#and gotten in trouble for it too. not this time though they just sulked away. this was probably before it got so ubiquitous

[legionofpotatoes]

wait is there a story behind the shaming of someone recording a stranger in public?

nothing too exciting nonnie, no

[moonstruckme]

Doting

summary: you feel needy for wanting support after a hard day. Your boyfriends set you straight

poly!marauders x reader ♡ 1.4k words

You sit on the couch, surrounded by all the love you could ever want, and do your best not to sulk. 

In the kitchen, Remus hums as he makes dinner, and Sirius and James are playing cards on the coffee table in front of you while you pretend to read. 

“I’m out,” James declares proudly, laying the last of his cards on the table as Sirius throws his down with a huff. 

“I’m done playing with a cheater,” Sirius says with faux malice, turning around to look at you sweetly from where he sits at your feet. “Y/N, gorgeous, want to join me for a game?”

You paste a smile on your face. “Thanks Siri, but I’m busy.” You hold up your book as evidence, and he pouts but turns back around, reshuffling the cards.  

You notice James studying your features, and you do your best to look content, normal. After years of being around the other two boys and their silent misery, James has gotten very skilled at detecting a dismal mood, and you don’t want to ruin everyone’s night. In truth, you’d had an awful day. A customer had yelled at you at work, and then you’d been stupid enough to cry while driving, almost getting in an accident due to your distraction. You’d arrived home shaken and upset, and had barely had time to pull yourself together before Sirius had come in the door  a few minutes later, Remus and James following not long after. You don’t enjoy being so delicate that having any amount of anger directed at you reduces you to a sniveling mess, and you’d resisted the urge to lock yourself away in your room in the hopes that acting like everything was normal would eventually make you feel normal. 

So far, it isn’t working as well as you’d hoped. 

If anything, it feels odd to be the dark cloud of such a joyous space; with Sirius and James laughing and bickering in front of you, Remus humming just around the corner, and the delicious smell of whatever he’s making beginning to waft toward you from the kitchen, you feel unappreciative and embarrassed for being unhappy. Beyond that, you know you have the sweetest boyfriends in the world, and they’d drop everything if they knew you were upset. Frankly, you don’t deserve their kindness when you're wallowing in self-pity over something so silly. You’d only be dragging them into your sorrow with you, and there’s no sense in all of you being down there together. You can handle it on your own. 

But James’ too-perceptive gaze seems to find some fault in your placid facade, and though you will him desperately not to, he asks, “You alright, angel?”

You give him a different smile this time; it’s smaller, a bit more honest, but a smile nonetheless. “Yeah,” you say, in your most placating tone. “I’m good, thanks Jamie.” 

“You sure?”

“Mhm.” 

James’ eyes are slightly troubled, but he nods, directing his attention back to the cards. It’s too late, though, because now Sirius is turning back towards you, something in James’ tone or yours tipping him off. He sets down the deck, pulling himself up onto the couch to sit beside you, his eyes level with yours. 

“What’s going on?” he asks in that rare no-nonsense way that lets you know he’s serious. 

You hate when they tag-team you like this. James may be good at picking up on your moods, but he also knows when you want to be left alone. Sirius, on the other hand, prefers to root out any bad feelings and beat them into submission. 

“Nothing,” you say, no longer under any impression that either boy believes you. Still, you take Sirius’ hand, squeezing reassuringly. “It’s okay.” 

Sirius is undeterred, searching your face like it’ll come clean when you won’t. You can’t take the intensity of his stare and drop your gaze, but he only stoops to follow it. You’re trapped. 

“Hey,” he says softly, his thumb stroking your hand cajolingly. “What’s your deal, huh? Talk to us, baby.”  

It's the pet name that gets you, and the first tear leaks from your eye just as Remus comes in with dinner. 

He stops short at the new, sullen atmosphere of the living room, but rushes over once he sees your face. 

“What’s going on?” He sets the plates aside, seating himself on your other side.

“We don’t know,” James says, moving to sit on the coffee table, his knees brushing your legs where they’re curled up under you. “She hasn’t said.” 

“She’s right here,” you joke, but no one smiles. 

Remus takes the hand not currently claimed by Sirius. “What’s wrong, love?”

You press your lips together to keep them from wobbling, blinking rapidly in a futile attempt to reverse the course the evening is taking. 

“Honey.” His tone is admonishing, but still unbearably sweet, and you crumple, more tears falling as a gasping sob escapes you. Remus pulls you into him as though he can make you a shelter out of his own body, and you go willingly. “Was it a bad day? Is that it?”

You can only nod, not trusting yourself to speak. After a beat, Sirius asks, “Are we going to have to beat someone up?”

You laugh, and it’s awful and pitchy, but it loosens some of the pressure in your chest. James’ hand finds your shoulder, squeezing encouragingly before starting to rub slow, soothing circles into your upper back. 

“I’m sorry,” you choke out. 

“What the hell for?” Sirius asks, and you open your eyes in time to see Remus give him a harsh look. Sirius ignores him, reaching for you. His thumb is gentle as he wipes under your lashes. “You know you can tell us these things, don’t you?”

“I just—” You take a shuddering breath. “It was so embarrassing, and I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s night.” 

“Sweetheart,” James coos. “We don’t care. We’d so much rather know you’re upset and be able to help than have you suffer in silence all night. Besides, don’t you think you deserve the same treatment you give us?”

Shame washes over you, and you tuck yourself further into Remus’ side. “You guys never ask as much of me as I do of you.”  

James’ eyebrows jump nearly to his hairline and Sirius makes an incredulous sound, but it’s Remus who speaks. “Dove, are you serious? What about when I had a migraine last month, and you stayed home with me all day?” He maneuvers you in his arms until you’re facing him, looking you in the eye. “Or the last time James had a bad day, and you went on a run with him so he’d have company, even though you hate running? Or just last weekend, when Sirius got too wasted—” You can feel the glare Sirius is shooting him from behind you, but Remus continues—”and you stayed up with him all night holding his hair, and then in the morning you brought him gatorade and cleaned his sick out of the carpet?”

“Don’t act like you’re so needy,” Sirius says, and you turn towards his voice to find his stare just as piercing as you left it, “and we’re all perfectly self-sufficient. You’re not the only one who needs help sometimes, so if you have a bad day, we wanna hear about it.” He’s looking at you like your silliness astounds him, and James grasps your shoulder with a small smile, giving you a little shake as if to reprimand you. 

You look helplessly towards the plates Remus had brought in only a few minutes before, discarded on the edge of the coffee table. 

“Dinner’s gonna get cold,” you say mournfully. 

Remus shrugs. “I’ll microwave it. And if you wanna talk, we will, and if you don’t, you can pick us a movie to watch, yeah?”

You look at the three of them, gratitude and love both so huge and warm in your chest you can’t tell which is which. “Okay.”

“Good.” Sirius tugs you out of Remus’ arms and into his own, planting a kiss on the side of your head. “Merlin, you’re tough to get things out of. Think you could go a bit easier on yourself in the future?”

“Yeah,” James pipes up. “Be nicer to our girl, she’s had a rough day.” 

You hide your face in Sirius’ chest, flushing, but at least this time, your smile is real.

[verdemoun]

Truelly intrested in how Jack is doing in the timewrap, like his relationship with the gang, whats his favorite thing in this era. I know in this AU he past away just 3 years after abgail, but in some datas in the game and other theories said he lived enough to write a book; in my headcanons he should have had a friend who fought in WWI who also get very traumatised, and probably being part of one this early mafia gangs from the 1920s. When John argue with Jack about him becameing an outlaw he would just reply " at least i didn't had to go to the army and dying in a horrible way some random battlefield in a senseless war, or surviving and get traumatised for life" then Jack leave the room that got in silence, who heard that probably got curious about the war, hope they were intrested about knowing what heppended in this 100 years they were dead.

I know you said you got a lot of asks but I like to share this ❤

this ask has been haunting because i love jack so much. he is my boy like i just want him to be happy and get a chance to act his age and find fun and happiness. but boy his relationship with john in timewarp is so far away from good. accidentally wrote 1k words so below the cut

jack has almost no memories of the gang. he remembers being told they're not meant to discuss arthur because it upsets his father, and that if he sees 'uncle dutch' around he's meant to stay well away

it is a lot like meeting those long distance relatives who say 'wow i haven't seen you since you were 'this' tall!'

he gets along pretty well with most of them because a) he is a very polite young man and b) they're such a fun group to be around in modern era. damn straight at a cookout none of them care he is technically under modern era drinking age they see him as an adult and encourage him to be an adult in that rdr2 a quiet time style

he wishes arthur was his dad a little bit. he is constantly trying to inch his way into isaac and arthur's father son activities (which isaac encourages and arthur allows)

hosea getting to see how him teaching jack to read has become such a major part of his identity like jack is a nerdy little bookworm and how exciting they both find it when hosea ask about what jack's been reading and jack can talk to someone about books again

the silent assurance of getting to know lenny. lenny being an adult with a job and very settled into modern era with a life so far away from what he was in 1899 who died at the same age as jack. lenny is proof he can get used to modern era and settle and leave the mistakes and trauma of canon era behind in a healthy way

his favorite thing about modern era is without a doubt isaac morgan. having someone his own age who Gets It. even though they had wildly different experiences of timewarping and general lives, being the child of a VDL gang member is a very specific niche they both know too well

also just - time. not having a ranch or to hunt for food, with the gang still helping each other out so jack isn't expected to rush off and get a job all the hours that would have been spend doing ranch work jack can spend exploring his interests, reading, learning about modern era and getting into trouble with isaac but having the actual time of day required to be a kid (he is 19. he is a kid who never got to be a kid)

i think eventually they would have gotten into a screaming match. john getting sick of jack sulking in his room reading and glaring at him like it was his fault he became what he is vs jack seeing how john changed over 3 years to raise addie alone when he timewarped and how quickly abigail runs back into his arms as if john didn't leave them ruined and with nothing when he died. in timewarp au, abigail died at the end of summer 1914 and jack didn't make it to christmas of the same year.

starts with john asking what happened to jack's college fund. jack had already applied to college and gotten rejected very politely on financial grounds prior to 1911, but with the assurance he was extremely intelligent for a young man who lacked formal education.

jack began corresponding with the literature professor regularly (simply because he still craved that paternal bond and quickly came to love having someone he could actually discuss books with instead of just talking at). john began saving every cent he could to have the money tucked away to get jack into college because he always wanted his son to be happy and better than what they were.

jack laughed and said they had to use that money to survive. he wouldn't have gotten in anyway, and even if he did he couldn't leave abigail on her own.

john, maybe drunk or just too frustrated to hold back, snapped he was too smart to be that much of an idiot, he could have gone to college after abigail died and lived a normal life

jack finally losing it. what did john expect? he was going to survive the great war, and then world war ii a few decades later? forget the first 19 years of his life, survive two wars that ended or ruined millions and millions of lives, settle down with a nice wife and be old enough to watch the moon landing on a boxy black and white tv?

he only made it to 1914 and was still devastated by the war - because the literature professor, his one escape from what life was after john died, a canadian who volunteered to go fight because it was a noble cause, didn't even make it to the front line. the ship he was on sank. there wasn't a funeral or burial, just a letter that might as well have read 'any chance of salvation for you is gone'. jack learning that dying for a noble cause was just as stupid as dying for revenge, because once you're dead you're dead

jack admitting he was planning on dying anyway because what else was there the only thing killing edgar ross did was give jack the satisfaction of knowing at least one of them outlived the bastard

john not actually having the words to express he's been there and he knows what that's like, the survivor's guilt he felt over arthur's death and needing to kill micah and how sorry he is jack had to experience the exact same thing

jack still did have a book published and when he found out he was mortified. in writing to the professor over 3-4 years he'd started sending him drafts of a biographical novel heavily based on his childhood memories of the van der linde gangs and sneaking into john's room to read arthur's journal (which john held all those years). when the manuscript was found in the professor's desk, the university was impressed enough to have it published on a very small scale.

isaac morgan, who had a very bizarre morbid fascination with the idea of jack, the little cousin he never got to meet, who exists somewhere across time as simultaneously younger than him but has already reached 19 and killed edgar ross and been executed for it, stole a copy of it from the university's library when he was only 12 and has read it over a dozen times by the time jack timewarps.

jack is horrified because it was a draft and he started writing it at 15 imagine jumping 100 years into the future and finding out something you wrote unedited at 15 was not only published but considered a valuable and significant part of narrative history.

when jack is in a mood, isaac with read excerpts to him and jack will be so overtaken by cringe and trying to snatch the book off him he will forget whatever passing thought was making him depressed

[comingyourlugubriousness]

"Thanks for inviting us Tuna, Rook...and I guess Azul! I can't wait to see all the events!" Here's my boy Yume all dressed up for the wonderful and charming @tunabesimpin's SEA SIDE PARTY! , Along with their reluctant plus-one Idia. (The Great Grim assumed he was invited of course and tagged along as well.)

(I had a lot of fun designing outfits for this! I can't wait to see everyone ocs dressed up! 0v0)

Yume’s favorite things to do in the summertime are splashing around, building sand castles, of course and getting ice cream to cope with the hot weather! They would definitely want a crack at the splash contest! But in their free time, they'd hang out with friends, eat good food, and collect shells and help Idia make sand castles! And keep Grim out of trouble!

Idia tries to peacefully stay in his shut-in area, playing hand-held games in his easy fold-up beach tent, but somehow gets dragged out into the fun! I could see him getting a bit competitive and tactical about capture the flag.

Drabble for the event under read more!

DRABBLE START! -

“C’mon Idia don’t you want to have a classic anime filler beach date with me?” Yume said dramatically, fluttering their lashes and putting on an overly cute voice.

 Idia snorted, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, don’t even try that, you know I do, just...not with…everyone else…” Idia muttered. He sighed, just as dramatically, and hid his face in Yume’s neck to sulk. His arms wrapped around their waist, nuzzling his nose into their skin. 

Yume melted at the gesture, letting out a fond sigh and putting their arms around him as well.

 “Oh, no fair, you know I’m easy…” They cooed, tangling their fingers in warm flaming strands. They took a few moments just sitting in silence and enjoying the hug.

 “I wish Ortho could come...” He said quietly, warm breath on their skin as he sighed.

“Aw, I know, me too.” They said rubbing small circles on his back.”But, you said it yourself. Unless you designed a completely new body by tomorrow, the sand and saltwater could harm his systems. You can’t risk that…and I only get a plus one!” They said, matter of factly, shrugging a shoulder. 

Idia made a dull noise of acknowledgement, drearily sinking further into them. 

Yume sighed, pressing their cheek atop his head.

“I know, even though we’ve been out a few times…it's still hard sometimes huh?” 

“Nightmare mode.” He said in a muffled voice. “Y-yu can’t expect me t-to do a Max difficulty  mission so soon-!, I-I haven’t leveled up enough.” He whined on their shoulder.

Yume rolled their eyes fondly at his wording, but understood. They still had their ups and downs too with their anxiety. Sure the days Yume didn’t want to go out or talk to new people were far less frequent than Idia’s, but they still happened. And he always supported them… 

Yume frowned, rocking them back both and forth as they thought, and came to a decision.

“Fine! Okay, you win. You know I won’t force you to go.” Yume said. 

Idia gasped, pulling back and scooping up their hands, a sparkle in his eye. 

“Really!” He cheered, giving them a sharp tooth grin, as if he had gotten away with something devious, but Yume knew that was just his face. “Wee he he~, Yume’s the best!” He said, squeezing them in a tight hug. Yume let out a squeak, but grinned at the affection.

“Yeah yeah…maybe we can have a summer movie marathon instead, or something…” They said once he let go.

“Hm?” Idia pulled back, raising an eyebrow. “...aren’t you still going?”

“Nah…” Yume waved their hand. ”it wouldn’t be as fun without you. Besides, I don’t wanna, third wheel while Leona makes gross old man passes at Yuuta. Bleh.” They said, pretending to gag.

“B-but…you already made those kawaii matching shirts for you and Grim…” He said, remembering how cute the two of them looked in the pictures they had sent earlier.

“Ah. well..we can wear them another time, really…it's okay...” They said, trying to give him a reassuring smile. Then they turned away to their phone, opening up Magicam to message Tuna. 

Idia pouted, his brows furrowing…

They finished typing out an excuse, but before they could send the message confirming their absence, Idia placed a hand on their phone, stopping them. Yume furrowed their brow, looking up curiously

“W-well…m-maybe it wouldn’t be so bad…a classic cliche beach day with Yume…” He said, avoiding his eyes blushing a bit.

“Really!? You mean it?” They asked hopefully, lacing both their fingers together.

“Y-yeah, I won’t be going at it solo…you’ll be with me, right?” He asked, giving them a small smile. Yume gasped, their chest filling up with warmth.

“Of course!” They said, then threw their arms around him. Idia yelped, a giddy grin on his face as he fell back on his bed from the force of their hug. - End!

Big thank you to @tunabesimpin for hosting the event! If you don't already follow them check them out!

[nolita-fairytale]

dating young!sirius black (remote island au)

au headcanon where you and young!sirius black flee the country to live on a remote island and raise baby harry instead of going to azkaban

part i: dating sirius black at hogwarts would include:

for most of your time at hogwarts, you had always found sirius and the rest of the marauders quite insufferable. though he’s had his eye on you since third year, he never thought he’d have a shot with the stunning ravenclaw girl at the top of their class. 

sirius is too arrogant for your liking and he’s a shameless flirt. he’s the kind of hot guy that knows he’s hot. you’ve heard the rumors: that he’s a ladies man, that he knows how to do things most of your class has only read about in books. during your fifth year, you lost count of just how many girls he snogged first term alone. not that you were counting.

he’s the life of the party and manages to pull the attention of every room he enters. this fact simultaneously intrigues you and gets under your skin.

it’s not until after the holidays during sixth year that he begins to pursue you, and you’re sure that you can resist his childish, immature, over the top attempts to charm you. boy were you wrong.

“you’re just interested in me because you’ve run out of girls in our year to snog, black.” “no, i haven’t! there are plenty others but none i want to snog as much as you, darling. come to hogsmeade with me this weekend.” “oh, i don’t think so, black. better luck next time.” “so you’re saying there’ll be a next time?” 

you only roll your eyes in response to his cheeky grin, even though you have to admit that you’re flattered.

each attempt continues to chisel away at your tough exterior. the shield you’ve tried best to build around yourself – the sirius black-resistant one – is beginning to fall. it’s not until sirius has a big fight with regulus that you find him sulking in the astronomy tower long after class is over. it doesn't take long for his handsome playboy facade to fall and when he confides in you about his family, you begin to understand why he lives with the potters. 

you spend all night together star-gazing, giggling, and keeping each other company in the astronomy tower before drifting off to sleep. when you’re caught by both of your heads of house sneaking back into the common room the next morning, it earns you both two weeks of detention and a howler from your parents that, you decide, was entirely worth it. 

you and sirius have your first kiss only a week later while polishing and dusting the various potion bottles in slughorn’s office. while trying his damndest to make you laugh, sirius ends up knocking over a vile of moonseed and as you both scramble to clean it up, you lean over and kiss him.

sirius on the other hand is absolutely smitten. gone are the days of being hogwarts’ most eligible bachelor. he’s as loyal as a dog (sorry, but i couldn’t help myself).

speaking of, you give him quite the lecture after learning about his status as an illegal and unregistered animagus starting with, ‘you could’ve gotten killed’ to ‘do you know how much trouble you’ll be in if anyone finds out’ and ending with ‘you’re such a good friend, siri.’ you can tell he gets off on breaking the rules and you can’t believe you’re falling in love with him. 

most days sirius loves to lay his head in your lap while you study, stretching his legs out on the couch of the gryffindor common room while you run your fingers through his hair. james and remus never let him live down the fact that he once took you on a picnic to the black lake, while peter admired his friend’s attempt at romance.

sirius rarely studies, yet still manages to get top marks which drives you absolutely insane. 

the rest of the marauders adore you and love having an excuse to tease sirius shamelessly over how lovesick he’s become. 

you lose your virginity to sirius the day before you leave for summer break between your sixth and seventh year. it’s filled with whispered ‘i love you’s, shy smiles, and finding out that all the rumors about him were true. 

you agree to visit a few weeks before you have to return to school and decide to leave out the fact that you’ll both be unsupervised when pitching the idea to your parents. 

you write to each other all summer long – some of which are very nsfw. he’s recently come into an inheritance from a sympathetic uncle and has managed to get his own place. sirius now has his own place and a head full of all kinds of things he wants to do with you. 

you have a hard time adjusting to being hogwarts IT couple as you enter your seventh year. you've never been one for the spotlight but sirius is worth it.

seventh year is filled with double dates with #jilly to hogsmeade, snogging in broom closets, and movie nights in the marauders dormitory using lily's projector and an old bedsheet.

sirius makes you brave and you make him happier than he ever believed he deserved. 

you’re at every quidditch game cheering him on, even when your own house is playing against gryffindor.

in the last few months of your seventh year, while lily and james can’t stop talking about marriage, sirius is shocked to discover that you don’t want to get married at all. because of this, you decide to go your separate ways after graduation, which only lasts a few months after you hook up during lily and james’ engagement party and decide that you absolutely can’t live without each other.

[thatorigamiguy]

Special Call?

Ruby looked nervously around RNGR’s current camp site, her silver eyes bouncing back and forth faster than a tennis ball on court. Jaune had been gone for longer than an hour and needless to say that any time Jaune was out of her sight she tended to fret hard over him. He had... well, Ruby wouldn’t say that Jaune had fully gotten over his funk, but he had certainly made progress since the beginning of their year long trek. He wasn’t training himself into the ground any more and he had lightened up considerably on himself, though he still had a tendency of sulking and being hard on himself. Still progress was progress, and Ruby was beyond ecstatic to see her cru- best friend and fellow leader not being as hard on himself as he used too, she even saw him smile more!(which no, she did NOT blush like a school girl when he did Nora, STOP BRINGING THAT UP)

    Still, Ruby could not help but fret and worry over him and he still had a bad habit of wandering off by himself. Dread filled her for a moment, but she relaxed upon seeing Ren and Nora step out of the tree line with tinder and fresh water in their flasks. Before either of them knew it, Ruby was standing before them after a quick petal burst causing Nora to cry out in shock while Ren, having long since used to Ruby suddenly appearing before him, kept his cool as he smiled in greeting.

Ren: “How can we help you Ru-”

    Ren hadn’t even finished his question, before Ruby all but blurted out:

Ruby: “Have you guys seen Jaune recently?!”

    Nora, who had managed to calm herself down from her sudden scare, put her hand on her chin as she considered Ruby’s question.

Nora: “Mmmmmmh, Nope! Can’t say that we’ve seen fearless leader recently Ruby.”

Ren: “Last I recall, he mentioned something about hunting down some food for us before we went about gathering for our camp tonight.”

Ruby: “What! That was more than an hour ago!”

    At hearing the news, Ruby bit her lower lip in frustration as she pondered over what was taking Jaune so long. He said he’d be back in and hour, but what if he was in trouble? What if he had relapsed and was secretly training himself to death again? What if Grimm had ambushed him and he was fighting for his life and oh gods he needed their help-

    Ruby felt a sense of calm wash over her, before noting that Ren had put a calming hand on her shoulder and was surrounded by a shroud of light green.

Ren: “Sorry Ruby, but you looked like you were overthinking the situation and coming to a worst case scenario. I’m sure that Jaune is fine.”

    ...Right. Ren was right, Ruby was just overthinking this. She felt a little better after being reassured by Ren, but she still felt a little concerned over his whereabouts. Noting her expression, Nora piped up with a bright smile on her face.

Nora: “Well, if you’re still worried over him, why don’t you use your “Special Call” Ruby? That will bring him back home instantly!”

    Nora’s suggestion got two differing reactions: one was of blank bemusement from Ren, while the other was of shocked horror from a now furiously blushing Ruby.

Ren: “...What’s this about a “Special Call?”

Ruby: “N-Nothing Ren! Don’t listen to Nora, she’s just-”

    Ruby tried stuttering out an interjection, only to be soundly ignored as Nora started answering Ren’s question.

Nora: “Well recently Ruby found out that she’s able to call Jaune back to us, not matter how far away he is! It’s actually really useful!”

    Ren quirked a brow, a doubtful expression on his face at Nora’s explanation.

Ren: “Really? From anywhere at anytime?”

Ruby: “Listen Ren, there’s n-not actually a c-call of any kind so can we-”

    Ruby, who was now redder than her cloak, tried interjecting once again only to be ignored yet again as Nora kept talking.

Nora: “Anywhere, Anytime, Any day! It’s honestly pretty dang useful if I do say so myself, would have been great to have known about a while ago, but eh what can you do?”

Ren: “Mmmmh, that does sound like it would have been useful earlier in our adventure when Jaune was at his worst. So, how does this “Special Call” work exactly?”

Nora: “Why, it’s really simply Renny! All Ruby does is-”

    Ruby, who may as well have been sunburnt from how red she was blushing, all but shouted as she managed to finally interupt Nora.

Ruby: “Nora, I told you that the call isn’t actually a thing!”

Nora: “What?! Ruby, it’s totally a thing! I watched it with my own eyes! All you have to do is-”

Ruby: “I’m telling you Nora, it’s not a thing and I’d like you to stop talking right now please!”

Nora: “But Ruby, all you have to do is-”

Ruby: “Nora I’m begging you to please drop this and never bring it up again!”

    A curious Ren found himself looking back and forth as an increasingly flustered Ruby kept cutting off Nora as she tried to finish her explanation. 

Ren: “...I’m at a bit of a loss right now. Is there actually a “Special Call” or is Nora just trying to play a joke at our expense right now?”

Nora: “I’m being serious Renny! I’ve bore witness to the “Special Call,” and all it is is when Ruby-”

Ruby: “FOR THE LAST TIME NORA, THERE IS NO SPECIAL CALL AND THAT SLAPPING MY THIGHS TWICE DOESN’T MAGICALLY SUMMON JAUNE BACK TO US!”

    Ruby all but exploded at Nora, before slapping her thighs twice in demonstration to show that there was no “Special Call.” It was unfortunate for Ruby that she would swiftly be proven wrong as not even five minutes later Jaune came walking out of the tree lines with the body of a Buck strewn across his shoulder, two rabbits in his left hand, and a very confused expression on his face.

Jaune: “...Did someone call for me? Sorry I was taking so long, I was trying to see if I could bag another animal when I suddenly felt the need to come back to camp. Is everything alright?”

    No, everything was in fact not alright as Ruby stood mortified at having been proven wrong in front of Ren and Nora. There was no way that Jaune could have just materialized here at this very moment, right?

Nora: “There you are fearless leader! We started getting worried about you!”

Ren: “Where were you at if you don’t mind us asking?”

Jaune: “Uh... I was about, maybe three or four miles west from our camp? I didn’t worry you guys did I?”

    ...Ruby wanted nothing more than to sink into the ground and become one with the Forrest at this moment, because she was fairly certain that she was never going to live this down. 

Nora: “See Renny? Anytime, Any Day, Anywhere, the “Special Call” is sure to bring Jaune-Jaune back guaranteed!”

    Nora’s commentary only added salt to the wound, and it was made worse when Ren covered his mouth as he tried to respectfully hide his smile from Ruby.

Ren: “It’s... certainly effective. While I hope that we won’t have to use it often, It’s nice to to know about in case of an emergency.”

Jaune: “...I’m really lost right now, what’s all this about a “Special Call?”

    Ruby buried her face into her hands, muttering profusely to herself.

Ruby: “...Why did I have to go and open my big mouth?”

________________________________________________________

This is a re-written story from a post I made roughly two years ago. A re-post, but one of my favorite stories that I wrote. I’ve got another re-written repost in the works, so stay tuned for that. But I do hope that you guys have enjoyed my first ACTUAL shitpost of 2023 and as always, expect more to come. You’re all great and I thank you for taking the time for reading my silly stories. You’re all golden.

[morticafrump]

random career relationship headcanons (74th hunger games)

warnings : fluff, jealousy

characters : cato, clove, marvel, glimmer

a/n : will do the careers from the 75th games as well soon!

MARVEL : DISTRICT 1

he's a silly boi

likes to pull pranks on everyone (including you)

gets very jealous very quickly

he likes to show off so he'll get you super expensive gifts for no reason

gets annoyed if you don't wear the gifts he gives you though

his love languages are probably physical touch and quality time, as a career (and a hardcore one at that) he doesn't have a lot of time on his hands, so whenever he does he'll spend it with you

very physically affectionate, though more in a possessive way

likes everyone to know you're his

has an arm around your waist or shoulders majority of the time

at first when he's jealous he sorta just stands with his arms crossed

but eventually he gets sick of it and either starts arguing with whoever is making him jealous or he just pulls you away

GLIMMER : DISTRICT 1

very sentimental especially in the early parts of your relationship

will cherish everything you get her no matter how expensive it was

her love languages are definitely physical touch and gift giving

she can seem needy at first but she just has so much love inside her she doesn't know what to do with it

not as jealous as the others, only gets jealous if someone is being super flirty with you

even then she doesn't really act on it, she just sorta pouts and sulks until you ask her what's wrong

even then she'll just deny it

she'll get over it after awhile just make sure you're being more affectionate with her than normal

would 100% want to wear matching outfits and would prob get really upset if you didn't want too

in all honesty though, she is very good at making you feel better about yourself

if you have any kind of insecurity, best believe you won't by the time she's done with you

makes you carry her bags everywhere

sits on your lap while she does your makeup and vice versa 😫

always holding your hand

would sing to you if you have trouble sleeping

CATO : DISTRICT 2

very protective & jealous

probably most jealous out of all of them

despite this he's a super big softy with you

loves to cuddle and often picks you up and carries you to bed when he's tired but you aren't

speaking of carrying :

he loves to carry you

lowkey does it to show off but also just enjoys it

carries your bags for you everywhere 🥺

feel like he would rock you back and forth like in the movies whenever your upset

he thinks he's comforting you but it's not really doing anything 😭

loves it when you wear his clothes

gotten to the point where he only guys clothes he knows you both like rather than just what he likes

"Look at her, I would die for her, I would kill for her. Either way, what bliss" vibes when it comes to him

very confident in himself and wants you to be confident as well

he likes that other people find him scary but would get genuinely upset if you were ever afraid of him

CLOVE : DISTRICT 2

why do all the careers have jealousy problems lmao

probably one of the most jealous out of them all though imo

also most likely to act on her jealousy compared to glimmer who sorta just sulks in the corner

has gotten into a lot of fights just cause someone stared at you for too long

her love language is probably quality time

like marvel she takes being a career very seriously and doesn't have a lot of spare time because of it

she likes to going on long walks with you

especially if it's late at night

prefers to make you gifts rather than buy them

would buy you a personalized dagger with your names on it tho 🥺

would do your hair in the morning

either in a simple braid or some super weird detailed pattern

no in between

don't know what else to add, she's not my favorite to write for lmao 😭

[crystaljins]

Stars above | 03

Characters: Taehyung x Reader

Word count: 1.4K

Synopsis: Your nagging roommate is desperate for a third person to help meet the rent and your university just so happens to be running a fully-funded government grant for anyone who signs up to participate in the Intergalactic Exchange program.

Having an alien for a roommate is just asking for all kinds of trouble, though.

Alien!Taehyung x reader

Rating: Teens

Notes: I wasn’t the biggest fan of this chapter tbh- it was written while I was in the process of working out where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do with this drabble series. I almost considered taking it out entirely but in the end I put time into reading it so I’m keeping it in ahaha

Warnings: So reader in this chapter lowkey lies about the origin of food to Taehyung who’s basically a vegan which I know is a no-no morally so I tried not to treat it as a joke and reader DOES apologise for it

Masterlist

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

“So...” Jin trails away, drumming awkwardly at the steering wheel as he gazes at the sulking alien in the backseat of his SUV through the rearview mirror. “Did you two fight, or something?”

You roll your eyes, scrolling through his phone to find an appropriate song to play through his bluetooth speakers. 

“He’s mad because he found out where milk comes from this morning.” You sigh, finally settling on a suitable, soothing guitar cover. From the mirror you see Taehyung stick his tongue out at you, and the tips of his ears are beginning to go a light purple like they always do when he’s worked up. 

You shrug and allow the car to lapse into silence.

“How could you!” He finally speaks up. He’s managed to last through twenty minutes of silent treatment, which is at least double what Nayeon can manage. You’re a veteran when it comes to the pouty cold shoulder.  “You’ve been letting me drink their babies’ food this whole time! What is it with you humans and baby animals!” 

“You didn��t have any complaints when I bought you that $7 milkshake two days ago.” You remind Taehyung, although you’re not quick enough to hide the frown in your voice. You’re not the type to get riled up easily- a long lasting friendship with Nayeon and a multitude of younger siblings had fortified you against emotional outbursts. Most things slide off your back like water. 

But you can’t help but feel a little upset with Taehyung’s upset. You’re not really sure why- for one thing, he’s right. You’d lied to him and for what? Your own sense of twisted peace. 

Perhaps it’s the way you aren’t accustomed to his ire- it’s only been just over a month that he’s been living with you now, and while Nayeon and he frequently experienced clashes of personality, the two of you have gotten on alarmingly well. You’d grown to expect his smiling face and cheerful chatter while you went about your day, and it upsets you that you no longer have that. 

Unfortunately for you, you allow your displeasure to show on your face. A rookie error, as you’d let your guard down next to the vulture in the drivers’ seat. 

“Oh-ho!” Jin cries, fingers tightening around the steering wheel. “Do mine eyes deceive me? Is the almighty, impenetrable wall, the unmovable boulder, our local ice queen (Y/N) pouting?” 

He sounds entirely too pleased with the concept, and as if you weren’t irritated enough with Taehyung, now Jin is grating on your nerves too, although the latter is a far more common occurrence than the former.

When you don’t respond, Jin shakes his head with a chuckle. The sound rings with barely-curbed amusement. 

“It wasn’t nice of you to do that, (Y/N).” He scolds, and he’s enjoying it a little too much; very rarely are you the one to be rebuked when it comes to disagreements between friends. Normally, with the hot-tempered company you keep, you usually find yourself sitting stiffly in silence while Jin attempts to pacify whatever situation has been stirred up. “How would you feel if I fed you bull testicles without telling you what they were?”

“You have done that.” You remind him, while Taehyung goes pale with horror in the backseat. “I also got food poisoning from them and was in hospital for three days, and yet here I am. Driving with you to help out at your uncle’s farm, out of the goodness of my heart, without holding any grudges against you.”

Jin clicks his tongue, a little embarrassed, before quickly changing tact before any more past misdeeds resurface.

“If you want our alien guest to forgive you, you can start by apologising. I will be having none of your misplaced misery deflected at me.” He informs you sternly.  

You grit your teeth in annoyance. Annoyingly, Jin is correct. You can grumble and pout until the cows come home but the reality is this: you knew that it would upset Taehyung to give him milk and you did it anyway for convenience and a perceived sense of peace and quiet. You took advantage of his trust and his lack of knowledge of this planet, and he absolutely deserves an apology. 

With a groan, you slump in defeat against your seat. 

“Fine!” You cry. “You’re right.” You turn to face Taehyung, and he’s sitting in the back seat with his arms folded across his chest like a petulant child. He studiously avoids your gaze. “I’m sorry, Taehyung.” You squeeze out, with all the sincerity you can bear to muster. “It was wrong and cruel of me to give you milk products without telling you where milk comes from and I’m sorry. And if it’s any consolation, I promise that the baby cows don’t starve and that it doesn’t hurt cows to get milked. And I promise to only keep almond or soy milk in the house from now on.” You say. He finally looks at you, scrutinising your expression. He’s searching for something, though you don’t know what. He reaches forward with his fingers, allowing them to brush your arm where  it rests against the seat, watching expectantly the whole while.

Unexpectedly, and with a smile that’s so different to his prior demeanour you almost get whiplash, he nods. 

“Well, I suppose that’s a sufficient apology. But I think, given the severity of your crime, that you should perform some sort of action to atone.” He demands. 

“Oooh, crafty. I like him.” Jin pipes in cheerfully. You shoot him a glare powerful enough to quiet him before turning your attention back to Taehyung. 

“W-what do you want?” You question and Taehyung merely shrugs. 

“I’ll let you know when I think of it. For now I’ll settle for an agreed repayment at an unknown date at some point in the future.” He says. 

And you can’t slap Taehyung, so when Jin snickers, he gets a whack to the arm that has your irritation at both of them channelled into it. 

++

It’s an annual thing, for you and Jin to head to his uncle’s strawberry farm to help with a few chores his uncle can’t get done on his own. A few of Jin’s other friends are coming as well, but they usually arrive later in the day. 

You didn’t really trust Nayeon to look after Taehyung while you were away- she’s already complaining about all the vegan ingredients taking up fridge space, and you’re pretty sure she brushed a spinach leaf and broke out in hives the other day. You’re not even sure it was wise to entrust her with the care of Sergeant Sparkles the Fifth- you may come home to find he’s been replaced with his sixth incarnation. So, with all this in mind, you’ve invited Taehyung along, figuring he’d enjoy picking the strawberries and the warm, leisurely rhythm of the countryside. 

You had been right, at least. Taehyung’s bright, eager smile and enthusiasm at the sight of the strawberry farm almost makes up for the trouble you had gone through on the car ride over. You leave him with Jin’s grandmother, who is patiently showing him how to select the best strawberries. He listens with awe, fingers delicately brushing against ruby red flesh, while you help Jin set up some fencing since his uncle’s pet goat chewed through the last enclosure. 

“I never did ask you what the deal is with the sudden alien-babysitting.” Jin comments, helping you unravel some of the wire for the fencing. “Last I head from Nayeon, you were going to withdraw from the program. What happened to your whole “I’m done taking care of people” act? Didn’t you insist you weren’t gonna end up following through for Nayeon again?” 

“I changed my mind.” You confess, crouching down to secure the wiring against a fence post. An image of Taehyung drenched and miserable in the rain flashes unbidden through your mind, but you choose not to bring up the gnawing guilt to Jin. “He grew on me.” 

Jin arches an eyebrow. 

“He grew on you?” He asks incredulously. “You moved out of home to escape looking after your own siblings- and an alien grew on you?” He exclaims. You shrug, straightening and stretching out a kink in your back. A light sheen of sweat is starting to gather on your face, thanks to the warm sunlight. 

“Well, we signed on to look after him, and so that’s what I’m gonna do.” You say dismissively. Again, you think of the way he had sobbed in your arms, lonely and homesick.  It’s not really something you can explain easily even to yourself; you just want to take care of Taehyung. It’s not quite a sense of duty or obligation, like when you end up feeding Sergeant sparkles or babysitting your younger siblings. The weight of responsibility doesn’t feel the same. Instead, what catches in your mind is his bright smile at dinner every night; the wonder in his expression when he learns about Earth culture; there’s something warm and satisfying about hanging out with Taehyung. 

Of course, you articulate none of this to Jin. Instead, you offer something a bit safer: “I don’t take that kind of responsibility lightly.”

Jin chuckles in response. 

“There’s the Universal Big Sister.” He sighs fondly. “You can pretend you don’t care but you can’t escape your true nature.”

A few more peaceful moments pass between you before he starts up conversation again. 

“How are your little siblings going, anyway? Your parents are coping ok without you around to help out?” He questions. You hesitate, just for a moment, before helping Jin steady the next fence post. 

“They’re ok. The twins just had their first day of school the other day. Which is good because I think mum and dad were struggling with the baby and the twins at the same time and this gives them a little bit of a break. I’m even planning on stopping by for a weekend to look after the little one so that they can go away for a little bit.” You explain. Jin nods, enjoying the sunlight for a moment, before reaching to sort through the toolbox beside him. 

“Well, just don’t sign on for too much.” He finally says. “You moved out of home because you stopped wanting to take care of people; that includes Nayeon and Taehyung.”

You nod solemnly. 

“I know.” You say. And then you decide to add in just a little bit more, since Jin has always been the kind of friend you can go to about anything and you don’t want him worrying needlessly. “It’s... actually kind of nice.” 

That catches Jin’s attention. 

“Nice?” He echoes in surprise. You nod shyly, pausing to adjust your hat and wipe the sweat from your brow. 

“Yeah.” You confess. “He’s just so... happy, at whatever I do. It doesn’t feel like a responsibility, with him.” 

Jin arches an eyebrow curiously at you. 

“I always knew it would take someone out of this world to get to you.” He chuckles. You bristle, instantly on the defensive, and are about to demand what he means, but a call of your name distracts you. 

You turn to find Taehyung racing across from the strawberry fields towards you, a large basket swinging from his hands. Jin’s uncle had leant him some gear; he looks a bit ridiculous in his over-sized sunhat and the protective floral sleeves over his arms, but his species weren’t good with the strong human sunlight and you’d insisted he wear it since you didn’t want to be stuck helping apply aloe vera to his sunburn when you got back to the apartment late in the night. 

“Look!” He cries, skidding to a stop in front of you. The basket is overflowing with perfectly ripened strawberries, tucked neatly together and glowing beneath the bright sunlight like priceless rubies. You nod, impressed at the quality of the fruit- Jin’s family were near legendary when it came to strawberry growing and it was sweet of them to share their craft with an alien like Taehyung. 

“Looks good!” You agree, going to pluck one from the basket. He watches you contentedly for a moment, like a cat warming itself in the sun, before encircling a large hand around your wrist. 

“You’ve finished here, right? Come pick more strawberries with me!” He demands, and you glance down at his hand, encased in a tacky gardening glove. The rubber is rough against the sensitive skin of your wrist and thick enough that you can’t feel the warmth of his fingers beneath. 

You glance over your shoulder to find Jin smiling at you, finishing off the last of the fence. 

“Go!” He shoos you. “I’m done here and you won’t have much time for him once the others get here.”

You hesitate, but allow yourself to be tugged along by an enthusiastic Taehyung. He finally comes to a stop before the endless rows of strawberry plants. Releasing your hand, he waddles over in between the rows and squats into a crouch to examine the fruit, before beckoning you over. You follow, crouching beside him and watching as he pinches a strawberry between gloved hands. He rotates it from side to side, and the glossy red surface catches the bright sunlight, before snapping the stem and dropping it into his basket. He smiles broadly at you, until you mirror his actions and pluck a fruit as well. The two of you fall into silence as you begin to rummage through the plants, searching for any ripe ones.

“What were you and Jin conversing about?” He asks conversationally after a long period of silence. You straighten, swiping sweat from your brow, and sit back on your heels. 

“Lots of things.” You say vaguely. “My family, mostly.” 

Taehyung’s eyes brighten with interest. 

“Do you have a large family?” He wonders. You shrug, examining an especially large strawberry before plucking it out. 

“There are larger, but I wouldn’t call it small. I have three younger siblings. And there’s a big age gap. My parents had me when they were very young, and when they hit their late thirties they got pregnant again.” You explain. “So it’s a reasonably sized family but it feels large. Especially because the three youngest are close in age- the twins are five this year, and they were a handful growing up, and the youngest is turning two. She’s just hitting that terrible toddler stage.” 

“So the “big sister” title you bear...” he wonders and you nod at the recollection. 

“I guess the habits carried over to my friend groups.” You admit sheepishly. “Maybe it had just become part of my personality without me realising it. I was fifteen when the twins were born, and my parents were ok to handle one kid, not two. So, as the oldest, I kinda had to look after myself and them. And it only got worst when the youngest came along... I think by that stage the only knowledge I had in my head was how to change a diaper and check the temperature of milk.” 

You pause, reflecting on those hectic days- waking up after a long night of the twins taking turns screaming and then having to go to school.... not being able to go out with friends because you were stuck baby-sitting... you can’t even remember the kind of child you were before the twins came along. 

“I eventually ended up having to move out because I couldn’t manage the workload of my degree and living with two toddlers and a newborn. I still go back when mum and dad are overloaded, though.” You confide. “I don’t really like the “universal big sister” name, but here I am.”

Taehyung sits back on his heels as well, tilting his head to examine you. Beneath the bright sunlight, inky black strands catch the light and glint a soft gold. Thick, dark lashes flutter almost sleepily over dark, considering irises and once more you’re struck by how handsome he is. 

You look away right as he offers a response. 

“I’m beginning to comprehend your behaviour.” He tells you. “You’re a natural caretaker.”

You stare at him in bafflement, particularly when he affectionately reaches forward to tuck a hair behind your ear. His fingertips tickle the shell of your ear as he does so.

“It’s not an offensive title.” He reassures you. “It doesn’t translate as well as from my language, but I don’t think Earth has a closer equivalent. I’m trying to say that you’re far more caring than I think perhaps even you realise.”

You stare at him in confusion, and he simply clicks his tongue in amusement. He straightens, getting to his feet and extending out into a languorous stretch. 

“I have ascertained an appropriate exchange.” He tells you, changing the subject. “For your repayment. Jin’s progenitor gave me an idea.”

You blink in confusion at him before recalling your earlier fight. With a sigh, you nod in defeat and offer a weak smile. 

“All of a sudden? What did she suggest? Foot massages? Me buying groceries for the next week?” You question, already wincing in anticipation. Nayeon has never been kind with her I.O.U’s, and has made you do things like be her personal driver for a week or do her laundry. 

“Take me somewhere that makes you happy.” He declares proudly, plucking a strawberry from his basket and chewing on it triumphantly. 

“What do you mean?” You ask- somewhere that makes you happy? Taehyung nods, and he’s almost a little smug in the way he does so. Like he’s one-upped you somehow by offering such a request. Though, you personally cannot comprehend why he would expend an opportunity for a free I.O.U on something that makes you happy.

“Well, you always take me places you think that I would enjoy. Like the sanctuary where they keep clusters of fish- the aquarius” - you don’t bother to correct him- “, or collecting supplies for sustenance from your vegetation hatcheries. But now I would like to go somewhere that you find an enjoyable use of your time. I think I’d like to see that “big sister” attitude directed at yourself.” He says. “And if you do that, then I shall offer full forgiveness for your earlier milk blunder!”

Something pulses in your chest; like the sensation of holding a baby bird carefully in your hands- something new and delicate and precious. You’re not sure what to do with yourself or the unfamiliar feeling.

“I... can do that.” You finally relent. “After your classes finish on Monday, I can take you.” 

Taehyung, oblivious to confusing sensations he’s triggered, just beams. 

“Excellent.” He exclaims. “Now try this strawberry- It’s quite sweet!”

You admittedly spend the rest of the day off-kilter- even after you leave Taehyung’s side and the others arrive to assist around the farm, that fluttery feeling remains. The image of Taehyung, smiling beneath warm, bright sunlight, feels sticky in your mind, like someone has glued it behind your eyelids, and you can’t figure out why for the life of you.

But one thing that is for sure is that the next Monday when you take Taehyung to the pier on the outskirts of the city to watch the boats go by, his smile confirms your earlier sentiment; taking care of him doesn’t feel like a chore.

[veliseraptor]

growing pains | The Untamed

2.8k, song lan/xue yang, part of the if living can be this series

posting this here first because I feel like my followers in particular deserve some kind of extra special bonus reward for putting up with my bullshit all day every day. just a bit of a thing, set earlier in the 'verse timeline and I'm pretty sure someone prompted this but lord if I remember who. ao3 posting to follow.

A-Qing and Xingchen were gone for the next day and overnight, off to Tanzhou to find some new clothes for a-Qing since she was growing out of the old ones, and Xue Yang was in a mood.

Song Lan was inclined to chalk it up to Xingchen’s absence. Sulking because a-Qing had specifically said she wanted to go alone with Xingchen, and heavens forbid Xingchen pay attention to someone else. It didn’t make him pleasant company: sullen and snappish, by turns brooding in silence and needling Song Lan in a clear attempt to get a rise out of him. That it was obvious he was trying to do so made it somewhat easier to ignore. 

“You’re so fucking boring,” Xue Yang snarled, finally, and shoved to his feet to stalk out of the yizhuang altogether. Song Lan let him go with a sigh of faint relief; he only had so much patience, and Xue Yang had a gift for finding the limits of it.

He was gone for several hours, long enough that Song Lan began to feel the pricklings of worry - not really that he might’ve done something, but more that maybe he’d taken off after Xingchen, or something. Or gotten himself into some kind of trouble. 

Probably unnecessary, but Song Lan didn’t assume much about what Xue Yang would or wouldn’t do. He was less unpredictable than he’d believed at first, but that didn’t make him predictable. 

Xue Yang returned close to evening, as Song Lan was making himself dinner and feeling a little abandoned in spite of himself. He saw him appear in the doorway out of the corner of his eye; unfortunately, he didn’t look in a much better mood than he’d left in. 

“There should be enough for you,” Song Lan said, after waiting a few moments to see if Xue Yang was going to say anything. 

“Aw, Zichen. That’s so nice of you,” Xue Yang said, sweetly vicious, and Song Lan blinked, thrown. Xue Yang hadn’t talked to him like that in…some time, and hearing it now made an uneasy shiver run down his spine. After a moment Xue Yang glanced away from him, mouth twisting in the way that Song Lan had deciphered meant he was feeling embarrassed about something and wasn’t going to admit it. “Thanks, but I’m not hungry,” he said, in more normal tones. Song Lan frowned. 

“There’s a sentence I’ve never heard out of your mouth,” he said, carefully dry. 

“First time for everything,” Xue Yang said, with a grin that looked too sharp. “I’m just gonna–” 

Song Lan gave up on trying to talk around it and interrupted to say, “what’s wrong?” 

Xue Yang’s shoulders tensed, his eyes narrowing. “Nothing,” he said. Song Lan could practically hear the bristling fur and warning growl. He ignored it.

“Give me a little more credit than that,” Song Lan said flatly. “Obviously something is bothering you. You’ve been in a foul mood all day.” 

Xue Yang’s jaw tightened, his mouth twisting further for a moment. “And I told you it’s nothing,” he said more loudly. “So leave it alone and stop bothering me, okay?” And he stalked into their bedroom and closed the door emphatically loudly. It was only so much of a gesture considering the size of the space, but it did make Song Lan wonder if he shouldn’t sleep alone tonight. If Xue Yang wanted to brood over whatever was bothering him, then fine. There wasn’t much Song Lan could do about it.

**

It wasn’t as though it was unusual. Xue Yang still wasn’t in the habit of…well, telling Song Lan things. Particularly when something was bothering him, prying it out of him was next to impossible. Normally he’d refer it to Xiao Xingchen, who seemed to have a particular gift for it; all he had to do was put on a certain expression and ask, or sometimes just saying a simple “Chengmei” would do it.

Song Lan had wondered idly if he could make the same trick work for him, but he didn’t think so. The problem was rather more fundamental, and personal, than that. 

Knowing that didn’t necessarily make it any easier to accept the fact that one of his…whatever you wanted to call him, still didn’t fully trust him. Particularly not with anything approaching a vulnerability.

It takes time, Xingchen had told him gently, last time he’d said something to him, though he looked pained. It did with me, and the two of you had…a difficult start. 

That was certainly one way of putting it. Song Lan had enough self-control not to wince. 

I know, he’d said. But it would be nice if it took a little less. Which had made Xingchen laugh, even if he hadn’t really been joking.

**

Xue Yang’s mood was no better in the morning. If anything, he seemed worse; he snapped at Song Lan when he asked him about breakfast, and remained curled up in bed for a concerning amount of the morning before emerging. 

“Are you sick?” Song Lan asked him, point blank.

“No,” Xue Yang said. 

Is this about Xingchen being gone, he would ask, if he wanted to deal with a veritable explosion. He examined Xue Yang again, trying to divine what had gone wrong. Maybe it was just one of his moods - he did get those, seemingly for no real reason, but usually this sort of behavior was preceded by a swing into a frenzied state of even more abundant energy than usual, and there hadn’t been that. He studied Xue Yang’s hunched shoulders, the set of his mouth. There were shadows under his eyes. Song Lan could almost picture a storm cloud hanging over his head. 

Something clicked in Song Lan’s head and he sat up, eyes narrowing. 

Before he could think better of it, he said, “your hand’s bothering you.” 

Xue Yang’s head whipped around with a speed that would’ve been comedic if it weren’t for the look in his eyes of hunted-animal alarm. That just hurt. 

“That’s it, isn’t it?” Song Lan said, pretending he didn’t notice and carefully keeping his voice neutral. Xue Yang’s shoulders drew up closer to his ears and his gaze darted past Song Lan to the door like he was considering making a run for it. Song Lan put both his hands on the table so they would be visible and weaponless. “Hasn’t Xingchen told you…”

“Started after he left,” Xue Yang said. “It’s not a big deal. Yeah, sure, maybe it hurts, sometimes it does that. It’s nothing I can’t deal with.”

“Yes,” Song Lan said, his voice flattening. “I’m aware you are capable of managing pain and I’m suitably impressed. That doesn’t mean you should.” 

Xue Yang narrowed his eyes. “You know how I feel about should. It doesn’t mean anything about what happens. And it’ll be fine. I don’t know why you’re getting all bothered about it, I’m not going to do anything.”

“That wasn’t my assumption,” Song Lan said, a little stung. 

“Whatever it is, then.”

“The idea of dealing with your sour mood until Xingchen comes back–”

“I’ll go somewhere else, then,” Xue Yang snarled. “Sorry to inconvenience you with my presence, Song-daozhang.” 

“That’s not what I meant,” Song Lan said, exasperated. “You know - Xingchen isn’t the only one who knows healing techniques.” 

Xue Yang twitched his shoulders, his eyes shifting away again, but just for a moment. “Yeah? Good for a-Qing,” he said. Song Lan made an exasperated noise and decided to give up on trying to approach sideways. 

“I could help,” he said, trying and only partially succeeding at keeping his voice level, “if you let me.”

Xue Yang stared at him with wide and wary eyes that Song Lan tried, very hard, not to take personally. He knew this was a sore point, that it was something Xue Yang worked to hide - the glove that he nearly always wore would have made that obvious even if everything else didn’t. For all that it didn’t seem to impact his swordsmanship or cultivation, Xue Yang guarded his off hand like an open wound.

An old one, though he still didn’t know how old. Or what had caused it. Taking Xingchen’s word, he hadn’t asked more than once, for all his curiosity about it. The majority of Xue Yang’s life before they’d first encountered him, Song Lan had learned, was a subject that was generally better left alone. 

But he couldn’t bring himself to just sit around and know Xue Yang was suffering when he could at least try to do something about it.

Xue Yang turned his head slightly to one side like he needed to look at Song Lan from a different angle. 

“Would you really rather suffer than let me do it?” he said, and he meant it to be dry or neutral but it came out hurt and a little bitter. Xue Yang’s eyes widened a little, like he hadn’t expected to be called on it. 

“What? That’s not–” He made a frustrated noise. “Are you offended or something?”

Song Lan could feel himself tensing and tried to relax. “No.”

Xue Yang shifted his shoulders. His teeth tugged at his lower lip. “Sure,” he said abruptly. “Okay, fine, if you want to so bad.” Issued like a challenge, or a dare, but it was all too easy to see the spark of fear at the back of Xue Yang’s eyes. 

That hurt, too. 

It’s not personal. Or at least not just personal. Xingchen is a sole exception, and isn’t he in so many ways?

“Thank you,” he said, which got a strange look from Xue Yang that he ignored. “Sit down and take off your glove.” 

Xue Yang hesitated a moment longer, then did sit down, yanking the half-glove off with the same air of defiance. Song Lan held out one hand palm up and waited for Xue Yang to extend his before taking it. Keeping his touch carefully light, he looked his hand over with careful attention. He already knew what to expect: the ugly scar where his smallest finger had been severed, two others healed slightly crooked. In his hand, too: bone healed out of alignment. Xue Yang’s fingers flexed - unconsciously, Song Lan thought - and the joints popped loudly. 

What happened, he wanted to ask. Who did this to you, but he choked the questions down and focused on what he’d said he was going to do. He could feel Xue Yang’s eyes boring into him, the tension in his body.

“Try to relax,” he said. Xue Yang sort of scoffed, and Song Lan paused. “I mean it,” he said. “If you’re tensing up that’s just going to make it more difficult.” 

“Fine, whatever,” Xue Yang said, not quite snapped, but he did seem to try to relax. Sort of. He was still wound tight. 

“What do you think I’m going to do?” Song Lan burst out. 

“I don’t know,” Xue Yang said, and then shook himself and said, “I don’t think you’re going to do anything, you just could.”

Song Lan pressed his lips together and exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Xue Yang laughed, though it sounded a little wild. “Song-daozhang, you know I like it when you hurt me,” he said with a sharp-edged grin. Song Lan gave up and just pressed his fingers in where he could feel a snarl of stagnated qi. Xue Yang’s whole body jumped with a sound that wasn’t quite a yelp, but he didn’t yank away. 

Half closing his eyes, Song Lan focused on sensing the flow of energy in Xue Yang’s hand, up his arm. Strong and vital throughout, but…

Seeing was one thing; feeling was another. He controlled the urge to wince, sure that Xue Yang would notice if he did and react poorly. The damage ran deep and old; it disrupted the normal flow of qi but it seemed that somehow Xue Yang’s body had adapted. It was no wonder, though, that this was a recurring problem. He could see how he might have corrected it, at some point, but that time was long gone now.

Xue Yang had gone quiet as Song Lan worked, using just his hands for now but wondering if he shouldn’t find Xingchen’s acupuncture needles. Song Lan considered and decided there was probably no better time than now, given the effect he’d seen this process have on Xue Yang when Xingchen did it. 

“Why do you hide it from us when it hurts,” he asked, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible. Xue Yang twitched almost like he was going to pull away but didn’t complete the motion.

“It’s not a big deal,” he said. “I don’t want Daozhang fussing over it every time it happens and he always does, and now there’s you, too. Besides, I’m used to it.” 

“Considering the impact it has on your mood it seems to still very much affect you,,” Song Lan said. Xue Yang made an irritated noise. 

“Yeah, it still hurts and I don’t like it but it’s not–” his voice broke off with a sort of ah noise; Song Lan felt something release and heard Xue Yang’s exhale. His body relaxed with clear relief. 

“Xingchen always notices anyway,” Song Lan said. “And even if you don’t think it’s a problem, he does.” He didn’t mention his own feelings on the matter. He doubted they’d be relevant. 

“Xiao Xingchen gets too worked up about shit sometimes,” Xue Yang muttered, but his voice sounded a little blurry. Song Lan kept himself from smiling. 

“Maybe,” he said. “But you can’t keep him from doing so. It’s in his nature.” 

Xue Yang made a bit of a face, but it looked half-hearted. Song Lan found another pressure point and nearly flushed at Xue Yang’s moan. 

“It just seems,” he said slowly, “that if there’s a means to spare yourself this pain then…why not take it?”

Xue Yang was quiet, though maybe that had something to do with the fact that he was looking increasingly hazy in a way that Song Lan had somewhat different associations with. He coughed, refocusing.

“Xue Yang?” he said, after several moments of silence.

“I wish you didn’t,” Xue Yang said, and there was something darker in his voice that had a warning pinging at the back of Song Lan’s mind. “Know, I mean. You or him. Nobody’s supposed to. It’s not–” he made a frustrated noise and then said, somewhat nonsensically, “it doesn’t own me.”

Song Lan frowned. “What does that mean?” 

“What I said,” Xue Yang said. “That it doesn’t…it’s just my fucking hand. It’s not gonna kill me so…so whatever. I’m not going to just - go around crying about it like a fucking baby.”

“I didn’t say you should,” Song Lan said, pausing because he could hear Xue Yang getting himself worked up and wanted to head it off before it got too far. “All I’m saying is that given we do know, and something can be done about it…” 

He couldn’t say why don’t you trust me out loud, even if he wanted to. He didn’t know that Xue Yang knew what it was to trust someone. At least not the word; in practice he seemed to manage it without noticing what was happening. 

“It’s stupid,” Xue Yang said, a little quieter. “I’m not - you’d think it’d stop hurting by now, maybe get the hint that it’s just the way it is and to shut up about it.” He let out a laugh that sounded more than a little harsh. “Guess not.”

Song Lan very carefully did not let himself pause even as something clicked in his head. Not the whole of it, he thought. Certainly the unease about showing vulnerability was no small part, as it was with so many things about Xue Yang. But maybe something else as well. 

He didn’t know what would be safe to say, so Song Lan decided to say nothing. 

**

Song Lan didn’t stop until he was certain that the circulation of energy was as regular as it was going to get and the tension of pain had oozed fully out of Xue Yang’s body. Xue Yang didn’t quite go fully to sleep on Song Lan, and he tried not to be disappointed by that fact. He certainly came close, though.

When Song Lan did stop, he roused sleepily from where he’d ended up slumped sideways against Song Lan’s side; for a flicker of a moment Song Lan considered pulling him back just to see what he did, but decided against it. 

“Better?” he said, trying not to sound smug. Xue Yang squinted at him like he was still hearing it anyway. 

“Yeah,” he said eventually. “I guess.” 

Song Lan supposed he’d have to take that as good enough.

[sezja]

Falling Slowly, part 3

Previously: Part 1, Part 2

Golden evening light slants through the ragged curtains, and Guydelot winces as it hits his face, rousing him from his shallow doze. Hells. It's gone and gotten late. The bard rolls onto his back, gazing up at the underside of the bunk above him - the barracks are still mostly empty, save for a handful of hunters bedding down early. Sanson certainly hasn't headed in for the night: if he had, Guydelot'd be able to hear the man muttering in his sleep.

Sanson.

An irresistible smile curls his lips. If he hadn't slept all that well, it'd surely been because he'd spent the entire time remembering, replaying in his head over and over again the unexpected offer - and wrestling with himself over whether or not he'd made the right choice turning Sanson down. Part of him wanted desperately to march right back out and tell Sanson he'd changed his mind - what'd it matter where they did the deed, after all?

But the other part of him - the part that's growing increasingly fond of Sanson Smyth, and growing louder about it with each passing bell - said it mattered, and it says so now, too.

Still, what a rush it is to know Sanson wants him, too!

Guydelot chuckles quietly to himself, tucking his arms beneath his head. He'd never claimed to be irresistible, but to think his charms might've won over the likes of Sanson! He hadn't even tried flirting his way into Sanson's good graces, presuming from the off it was a lost cause - the kiss on the road had come clear out of the blue, with no effort on Guydelot's part. He'd find that galling if it'd been anyone else, he reckons, but Sanson... the thought that the man might've been quietly fostering a secret desire for him all along...

Well. It makes him wish he still had the barracks to himself.

Since he doesn't, he rolls out of his bunk, tugs his boots back on, and trudges back outside. His own company just ain't enough anymore - Matron save him, he wants to see Sanson again, now that things have changed. Now that he knows at least a little of what's going on behind those beautiful eyes.

He finds Sanson not far from where he'd left the man - near the river. Now, though, Sanson sits perched on a boulder beside the stream, gazing at the water with what Guydelot can only describe as a vacant expression. What's he been doing with the past bell or so, the bard wonders? It's been driving the man half-mad being stuck here like this, waiting for their scholar to get back to Tailfeather.

Mayhap it was boredom that had him trying to slip into your bed, a wicked little voice at the back of his mind suggests, making his stomach abruptly churn. But no, no, Sanson's not the type to fuck someone out of boredom, and besides, what about that kiss?

He brushes off his lingering unease.

"Looks like you got all that blood out of your coat," he calls, strolling up to stand next to Sanson's boulder, as though nothing at all could possibly be troubling him.

Sanson eyes him, perhaps a touch wary, but he nods. "Aye. Did you sleep well?"

"No," he laments, heaving a theatrical sigh. "I should've taken you up on your offer. I'd've slept better if someone could've tired me out first."

To his surprise, Sanson's gaze turns flinty, and he looks sharply away, going rigid. His lips press into a tight line. He says nothing, returning his attention to the stream, as though Guydelot weren't there at all.

Guydelot watches in silent confusion for a moment, then finds the presence of mind to ask, "Alright, what'd I say?"

Sanson remains frosty a moment longer... and then thaws, sighing, with a shake of his head. "Well, go on, then. Get it out of your system."

"Get what out of my system?"

"The teasing." Color begins to creep into Sanson's cheeks, and the tips of his ears turn faintly pink. With resignation heavy in his tone, he says, "It was a foolish offer, and I was a fool to make it. The mockery is well-earned; I may as well not sulk about it. I told myself I would bear it with something like dignity."

Mockery, Guydelot thinks, baffled. He thinks you're just-

His gut drops to his feet. Mockery! As if he's the type to poke fun at a man for expressing honest desire! As though, for that matter, he hasn't spent the past bell torn between fantasizing about how good it'd be when he did finally get Sanson in bed, and regretting not doing so when he'd been given the bloody chance!

"Who says I'm teasing?" He reaches to brush the hair away from Sanson's cheek, but the man swats his hand away before he can. "I-" he begins, but Sanson surges to his feet, stepping down from the boulder and setting off at a brisk walk, leaving Guydelot, bewildered, to hurry in his wake. The hyur's steps are purposeful and determined, but the way his hands have curled into fists and the stubborn set of his chin suggest he's quietly furious - and no matter how Guydelot tries to get his attention, Sanson resolutely ignores him.

"I'm rested, you know," he says, sharply, disbelief finally giving way to frustration - how's he meant to make sense of all this if Sanson won't talk to him? "I can keep this up all godsdamned night, if I have to!"

When Sanson finally whirls to face him, Guydelot takes a step back, startled by the fury in the man's eyes.

"You go too far," the man snaps, rigid with anger. "Mockery I can bring myself to endure, but I will not stomach you toying with me for your own amusement-"

"I'm not-"

"I know my desires are futile and unreciprocated; I can make my peace with that - I am a grown man, and I can tolerate and accept your disinterest in me. That I... that I ought to have known better than to- that I ought to have known better goes without saying, of course, yet I will say it anyway."

"Will you just-"

"Your rejection is only to be expected," Sanson continues, relentless. "I hardly know what I was thinking when I offered you my company; of course I knew you would never agree to it. I... I had anticipated you would never let me hear the end of it, of course, but- but here you stand, pretending you've some interest in me-"

"Sanson-"

"It goes beyond mockery into cruelty, and Guydelot Thildonnet, I will not swallow it!"

He stops at last for breath, red-faced and heaving, his eyes burning with wounded anger. Guydelot lets the silence stand between them. His own thoughts flicker disordered and half-formed through his mind, and he struggles to seize any one of them long enough to speak them aloud; what is he meant to say to all this? Apologize? He doesn't know precisely what it is he's done wrong, but it feels too big for a sorry. Try to explain what it is he's feeling, what it is he wants? That'll feel shallow, won't it, coming on the heels of Sanson's conviction that he's being insincere?

Guydelot takes a deep breath.

"Now, as I recall," he says, keeping his voice as level as can be managed; an edge creeps in, regardless. "What I said was, 'Some other time.'"

Waspish, Sanson replies, "And do you believe I cannot identify a polite refusal when I hear it?"

"I believe you're reading denial into what I meant as a deferral." He wants to shake the man. Why's he making this so hard? "I said 'some other time,' and I bloody well meant 'some other time!'"

Sanson shakes his head - if anything, he seems angrier, as though Guydelot's insistence upon all of this is only rubbing salt in the wound. "You have never expressed any interest in me," he points out, pointing an accusing finger at the bard. "Not once! Am I to believe you have abruptly changed your mind and developed some... some attraction to me-"

"You did," Guydelot bites off. "Kissing me out of nowhere like you did-"

"To which you had no reaction!"

"No reaction!" Guydelot laughs, bitter. "I couldn't move all night after you kissed me!"

"You lie," Sanson says, but the waver in his voice betrays his uncertainty. "You pretended it never happened in the morning..."

"And so the hells did you." He folds his arms, fixing the hyur with a glare. "At least I didn't just go about my night like you hadn't offered to bed me, eh?"

Sanson sighs, burying his face in his hands. "I wish you had."

"Aye, well, I wish I'd had the good sense to kiss you silly before I headed off for my nap, so there'd be no question of what I mean to do with you later."

That earns him a startled glance from between Sanson's fingers. Guydelot, sensing a shift in the mood, slides his own hands gently around Sanson's wrists, tugging the man's hands away from his face. It's growing dark, and it's difficult to read the expression on Sanson's face - but some part of him's still stubborn, refusing to take Guydelot at his word. Fear, mayhap, of being hurt for the bard's amusement. It's enough to make Guydelot wonder who's hurt him before, that he's so slow to trust now.

"Let me clear it up, then," he says, lifting Sanson's hands to his lips, pressing kisses to the knuckles of each hand, gazing deeply into the man's eyes, willing him to believe it. He needs to believe it. "Sanson-"

"Oi there!" A hunter calls to them, marching over. They leap apart, guilty, but the man seems untroubled to have caught them in a moment of intimacy. "You're the fellows waiting on the scholar, aye? His hired sword's been spotted by our scouts, heading this way. He'll be here within the bell, and his master can't be far behind. Thought you ought to know."

As the hunter departs, his message delivered, Guydelot turns back to Sanson. "I-"

"We cannot do this now," Sanson murmurs, shaking his head and backing away. He clears his throat, averts his gaze. "We have... we have our mission to think of. We will..." He briefly meets Guydelot's gaze, then looks away, hurrying toward the gate. "We will discuss this... later."

Later, Guydelot thinks, simmering with disappointment.

'Life is too short to waste squabbling,' Celaine had said, Guydelot reflects as he once more trails along in Sanson's wake, quietly seething. Well, it's also too short to waste on pompous prats who won't quit jerking me around!

But there'll be time to talk about it all later.

Just as soon as they talk to this Sylviel fellow.

Then they'll sort this out.

Later.

[foodieforthoughts]

Hello love! I have this scenario stuck in my head:

Walter hurts his right shoulder quite badly when solving a case (or slipping on ice 🤔)which leaves him imobile to his dominant arm. Being the stubborn man he is, he releases himself from the hospital and back at home has to release that he alone struggles with the simplest tasks. Due to the time of night or a snowstorm outside the only one left to ask for help is that new annoying neighbour (there's the trope I guess)... might lead to a number of embaressing (and hot?) situations...

Wherever that came from... never mind my weird brain 🙈... does that maybe, possibly strike your muse?

Omg. 🤭 Thank you for the request @omgkatinka I tried to make it fluffy and funny, but I'm in a Walter mood lately and it did end up with a hint of smut, so here it goes.

Warnings: slight description of shoulder injury, a little bit of angst, fluff, description of male masturbation

*divider by @firefly-graphics

Title: Helping hand

Walter groaned when he turned on his side, half asleep and in a lot of pain. His shoulder throbbed like a thousand needles pricked him at the same time, shooting a blinding pain up to his fingers.

"Fuck!" He cursed at himself, rolling onto his back and trying to breathe through his agony. He clutched his sore shoulder with his hand, gently soothing the bandages and blinking through the tears that had sprung at the corners of his eyes.

Walter had hurt his shoulder while on a mission to catch hold of a guy involved in human trafficking. They had chased the culprit through the abandoned factory, barely losing him through the maze of metal staircases when Walter had lunged at the man, tackling him to the floor. But the rusty old work bridge had crumbled under the force, bringing both men crashing down to the ground with metal pieces and debris. Luckily for them they weren't harmed in a life threatening manner, but Walter's shoulder had dislocated, resulting in a torn labrum requiring surgery.

"Fuck this shit." Walter had told himself while lying in his hospital bed on the third day post surgery, pressing the call button for the nurse. He had gruffly told the pale, scared woman that he wanted to go home and he was feeling fine. After arguing with the doctor about his health, Walter had self discharged himself against medical advice.

He thought he had made a wise choice coming home, but he knew he was stupid to think he could make it on his own.

Sitting up on the bed and grabbing the strap of the arm sling, Walter groaned. With his dominant hand rendered useless for the time being, Walter had a lot of trouble with his daily activities. Faye and Angie were in California visiting her parents, leaving him no one to call for help for the past weeks.

He made his way to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water when he saw the heavy blanket of snow outside. Checking his watch, he gathered it was only four pm and yet it was almost dark with snow still falling steadily. Walter had taken his pain meds and a sleeping pill when he had awoken in the middle of the night, and had effectively knocked himself out for a good twelve hour sleep. With that realization, his stomach growled indicating his missed meals for the day.

Looking around at the kitchen, Walter groaned when he saw the empty takeout boxes and the overflowing trash can. Injury had left him disorganised, making him live like a junkie. He couldn't even remember the last time he had taken a decent shower, sniffing the air as he could smell his own body odour. He was about to grab a trash bag from the counter and try to clean, when his doorbell rang.

Walter groaned, again. He had an inkling it was her. His chirpy neighbor who was the only one who showed up to help him every other day. She was annoying in the beginning, trying to start up conversations when all he wanted to do was sulk. But he had warmed up to her, still keeping her at an arm's length, but allowing her to assist him from time to time. When he opened the front door, there she was, looking adorable covered in cozy woollen attire from head to toe, a cute beanie over her hair, carrying a big lunch box in her gloved hands. She smiled at him, shivering with the cold winds until he moved to the side to let her in.

You could never believe how intimidating Walter had seemed to you only a couple of weeks ago. He would always throw a curt nod at you when you would greet him from your door if you ever happened to cross paths, never smiling or staying for a chat. You had gathered from the other neighbors that he was a cop, Detective Walter Marshall, kind of a loner and always grumpy. There was no denying your attraction to him, his scruffy beard and thick curls always left your fingers itching to touch them, with his accent being a major plus point. But he would never give you a chance to strike up a decent conversation.

It was all fun and games, you liked the chase, even if you were the one doing all the chasing. Seemed like a conquest for you but when his car was missing from his parking spot for days on end, you began worrying about him. Then one fine day, you spotted him out in the curb, trying to open the trash bin with one hand while the other was hanging in a sling. You had walked up to him, out of concern when Walter had turned around to go back inside slipping on the ice, only for you to grab a hold of him trying to break his fall but instead tumbling to the cold ground with him on top of you. He had apologized profusely, wincing in pain as he moved and letting you help him stand up.

From that day onwards, you always made it a point to stop by his house atleast once. It helped that Walter never complained.

"I had made lasagna. Did you have lunch?" You asked, taking off your beanie to hang on the hook and leaving your boots by the door. You felt Walter's looming figure follow you as you made your way to the kitchen. Taking in the surrounding, you nodded to yourself, your question answered without Walter having to utter a word. "Very well, why don't you sit at the table and I'll serve you the food?"

You tried to grab clean plates and spoons, frowning at the dirty dishes from last night, but you didn't blame him. It was only so much he could do with one hand.

"Did you have a good night's sleep?" You asked, trying to strike up a conversation with the Detective.

"No. I took sleeping pills."

Placing the plate of food in front of him, you narrowed your eyes at him. "Don't get too attached to those meds though." You handed him the spoon and fork, before getting to clean his kitchen.

"You don't have to do that." Walter protested from his place at the table, almost about to stand up. "I was about to clean around the house."

"With one hand? Come on, Detective Walter, you know better than that. And I don't mind, I was holed up at my house since morning anyway, this atleast gives me a chance to do something." You winked at him, grabbing the empty bottles of water and shoving them in the trash bag. By the time Walter had finished his meal, you had cleaned the kitchen with only the dishes to spare.

"Let me get those." Walter tried to reach for the soap but you were fast enough to grab it first.

"Go rest, I can handle this." You nudged him playfully with your hip. You could not believe your eyes when you saw Walter smile. "Wow! Look at that! I am being graced with a smile."

Rolling his eyes at you, Walter stayed put at his place, handing you the plates one by one. You insisted for him to rest, but he denied each of your requests. You were just about done loading up the dishes in the dishwasher when your phone rang from it's place in the purse that was hanging on the hook.

"I'll put them in the rack, go." Walter assured you with another smile. You nodded at him, handing the gloves and walking out the kitchen. You were texting back your mom, when you heard the Detective cuss loudly, followed by falling and breaking of plates. You hurried inside to find Walter drenched with soapy water and the broken pieces of ceramic and glass on the floor.

"I'm done with this!" He shouted, trying to pry open the velcro of his sling in anger. The edge of his shirt dripped water on the floor with a stream travelling down from the front of his pants.

"Hey, hey." You rushed to him, carefully maneuvering away from the plates, and caught hold of his hands. "It's okay. It happens. Why don't you go change and I'll clean here." You didn't back down when he stared at you, not moving and not giving up. But a silent moment passed and he left for his bedroom without a word.

You walked towards Walter’s bedroom, the silence of the house only disturbed by the whistling winds of the oncoming storm outside. It was late in the night when you had gotten the chance to pay the ailing Detective a visit. With freshly baked cookies in a box, you had knocked at his door only to be left standing out in the cold. He had handed you a spare key for emergencies as the storm warning approached which you never used until today.

When you reached the door to his bedroom, you stopped in your tracks hearing muffled grunts from the other side. The door was slightly cracked open, faint light seeping out to the the hallway. You peered through the gap only to gape at the sight.

The other day when Walter had spilled water over his front and gone to change, you had followed him after hearing him cursing at himself. He had a hard time taking off the wet clothes, making him angrier by the minute. You had helped him then, only to be left mesmerized by his body as your nimble fingers had brushed over his skin.

Walter had his eyes closed, his arm in the sling and resting on his naked chest and pillows with a sheet covering his lower half. His other hand was under the cover, moving up and down as he pleasured himself. You felt your cheeks warm, spreading down to your chest and the tip of your ears as you watched him in his private moment, wanting to turn and run away but failing to do so.

You weren't going to ask him, but you could swear a long moment of sparks had passed between the two of you. Your dreams now featured vivid fantasies with Walter, leaving you in a daze for the rest of the day.

As much as you wanted to stare at his heaving chest, listen to his melodious moans and trace his sweat sheened face with your gaze; this felt like a rude invasion of privacy. You were about to turn on your heels when you heard the whisper of your name rolling out of his lips. Whipping your head to see if you had been caught red handed, you were left baffled to find Walter's eyes closed, unaware of your presence and repeating your name like a mantra while he pumped his length.

You had no idea what got into you, but the urge to be with the man you had been lusting over was so strong, you pushed the door open with heated cheeks and a trembling core. Walter's eyes shot open, widening as he took in your presence, scrambling to hide himself underneath the sheets.

"Wh-what are you-?" He stammered, a rosy pink tint appearing on his flushed skin.

You did not answer him, choosing to close the distance between the two of you instead. You crouched down next to his side of the bed, placing your hand on his scruffy cheek. His pupils were blown wide, lips parted as he struggled to regain his breath and rendered speechless at the debacle. You waited for him to object to your advances, watching as he wet his lips with his tongue before leaning to kiss him. Walter remained frozen for a long second, until he moved his lips along with yours.

Breaking away from the kiss, you smiled at him, a hand creeping to his member that twitched in response. "Do you need a hand?" You asked, smirking as Walter could only nod before you pulled the sheet away from his body.

[bobohu4eva]

Sweet Tooth (Part 6)

Characters: Baekhyun x Reader

Genre: Royalty AU, fluff, angst, eventual smut, mutual pining

Summary: Life as the palace baker got a lot more interesting after catching the devastatingly cute prince sneaking around your kitchen.

WC: 5.8k

Tag List: @wooya1224 @dixnysustae @bbhile @geniusloey @blahblahblah-boo @leave-me-in-the-summertime @baekyeonoreo @cupreoussyzygy @nana-banana @deligxt

Masterlist

“Good morning!” You heard a familiar voice say and a smile lit up your face when you looked over to the bakery door to see who it was.

“Hi Baekhyun.” You replied. “You’re here early.”

Baekhyun usually showed up later in the morning or early in the afternoon but today he was there before the sun had even gone up.

“Yeah… I woke up a few hours ago and tried to go back to sleep but I couldn’t so I thought I’d come down here.”

He was smiling as he said it, but it still made you worry.

It had been about a week since he’d come running to your room, and luckily his parents hadn’t pushed the marriage any further but you could tell it was still stressing him out. The last few times he’d come to see you he’d seemed a bit distant and on edge and it was starting to get worrisome.

Of course you understood why he might still be anxious about the whole situation, and about seeing you. At this point you both knew it was a bad idea. It was never supposed to go on this long and you never should’ve gotten so close to one another but now it was too late. You both had to be careful not to raise any more suspicions that could bring someone to say something to someone important.

“You know if it isn’t worth the stress, you don’t have to keep coming here.”

Of course you didn’t expect him to actually stop showing up, but you did want him to know that it was okay if it really was getting too risky.

He frowned, and you immediately regretted your words when you saw how hurt he looked.

“You really think I’d do that? Do you even know what you’re saying?” He ran his hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. “I promise you, being able to see you here is the only thing that keeps the shitty feelings from eating me alive.”

“No, I didn't think you would, I just wanted you to know that that was an option, if things really do get too… dicey. You know we’re on thin ice already.”

“Don’t remind me.” He mumbled. “What a great way to start the morning.”

You let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, okay? Do you want me to make you anything? I don’t have much to do today anyway.”

As pouty as he was being, you knew he had a weakness. You could see a small smile pulling at his lips. “Only if you apologize for being mean to your best friend.”

“How was I being mean?!”

“You said that, like you wouldn’t even care if you never saw me again.”

He was quieter now, and the smile had quickly disappeared. He was hurt. Of course you hadn’t meant it like that, but that didn’t really matter now.

“Come on, you know I would care, of course I would miss you, but if it’s what’s best for you…”

“I know it’s stupid to be here so much okay? Can you stop now?” He snapped.

You kept your lips sealed after that. Baekhyun had never said something like that to you before, outside of playful teasing, but you could tell he was being serious now. You had to admit, it stung a little.

You watched as he walked over to his usual spot across the table from you and sat down, the grim expression on his face remaining unmoved. You weren’t going to speak again until he said something, so you got back to what you were doing, letting him sit there and sulk.

The minutes kept passing and he still didn’t say anything to you, in fact he barely even looked at you or what you were doing. You’d shoved a plate of reject macarons in front of him and all of his attention was focused on them now, although you knew his eyes were avoiding you on purpose.

He obviously did realize how risky it was, yet he seemed not to care. Hell, he didn’t even want to address it. That was the part that really stung, since getting caught wouldn’t only affect him, you would be in big trouble too. But he didn’t even want to think about that, he just wanted to keep pushing it and testing both of your luck it seemed.

After a few more minutes of working you heard a knock on the door before it opened, and you smiled when you saw your friend Kyungsoo, one of the head chefs in the kitchen next to where you worked. You and Kyungsoo had known each other for years, and had practically grown up in the palace together. He’d spent his whole life cooking, and was probably the best chef in the whole kingdom. He truly had a talent for what he did, and was someone you admired a lot. As teens you’d even had a few little flings, but in the end you were better off as friends.

“Hi Kyungsoo! Do you need something?”

“Yeah, actually. Someone wants a last minute quiche so I need you to make some dough, if that’s alright.”

“I’m not too busy, it’s no problem.”

You looked over to Baekhyun when you finally felt his eyes on you again. He looked tense.

“Thank you, y/n. I’m not too busy either, so just let me know when it’s ready!”

You expected him to leave after that, but he just stood there, seemingly deep in thought.

“Or, since I’m not busy either, can you show me how to make it? So I don’t always have to bother you about it in the future?” Kyungsoo asked.

“Sure!” You smiled back at him, glad that you had someone to take your mind off Baekhyun and his pouting. Though it did surprise you that someone as talented as him didn’t know how to make such a simple dough.

Kyungsoo made his way over to your work table and you started to gather all your ingredients. While you were grabbing the butter you noticed how Baekhyun was staring at Kyungsoo. You’d never seen him look so agitated before, and you hoped he wasn’t going to do or say anything stupid.

You started showing him the process of making the dough, but soon realized you forgot the water so you went to fetch some, and before you could even reach the faucet you heard Baekhyun’s voice.

“Please leave. She shouldn’t have to show you how to make it anyway.” He said to Kyungsoo, face completely blank.

Kyungsoo frowned, but quickly bowed, spoke a small “Yes sir” and disappeared again.

You almost couldn’t believe it.

Not once had Baekhyun bossed anyone around in front of you, and now he was being straight up rude.

Once you were sure you were both out of earshot you couldn’t help but speak up.

“What the hell Baekhyun? That was uncalled for.”

“Yeah well I didn’t want him here and I’m the one in charge.” He grumbled.

You couldn’t help but scoff at that. “I thought you weren’t like that.”

“Like what?” His eyes narrowed as he asked.

“Like an asshole prince who orders people around like they’re nothing. I thought you were better than that.”

With that you turned your back to him, making your way to the stairs that led to the basement. You needed to grab more flour, but you also just wanted an excuse to get away from him for a bit.

At first it seemed to work, and you made it all the way down the stairs without hearing a peep from him.

You sat down on a stack of bags of sugar and heard footsteps start to come down the stairs towards you.

“Come on, all I did was ask him to leave.” You heard him say, although you couldn’t see him yet.

You didn’t respond, sitting with your arms crossed waiting for him to come all the way down. Once you could see him, you gave him an angry look before responding.

“It was still rude. And worse than that, you could give someone the wrong idea. You can’t act like that if you want us to keep being friends.”

You hoped he’d get what you were saying without having to explain it to him. You weren’t sure if it was jealousy that had made him say it, or if he was still just in a bad mood, but it didn’t matter if others were already jumping to conclusions. You hoped Kyungsoo wasn’t too hurt and that he wouldn’t read into it too much, but knowing him he probably did. He was always a very quiet and even more observant guy.

Baekhyun just rolled his eyes at what you said, and you narrowed your eyes at him. “Sometimes I think that you wouldn’t even care if someone important figured out that we’re friends. You’re not the only one who would have to deal with the consequences of that, you know. I’d probably be even worse off than you.”

“Are you kidding? Of course I would care! I’ve told you a million times that visiting you here is all I look forward to nowadays, of course I don’t want that to stop.”

It was infuriating how dense he could be at times. You stood up, walking up to him and grabbing his hands.

“Then you have to be more careful, and you can’t act like that around my friends.” You said before letting go and turning to walk back up the stairs.

You’d made it up the first couple stairs before you felt his hand on your wrist.

“Y/n, wait. Didn’t you come down here for something?”

You had expected him to apologize, not remind you of the bag or flour you forgot about, but unfortunately he was right. However you absolutely were not in the mood to have him doting on you at the moment so you just stared back at him, hoping he’d get the message and leave you be, but he had other plans.

“Come on, what do you need? Sugar? Flour? I’ll carry it up for you.”

He wasn’t going to leave you alone, you could tell that much. You still couldn’t understand why he was always so careless when the two of you had so much to lose, and it still made you mad. You wanted him to apologize, and to be more careful, but he didn’t seem interested in that, still.

“You’re not carrying anything until you apologize and you promise me you’ll be more careful.” You said, pulling your wrist out of his hand and walking past him back down to where you had been.

“You should be the one apologizing to me for what you said earlier! You say I’m your best friend but then act like you wouldn’t even give a shit if I ditched you forever! That’s not much of a friend at all if you ask me.”

He was acting like such a child, you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. You brushed him off and started trying to haul one of the bags of flour over your shoulder to carry up the stairs but for some reason it felt even heavier than usual today. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t do much more than drag it across the floor. The whole time Baekhyun watched, arms crossed, with one eyebrow raised as you struggled.

“All you have to do is say you’re sorry and I’ll get it for you.” He chuckled as you finally dragged the bag to the bottom of the stairs. You didn’t respond.

When you started trying to hoist the bag up, one stair at a time, you knew you were screwed. You were pissed. As much as you didn’t want his help right now, you needed it. The smug look on his face when you sat down on the 3rd step made you want to cry in defeat.

“I swear to god if you tell me to apologize one more time I’m gonna lose it.” You didn’t look up at him as you spoke. He was standing in front of you now at the bottom of the stairs, and you were expecting another annoying comment from him, but to your surprise it didn’t come.

“Okay, fine.” He sighed, and you saw him extend a hand to help you up. You took it, and you were once again standing in front of him at the bottom of the stairs.

“Why did you ask him to leave like that? Kyungsoo is my friend, you know, and he’s the one who cooks most of your meals, so you shouldn’t get on his bad side either.”

You were hoping he’d at least be able to give you a good reason for why he’d acted like that, that maybe he needed to talk to you about something in private, but that was not the case. Baekhyun ran his hand through his hair, not wanting to answer since he knew he wouldn’t be able to lie to you.

“I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.” He eventually mumbled, barely intelligible but you definitely heard him.

Your eyes widened. Why would he be bothered by the way another guy looked at you? How did Kyungsoo look at you anyway?

“Looking at me how?”

“Like, just staring a lot. At you. It felt weird.”

You remembered what Jiwoo had said in the past. Did Kyungsoo look at you like that too? And did it really bother Baekhyun that much?

You didn’t want to keep making things more awkward so you decided it would be best not to take him too seriously.

“What are you, my dad? Me and Kyungsoo have been friends since we were kids, I know he isn’t a creep. You should apologize next time you see him.”

At that, Baekhyun rolled his eyes. He was quiet for a minute before speaking up again.

“Have you guys always been just friends?”

You raised an eyebrow at him. He was really doing this right now. He was more jealous than you thought.

“We decided a long time ago that we’re better off just as friends.”

He had a smug grin on his face and you gave him a questioning look.

“So I was right.”

“Pardon?”

“Doesn’t matter how much time passes, once a guy’s attracted to you that isn’t going to change. I’m sure you’ve only gotten prettier since then too.”

Prettier.

He needed to be more careful with his words. This was not good for you. You knew your face was red and that he could see it clear as day.

“Well it doesn’t matter how he looks at me since we’re just friends and that’s all we’ll ever be.” You said, trying your best to ignore what he had said. “Now are you finally going to apologize for being so careless?”

He rolled his eyes at you again, but when you shot him a dirty look he finally gave in.

“Fine. I’m sorry. I’ll try to be more careful.”

You could tell he didn’t really mean it, but at least he was still willing to say it. You gave him a small “thank you” and turned to walk back up the stairs, but his hand was back on your wrist.

“Can I take you out tonight? To make it up to you? There’s something way better than the tower and it’s out in the middle of the forest so we don’t have to worry about being caught.”

You scoffed. “Come on, you are totally just using this as an excuse.”

Of course you did want to go, but it was still impressive to you how quickly he was willing to twist things in his favor to get what he wanted.

“Okay maybe I am but I’ve been going to this place for a while and it’s really nice and I still owe you for that night I almost got us caught. Come on please?”

“And you’re sure it’s safe?”

“Yes, one hundred percent. Just don’t wear a dress, okay? Meet at the bench again.”

As much as you tried to act annoyed, you couldn’t help but smile at the thought of another late night outing with him. “Alright.”

He smiled and finally picked up your bag of flour, throwing it easily over his shoulder and walking back up the stairs with you.

You wondered what was wrong with wearing a dress, but you decided not to question him any further. Once you were back in the kitchen you couldn’t help but feel hyper aware of his eyes on you any time you’d have to go get something and your back was turned to him. You even found yourself bending down a little extra slowly when you dropped a rag on the floor. If he was already looking, you figured you might as well give him something to look at.

Luckily his mood was much better after that too. Whenever there wasn’t anyone else there he would go on about how fun it was going to be and how much you would love where he was taking you. As hard as you tried to act grounded, you were also way too excited.

You were done with your work for the day pretty soon afterwards and the two of you parted ways. The entire afternoon and evening seemed to drag on and on as you waited for it to finally reach half past midnight. After what felt like forever you finally slipped out of your room to sneak through the hallways to the garden.

As usual, he was sitting there already waiting for you when you arrived. He also gave you the usual hug, which you savored every short second of.

“I’m glad to see you wore pants,” he said, smiling, “because we’re going for a ride.”

Your eyes widened but he was already pulling you along with him to the stables at the far end of the garden.

“Uh, I’ve never done this before, are you sure it’s safe?”

He slowed down, looking back and giving you a reassuring smile. “As long as you hold on you’ll be fine.”

You let out a small “okay” and kept following him until he walked up to what you assumed to be his noble steed, and he got everything in place before easily stepping up and swinging a leg over its back.

He held out his hand for you and you gave him a nervous look. “Just put your foot there, and I’ll pull you up, okay? Do you trust me?”

Do you trust me?

Did you trust him? Sure, he’d gotten you into trouble before, or nearly had, but for some reason you still found yourself nodding. As selfish as you thought he could be, you still knew deep down that he cared about you enough to never purposefully put you in harm's way.

So, you did as he said, pulling yourself up as he helped until you found yourself sitting directly behind him. You felt his hands on your wrists as he guided them around his waist. “Hold on tight, yeah?”

You nodded again, locking your arms around him. He felt strong. You knew princes had to stay in good physical shape and know how to fight, and you could feel it as you held on to him. Soon you were moving through the woods at a much quicker speed, feeling the summer breeze on your skin. Holding onto him like this, feeling the wind in your hair, was euphoric. You almost didn’t want it to end but soon enough you were slowing down and you saw the sparkling of the moonlight over a large body of water. When you stopped he jumped off, and held out a hand to help you do the same. Once you had your feet on solid ground and you could properly look around you were amazed. There was a huge lake stretching out in front of you surrounded by dense trees, and you were far enough away from the lights of the town and palace that the stars reflected beautifully in the water. The only light came from the moon, stars, and fireflies dancing across the edge of the water. It was absolutely stunning.

You were so busy taking in your surroundings you almost forgot who you were with.

“So? Do you like it?” He asked.

“Yes, of course, it’s beautiful.”

He grinned and pulled you in for another hug. He took a blanket and spread it out on the grass for the two of you to sit on, and you gladly joined him.

In that moment everything felt almost a little too perfect. He had snaked his arm around you, as you both sat and looked out at the lake, enjoying the gentle summer breeze. When you turned to look up at him all you could see were his lips, and it took every bit of self control left in you not to give in and just kiss him.

After a few seconds you snapped yourself out of it and looked back at the scenery in front of you. You hoped he hadn’t noticed your wandering eyes, but realistically he probably did. It wasn’t so much that you didn’t want him to know that you’d like to kiss him, that was a given, you were afraid that he would actually do it. Something about the atmosphere there felt different, somehow even more intimate and romantic than your bedroom. It felt natural, to just lean over and press your lips to his own. It was almost magnetic. You found it more and more frustrating to have to fight it off.

“What are you thinking about?” You heard him ask you.

Your lips. That would be the honest answer, but you couldn’t dare say it out loud.

“Nothing important, frivolous things.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

You sighed.

“Just how things could be different, if we were different people.”

He sighed at that too, and you looked up at his face, which was still facing the lake. He knew what you meant, and of course he’d thought about it too.

“I’m sorry about this morning, I didn’t mean to make it sound like I don’t care about you, you know I do, but I was getting worried since you’ve been acting differently since the... marriage thing.” You said, having to steady your voice at the last two words.

“It’s okay. I know I’ve been acting weird. I just get scared that I’m gonna mess something up, I guess. Like I did today. You know the part that hurt the most was when you said I was acting like a stuck up prince. I don’t ever want you to see me like that.”

“I know you aren’t really like that, Baekhyun. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here with you right now.”

He finally turned to face you, giving you a warm smile. “Thank you.”

You smiled back, but soon turned away to look back at the lake when you started feeling shy under his gaze. It was quiet for a minute, until he broke the silence again.

“You’re the first person I’ve ever brought out here. Before I met you, whenever something would happen with my family and I needed to get away from it all, I would come here.”

“And now?”

“I just come running to you.” He chuckled. “But that’s why I wanted to show you this place. Something about it feels so peaceful, especially at night. Even on the worst days when I would come out here I would always feel better eventually. It’s the same way with you.”

You were thankful that the low lighting hid your blush. “I’m glad I can help.” You responded softly. “And thank you for taking me here.”

Your heart was bursting, knowing that you were the first person he’d ever taken there before.

“Why am I the first person you’ve shown this place to? Why me?”

“I guess I trust you more than anyone else. It’s a little hard to find and I like having it to myself. I didn’t want to tell other people because I was worried they would just come here for fun, when this place is really important to me. I feel like when I’m here I can actually think straight for once.”

“I’m that special?”

“Oh Creampuff, you have no idea how special you are.”

With that he laid back, looking straight up at the stars. “Do you know any constellations? I used to lay out here and map the stars sometimes. It’s been a while, though.”

“I know of a few, but I don’t know where they are. I hardly get the chance to go out at night.”

You laid down as well, and he soon pulled you close, letting you cuddle up to him as he pointed out different shapes in the stars. It felt unbelievably cozy, laying there with him. You were only half paying attention to him as you replayed his words again, how he said you were special. In the past, boys had told you the same thing, but it never felt real until he said it. With him, however, you knew it was true. Because you were here, in his arms, in his favorite secret place that he hadn’t shown anyone but you. He didn’t even have to tell you, you could just feel it.

He was telling you something about one of the constellations when you couldn’t fight it anymore and let out a yawn. It wasn’t that you were bored, this place and his presence just felt so calm and comfortable, you couldn't help but get a little sleepy, especially since it was already late.

“Tired?” He asked.

“Yeah, a little bit.”

“You can sleep for a bit, I’ll wake you up when it’s time to go.”

You nodded and he moved to bunch up the blanket into a makeshift pillow for you, before laying down next to you again. You laid back, and slowly felt yourself drifting off, though the sounds of the forest around you made it a bit difficult. Still enjoying the peacefulness of it all, you decided to just keep your eyes closed and enjoy the feeling.

A few minutes went by and you felt him moving, like he was sitting up next to you, although you couldn’t be sure. Another couple seconds passed and you swore you felt his breath on your face, as if he was hovering directly over you, but your eyes stayed firmly shut.

You felt something brush across your cheek, assuming it to be his thumb. You didn’t react. He was hovering right over you, and before you could form another thought you felt something softly press against your lips.

He was kissing you.

It took every ounce of willpower you possessed to stay still, and keep your eyes closed. He had to think you were sleeping. It pained you that you couldn’t throw your arms around him and kiss him back. There was nothing you wanted more than to spend the whole night there with him, kissing him under the stars.

His lips left yours far too soon and you almost whined at the loss of contact before having to stop yourself. Why did his lips have to be so soft? Why did it have to feel so perfect?

You wanted to cry. You had spent so much time thinking about what his lips would feel like against your own, and now you just had to lay there and act like it didn’t even happen.

What was he thinking? Just kissing you like that? Of course he probably thought that you were asleep and wouldn’t even feel it or remember, but still. Did he really want to kiss you that badly too? To where he just couldn’t help himself? And if he was willing to kiss you, would he do other silly things that he knew were reckless too?

Your mind was racing, but the feeling of his lips on yours was still at the forefront, making it almost impossible to think clearly about anything else. He kissed you. He really kissed you.

You wanted to feel it again. Would you ever get to feel it again, though? Realistically, probably not. It was incredibly foolish of him to do in the first place, but now that you both knew the feeling you hoped that somehow he would do it again. And maybe next time you’d actually get to kiss him back.

Since a few minutes had passed and you were feeling extra lovey-dovey now, you decided to cuddle back up to him. He put his arms around you right away too, much to your delight. When you were in his arms like this, you felt more secure, more at ease than you ever thought was possible for you. It was funny thinking back to when you first met him and how nervous he made you, when now you were each other's greatest sources of comfort.

The more you thought about it the more you realized that it wasn’t just a crush, or infatuation. Now that you knew him for who he really was, good and bad, it was more than that. Sure he could be pretty annoying and didn’t always think things through, but you still wouldn’t change a thing about him. He was Baekhyun, your Baekhyun, who was so sweet and silly and wonderful. In a way you even admired his fearlessness, despite the stress it caused you.

You loved him.

The more you thought about it, the more you had to fight back tears again. You were so helplessly in love with someone who you could never share that love with. He might not even love you back. Sure he’d kissed you, but he could still be acting purely on shallow desires. But what if he did? Somehow, that was even more heart wrenching. If he really was in love with you too, he would just have to go through the same heartbreak as you. So in a way, you hoped he didn’t.

Your mind went back to the first night you met with him in the garden. He told you he wanted to be in love, even if it was only for a little while. Just to know the feeling.

With that little memory, things started to make a lot more sense. How fearless he was about seeing you, how far he was willing to push it. If your intuition was right, he did love you. He wanted to make the most of the short time you had left together.

You hid your face in his chest when you felt a tear spill over. To your surprise he didn’t do or say anything, just moved a hand up to gently stroke your hair. As unlikely as it seemed, you wondered if he understood why you were crying.

Luckily it didn’t last long, and you tried your best to relax again, but you still felt your heart racing. You didn’t even realize how tense you’d gotten. Hopefully he hadn’t picked up on that.

Eventually your heart rate calmed down as well and you felt yourself actually dozing off. You didn’t fight it.

You felt movement and then a hand on your shoulder, gently shaking you to wake you up.

“The sun’s going up in a few hours, we should go back.”

You groaned, trying to pull him back down with you. He chuckled, pulling you up with him instead.

You whined even more when you realized how far you were from the palace, and that you couldn’t just quickly walk back.

“I know, I don’t wanna go either.” He said, standing up, and offering a hand to help you up too. Reluctantly, you complied.

The way back was slower, which you savored since it gave you more time with him. Although you didn’t really need to now, you still kept your arms locked around him, resting your head on his broad back.

He was uncharacteristically quiet and shy when he walked you across the gardens to the back of the palace. Part of you still wondered if he could tell that you’d been awake, and if he had seen on your face how the kiss had affected you. He knew you well by now, and was good at reading you. If he did, you hoped he wasn’t hurt that you didn’t kiss him back. But he couldn’t expect that of you, not with the situation you were in.

Of course part of you had wanted to kiss him back, badly. You were so far away from any other people, nobody would’ve had to know if you’d decided to do it. The two of you could’ve stayed there under the moon and stars enjoying the feeling of each other’s lips for hours.

It was what would come after that was too scary for you. You couldn’t be sure about him, but you knew that at least for yourself, once you gave in for good, there would be no turning back, no more acting like you were just friends.

You also thought about the way he’d look at you sometimes, like he did out in the rain that one night. Once he kissed you, and you kissed him back, would he want more? You had never been touched that way before, and as much as you loved him you weren’t sure if you were ready for that. Just thinking about him touching you, in places only your own hands knew, was slightly overwhelming.

Once you were back in your room and those thoughts were implanted in your mind, they were hard to get rid of. You tossed and turned at the memory of his lips on yours, but even worse were the thoughts of what kissing him might lead to. Thoughts of his pretty hands exploring your body, like his eyes already had and like you knew he wanted to. It made it that much harder to keep resisting him. If he kept tiptoeing on that dangerous line, you were inevitably going to give in and cross it together.

You still didn’t know if you were really ready, since it was something you had never experienced before, but you knew that thinking about his hands on your body made you feel something. Something that took over your mind and made any other type of thinking impossible. You kept trying to snap yourself out of it, to tell yourself that it could never happen anyway, but even as the sun started going up you found yourself hoping and fantasizing that he would give you what you craved.

You loved him, and you wanted him. All of him.

Next Chapter

[one-boring-person]

Ok. A little different but I was thinking about Top Gun and I was wondering if you could do an Iceman x Mavericks little sister reader where they meet at a local bar near the base and slowly start falling in love

I hope you like this!😊💛

You Beat Me To It.

Tom "Iceman" Kazansky x reader

Warnings: swearing, alcohol consumption (moderate)

Masterlist

As cliche as it sounds, it had all started with an unfortunate accident in the popular little bar near the airbase. 

It was a busy night in the small place, as it usually was, the room filled to the brim with pilots, RIOs, ground staff and civilians. Music blared somewhere overhead, garish lights illuminating the area in their own peculiar way, casting an odd glow over every person there. People gathered and collected around the bar itself, the tenders never kept idle, money flowing in from a variety of hands, the alcohol and beverages keeping spirits alive throughout the bustling room. It had been here that Iceman found himself.

Slider had insisted they went on that night, despite his own reluctance; it had been a long day at the base and all he had really wanted to do was to sleep and rest. Of course, he knew there was no arguing with his RIO, the young man far too persistent for his own good, so naturally the pilot had found himself dragged into the busy bar, a beer shoved into his hand almost instantly. It hadn't taken long for the girls to start flocking to him. 

Iceman knew he was good-looking, so he wasn't surprised that he was quickly engulfed in a crowd of eager women, all of which flirting and baying for his attention, though he could already tell none of them would tickle his fancy. He kept them entertained, joking with them and keeping them on their toes the entire time as he peered at them over his sunglasses, which he insisted on wearing inside, smirking as they swooned over him. Hands seemed to be everywhere, pressing at his shoulders, chest and stomach, feeling over the muscle in his arms, creeping up his neck until he batted them away with a pointed look. Eventually, he had tired of this, however, and went to push out of the gathered group. Misjudging himself, Iceman had then collided with someone else, a surprised yelp escaping the person as moisture spread between them.

Turning to them, Iceman had been ready with a sharp quip, finding himself tongue-tied when he actually saw who had bumped into him.

"Careful, big guy." Is all she said before she collected her composure and left, heading towards the other end of the room, where some others from the airbase were. 

Frozen in place momentarily, he had watched as she went straight to Maverick and Goose, the former slinging an arm around her shoulders as she approached, grins appearing on their faces.

From that moment onwards, the two seemed unable to avoid meeting each other in the bar.

Not even a week later, Iceman had been sat at the bar, thankfully alone for once, slowly drinking from a beer bottle in front of him, the pilot deep in thought. Once again wearing his sunglasses inside, Ice never realised someone had come up beside him to order drinks until they spoke to him directly.

"Last I checked, the sun tends to stay outside." She had commented, tapping her fingers on the countertop as she waited for her drinks.

Looking up, Iceman had once again gone to say something sharp, only to be surprised when he immediately recognised the person standing beside him. 

"Maybe it's not the sun I'm protecting my eyes from." Is all he can manage, pretty stuck under the intensity of her gaze, a somewhat familiar feeling he had when talking with a particular pilot.

"No? What, then?"

"When I've figured it out, I'll tell you."

She had given him a quick smile, then, thanking the bartender as he gave her the drinks, before leaving, returning to the group of aviators she was with. 

Everytime after this moment, every conversation between the two had been started by a sarcastic or teasing comment on his choice of eyewear, both of them often finding themselves at the bar at the same time. It had been after their fifth time meeting that she actually stayed with him for more than a minute, placing herself into the stool beside him as he fought off a couple of persistent girls, her face creased into a barely concealed smirk of amusement. When he'd finally gotten rid of them, she'd passed him a beer with a knowing look.

"You ever gonna take those off?" She had asked him, gesturing to his sunglasses, sipping her own drink.

"Only when you finally tell me your name." Iceman had replied, smirking at her. In their last few meetings, he'd found he'd started to enjoy her company, often looking out for her when he first enters the bar.

"You only had to ask." She shrugged, holding out a hand, "I'm (Y/n)."

Taking her hand, he told her his name before reaching up to remove his sunglasses. 

"Well, I can see why you always have a fan club." (Y/n) acknowledged, smiling at him to show she meant no harm.

"Thank you, but they're a right pain." He laughed, placing his glasses in his breast pocket.

"I can tell." She chuckled, sipping her drink.

"You often come here?" Iceman inquired, curious as to her reason for coming.

"Yeah, pretty often. I meet up with my brother here." She casts him a look, "You might know him. Pete Mitchell? I guess you'd know him as Maverick."

Iceman had done a double take.

"Maverick? He's your brother?" 

"Yep. And before you say anything, he's just as annoying out of uniform as he is in uniform." (Y/n) rolled her eyes, gesturing to the pilot across the room.

"I thought he might be." 

Following this meeting, it wasn't too hard to arrange a repeat of it, the two finding that they enjoyed themselves a whole lot more than they thought they would. Of course, as soon as Maverick had found out his sister was hanging out with his rival, there had been some trouble.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" The young pilot had snapped at him a couple of months after he and (Y/n) had first met.

"What are you talking about?" Iceman had responded, looking up from the beer in his hand to acknowledge his fellow pilot.

"My sister, you asshole! What's your deal with her?"

"My deal?"

"Yeah, your deal! What the hell do you want with her?" At this point, Goose had come up to stop his pilot from going too far, laughing it off as he always did.

"She's my friend. I don't want anything with her except that." He had told Maverick, though he knew it was a lie: he had developed a particular affection for the girl, finding her presence very enjoyable to be in at all times.

"Bullshit. I know what you're like, you want to get laid." Maverick had been quick to spit back, this comment feeling particularly unfair.

"No, I don't. (Y/n) and I are friends. Suck it up, dickhead." Iceman bit back, scowling at his fellow aviator angrily now, standing up so that he loomed over him.

"And even if we were more, that's none of your concern, Pete." (Y/n)'s voice cut through their argument, the girl coming to stand beside Iceman, an action that clearly irritated her brother.

"He's not good for you, (Y/n). Stop hanging out with him." Maverick tried to reason with her,

"No, he's my friend, and you don't control me." 

"Come on, (Y/n), I'm just looking out for you." 

Sighing, (Y/n) had then done the one thing that stuck with Iceman for months to come.

"No, you know what? Fuck you, Pete." And with that, she had kissed Iceman on the lips, right in front of her brother. 

It hadn't been a particularly long kiss, or a particularly passionate one, but it had left him wanting more, his lips tingling with want as she pulled away after a second. And Maverick's face afterwards had been totally worth it. 

(Y/n) had quickly left after that, leaving Maverick to go sulk with Goose, Iceman fighting with his morality, before he also got up and followed her from the room. Catching up to her just outside, he had taken her arm in his hand gently, pulling her into him. Without letting her speak, he had kissed her again, glad when she had reciprocated, heart skipping a beat when their lips had moulded together almost perfectly. For what felt like years, they had kissed, neither wanting to let go, not until they had to, at which point they'd pressed their foreheads together and stood still, breathing heavily into each other's faces. At that moment, their relationship had become much closer.

*

In all honesty, he wasn't expecting her to turn up. 

(Y/n) had been distant in past months, but that was understandable - her brother lost his best friend, so it made sense that she'd want to be there for him to help him through it. Unfortunately, that had meant that interaction between her and Iceman had been sparse, though he had managed to ask her along to his graduation, which he was very much looking forward to. He was certain he'd won the Top Gun trophy with Slider, and he wanted her to see that.

So when he notices her sitting at the back of the crowd as he takes the award, he feels a burst of pride flare to life within him. With her slight absence in recent weeks had come a revelation, a revelation that he intends to tell her today, whilst the confidence of this win is still rife in his body. Nerves run rampant through him, worried that it will go wrong, though he is mostly sure of what he wants to say; somehow, this is worse than flying a plane into battle, the reaction here totally unforeseeable for him for some reason.

As the crowd gathers to congratulate everyone, he politely pushes through them to the back, focused on (Y/n) as she waits for him, a smile on her face. Quick to reach his destination, he laughs as she swiftly runs to him and climbs into his arms, holding him tightly.

"Congratulations, Ice. I'm so proud of you!" She says to him, looking up into his eyes with a broad smile, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Thank you, (Y/n)." He grins back, unsure of whether or not now is the right time.

"Reaching up to play with the hairs at the base of his neck, (Y/n) seemingly considers something, before she leans up to whisper to him.

"I love you, Tom."

His heart nearly stops at her words, body filling with happiness, relief flooding his mind at the thought that she feels the same way.

"You beat me to it. I love you, too, (Y/n)." He hums back, pulling her in for a deeper kiss.

[animeyanderelover]

Requested from @girliesanjose123

Request: Can I have prompt 68 with Indra Otsutsuki in a soulmate AU?

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessiveness, harsh behavior, controlling behavior, kidnapping, violence, abuse

Prompt 68: “You’re all I think about. I always think about holding you, kissing you, touching you, making love to you, breeding you...”

"Don't even think about it." You flinched when you heard his cold and voice ringing through the cold air of the night, a wonderful addition to his icy tone. Just as quickly as your eyes had wandered to the forest and the idea of trying to make a run for it as soon as he was asleep, the idea left you again. Instead you just turned around, staring with a scared look in your eyes at the dancing bonfire. "I'm sorry. I won't think about it again.", you muttered quickly out, a habit you had formed due to past experiences with him.

You heard something akin to a dismissing hum from him before ot became silent between you two, the only thing that made this all not too suffocating or awkward were the random noises of the night, the crackling sounds of the fire and the swooshing created by the wind. It wasn't the first time that you two just sat there like this, not speaking to each other. You because you were too intimidated and had no idea on about what you could possibly talk about with him and him because he wasn't the very talkative type. And forcing him into a conversation wasn't very wise either, he got quickly annoyed with you.

Up until this day you had troubles believing that he was really the one you had been born to be with, your soulmate. And yet his name had been engraved on your wrist since your thirteenth year of life, written down in black letters without a chance to ever erase it again. Just like your name was written down on his wrist, he had never told you since when. The most detailed answer you had gotten from him had been that he had the mark on him since quite the long time.

Soulmates were totally romanticized in your opinion even though you understood to a very small degree why people wished to have a soulmate as well. The idea of having someone who was born to be with you and would experience something that could only be described with love at first sight was tempting to imagine. But sadly the dark side of having a soulmate was overshadowed, pushed away since people only wanted to see and hear what added up to the dream relationship in their mind.

There was no other choice than this one person who was your other half, not even if you fell for someone who seemed to fit you much more perfect. This was one of the most common misunderstandings people had about soulmates. They thought they were perfect for each other and loved each other conditionally. It was a lie. You had informed yourself, read a lot of reports and letters about it, even from people who had themselves a soulmate. And in more than a few people had described that their soulmate had been nothing near perfect, they had been lazy, selfish, mean and so much more. Some had even described how their soulmate had cheated even after they had met each other which had ended in a terrible heartbreak for both parts.

Having a soulmate didn't have to mean that they loved you as well, but once this happened, it ended in a terrible pain and depression for both parties and some had even said to die because of a broken heart. What a ridiculous thing to exist. Why would have a innocent who had done nothing wrong suffer because their soulmate had to be a dick without knowing each other even that well except the sudden attraction to each other and the knowledge that they were your soulmate?

So you had never been exactly happy when receiving that mark of yours, but everyone else around you had seemed to make a huge fuss about it. Friends and classmates had envied you for it and your neighbors had started almost gushing about the name written down on your wrist, starting to talk to you about how happy you must be to have one and how cute you would look together with them. You hadn't, but with that opinion you had been sadly alone. Even your parents had sugarcoated it, maybe because they were scared what might happen to you and this Indra if you would reject them.

But you had been completely right and you could bet that everyone in the village had sobered by now up from their delusions. If he would have kidnapped you silently, they would have assumed that you might have gone with him. But you hadn't. Instead you had tried to run away from him after only a few hours of knowing him. And you still remembered how the protests and comments to try to calm you down had died down the moment Indra had started demolishing everything in his way to catch you.

You didn't know until this day what had become of all the people in the village and if some of them were even alive. You hadn't seen much, but the short glances on the place that had used to be your home once had been enough to horrify you before you had passed out after looking in red eyes with three dots spinning inside of them.

You had by now given up asking to see your family again, every begging and pleading had been harshly and coldly shut down by him that by now you had pretty much lost all hopes. You had also given up on cursing whoever had decided to set you two up, there was nothing you could do and you had sadly no one to blame for this either, leading you to wallowing in self-pity.

The most frustrating was that you knew so little about him. He had never told you much and you had long ago lost the guts to ask him. You knew he was from far away, had left due to family issues and was planning to prove something. That was about all you knew about him next to his name and that he was insanely powerful. He could be a mass murder and you wouldn't kno. He on the other hand had wanted to know about everything about you and had forced it out of you. Well, maybe he would become more open over time. He wasn't someone who seemed to warm up quickly to a stranger.

That was probably why he was so distant and cold to you most of the time next to being very strict and controlling. He striked you as someone who viewed love and attraction as a weakness, but still seemed to be sane enough to know what would happen if he would have left you behind back then when he had met you for the first time. You had read that soulmates had gone crazy for their other half after meeting them and having to endure a longer time not touching them.

He was smart enough to fulfill those needs of his which sadly also fulfilled your needs. He hadn't engaged in anything too sexual so far, but even those forced touches of his had been enough to make you feel repulsed and yet also had pulled you closer to him. You blamed the soulmate bond for it. You knew too well that you would most likely not be able to stay like this forever, being already sometimes torn apart between your huge dislike for him and the always remaining attaction for him, the butterflies you felt whenever he seemed to become more nice and softer with you.

It was frustrating enough to make you feel like crying sometimes, you hadn't want any of this, but life had to be a bitch and decide to make him from all people in this world your soulmate. You just wished you had never been born with a soulmate or at the very least never met him. You hated how you always felt a painful stinging in your chest when he ignored you or hissed angrily at you.

You knew he had to feel the same, he had to suffer when avoiding you as well. But he was far more better in handling and hiding it than you were which was another rather hurting and harsh slap in your face. Didn't he care at all? You really just thought he was, the only reason he kept you around was because he didn't want to endure the full package of pain that came with just leaving your soulmate alone. He was just too hard to read.

And yet there were those moments where you almost got the feeling he was seeking for your touches and some sort of affirmation of you, only to push you moments later away from him and look like he had no idea what he had just done either. Such moments confused you greatly and seemed to irritate him just as much. So at the very least he seemed to slowly get pulled to you as well. Was this actually a thing to be glad or terrified over?

"Are you sulking again over the fact that we're soulmates?" His voice brought you out of your thoughtful gaze, noticing with a slight shiver that he was staring at you. You guessed you had stared too long at the mark on your wrist. You didn't know how to answer this, feeling scared that the wrong answer might lead to him getting angry again. You had learned to be careful around him, you felt most of the times like you were walking on eggshells whenever with him.

You opened your mouth shortly, only to close it again after not finding the strength to do as much as uttering a single word out. You had nothing to say if you were honest with yourself. "You're not going to answer me?"

Indra had shifted slightly closer to you, eyes drilling themselves into you with a piercing intensity. He hadn't activated them yet so that meant you were still in a green zone with him, he always activated them when he was pissed off because of something. A short glance at him made you almost believe that he seemed to display genuine curiosity right now.

You hesitated for a bit, not knowing whether to be honest with him or not. Lying was always an option, but a rather stupid one, he noticed always when you lied to him and he disliked it when you lied. "Yes, I am.", you answered for a few seconds of thick silence passing by, observing cautiously his reaction.

You had expected him to either not care or just becoming mad with you, but instead you always imagined for a second something akin to exhaustion flashing over his face. But it was so quickly gone that you weren't even sure if it had been there in the first place. But it had awakened some sort of interest in him, judging from the way his attention was now hooked on you. It made you tense up, playing with your fingers awkwardly.

"You know, I never asked you this before...But what do you think of me? Be honest." This question always made you choke on your own spit, gaping dumbfounded and majorly confused at him. His face gave no emotion away he could possibly feel right now. But from the way he was looking at you, you knew that he expeted an answer, a honest one, from you.

"You're not...what I expected." It was the only true yet subtle enough statement you could think off without saying anything that could offend him too openly.

It didn't seem to satisfy him though, he furrowed his eyebrows slightly at this very vague answer of yours. "Be more specific. I want to know."

If you would tell him, he would be angry with you, you were almost certain about it. Shouldn't it have been obvious from the way you were acting around him that you didn't like him? He couldn't be that oblivious. So if he already knew, why asking? Did he perhaps want to hear it from you personally?

"You're kind of...distant..." It sounded more like a question and you said it extremely slowly, unsureness dripping from every word. You kept by now an eye on Indra so you could react when he seemed to get offended by what you said. But at the moment he appeared to be calm, just listening and watching. "Continue."

"Well, if I'm being honest I feel a bit neglected from you. You're hard to read and I can't seem to understand what you sometimes even want from me. There are those moments where you treat me like I'm just air or some sort of dog you have to punish for bad behavior. And in other moments you are suddenly being all nice and friendly with me and almost act like you care before you snap out of it again and lash out on me. You're a bit confusing to be with and I just feel like you can't stand me at all since I make you acting like this. So emotionally."

There were quite a lot of unspoken things you could have added, but that would have taken a while and were far more offendingly than what you had put in words as politely as possible and told him just now.

He didn’t say anything which you just counted as a good thing, it meant he wasn’t mad at you...At least yet. Who knew with him and his temper. “So I take it that you don’t like me, do you?”

You quirked yourself eyebrow a few millimeters upon hearing the undertone in his voice, scanning his face. He was not angry, you could tell. It was something else right now for which you needed a few moments to look at before you suddenly understood. Was he...Was he poking fun at you?!

This made you stop thinking for a moment, you had in those past few weeks never seen him displaying many emotions except anger, impatience and from time to time those nearly desperate acts of affection. But never, never had you seen him being amused, you had thought that he had been annoyed by all of this. But now he looked like he was almost about to grin which irritated you. Why was he being entertained all of a sudden? You felt a flicker of annoyance and slight anger shooting through you, making you frown a bit.

“No, of course I like you. Why wouldn’t I like my soulmate who kidnapped me, ruined my village and life and treats me like I’m a piece of shit? I’m happy to be ignored and neglected from my soulmate who seems to not like me at all.” You could not help the sarcasm dripping from your voice whilst watching him through narrowed eyes. The last sentence from you was half the truth and half a lie. You were content with him not acknowledging your presence, it saved you from his outbursts or forced affections. On the other hand it also led you to feeling a often a tingling pain of abandonment in your chest which you didn’t like at all. You could only curse at the connection you shared with Indra. You loathed it.

You heard him scoffing, his expression telling you that he was surprised, luckily not too negatively, by your sudden attitude. “You feel neglected?”, he asked you, giving you a somewhat mischievous look which made you even more irritated. “So you want me to give you more affection? Is that it?”

You didn’t like how close he had shifted to you, it made you uncomfortable and you refused to acknowledge the happy and warm tingling this sudden closeness seemed to cause in your body. “Tell me,”, he asked in a deeper voice,”do you think I hate you and you me?”

Against your will you felt your face heating up and your heartbeat increasing, staring almost hypnotized in those deep and black orbs of his in which you, for the first time since he had abducted you, saw the sparkles of emotions. Had they always been there? Granted, it was your first time looking him so directly in his eyes.

“I-I-umm...” That was about how you sounded right now, slapping yourself mentally out of embarrassment. Why were you all of a sudden so bashful? No, you refused to let him win this. You took a deep and shaky breath to come back to your senses. “Give me a reason to not think you would hate me despite those short moments where you fulfill the basic needs every soulmate feels when with his other half. And why wouldn’t I hate you?! You dragged me in this whole mess and because of you I-“

You were forcefully silenced in a way that made your heart nearly jump out of your chest. He kissed you, surprisingly warm lips moving in a firm way against yours. And you really should have done something against it. But the moment you felt his lips against yours for the first time since you had seen him, it was like a bomb exploded in your head and all of a sudden everything inside of you seemed to slow wonderfully down, no numb stinging, no unnecessary thoughts, only you and him.

Just for a short moment you seemed to forget what he had done, letting the overwhelming feelings of the special bond between you two get the better of you. And all of a sudden you found your arms around his neck, your body screaming to be closer to him. This didn’t go unnoticed by him and you felt something that would have been a smirk if your lips wouldn’t have affectionate-starved moved against his own. At the very least he seemed to share the same hunger for touches from you like the other way around because you felt his arms suddenly sliding around you and lifting you with surprisingly much carefulness yet also eagerness closer to him, chest pressed against chest so that you two could feel each other’s heartbeat beating in sync. It was such a blissful experience for you, suddenly having so much intimacy with the man who had refused to give you what you had always wanted despite refusing to admit so.

You almost whined when he suddenly pulled away, probably because he had realized that you were running short on air which you hadn’t even realized until you panted quickly for air, body still refusing to leave his sudden embrace.

“Are you sure that you hate me? Your actions just right now seemed to tell the opposite.” He himself seemed to be out of air, you hearing his slight panting, warm air hitting your neck and causing goosebumps to rise on your skin.

You felt shame washing over you the moment you heard his questions, refusing to look him into his eyes. Your lips had pressed into an angry line, the feeling of his mouth on yours still lingering and you cussed yourself when catching yourself wishing to just slam your lips against his once again.

“What was that for right now? Did you want to torture me by showing me how pathetic this rebellious act of mine really is?” Your voice was a hushed hissing, but the bitterness laced in it was clearly audible.

“That was one of the reasons, though not the main one.” You gnashed your teeth when hearing the smugness in his voice, obviously content with what he had just seen and felt. But you also found yourself being once again confused. Not the main one? What was that supposed to mean?

You didn’t even have to ask this, he answered it without you even having to question him. “I don’t hate you. Much more on the contrary. You’re all I think about. I always think about holding you, kissing you, touching you, making love to you, breeding you...”

You felt a disturbing feeling starting to make it’s way up your throat, forming a lump on which you almost choked. By now his eyes seemed to blaze with a sudden storm of emotion which could be put together in a few simple yet terrifying words. Twisted and sick obsession.

“You will love me. You have no choice, but to do so. You can try to neglect your feelings for as long as you want, I can guarantee you that I’ll make sure that you’ll melt in my touches. We’re soulmates (y/n). You’ll come around sooner or later.”

[mackeydoodledoo]

I Only Swim Free: Chapter 5

Pairing: Bela Dimitrescu x (Fem!)Reader

Summary: You’ve done swimming all your life. You’ve gotten to your dream college on a scholarship for your outstanding freestyle technique back in high school. Relationships never crossed your mind however, that was before you met your swim team captain: Bela Dimitrescu.

Warning: Broken Heart, Depression, But it gets fluffier when you read more into this chapter, ends in SMUT

A/N: This chapter about to get SPICY

“Busted and Blue” - Gorillaz

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

Word got out [rather quickly] that Bela’s now ex-boyfriend had been cheating on her. Since Bela went to look for you during the fraternity house party.. It was also because of how he was seeing you and her always so in close proximity to each other. Although he feels guilty for what he’s done, he’s been trying to reach back out to Bela to tell her how sorry he is and that he’ll be a better guy for her.

Lousy excuse really.. 

“To be honest I’ve heard lousier excuses from my own past exes,” You sigh, looking down at your textbook, writing down some notes for a class you missed because Bela didn’t want to be left alone, even if it was in your own apartment

“I was right about him,” Daniela called it

“What do you want a cookie?” Cassandra jokingly asks

“Yes,” Daniela says, giving her sister the ‘puppy dog eyes’ 

“Go nuts,” You say, pulling out a cookie you bought from the student center

Daniela happily takes the cookie and immediately bites into it.

“You have to unwrap the plastic first dumbass,” Cassandra sighs, deciding to go up into her room

You took Bela back to her house however, she immediately locks herself in her room. Her mother or her sisters check on her, despite her wanting your company the most. You had been trying to focus on your school work but at the same time trying to be there for Bela as much as you could was already a clashing combo to work with. Luckily, your teammates and her two sisters had been there for her too when you weren’t able to.

“Hey thanks Dani for offering to look after her tonight, I owe you one,” You sigh

“No worries, I knew her boyfriend was nothing but trouble,” She sighs, “But-but you- she’s taken a real liking to you though.”

Well, we did kiss in her car after that one fraternity house party she dragged me to, she continuously stays at my place. Not that I’m complaining though..

“Really?” You ask, slightly blushing, “Well, I wouldn’t want that on our minds right now. Thanks again!”

You heard that Dean Dimitrescu had been close to going at his throat for hurting her daughter. However, she also knew it would look bad on her part; taking her personal anger out on a student was not the best idea. 

“I’m angered just as you are Dean,” You sigh, scribbling into your notebook, breaking the lead in the mechanical pencil

Scribbling into your notebook was one way you were able to take out your frustrations.

“We trusted him,” She growls, pacing in her kitchen, “But, I do highly appreciate you being there for my daughter, is there anything I can do to repay you my dear?”

“Nope,” You sigh, “I don’t want to be given one of those special treatments, even if I am helping one of your daughters.”

I would want you to accept me as Bela’s new Lover. Please and Thank you Dean...

“Well, you’re welcome here,” She slightly smiles, “And please, when it’s after classes, you may refer to me as Ma’am, My Lady or Alcina. Alcina is my first name.”

Very fitting for an elegant lady such as yourself Ma’am.

“Yes Ma’am,” You say, “I’m going to get dinner, Do you and your daughters want anything?”

“I’m sure my girls will text you, I will make due with what we have in this fridge my dear. Thank you for the offer,” Alcina smiles

She tips her hat as you make her leave. You casually salute three fingers to her as you were about to do the same hat tip, just minus the hat. You send out a text in the Dimi-Daughters groupchat Daniela had made for the four of you. Almost immediately Bela and Daniela text you with whatever food they wanted, Cassandra being the last one. 

As soon as you and Bela show up to practice the next day, you were excused from classes as Donna had given the email out to all professors regarding State Finals, Donna has you all gathered at the poolside.

“I have the results of the semi finals roster,” She announces, “And... We are going to the State Final championship!”

You and your team cheer and congratulate each other.

“Okay okay girls calm down,” Donna calms her children, “This doesn’t mean we won’t win, so tonight we will prepare for it, this Saturday.”

In an instant all of the girls began giving their all into swim practice. You on the other hand, were just going through the motions. Not sure how to handle the sudden pressure.

“Didn’t I tell you that we all pull through this together or we lose?” Donna asks, coming up to you

“Yes coach,” You say, sighing

“You’re going to do fine, an excellent rookie like yourself should be proud you get to do this your first year,” She smiles

“True,” You sigh, beginning to shake off your nerves

“Now get your ass into the water y/l/n!” Donna yells encouragingly

After coach’s announcement you finally took a shower after skipping them to beeline it to your apartment for Bela. You turn around once you hear the shower curtain open behind you. you wipe your eyes and see Bela stepping into the shower with you. 

“Hey you,” You smile, giving her a hug

“Hey yourself,” She smiles, putting her arms on your shoulders, “Quite the show at practice today..”

“Says you, even after what happened you still managed to get your shit together and nail practice,” You smile

You snake your hands on her hips as the both of you begin washing each other from the chlorine gathered from today’s practice. Even after giving each other a shower, the both of you just settled in each others’ embrace as the hot shower began wasting away. 

“You remember when we first met in the locker room?” Bela asks, slipping on the hoodie you gave her

“How could I forget?” You smile, slipping on some shorts

“You were looking at my ass through the mirror weren’t you?” Bela asks, smirking

You almost drop your brush as your chees go red and begin heating up. You slightly look up from the mirror and see her slowly walking towards you. Like a predator stalking its prey.

“Did you... Enjoy it?” Bela flirts, turning you around and pushing you against the sink

“Well-I-uhmmm-ummm,” You stutter, trying to find the words

“You did didn’t you?” She smirks, putting her hands on your stomach

You felt yourself tense up when her palms touched your bare skin. You could feel them slowly running up your stomach and begin feeling the tips of her fingers go under your sports bra. 

“Bela! Y/n! Hurry it up I’m going to lock the swimming area soon!” Calls Donna from the entrance to the locker room

The both of you snicker as Bela drags her fingers away from your bare skin; you almost growl when her hands moved away from your skin. Bela practically moved into your place when she got the news. Thankfully her exes fraternity brothers kicked removed him from the fraternity house and helped her with her things when she decided to live with you. 

You and Bela had finally settled a day where you’d take her out to her favorite restaurant, as a make-up for not being able to see her very often. 

“Yeah, midterms are such a pain,” You sigh into your phone, “But, I’ll make sure you get tomorrow night with me okay?”

Bela decided to stay with her family for the next couple days as she’s been cooped up in your place for so long, not that she was complaining, she missed being around her family.

“Thanks for the ride y/n,” Bela sighs in relief, “I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” You blush, “Hey, we’ll see each other at practice later okay?”

“Yeah,” She sighs, “I gotta go, mother is calling for me. I love you.”

“Love you too,” You smile through the phone

Wait... She added I into the “love you”.... 

You didn’t say it back, no matter, you’d tell her how you’d feel about her tomorrow night. Even though you haven’t been able to see her, the both of you were able to be on the phone with each other every night before the both of you would go to bed before your classes in the morning. State finals were upon the swim team before finals. So you’ve also been working your butt off for the missed time you’ve had to sit out because of your calf injury from the first meet. 

“Hey you,” Bela smiles as she picks up the phone

“Hey,” you smile, “How you been?”

“Doing a lot better,” Bela smiles, “If you hadn’t hooked me up for that one therapy session, I would have still been sulking.”

“I wouldn’t want that happening to you,” You sigh, “Hey, it’d be better off if you stay at home for tonight. Have an exam tomorrow morning and I have. To. Study!”

“Okay,” Bela sighs, slightly pouting

“Hey,” You say, gently, “We still have dinner tomorrow night. No pouting until before then. Okay?”

She sighs, but shakes it off, “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The next evening, You and Bela settled that you would be driving. Once you reach the Dimitrescu estate, you decide to get out of your car and walk up to the front door and knock on it. Cassandra is the one to greet you. 

“Bela’s finishing up y/n,” She says, “Nice getup by the way.”

“Thanks Cass,” You sigh, adjusting your shirt

You wait around awkwardly but you see Dean Dimitrescu sipping on wine in the kitchen.

“Will you do me one big favor y/n?” She calls from the kitchen

“Of course My lady,” You say, turning to her 

“Prove to me on why you’re worthy of my daughter,” She says calmly

“Yes ma’am,” You smile

“Mother I’ll be fine,” Bela calls from the stairs 

You look up and your eyes widen. Bela is wearing a wine red lace dress; the lace drapes behind her legs. You were a sucker for lace. You were a sucker for Bela Dimitrescu. Seeing Bela Dimitrescu IN lace is a whole show.

“Wow...” you say breathlessly as she takes your hand in hers

“Don’t have too much fun now lovebirds,” Daniela teases the both of you

“Shut your mouth Dani,” Bela sighs as she drags you out the door

“Your family is something Bels,” You smile

You open the passenger seat for Bela and she smiles at you as she gets in. Just as you shut her door, you were going to open yours when you see Bela reaching over to open the door for you as best as she could.

“Why thank you my lady,” You smile, getting into your driver’s seat

As you pull into the restaurant that Bela had made reservations for, you’re again in awe. 

“Are you sure you’re fine with paying?” You ask

“You’ve done enough for me. Both taking care of me when I was heartbroken, setting me up for therapy, teaching me freestyle.. The lost goes on,” Bela smiles, “It’s my turn to treat you.”

You couldn’t argue with that. Bela takes your arm as the both of you walk into the restaurant and basically see class. Something you don’t have however, you managed to find your ‘go-to’ nice outfit and a suit jacket at a nearby thrift store. 

“Did I tell you how fine you look?” Bela whispers right into your ear

You felt a shiver crawl down your spine as she asks you.

“No,” You finally say, “Did I tell you though that you look absolutely beautiful?”

Bela blushes as she leads you to a two-person table away from the rest of the patrons.

“Mother made arrangements for us so no need to worry about money,” Bela smirks as she sips water from a fancy glass, “I can easily tell you’ve never been in a fancy restaurant before.”

“Parents could never afford it,” You say, “So, it was the cheap diners. But hey, nothing wrong with diner food every now and then.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Bela adds

After the restaurant date, the both of you reach your apartment by midnight and you allow Bela to enter your apartment first. However, just as you closed the door, she turns to you.

“What is it?” You ask her

She says nothing as she walks up to you and cups your face in her hands. She doesn’t crash her lips onto yours, giving you the chance to pull away if you so chose to. However, your lips gently mold right onto Bela’s. She lets out a high-pitched gasp as you bring her body closer to your, both of your forms fitting perfectly against each other like puzzle pieces. Your hands trail upward to find the zipper to her dress and slowly remove it, teasing her. She helps you slip her out of the dress. She turns her body towards you, revealing a black lace lingerie set.

“Oh? So you’re wearing these for me? Was this all apart of your little plan Bela Dimitrescu?” You ask, slowly walking towards her

“Whatever do you mean,” She bites back

“You know what I mean,” You coil your arm around her waist, “Any pretty kitty like yourself should be punished for tempting me.”

In one quick motion you pick her up into your arms and place her onto your bed as you settle your hips between her thighs. You dip your head down and begin kissing her along the crook of her neck. You smirk in her neck when you hear her let out a small whimper as the tip of your tongue ran gently along her neckline.

“Hmmm sweet music,” You whisper

You lift her up for her to straddle her in your lap. You give her another kiss on the lips before laying gentle kisses along her breasts. Bela guides one of your hands to cup one of her breasts and you oblige. However, your thumb rolls over her nipple, making it hard. You hear Bela let out a strangled moan. Strangled; your mouth was latched onto her throat.

“More,” Bela breathes out

You reach around her back and with a flick of your fingers, her bra unlatches. She lets it fall off her arms and she discards it somewhere onto the floor. 

“What-what do you think?” She asks, blushing

She tries to hide her flushes cheeks and turns her head away from you. You gently run your fingers along her cheek to have her look at you.

“I think, you are so fucking beautiful my love,” You say

Bela sees the moonlight reflection coming off your eyes and she drops her head down for her lips to meet yours. The kiss was at first soft and gentle however, once you gained yourself, you began losing your self control and turned the kiss to be more intense. Bela lets out a muffled gasp as she felt the pillow at the back of her head. You pull yourself away for a moment to strip off your shirt. Bela knew you were fit because of swimming. She never thought she’d be getting up close and personal with you.

“You’re beautiful,” You whisper against her ear

You kiss and lick your way down until you stopped above her bare chest. You look up at her with pleading eyes. 

‘let me’ your eyes pleaded

She runs her fingers through your hair and pushes your face into her breast. You leech onto her nipple and gently make circles around it. She arches her back, forcing your tongue to gently lick the tip of her nipple.

“Y/n!” She gasps

While you run the flat surface of your tongue along the surface of her nipple. Your hand snakes up to her other breast and you squeeze it. Then, gently squeeze her nipple. 

“Ah!” She screams

Your mouth switches onto the other breast to give the same gentle treatment. 

“Y/n...” She says breathlessly

Your fingers trace her curves as you continue your exploration of her body down to her dripping hot center.

“Are you already wet for me?” You ask, once you arrive to her panties

She nods, “You already made me excited...”

You lowly chuckle as your fingers hook around the thin lining of her panties, lifting them. She lifts her hips to help you fully remove them from her body. You, again discard them somewhere onto the floor. Your hands gently run along her thighs to hoist them over your shoulders.

“Hmm, so you were,” You smile

Bela felt you gently breathing against her wet, dripping center, making her squirm a little bit.

“If you’re just going to keep teasing me ju-”

You drag your tongue along her pulsating lips and you insert your tongue into her, making her let out many small whimpers. Her fingers run along into your hair and you feel her pulling against you. She bucks her hips to feel more of your tongue. Your arm reaches around her hip and you press your palm down, keeping her from moving her hips along with your tongue.

“Babyyyyy I need more,” She whines

You pull your tongue out from inside her and give a small kiss on her clit before crawling up to meet her face. You give her a long, lingering kiss for her to taste herself on you.

“You’ll get more kitten you need to be patient,” You chuckle, “But, damn you taste so good.”

“Give it to me now,” She growls

You hook her leg over your shoulder, so that your arm is under her thigh.

“What-what are you- AH!” Bela chokes

She felt your finger insert itself into her. 

“How does that feel baby?” You ask, looking down at her

“It feels so good,” Bela moans

“Good girl,” You coo

You slide your finger in and out of her slowly, hearing her let out little breathless whimpers was music to your ears. You stop for one moment to add another finger when you slid them back in. Bela again arches her back to feel more of your fingers. Your pace began going faster and faster.

“Y/n... I’m-I’m gonna-”

Before you let Bela climax, you force your fingers out of her and hook both of her legs around your hips. You jerk your hips forward to feel her wetness against yours. You let out a growl whilst she lets out a small whimper. You lean down towards her face as you continue grinding on her. 

“Oh god baby,” You growl, picking up your grinding pace

Bela swings her arm around your shoulder and the other around your hips and begins clawing at your back.

“I’m so close y/n,” She whispers in your ear, “Faster.”

You let out frustrated grunts as you stop for a moment.

“Why-why did you s-stop?” She asks, panting

“I want to look at you,” You smile

However, you don’t really give Bela time to process anything before you jerk your hips again, making her lean her head back into the pillow. 

“Together-together y/n,” Bela requests, “I want to cum with you..”

You smirks as you could feel yourself reaching your climax as well. You cup her face into your hands as you begin letting out pants and slight whimpers. 

“Bela...” You whisper her name into her ear, breathlessly

You could feel her nails sink deeper into your back. You didn’t really feel any pain towards her nails. You only felt her clit against yours.

“Bela... Bela... Bela!” You growl as you come undone

Bela holds onto you for dear life as the both of you slowly come down from your high. Everything was blurry in your vision however, Bela was clear as day. You smile as you lean down to kiss her. Once morning hit, you rub your eyes however, Bela’s arm drags your arm back down across her bare waist. 

“Morning baby,” You smile, kissing the back of her head

She stretches her arms as she turns her body so that she’s facing you, “Morning.”

She gives you a good morning kiss and lays in your embrace.

“Hmmm,” Bela hums

“What?” You ask

“Are you sure you haven’t had sex with a woman?” She asks, smiling

“I’m sure love,” You say, “Why?”

“Those fingers... That tongue of yours.. Worked.. Wonders.. On me,” She says, seductively

Your cheeks flush a faint red as she laughs with a low tone. You let go of her and pull the covers over your head in an attempt to prevent her from seeing you blushing however, she follows you under the covers.

“Oh? Is my girlfriend blushing now?” She smirks

“Enough already,” You groan, pulling the sheets to separate the both of you

Bela yanks on the covers and lets out an enticing giggle as she gets up to straddle you. You sit up to snake your arms around her bare midsection.

“Iubita mea,” Bela says

“Hmmm is that.. Romanian?” You ask, blushing while smiling at the same time

“Maybe,” She teases as she drops her head down to kiss you again

It was an early Saturday morning and you weren’t up for it. But, Bela agreed to drive the both of you there.

“You excited?” Bela asks

“As excited as I’ll ever be,” You sigh, “I just hope there’s no last minute events...”

“Coach gave us the whole events roster,” Bela explains, “Rest assured those are the events that are in there, we’ll be doing.”

You smile in relief, “Good, because I think I would permanently damage my calf if I ever did another 1500 meter freestyle event...”

“You’ll be fine,” Bela reassures you

The Arena was a little ways out of hometown but nothing surprising for State Finals. Your team gets there about the same time you do, and follow whomever your guide was for the day. She shows you to the locker rooms, where all of you get changed into your uniform swimsuits and make any last second preparations for the final meet of the season.

“Dimitresu University Women’s swim and dive, you ready?” Your guide comes back into the locker room

Chapter 6

[shiversdownyerspine]

14. Isolation

A long chapter, just for y'all. :>

We gonna get a lil sad, a lil sweet, and a lil weird and dirty. >:D

18+

You fold your grocery list and tuck it safely away. The brothers doubt that they'd experience any significant injury, but you won't be discouraged. It's good to be prepared, just in case.

The Commission did provide its field agents with training and adjustments once they had been employed, but the improved healing wasn't as...thorough?..as yours. Some first aid wouldn't hurt.

You'd decided once the brothers leave for the mission you'd get the shopping done. Otto and Oscar had almost seemed to sulk, but Axel had agreed with you that this would be more convenient. There wasn't all that much to grab and everything would be ready and waiting when they returned. Scooting from between Axel and Oscar you remind them that if there are complications they are free to return to you to restrategize, and you certainly wouldn't mind a surprise visit.

Oscar playfully pulls you back against him. "Aw, you're going to miss us?"

Squirming with a laugh you tease him, "Maybe a little."

The youngest Swede releases you with a pout, feigning hurt as you apologetically rub his back. With a grin you wander over to the pantry to double check the cat food supply as Otto heads to their guestroom to retrieve their guns. Tugging the bag you estimate there's a good couple months left before it's gone, so no need to worry. Though you will be grabbing a couple cans of wet food for the kittens as a treat.

Otto returns with bag in tow as you head out to the garden to consider what to plant for fall...carrots, onions, maybe cauliflower? Kneeling you reach for your sugar pumpkins, happy to see that they're coming along nicely and should be ready around Halloween time. Lingering among the plants you take a moment to relax and think, breathing in the cool air. Autumn is practically on your doorstep, and the gray skies and yellowing leaves herald its arrival. Winter won't be long now, and you will once again be keeping an eye out for a space heater.

Long ago you'd found an old used one available in town, much to your delight. It had lasted a single day before the thing let out this awful high pitched noise and died right there on your floor. You count yourself lucky that it didn't burst into flames. For a moment you had considered keeping it to try to fix it, but it didn't come with a manual and you didn't want to risk it burning down your home, so you decided to do away with it. Hopefully you'd find another space heater, but the town is old and you've yet to get lucky.

In the meantime, you have Axel, Otto, and Oscar to help you with the cold. Your cheeks flush; the touches they've been giving you have been working, though some nights your condition successfully rears its stubborn head. You have a feeling you'll have to start knocking on their door when Winter creeps a little closer.

You've yet to see what they've done with the guestroom, if they've put up any knickknacks from home or from their travels. Certainly you're curious but you won't invade their privacy. Maybe they'd prefer your room? The sofa? You don't mind sharing your bed, you trust them.

The creek of the door interrupts your thoughts, and you lift your head to see Axel motion you inside. Dusting your hands and knees off, you head in after him. Coats and jackets donned with packs strapped to the younger's shoulders, it looks like they're ready to go.

With your own canvas bags in tow, you walk along the dirt path with the Swedes to the abandoned bus stop. The vine tangled little shack is being overtaken by nature and is tucked back against trees and bushes, making it easy to miss. The windows are long gone but the door still remains, stubbornly resisting the wear and tear of time.

Before you get the chance to say goodbye, Oscar is pulling you into a hug and kissing you on the cheek. You wrap your arms around him in return. "Be careful, don't get into too much trouble."

"Only a little, here and there. Danger is..ah...spice of life." Oscar squeezes you again as Otto's hand rubs your upper back before lifting to stroke your hair. The two release you as their older brother clears his throat. Faces blank and eyes hard, they stride through the overgrowth into the little shack to wait for Axel.

The blue-clad man gazes down at you with scrutinizing eyes as the sounds of the forest ebb and wane. He steps forward and reaches into one of his coat pockets to retrieve a familiar item wrapped up in a familiar old cloth that you'd forgotten about. Your fingers curl around the 'gift'.

Grasping what you know is your paring knife, Axel's voice is a bit gruff when he declares, "For protection."

Touched, you step forward to reach for his empty hand and give it a little squeeze, smiling when his thumb sweeps over your knuckles. "Thank you."

His opposite hand cups the back of your neck as he leans down to press his lips to the top of your head, nose buried in your hair. The moment is interrupted by Oscar barking out one of the windows, "Pussa henne igen!"

Axel gives an exasperated sigh but takes a second to breathe you in, squeezing your fingers one more time before releasing you to join his brothers.

The three are gone with a flash of light and you're left standing alone. After a melancholy moment or two of eyeing the empty bus stop, you're turning your attention to your knife and unwrapping it to check the blade. But as the cloth falls away, it's the wooden handle that draws your curiosity.

A little symbol has been carved into the wood, but you don't know what it is or what it means. But for some strange reason you still feel a lump in your throat and a prickling in your eyes the longer you look at it. You remind yourself to ask about it when they return.

Your shopping trip was uneventful and you had successfully gotten everything on the list. The trek back to your home was lovely, though when you walked by the bus stop you had lingered a moment. When you entered your home and put away the groceries, the emptiness of your house was disquieting.

Efforts are made to distract yourself hour after hour after hour with relative success. The day fades into night and you curl up in bed to read your well-loved book of fairytale collections until sleep finds you.

The morning is quiet, but the cats keep you company. After lunch you take the opportunity to plant some of the carrot seeds you purchased. Towards the evening as you're figuring out what to make for dinner, you realize you can still smell Axel in the kitchen. It's bittersweet and you wonder at how deeply you miss your cooking buddy. After dinner when you're doing a load of laundry, you discover one of Otto's shirts in the dryer. As you're folding the garment, his scent grasps your heart and squeezes. The entire time you're wandering around your home, something in particular is gnawing at you, something is missing...Oscar's sneak attacks.

You drop on the sofa with a huff, shaking your head at how quickly you miss the three men. It's absurd, you're used to being alone...but at the same time it makes sense. You've gotten used to their company. As have the cats. Rubbing your temples, you watch a little television before heading to bed.

The next day is much of the same; distract yourself, do chores, care for the animals, read books, go for walks, tend to the garden and the forest, miss the Swedes. It doesn't take long for you to start worrying about them as well, if they're okay. Your home doesn't feel right and eventually, you don't feel right.

You feel...twitchy. And restless. And tingly?

The fourth day is a little easier, as is the fifth, but you still feel off.

On the sixth day your cats are crowding the living room windows. Not all that strange considering you live by a forest, who knows how many birds and little critters visit your home. Besides, more important things have your attention this morning; specifically, you feel the urge to bake.

When the front door opens you're in the kitchen messing around with baking sheets so you don't hear it. Maybe you'd have felt the cool air drifting in if your oven wasn't on. But you recognize Oscar's spicy scent a second before he pulls you back into his chest and nuzzles into your nape. He lets you twist around in his hold to hug him as the sound of his brother's boots grace your ears.

You wiggle out of Oscar's arms to pull Otto and Axel down for hugs as well, Otto with your left arm and Axel with your right. It's hard to tell whose hand is rubbing your back and whose is cupping the back of your neck but you don't mind. Noticing they still have their coats and packs, you welcome them back before telling them to make themselves comfortable.

The two brothers head for their guestroom and Oscar follows them after giving you one last hug...and scratching the chins of the cats desperate for the men's attention.

Your house returns to normal, but a little later you find you still don't feel quite right. Your condition doesn't really feel like this, so maybe you're just still feeling the absence of the Swedes? Only thing you can do is give it time...and pop on a cozy sweater, just in case.

The strange antsy feeling gets a little stronger one evening as Otto and Oscar play a game outside in your garden with a vicious looking knife. Leaning back against the side door to your kitchen, you watch as they throw the knife into the dirt at their feet, trying to see who can land it the closest. Apparently the game was called Mumblety-peg.

"Is this what siblings do? Assert...dominance over the other?"

Axel snorts, "For fun."

"...I see." Your next comment is cut off when the knife punctures Otto's upper thigh, courtesy of Oscar.

Immediately you're tugging Otto inside to sit at the kitchen table, the world fuzzing and voices fading as Otto removes the knife with a firm tug. Blood is staining and you're staring, focused and utterly silent before turning to Oscar. "You should have been more careful."

Oscar shrugs, "Not serious. Don't be...tråkmåns?..stick. Stick in the mud."

You know they have better strength, better stamina, and better healing. But while you were missing the three men, you had also been worrying about them...

Axel doesn't have a chance to reprimand his brother again before you're bristling and baring your teeth, "Well do excuse me for caring about you three. The first aid kit is in my bathroom. Get it now. Please."

Oscar blinks, surprise mingling with guilt and maybe a sprinkling of arousal at your feistiness. He follows your order, slinking down the hallway as he remembers the awful sinking feeling in his belly the one time they discovered a bullet buried in Axel's back that they had to dig out.

The eldest Swede watches the exchange silently, approving of this stern, no-nonsense side of you. Not to mention the 'please' you added at the end was cute. Even though you had reacted a little strongly to Oscar's shenanigans, it shows you care for them a great deal. You had worried for their safety while they had been gone. As you check Otto's wound, the large man admires the fire in you that is quietly sizzling down. You're deep in thought, forcing yourself to acknowledge that the Swedes are technically your mission so if anything should happen to them you would be notified. Sometimes it's hard to hear your voice of reason when it's warring with the paranoia and lack of trust in your employers.

Still, Oscar should be a little more careful. The youngest Swede returns with the kit and you apologize for snapping, that you know they heal more than civilians.

Feeling sheepish at having reacted the way that you did, you try your best to explain, "It wouldn't even take me an hour to heal from a wound like this. With my ability...if a wound lingers it's proof that it's severe. That something is deeply wrong. So...I just..reacted when I saw the bleeding. Before I could think."

You admit to them that you panicked a little...and yes, missing them may have had something to do with your reaction as well. Oscar apologizes to you, and when you raise an eyebrow, he apologizes to Otto as well.

That night when Otto pulls you down on the sofa with him to sleep, eyeing your sweater with a little concern, you decide it couldn't hurt. You've been feeling strange for quite a while, so maybe a dose of body heat is just the thing you need. Making sure the man was alright with the way you were positioned on top of him, minding his injury, you settle in with a deep contented sigh.

But you did not sleep through the night. In fact, you woke several hours later to darkness and that strange restless sensation that had been plaguing you for days now.

Otto's hand has slipped down a bit, fingers caressing the bare skin of your back that your sweater has revealed in your sleep. Your lips part with soundless pleasure at the gentle calloused warmth of his fingers, eyes fluttering when a tingle crawls up your spine...and down your arms and legs? Your brow furrows in confusion as your toes and fingers prickle and heat builds under your stomach before reaching a gentle simmer and lingering until...!

Startled, you shakily pull yourself up and stumble on your feet. You feel like you're wading through molasses, your head wrapped in fog as instinct leads you towards the safety and privacy of your bedroom. Entering your room, you whimper as you feel another wet rush that soaks your panties. Desperate, you lurch into your bathroom and rip off your clothes to find your inner thighs damp. With a trembling hand, you gingerly swipe your fingers through the fluid, not quite daring enough yet to touch the direct source. Clear and slightly sticky...hm.

You blink and look closer at the apex of your thighs...you're a bit swollen and flushed...and with a careful ticklish caress, find yourself to be somewhat sensitive as well. You're baffled, this looks to be simple arousal...well, deep arousal all things considered. As if to mock you, another shallow surge slicks your thighs and trickles down your legs. No, the small puddle your body is supplying isn't normal, your fuzzy head and lethargic body isn't normal, but you're not normal so maybe it's just...new? Something that's been delayed because of your long-term isolation? You've always lacked a menstrual cycle, so what are the odds this has some strange connection with it and your ability?

Without delay you hop in the shower, fiddling with the knobs as you begin to put the puzzle pieces together. The hot water that cascades over your skin is soothing, fighting back the earlier panic. Feeling quizzical, you once again gently slide your fingers down, pushing lightly over your clit as your eyes flutter shut with a soft sigh, touch lingering.

And suddenly it's not your hand, it's a much bigger palm cupping you possessively before fingers thicker than your own tease between your swollen lips and oh so slowly, a fingertip pushes inside, sliding to the first knuckle- A rush of juices from your cunt jerks you back to reality as you gasp, practically hyperventilating as you tear your hand away from your aching body to grasp at the tiled shower walls. ...Oh.

Maybe you missed your men more than you realized.

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Pussa henne igen - Kiss her again!

tråkmåns - Stick in the mud.