her lips to your clit. Her fingers make their way down to your entrance, teasing. You whimper as she slowly enters your dripping hole. Once you adjust to the intrusion she starts thrusting. Your moans and pleas are incoherent at this point. Her pace animalistic, her teeth nibble on your clit and you scream. Your thighs shake as you come closer to reaching your high. You close your eyes in anticipation and then immediately reopen them when she pulls away completely. She sits up, sucking on the fingers that were inside you and then licks her lips, shiny with your slick.

“What the fuck?” She smirks and brings her palm down harshly on your cunt. You moan at the painful slap and close your legs. She tsks and spreads your thighs.

“Don’t you dare hide that pretty little cunt from me, kitten. So red and swollen, aching to cum. Isn’t that right, pretty girl?” Tears make their way down your face as the denial of your orgasm hits you.

“Mommy, please! Please fuck me, use me! Anything!” She hums and picks up the knife from its resting place on your stomach. She traces shapes on your stomach and slowly drags the knife to your breast circling your nipples with the sharp tip. You’re holding your breath so the knife doesn’t slice and dice you. She tosses the knife to the floor and grabs onto your neck, squeezing tight. Her left hand makes its way back to your pulsating cunt. She pulls on your folds making you release a choked moan. Her hand tight on your throat, making it harder to breathe. She thrusts three fingers into your pussy making you scream. Your back arches as she has no intention of slowing down. Her fast, rough paces making your eyes roll back as you release loud moans.

“You like it rough, don’t you, kitten? Such a good little slut for Mommy. I want you to cum, baby doll. All. Night. Long.” Her thumb comes up to rub your puffy clit and you see stars.

“Mommy!...Fuck!” Your orgasm sends shivers everywhere. Holy fuck. You’ve never felt that before. She continues to fuck you into oblivion as her hand that was choking you makes its way into your mouth. Her fingers push their way past your lips, you suck and lick as best you can when your mind was so fuzzy.

“That’s it, slut. Drooling all over yourself. What a dirty little whore.” You moan around her fingers at her words. She takes her fingers out and slaps your breast hard. You let out a scream as you cum simultaneously. She then moves to suck on your clit making your eyes roll back. She runs her tongue through your folds before sucking them into her mouth. She nibbles on them as she sucks harshly making your hips buck up further into her, wanting more. Your vision starts to become blurry, mind hazy. Your entire body buzzing with electricity.

“What a good little kitten. Cumming so beautifully for Mommy. Such a good slut. Cum for me, girl, one last time.” Your body reignites with fire at her words. As much as you want to sleep right now you really want to make your Mommy proud. It didn’t even occur to you that you know almost nothing about this woman yet here you were wanting to please her so. Her mouth on your clit as her fingers pound into your soaked cunt you cry out as one last orgasm hits you. Your back arches as your arms strain against their hold as you scream Mommy. You meet her eyes once more before your eyes close from exhaustion.

—————————————————————

You wake up with a headache, the curtains doing absolutely nothing to hold back the sun. You sit up and rub your eyes. Your body aches everywhere, you try to remember what conspired last night. You get up and go to the window opening the curtains. You squint as the sun glares at you. You look down at the cars below and see a white mustang parked out front. You rack your brain as to why the fuck that looks familiar and your eyes widen. You see her making her way towards the car in the same clothes she wore last night. Your jaw drops as your night with the stunning redhead comes rushing back to you all at once. Holy fuck.

A part of you wishes it wasn’t a one night stand, you’re sure you will never find someone as amazing as she was, someone who just knows what you like. You stand frozen in place when she looks back up at you, she smirks and winks at you then gets into her mustang. You stand in the exact place until her car is out of site. You shiver and go to grab the complimentary robe from the hotel. You sit down and order breakfast from room service as well as today’s newspaper. When the room service arrives they set it up and leave. You chow down on your bacon and waffles as you riffle through the paper. You drop your fork and stop mid chew as you close the paper. On the back was the woman you slept with last night, huge wanted lettering on the top. Wanted for multiple murders, different from the ones you witnessed last night. Her name was at the bottom.

Natalia Romanova.

[ourownsideimagines]

You Owe Me $666 for All the Sunglasses I’ve Bought (Crowley x Reader Soulmate AU)

Characters: Reader, Crowley

Requested: Yes

Requested by: Anon

Point of View: Second Person POV

Warnings: Slight angst, cursing, probably OOC Crowley

Words:  2459

A/N: For this, the reader is going to be American. And Ugh I feel like Crowley is OOC in this *cries in celestial* Also, this likely takes place after the events of Good Omens. Also did my best to keep in gender neutral, so let me know if I fucked up.

---

Golden. That was the color your right eye was. The eye that was meant to match your soulmates. It was a beautiful color you thought. Your family, not so much.

You’d been forced to wear sunglasses since the age of three. You didn’t understand why, no one would explain it to you. They simply expected you to do as you were told. For the most part, you did. But when you were alone in the restroom, or even in your own bedroom, you would take them off and admire your eyes in the mirror. One a lovely (color), and the other brilliant gold, slit down the middle like a snake’s.

When you started elementary school, your parents were hesitant. They made sure to explain to all the adults - the principal, the lunch lady, the teachers - that you were NOT allowed to remove the glasses. Ever. The other kids thought you were weird.

Some of them had already found their soulmate. Others had two different shades, some brown and green, others blue and hazel, some different shades of the same color. No one ever had a yellow snake eye.

It was the second grade that another kid finally convinced you to take off your glasses. You’d smiled brightly as you removed them, only to let it fall in utter confusion as he and his group of friends screamed.

The truth spread fast. They all called you freak, and you were a target of non-stop bullying. Even the little girl you’d managed to befriend stopped hanging out with you. The other kids would continuously try to steal your glasses, and when they did, they snapped them in half, leaving your eyes open to the world.

Within a month your parents pulled you from school and decided homeschooling was the next best idea. You were isolated. Alone. The human contact you had was short and dull. The only friends you had consisted of people you talked to online, which were few and far between. Slowly, you began to hate your eyes. Even when alone you tended to wear your glasses.

Both of your siblings found their soulmates by the age of 18. Their eyes were, as one would call then, ‘complete’. You prayed to whoever might be listening for you to finally meet your soulmate, so your eyes would be complete, so you wouldn’t be alone anymore. You would finally be able to safely see the world without a darkened filter. After a while you started to think, maybe your parents were right for making you wear the glasses, but damn, they were expensive.

By the age of 28, you still had not found your soulmate, and you’d spent more money than you could count on sunglasses. Your parents used to get upset at you when you lost your glasses or when they broke. And it wasn’t like you’d been trying to! You came to the conclusion that you had just been born unlucky.

Somehow, though, you caught a break. You’d just finished your second to last year of college when you managed to plan your first ever out-of-the-country trip to London over summer break. Your best friend, Sophie, lived there. Sophie was the only person you felt you could trust completely. You’d met her on a confession blog that she and her soulmate, Anna, ran. You knew them both well, but Sophie had been the first to see your eyes and not treat you like a freak of nature. Anna had only seen them once. Regardless, she was nice to you.

Sophie and Anna had met when they were children, and they had both recalled the moment they realized they the person across from them was the one person in their life they knew could do them no wrong. The one person they could trust completely. You wanted that. Despite everything that damn eye had done for you, you wanted that. You were just afraid of who the snake-eyed person might end up being. Lord, you hoped they were a good person.

Sophie was there to greet you when you arrived at the airport. She was in a light yellow sundress with black tights and black boots, and she held a half-assed sign with your name written on it.

When her eyes landed on you, her face split into a huge grin. She dropped her bag, and the sign and welcomed you with open arms. Despite wanting to keep your composure, you felt a few tears fall down your cheeks in happiness. You’d wanted to meet Sophie for years.

“Welcome to London,” She said as she pulled away. Without hesitation, she gently wiped away your tears. “I can’t believe you’re actually here.”

“Me neither.” You smiled widely for the first time in what felt like forever. “I’m just so relieved to get away, even if it’s only for the week.”

“Well I’m going to make sure this is the best week of your life, bitch, so you’ll have to come back.” She said with a wink.

“If I can afford it.” You laughed awkwardly.

“I’ll make sure you can afford it.” Sophie held up a hand and tapped your nose gently with a small ‘boop’ before pulling you out of the airport.

The first stop was the home she and Anna shared. It wasn’t anything huge - it had two rooms, a bathroom, a small living room, and a kitchenette. Anna wasn’t home - according to Sophie, Anna worked weekdays at her father’s furniture business, and did some custom clothing work on the side (in the corner of the living room you saw her sewing supplied all piled up in the corner). She wouldn’t be home till later.

“I took the week off,” Sophie admitted. “I want to spend as much time as I’ve got with you.”

“Oh Sophie,” You gushed quietly. “Oh, you didn’t have to.”

“Nonsense! Other than Anna, you are my best friend. I wasn’t gonna let you go around my hometown all alone, I’m not that cruel.” Sophie suddenly gets very serious. “You said you’re not allergic to cats, right?” You nodded slowly and she grinned. “Fantastic!” She skipped over to the door of her and Anna’s shared room and pushed it open.

Moments later, a large, fluffy, white cat bound out, covered from head to toe in dirt. Sophie let out a squeal of surprise.

“Shit!” She said. “Shit, shit, shit!” The cat bounced up at you, attempting to climb up your leg. You jumped back in surprise, but the cat was very determined. “I forgot to put Anna’s plants in the kitchen!” Sophie sighed. “Nina’s knocked them down!” Nina let out a loud pur as you scooped her up in your arms, and she immediately rubbed her head into the skin of your neck. You ran your fingers over her gently, dislodging some of the dirt.

Sophie stormed over, pouting as she looked at Nina.

“You little brat, you fuck up some perfectly good flowers and think you deserve a cuddle?” Nina peered up at her with bored blue eyes. You snorted as Sophie took Nina. “This is why we took away your TV privileges young lady.”

“She has TV privileges?” You asked, laughing.

“Anna and I figured out pretty quickly that Nina likes to watch Benedict Cumberbatch so we usually put on Sherlock or Doctor Strange on to keep her occupied. But recently she was being a little shit so we took away her privileges for two weeks.”

“I mean, I can’t blame her.” You giggled as Sophie avoided Nina’s playful swipes at her face with her paw.

“Ugh, you’re a bastard.” Sophie groaned, setting Nina back down. The cat bolted back towards the bedroom. “No- Gah!” Sophie sighed. “I haven’t… cleaned up yet.” She wiped her face with her hands, effectively smearing dirt on her cheeks.

“Want me to occupy her while you clean?” You offered, to which Sophie was grateful. She tore Nina away from the broken pots and over to you, and you held and played with her for a good twenty minutes while Nina cleaned up the mess. It was when Nina began bapping your face repeatedly that you quickly removed your sunglasses, knowing that if you got any kind of scratches on them you’d have to buy new ones.

“Alright!” Sophie announced, walking out of her room with a trash bag. “My beautiful fiancé’s plants are trashed,” she paused, noticing that you had taken off your shades. You guys met eyes for a long moment and then she smiled. “I was thinking you and I could go to the shop to get some more.”

You smiled, or at least tried to. You set Nina down, who scampered back into the bedroom, trailing dirt behind her.

“Yeah,” you put your glasses back on and stood. “I’m game.” Sophie grabbed her purse, fishing for a moment before pulling out her own pair of shades and putting them on.

“Let’s go then.”

The drive to the gardening shop took no more than ten minutes. The browsing on the other hand, that did seem like it was stopping anytime soon.

“What about these ones?” She picked up a pot of pink tulips, bringing them closer for inspection. It was the ninth plant she’d contemplated, of which she’d only decided on two.

“I thought Anna wasn’t fond of the color pink.” You frowned. Sophie purses her lips.

“Well, that’s mostly true. More pink clothing and accessories. Flowers are okay, I believe.” She held the pot close. “I’m going to hand this to the bloke up front, then we can keep looking.” You nodded, and she went off. You continued to wander, gazing at the different arrangement of flowers, and succulents, and some of the larger plants near the back. You held up a rather small spider plant, and decided that when you got home you were going to spruce up your place with some nice house plants. You’d been thinking about it for a while, but being in that shop just solidified the idea.

You begin making your way back towards the flower when a man rounds the corner and you crash into each other. You stumble back a bit, and take him in. He’s tall, with short, red hair, dressed in what you could consider semi-casual clothes. His eyes are covered by a pair of sunglasses, not much unlike your own - including the side shields you sometimes had to put in yourself. He looks a bit annoyed by being ran into, but neither of you say a word because they catch in your throat. 

There’s a sensation of almost burning behind your eye - nothing uncomfortable, to your surprise. But it’s enough that you have to gape, removing your glasses so you could press your hand into it. The man quickly does the same, turning away from you with a short curse.

It’s the moment you’re able to open your eyes again that it hits you. As you stare at this man, you can’t stop yourself from gently grabbing his wrist, something it seems he’s going to jerk away from until his head snaps in your direction, and a pair of brilliant snake eyes stare back at you. The same color as the eye that caused you so much trouble growing up.

You could have cried, and you probably were. The man swallowed thickly, glancing back and forth to make sure no one was around before his eyes settled on you again.

“You’re…” he paused, unsure what to say.

“I thought I was never going to find you.” You blurted out, flushing quickly. “I-I wasn’t sure there was really someone with… well, your eyes.” Hesitantly, you reach up to cup his cheeks, and he watches you closely.

“I didn’t think there was really someone out there for me.” He replied. His eyes searched your own for something, though you weren’t sure what.

“What’s your name?” You asked, pulling away slowly. You were a bit surprised when he caught your hands.

“Crowley.” He gave your hands a light squeeze.

“(Name).” You replied. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Crowley.” You saw the faintest smile on his lips as he let go of your hands, placing his sunglasses back on.

“Likewise, (name).” He looked around again, opening his mouth to speak again when suddenly he was interrupted.

“There you are!” Sophie said from behind you. “Should I keep a leash on you?” She joked. You turned around to face her, and she caught sight of your face for the first time. Her eyes widened. “Oh-” She looked at Crowley, realization truly hitting her. “Oh! Oh, shit.” She laughed, but slapped a hand over her mouth. “Holy shit.”

“Sophie,” You sighed.

“No, no! I’ll leave you be.” She came up to you, pulling you into a bone crushing hug before pulling away, her eyes going between yourself and a slightly amused Crowley. “You know how to get back to the house, right?”

“Yes?” You said, a bit puzzled by the question. Sophie smiled, turning on her heel before sauntering off. “Sophie? Sophie, what the hell.” You hissed, half tempted to follow her before remembering exactly who was standing behind you. You turned back to Crowley, an awkward smile on your face. “I’m… So sorry about her.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Crowley shook his head gently. “I have a friend who may have reacted in the same way, except, well, without all the cursing.”

“Sophie’s been my friend forever now,” You laughed. “She’s the only thing keeping me sane sometimes.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Aziraphale.” He chuckled. There was a moment of silence, but it wasn’t awkward. It was comfortable. Seeing him smile made your heart feel warm and fuzzy. Was this what it felt like to be in love? To feel loved?

Lord, you’d only just met the man, but you knew there was nothing you wouldn’t do so see him smile like that forever.

“So, uh, (name),” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I know we just met and all, but, uh… Well, I was wondering if you’d like to go get some lunch? There’s a bakery a couple blocks away, and I’m… I’m sure you have many questions about…” He ran a hand through his hair, still stumbling over his words, but you knew exactly what he meant.

His eyes.

“I’d love that.” You agreed with a smile. “Seeing as my tour guide’s basically abandoned me.” You sighed. “Though, you know, my parents taught me never to accept invitations from strangers.”

“Strange? Me? No.” He shook his head, chuckling. “I think you’ll find I’m absolutely normal.” You laughed in response. Then, he held out his arm. “C’mon. I think it’s time we got to know each other. Smiling, you looped your arm with his.

“I look forward to it.”

Let’s just say, you were going to be staying in London for longer than you’d planned.

[starmakerdotcom]

summary : min needs to think about what she says, or she’ll taint another friendship.

characters : kang minjung , son yongmi , zhao honghui (briefly) , elizabeth park , na jaemin (nct) (mentioned)

genre : i guess angst idk

warnings : swearing , verbal arguing , damn they kinda mean to each other . i’m not good at writing people arguing i have Never been in a fight Ever but i tried

words : 1.7k

[ july 2020, 1:23 pm, solar dorms ]

“what’re you smiling at over there?”

yongmi looked up from her spot on her armchair, curled up in a blanket to meet minjung’s eyes across the room, standing near the entrance to the kitchen. she shrugged, looking back down at her phone with a huge grin on her face. “just a new friend,” she replied, although she was very obviously blushing.

“...just a new friend?” minjung took a sip of the glass of water she had in her hand, she wasn’t buying it. she knew yongmi.

yongmi sighed in defeat, a grin still plastered on her face, “ookay, i think she’s pretty. that’s it!”

“well fuck, what’s stopping you from asking her out?” minjung asked.

“crippling anxiety,” yongmi replied simply.

minjung paused for a beat before speaking again, “what’s the worst that could happen?”

“uh... she says no?”

“so what? it’s worth a shot.”

yongmi frowned, knitting her eyebrows together, “it’d be so embarrassing if she said no. i don’t even know if she likes girls!”

“seriously, what do you have to lose.”

“...my dignity?”

minjung didn’t understand yongmi sometimes. what was so hard about asking someone out? despite the fact that, technically, it seemed they should be the best of friends and inseparable due to their closeness in age and how they trained together for years, but it wasn’t always like that. sure, they were close friends, and had been since they met, but they were complete opposites, and it was honestly a bit of a mixed bag. they didn’t get each other as well as they used to.

she sighed, “it’s not that hard, just get over yourself and do it. that’s basically how i got with jaemin.”

“you’re failing to realize that not everyone is as blunt as you,” yongmi said, looking down at her nails, “you’ll just go up to someone and be like, hey, let’s hook up- or whatever, i’m not the type of person that does that.”

“okay-“ minjung wrinkled her nose, “first of all i don’t say it like that. do i need to give you lessons on how to ask someone out, are you that lonely?”

“you’ve just never had to deal with anxiety, you should be grateful. you should also be a little more considerate, you’re being a little rude.”

“am i being rude? or are you just being sensitive?”

yongmi was standing now, completely disregarding her blanket that fell to the ground when she stood up. “can you not be nice to me for once?”

“maybe i would if you weren’t so annoying about it,” minjung stood her ground when yongmi began walking towards her.

“maybe it’s not all me,” yongmi snapped, “maybe you should stop being such a bitch.”

woah, okay, that took a sharp turn. minjung rolled her eyes, trying to mask the fact that she was absolutely flabbergasted that yongmi, arguably one of the softest and most kindhearted people she knew, would ever call her a bitch to her face. such a word wasn’t even in her vocabulary most of the time. “who says i’m the one being a bitch?”

“woah, cat fight!” the two girls snapped their heads to the side to see honghui in the hallway exiting his room, still with his hand on the knob watching the two girls argue with a look of almost excitement on his face. “what’s going on out here? should i get snacks, how long is this gonna go on for?”

minjung scowled at him, “fuck off.”

“sorry,” honghui laughed, going back into his room, “continue.”

minjung sighed, not at all phased by honghui’s sudden appearance and just as sudden disappearance, “anyways, i believe we left off on you calling me a bitch.”

yongmi laughed, but it sounded lifeless and forced, not like her usual laugh (that yongmi herself absolutely hated), “yeah, because you can’t seem to understand that some people have a different mindset than you do! you do this all the time, too, it’s probably because your parents let your spoiled ass get away with whatever you wanted.”

“okay, what we’re not gonna do is bring my parents into a conversation that has nothing to do with them,” minjung spat, walking closer to yongmi, who stayed right where she was, despite minjung’s assumption that she’d back up as soon as she started inching closer.

“i mean, they’re the ones to blame for how you act. look at me, i’ve never had to face a minor inconvenience in my life, i have a super cute boyfriend and i talk about guys like they fall to their knees whenever i approach them-“

yongmi stopped when minjung raised her hand like she was about to slap her, but stopped when she saw how hard she made the former flinch. when she stood up straight again, minjung noticed yongmi had tears in her eyes, and she remembered how much yongmi hated confrontation. regardless, she held her head up high and continued.

“the fact that you’re resorting to hitting instead of a civil discussion-“ yongmi sniffed, blinking rapidly as she didn’t want minjung to see her cry. “that really says a lot about you. why can’t we be the way we used to-“ she cut herself off early when her voice broke. she stormed down the hall to her bedroom, but not before whacking the glass minjung had in her hand, spilling water down the front of her white tshirt.

“hey!” minjung called after her, “jaemin’s supposed to be coming later! i’m wearing a black bra you can literally see everything-!”

“i’m sure he’d love to see that!” yongmi called before slamming her door, leaving minjung standing in the living room with a soaked shirt and a dumbfounded expression.

it saddened yongmi more than she could ever get out in words that minjung wasn’t the same girl that she’d known when they were both 14 and joining a company for the first time, minjung with no experience in dancing whatsoever and yongmi barely even speaking korean. they bonded over how inexperienced they both were.

yongmi could recall a time where they snuck out of the building one afternoon while they were on break, and just walked down the streets of downtown seoul without a care in the world. they were so excited when the final lineup for solar was announced, especially considering the night prior they stayed up way past their curfew to stargaze in the roof of the smk building, convinced they would never see each other again because minjung was guaranteed a place in the final lineup and at that time, they thought yongmi wasn’t.

yongmi tried to make herself feel better by reminding herself that friendship wasn’t always forever, but she couldn’t help but miss that sense of comfort and nostalgia behind minjung’s warm eyes when she stared into them.

“what the hell is your problem?” elizabeth spat, bursting into minjung’s room, causing her to jump, leaving a mascara smear on the side of her face from where she was trying to do her makeup.

“what’s going on this time?” minjung sighed, pulling a wipe out of her makeup bag to rub off where she’d messed up.

elizabeth rounded the side of her bed, bending down behind the mirror minjung held in front of her face to do her makeup with to look her in the eye, “i found yongmi crying in our room earlier, and when i asked her what was wrong, she asked me if she was too sensitive. she said you said that to her.”

minjung shrugged, purposely, or so elizabeth assumed, avoiding her eye, “she was being sensitive.”

“fucking-“ elizabeth grabbed the mirror minjung was holding right out of her hand and stood up straight again, “look at me!”

“give it!” minjung whined like a little kid, holding her arms out in an attempt to reach it, “jaemin is coming over soon!”

elizabeth held the mirror behind her back and continued, “y’all can’t ever get along, and i’m fucking sick of it, someone needs to knock some sense into you.”

minjung rolled her eyes for what felt like the fiftieth time that day as elizabeth continued, “you guys argue over the stupidest things and you need to learn how to get along soon or it’s gonna look bad on the rest of us.”

“she called me a bitch,” minjung said defensively, only provoking elizabeth to continue her rant.

“maybe because you were being a bitch. you don’t want to admit it, but you’re spoiled, and you’re a brat, and honestly? you’re abusing you title as the leader. yongmi would be a better leader than you’ve ever been if you don’t smarten up.”

from the look on minjung’s face, you would’ve thought elizabeth had slapped her. but she managed to get out, “look, i don’t know why everyone is taking her side all of a sudden-“

“because you’re the one in the wrong! you need to quit acting like you’re always the victim and like the whole world revolves around you. sure, yongmi may have said a few mean things earlier, but she’s been putting up with it from you for god knows how long.”

“she’s-“

“you two are complete opposites. i get that, you don’t think the same, but you two used to be so close! i don’t know what happened between before we debuted and now but you need to start being more considerate and stop acting like a brat.”

“i-“

“stop trying to make excuses and smarten up already!”

silence. a deafening silence that made minjung’s ears ring. was she really as mean as yongmi and elizabeth said she was? so mean that they were starting to think she was abusing her title as a leader? she’d never admit it, but shit, that cut deep. she did miss how close she used to be with yongmi, she missed it a lot, she missed how genuine and sweet she was, something she wasn’t all that used to. sure, she loved her family but she’d never been as close with them as the relationships she’d developed outside of her own home. yongmi has brought her a sense of comfort she wasn’t all that used to, so what exactly happened?

“have fun with jaemin later,” elizabeth said bitterly, tossing the mirror back onto minjung’s bed and closing the door softly as she left. minjung thought it probably would’ve been better if she slammed it.

[infinite-hearts-333]

A ‘push’ in the right direction.

Janus wants a soul mate. And he gets one- but of course their meeting would be anything but smooth sailing, or driving, really.

PAIRINGS: Mociet

WARNINGS: mentions of abuse, being locked in dressers, homophobic parents, alcohol, being hit with a car and panic, swearing

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

Honestly? In this world, your 17th birthday was the biggest thing in your whole life. Why you ask? You get your soulmark. That's like more important than actually finding your soulmate- it's what helps you find them.

So, what is your soulmark? Good question. On you 17th birthday, you get a pitch black mark somewhere on your body. The mark is where your soulmate touches you for the first time. When your soulmate touches you, the mark will change to your soulmates favourite colour. The freaky bit is that the mark will peal off your skin and turn into a ring once you realise that their your soulmate.

I blinked, staring down at my skin, waiting. Nothing. I swear, I could be the unluckest person alive if I don't have a soulmate, I salty thought. I sighed, about to give up, when something black caught my eyes in the mirror.

What the fuck?!

There, on my back where two black hand prints. One was a little high on my back— just in between my shoulder blades and the other on my midsection.

"Great." I Mumbled. "My soulmate is a touchy freak."

But yet, I couldn't ignore the relief rushing over me. I had a soulmate, so at least I wouldn't be forever alone.

Oh. I'm sorry, our probably have no idea what I'm taking about right? I'll explain.

My name is Janus, Janus Serpent. I am, or have just turned 17– according to my clock about 6 mintues go. I like to say I live alone, but sadly I don't.

I live with my... ugh, parents. I hate them both. My father is a acholohic, and I, according to his words— am a mistake that should of never happened.

My mother, doesn't give to fucks for anything. I'm 100% sure she should be in a metal hospital. My father, unsurprisingly is not her soulmate. My mother's soulmate died in a car crash, and she met my father at the pub.

Both of them are extremely homophobic, and sadly for me, have a gay son that is about as straight as a circle. Luckily, I don't plan on telling them any time soon.

As I said, I'm 17, and extremely gay, but let me paint a picture for you. I'm quiet tall, around 5'10 last time I checked. I have a dreaded curse of having vitiligo, so my skin is two colours not one. I have a massive match over the right side of my face, which trails down my neck to my shoulder. The other patches aren't really big as that one, and are littered everywhere. I also have hetroclemia, but that the only hetero thing about me.

"JANUS GET YOUR ASS DOWN STAIRS!" Ah. Mother wants me.

I quickly got changed, pulling on my favourite turtle-neck jumper, leather jacket, skinny ripped black jeans, a yellow beanie and yellow sneakers.

I slung my backpack over my shoulder, ready to head to work. It was Saturday, so no school for me. I stumbled down the stairs, narrowly missing stepping on my father, who had passed out on the floor. I snorted.

Mother was waiting in the kitchen, a permanent scowl on her face. "Mother." I dipped my head. She scoffed, nursing a bottle of champagne. "Listen close brat. Me and your farther are going out to night. I want this place pristine when I get home, got it? Or I'll lock you in the dresser again."

I quickly nodded. Over the years, the rare few times I talked back or tried to run away I got locked in my parents dresser. Thanks to that, I'm now extremely claustrophobic, being in a large crowds can get me panicking.

"Good. Scram." She spat the last word and I grabbed an apple and quickly left. I shut the door behind me and sighed. Freedom.

"Happy birthday janus." I said sarcastically to no one in particular.

I quickly got out into the streets, heading to rem&em's cafe. Remy was my boss, and they were really nice, having literally picked me off the streets and giving me a stable job, home (if I wanted) and a real family.

I turned a corner. Two more blocks. I mumbled, swallowing. In the mornings the streets were really busy, people were everywhere, making a large crowd that swallowed me almost instantly. I fixed my eyes to the floor, trying not to panic.

Someone bumped into me, and I stumbled looking up. People were everywhere, grunting and mumbling to each other as they fought through the crowds. Panic exploded in my chest, my heart beat excelerating. Suddenly, I was 6 again, banging against the walls of the dresser, sobbing and begging to be let out again.

Please! I'll be good! I'll behave! Let me out!!! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! PLEASE!!!

I hadn't even released I was sprinting, pushing people out the way as tears spilled from my eyes. Thoughts rushed through my head like a rushing river, never pausing on one.

Suddenly, I halted, my feet freezing. I gasped, choking on my breath and tears. I didn't notice the people yelling at me, or the lack of people around me.

Or the car.

"Hey— LOOK OUT!!!" Two hands collided with my back, and I was shoved forward.

There was the screech of breaks, and the sound of something- no someONE, hitting metal, then the floor. And then people started screaming.

I scrambled up, twisting around. Well, I'm glad I haven't eaten yet, or I would of lost my breakfast.

A boy, maybe around my age— quite short, with pale tanned skin, light brown curly hair and completely covered in freckles, laid still and limp in the middle of the road. A man, panicked and clearly late for work, scrambled out of the car that was exactly were I had been standing.

He..... he saved my life.

I scrambled to my feet, rushing over to him. He was wearing a light blue polo shirt, and beige shorts a cat hoodie tied by the sleeves around his neck. His circular glass sat a few feet away, the lenses shattered. On his feet were sandles and socks, making him by far the biggest dad- teenager ever.

I dropped to my knees, feeling my panic skyrocket again.

"Pat- PATTON?!" A lady pushed through the crowd, spotted the boy— no, Patton, and rushed over. "Oh my gosh, patton!" She Said, dropping to knees as well, tears forming in her eyes. She grabbed one of pattons limp hands, squeezing it as she quickly dialed 911.

It was only then that I noticed. Patton's hands. The palms where a sunflower yellow. My favourite colour. Time came to a halt, and I started to hyperventilate.

My soulmate saved me. And there hurt, because I was stupid.

I sobbed, the noise dragging out of my throat like sand paper. The lady- probably Patton's mum, looked up, finally noticing the boy crouched next to her son, sobbing and gasping for breath.

She looked down at Patton, noticed his hands and quickly rushed over to me. "Hey, Hey, hey, honey can you look at me? I need you to breath okay? Inhale for 7, hold for 4, and exhale for 8. Good job sweetie." The lady walked me through a breathing excersise, and then praised me and smiled. I gave her a weak smile, and flinched at the sirens in the distance.

"The ambulance will be here shortly. I'm Lillian. What's your preferred name and pronouns kiddo?" I blinked, swallowing. "I'm j-janus... h-h-he/h-him."

"Well it's nice to met you janus, don't worry, everything will be okay." I slowly nodded. The ambulance got there, put Patton on a stretcher and wheeled him into the back. Lillian held out her hand. "You wanna come kiddo? Patton would want to met you so badly."

"Y-you want me t-to come?" Lillian nodded. "Of course! You are his soulmate!"

I blinked. "A-and your not mad?"

Lillian gasped. "Of course not kiddo! Why would I? If Patton's happy, then so am I. Come on, are you coming or not?"

I paused, and then took Lillian's hand. I sat right next to pattons head as the ambulance drove us, and I hesitatly took his hand. I softly kissed his bruised knuckles. "I-I'm.... I'm sorry we had to met like this patton. But.... but please be okay. I k-know I just met you, but... just please be okay." I whispered against his hand.

It may of been my imagination, but I swear Patton squeezed my hand the most tiniest bit.

—an hour later—

I waited next to patton in the hospital. I had refused to leave ever since I was allowed in. He had been lucky, really really, lucky. Patton got away with only a sprained hand and a broken leg, but the could of lost his life.

Lillian had gone to get something for me to eat, since I haven't eaten at all this whole day. I stared blankly at pattons face, wondering what colour his eyes where.

Green? Like a emerald green? Or maybe the shade of a forest green. What about brown? Would it be a amber brown or a wood brown?

A small groan knocked me out of my thoughts, and I instantly sat up. Patton had started shifting his eyelids fluttering open. Brilliant clear sky blue orbs locked with my mixed matched ones, and I held my breath. His eyes..... were stunning. They were like as if the sky melted into the sea in a swirl of never ending blues, melting into each shade perfectly. I felt like I could get lost in them forever.

"Um... hi?" Patton said softly, shifting around in confusion. "Where am I?"

I stood suddenly, opening and shutting my mouth. "Um Uh, your at the hospital. I'm janus.... you saved my life. Remember?"

Please, please, please remember.....

Patton blinked and then something clicked, and his eyes widened. "Oh yer!! Hey are you okay?" I fought the urge to yell at him.

He threw himself in front of a car, and he is concerned about me?!

I sighed deeply, and sat on the edge of his bed. "Yep. I'm great now that your okay." I said softly, a smile tugging at my lips.

Patton blushed hard at that, and chuckled. "Um... sorry that I pushed you. My names patton, if you didn't know it already. He/him pronouns only."

I chuckled, and smiled more. He was adorable. "Janus. Janus Serpent, at your severice. He/him only too, my pretty puff ball~" I gently took Pattons hand and pressed a gentle kiss to his knuckles, and winked at him.

Patton went a bright ruby red and giggled. His giggle was adorable.... "Well it's very nice to met you to, Mr Snek!" Patton said beaming like the sun. I chuckled. Patton took back his hand, finally noticing it's black mark was a bright yellow. He gasped, and excitement took over him.

I couldn't help but giggle again. "Patton, can I show you something?" I asked, grinning. I had never smiled this much in my whole life. Patton tilted his head, then gasped his eyes widening as he realised and then violently nodded his head.

I turned around and pulled my shirt up a bit, showing off the two baby blue hand prints on my back. I had checked them when I had gone to the toliet when the doctors were fixing Patton.

Patton's gasp got louder, and I barely turned around before I was yanked forward into a hug. I flinched, hard, unsure what to do. I had never got a hug before......

Patton let me go at my flinch. "Oh sorry! I didn't mean to, I got over excited..." I blinked looking at my hands and then up at Patton. "No.. no it's okay Patton... but um.. could you do it again?"

Patton looked confused then gasped, but this time it was from horror. "Have you ever been hugged before?!" I paused, pursing my lips and then shook my head. Patton yanked me forward— again, and hugged me desperately. "I'm so sorry! I'm gonna make sure you get all the hugs you need from now on Okay?" Patton declared, squeezing me slightly.

I softly sighed, nodding. I mimicked Patton's movements, wrapping my arms around his waist and pulled him close, burying my face in his shoulder and neck. He was warm.... and smelt of cookies and vanilla. I particularly melted into him, softly smiling. This..... this was nice.

I probably fell asleep there, cuddling into Patton on a hospital bed, but hey! You can't really blame me, I'm lucky if I sleep at all!!

I shifted, blinking in confusion at the baby blue walls of the room I was in. I yawned softly, going to move my arms to stretch them, but realised something was curled up in them. I blinked more, and looked down. Patton was fast asleep, snuggled up against my chest, his arms wrapped loosely around my waist.

I felt warmth blossom across my cheeks, and I smiled down at him, laying back down so I didn't wake him. I lifted one hand to run it through Patton's hair, only to find a baby blue promise ring with hearts carved into it on my pinky finger. Ah. Our soul marks must of fallen off. I turn my head a bit, and sure enough, pattons hands where no longer yellow, and instead had a yellow promise ring on, shaped like a snake.

I hummed happily, and ran my hand through Patton's thick beautiful curls.

"Happy birthday janus." I said quietly to myself, smiling. I silently thanked the world for giving me the best birthday present I could of ever asked for, knowing that this day I would treasure till I died.

[captainofthebrokentides]

Briefcases and Bloodspatter: Chapter 5: Benny doesn’t share food!!

Hello all, thought I’d get another update in while I could. I know this one is a bit filler-ish. I hope you all enjoy it though, I needed to get the story rolling through though!

Liv had just managed to tidy up a bit and throw on a t shirt and a pair if shorts before there was a knock at her hotel room door. Quickly she checked her reflection in the mirror – she’d managed to tame her hair into a long plait and luckily she’d yet to take her subtle make up off.

She opened the door and smiled at Benny, who stood patiently at the threshold. He hadn’t stopped to change out of his work out wear, and she look a moment to enjoy his exposed arm muscles. He had fixed his hair though.

“I’m really sorry for dragging you out this late.” She started to apologise, stepping out the way so he could come past her and enter the room.

“No need to apologise, didn’t I say call me whenever you need me?” He shot her a cheeky grin and winked “Quite sad you’ve put clothes on though, the towel dress was a good look.”

“But a chilly one.” She closed the door and followed him into the depths of the room. He took a seat on a plush green armchair and looked around.

“It’s a nice hotel room you’ve got here.”

“Thank you, you actually get to see inside it this time.” She laughed and grabbed a pair of glasses from the under-desk cabinet. “Can I get you a drink?” she waved the bottle of wine and glasses at him.

“A drink would be great. Thank you.”

“Well, I have a bottle of white wine here, or water, or I can call room service to get you a scotch?”

“White wine is fine, no need to fuss.” Benny got up from his chair and came over to her smiling warmly. He took the bottle in one hand and placed the other on the small of her back, nudging her toward the seating area. She couldn’t help but replicate his smile, his small gesture was so familiar – commanding and gentle – completely Benny Colon.

They both sat in the chairs and Benny poured them each a glass of wine. A moment of comfortable silence fell over the room as they sipped their drinks.

“So, what did you find? Benny asked putting his glass down and imperceptivity shifting into business Benny mode, his expression serious.

“After you’d left this afternoon, I managed to collate and package up those semen samples. I ran a whole barrage of tests – potency, virility, DNA markers, age verification …”

Benny grimaced “You can run a test for that?”

Liv nodded and took a gulp of her wine. “Well, yeah, every man’s sperm is like a signature to them. One of a kind if you like. It’s kind of an off shoot from the DNA markers. It’s also how we check for any present illnesses that may show up in a sperm count.”

Benny nodded and gestured for her to continue.

“Anyway, the vast majority of it belongs to Brandon – as we expected. But, there’s sperm there that doesn’t fit his DNA markers.”

“So that means … he wasn’t just having sex with women on that boat …”

“Exactly. And according to my test results we’re looking for an older man. Cable sent me a few hits, I just need to go through them and pinpoint before we put the cat among the pigeons.”

Benny furrowed his brow in confusion. “But I thought it was all individual?”

Liv nodded, “It is. But it’s easier to pull correct 99.9% accurate results when you have a ‘living’ sample to compare it to. This sample is a mere smidgen and faded on material, it’s harder to pull a correct reading straight off. Comparisons are harder.”

“I’m sure this will help us, somehow. Thank you.”

Liv shrugged, “It’s all part of my job.” She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. Benny’s eyes instantly fell to the strip of flesh that peeked out with the movement. “Sorry to call you out in the dead of night, now that I say it out loud, it could have waited.” She bit her lip bashfully, and played with the frayed hem of her shorts.

“Don’t be sorry! I’m finding spending my evenings with you is a pleasure. I’m glad you tore me away actually, ten more minutes and Bull would have forced me into some night time trial prep.”

“I saw you were in the office, don’t you have a home to go to Mr Colon?” she joked not caring if she sounded openly flirty. The wine had gone straight to her head from the adrenaline rush.

Benny laughed, relaxing now that the business talk was over and done with. “I do. A nice modern apartment about ten minutes from the office. I do get to go home and relax sometimes.” He looked thoughtful for a second. “It gets a bit quiet though.”

“Nothing at all to come home to?” Liv could have kicked herself for asking the question. She desperately wanted to hear the answer, but she didn’t at the same time. It was like her subconscious needed to know if she was wasting her time, or if she was going to be heart broken by this Latin demi god.

He chuckled lightly and fixed her with that intense gaze. “Nothing. Not even a pet.”

“That’s a little sad. I don’t know what I’d do without my puppy.” She handed him her phone, proudly showing off her pride and joy. “His name is Chico. He’s my fur baby.”

“He looks friendly.” Benny handed her back her phone “Who’s looking after him while you’re here?”

“My best friend. Eliza basically moved into my flat to make sure he won’t wreck it.”

Benny nodded and glanced at his watch “I should really be getting home.” He got up and made his way to the door. Liv followed him and paused while he opened the door chewing her bottom lip.

“Thanks for the drink Liv.” He was stood close enough that she could hear his lowered voice.

How does he still smell amazing after working out?

“No, thank you for coming. You really didn’t have to.”

“A beautiful girl tells me she needs me, wearing nothing but a towel? I’d have no brain if I said no.” He tucked a stray piece of hair back behind her ear and pulled her into a hug. She enjoyed the gesture, wrapping her arms around his neck, and breathing in the masculine, musky scent of his hair.

Benny pulled away far too early for her liking, leaving her feeling suddenly cold without his body heat.

“I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep well.” He winked at her and started to walk down the corridor towards the elevator.

“Good night Benny!” she called after him.

“Good night Liv.”

 ****

“So why wasn’t I invited to this pyjama party?” Bull asked accusingly, looking at Benny and Olivia over the top of his glasses as they talked in his office the next morning.

“It was late and I didn’t want to disturb you …” Liv uncomfortably pushed an imaginary crease out of her skirt in agitation. Benny just rolled his eyes.

“Give it up Bull, you’re not invited to everything.” The lawyer pointed to the files Liv had placed on Bull’s desk. “What is important, is that Liv here, found an anomaly in the semen.”

“An anomaly?” Bull started looking through the paperwork.

“I’ve not been able to get an exact match yet, but there’s more than just Brandon’s semen on his jeans from that night.”

“He was with another man.”

Bull nodded, flicking through each sheet.

“My tests say it’s an older man. I’ve got to do a bit of DNA profile matching today before I can give you a precise who.”

“Good work. This might just be the ace we’re looking for.”

 ****

“So I missed a hell a day, clearly.” Liv said as she sat down next to Benny at the communal table.

Cable nodded emphatically. “Gun play and everything.”

“Pete Peters is in the hospital with a GSW. And Clyde is pushing for a second degree manslaughter deal at the DA’s office.” Benny said pouring water into Liv’s glass.

“He’s just sore because that brat Taylor Bensimon threw the ipad at his face.” Danny added as she and Chunk unloaded the group’s Chinese order out onto the table, separating it off for each person.

“Bensimon … where have I heard that name?” Liv pondered, tapping her nails on the table and furrowing her brow in thought.

“They’re everywhere in this case.” Benny said, accepting his order from Danny.

“The families are tightly linked. Like Taylor and Brandon were paired off as kids, without even a say.”

“Speak of the devil. “ Marissa said under her breath, but loud enough for the whole table to hear as Bull came through the door, leading Brandon over to their table.

“Have a seat Brandon.” The psychologist put pressure on his shoulders and he sat awkwardly next to Liberty. The kid’s eyes were red rimmed.

“Here you go momma.” Chunk handed Liv her lemon chicken and rice, sitting down next to her with his own food.

“Ugh Chunk, Have I told you lately that I love you?” Liv asked, opening the box and inhaling the sweet scent from inside.

“No, but you have now.”

“To business.” Bull said as he paced around the table. “Brandon here, is going to testify. We need to give him some advice. Go.”

“Speak up.” Marissa nodded at the young boy, trying to be as kind as she possibly could be.

“Answer directly.” Benny said, putting a dumpling in his mouth.

“Keep your hands still.”

“Don’t slouch.” Benny said through a full mouth.

“Only answer questions, not statements.”

“Don’t fill silences.”

“Don’t smoke on breaks.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, jeez Benny, I thought you were a gentleman?” Liv laughed, slapping Benny’s bicep. His eyes went wide and he swallowed quickly.

“I was hungry.” He shrugged and winked at her. Liv shook his head wondering how he could be charming, even after such a revolting move.

“What did I tell you Liv, like a rabid animal when he’s hungry.” Cable joked.

He pouted and offered her a dumpling from his box, which Liv gladly accepted, with a friendly nudge of the elbow.

Everyone around the table that knew Benny watched the interaction open mouthed.

Benjamin Colon never willingly shared food.

For those of you interested, this is Liv’s puppy Chico.

@reelovesbennycolon​ @lets-love-little-me​ @thesleepyproducer​

[angst-art-writing]

Introduction- Sinners and Saints

CW: Blood, torture reference, violence, amputation, reference to abuse, slight dehumanization.

Blood was spattered on the ground, the crowd of people sitting behind the glass walls shouting, their yells blurring together to make a loud roar. Her heartbeat was hammering in her chest, almost as loud as the crowd, and warm blood trickled from her nose down her chin and onto the ground.

She hated the Arena.

Her eyes flashed as a silver blade came for her throat, the blade gleaming under the fluorescent lights of the Arena . She moved back quickly, the blade missing by mere inches, then ducked under the same blade as it made for her head, and in the same second moved to her opponents side, slamming her elbow into his ribs. "You nearly got me there!" She said to him, eyebrows raised. "But I'm afraid you're a bit too slow!" He gasped sharply, before turning to her, swinging his other dagger towards her once more.

She felt a small sting upon her cheek, but she didn't mind it too much. She then backed up a couple of steps, fists in front of her defensively, but in an instant he darted for her, aiming for a stab directly for her heart.

But she was quick, and experienced. She had faced many others for as long as she could remember, in this exact arena. She instead moved to the side as he staggered forward, slamming her fist into the same exact spot she had elbowed moments before. A loud crack was heard as her fist made contact, and the crowd laughed at her opponents failed attempt. Enraged, her opponent dropped his dagger from one of his hands and whipped towards her suddenly, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her off the ground.

"You little bitch," he growled at her, his grip tightening as her hands scrabbled at his wrist and her legs kicked uselessly. His face was red with embarrassment and oddly, she felt a little satisfaction at that.

Her chest was already starting to hurt as her eyes flit up to the top box, where her mentor sat, watching. She shut her eyes as she felt her opponent hold her throat tighter, keeping her from getting any air into her lungs now.

Her mind was racing. Even though she wasn't allowed to die in the arena, they could make her unconscious; Which meant she had failed the tournament. And then her mentor and Dad would be very mad.. Especially since she had made them look bad.

With her lungs burning inside, and the awful feeling of her throat being crushed and bruising, she let go of his wrist and brought her arm down upon the elbow of the arm he has holding her with. Even with that, he still didn't let go and she simply turned and slammed her into the glass wall's surrounding the arena. Pain blossomed in the back of her head.

She was getting desperate, the sting in her chest only getting worse. "Nice try, brat," the man cooed in a falsely gentle tone.

Artemis opened her eyes slightly, glaring at him, but even with her glare her eyes were light. "You know, I liked it better when your girlfriend choked me~" she teased, her voice strained.

His eyes flashed with anger and he brought her off the glass before slamming her back into it again. Artemis clenched her jaw. And he spoke again, his voice only a low growl, "Honestly, I expected better o-"

He was cut off by his own scream.

She fell to her knees, coughing and gasping in air, a hand on her already bruising throat. In her other hand she was holding her own bloody dagger. She closed her eyes for a moment.

Beside her, was her opponent, holding the new bloody stump of his wrist. His hand lay on the ground beside him as he screamed, writhing and crying from the pain and shock as just having his hand sliced off. The crowd was yelling. Delighted or angry, she couldn't tell. She just knew that she hadn't failed, and she wouldn't be punished severely.

A few of their medical people came into the arena and carried the screaming man away, his cries fading. He would be fine, anyways. They could probably make him a mechanical hand. They were good at that.

She shook her head and exhaled slowly, picking up her knife as she turned, rushing out of the Arena quickly, into the prep room where she had come from earlier, ignoring the Reapers yelling at her.

She hated them yelling. She hated yelling at all.

Her mentor was already there. She slid her dagger back into her belt as she looked at the ground, fighting to keep her face blank.

"Don't look so sad, Artemis! You won!" Her mentor- also the leader of the Reapers- said to her, grinning. He reached over and grabbed her chin, forcing her head up. Artemis flinched from the touch, and he slapped her across the face directly after, his tone sharp and harsh when he spoke again. "What did I say about flinching?"

She bit down on her tongue, her head turning to the side from the impact before she raised her eyes to Vincent. "To not do it.." her voice was quieter. His blue eyes narrowed slowly.

"Then don't," he snapped. But then his voice was gentle again. "I think the crowd really enjoyed that battles, don't you think? It was quite bloody.."

Artemis simply nodded her head. That's all she was used as. A toy, to entertain them, and then as a toy, a weapon, to do their bidding. And she hated it so much. She wasn't a person. She was a thing.

"Although.. You really could have done better. You were slow, today.." Vincent sighed, crossing his arms. At those words Artemis tensed, expecting him to announce some sort of punishment for being slow, but then he continued. "But I can let that slide, only for today. You'll get your food and a bed, Artemis. And no punishment." Artemis's shoulders dropped in relief, exhaling slowly. Vincent went on. "But anyways, you have another assignment. People just keep getting nosier and nosier.. And, as they say, curiosity kills the cat."

Artemis remained silent. She didn't complain, even though every inch of her was sore and ached. She had fought six other people before, all in a row with no break and she just wanted to collapse and go home to her bed.. At least, it wasn't groups today.. Groups was always worse than individuals..

"It's very rude to not answer people, Artemis," Vincent said, frowning.

"I'm sorry," she apologized quickly, her shoulders tensing back up.

Vincent raised an eyebrow. "I've told you too many times about that." He then sighed before he pat the side of her face and Artemis fought not to flinch from his hand, which had been so harmful so many times before rather than gentle, before he then turned, and started walking. "Come, now.."

He strode out of the room and Artemis followed after him reluctantly, letting her gaze drop to the floor as soon as he turned away, crossing her arms and digging her fingers into the white long-sleeve she wore, which matched the walls and the floors of the building. She hated the color white too, now.

---

Artemis slipped into the window after Vincent, the two of them completely silent. When Artemis got targets, either Vincent or her father still had to go with her. To make sure she finished the job and didn't run away. The last time she had tried to run was when her mother died, and that was years ago. She hadn't done it again, out of pure fear. The punishment for trying to escape or being defiant was severe.

Even if she hadn't done anything, there was still the chance The Reapers would hurt her. They took out their anger on her whenever Vincent allowed them to.

The room they had entered was dark. Another disadvantage for Artemis, as she had grown up to hate the dark. She had grown to hate a lot of things. She didn't say a word though, and neither did Vincent. Her eyes scanned the room before settling on the bed. Their target, John Finch, was asleep soundly in bed, snoring.

Artemis didn't move a muscle from where she stood, her hand gripping her bow tightly. She just wanted to get it over with and go back to her house, where she would just have to put up with Lance, maybe.. Then she could rest.

Vincent smiled as he walked towards the man, his arms crossed. "Aw.. Look at him," he whispered lowly. "He doesn't even know what's coming.." He paused and looked to Artemis. "Why don't you do the honors?"

"Me?" Artemis exclaimed, and John stirred slightly at the loudness of her voice and Vincent's eyes narrowed slowly. He gave her a look. She swallowed, looking to the sleeping man. She put her bow on her shoulder and her hand went towards her knife instead, her stomach twisting uncomfortably. Normally, she was used to it but..

Vincent stepped aside and Artemis went forward, sliding her knife out from it's sheath. She tried to make herself go numb, and on the outside she looked the part. Her face was completely blank and her eyes conveyed no emotion at all.

She tried to stab her blade into John's heart, but she jolted when a hand grabbed her wrist. She looked down, and her eyes met John's, before he suddenly twisted her wrist and took her knife, before he then kicked her away, slamming his foot directly into her stomach.

Artemis staggered, caught off guard as she gasped and coughed from the impact. Vincent snarled as John stood up, holding Artemis's knife defensively as his eyes flit between the two. "What are you doing here?!" He cried, his voice shaking with every word.

Vincent merely sighed irritably, before he suddenly moved forward, grabbing John round the neck with both hands and picking him up before slamming him into the wall, hard enough to knock down a few pictures.

"Artemis! " He snapped, his tone suddenly sharp and harsh. Josh was clawing at his hands with one hand as he desperately tried to breathe and squirm free. Artemis jumped and moved forward, her second dagger in her hand now. "Kill him !" Vincent hissed at her, his eyes on John.

But she hesitated. And in that moment of hesitation, John sliced the knife up, vertically slashing Victor's face shallowly. Victor cried out and dropped John, staggering backwards as John darted for the door.

Artemis stared, her mind racing before she ran out afterwards after John. He was running down the hall. Without thinking, Artemis threw her knife. The knife flipped in the air, before the blade buried itself right into the back of his head.

John dropped to the ground a moment after with a loud thud, and Artemis skidded to a halt, her blood running cold instantly as she saw him fall.

She stood there, her arms falling back at her sides as she closed her eyes moment, taking a deep breath.

"What the hell was THAT?" Vincent had come up behind her, grabbing a fistful of her hair as he swiveled her around to face him. She yelped and opened her eyes, staring right at him with wide eyes now. He looked upset, blue eyes blazing. "Why did you hesitate? Haven't we talked about this?!"

With each word he tugged at her hair, and she yelped, just staring. "I know, I'm sorry-" She hissed in pain, but she didn't dare try moving away from him or struggling.

The one time I hesitate- All the other times I did good but noo. She held her tongue, however. No matter what snarky comment she wanted to say, she didn't. Not to him.

Vincent threw her onto the ground and she hit the floor hard. She turned on her stomach and tried to get back up, but Victor's boot suddenly slammed on her back and pinned her to the ground harshly. She yelped again, the side of her face smacking down into the ground.

"You really pissed me off there, brat," Vincent hissed, digging his boot into her back. "I already taught you a lesson about hesitating before.. But I think you need to be taught again."

Artemis just shut her eyes, as the familiar feeling of fear and dread overtook her. She knew exactly what was going to happen when she got back to the Reapers base.

---

The first-aid kit was shut with a loud snap, Artemis then putting the kit back into the cabinet of the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror afterwards, her eyes narrowing slightly at the large bruise on her jaw. Her throat was also bruised. Underneath her clothes, her body was littered with many more. But its not like she wasn't used to them.

With a sigh, she picked up her backpack from the floor, then her bow, turning to walk out. Finally, she could go home. That was slightly better.

Artemis turned, backpack slung over one shoulder and her brown jacket over her white long-sleeve as she walked out of the base, turning and heading towards her house. She walked through, and as she got closer the bright lights of the city got dimmer and dimmer. She gripped the dagger in her belt as she walked, eyes constantly darting around.

At last, she approached the front steps. She slid the house-key in and unlocked the front door, before slipping inside and re-locking the door again. As she stepped in, she was greeted by a strong wave of alcohol, mingled in with smoke.

She peeked in the living room, finding her dad passed out on the couch. She let out a small sigh of relief. No bottles breaking over her head tonight, thank goodness..

She turned, going down the hallway and into her room, careful not to make any noise. She shut the door softly and dropped her bag in the corner, before she slipped the brown jacket off and draping it on one of the hooks on her wall. Afterwards, she changed into her pajamas and flopped on the bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

--

[shinobirain24]

Water and Ice- Chapter 8: Saturn and Lydia

Neptune and Weiss returned to Argus. He felt relieved that he's not going to take the ferry for a while, but who knows when he'll haver to use it again? Weiss held his hand since he felt shaken since the previous night of his nightmare and didn't pull back. Weiss' face turned red when she keeps looking at her hand with his. She wanted it to lasts forever. On the pier, there they saw Flynt Coal, a dark-skinned man with a cool hat and sunglasses. And Neon Katt, a female faunus with a cat tail and roller skates. Both are members of Team FNKI. "Hey, Schnee! What's up?" Flynt waved. Despite the earlier conflict at the Vytyl Tournament. They parted in good terms.

"Oh, hey Flynt! Neon! It's been a while." Weiss said. They then looked at Neptune. "Hey, you're that dude from Team SSSN in the tournament, right?" He asked.

"Yep, that's me." Neptune nodded and gave him the fist pump. "By the way, I like that hat, looks pretty cool on you."

"Gotta say, you ruled in the round against NDGO." Neon said cheerfully.

"So what's brings you here to Argus? Shouldn't you guys be in Atlas?" Weiss asked.

"About that, we are planning to get our huntsmen licenses revoked."

"What?" Weiss inquired. "But you guys are huntsmen now. Why throwing your jobs away?"

Flynt and Neon are both graduate students from Atlas Academy. They hesitated to tell her some strange activities going on in the military. "The thing is, your sister, the general. She isn't the same person you used to know anymore." Which makes Weiss slightly jolt a bit. "What do you mean?"

"Come to think of it. She's starting to act a bit strange. Even scared. Earlier there are huntsmen who're claimed to be wrongfully arrested. I don't know if this is true or not, but something doesn't feel right. As much as we respect the general, we cannot bring ourselves to stay in Atlas. So we ran to lay low for a while." Neon explained, then turned to Neptune. "By the way, goggle boy. you need to make a run for it."

"Huh?" Neptune scratched his head in confusion. Flynt showed him his scroll for him to see himself on the wanted segment. With his name and face on it. "You're all over the news, man. I don't know what is going on, but they're looking all over for ya."

"And to think I'm only wanted in Atlas." Neptune sighed.

"Well, looks like General Schnee is one step ahead." Neon said. "Way quicker than Ironwood."

"As much as we would like to stay and chat, Neptune and I have to keep going. You guys should do the same." Weiss said.

"It's cool. We need to get going as well. Juane is sending us an invitation to his meeting." Flynt told them.

"Meeting?" They both questioned.

"We'll catch up later. See ya!" Neon waved.

"Stay safe!" Weiss waved back as they left the dock.

"I've taken this guys happened to have some history." Said Neptune.

"Actually, we didn't know each other much. But from what I've got from Flynt is that his father used to own a dust shop. Until my father forced him to shut it down. Don't get me wrong, I felt bad for him. It's no wonder why I've been labeled a "rich brat." Weiss explained. Looking back, she wanted to become a huntress to reclaim the honor of her family name. Since her father tainted it with methods of faunus slavery and questionable business partnerships. Her sister have opened her eyes that wealth does not lead to glamour and happiness. It leads to the abuse of power. Leading Weiss to enroll to Beacon. "Don't let the past get to you. It's bad enough if you let that get you very emotional." Neptune advised. Weiss led him to a clothing store, since he needed a disguise to not grab any attention for a while. "Wait behind the building, I'll be right back." Weiss told him as she entered the store.

Neptune waited for Weiss to come out. It left him wondering about the nightmare where he saw Jupiter. Who could be in his 30s today. And the part were Argus, no the entire world is in ruins. Jupiter's last words before leaving the dream are that "she" is coming. Who does he mean by "she?" Is there an enemy that Jupiter and his team have been running from? Is this why they've been faking their deaths this whole time? What other secrets has he been holding all this time? How would his parents felt if they found out that he's alive but not as who he used to be?

Maybe if I can go back to sleep. I'll bet I can speak to Jupiter again. Thought Neptune. Why was he playing dead this whole time?

Weiss came out with a swag bag in her hand. "Sorry it took so long. Took a lot of lien to purchase this thing." She said. Neptune turned to her as she showed him a hoodie that matches his eyes. She thought he would like it. "Um...thanks?" He scratched the back of his head in awkwardness, although he is not one to be rude towards women. So he took the hoodie and puts it on. After this, he puts his goggles over his eyes to not be further recognized. Much to Weiss' joy that he's taking it. "We should be away from public for a while. Who knows who's been watching anyway?" Weiss suggested.

"I just need to see some people first." Neptune told Weiss.

"Are you sure, there's a chance we could've been caught at this rate." Weiss hesitates. But Neptune insisted that it's really important. So they took a ride to Mistral, where he moved after Jupiter had Neptune to unlock his semblance. Since he couldn't stand seeing water in Argus, he lived in the inlands of the Capital. Where there's a fascination of the art, fashions, and culture. But one known fact about the place is the secret black marketing, that is another thing they are fully aware of. "Neptune, where are we going?" He leads Weiss to a house near the mountain where the falls are behind it. She grew tired of climbing on the rocks to their destination. Especially when hiding in a hoodie.

18 years ago.

Neptune is in Argus beach standing next to his father, Saturn, as Jupiter walks into the water for his first dip. "Watch your brother, closely, Neptune. And you'll see what it means for survival." Saturn instructed wisely. Jupiter's lower body have descend into the depths. He then dove into it. Neptune at the moment grew worried that his brother would drown. But Saturn knew that he would survive.

"Dad, we need to get him out. He won't last long down there." Neptune tugged into his leg, begging. But he just stood there, looking at the sight seriously.

"No, we need to wait a but longer." Neptune then saw the spot where his brother dived in, burbling. And the water arose like the fountain. The water blew into the fog. It was steam. There are no longer waves spreading to shore. Then drops of water came down like rain. Causing Neptune to be covering his top head. As he hates getting wet. There was a person walking through the mist. Both father and son stare at it closely. Jupiter has emerged back to the surface. Neptune becomes amazed that his brother have unlocked his semblance. "How's that?" Jupiter smirked.

"That was so awesome, bro!" Neptune cheered throwing his hands up. Saturn nodded, a sign that he's proud of him. But he is also unwilling to put his children at risk as a means to unlock semblances. Then two girls showed up walking passed Neptune and Saturn towards Jupiter, their eyes widened and sparkled seeing Jupiter.

"That is so amazing, Jupiter!"

"Gosh, not only that you're handsome. But also very endurable, and strong!" In a mixture of screaming and giggling. Jupiter said nothing and walked back into the house. But looks back at the girls and winked at them. "Ahh!" They screamed excitedly.

Can Jupiter get any more cooler? Thought Neptune.

In the present.

Neptune knocks the door. Taking a deep breathe while Weiss stood behind him. "Are you okay?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, just need a bit of consultation." The door opened by a woman with lavender hair, a red causal sweater and a long skirt. Black heels. Reading glasses above his head. "Hey. How are you?" Her eyes became startled, she then grabbed an umbrella thinking he's an intruder to smack. "Ahh! Intruders!" Neptune then caught the umbrella before she can hit, yanking it off her hands. "Geez, Mom! It's only me!" Neptune exclaimed removing his goggles from his eyes. Something that his mother have recognized for a long time since her sons went to Haven. While leaving the hoodie on his hair. Lydia pulls Neptune into her arms, sighing in relief.

"My baby boy." She said. While Neptune hugs back. "Lydia! What's wrong?!" A man with blue hair, and eyes, just like Neptune's. Only older. Still he looks more like in his 30s or 40s, and somewhat healthy. "Son, is that you?" He asked. Neptune nodded. "Hey, Dad." His father Saturn then turned to Weiss. "Oh, who is this lovely young lady?" Saturn asked. Making Neptune nervous as they thought for what it looks like. But before Weiss could answer. Saturn offers them to get inside. "You know what, why don't you two come inside? We'll talk on the way." He then looks out left and right. It seems he was aware for what is going on when his son informed him that he'll be taking a mission when he returned to Argus. And closed the door. Afterwards he shuts down the curtains, and windows to cover and blind spots. All four are sitting on the loveseats.

"I supposed you already knew what was going on, right?" Neptune asked.

"Your mother and I saw the news. We never thought this would've happened." Said Saturn. "What happened while you're on Poseidon Island?"

"We were so worried when we heard you left your team. We thought you couldn't make it on your own." Said Lydia, holding Saturn's hand. "We tried calling you, but you wouldn't answer."

"Oh yeah, about that. Weiss and I have to destroy our scrolls to keep them from tracking us." Explained Neptune.

"What really happened-" Neptune was interrupted when Weiss gave them the full explanation.

"Forgive me for the interruption, Mr. and Mrs. Vasilias, my name is Weiss. What actually happened was that my sister is the general of the Atlas Militia and she assumed your son was responsible for the embargo sinking because of some DNA evidence. But he doesn't know any of this, and I don't believe he did it. You see, we ran into each other in a mission to search for the Thunderbolts. I apologize that this happened to him." Weiss explained. She expected her to at least ask her for why she didn't try to talk to her sister out of assumptions. But instead, Lydia gave her a genuine smile.

"No need to apologize, we understand." Said Lydia kindly. "Why don't you join us for dinner? You must be very tired coming all this way."

"Oh, let me help you." Weiss offered.

"No, no. I can handle it." Lydia insisted.

"Mom, why don't you and Weiss go ahead? I need some time alone with Dad." Neptune asked. They left for the kitchen to give them time to catch up with each other. Neptune sat next to him. They were in silence at first. Neptune looking at the window, which is covered in curtains. Saturn looks down to the floor. Seeing his offspring fully grown. Reminding him of his oldest son, whom Neptune thought his father is aware that he turned up somehow. Saturn looked at a family photo, there was him, Lydia, Jupiter, Ceres, another boy and a girl. And an infant Neptune. "You know, you almost look like your brother." He said seeing the resemblance between the brothers.

"Yeah. Did Ceres told you?" Neptune asked.

"She did. I saw the footage and the man looks like him." Saturn replied. "I don't know if I should be happy he's alive, or disappointed for the fact that he has joined the Thunderbolts?" Mixed feelings ran into his skin. Brushing his hair with the tip of his fingers. "Still, I don't know if it's him." Neptune looks down in shame, still thinking about the accident. Saturn could tell he's still can't get this off his head. "Still thinking about what happened that day?" He asked.

"Do you ever stop to think about never using semblances again?" Neptune asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, after what happened to Jupiter. I told myself to never use it again. It's a reminder of that day. Since then, I never took a dip." Neptune shrugged as he hugged himself tightly. Shaking remembering about the accident. "It was stupid of me to follow him. Back then, I couldn't control it." Saturn placed his hand on his left shoulder to calm him down.

"You were only young when this happened. You know it was an accident." Saturn assured him. But Neptune denied that it was an accident to begin with. "How could you be so forgiving after what happened today?!" He covered his eyes as tears once again hit him. Saturn never saw him cry in a long time, he always puts up a smile. To make things look like he has gotten over it. But nothing replaces a brother he looked up to so much. "I am nothing but a coward. Even if I'm a man...it doesn't make fears go away."

"There was nothing you could've done to save him. But as a father, it was my job to protect you and your siblings. But after the accident. I felt like it was my fault. Our semblances are part of the lineage. But I didn't think it wasn't fair to push all of you into the water. However, I don't condone for what your brother did to unlock your semblance. But I am proud that he only did it, because he believed in you. So did I." He hugged his son to assure him. Weiss eavesdropped to see them embracing. Looking back at what his mother told her.

"Ever since he was four, Jupiter only did it for his own survival." Said Lydia "The saddest thing is, even after attending Haven and Vacuo. He was still scared of the water. When I first met Saturn, he was also afraid of the water. It took us some time together to help him get over it." Lydia recapped her precious memories with her husband. "Jupiter has been very attentive to Neptune. We were working overnight, it wasn't fair to our children. But Jupiter insisted on babysitting them."

"That sounded like my sister. She would take care of me when no one else couldn't. She was like my only family when our parents and brother would always have a turmoil in the manor." Weiss adds.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. Want to know the secret? I have to put my father in jail for doing something dumb. Thanks to my mother." Weiss said.

"Well, let me know if you need a lawyer. Cause I am one." Lydia smiled. "I seriously have strong distaste of men who does worse. Which is why I studied law."

"You and me both."

"By the way, that new girlfriend of yours seems nice." Saturn said, making Neptune blushed.

"D-dad! It's not like that!" He denies. Hearing this made Weiss giggled. Seeing them together made Weiss realized that she wanted this since she was younger. Having good memories with her family had her father not treated her, Winter, her mother, or her brother badly. But now, she has to focus on the present and future. Being on Neptune's side to overcome the challenges waiting for them.

Later they're on a table enjoying dinner. Having Teriyaki and rice. Including sushi and salmon. "So is Ceres coming home, tonight?" Neptune asked.

"She's busy on her work for a while now. Ceres had been working in Vale to treat the wounded Huntsmen." Replied Lydia. "She said she'll probably be there long before we knew it."

"That's a bummer. Even us huntsmen have to endure all this." Neptune sighed, chopping down the food on his plate. Weiss was about to grab some ice tea, but Neptune pours the cup for her and placed it on her hands. But when he did, her hand was placed on his. Making her face warm. Same happened to Neptune. Then Lydia nudged at Weiss. "You know, my son is quite the gentleman. Just like his father." She winks.

"Dah! Alright, we seriously need to talk about this, Mom!" Neptune exclaimed rubbing his hair in embarrassment.

[memesiders]

Darksiders Ghost AU Part 1

This is my first time writing something since Strife so it's a little short. I'm also still working on third person but felt it'd fit this fic so we can also see the horsemen and how they interact. I hope you all like and pls comment so I know if I nees to improve or fix something ❤

Wake up...

Wake up!

WAKE UP!

Melinoe shot upright in bed, her chest heaving as she gulped for air. Her body was trembling, her forehead drenched in sweat. Bright pink hair clung to her face, wild strands caught between thin eyelashes. "Shit," she whispered, running a hand down her face. She threw the comforter off of her legs and sighed at the sight before her. Her pajama bottoms were soaked through, a wet spot on the sheets beneath her. She cursed again, rubbing her slightly throbbing temples.

She couldn't remember what her nightmare had been about, but they'd been happening more and more frequently. It had been a normal occurrence this past month, along with the bed wetting. It had started soon after she turned sixteen. Embarrassing, to say the least.

"You guys couldn't have woken me up before I ruined my sheets?" she asked into the darkness, hazel eyes flicking around the room. The silver moonlight peeked through the curtains just enough to illuminate part of the room where her desk sat against the wall. The small Yoda FunkoPop sitting next to the computer slid forward, teetering precariously on the edge. "Don't you dare!" The figurine toppled to the floor, hitting the dark purple carpet. "Dammit, Strife!" Humphing, Mel slid out of bed, walking over and picking up the fallen figure.

The ends of her hair moved to the front of her face, a light tug making her hiss. "Fury, if that's you, cut it out! All of you!"

"Meli?" a small, tired voice called from outside her room. "You okay?" She sighed, waving at the air around her, and made her way to the door. She cracked it open and peered out, lowering her gaze. Standing out there was Lawson, her little brother. His peanut brown hair was sticking up on one side, the other side squished against his round face.

"Hey," she started softly, giving him a small smile. "What are you doing up, huh?" He rubbed his small eyes and shrugged.

"I heard something in my room. Can I sleep in here?" he asked, innocent eyes looking back at her hopefully. She sighed quietly and nodded.

"I have to clean something up first though. Why don't you go get a glass of water?"

"Okay." Law shuffled down the hall, the stuffed cat he dragged around trailing behind him as he held it by the tail. She smiled to herself and got to work, stripping the bed of its soiled sheets. She pulled the absorbent pad off and wadded everything up, tossing it into the laundry basket. She made her way to the laundry room and dropped it off before heading to the bathroom, a clean pair of shorts in hand. The bathroom door was wide open when she reached it, the light on and shower running.

"Thanks, Death," she muttered, stripping down. The door closed softly behind her as she got in, quickly washing herself off. She stayed under the shower even when she was clean, her forehead pressed against the shower tile wall. These dreams- no, nightmares- were beginning to take a real toll on her. The last time she'd felt like this, she'd just come home after running away. I don't ever want to feel like that again, she thought grimly. A knock at the door made her lift her head.

"Meli?" Law asked from the hall. She huffed and rubbed her face, turning off the shower. She climbed out and dried herself off, getting dressed. She grabbed the wet shorts and used towel and walked out, the light flicking off behind her.

"You get your water?" she asked, stifling a yawn. The small boy nodded and she ruffled his hair. "Good. Go ahead and go to my room. I've gotta get new sheets." He nodded, hurrying over to Mel's room, cat swinging in his small hand. She made her way back to the laundry room and discarded the items, getting a new set of sheets out. Mom just washed these yesterday, she thought with a sigh.

Something cold brushed across the back of her shoulder, light bumps rising on her skin. "Don't try to console me," she said bitterly. "This is all your fault anyways." The cold sensation disappeared and she spun on her heels, making her way back to her room. Back in the laundry room, Death stood. He watched as Mel left, a frown embedded on his face.

"Why does she continue to blame us?" Fury asked, appearing beside him. The air in the room began to buzz as his sister continued. "All we ever do is protect the brat and this is how she behaves?"

"Enough," Death sighed.

"I never asked to be attached to some snot nose little-"

"Fury!" The room shook slightly as Death raised his voice, amber eyes cutting to his sister. "She's just a young human. Things are developing, hormones are changing- it's only natural she resent us." Fury scoffed, magenta hair swishing around slowly, like a cats angry tail. "Don't tell me you forgot what you were like at that age." Fury crossed her arms, her eyes rolling irritatedly.

"At her age I could make men kneel with a simple turn of my lips." Death hummed, forcing back and eye roll he so desperately wanted to do. She had always been confident, to the point where Death sometimes couldn't tell if she was exaggerating her stories or not. He did, however, know this one to be somewhat true.

"Come, let's go check on her."

"I'm sure she'll be fine without us for five minutes," Fury barked back, but followed Death anyways. They traveled down the hall, quickly passing the empty room of Lawson's and arriving at Melinoe's room. The girl was finishing up remaking her bed, the younger child spinning in the computer chair. Strife sat on the desk, manipulating the chair to spin without any effort of Lawson's part. He rested his chin on one of his hands, the other laying on his leg while his index finger made a circular pattern in the air.

"Strife, what are you doing?" Fury asked, giving her twin a confused glance.

"What? He likes it!" Strife exclaimed, humming happily as Lawson giggled away quietly. "At least someone appreciates me."

"Wait until he's older; then he'll treat you like sludge and curse you every day!" The air in the room swirled and Mel stiffened, spinning quickly. Her eyes hardened and she clenches her jaw, scanning the room.

"Fury, stop it," Mel hissed. The ghost shot forward, her face nearly inches away from the mortals.

"What will you do, human?" Fury screeched, her lips pulled back into a snarl. "You can't see us, you can't hear us; what can you do?"

"Fury!" Death boomed, a chill beginning to snuff out the heat that was brewing. "Stand down." Fury cut her eyes to Death, her tense body flinching slightly under his steely gaze.

"Yes, brother," she spat, slowly looking back to Mel. Fury reached out, her fingers pressing lightly against Mel's throat. "You're not worth the energy it takes to leave a mark." Fury stepped away, slowly dissolving into a pink mist that floated out of the room. Mel relaxed a little, swallowing hard, and turned to her little brother.

"Come on, Law," she said, fighting to keep her voice from shaking. "Time for bed." Lawson, who had stopped laughing and spinning at that point, nodded quickly and sprang off of the chair. He scurried across the room, jumping into bed, and hid himself under the blankets, the stuffed animal hugged close to his chest. Mel took a deep, shaky breath and hugged herself. "Thanks for the help, Death." Mel climbed into bed and pulled the sheets over her, wrapping her arms around Lawson as he snuggled close against her.

Death shook his head a little, the coldness slowly dissipating. Strife sighed from behind him, speaking up.

"Fury always ruins the fun."

[artificialqueens]

Tree House Kisses, Chapter 3 (Adorney) - Scorpio and Veronica

Summary: Adore has always loved Courtney differently than she should. As time goes on, Adore embraces who she is, but it’s hard to accept the love that she has for her best friend when Courtney doesn’t feel the same. Courtney hides from herself in a love story that everyone wants to hear: best friends that have known each other all their lives that fell in love. But did she pick the wrong best friend?

Or: Over the years, it keeps coming back to the tree house.

Chapter Summary: Just best friends doing what best friends do. Right?

TW: Internalized homophobia

Chapter 3: Mercy

“Spend the night at my place tonight,” Courtney begged, wrapping her hands around Adore’s arm until she relented.

Adore probably should have known that something was off as Courtney grew jittery when they neared her house. And then, the smell of spaghetti sauce and garlic bread coming from the kitchen was the second clue that Adore should have caught, because Courtney’s dad usually avoided garlic like the plague. But of course, she didn’t. It wasn’t until Courtney tugged Adore by the hand into the kitchen and there stood the older woman, her silver-blonde hair pulled into a neat bun, her bright green eyes gleaming, that everything clicked.

Courtney’s Grandma Muriel was in town for the next few days and although Courtney loved her grandmother dearly, sometimes she needed backup to survive her visits. Unlike Courtney’s own parents who were free spirits that wanted their children to think for themselves, Courtney’s grandmother was a bit of a control freak with a closed-minded outlook on life. And it didn’t help that Courtney’s sister Kim was visiting home to kiss the ring - with her perfect grades and her perfect life and her perfect boyfriend, Brandon, the surgical intern who’d just spent three months in Mexico giving vaccinations to poor children.

“Why are you holding her hand, Courtney? Adore’s a big girl,” were the first words to leave her grandmother’s lips.

Courtney smiled tightly and stood on her tiptoes to kiss Grandma Muriel’s cheek.

“Hi, Grandma,” she said, still clinging to Adore’s hand.

“Hello, dear. Sit down, we were just hearing about how Brandon and Kim met.”

Courtney and Adore exchanged a look.

“Uh, we have some homework,” Adore volunteered.

“Yeah, let us know when dinner’s ready!” Courtney said cheerfully, relieved, pulling Adore from the kitchen as fast as possible.

-

Courtney and Adore abandoned their homework rapidly in favor of a movie as they waited for dinner to finish. With Courtney’s favorite fluffy blanket, the pair cuddled up on the couch together, Courtney leaning against Adore. After a few minutes, Courtney moved to lay her head in Adore’s lap, snuggling up to her further. Adore had mindlessly brushed a bit of Courtney’s hair behind her ear and Courtney found herself chasing Adore’s hand as it disappeared.

“Play with my hair, Dory,” Courtney said softly as she grabbed Adore’s hand.

“Okay, do you want me to braid it?” Adore asked as she started to card her fingers through Courtney’s blonde locks. The only response Adore received was Courtney nuzzling against her and a soft sigh of contentment. Adore giggled, continuing to run her fingers through Courtney’s hair, now more focused on the girl than the movie.

“What’s so funny?” Courtney asked, turning her body to look up at Adore.

“Nothing, it’s just that, you remind me of a cat,” Adore smiled as she twirled Courtney’s hair around her fingers before going to lightly scratch her scalp.

“Am I a pretty cat?” Courtney giggled as she nuzzled into Adore, even more feline-like than before.

“The prettiest,” Adore complimented.

An, “Ahem,” startled Adore and she looked up with wide eyes to find Courtney’s grandmother standing in the doorway, arms crossed. Adore removed her hands from Courtney’s hair and tried to nudge the girl in a sign her for to rise up, but Courtney stayed put. Courtney’s grandmother crossed the room, narrowed eyes on the girls making Adore anxious.

“The food will be ready soon,” she informed them before making her way through the living room to the dining room with a large bowl of salad.

“Okay,” Courtney responded and the woman exited the room without another word.

Courtney relaxed back into Adore’s lap and looked up expectantly at her.

“Keep playing with my hair,” she whined, “it felt good.”

Adore only shook her head, not really understanding why Grandma Muriel’s stare made her feel like she had done something wrong.

“No, let’s just watch the movie until it’s time to eat,” Adore tried to persuade her, but Courtney seemed determined for things to go her way. She crossed her arms and pouted, letting out huffs of disapproval until Adore finally gave in.

“Courtney!” Kim’s voice rang out sharply, and Adore nearly jumped out of her skin. “Get off your ass and help set the table. Lazy little brat.”

“Ughh,” Courtney groaned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

“I’ll help too,” Adore offered, the hammering in her chest slowing a bit.

-

“Come on, Dory, just taste it,” Courtney giggled, holding a forkful of faux meatball to Adore’s lips, which were clamped shut.

Adore shook her head vehemently. “No way. I’m not eating that vegan stuff.”

“It’s really good, I promise! It’s not like tofu. Brandon, you’re a carnivore; tell her it’s good.”

“Yeah, it’s good, Adore. I mean, it’s not as good as meat, but it’s not bad,” Brandon offered. When Kim hit him on the shoulder, he added, “No offense.”

Karen laughed. “None taken,” she said, patting his hand.

“I’ll stick to the spaghetti,” Adore said dryily.

Courtney nuzzled her neck, wheedling some more, “But how will you get your protein, Dory?”

Adore pushed her away, feeling Grandma’s steely eyes boring into them. “Knock it off,” she whispered.

“Courtney, stop harassing your friend, she’s trying to eat,” Grandma Muriel said.

Courtney sighed, rolling her eyes, then grinning mischievously and giving Adore a big wet kiss on the cheek before sliding back over to her plate.

“Adore, are you spending the night?” asked Peter.

“Um, yeah, I think so. If that’s okay.”

“Of course, love, you’re always welcome here,” said Karen.

Grandma raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t see a sleeping bag,” she commented to no one in particular.

“I have a double bed,” Courtney said, picking the olives out of her salad and shoving the last forkful of lettuce into her mouth.

“Wait, how come you get to share a bed but I have to sleep on the couch?” Brandon asked teasingly.

“Cause you’re a boy,” Courtney said, sticking her tongue out at him.

“Doesn’t seem fair,” he mused.

Courtney held out a peace sign in his face and affected a British accent, saying, “Girl power,” and tossing her hair.

“Stop flirting with my boyfriend, Courtney.”

Courtney’s head whirled around to look at Kim. “Gross!” she exclaimed, horrified, then added, “No offense,” and batted her lashes.

Adore snorted, nearly spitting out the all-natural clear sparkling liquid that Karen claimed was soda. “And also, the Spice Girls? Were never cool.”

“You take that back, Adore Delano!” Courtney lunged across the bench, pretending to pull Adore’s hair, while the brunette shrieked and giggled.

“Alright, alright, everyone please calm down,” said Peter.

Karen added, “Courtney, if you guys are gonna act like maniacs, you should probably be excused from the table.”

“Okay great thanks goodnight,” Courtney said quickly, grabbing Adore by the wrist and hightailing it out of the dining room.

Grandma watched them go, Courtney jumping onto Adore’s back as they approached the stairs and disappeared from sight. She made a disapproving noise.

“For god’s sake, mother, would you stop?”

“Stop what?”

“Those noises. They’re just kids. I know what you’re implying. Leave it alone,” Karen said.

“You do have a double standard, mom,” Kim said. “I mean, if I acted that way with a boy when I was 15, you’d have locked me in my room, in a chastity belt.”

“First of all, you did act that way with boys, and no one locked you anywhere. Second, nothing I say or do is going to have any effect on her sexuality but it sure as hell could have an effect on her self-esteem, so I’m not going to judge her or make her feel self-conscious. And third, you all need to relax. It’s not like Adore’s up there getting her pregnant.”

“Wow,” Brandon said, “Why didn’t you tell me your mom was so fucking cool?”

Karen leaned over and patted him on the arm, explaining, “Jealousy, my dear.”

Kim scoffed, and Brandon looked over at her, eyes sparkling with glee. “You sound like your grandma.”

Karen burst out laughing, pouring some more wine in Brandon’s glass.

Peter raised an eyebrow at Kim, muttering under his breath to his daughter. “Courtney’s not the one you need to watch. Your mother’s the flirt in this house.” He grinned affectionately at his beautiful wife.

Kim shook her head. “Jesus.”

-

Adore was in agony. For months, she’d been having twice a week “tutoring” with Violet, which was half tutoring and half messing around. (Just enough tutoring so that her grades were not suspicious and they could keep hooking up, if Adore was honest with herself.) And the thing was, Adore really liked Violet. She was funny and cool and didn’t give a shit what anyone thought of her, but the truth was, it was mostly a physical thing. Yes, she was undeniably beautiful. And seemed to be quite experienced in certain areas, which Adore was truly, truly, truly grateful for. But Adore would never love Violet. She knew that.

(Not that Violet seemed to care, so at least she didn’t have to feel guilty about it.)

The reason, of course, that Adore could never love Violet, was that her every waking moment was consumed with thoughts of her best friend. Her beautiful, vivacious, problematic best friend, who of course had no idea, and who was currently wrapped around her, fingers laced with hers, casually chatting about cheerleading practice and the Spring musical. 

“You should audition too, you have the best voice! Roy said that Ms. Maguire is really cool and will totally give leads to freshman if they impress her. I mean not that we’ll get leads necessarily and it’ll be fun either way but I think we should go in with the intention of totally kicking ass and–oh my god! Adore!”

“Yeah?”

Courtney raised herself up onto her elbow, looking into Adore’s eyes. “Can you believe Kim thought I was flirting with Brandon? How disgusting was that?! He’s like…almost thirty years old. Plus he looks like the guys on the cover of Danielle Steele novels.”

Adore giggled. “He totally does.”

“So not my type.”

“So…what is your type?” Adore asked softly, painfully aware of her hands on Courtney’s waist, palms getting sweaty.

Courtney paused, considering the question, a hand tucked under her chin.

“I don’t know,” Courtney frowned.

“Well, what do you like…light hair, dark hair?” Adore egged on, almost too invested in what her answer would be.

“Yeah, dark hair, nice eyes, full lips…” Courtney trailed off.

Unable to help herself, Adore volunteered, “Like…Roy?” with a teasing lilt to her voice, but slightly nervous about the response.

Courtney grinned.

“Roy is cute. I like his dimples. But…he’s such a know-it-all. I can’t really imagine kissing him…”

Adore seized this opportunity, affecting a deep robotic voice, saying, “Courtney, the angle of the lips really needs to be 90 degrees for optimal kissing conditions. You’re clearly doing it wrong.”

Courtney broke out into peals of laughter, resting a head on Adore’s shoulder, hugging her around the waist.

“Oh my god, or sex …”

“The velocity of penetration is best achieved through rapid thrusting,” Adore kept going in her robotic “Roy” voice, thrilled by the response she was getting, feeling only slightly guilty at throwing her biggest competition under the bus. “Courtney, you’re going to have to work on your flexibility or I’m afraid I’ll be moving onto a newer model.”

Courtney laughed and laughed, gasping for air.

“Stop, oh my god,” she exclaimed breathlessly, gripping the fabric of Adore’s pajama top.

“You guys could have a bunch of little blonde, dimpled, robot babies,” Adore continued, “and he’d calculate their feeding and pooping schedule on a spreadsheet.”

Courtney smiled dreamily.

“Our babies would be pretty cute…”

Uh oh. Adore needed to think fast.

“I bet his dick doubles as a laser pointer.”

That was the one. Courtney lost it, shrieking with hysterical laughter, and then biting on Adore’s shoulder to not wake the rest of the house. Her leg tightened around Adore’s, bare skin slightly sweaty under the mountain of comforters.

Adore tried to shift away, change positions so that her mind would stop reeling, stop imagining what would happen if she just turned her head, pressed their lips together. There was a part of her that thought maybe Courtney would welcome it. But the bigger part, the chicken shit part, knew she’d never do it. Knew she’d always be the one bracing herself while her bestie rubbed against her and cuddled her and talked about boys. She felt like screaming but settled for clearing her dry, itchy throat.

“Court?”

“Yeah?” The blonde still had a residual case of the giggles.

“Can we…um…I’m just…I just got really tired…can we go to sleep?”

“Sure.” Courtney kissed Adore’s forehead and let her roll over onto her side, spooning her from behind. She wrapped her arms around Adore’s waist, hugging her tightly, face buried in her thick hair.

Adore could felt a cheek resting on her back. She swallowed hard, wishing away the thoughts that raced through her mind. Was this always how it had been with them? It had just been since her adventures with Violet that things had started getting so uncomfortable for Adore, although she remembered that there were other times, one in particular that suddenly popped into her head…but that was over two years ago…

Adore was laying on her sleeping bag, head resting on one of the beanbag chairs, scrawling lazily on a sketch pad and sucking on the end of a popsicle, when Courtney burst through the trapdoor of the tree house like a bat out of hell, tumbling inside, a bundle of gangly limbs and sharp edges. Courtney at twelve was all legs and arms and big green eyes, blonde hair constantly in her face.

“Oh. My. God,” she began, “You will never believe what just happened!”

“Aliens again?”

“No! Oh my god, Adore, I literally…I literally just walked in on my parents having sex.”

Adore burst out laughing.

“It’s not funny! I’m scarred for life!”

“I mean, maybe they weren’t having sex…like, are you sure?”

Courtney smiled patronizingly.

“Ohhh, I see. Yeah, you’re picturing some nice little scene where they’re under the covers kissing. No. That’s not what this was. So I’m looking for my sleeping bag and I go to my mom’s room to ask if she put it away with the camping stuff, and I open the door, and first of all, there are no covers. They are both buck ass naked and my dad is laying on the bed, and mom is…” at this point, Courtney swung a leg over and straddled Adore to illustrate her point, “…sitting on top of him, tits out, just like…” Courtney started to thrust her hips, moaning, imitating her mother.

Adore’s pulse quickened. A minute ago she was laughing but now it wasn’t quite so funny anymore. The seam of Courtney’s jean shorts was rubbing against her and she started to feel things that she was pretty sure she shouldn’t be feeling, not with her best friend. She wondered if she should tell her to stop.

Courtney leaned forward, lips brushing against Adore’s ear, and whispered, “And my dad was holding her like this…” she moved Adore’s hands to her ass, continuing to grind against her, getting into the performance of it all, blissfully unaware of Adore biting on her lip so hard she tasted blood.

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, it was all over, Courtney giggling and sliding off to the side, with an awkward, “Ummm…aaanywayyyyy…”

Adore cleared her throat, as the raging hormones inside her were replaced by first confusion, and then calm, as things settled back into their typical dynamic - Courtney playing with her hair, cuddling against her, bare leg thrown over hers. Just an epic mindfuck, but nothing Adore would give up if you offered her a billion dollars.

“So…uh…did they see you there?”

“Who?”

“Your parents.”

“Oh! Oh my god!” Courtney remembered how this scene began and started laughing. “Yeah, that was the worst part, actually. My mom looked up at me in the doorway and gave me this look, like…like I was there watching on purpose, like I wanted to see them like that.”

Courtney imitated her mother’s knowing look perfectly, one eyebrow raised. Adore was, frankly, as unconvinced as Karen that Courtney wasn’t there on purpose, but she held her tongue.

“And then she goes, ‘Courtney, can you please close the door? We’re in the middle of something.’ And then just goes right back to fucking him. My dad hadn’t stopped at all.”

Adore laughs again, shaking her head. “I would have died. Thank god Bonnie doesn’t date.”

“I mean, there is a bit of silver lining, though, I guess.”

“What’s that?”

“My mom looked really good with her tits out. So that gives me hope for the future.” Courtney smiled brightly.

Adore dissolved into giggles again. “You do have the hottest mom in the neighborhood,” she agreed.

“And you know, with my family, it could have been much more embarrassing. Did I tell you about last week when Kimmy came home from college and started asking me about masturbation at the dinner table?”

“What?!”

“Oh yeah. And mom’s just like ‘does anyone want more vegetables?’”

Adore shook her head. “Your family is so weird.”

“I know.” Courtney ran her fingers through Adore’s hair. “Hey, Dory?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever think about…like, what it’s like to have sex?”

“Um…I don't…” Adore was suddenly hyper-aware of Courtney’s leg pressed against hers, the smell of her apple shampoo. “I guess?”

“It seems kind of…violent. Don’t you think? Some boy just ramming his dick inside you? Like being stabbed.”

Adore swallowed. “Yeah, I mean, but it doesn’t have to be like that.” She trailed a hand down Courtney’s shoulders.

“I know, I know. If you love him and all. But still.”

Adore turned her face to look at her best friend, taking in her earnest green eyes. She laced their fingers together.

“Right. If you love him.”

“Dory?”

The sound of Courtney’s soft voice snapped Adore back into the present. “Yes?”

“I love you.” A tender kiss was pressed to the back of her neck.

“I love you too, Court.” Adore said, willing the tears not to fall from her eyes.

[lovely-sanie]

𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚌𝚢𝚘𝚗 𝚙𝚝. 𝟸

⎬𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: NCT Hybrid!AU

⎬𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐: ??? x OC

⎬𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 3,570

⎬𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: panic attack

⎬𝚊/𝚗: Just a note: I deal with anxiety and I have frequent minor anxiety attacks. I have never been through a panic attack, but my best friend deals with them. This portrayal is what I remember from talking her through panic attacks.

➤ 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟷

➤ 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝

Eunmi wakes up the next morning to banging, immediately setting her on edge. The unfamiliar surroundings add to her anxiety and confusion. The unfamiliar scents, the unfamiliar clothes, the unfamiliar noises, all of it smashes together in her head and whips around so fast that she can’t think straight.

Her breaths come fast and hard and her heart feels like it’s beating out of her chest. Her vision begins to blur and darken. Strangled whines begin to leave her throat at an increasing volume. 

Distantly, she can hear someone shouting away, but it sounded far away and distorted.

Suddenly, Ten is in front of her. His mouth is moving like he’s talking to her but she can understand. He’s gone and then back again a moment later. He taps her gently on the wrist then exaggerates breathing in deeply and then back out.

Eunmi watches him a few times before slowly matching her own breathing to his. It takes a few tries, but soon, she’s breathing deeply and normally. She’s still trembling, but she can hear and see perfectly. 

Ten continues to breathe with her and eventually, she’s able to stop trembling. 

“You back with us?” Ten asks, voice almost a whisper.

Eunmi nods, wiping at her cheeks where tears had trickled down. “I’m sorry.”

He shakes his head. “No. Don’t be sorry. Panic attacks are a natural response in your situation. A room with no familiar scents and banging is enough to set most hybrids on edge, let alone hybrids with our type of history.”

Nodding, Eunmi hugs her knees to her chest.

“About the banging. Taeyong and I tend to get a bit carried away when we cook breakfast together.” Ten looks sheepish. “We might of forgot that you were in the apartment. So I apologize. I feel like your panic was our fault.”

Eunmi shakes her head. “It would have happened no matter what. I don’t do well on my own. I usually have to sleep with my face buried in my pack leader’s fur. If I can’t smell myself or someone I trust, I freak out.”

“Oh. Well. Still. I’m sorry.”

There’s a soft knock on the door before Taeyong peeks in, his pink hair clumped and ruffled as if he’d been running his fingers through it and clutching it. Eunmi felt bad that he was that worried about her, especially since he did nothing wrong.

“Hey. Just wanted to come see if Eunmi was okay.”

Eunmi gives him a wan smile. “I’m as okay as I can be.”

“Okay. That’s okay. You’ve been through a lot.” Taeyong’s smile towards her is a lot brighter than her own. “I just finished breakfast so if you’re hungry, you can come get some or I can bring you a plate.”

Eunmi glances at Ten and says, “I’ll come out and eat. Thank you.”

Nodding, Taeyong closes the door. 

Ten stands, holding out a hand. “Let’s go eat.”

And so was the start of a new life for Eunmi. Days turned into a week. With each day that passed, Eunmi got more used to her new surroundings.

Things weren’t easy, though. Eunmi was constantly waiting for Taeyong to stop pretending and finally act like the humans she was used to. Ten didn’t seem to have a bit of fear in him towards the human, but that meant nothing. He could easily be suffering from Stockhold syndrome or whatever it was called. 

Dr. Qian had visited a few times to check up on her and to make sure her wounds were healing well. She still didn’t trust the doctor, but he seemed nice enough. Plus, the smell of content hybrids on him put her at ease.

Eunmi is knocked out of her reverie by a plate of sashimi being placed in front of her on the dining table. Her mouth begins watering immediately. Besides fried chicken, sashimi had quickly become one of her favorite foods. The raw fish appealed to her base cat instincts.

Looking up, she smiles brightly at Ten. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” he says, sitting across from her with his own plate. “Oh. Heads up. A friend of ours is coming over with his hybrids. The hybrids can be a bit bratty, but they’re well-behaved. Most days.”

Eunmi freezes at his words. “Well-behaved?”

Ten looks up from his food. “Oh. Not like beaten type or anything. I just mean that they’re not going to pee on the carpet. It was a joke. I’m sorry.”

Shaking her head, Eunmi plops a piece of sashimi into her mouth. After chewing and swallowing it, she says, “Not your fault. I’m just being too sensitive.”

“No, you’re not, Mi. It’s okay to be concerned.”

“Still. I can’t seem to see past my experiences.”

“It’s been a week, Eunmi. Things like what you went through don’t just up and disappear just because you’ve been removed from the situation.”

“But-”

“No. You are allowed to not be okay.”

“If you’re sure.”

“Yes. I am.” He gets up and comes around the table, kneeling next to her chair. “It took me years to come to that conclusion. I wasn’t immediately okay when Taeyong took me in off the street. I hated him at first. Felt exactly as you do right now. It took him so long to earn my trust and even longer for me to stop hating humans.”

“I just feel like I’m overreacting. That my experiences as a kitten shouldn’t matter because they were so long ago.”

“Those aren’t the only bad experiences that you’ve had with humans though, are they?”

Eunmi shakes her head. “The entire time I was a stray, humans would look upon me disdainfully before dialing the number for the catchers. You and Taeyong and Dr. Qian are the only ones that ever lifted a finger to help me.”

“Humanity can be so cruel. In the same breath that they preach to help those that need help, they scorn the people that truly need help.”

A chiming sound echoes through the apartment before a voice yells into the camera doorbell thing that Ten had briefly shown her the other day. 

“Taeyong-hyung! Open the door!”

Ten rolls his eyes and stands. “That would be our guests. You can go to your room if you don’t want to meet them right now.”

“Um.” She glances at the front door. “I think I’ll be okay.”

“If Donghyuk is a brat, just tell him to shut up. We all do.”

“Okay.”

He walks over to the door and takes a deep breath before opening it up. Immediately, two people slam into him. The three of them tumble to the floor and Eunmi hears a groan from Ten.

As Ten pushes the two hybrids off of him, Eunmi hears a chuckle from the doorway.

“You two are gonna break him if you’re not careful,” a voice from the doorway says.

“But we haven’t seen him in a week and a half!” The orange and brown-haired cat hybrid whines. “He deserves to be broken.”

“If you break him, you won’t ever be able to see him.”

There’s a huff from the orange and brown-haired cat hybrid before both he and the blonde-haired dog hybrid are climbing off of Ten.

“Thank you, you little-”

“Ten.” The warning comes from Taeyong, who had just entered the room from somewhere upstairs. He had helped Ten fix the sashimi then disappeared, presumably to change out of his pajamas.

“No cursing. Yeah, yeah, I know.”

The three guests take their shoes off then walk out of the entryway and greet Taeyong. 

Ten comes over and stands beside Eunmi who nervously stands and pats down the pajamas she’s wearing that were borrowed from Ten.

The dog hybrid notices her first, scrunching his nose a bit before waving. It’s then that the cat hybrid notices her and stares her down. His expression is blank, so she can’t tell what the stare means but she hopes it’s nothing bad. She didn’t want to piss off this hybrid before she even met him.

“Who are you?” He questions.

“Donghyuk, behave,” the tall, extremely tall, human guest says. “She’s Taeyong and Ten’s guest.”

“Why wasn’t I made aware of this guest?”

Ten rolls his eyes. “We told you yesterday on the phone, Hyuk. Not our fault you didn’t listen.”

“I listened. I was also high on catnip.”

Johnny groans. “You’re still in trouble for that.”

“I’m just saying, you shouldn’t have left it out if you didn’t want me to get into it.”

“You are more than old enough to not touch something just because it’s on the counter.”

“I’m a cat. You left catnip out, a substance to which I am drawn. That was your stupidity.”

“You say that about the glasses you break, too.”

“Duh.”

“If you don’t stop, you’re not getting any treats for the next week.”

Donghyuk’s eyes widen. “But chicken!”

The human shrugs. “Behave and we’ll see. Now greet Taeyong and Ten’s guest.”

Donghyuk turns to Eunmi, pouting. “Hi, Taeyong-hyung and Ten-hyung’s guest. I’m Donghyuk.”

“I’m Jisung,” the dog hybrid says. “I’m the youngest of all of our friends.”

Eunmi smiles. “You’re both adorable. I’m Eunmi.”

Donghyuk looks offended. “Who are you calling adorable, tiny? I bet I’m older than you. What year are you?”

“199...8? I think so. I’m not exactly sure.”

He begins pouting again. “You’re so tiny but you’re older than me. That’s not fair.”

“Most people are older than you, Hyuk,” Ten says. “You’re a baby.”

“I am not!”

“You are.”

“Are not.”

“Are.”

“Are not.”

“Children!”

Eunmi flinches at the human’s loud voice.

“Sorry, Eunmi,” he says immediately after, smiling. “Sometimes I have to be loud to get them to listen. I’m Johnny. I’m, unfortunately, Jisung and Donghyuk’s owner.”

“Unfor-” Donghyuk scoffs. “Excuse you, I am a blessing to your dull life.”

Johnny rolls his eyes. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Eunmi tiptoes so she’s closer to Ten’s ear. Whispering, she asks, “He’s okay to this right? Like he’s not going to get hurt after they leave?”

Ten shakes his head. “Hyuk does this all the time. It’s kind of his gig to be a brat.”

Frowning, Eunmi grabs onto the sleeve of Ten’s long sleeve shirt. “That doesn’t mean he doesn’t get punished for it.”

“I promise you that Johnny doesn’t lay a hand on Hyuk. Johnny is too soft for that. Plus, he’s from America. The laws over there regarding hybrids are completely different.”

Nodding, Eunmi still watches warily as Donghyuk attacks Johnny with punches that look like they’re barely even touching the older human.

“Hi.”

Eunmi jumps at the voice beside her and looks over. “Hi, Jisung.”

“Can I call you noona?”

“Um. Sure?”

“Yay!” He thrusts his fists high in the air. “I have a noona!”

“I talked to her first!” Donghyuk whines from his spot upside down in Johnny’s arms. 

Eunmi’s brows furrow. “How?”

Johnny chuckles. “He was being a brat, I threatened to turn him upside down if he didn’t stop, he didn’t stop, I turned him upside down.”

“Can you let me go, please?” Donghyuk asks. “I’m getting light-headed.”

In a fluidity that didn’t seem human, Johnny flips Donghyuk right-side-up and sets him softly on his feet.

“You okay?” He asks, checking the cat over.

Donghyuk huffs. “I’m fine.”

Eunmi walks over and sits on the couch and is immediately joined by Donghyuk.

“So, what’s your opinion on water?”

Chuckling, Eunmi says, “I like water because it keeps me clean.”

“But your ears get wet and your tail gets wet and that takes forever to dry.”

“If you do it the right way, then it won’t be wet for too long. Ten used a hairdryer to help dry my tail and it was super soft and fluffy afterward.”

Donghyuk’s face scrunches up. “But hairdryers are loud and hurt my ears.”

“You can get your tail pretty dry with a towel, too.”

“We do that,” Johnny says as he leans on the back of the couch. “We even got microfiber towels because he didn’t like how much static there was with regular towels.”

Ten sits on the arm of the couch. “Yup. Don’t let him sell you a sob story. He’s as pampered as they come.”

Donghyuk huffs. “Like you aren’t.”

“I am and I fully admit that I am.”

As Ten and Donghyuk begin bickering over… something, Eunmi’s lap is occupied by a half-grown Jindo dog. It yips at her before settling in a ball in her lap.

“Jisung-ah!” Johnny scolds. “Did you even ask if she was okay with that?”

Eunmi shrugs. “I’m fine. My pack and I did this sort of stuff all the time. Well, not our leader. He was too big to fit in any of our laps. His head alone took up our entire lap.”

Donghyuk gasps. “What type of hybrid was he?”

Eunmi hesitates for a moment, deciding if that information was something she was ready to divulge. Deciding that it’s fine, she says, “He’s a wolf hybrid. Eurasian, I believe is what he said. He came over here from Australia. Well, his owners brought him over and then abandoned him.”

Ten winces. “To become stray that way is hard. At least when a hybrid runs away, it’s their choice. To just be dropped is not a hybrid’s choice and it’s much more difficult to adjust to.”

Eunmi nods. “He was lost for the longest time. He kept trying to talk to humans to find his owners but that didn’t go so well.” 

“I would apologize for humans not being nice but I’m not going to apologize for others' actions when I know they aren’t sorry,” Johnny says.

The rest of the group’s visit consisted of Donghyuk in cat form chasing Jisung who was still in his dog form. Ten and Eunmi ended up cuddled together on the end of the couch giggling at the two’s behavior while the two humans sat at the dining table and talked.

It must have been hours later when Johnny comes to stand beside the couch.

“Hyuk-ah, Sungie, time to go.”

The two young hybrids, who had finally settled for a moment, shift back to human form and immediately begin protesting.

Jisung pouts. “Hyung! Do we have to? Can’t we stay longer? Please?”

“I didn’t even get to play with Eunmi-noona!” Donghyuk whines.

Taeyong chuckles, leaning against the back of the couch. “She’ll be here for a while. You can come back to another time.”

Donghyuk looks at Eunmi. “Promise? I wanna play hide and attack.”

Eunmi’s brows scrunch together as she sits up. “Hide and attack?”

Donghyuk’s face brightens. “It’s a game that a lot of us kittens and cats play! It’s where one cat stays out in the open and the rest hide and like the cat who’s not hiding walks around and the cats that are hiding try to attack them without being attacked. It usually dissolves into a giant play fight but it’s so much fun!”

“Then next time you come over, we’ll play,” Eunmi promises.

Donghyuk smiles. “Okay.”

After that, he’s much more agreeable, putting his shoes on without a fight. 

Johnny turns to her, smiling. “We might have to put you in charge of him more often. It’s usually a ten-minute argument to get him to leave.”

Eunmi giggles. “Glad I could be of service.”

Jisung whines as Johnny drags him towards the door, but doesn’t actually fight the dragging all that much.

“It was nice meeting you Eunmi,” Johnny says as he opens the apartment door.

“It was nice meeting you too.”

“I hope that Taeyong, Kun and I have at least given you a glimpse of what the good part of humanity looks like.”

The smile that appears on Eunmi’s face is a sad one. “You have. It’ll take more than a glimpse to make me stay, though.”

He nods. “I hope you do decide to stay. Hyuk-ah and Sungie really like you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

With a nod, he waves to the three in the apartment and herds his hybrids out the door.

Another week passes by without Eunmi realizing it. Out on the streets, she was aware of every day that passed because she usually spent it searching for some scrap of food that would allow her to live on for just one more day or for a place to rest that was protected from the elements and other hybrids.

In the apartment, though, she was well-fed, had access to a shower, had a comfortable place to sleep, and had no worries. It felt nice to just relax and not worry about how she was going to live until the next day. The only thing she had to worry about was herself and what she wanted to eat next or how long she wanted to sleep or what she wanted to do with her free time.

She spent a lot of her free time watching Ten and Taeyong. The relationship between the two amazed her. They were close, as close as best friends, and Taeyong treated Ten like a human, like a person that had every right he did. It was different from everything Eunmi had ever seen. The affection exchanged daily left a weird feeling in Eunmi. The only affection she had ever received from a human was the soft touches of Dr. Qian and the kind words from Taeyong. 

Sometimes, as she watched them, she would think about what it felt like to be truly loved, to be truly cared for by an owner. 

Sometimes, she would think about what her life would be like if Taeyong adopted her. 

Sometimes, she would think of fantasies that would never exist.

Thinking about the affection between the hybrid and his owner brings a question to mind that she’s had for a while. 

One day, she thinks it’s Saturday or maybe Sunday, she plops down on the couch beside Ten who is writing, or drawing, to get an answer.

“Ten?” 

“Yeah?”

“What do head scratches from a human feel like?”

Ten looks at her and shrugs. “No different from normal head scratches. Why?”

“My friend was telling me that human head scratches don’t feel as good. He said that they don’t know the right spots.”

“That’s true. But they can be taught. I had to teach Taeyong, but he knows now.”

“But don’t they scratch too hard or soft?”

“Sometimes. Some people just don’t give good head scratches but it’s not because they’re human. They just suck at it.”

Eunmi nods. “Okay.”

Ten sets his notebook down and looks at her. “Do you want head scratches?”

Humming, Eunmi moves over to him easily. “Please.”

He chuckles. “I know all the best spots.”

“Good.”

The next day finds Eunmi laying on the couch with her head on Taeyong’s thigh while he does work on his tablet. He mentioned that it was a script he needed to look over or a schedule or something. She wasn’t really paying attention to his words when she came to lay on him.

“Oppa?”

Taeyong looks down at her in surprise. “Uh. Yeah?”

Eunmi smiles. “Can you give me head scratches?”

There’s a moment of stillness before Taeyong’s face breaks into a smile. “Sure.”

The moment his hand touches her head, Eunmi is in heaven. He immediately finds the right spots and scratches with just the right amount of pressure. A purr rumbles through her and her eyes drift closed, basking in the amazing feeling.

“I’m gonna expect you to call me oppa from now on,” he says eventually.

“I’m okay with that,” Eunmi responds without opening her eyes.

“Hey! No fair!”

Ten’s voice prompts Eunmi to open her eyes, but only a bit. Just enough to see the hybrid in the entryway, pouting.

“I want head scratches, too.”

Taeyong chuckles. “I only have one hand available.”

Ten walks over and grabs the tablet Taeyong was working on and sets it on the coffee table before plopping in his lap. His knee hits the top of Eunmi’s head and she whines.

“Ten! Careful,” Taeyong scolds, running his hand over Eunmi’s head, soothing the bump.

“Sorry, MiMi. I just want cuddles.”

Eunmi whines again and Ten chuckles. His hand finds the right spot just behind her left cat ear. Her whines dissolve back into purrs immediately.

“I think Eunmi is just as spoiled as I am,” Ten comments.

Looking up, Eunmi huffs. “If anything, it’s your fault. I learned everything about being an owned hybrid from you.”

“And I am a great teacher.”

Taeyong laughs. “You taught her to be spoiled. I would say that’s bad teaching.”

“Depends on who you ask. I say being spoiled is great.”

“For you. Me? Not so much.”

“Oh, come on. You can’t tell me that you don’t enjoy spoiling us.”

Taeyong rolls his eyes. “In cuddles and love? Yes. In material items? Debatable.”

“Cuddles and love are enough for me,” Eunmi says with a smile. “If they’re not enough for Ten, I’ll take all his.”

Taeyong chuckles while Ten huffs.

“I will gladly accept cuddles and love. Things like clothes and jewelry are just a plus.”

Taeyong hums. “Good to know.”

Eunmi settles against Taeyong’s thigh once more, letting her eyes slipped closed. 

As she listens to Taeyong and Ten talk, she begins to think that maybe, just maybe, that fantasy of hers could become real.

A/N: Just a few things!

One - Below is what I imagine Taeyong and Ten’s apartment to look like. I realize that it’s big for an apartment, but it’s supposed to be sort of a luxury type apartment. 

Two - Here are some visuals for the different breeds of the hybrids we’ve met so far in order of appearance:

Eunmi, Blue Point Ragdoll

Chan, Eurasian wolf

Minho, Bombay cat

Felix, Australian Mist

Jeongin, Fennec fox

Ten, Seal Point Thai (aka Siamese)

Donghyuk, Ticked Orange Long Hair Tabby

Jisung, Jindo dog

[jinxthequeergirl]

After you're gone

Ben hargeeves x reader

Summary: as one of the other 43 kids born that day you where unaware of your abilitys until they took the thing you loved the most ruining your life until you run into a strange group

Warning: swearing

~~~~~

17 years ago:

You slammed the bag on to the table.

"That enough?" the man behind the counter looked up at you and guestured for you to spill it's contents.

You huffed grabbing the bottom of the bag and yanking it to let everything fall on to the table. He leaned forward examining everything.

"Looks like you're a few bucks short kid."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"I mean what I said!"

You narrowed your eyes at him and began to scoop everything into the bag again. "Hold up!" he placed a hand over top of your's stopping you. You froze staring at his hand before yanking it free.

"I'll cut you in on a deal."

"Oh Yea?" you fixed the gloves on your hands and looked at him annoyed. "Sure! You need it and I'm a good guy kid so listen up!" he kicked his legs back up onto the table. "I heard a few guys who owe me money are robbing a bank in town...I feel it's safe to say they aren't bringing me that money....so maybe.."

You huffed. "You have all these men all these residents struggling to make a living yet you send a 13 year old girl to do your dirty work!"

He smirked and shrugged. "We don't call you Robin Hood for nothing."

"You don't call me that." you turned to walk out as he called after you. "Tomorrow afternoon twelve sharp my dear thief!"

You climbed up the stairs to your small room of an apartment.

It wasn't always like this. You thought back to it as you jumped over the two missing steps in the stair.

You where Ten. No.

Nine. You where nine when your mom died and left you to this dump.

"Hey Lindsay." You knelt down and pet the cat outside your door and looked at the older girl. "What the boss say short stack?"

She got you in to this place she was only six years older than you at this point but with the way she acted you would have guessed she was a 60 year old woman trapped in her body.

"I was a few bucks short..."

"Oh?"

"And I have to Rob a bank to pay the rest off."

"Oh! That'll be fun yet again you're his lovely little eran girl ready to swoop in and save the day!"

You rolled your eyes and stepped inside of the apartment. Lindsay may have been the one to take you under her wind in this place but you quickly took her place as favioret and she despised that "Goodnight linds."

"Night brat."

The door slammed shut causing the wall's to shake and flakes of dry wall to crumble to the floor.

You floped onto the matters on the floor and stared up at the ceiling run through your plan for tomorrow.

The plan? There was no plan. You learned pretty easie that there where never plans. If there where they didn't help they just set a guid line of what SHOULD happen and how it SHOULD go but it's not how it works.

You turned over on your side settling on the fact that you would just have to wing it and hope you got what you needed. And enough of it without being caught by the police or the criminals.

~

"You have exactly two hours to get down there and decide on what it is you plan on doing."

You peered up at Lindsay from your bed sneering. "I know what I'm doing go away!"

"Then you better get going small fry."

You groaned and sat up. "Fine!"

She looked at you with a smirk as you tied your hair up, threw your coat on over your hoodie and grab you bag before sliding the window open.

"Good luck!" you flipped her off before sliding out the window.

The street outside of the bank showed no sighn that a robbery was to take place. You examined it before stepping inside examining the people inside. Nothing. Just normal people not a single one looked out of place or unusual. You sighed and made your way over to a bench waiting for something to happen. You pulled at the fingers on your gloves pulling them halfway off until you stopped and slid them back on. You repetad that process for for a while until something finally happened.

"EVERYONE ON THE GROUND!" your head shot up and you spotted several men with large bags and guns. Finally.

You noticed A few of the men slid into the vault. You stood up and sprinted over to it but some one caught your hood and pulled you down. "What the he-" a boy around your age in a school boy uniform and domino mask sat infront of you and covered your mouth.

You furrowed your brows at him as he peered past the counter. The gun shots from behind you caused you to jump. "Stay here!" he got up and crawled past you. "Wait!" you turned to follow after him but stoped when another kid crashed through the glass ceiling and took two guys out.

The one who tackled you was gone you. looked across the way to see a girl whispering in one of the guys ears. And another not even paying attention as a guy snuck up behind him. "Shit! Hey kid!" you got up and ran to him and sweept his legs out from under him before pulling your glove off and grabbing the guys writst to disarm him.

The man winced in pain as you held his wrist as green started to spread through his veins all the way from there you held his wrist all the way up his arm. He pulled away in fear holding his arm screaming as it continued to travel through his body like a plague eventually leaving him to collapse to the floor.

You stepped back quickly putting your glove back on before turning to the kid. "You alright?"

He stared at you in awe. "You did that?"

You offered a hand as more gun shots ring out and another man fell to the floor beside you. "Yea...no big deal." He was a smaller boy but looked like he was the same age like the other with same outfit and dark neat hair. "Than-"

He was cut off.

"Ben!" you both turned to the rest of the kids. He stepped forward. "Do I have too?" he stepped forward giving you the chance to get out. You ran and hid behind one of the counters.

The boy turned to where you stood but saw you where gone and sighed walking over to the other kids. "I didn't sign up for this..."

You peered over the counter and stared in shock at the monster that demolished all the men left in the vault. "Holy fuck..." the boy named Ben came out of the vault covered in blood. "Can we go home?"

After the gang of kids let all the hostigas go you stuck behind hoping to slip into the vault then out the back. You got up once you though the other kids where gone and headed over. "How old are you?"

You froze and turned to Ben and one of the kids. "Old enough why?"

"Really how old are you? Because If your as old as I think you are that means your like us...that means dad might wanna meet you."

The other kid said. "I'm 13..."

The boys exchanged a look. "I'm Ben this is my brother klaus...he saw what you did too..."

Now:

You sighed to yourself as you climbed up the step to the large house.

"Why am I even doing this?.." you bit your lip And knocked on the door waiting for an answer.

When the door opened both you and the girl on the other side exchanged a surprised look.

"Y/n!"

"Vanya!... Hi!"

"Hi uh its...it's Good to see you...come in!"

"Sorry about your father..." she waved you off as she shut the door. "Its not a big deal..."

Even as a kid you couldn't talk to vanya. You never knew how or what to say. "Oh well I uh read your book!"

"Oh really?"

"Yea I really liked it actually" she gave a heartless chuckle. "At least someone did..."

"I'm taking it they didn't take it well?"

"They hate me." You looked at her. "I...im Sure that's not-"

"It's fine Y/n, What are you doing here?"

"I heard the news about Reginald obviously so I though I would check in on...on klaus...is he here yet?"

She looked at you as you looked around your eyes landing in the window that lead to the yard. You stared at the copper figure that sat outside.

"I haven't see him yet...but feel free to stay I'll let him know your here if I see him." you continued to state and nodded at her. "Ok...ok thanks..."

17 years ago:

"Absolutely not!"

You jumped at the old man's sudden telling at the boys in front of you.

"Dad c'mon she's just like us! You shod have seen what she did to that guy back at the bank!" klaus held your shoulders presenting you to his and bens father.

"She also dosent have a home." Ben steped in front of you trying to persuade Him even more.

"Number 6! Number 4! I do not appreciate you brining this young lady into our home! And attempting to make her one of us which she is not! And will not be!"

You could see three of the other kids looking at you with looks of what you could only read as disgust from behind him.

You shook yourself free from klaus. "You know what it dosent matter I don't wanna be part of your silly little super hero cult anyways!"

"Y/n!" Ben called after you as you hurried to the front door. "No I'm sorry thank for your efforts ben...and klaus but I've been on my own plenty I'll get over it."

You shut the door behind you and hurried down the street to head back home.

"Hey! Hey wait up!" you glanced behind you and found Ben and klaus running after you.

"What are you two doing?"

"Listen kiddo we feel bad for the situation your in and well everything back there so-"

"We're hoping to be friends." Ben cut klaus off again. "Yea!" klaus wrapped his arm around you as the three of you continued to walk.

You smiled and nodded. "Alright..."

"C'mon lets get something to eat!" Ben grabbed your hand and lead you down the street