#and hang the curtains that way. I am tall enough for that and all it would take is me stretching and maybe straining myself too much

[yoonkinii]

First date with Sukuna!

Warning(s): Minor cursing. Requests open (only for this AU) Masterlist (Check for more AU content!) Note: I apologize for any errors in my writing. I am the only one writing and editing so I may miss a few things that don't belong. Please let me know if you spot any. <3

“You’ve been staring at your phone for like 20 minutes, just text him already.”

Shoko remarked from your bed, flipping through a fashion magazine she found lying around. She had come over for a study session, but it quickly turned into you telling her about getting Sukuna’s number and having no idea how to proceed. 

“I can’t.” You whine, cheek pressed against the surface of your low living room table. 

Your studio apartment, though compact, was efficiently designed. The entryway doubled as storage, with hidden closets lining the walls and a discreet door on the left revealing the bathroom. The entry all opened into the main living area, where the lines between living room, bedroom, and dining area blurred. A small sofa sat against one wall, accompanied by a flower-shaped coffee table, with a TV hanging on the opposite wall, perfectly positioned for viewing from either the couch or bed. 

The right side of the apartment is occupied by your bed, creating a cozy sleeping nook, partially obscured by a tall bookshelf acting as a makeshift partition. The evening sun filtered through the window above the bed, casting gentle shadows on the floor. Sheer curtains adorned the window, more for decoration than privacy since you lived on the fourth floor.

The kitchen, tucked into one corner, was a masterpiece of compact efficiency. It contained the essentials: a stove, microwave, and small fridge. Wooden cabinets above the counter held a few cooking essentials and acted as a pantry.

“What do you even mean by that? You got his number, just text him,” Shoko counters, sitting up from her position on your bed and making her way over to you. She plops down beside and, with a practiced swipe, unlocked your phone.  

You hiss, raising your head from the table and narrowing your gaze at her. “I didn’t give you my phone password so you could just go through it whenever.”

“What else am I going to do with your phone?” She replied nonchalantly.

“You are insufferable.”

She hums, her thumb nail lightly grazing her teeth as she deftly types on your phone’s screen. You realize too late what she was doing and lunge for your phone, snatching it out of her grasp. 

You gasp, dread filling your insides. “Why did you do that?” you screech, practically flinging your phone back onto the table as if it had burned your hand. You stood up, running your hands through your hair as you pace around the limited space of your apartment. “You just basically screwed me over by sending that text.”

Shoko rolls her eyes, picking up your phone from where you discarded it. “I did not screw you over.” She insisted. “Look, he’s typing.”

Practically tripping over air, you were by Shoko’s side in an instant, staring at the typing bubbles on the screen. A moment later, your phone dinged with a new message- from Sukuna. Shoko grinned, glazing at you. “See? I helped you out.”

“Holy shit,” you muttered, grabbing the phone and staring at the few simple words on your screen.

Your stomach churned with anxiety. 

It had taken hours to get ready for this date, even with Shoko’s help. The fact that Sukuna had chosen a three-star Michelin restaurant didn’t ease your nerves- such a place was beyond your wildest dreams. Miraculously, you found something suitable for the occasion buried deep in your closet. 

You wore a sleek, off-the-shoulder black dress that hugged your figure perfectly. The sleeves flared slightly at the wrists, adding a touch of elegance without feeling too constricting. The dress’s hemline was on the shorter side, so you paired it with slightly sheer black tights. Completing the outfit were black pumps and a small purse slung over your shoulder, just big enough to hold your phone, wallet, apartment keys, and a few necessities. 

Taking a deep breath, you tried to calm your jittery stomach. The last thing you needed was a bout of nerves ruining your first date with the man of your dreams. Your inexperience with fancy places gnawed on you. What if there were specific forks you had to use? Or a certain way to speak?

Shaking off your nerves as best as you could, you finally stepped into the restaurant. The smooth sounds of jazz- saxophone and piano- immediately enveloped you, creating an atmosphere of refined elegance. The building was bathed in a dim glow, with soft light illuminating from bulbs hanging down from the veiling, reminiscent of a starlit sky. 

A hostess appeared before you, exuding an air of professionalism. Dressed in attire reminiscent of a butler’s uniform, complete with white gloves, she greeted you with a polite smile. When you gave her your name, her demeanor shifted slightly; her back tensed, and her eyes widened fractionally before she quickly regained her composure, making you wonder if you had even imagined it. 

As you followed the hostess, you took in the restaurant’s decor. White tablecloths covered the tables, each adorned with a lit candle and a bouquet of roses. Booths lined the walls, their half-circle seats echoing the elegance of the freestanding tables. In the center of the room, a dais hosted the musicians whose performance had captivated you to the point that you nearly collided with the hostess when she abruptly stopped.

Stepping back to create some distance, you meet her gaze. She smiles and tilts her head slightly, motioning for you to ascend the staircase you hadn’t noticed before. It was unusual for a restaurant to have a second story, so you didn’t bother paying much attention towards the ceiling. Now, you see a balcony-like area surrounding the walls of the building, offering a view of the first-floor patrons below. Tables similar to those on the ground floor were placed along the second-story banisters. 

Ascending the spiral stairs with the hostess following at a respectful distance, you reached the top and the hostess once again took the lead. She guided you past various tables to a secluded booth in a back corner, partially hidden by a sheer black curtain. The dark lighting made the booth hard to spot, adding an air of exclusivity and intimacy to it. 

Even in the dim light, you spotted him immediately, his pink hair unmistakable. His back was to you, giving you a few brief moments to take him in before you had to face him. He wore black slack, with the sleeves of his white button-up shirt rolled up to his forearms, revealing more of his intricate tattoos. Two bands of black ink encircled his wrists, their meaning being a mystery to you. You couldn’t dwell on his tattoos any longer as the hostess parted the curtain, gesturing for you to take a seat opposite of Sukuna. 

Your palms were sweaty; in fact, you felt a clammy discomfort all over. Biting your bottom lips, you slid into the booth, surprised by how deeply you sank into the cushion. 

A low chuckle from across the table snaps you out of your thoughts. Your head jerks up, and you find yourself staring at Sukuna. The first few buttons of his shirt were undone. Your mind goes blank as you take in the exposed skin of his collarbone and chest, revealing a peak of well sculpted muscles. 

“You should see the face you’re making right now,” he says, his voice tinged with amusement. He picks up a glass filled with amber liquid, taking a small sip and setting it back down. “I must say, I was quite surprised by how forward you were over text. No greeting or anything, just straight to business.”

Snapping out of your daze, you laugh nervously, your hands fiddling with the hem of your dress under the table. “Sorry about that.” You couldn’t help but apologize, worried that Shoko might have done more harm than good. You barely even knew Sukuna, having only encountered him twice and even those moments were brief. 

He hums, leaning back into his seat, his gaze fixed on you. You stare back, wide-eyed and unsure of what to do. His eyes roamed over your body, and he made no effort to hide what was doing. Your skin felt like it was on fire under his scrutiny. A smirk curled at the corner of his lips. 

“I never asked, but,” He pauses, his eyes locking onto  yours. “How old are you?”

“I’m 25.” 

“Oh?” He leans forward, forearms resting on the table. “That’s quite a big age gap between us.”

You couldn’t help the small pout that forms on your lips, your brows knitting together. “If a seven-year age gap is big for you, then I have a few questions. And I thought I made it clear I didn’t care.”

His eyes lit up with something akin to amusement. “So she does have some bite in her.” Sukuna raises a hand, and almost as if he had summoned them, a waiter appeared. Dressed similarly to the hostess, the waiter bowed slightly as Sukuna made a gesture at them. Without a word, a menu was placed before you. 

“Thank you,” you offered the waiter as you opened the menu. Your eyes nearly pop out of their sockets at the prices listed. Everything was outrageously expensive; even a simple salad cost a small fortune. Your heart sank along with your pride. 

Guess I’ll have to work overtime for a while, you thought to yourself, your heart breaking slightly at the mere thought of having to work extra hours. 

The waiter returned with a glass of water, taking your order after setting down your drink. You cast a curious glance at Sukuna as the waiter took your menu. He never received one and didn’t even look at yours. 

“Are you not ordering?” You questioned once the waiter was far enough, worry lacing your tone. 

“They already know what I want,” He replied flatly. 

Letting out a soft ‘Ah’ of acknowledgment, you settle back against the booth, taking in your surroundings. It’s not every day you find yourself in such an upscale establishment, so you might as well savor the experience. 

“I take it this is your first time at a place like this?” His voice draws your attention back to him. His eyes are fixed on you, a brow arched in curiosity. 

“God no,” you laugh softly. “I’m in college right now, so there’s no way I could afford places like this.” You admit sheepishly, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. 

“What are you studying?”

“Biology.”

“You want to be a doctor?”

You visibly deflate, your hands cradling the chilled glass of water, fingers gently tapping against its surface. “I used to think so, but the deeper I got into my degree, the more I realized how difficult it is. I think I’ll just become a nurse and work for my friend.”

Shoko is determined to become a doctor, claiming she wants to be her own boss and not have to answer to, in her words, ‘stupid old people.’ You wouldn’t mind working under her as one of her nurses. She’s also said she wouldn’t mind it either, so that’s your current goal. 

Sukuna hums, nodding thoughtfully. 

Biting the inside of your cheek, you study him, taking in his appearance. He arches a brow at your stare, almost daring you to say something. And you do. 

“Your piercing.” You begin, pointing to your own eyebrow to mirror his. “Did it hurt really bad?”

“No.” 

“No?” You echo, surprised by his response. Even with a high pain tolerance, it still must’ve hurt a little. 

“No,” He affirms. “I was shit face drunk when I got them.”

You blink at him. Once. Twice before a laugh you can’t hold back escapes you. Your hand covers your mouth, slightly surprised by your own reaction. Sukuna tuts his lips, a slight frown pulling on his lips. 

“Think that's funny, brat?”

You heave out a breath, sighing away to remnants of your laughter. “Hey, I don’t think that warrants being called a brat.” 

“Well you are laughing like an immature brat.” He snarls lowly, lips hovering against the rim of his glass as he takes another sip.

“I’m not sure that I'm the immature one. I wasn’t the one that got drunk and pierced their eyebrow.”

Sukunas eyes narrow on you, lips curling into a half-smile. “Cheeky,” He mumbles more to himself.

Talking to Sukuna felt surprisingly easy. Even when the food arrived, the conversation continued to flow smoothly, with you doing most of the talking. It was clear that Sukuna had a slight temper, evident in the way he grumbled to himself when the waiter made a mistake or how his brows knit together in frustration. Once, when the waiter accidentally brought over a drink neither of you ordered, Sukuna dismissed him with a curt “It’s fine,” but you noticed the way his eyes followed the waiter, as if trying to burn holes in his back. 

Despite his temper, his annoyance was never directed at you. He listened intently when you spoke, adding his own bits to the conversation. You learned that he got all his ear piercings at once, with the gauges being the most bothersome to take care of. His tattoos came a few years later, taking longer to complete because his tattoo artist wasn’t comfortable doing such a large project in one sitting.

Sukuna also shared that his “dumbass nephew” lived with him, usually bothering him and rarely ever shutting up. Despite Sukuna’s grimace while talking about his nephew, it was clear he cares deeply for him. He shows you photos of Yuji on his phone, from baby pictures to ones from elementary and middle school, grumbling about how Yuji sucked at math in middle school. You could tell that beneath his gruff exterior, Sukuna had a soft spot for his family. Why else would he have so many photos saved on his phone?

Time flew by in an instant, and before you knew it, the check landed on the table. Acting on impulse, you reached for your purse, intending to retrieve your wallet. But before you could even open your purse, the waiter swiftly whisked away the bill. 

“Wait-” You called after the retreating waiter, but he didn’t turn back. Sukuna observed you with a bored depression, his temples resting against his propped-up hand. With a resigned sigh, you reluctantly close your purse. 

“We could’ve split the bill.” You suggested, eyeing Sukuna across the table. 

“Like you could afford it,” he retorted coolly

Your face flushed, lips pressed into a thin line at his comment. Though it rang true, you still felt a twinge of guilt. Who knew how much this dinner had cost, and whether Sukuna could even afford it without consequences. 

“When a man pays for your meal, you should really be thanking them more than complaining.” Sukuna remarked. 

You fix  Sukuna with a hard stare until he sighs at your stubbornness, relenting. “Fine. You can treat me next time.”

Your heart skips a beat, eyes widening slightly at the implication behind his words. A smile spreads across your face involuntarily. “Really?” you repeat, practically beaming with joy. Sukuna rolls his eyes but he couldn’t hide the half-smile beginning to form on his lips. “If I knew you were going to light up like the damn sun, I might have said otherwise.”

You clicked your tongue, letting out a faux laugh. “Ha ha, too late to take it back now.”

Chuckling softly, Sukuna leans back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest, looking at you with a hint of sincerity in his eyes.

“No, I guess I can’t.”

-

Tag List (open):@kalulakunundrum , @fushipurro

[justporo]

Evening Rituals

The sun might be lost for Astarion, but what he can hold onto are the sunsets once the sun itself has hidden beyond the horizon. And so he sits and watches - and you hope to help him mend what's broken.

MASTERLIST | AO3

Author's Note: I wrote this after I thought of that recent headcanon of Astarion liking to catch as much of a sunset as possible - because they're beautiful and we all know he loves beautiful things. Coincidentally the sky this morning - although it was a sunrise - was just as I imagined it for this piece. Pairing: Astarion/GN!Tav (You) Warnings: light mention of past trauma Wordcount: 1k Song: Am I Dreaming - Lil Nas X ft. Miley Cyrus ~~~

The room was dark so the sky could be more vibrant.

At least that’s what Astarion always said when he insisted on getting up as soon as the last golden ray of the setting sun had climbed down below the horizon. He’d thrown open the thick brocade curtains covering the tall window in your room, only to do the same with the window and then perch on the window sill: one leg drawn up, the other hanging casually down from the little nook and his head up towards the gradient sky.

His posture seemed casual enough. Inviting you to think that he was merely languidly relaxing. But for you who’d become accustomed to carefully notice even the most minute of details of your lover, you saw the tension in his spine and the way he leaned towards the last moments of daylight. The way his eyes spoke of yearning and a dear one lost.

It had become an evening ritual this. Since evenings were now the start of your days.

It had been merely a couple of days since your final battle for Baldur’s Gate and so for the time being you’d chosen to remain in the relative comfort of the Elfsong tavern. Until things had blown over a bit, the dust settled.

One of those things being how your vampire had been forced back into the night.

And how he hadn’t been ready for it. Although, if you were quite honest with yourself, who could have ever expected him to be ready for something as cruel as that?

Astarion fully hadn’t been prepared for this sort of breakup yet. That’s what he’d said several times. Sometimes half-joking, sometimes with as much earnestness as you’d heard from the man.

And you knew that even his new found, undying and powerful love for you could only take the sharpest edge off the pain all this was causing him.

He was mourning the loss of the sun. The griefing doubled by it being the second time it had been taken from him.

Because a heart already shattered into pieces, already once broken and barely just starting to stick together again was so prone to breaking down even more.

And so Astarion sat and watched how the last remains of sunlight slowly got drawn from the skies every evening. Observed how the colours changed from simmering, liquid gold at the rim and got drowned out by all shades of the colour blue imaginable. Like a curtain dragged down over the city ever so slowly - until glittering stars and a vibrant moon brought some solace with their silver light. As if offering a soft caress as a small apology to the vampire who would have to make do with them instead from now on.

And you sat with him every night, trying to offer additional comfort even though you knew that even you couldn’t substitute all the warmth of golden daylight. At least you wanted to be there for him while he was trying to mend the pieces as best he could.

It might not have been healthy how Astarion clung to shreds of what was left. But could you really blame him? You saw the pain in his crimson eyes every evening once he had settled down to watch, how he practically made himself sit through the pain time and time again. It tortured you.

But you also noticed the spark on his face, at least a silver lining. When he smiled and whispered to himself how beautiful it looked. “Almost as beautiful as you,” he joked sometimes. And then you smiled at him or kissed him. But not for too long as to not to keep him from his moment of serenity.

Mostly the two of you remained silent. You needn’t speak about this, it was an unspoken agreement between you. And a lot of thoughts must be going through Astarion’s mind at any given time. Two centuries were a hefty time span to sort through. And you felt he needed these moments to slowly work through it. To patiently let the major dust storm settle and see how pieces fit together after that. So usually you just stayed with him, observed him as much as the sunset sky, while you hoped you’d be a piece in the puzzle once he would have figured it all out.

Today you had quickly went down to the taproom to get yourself a mug of hot tea while Astarion had already flung open the window to perform his routine.

When you returned he was already there, head leaning against the window frame, one leg up and angled, softly swaying to a melody only the vampire heard.

Kneeling down in front of the window on a pillow you set down your cup on the window sill and then your head on top of your arms right next to it. Vapour curled lazily from the boiling hot beverage you’d brought for yourself, dissipating somewhere towards its way up to the flamboyant sunset.

The sky was different today. Mixed with the usual oranges, yellows and and blues was a breathtaking blend of purples and pinks, stroked over with some soft sheens of clouds that glowed even more vibrantly with the unusual colours.

Astarion was mesmerised, mouth slightly agape, as if he’d never seen something similar. Truly the way he could admire every single instance of the sky darkening slowly had you in awe and broke your heart simultaneously.

The vampire loved beautiful things, loved to look at them, again and again. And if that was what remained, he would hold onto it.

You took him in, took careful note of how his profile outlined darkly against the softer pastels of the early night, eyes shining. The warm light tones painted him softly - in a way that made your heart ache even more.

Astarion noticed you watch him and smiled at you lovingly - and just a little wicked. You hoped you saw a tiny bit less aching in it today. He stretched out his hand to stroke your hair softly while not breaking eye contact. He admired you very similarly to how you had been looking at him. And to how he previously had drank in the dusk sky.

Tonight his eyes didn’t stray from you while the colours slowly gave way to the darkness of the night.

The pain and the beauty of sunsets might be fleeting. Always prone to betray one.

But you were there. And you stayed even beyond darkness.

Taglist (DM if you want to be added please): @spacebarbarianweird @sunfire-ancunin @tragedybunny @dependsonthedream @tallymonster @magazzne @micropoe10 @aoirohi @my-bunny-prince @lumienyx @fayeriess @darlingxdragon @hereliesblackdragon @ayselluna @ajokeformur-ray @i-cant-get-into-my-other-account @rikuyrk06 @marina-and-the-memes

[moonselune]

hey hey!! Was wondering if you’d be okay writing a drabble of Shadowheart x Lae’zel and their little hatchling Xan? Like it’s the ass crack of dawn and we hear noises in their little cottage, and both Shad and Lae find li’l Xan (who is, what? Five years old maybe at this point) try to haul Lae’zel’s big ass silver sword and Shadowheart’s big ass shield and armor that is literally draping on him, attempting to leave early to not get in trouble and show to kids at school so they will like him cause they make fun of him :(. Maybe a little heart to heart from Lae’zel or Shadowheart?

Why did I get more emotional writing this than I did for the dead Tav request oof-

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Shadowzel + Lil baby Xan (He's 5) | Am I strong enough yet?

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

The first light of dawn filtered through the curtains of the cozy cottage, casting a soft glow over the room. Shadowheart and Lae'zel stirred from their slumber, the quiet stillness of the morning broken by a series of clumsy thuds and muffled grunts. They exchanged a look, curiosity and concern mingling in their eyes.

Silently, they slipped out of bed, moving towards the source of the noise. As they approached the living room, the sight that greeted them made their hearts ache and swell with love all at once. Their five-year-old little hatchling, Xan, was struggling to drag Lae'zel's massive silver sword across the floor. Shadowheart's oversized shield was strapped to his back, and he was attempting to don her armor, which hung off his small frame like an ill-fitting costume.

Xan's face was scrunched in determination, his little arms straining with the effort. He grumbled to himself as he tried to lift the sword, which was clearly too heavy for him. Shadowheart's heart twisted at the sight, a mixture of pride and sadness welling up within her.

"Xan," Shadowheart called softly, stepping into the room.

Xan froze, his eyes wide with a mix of guilt and fear. He dropped the sword with a loud clang and turned to face his mothers. "M-morning, Mama, Ma," he stammered, trying to look innocent despite the evidence around him.

Lae'zel crossed her arms, her gaze stern but not unkind. "What are you doing, little one?" she asked, her voice carrying that familiar edge of authority.

Xan shuffled his feet, his head hanging low. "I… I wanted to take your sword and armor to school," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "The kids… they make fun of me. They say I'm not strong or brave like you. I thought… if I showed them your things, they might like me."

Shadowheart's expression softened, and she knelt down to be at eye level with her son. "Xan, you don't need to carry our weapons to prove your worth," she said gently, reaching out to cup his cheek. "You are already strong and brave in your own way."

Lae'zel stepped closer, her stern demeanor melting as she looked at her son. She placed a hand on his shoulder, her grip firm yet comforting. "Strength is not just in the weapons we wield, but in the heart and mind," she said. "True strength comes from within, and you have that, Xan. Never doubt it."

Xan's eyes welled up with tears, and he sniffled. "But… they make fun of me," he repeated, his voice trembling. "They say I'm weak."

Shadowheart pulled him into a tight embrace, her heart aching at his words. "People can be cruel, my sweet," she said softly. "But their words do not define you. You are loved, and you are valued, no matter what anyone says."

Lae'zel crouched down beside them, her eyes fierce with a protective light. "If anyone dares to mock you again, you stand tall and proud," she instructed. "Show them that you are a warrior's child. And if they do not see your worth, they are not worth your time."

Xan looked up at his mothers, his tears drying as he absorbed their words. "But… what if they keep making fun of me?" he asked hesitantly.

Lae'zel exchanged a glance with Shadowheart, a silent understanding passing between them. "Then we will teach you to defend yourself," Lae'zel said firmly. "Not with our weapons, but with your own strength and courage."

Shadowheart nodded in agreement. "And we will always be here for you, no matter what," she added. "You are never alone, Xan."

Xan's expression brightened, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Thank you, Mama. Thank you, Ma," he said, hugging them both tightly.

Shadowheart kissed his forehead, her heart swelling with love. "Now, let's put these back where they belong," she suggested gently, gesturing to the discarded sword and armor.

Lae'zel ruffled Xan's hair affectionately. "And perhaps we can find a smaller sword for you to practice with," she added, a hint of pride in her voice.

Xan's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really?" he exclaimed.

"Really," Lae'zel confirmed with a nod. "But remember, true strength comes from within. Always."

As they guided Xan back to their room, the warmth of their love and support surrounded him, a comforting shield against the world's cruelty. Together, they faced the new day, their bond stronger than ever.

BONUS:

"Shadowheart, calm yourself," Lae'zel said, her voice steady despite the tension in the air. "Becoming enraged will not solve anything."

Shadowheart turned to her, her eyes blazing with determination. "But those children, they deserve to learn respect," she insisted, her fists clenched at her sides.

Lae'zel sighed softly, stepping closer to her beloved. "And they will, in time," she replied calmly. "But teaching them a lesson with violence is not the answer."

Shadowheart looked at her incredulously. "How can you be so calm about this?" she asked, frustration evident in her voice. "They insult our son, belittle him..."

Lae'zel placed a comforting hand on Shadowheart's arm, her touch gentle yet firm. "I may or may not have slipped a githyanki dagger into Xan's school bag," she confessed with a sly grin.

Shadowheart blinked in surprise, her anger momentarily forgotten as she processed Lae'zel's words. "You what?" she asked, a mixture of shock and amusement crossing her features.

Lae'zel shrugged nonchalantly. "It's a deterrent," she explained casually. "No harm will come to Xan, but those who seek to harm him might think twice."

Shadowheart couldn't help but chuckle at Lae'zel's protective instincts, despite her earlier reservations. "You are impossible," she murmured affectionately, pulling Lae'zel into a warm embrace.

"And yet, you love me," Lae'zel replied with a smirk, leaning down to kiss Shadowheart tenderly.

Shadowheart sighed contentedly against her lips, the tension of the morning slowly dissipating. "I do," she whispered, her voice filled with love and gratitude.

[cherrygummycandy]

Roommate wanted

DHMIS main trio x Roommate!Reader

(I lied, I was going to post a different pic but forgot I had this in my drafts!)

💚💛❤💙💚💛❤💙💚💛❤💙💚💛❤💙

Bright colors shine through the windows of the small pink house, cascading off the checker print tiles. This light however, was suddenly dashed with a grunt from a green feathered bird as he slammed shut a curtain. "Ugh, can't the sun move somewhere else, it's ruining my light..." The bird grumbles, readjusting the mirror he has set up on the kitchen table. "Y'alright?" A tall red man asks absentmindedly from the other side of the table, not bothering to look up from his paper. "No! I'm not alright. I'm trying to brush my hair, and the sun is blinding me." The third and final member of the table perks up at this, now interjecting.

"But, you don't have hair, you're a bird." The yellow boy says, head tilted in confusion as he shovels cereal into his mouth. "Feathers are hair for birds, idiot." Duck snaps, The yellow one looks down sadly at this, a slight whine as he goes back to his cereal.

After a few minutes, Red sighs and puts down his paper. "Y'know, I thought something would have happened by now." He says. Duck's brow furrows as he looks up from his mirror, setting down his comb. "You're right, I'm bored. Someone do something. Call someone." He orders. "Call someone? Do we have a phone?" Yellow asks. "Nah, I think that electric person took it a few days ago, remember?" The three shiver at the memory of the small electric girl, and the sounds she made when they swapped her batteries. Duck snaps out of it first, and throws his mirror off the table. "Well, find something to do-" "What's this?" Yellow interjects, picking up the newspaper.

"DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" Duck screeches, only to be ignored by Red. "It's a newspaper." "But what's this say?" Yellow points to an ad, that reads 'Roomate wanted, apply at address below'. Red takes the paper from him, looking closer. "S' a roommate ad. Y'know, for people you live with, like us." He explains, before pausing. His eyes narrow. "Huh. This is our address." Duck snatches the paper. "Our address-" He looks up, even more annoyed. "You put out an ad for another roommate? Am I not enough?". Red shakes his head. "I didn't put out an ad, and he probably didn't either." He glances at yellow. "I don't even think he can read." Red continues to examine the ad, trying to ignore Duck's squabbling. In all this noise, Yellow seems to be the only one to hear a knock on the front door. He hops down from his chair, and heads out of the kitchen. "Where's he going?" Duck asks. The two follow him and peek around the doorframe, watching as he opens the door.

💚💛❤💙💚💛❤💙💚💛❤💙💚💛❤💙

"Uhm, hello?" You greet, looking down at the odd yellow fellow. "Hello!" He greets you, staring up at you blankly. You wait a few moments, but he doesn't go on. "Oh, for god's sake-" A green bird in a tweed jacket pushes him aside with a grunt. "Who're you?" He asks, eyeing you up and down with furrowed brows. "I'm Y/N, I saw an ad in the paper." You reach into the bag hanging at your side and pull out the scrap of paper. "Yeah, says here 'Roomate wanted'.". You try to hand the bird the paper, but he swats it away. "We've seen the ad, we didn't send it! Go away!" He squawks, attempting to shut the door. A red foot stops it from closing all the way, and a much larger red figure looks down at the bird. "Hold on now, come on. You wanted something to do today, maybe we could use a new roommate." The red man proposes.

"What, No! There's three of us! Just three of us!" The bird exclaims. Once more, the two characters argue back and forth, leaving you confused and feeling awkward on there doorstep. "I'm Yellow. It's nice to meet you, roommate!" The yellow man says, extending a hand happily. "Wha- Oh, no! My name isn't roommate, my name is Y/N." You correct, shaking his hand gently. "So Roomates your last name?" Before you can respond, the duck coughs loudly to get your attention.

"Alright, Roommate. We have decided to allow you to stay here, as long as you're entertaining to me." Duck says. "No, I made the decision you could stay, I pay the rent." Red says. "Do you?" He rolls his eyes. "We've got a spare room, upstairs, to the left. You can set up there." Red offers. "We can have bunk beds!" Yellow exclaims, and Red shakes his head. "No, they'll have their own room." Duck nods in agreement. "But... how can you have bunk beds in two different rooms..." Yellow trails off.

"Thank you! I'll go drop my stuff off now." You thank them and head past the duck, into the house and up the stairs. "You think they'll last?" Duck asks, glancing at tred. "W-what?" Yellow asks, worry evident in his voice. "I mean, anyone new we meet pretty much leaves at the end of the day, so they probably will too." Red shrugs. "I mean, I guess it's possible. Just enjoy it while there here." He heads back into the kitchen. "But, I don't want them to leave, I like Roommate." Yellow whines. Duck only scoffs. "Please you just met them." He moves to follow Red, before stopping and turning back to say,

"and there name isn't roommate."

[melis-writes]

Hi how are you? Could you do what it would be like if Michael and Victoria went to sleep fighting and the next day everyone realizes that they are fighting.

Hiii, my beloved!! 💗 Sorry it took me a little while to reach your prompt but here I am, promising more of Michael and Victoria hehe. 😅 This kind of reminds me of the prompt where these two argued and Michael called her “useless”. Ouch… Feels like a good place to pick up on in terms of drama!! 💀💀

“That brother of yours is even more pathetic than I thought.” Michael pours himself a tall glass of water. “Does he think you’re his messenger?”

“Does it really matter?” You frown, crossing your arms and facing Michael’s back. “I mean, he said—”

“I don’t care what he said.” Michael interrupts, swallowing his diabetes medication down with the cold water. “His decisions, his thoughts, let alone his opinion do not concern me nor do they have any meaning here. I’ll speak to the Don and the Don alone if I have any concerns.”

“Well, that’s not going to do us any good.” You sigh softly, shaking your head. “You know how my father is. If he wants Lorenzo to act on—”

“Us?” Michael turns around, setting his water down. “There is no us, Victoria. This will never concern you.”

“I didn’t say it did.” You peep back, growing frustrated. “I just wish you would stop being so difficult.”

“I’m not being difficult or any such thing—don’t roll your eyes at me, Victoria.” Michael narrows his eyes at you.

“Then just listen to me, please,” you sigh loudly, only to see frustrated growing in Michael’s expression. “All I’m trying to say is—”

“Enough.” Michael says sharply, loosening his tie. “You obey the Don of this house, do you understand? No more—nothing of Lorenzo, nothing of your father’s decision unless he wants to come here and speak to me personally. You will not get involved even if your father tells you to, is that perfectly clear? Because you are—”

“Useless?” You finish Michael’s sentence as your eyes begin to tear up. “Because I’m useless, right? Just like you said before?”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Michael stares back at you, unamused.

“There’s no other way to tell someone that they’re useless, Michael.” You sniffle, unable to hold your tears back. “So fine, have it your way! See if I care. I’m not on anybody’s side here but yours, and if you don’t want to see that then I pity you!”

“Don’t raise your voice at me.” Michael snaps back. “That’s enough. I don’t want to hear any more of this.”

“You won’t, trust me!” Tears begin to stream down your cheeks as you storm out of the living room, shutting the door behind you immediately.

What started out as a calm, relaxed evening as you and Michael enjoyed dinner with family and friends may as well mean nothing to you now as your entire evening now at an end feels ruined regardless.

You let out a shaky breath, just wishing Michael would listen to you more—be more transparent with you like himself always promises to but again and again it spirals into an argument like this.

‘Why do I even bother?’ You grumble to yourself, pushing the door open to your bedroom.

Bitterness and frustration from Michael shutting you down before you can even explain anything to him thoroughly kicks in the moment you spot your empty bed, and you decide not to waste a moment more of the rest of your night and certainly not going back and forth to argue with Michael.

Sighing quietly to yourself, you shut the bedroom door behind you before popping into the bathroom and splashing some cold water over your face to wash off your tears.

Hearing nobody else approach the bedroom and not expecting Michael to either as you have no anticipation or hopes whatsoever that he’ll come in here to talk to you or apologize, you strip off and hang up your dress for the day.

Pulling on your nightgown and putting your hair up in a loose bun, you draw the curtains back over the windows and get snuggled up into bed alone.

You don’t even bother to look over at the empty side that belongs to Michael, but rather sleep on your side facing away from where Michael would be.

Your exhaustion from today is much more prominent than your frustration or anything else, and you find yourself simply wanting to drift into deep, relaxing sleep more than anything else now.

You pull up your duvet over your shoulders and squeeze your eyes shut, attempting to relax as only the ticking sound of the grandfather clock in the bedroom can be heard.

Michael remains in the living room for the next hour, going over paperwork while smoking before even considering retiring to bed for the day.

He’s neither bothered to even look back behind you as you left abdruptly nor is he in any rush to get back into the bedroom where he assumes you’re keeping yourself occupied or perhaps in the nursery with the children.

Once the clock strikes 1AM, Michael begins to unbutton down his dress shirt as he walks up the spiral staircase towards your bedroom.

Already snuggled up and cozy, you’re fast asleep and don’t hear Michael’s footsteps approaching the bedroom or when he walks in.

Michael slips off his tie, setting it down on your vanity chair as he gazes at you peacefully sleeping.

He purses his lips, sighing a little before he continues to get undressed for bed—hoping maybe you’ll at least stir from your sleep and notice him but you don’t.

Michael gets into bed next to you, shifting comfortably and pulling the duvet over him. He glances at you in the darkness, only able to hear your soft breathing as you continue sleeping.

Still upset with you in his own way after the argument, Michael doesn’t bother to fan the flames now either. Instead, he turns on his opposite side too facing away from you to sleep.

In the morning you’re neither woken by Michael awakening or the sounds of him in the bathroom or bedroom, but your alarm at 7AM sharp.

You blink open your eyes, smacking the top of your alarm clock before sitting up in bed only to see the bed made perfectly neat next to you as if Michael never came to sleep at all last night.

You neither bother to call out for Michael or ask where he is, instead rising out of bed and putting your slippers on before walking to the bathroom; no sign of him in there either but the sink still has droplets of water in it.

Michael woke up an hour before you, taking an early morning walk with Tom and his dogs by the dock and he was especially sure not to wake you nor could he be bothered to care either.

Humming quietly to yourself, you push back any thoughts and feelings of last night’s fight and continue with your morning routine that consists of brushing and styling your hair before picking a light, lacy blouse and a pencil skirt for the day.

By 7:30, you and Michael are both down at the central family estate for breakfast as you’ve both always done, sharing all of your meals together with the whole family every weekend.

“Good morning, mama.” You smile, kissing Carmela’s cheek lightly. “Good morning, everyone.”

“Good morning, Victoria.” Carmela beams back at you, preparing breakfast next to Connie.

“Morning.” Connie turns back to greet you, holding a tray filled with an assortment of jams. “Here just on time and all glamoured up this morning, huh?”

“I wouldn’t call it that.” You laugh softly, “was everyone up before me this morning, or?”

“Just Michael.” Connie comments back before she furrows her brows in confusion. “Why? Wasn’t he—”

“I’ll take that, mama. Thanks.” You take the basket of bread from Mama Corleone’s hands along with the pitcher of lemonade before ignoring Connie’s curious comment and stepping back outside.

“He’s a very quick learner, I know.” Tom chuckles, in mid-conversation with Michael as only he, Michael and Sonny are sitting at the breakfast table in the courtyard. “Hey, good morning, Victoria.”

“Hi, Tom, Sonny. Good morning.” You smile back at both your brothers, ignoring Michael outright.

“Good morning.” Michael speaks out to you, being the only one at the table and perhaps out of his entire family that can read the irritation and annoyance off your body language even if your facial expression doesn’t give it away.

“Tea and lemonade this morning,” you note, ignoring Michael and setting the pitcher down. “You gentlemen need anything?”

“Thanks, Vic.” Sonny pulls the pitcher of lemonade up to him. “Could ya get me an ashtray too while you’re at it?”

“Sure. Tom?” You glance back at your brother, smoothening out the tablecloth.

“Ah, just a glass of water please, Vic. Thanks.” Tom requests with a polite smile.

“Make that two ashtrays.” Michael speaks up, pulling out his cigarette pack from his inner suit pocket.

Ignoring Michael again, you return back into the kitchen just as Mama Corleone steps out with teacups and a hot teapot steaming with black tea.

You pick up a glass from the cupboard, filling it with cold water and only taking one ashtray on purpose when you notice Connie’s curious eyes over you as she cuts small pieces of cheese on a platter.

“Everything alright, honey?” Connie asks, removing the packaging off a chunk of blue cheese.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” You look back at her, clutching both the water and ashtray in your hand.

“Just checking up on my sis.” Connie grins, “everything ready out there?”

“Just about.” You nod back, heading out the door. “Don’t take too long!”

“There we go.” Mama Corleone sighs in relief, pouring everyone a glass of tea.

“Grazie.” Michael thanks her in Italian, pulling his cup closer to him as you sit opposite of Michael instead of next to him this time.

Tom thanks you for the water but Michael’s eyes are all over the single ashtray in your hand, watching as you hand it to Sonny. “There you go.”

“Thanks, honey.” Sonny puts a new cigarette inbetween his lips as you set the ashtray directly in front of him.

Connie’s curious eyes dart back and forth between Michael and Sonny, and even Mama Corleone’s beginning to pick up on the strange behaviour between you and Michael, let alone the displeased look on her son’s face.

You clear your throat quietly, taking your seat next to Connie and beginning to eat your breakfast, but the air between you and Michael is felt by just about everyone in the next few minutes.

“Hey,” Sonny murmurs, noticing there isn’t a second ashtray for Michael as he heard him request. “Yeah, you can use mine, here.”

“No, it’s fine.” Michael pushes back Sonny’s ashtray, refusing it.

You ignore both of them, biting down on your omelette as Michael continues staring at you while he eats, waiting for you to notice the look on his face.

“Well, the children are all with the governess this morning and your father will be joining—” Mama Corleone interrupts herself, feeling Connie lightly nudge her.

For a split second, Connie and Mama Corleone exchange glances before Mama Corleone looks over at you and Michael.

Tom chuckles quietly to himself, already having picked up on  just what’s going on between you and Michael. “As you were saying, mama?”

“I’m saying that I think these two are fighting.” Mama Corleone laughs softly, trying to make light of the whole affair. “Michael? Victoria?”

“I’m fine, mama.” You comment back with a smile. “I’m doing just fine.”

“Then why won’t you look at me?” Michael asks you.

“I am looking at you.” You face Michael directly. “Darling.”

“Hey, Mike,” Sonny holds back his laughter, elbowing his brother gently. “C’mon, don’t be so—”

“Santino.” Mama Corleone raises her voice, looking very disappointed with her eldest son. “Non farti coinvolgere. Questo non ti riguarda.” (Don't get involved. This doesn't concern you.)

Amused by Sonny’s antics, Connie smiles down at her plate as breakfast resumes as normal, except it’s all the more quiet and lacking conversation solely because of you and Michael.

You reach your hand across the table to grab the salt shaker only to touch Michael’s fingers. Your eyes widen a little as you notice he doesn’t pull his hand away but at the same time Michael doesn’t take the salt shaker for himself either.

“I love you,” Michael mouths back to you.

You blush deeply, noticing Michael pushing the salt shaker towards you.

[orangepeelshortbreadcookies]

Curtain Story: The super serious, dark, dramatic and heroic rivalry of Miles Bridgerton and Charles Bridgerton

by @orangepeelshortbreadcookies

Chapter 5 - 5.6 / 4.11 & Edmund 

Ratings: General

Word count: 2,993

Chapter summary: Our heroes consult their Minister of Defense and form a tentative ally with the Opposition regarding a possible assassination plot.

The purpose of having an older brother, Miles decides, is to be given a loyal and free lackey for your entire life. 

Miles is especially lucky that his brother is Edmund. He is seven years old and is twice as big as other kids his age. Miles believes Edmund must be at least 10 metres tall. He can reach all the highest shelves. He gives Miles piggyback when their Dad is not available to. Any kid who dares bully him, and by extension, Charlie (who is not his best friend), retreats immediately when they see Edmund coming. It is the best.

The greatness of Edmund’s stature, however, is not appreciated by everybody. To be more specific, Auggie, their eldest cousin, is so very jealous. He finds it deeply unfair, as despite being two years older than Edmund, Auggie is one head shorter than him.

“I am going to catch up with you,” he argues. “Our dads are the same height so we’ll be at the same height too. My Mum said we just grow at different speeds. I am what they call a “rate broomer.”

“Yes but Aunt Daff is shorter than our Amma.” Miles chimes in. “And children are supposed to grow as tall as Moms put on top of Dads.” 

“That’s not how that works.” Auggie glares at him.

“Yes it is.” He sticks his tongue out at Auggie. “You will never be as tall as my Edmund.” Smart boy that he is, Miles quickly retreats behind his brother’s back while dropping this devastating “fact”, before Auggie can have the chance to jump on him.

---***---

Despite Miles’ very obvious dislike of Charlie Bridgerton, he is fascinated by Charlie’s younger brother, The Baby, Alex. 

Known to their Mother as Seong-Gi, Alex is at the exciting age when babies start speaking. Sophie and Benedict, on occasions, find Miles and Charlie completely abandoning their toys and hanging around Alex for hours to teach him their favourite words, giggling at The Baby’s babbling. Miles can barely wait until the moment his sister reaches such a milestone herself, so he can play the role of teacher all over again.

“Charlie.” Charlie points at himself. “That my name. Chaar. Leee.”

“Cha-Lee.” Alex repeats enthusiastically.

“My turn.” Miles shoves Charlie aside. “Miles. Miilless.” He voices his name slowly and clearly. Alex blinks at him, a fist in his mouth, bemused. “Now you try it.”

The Baby throws his hands in the sky, grinning as if he has just won a prize. He exclaims happily.

“Meow!”

The education is a work-in-progress.

---***---

Sometimes Edmund can be such a poohead.

Such as right now, as his left hand holds one of Miles’s trucks so far above his head, while his right stretches out and ruffles Miles’s hair, preventing him from getting in range of the toy, revelling in his younger, much shorter brother’s frustrations.

From his place on the mat, Alex watches their scuffles, laughing and clapping his hands together in utter delight. Charlie, however, seems to ignore them completely. Priorities. He is rather content with getting the most of his time around Miles’s exorbitant amount of Lego Duplos, before the older boy gets into one of his moods and demands them back.

“Give it back, Edmund!” Miles demands. 

“Sorry,” Edmund smirks. “Can’t hear you from all the way down there.”

“Edmund!!” Miles yells, near tears.

 “Mun!” The Baby’s high-pitched voice draws all heads toward him. Unburdened by the attention, he keeps clapping and smiling as before. “Mun-Mun!”

“What– what did he call me?” Edmund is caught off-guard just enough so Miles can yank the toy from him and skips toward Alex and Charlie.

“Very good, Alex.” Charlie nods. “That is Mun-Mun.”

“Mun-Mun!” Alex repeats excitedly.

“Hey– that’s not…” Edmund, or Mun-Mun stutters, growing redder by the seconds, knowing he’s being duped but unsure how to respond.

“That’s right, Alex.” Miles wants to cry again, but this time from relief and gratitude. “His name is Mun-Mun.”

“Mun-Mun!” Alex declares, while Mun-Mun flushes and runs out of the room in tears.

Edmund’s new nickname makes the rounds among the other cousins, and the boy’s annoyance with it only helps cement its popularity. Later, as the name reaches the ears of the adults, it is game over for Edmund. The second Kate hears her eldest being addressed as Mun-Mun, she has found the name so adorable and endearing, it sticks.

See? Having an older brother is so great for so many things.

---***---

“Mun-Mun? Are you here?” Miles’s dark curls and hazel eyes peek into the room, hoping to find his brother where he has last seen him. On the contrary with his usual loud, carefree sprint/scream, the boy is putting extra effort into being as quiet as possible. Charlie and he are currently on a top secret, covert, dangerous, self-appointed (has he mentioned secret?) mission, so naturally, Miles does not want their nosy Bassett cousins to find out about it. Especially not Belinda.

Edmund still occupies the seat where Miles has seen him five minutes ago, completely immersed in Mario Kart. Looking around to make sure the coast is clear, Miles tiptoes toward his brother, before shaking his shoulder as hard as he can.

“Mun-Mun! Mun-Mun! We need your help!” Startled, Edmund’s cart takes a hard left off the lane.

“Do not call me that!” The older boy scowls, but pauses his game anyway. He is only begrudgingly resigned to his fate after all. One must still protest against such a ridiculous name as ‘Mun-Mun’ on the basis of principles. “What do you want?”

“There’s a cake in the kitchen!” Miles says, barely able to contain his excitement.

Edmund is unimpressed.

“So? We won’t be allowed any until after dinner anyway.”

“You don’t understand! There’s a cake in the kitchen and there’s nobody around!”

“Nobody around? What do you mean? Where’s Cook?” Edmund is still hesitant.

Impatient, Miles pulls on his big brother’s arm as hard as he can (which doesn’t do much), straining as he does. 

“I don’t know. Who cares? Mun-Mun, there’s cake . It’s big . And they put it up so high. You’re the only one who can reach it.”

“You already had two biscuits just now.” Edmund reminds him. “Both you and Charlie.”

“We’re not going to eat it.” Miles argues. “We just want to know what it looks like. Where it comes from. Please , Edmund, it’s So. Big.” He pleads, making one more attempt at yanking his brother away from the chair and ends up sitting on the ground. “Hurry. Charlie is keeping watch in the kitchen. We must get there before the Bassets find out!”

The mention of the Bassets in a competitive context piques Edmund’s interest. His own curiosity seals the deal. How big is this cake? 

“Just a peek, okay?” He says to Miles. “One peek, and then we’ll put it back where it belongs.”

“Promise!” Miles breaks out into a brilliant smile. “One peek. The quickest, tiniest peek in the entire world!”

---***---

It is neither a quick peek nor is it tiny.

In their defence, first and foremost, it is a big cake. An enormous cake. A gorgeous cake. Two-tiered, elegantly and decadently frosted, luxuriated with a generous pour of chocolate ganache. It is the kind of cake that, to their knowledge, must be what heaven looks like, made even more enchanting by the fact that they cannot have it. It is the kind of cake that demands one take time to take in all its beauty.

Secondly, as Edmund is just about to close the lid of the cake box and return the pastry to where they have found it, the Basset children storm into the kitchen and demand to know what it was they were doing. Then big-mouthed Belinda threatens to tell the adults unless the Bridgerton boys let them see the cake as well. So Edmund has no choice but to open up the cake again. 

Really, it is not their fault.

“Who do you think it’s for?” asks Auggie.

“Perhaps there are some clues around…” Belinda, the aspiring detective, ponders. “Did you see any card attached to it?”

“No.” says Edmund.

“Interesting.” she rubs her fingers against her chin in contemplation. “Very interesting.” Then an idea pops in her head. “Maybe it was an assassin! Maybe the cake is poisoned!”

“Shut up, Belinda.” Miles contradicts her, purely on impulse. “It’s not poison.”

“How do you know that?” She questions him, in the most annoying tone she can muster, knowing he hates it.

“It just isn’t.” Miles responds, using an equally grating voice. “So shut up.”

“No, you shut up.”

“Both of you shut up!” Auggie reprimands them.

“Belinda might have a point, actually.” Charlie speaks up. Miles turns to his partner-in-crime with a look of utmost betrayal, while the youngest child in the kitchen offers his scientific insights “We don’t know where it was. The cake could be poisoned. It a plausible hippothis. We need to prove it though.”

“How do we do that?” asks Miles.

“I can do it!” Caroline, who believes she has superpowers, exclaims. “I have “tellycandysis”!” Without waiting for permission, she presses her face closer to the cake. “I’ll smell out the poison!”

Her big brother Auggie pulls her back by the collar when Caroline’s face is buried in the frosting.

“Ah! Let me go!” she flails. “I’m smelling it!”

“No, you’re not!” Miles accuses her, pointing at the creamy evidence all over her mouth. “You’re eating it.”

“No, I’m just smelling.” She denies. “I smell it with my mouth!”

“Look what you did!” Miles complains. “You ruined it.” He gestures at the Caroline-shaped indentation on the frosting.

“She didn’t mean to.” Loyally, Belinda comes to her sister’s defence. “Besides, she proved it, didn’t she? Now we know the cake is not poisoned, thanks to Caroline.”

Auggie comes to their aid.

“It doesn’t look so bad. Just move the other bits around to cover that spot she made and no one will notice it.”

“That’s true,” agrees Belinda.

 “Right.” says Edmund.

“I guess.” Miles reluctantly concedes.

…

Nobody moves. All of their eyes are still trained on the delicious looking cake.

“What if–” Miles suggests conspiratorially. “What if the poison is inside the sponge?”

Belinda agrees immediately.

“Possibly. Assassins are sneaky.”

Charlie encourages him.

“Good hippothis, Miles.”

“But then–” Auggie questions. “How do we find that out? Without anyone noticing?”

For a few seconds there is silence. Then Charlie, ever living up to his name as the son of a scientist, speaks up.

“We can–” He starts hesitantly. “We can cut four pieces off the bottom and turn it into a square cake?”

“Yeah, that would work.”

“Good idea, Charlie.”

“Square cakes are better than round cakes anyway.”

“Cut it.”

Being the tallest and strongest of the bunch, Edmund proclaims himself the cake-cutter. Clutching the child-friendly cake knife with both hands, the boy tentatively approaches the giant pastry.

“Oh right, I’m doing it. Everybody stay back!” He warns the other children with the utmost seriousness of a specialised expert about to diffuse a bomb.

Four pieces are removed cleanly and divided among six children under Edmund’s careful incisions, explosion-free.

“Well, we know that the cake is not poisoned now.” muses Auggie, licking frosting off his fingers.

“Agree.” says Belinda absent-mindedly, taking a huge messy bite off the piece between her hands.

“That's because I smell out all the poison first.” exclaims Caroline with a mouthful.

“I guess I can put the cake away now.” says Edmund.

His suggestion is only met with dead silence, including his own. All six faces, smeared with frosting, are still directed at the cake, unspoken longing tangible in their eyes.

“It–” whispers Miles. “It doesn’t look as good as before, does it?”

“No. Now it looks all uneven.”

“Yeah, it’s supposed to be the same shape all the way around.”

“So what do we do?”

“What if–” Edmund speaks up. He supposes, as the cake cutter, he ought to take charge in this matter, “what if I cut all the edges off and make it like a big round column?”

This decision is met with unanimous support.

In his peripheral vision, Miles notices Charlie carefully break off a piece of his second serving and put it away.

“Are you saving that for later?” Miles turns his gaze to the younger boy’s pant pocket, where the piece has just disappeared. Finding Charlie’s shirt has risen up over his belly, Miles pulls the hem back down for him. Don’t let your belly be cold , he remembers Amma said to him, whenever his shirt rolls up like Charlie’s has, before she kisses his belly and fixes his shirt so it covers him up again. Miles does not want to kiss Charlie’s belly. Belly kisses are for Mums and Dads only, he thinks. But the other thing Miles can do, unintentionally leaving a sticky handprint on the front of Charlie’s shirt while he is at it.

“No,” Charlie shakes his head. “This for Alex. He wants cake too I think.”

Miles considers it. Babies eat cake too?? He never thought about it like that. But if they do, won’t it be unfair for his Charlotte not to have cake, just because she cannot walk and ask for it like older children? Poor Charlotte, don’t be sad. I’ll bring you cake . He thinks this, then shoves a fistful of cake into his pocket as well, before finishing his share.

The second they take another sweet, spongy bite, both Miles and Charlie completely forget that they have cake in their pants.

“I’ll put the cake away now. Everybody get out.” Edmund shoos the rest of them out of the kitchen, and they comply happily. Their cherubic cheeks glisten with chocolate and cream, our children are content in a haze of sugary bliss, completely oblivious to the very visible evidence of their crime. For at least 30 minutes, the five get along swimmingly, synchronised in their energetic, glucose-fueled giddiness.

Until they start fighting again and realise that their usual, Edmund-sized mediator is nowhere around to mediate among them.

Without having to utter a word, all five rush back to the kitchen.

The cake that should have been returned to where it belongs in the fridge is still where they last saw it, Edmund has not yet moved it. In fact, he is still standing over it. The pastry now bears more resemblance toward an upside down bell than a column.

“Mun-Mun. What the heck?!” Miles yells, breaking his older brother out of his trance.

Realising what he has done, Edmund repacks and puts away the evidence in a flash of panicky blur. “Nobody tells my Dad!! Especially you , Miles!” he throws back a warning, before disappearing in a metaphorical, and even possibly literal, dust cloud, taking great advantage of the fact that none of the others can catch up with him.

Edmund’s original plan has been to excuse himself immediately after dinner, scurry off to his bed and pretend to be fast asleep. Unfortunately for him, however, their deeds are uncovered almost right away.

If the remnants of frosting and chocolate on the corners of their mouths have not already posed a line of questioning, the agonised cry of Charlie and Miles bursting into tears in discovering their thoughtful gifts melted into a mushy, sticky mess certainly would.

The ensuing chaos results in uproarious laughter among the adults. Even young Edmund’s and Miles’s Dad and Uncle Simon cannot hold back their chuckles. Grandma Violet doubles herself over in fits of giggles, her laugh lines crinkle. She sits the oldest four children down around her and recalls the story of how she meets Grandpa Edmund, a meeting that involves a blueberry pie heist. 

Meanwhile, Kate and Benedict busy themselves with consoling their respective desolate child. Kate assures Miles that Charlotte is still too small for cake as she rocks him back and forth in her arms, as the boy grabs a fistful of her raven hair in his palm and sniffles into it.

Charlie needs a little bit more convincing.

“I– I really wanted to get Alex cake.” He manages to say between wet sobs into his Dad’s shoulder. “I really did!”

“I know, love.” Benedict strokes his hair and tucks the hem of his shirt back into his waistband. Another piece of clothing becomes too small. “That is so very kind of you. Alex knows that.”

“No he doesn’t!” Charlie shakes his head vehemently. “He a baby. He just knows if you give him things or not. He doesn’t know if you tried.” He clutches his Dad tighter. “He���ll think I hate him if everybody has cake and he doesn’t. And I don’t. I don’t hate him at all!”

What a smart, perceptive little thing his son is. Benedict wonders which one of them he gets that from.

“I assure you, mon petit loup , your brother knows you love him.” He wipes the tears off the boy’s face. They grow up so fast. Too fast . “He loves you too. And it’s not too late, you know? You can still give him cake now.”

Charlie pauses his sobbings to mull over that option. Oh right, he can do that. There is still cake left. The original piece he intended to reserve for Alex was better, or course, for obvious yet undecipherable reasons. But he supposes he can make up for it if his Dad helps him cut an even bigger slice.

Charlie gets to feed his some cake after all. Alex bounces giddily in Sophie’s lap, the taste of cake further strengthens Charlie’s idol position in his little heart. 

As for Edmund, he never forgets the date of his birthday ever again.

And for all of them, their little group, the legend of The Cake on that fateful day would go on to feature in the toast at each of their subsequent weddings. It is implicitly agreed upon that none of them would let the others live it down.

[spaceoddball1969]

Teach Me - Part 1

Ok, so here we go. I’m not sure exactly where this is going to go. With Falling for the Freak I at least could follow the plot line of ST4. But this time man, this time it’s a free for all. I am feeling good about this one. It’s again, going to be the slow burn of all slow burns. I hope y’all enjoy it! Also I cannot promise how often I’ll be able to update this as I am trying to graduate college at the moment. 

P.S. let me know if you want to be tagged

PLOT SUMMARY: The reader has just moved to Hawkins after getting a new job as the music teacher at the high school. Steve is the reader’s cousin and reccommended she apply for the position. This takes place in what would be like Dustin, Mike, and Lucas’ senior year or high school. So the reader and Eddie are about 24 years old. And for the sake of this story, ST4 never happened. The gang lived happily ever after and Vecna never made an appearance.

WARNINGS: Fluff, and some mild making out. It’s not quite smut but there will be smut eventually so if you’re a minor you probably shouldn’t even start reading this. Also mentions of shitty relationships and anxiety.

Part 1

I had just finished my first week on the job as Hawkins High School’s newest staff member. I was teaching high school music....or at least trying to. Hawkins wasn’t a very musically inclined community. I had fourteen dedicated singers in my choir, about twenty in my band, and a bored looking eight students in my general music class. It was going to be a rough start, but I figured I could get the program back to what it should be. 

All that to say that I needed to blow off some steam on my first weekend off. I decided to spend Saturday with myself and explore my new home. My cousin Steve had sold Hawkins to me by saying it may be a quiet community, but the shopping downtown made up for it. For the most part, Steve’s description was incorrect. I thought I had struck out by 12:00pm when I stumbled across a small record store. 

A small bell hanging above the door announced my entrance. The interior of the shop smelled like old records and dust. It was one of my favorite scents. There was nobody in the store but myself, not even a clerk at the counter. I began roaming through the aisles and aisles of records, CD’s, and tapes. I found a small corner in the back that was marked ‘Choir’ and started shuffling through. There were some surprisingly great finds on tape for more than reasonable prices as they were used.

I grabbed a handful of tapes of various choral arrangements and made my way to the counter. There still wasn’t any kind of clerk around, but there was a silver bell on the counter. I tapped my finger on it and it rang out through the store.

Soon enough, a young man was pushing his way through the black curtains behind the counter. He was tall and skinny, dressed in ripped black jeans and a faded purple Black Sabbath T-shirt. His fluffy brown hair fell in waves down to his shoulders and he looked up at me with large chocolate colored eyes.

“Hey there, how’s it going?” he asked, casually, looking me up and down.

“Good, yourself?” I asked, trying not to notice the way his eyes paused on certain parts of my body.

“Not too bad,” he shrugged. The man picked up the tapes one by one and started to scan them. “This stuff was in the store?” he asked.

“Yes?” I asked. “They were in the back corner over there,”

“Huh,” he said. “Didn’t realize there was any choir stuff still in stock,”

“I might have gotten the rest of it,” I said.

“You a big fan of choral music?” he asked.

“I kinda have to be,” I said, “I teach it over at the high school. Just finished my first week,”

“You’re a teacher?” he asked, setting down one of the tapes.

“Yes,” I said, proudly. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“No,” the man said, shaking his head, sending his curls flying. “No, it’s not that. It’s just, we didn’t have teachers that looked like you when I was in high school,”

“Oh no?” I asked, allowing myself to fall into a more flirtatious spirit. “What did they look like when you were in high school,”

“Ugh,” he gagged, “they were old and wrinkled and had gray hair. And I swear at least three of my teachers had warts on the ends of their noses like the witch in Snow White.”

“Wow that must’ve been rough,” I said, taking my wallet out of my bag and handing him a stack of bills for my tapes.

“It was awful,” he said, “but I don’t know if I’d be able to pay attention if they looked like you,” The cash register jumped open and he put my money away. He pulled out a few bills for my change and handed them over. “Two dollars and twenty four cents is your change, my lady,”

“Thank you, kind sir,” I giggled.

“Have a good one,” he smiled. “And definitely come again,”

“We’ll see,” I said with a smirk and walked out of a store.

If there was one thing I knew how to do, it was flirt. And man had it felt good to flirt. I had been trying to get myself back into the whole dating groove after a rough break up. My boyfriend of almost three years had decided that there was something better out there for him than a stable lifestyle with me and had up and left about six months ago. That was partially how I ended up in Hawkins. I needed a fresh start. It seemed like Hawkins might be exactly what I needed.

---

After a little over a month in Hawkins, I hadn’t been able to get the time to go back to the record store to pursue the handsome clerk further. My job was just keeping me too busy. Between scheduling and planning three courses; ordering music; parent teacher conferences; and grading, I was a busy bee. I barely had time to eat let alone flirt with a cute stranger.

However, one night, I found myself sitting at home on a Saturday evening with nothing to do. I had just settled in and decided to order some take out when my phone rang.

“Y/N?” Steve asked in the speaker.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“I have a big favor to ask you,” he said. I could hear the desperation in his voice.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I got called into work last minute, somebody’s sick or something, I don’t know,” he started, talking a mile a minute. “But anyway, I was supposed to get my friend, Dustin, over to his Dungeons and Dragons meeting tonight. He’ll die if he can’t go, so I was wondering if you could drive him?”

Dustin Henderson was actually one of my students. He was one of the fourteen dedicated choral singers that I had. If I was being honest, he was probably one of my favorite students. But to pick him up and drive him somewhere? Was that crossing a line? It wasn’t school hours. And he was Steve’s friend. I had known that they were friends for a while. Dustin had come up to me one day after rehearsal and asked if I knew Steve since we have the same last name. But still, would it be too weird?

“Steve, I don’t know,” I said. “he’s one of my students. Wouldn’t that be weird?”

“But he’s also my friend,” Steve said, “And you’re my cousin, so he’s like your friend through me,”

“Where am I even taking him?” I asked.

“They’re meeting at the record store downtown. The guy who own’s the place runs their club,” Steve said.

My ears perked up at that information. The record store downtown. Maybe if I dropped Dustin off at the store I would have a chance to flirt a little more. 

“Oh, and Dustin is going home with Mike afterwards so you would only have to drop him off,” Steve said.

I was sold. 

“Tell him I’ll be there soon,” I said.

Once I got Dustin’s address I hung up the phone and was stowed away in my small bathroom. I brushed my hair, applied a fresh layer or mascara and lip gloss and sprayed a puff of perfume against my neck.

The ride from Dustin’s house to the record store was awkward to say the least. We made small talk but not much else. We talked mostly about choir, which was fun, but I was relieved when we finally pulled into a parking space in front of the record store.

“Eddie said the door should be unlocked,” Dustin said as we approached the store.

The bell rang with a familiar clang and then I could hear voices coming from behind the curtain. 

“Eddie?” Dustin called.

“Up here, Henderson!” a voice called back.

“You don’t have to stay,” Dustin said. “I appreciate the ride, Miss Harrington,”

“Oh it’s ok,” I said. “I want to make sure you get where you’re supposed to be,”

Together, we pushed through the black velvet curtains behind the counter and climbed a thin set of wooden stairs. The steps led up to a door that was open. Music and the smell of food wafted from the open doorway. The lights where dim in the upstairs apartment and there was a crowd of young men sitting around a table. At the head of the table sat a particularly good looking young man in a throne fit for a king. It was the clerk from a month ago.

“Henderson! You finally made it!” he called, standing from his seat. “And who’s this?” he asked and then recognized me. “Wait, hey, I know you. You’re the teacher,”

“Hi,” I said.

“Wait, you know each other?” Dustin asked.

“Barely,” I said. “I was here buying some choir tapes a while back,”

“And I haven’t seen you since,” Eddie asked, taking a step closer. “Did I scare you away?”

“Not at all,” I said. “Definitely would take much more to frighten me,”

“Noted. I’m Eddie Munson by the way. I own the shop and this here apartment,” Eddie said, holding out his hand for me to shake. “You’re staying right?”

“Y/N Harrington, I’m Steve’s cousin,” I said, shaking his hand. “And no, I really can’t stay” I said.

“Oh come on, you have to,” Eddie said. “Make up for all that time you lost by not coming back to the store,”

“I don’t even know how to play D and D,” I said. 

“I’ll teach you,” Eddie said, grabbing my hand and dragging me over to the empty chair next to the throne.

I wanted to protest but the way his hand felt in mine made my brain a little fuzzy. I sat down and watched as the boys gathered around the table. I quickly learned that Eddie was the Dungeon Master. I wasn’t quite sure why, but the name made my stomach churn a little bit. Eddie explained the basics of D and D to me as he led the other boys through their campaign. They were too far into this particular campaign for me to join in, but it was still fun getting to see them work through the story.

The campaign was a long one, but it felt like the night went by in a flash. Before I knew it, the boys were packing up and parents were arriving to pick up their sons. Dustin reminded me that he would not be needing a ride because he was staying at Mike’s that night. I stayed behind in the apartment as Eddie led his guests down the stairs and out of the store. I heard the bell ring and the lock click into place. Soon enough Eddie was back in the apartment with me and I was highly aware that we were alone.

He strode over to his throne and sprawled himself into it. I slowly walked around the chair, allowing my fingers to drag over the surface. Once I had rounded it, I leaned against the table and looked down at Eddie.

“You know,” I said, “I was doing an inventory of the high school’s prop room for the drama department. And it just so happens that we’re missing a throne,”

“Is that so?” he asked, “I wonder how that happened,”

“Yeah, it certainly is a mystery,” I said.

Eddie stared at me for a moment and then smirked. “Do you want a drink? I love those guys but man high schoolers are exhausting,”

“I really shouldn’t,” I said.

“Y/N,” he said, “your students are gone. Live a little,”

I didn’t need to be told twice. Soon enough, Eddie and I were sat on his couch, sipping on glasses of cheap whiskey. It was all he had but it tasted just right. I could feel the drink slipping into my bloodstream and up to my brain. It was just enough to make my inhibitions go away. We talked for what must have been hours but felt like only a few minutes.

“You like being a teacher?” Eddie asked.

“Can I say something horrendously corny?” I asked.

“Of course,” Eddie smiled.

“I love it so much I constantly feel like I’m dreaming,” I said. “I mean don’t get me wrong, it is so much work and some days I am so stressed out that I think I could blow up, but it is my actual dream teaching those kids,”

Eddie was quiet for a moment and then smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that,” Eddie said. “God, I wish I had a teacher like you,”

“Eddie Munson, are you flirting with me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“It’s possible,” Eddie said. “But I do actually wish that I had a single teacher who enjoyed their job when I was in school,”

We got quiet for a moment. Then Eddie looked up at me with a soft expression on his face.

“I like talking with you,” he said.

“I like talking with you too,” I replied.

He looked me straight in the face for another moment and then leaned forward quickly to press a soft kiss to my mouth. I could hardly believe what had happened. I didn’t do this. I wasn’t someone who just got kissed by people that I hadn’t at least gone on a date with yet. Eddie pulled back just as quickly as he had approached and he looked a little embarrassed.

“That was uncalled for,” he said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to push you,”

I looked up at him suddenly. He was mistaking my silence for not wanting to kiss him. I couldn’t think of any words to say, so instead I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. He pulled away and looked at me, shocked.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, nodding my head.

Eddie’s hands drifted to either side of my face and he pulled me into another kiss. I melted into him. Eddie kissed me over and over again, pulling me closer with each kiss. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and allowed him to swing my leg over his lap. I straddled him, holding desperately to his broad shoulders for support. 

Eddie’s hands were all over me. They roamed down my neck, over my arms and then gripped at my waist. He held me close as his mouth began to wander. I felt his lips burn a trail down my neck and then soon enough his fingers were fumbling at the buttons on the front of my blouse. I gasped as I could feel his fingers through the fabric of my top. My body started to shake and I thought I was going to faint from the sudden rush of images flashing through my mind.

I saw myself in this same position with someone else, kissing and grinding against them desperately. I saw them above in me in bed, their hair in their face and their eyes dreamy from the sight of me. I felt his hands on my body, his lips against mine, I felt his breath on my skin. And then I heard his words in my head.

“I just can’t do this anymore,”

And that was when I froze in Eddie’s arms. Eddie stopped kissing me. He removed his hands from my blouse and settled one on my waist while the other brushed the hair away from my face.

“Hey,” he said, stroking my cheek with his thumb. “hey, are you ok?”

“Uh-um, uh..” I stuttered. I couldn’t get words to come out of my mouth. My eyes were stinging and my throat felt tight. “I uh, I should go,”

“Huh?” Eddie asked, confused.

I stood up from his lap and buttoned the single button he had managed to undo. I started frantically looking for my things. Eddie stood up and began following me around, trying to get me to settle. I was nearly to the door when I felt a strong hand grip mine.

“Hey,” Eddie said. “This is not me trying to get you to stay so we can have sex. You just seem really not ok right now. What’s going on? Did I do something wrong?”

I stared at him for a moment and shook my head. I didn’t know how to speak anymore aparently.

“Can we talk for a minute?” Eddie said. “I don’t feel confident about you getting home right now,”

I nodded and allowed him to bring me back over to the couch. 

“Can you tell me what happened?” he asked.

I paused. “I haven’t done this in a while.” I said. “At least, not with someone new.” Eddie looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to go on. “Have you ever been abandoned?” I asked.

Eddie’s eyes got dark and vacant. He nodded.

“I got abandoned,” I said. “I was with a guy for a long long time. It seemed like we were headed towards forever and then one day he just up and left. And I guess, being here with you, with someone new, it just was a bit much. I couldn’t get his words out of my brain,”

“Do you mind if I ask what he was saying?” Eddie asked. “In your brain,”

“He was saying that he just couldn’t do this anymore. Meaning us,” I said. “Meaning me,” I added after a pause.

Eddie was quiet. “I’m sorry,” he said. 

“No, I’m sorry,” I said. “I feel like I led you on. I haven’t exactly been shy about my interest in you and now that we actually can do something I freak out. You must think I’m crazy,”

“I don’t think you’re crazy,” Eddie said, taking my hand. “But I don’t think you’re ready for any wild hook ups,” He added with a smirk.

“Gee, what gave it away?” I laughed bitterly.

“That doesn’t mean that we can’t spend time together,” Eddie said.

“What?” I asked.

“I meant it when I said I like talking to you,” he said, squeezing my hand. “I really want to get to know you. I don’t just want to hook up with you one time and call it good. I want to know who you are. And if it takes time then it takes time. I’m not really in a rush for anything,”

I looked at his hand wrapped around mine. It looked huge. But it was warm and calloused and reassuring. My gaze lifted to his face and I could have lost myself in his brown eyes. I let out a small sigh and shook my head.

“What is it?” he asked.

“It’s nothing,” I said. “It’s just, you’re so much kinder than I thought you would be,”

Eddie smirked. “Well, don’t go telling everybody, otherwise it’ll ruin my tough, manly image.” He chuckled. “But I’m serious about you. You lead and I’ll follow at whatever pace you want to go at,”

I thought about it for a minute. “Ok,” I said, a smile growing across my lips. “I think I like that idea,”

“Good,” Eddie said. “Do you want to crash here tonight? I still don’t know how I feel about you driving home, especially after the whiskeys,”

“That would be nice,” I said. 

“I can take the couch,” Eddie said. “You can have my bed. Unless you don’t mind me being there,”

“How about I take the couch?” I asked, answering his question without admitting I wasn’t sure about us being in the same bed. “I don’t want to rob you of your bed,”

“It’s not much,” Eddie said with a laugh. “You really wouldn’t be robbing me of anything spectacular,”

“It’s ok,” I said.

Eddie nodded and then went to grab blankets from a closet down the hall. He set me up with a pillow and blankets and then showed me where the bathroom was. Before walking to his own room, he stopped and said, “If you need anything just come get me. My room is down the hall,”

“Ok,” I nodded, organizing my clothes into a pile on a spare chair. Eddie had given me a T-shirt to sleep in which basically functioned as a nightgown on me. I climbed under the blankets on the couch just as Eddie turned out the light. 

The blankets, the shirt, the couch, it all smelled like him. It was musky but not so strong that it made my nose burn. It was just enough to recognize as his scent. I pulled the blankets close to my body and closed my eyes, willing myself to sleep. It wouldn’t come. I was restless from the anxiety that had come over me earlier. I also couldn’t stop my body from feeling like it was cheated of something tonight. If I could have remained calm then maybe I wouldn’t feel so unsatisfied. I knew mentally I couldn’t have gone through with it, but my body didn’t understand that. I rolled back and forth for what seemed like hours, frustrated that I wasn’t falling asleep faster. My whole body felt tense and strung out. I pulled the blankets over my head and breathed in Eddie’s scent. Suddenly I felt the muscles in my body relax. I let out a long breath and inhaled the scent again. It was intoxicating in the best way. It calmed me down.

Then I was struck with an idea. It seemed so strong and right that I knew I had to follow through with it. I gathered up my blankets and my pillow and shuffled to Eddie’s door. I didn’t knock. Instead I turned the knob slowly and let myself in. The bedroom was small, mostly taken up by a bed in the back corner. I could see Eddie lying on his back, sound asleep in bed. His hair was haloed around his head and one hand was resting on his chest. 

I shut the door behind me and then snuck closer to the bed. I set my pillow down next to Eddie’s on the bed and organzied my blankets on the mattress. As carefully as I could, I slipped under the blankets and into bed next to Eddie. When the mattress dipped under my weight, Eddie stirred. I saw his eyes open sleepily and he recognized me. 

“I can’t sleep,” I whispered.

Eddie nodded slowly and rolled onto his side to face me. He held one arm out, indicating that he wanted me to scoot in closer. I did so, and then Eddie embraced me in a tight hug, holding me to his chest. He was warm and he smelled even better than all the blankets he had given me. I let my hand rest on his chest and closed my eyes as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“Better?” he asked.

“Better,” I said and quickly fell asleep.

[angy-mouse]

Chapter 5: The Big Day

&lt;Prev Next>

You groaned as the curtains were thrown open, rolling over to escape the horrible daylight that pierced your closed eyelids. “It’s time to get up, Your Majesty,” Niki hummed, cheerfully yanking the covers out of your grip and pulling them down to the foot of your bed where you couldn’t reach them. She was learning. How terrible.

You let out another guttural groan, stubbornly keeping your eyes shut. “Niki, I was up until nearly dawn signing bills and contracts. Unless the palace is on fire, let me sleep.”

She simply hummed, spinning on her heel and making her way slowly to the door to your chambers, making sure you heard every footstep. “Very well, Your Highness. I suppose I shall tell your new concubines and their families to turn their carriages around.”

You had a few seconds of satisfaction before your brain kicked in and you gasped, shooting up in your sheets. “It’s ceremony day,” you wheezed out, tumbling out of bed. “Fuck, fuck, fuckity- quit looking so smug and help me find a dress, Niki!”

She watched you scramble into the bathroom with a fond shake of her head before wandering into your closet to find a suitable dress. Something formal but not extravagant, she mused, maybe off the shoulder- you always looked especially good in those. “Sweetie,” she called out as she studied the rack. “Did you have a color in mind?”

You spat your mouthwash into the sink, dutifully scrubbing your face clean. The last thing you needed before you stood in front of four kingdoms’ nobility was acne. “Um- not green! That’s Selgia’s color. Not purple either- or orange- dammit, there’s no color that’s safe! Fuck it: go with red! I didn’t want to wear the same color for my first two official events as Emperor, but I can’t risk wearing something that could be associated with one of the concubines’ nations.”

“Red it is,” she hummed, picking out a lovely deep red silk gown with a wide collar that would barely hang on your shoulders and flowery gold lace along the edges. Different enough from the extravagant red, white, and gold ballgown you wore at your coronation, she figured. It certainly wouldn’t hurt that you’d look mighty sexy in it. She wanted to see those snooty princes swoon over you. “Heels or flats?”

You hummed in thought as you wrestled your hair into something that could loosely be considered presentable. “Heels: we’ll be sitting for the feast, but when I’m standing, I want to feel tall.”

“Stilts, then,” she teased as she set out a matching pair of red heels. “If that’s all, Your Majesty, lunch can be ready when you are and the concubines and their families will start arriving in three hours.”

You froze, brush stuck in your hair as you slowly turned around to look at her through the open bathroom door. “Niki… darling… if no one’s arriving for another three hours, then why the hell am I rushing to get ready?”

She simply skipped out of the room with a smile- the kind you got when you knew the emperor would never dare fire you. “Have a nice lunch, sweetie, I’ll see you at the ceremony!”

“You’re a wolf in sheep's clothing, Niki!” You shook your head with a fond smile as the door closed solidly behind her, taking your time finishing getting ready while you went over what you would need to do before guests arrived. You needed to check on the kitchen and the musicians, make sure there were enough tables and chairs for all the guests, finalize the seating, greet every concubine personally as soon as they arrive-

“Are you decent, Your Majesty?”

You draped yourself over your vanity, hiking your nightgown up to your thigh, the picture of seduction- or maybe clumsiness. “Never, my love,” you called out, hearing Minx enter your bedroom anyway. She checked the entry points before spotting you, staring blankly through the open door.

“You look like you’re about to fall off.”

“I am,”  you admitted, stumbling to your feet. 

“Idiot,” she chuckled fondly. “Shall I call down your lunch order to the kitchen?”

“No, I’ll be taste-testing everything for the meal tonight, so I think I’ll skip lunch.”

You pointedly kept your eyes on the mirror as you painted your lips red, knowing you were getting the stink-eye of the century, but you would not be intimidated. “Pumpkin,” she growled, “you know how I feel about you skipping meals. I’d hate to tie you down again on your big day.”

“I’m not skipping, per se,” you half-mumbled, devious mind building an excuse to get you out of being hog-tied and force fed- again. “I have to taste every dish being prepared for the feast- I’m having a snack buffet instead of a usual meal.” You smacked your lips together, deeming yourself gorgeous and making to speed-walk out of your room before Minx could get her hands on you. “Now, chop chop, we have so much to do and only a few hours to do it, we mustn’t be-” You yelped as she hooked an arm around your waist and hoisted you over her shoulder, chain mail digging into your stomach. “Minx, please, control yourself!”

“Sweetheart,” she hummed in that sugar-coated tone that was always accompanied by a sarcastic remark. “Pumpkin, Sugar, Darling?” She adjusted her hold on you so she could lean close to your ear. “I’ll concede on the lunch front since we both know Babish would sooner roll you out of the kitchen than let you go hungry, but are you going to attend the feast in your nightgown?”

You faltered as you laid eyes on your gown, still laid out on your bed. “... You don’t have to be a smart ass about it, you know.”

“Oh, but what’s the fun in that,” she chuckled, setting you down and turning her back so you could dress. You made quick work throwing on some undergarments and slipping into the gown before you ran into any issue.

“Miiiiiinx,” you called coyly, giving a big smile as she turned her ear towards you. “Be a peach and lace me up?”

She shook her head but smiled and took the laces in hand, skillfully weaving them through the hooks. “Are you still a toddler who can’t dress herself,” she teased.

“Hey, I know damn well your armor is a two-person job, too,”

“Yes,” she admitted as she tied you off and moved in front of you with a flamboyant spin, “but don’t I look strong? Official?”

“Oh, you do,” you gushed, exchanging kisses on the cheeks with her. “I couldn’t ask for a more handsome knight to take care of me.”

“You got that right,” she muttered with a chuckle, motioning you to take a seat on the chaise at the foot of your bed. “Let’s get your shoes on so we can get to work, pumpkin.” She gently helped guide your feet into the heels, nimbly buckling the strap around your ankle. “There we go,” she hummed, taking you by the hands and pulling you to your feet. “Shall we, Your Majesty?” 

You rested your hand in the crook of her elbow, placing one more soft kiss on the apple of her cheek. “Let’s get this show on the road!”

[alleycatdog]

What if I was a scrungly little stray wandering the streets during a cold drizzly rain, my fur soaked and hanging off of me like curtains, covering my poor little face entirely, and your heart wouldn’t let you ignore me.

And you put some towels down in the entryway (it’s a tiny hallway like a foyer) to your house and then put up the pet fence so I can’t get very far in/your cat doesn’t get out, and you open the door and let out a low whistle for me.

And you see my cold body stop, and my hidden head turn towards you. You feel a jolt of fear as you realize I’m a little bigger than you thought, but you notice my tail raise just a little and hesitantly wag.

You whistle for me again and then you go behind the cat fence as I slowly move your way. It occurs to you that I might be hurt and need a vet. You also realize that the cat fence—even though it’s tall and fairly sturdy—might not stop a creature my size.

I cross over the threshold, dripping cold water onto the towels, and stand halfway inside and halfway outside, hesitant. I dip my head down, careful, wary, unsure.

“Come in,” you say softly, “Come inside, out of the rain.”

I come all the way inside, and slowly sit down, and let the water drip off of me. Thankfully I don’t shake to dry off—you hadn’t even thought of that. I sit so still and carefully that you relax a little. I’m big, but gentle. I could be scary, but I am cautious and respectful of your territory.

You realize I am still sopping wet, though I’m at least not in the rain anymore, and I’m being so cautious and gentle. You slowly open the fence and come towards me. It clicks shut behind you. I shuffle warily, scooting over to the side to move away a little.

You reach an arm passed me to softly shut the door—almost all the way, enough to help keep the cold out, but still open a bit so I can bolt if I get scared.

And you hold out your hand to me. Maybe I’ll let you dry me off? If I don’t mind being touched? I lift my nose up to give your hand a little sniff.

My wet hair uncovers my face as I lift it. I’m almost a normal dog, but I am not. My eyes are glowing orange, like a hot coal, and you realize I have long canines that extend out of my mouth. I sniff your hand like a normal dog, but then a thick, forked tongue gently licks at your fingertips.

And in a deep, rumbling voice, like a distance avalanche, I say, “Thank you.”

[rosepetalcharm]

I have so many things that need to be done..but I'm not doing them right now and That is making me feel even more awful about myself than I already am..

Edit: Don't read the tags if you don't want to get hit with parts of a likely breakdown on my end.

[heartfullofleeches]

Yandere Show Host (oc) x Gn! Co-Host Reader

Word count:3.k 

Warning: cheating, psychological horror, body horror

“It’s cold up here…”

Cool tiles cradle you, curved edges gliding against the back of your legs as you pull them to your chest. You cover your knees with the hem of your shirt, trying to fight the cold in any way possible. The harsh wind slapped at your face and arms; world at your feet from the edge you sat on. You wanted to feel like you were on top of it all. To shout and feel like you mattered to the universe; but it was hard to do so with no comfort at the end of your cries – neither below nor beside you.

“I think we should take a break.”

You ball your fist into your clothes. He doesn’t even look at you when he says it.

“You know I care about you. I just… don’t think I’m ready for this kind of commitment, yet. I’ll.. call you when I am.”

You pull your phone out of your pocket. He’s still right beside you, but so – so far away. You stare down at it, hoping; pleading for his ring tone to play. Praying he won’t leave you again to spend a night in another’s arms. 

“Y/n, ugh- come on. Don’t do this.” 

Your hands shake. It’s always your fault.

“We just need a little time apart.”

Always we. Your feet feel like they’re losing stability; slipping off to the abyss below. 

“Y/n. Y/n?!”

Y/n?

-

You open your eyes. A fan hangs over a velvet ceiling, chandelier below swaying as it blows air down on you. Floral shaped glass that held identical lights as their bulbs. Satin pillows held your back, soft enough to lure you back to sleep near immediately – had you been laying on them completely. Your limbs hung off the side of the couch, neck supported by a hand at its base. The skin was so cold; draining your natural heat till it mellowed into a neutral temperature. The permanent smile on your co-host's face greets you as you turn your attention to him, shoulders rising with a laugh. 

“What have I told you about sleeping on the couch, you silly thing.” Host chimes. “You’ll get a crook in your neck. Bad for the show and yourself.”

You sit up with his aid, stretching the exhaustion and ache away with a yawn. The rest of the room wasn’t much to look at. A tall mirror clung to one wall, dressing table pushed in front and light bulbs screwed into its golden frame. Vases of flowers and various cases of makeup lined the table, the latter hardly ever put to use. A rack of clothing stood not too far off, every article tailored to your measurements as apposed to posted to Host’s lanky, slightly built frame. Lastly, there was a grey door, covered by sheer curtains and your name bolded in cursive across its wood. A place where your near every desire lied.

“I'm sorry. Yesterday had me a little more winded than usual.”

“Should we take a break for today then? We can have a good show any day, but a spectacular one only happens when you’re feeling 100%”

“No, no. I’m fine.”

“Wonderful. Shall we get ready then?” Host offers his hand, lifting you to your feet effortlessly. You walk over to the table, taking a seat upon the cushioned chair in front of it. Host tends to your hair, combing out your bedhead with his long fingers. Gentle strokes that fall down to the nape of your neck; relishing in the life beneath his fingertips. He hums to himself, satisfied with his work. With the fact he had such a stunning co-host. His chin rests atop your head; head tilted towards the mirror at you. In the corner of your eye lies your old phone dormant on the edge of the table. It vibrates with the arrival of a call.

“Absolute perfect! Everyone’s gonna love you out there.”

You flash a tired smile, ridding yourself of the hallucination as you look away. How long has it been since you became his co-host? You couldn’t remember. Time stood still for the most part; your only notion of it bring a bell that would toll before the start of each show. It was frightening at first. As a contestant, your time was spent cowering under the audiences' awaiting gaze; but upon your glorious win they did nothing but sing praises to the heavens – celebrating the new permanent figure on their stage. Though he’d never tell another soul, Host walked you through everything until that point. A bit of a cheat, sure, but he knew you’d be wonderful at everything after. They loved you, eternally – even when there were those days you wondered what life was like back home. 

“What’s with that look? Do you need something?”

Host snaps his fingers, a stage hand appearing front the shadows. They looked so close to human; differences spilt only when given a long glance. Crooked hands carry a tray; skin an even deeper grey than his. Their neck was a few inches too long; face blank except for a pristine smile – just like your dear Host. He takes a pitcher from the tray, pouring you a glass of water into a cup that wasn’t there moments ago. His hands rest on your shoulders, smoothing the knots in your joints.

“Please let me know what you need.”

You look down. “I was just wondering…if anyone missed me back home.”

The ice in the glass settles. Silence kicks in too long to be comfortable, before Host’s body begins to shudder once more. It quakes with the force of his laughter. His form hutches over yours, trying to keep the laughs inwards to his best extent. He wipes an imaginary tear from an imaginary eye before addressing you again.

“Of course they miss you! You’re bound to be the highlight of anyone’s day, Y/n, but you must remember, this is home now. You’re no bigger of a star to anyone than us.”

“I.. I know, but I cant help it sometimes, y'know?” You say, offering a small chuckle of your own.

Of course he knows. He knows everything about you. Fears, likes and dislikes, – regrets. Your every dream; both in regards to what you desire and those images in your head. If it weren’t for his permanent smile, he’d be grinning with anticipation for what he had in store.

“Yes, I understand, dear. Just know that you belong here, and we’ll never let go.”

His hands clutch the sides of your arms, head angled awkwardly in the mirror. Just – staring. An alarm rings from nowhere, shutting off abruptly after the third buzz. Host clasps his hands together – you jumping at the sharp sound of his palms meeting. He smooths his slick hair back further and pulls your seat out for you.

“Well that’s our cue! Ready to give our fans another great performance?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“Wonderful. Let’s get to it then.”

You stand to your feet once more, joining Host at a large curtain on the other end of the room; stage lights seeping from beneath the fabric. He exits before you, getting the crowd nice and warm up before your entrance just as he always did.

“Gooood day, lovely viewers! Welcome back to another show with your truly; your forever host – Host!”

The audience cheers. Shrill cheers that become muffled beneath the soundtrack playing around.

“Yes, yes. Hello to you all too. And what a delight greeting it has been so far. We can’t forget our wonderful co-host though, now can we? Give it up for our better half; the lovely as ever, Y/n!”

That’s your mark. The curtain bends under your hand, parting before you can even push them aside. The mutters from the crowd begin. As soon as your legs sweep over the stage floor their voices rise. The headlights blind you momentarily as you step out fully; wrapping you in a daze that felt like waking on another world. Your attire changes under the darkness behind your eyes, microphone in hand; and posture straightening as you greet your adoring fans.

“Greetings, everyone! It’s a pleasure to see you all again.” 

The shouts from the crowd are just as; if not more appraising as they were for your partner. You smile and wave; soaking up the attention. Host couldn’t be more proud.

“I think we’re ready to begin another fabulous show. And quite a special one we have today. Y/n, do you know what today is?”

“Uh.. Wednesday?”

Host laughs, followed by a few chuckles from the audience. 

“Oh, Y/n. Wednesday was last month. Today is the one year anniversary of you being our gracious star!”

The lights flicker off, returning with a central beam pointed directly at you. A banner hangs over head; congratulating you on the anniversary in bold, red lettering. Balloons and confetti fall around you. The audience hollers in cheer.

“We do love our co-host, don’t we now? Unfortunately, it seems to me that they don’t understand the lengths of our affection. By the end of today’s show I think they’ll have a change of heart.”

Your throat feels dry. What was he on about? Keeping a straight face, you smile into your mic. 

“Thank you, all so much. You’re too kind..” 

 “Haha. No, Y/n, I think you are.. Let’s bring out our contestant!”

The room goes dark once again, more abruptly than the last. When everything settles, the layout of the stage had changed. The vacant area to your right was now blocked by a half wall you could see around if you peak – screen above showing all you needed to see. A large red heart was pastured to the wall behind, three chairs and a podium placing in tow. A landline phone was placed on a stand, as well as one on the podium.  Shadows sat to each chair, dim lighting concealing their faces. The fourth stood at the podium, writhing around in place with muffled cries. You could see the outline of fingers over its mouth; the silhouette of more limbs encasing its body and keeping it in place. 

“The game of this episode is all about missed connections. In our lives, we make so many new ones, we have to snip the old to make room. No matter how strong the cord may be. Our eager bachelor here knows a lot about that, which is why he’s perfect for our show! Put your hands together for, S!”

Illumination returns to the other half of the stage. The arms around the contestant vanish with the glow; leaving a blindfolded and shaken up man in their stead. Beads of sweat drip from his temple; him squirming in place like he was trying to get off the podium, but was unable. His hands were stuck to the surface no matter how hard he pulled. He was dresses in a letterman’s jacket, the embedded S pealing from the stitching – just like you remembered.

“Host?...”

His glance falls upon you for a single second, before he faces the crowd like nothing happened.

“Quite a looker, isn’t he? Our helpers for today thought so too at one point.”

“H-hey..  hey, what the hell is this? Where am I?!”

“Speaking out of turn are we? I wouldn’t advise that, unless you want to face a penalty. “

The man clams up, shaking like a dog in rain.

“Onto the rules of the game. One by one, our helpers will walk up to the phone and list a few things about themselves. It’s our contestant’s job to remember a single fact about them – their name. Three rounds for three members of his past. Simple enough, right?”

“Please.. I don’t know what I’ve done, but-"

Host lends into his microphone. “Shut up and play by our rules or face punishment like every other rule breaker. ..Let’s bring out our first assistant. Walk on down, A!”

The shadow in the seat closest to the telephone stands up. Their appearance becomes visible as they step into the light. They appeared to be a normal human being; all up to the left side of their face. It was smudged like someone rubbing off make up; lips stretched to their ear and eyelid permanent closed from the abnormality. They pick up the receiver, phone on the other end ringing in response. The constant quivers more, refusing to answer.

“Pick it up.”

The function in his arm is brought back as he hesitantly picks up the phone, putting it to his ear. 

“H…ello?”

“We met a weekend in February. I blew you a kiss, you slipped your phone number into my pocket. They had no clue while you held their hand the entire time.”

“Fuck… fuck! Um, February.. R… Riley! Your name is Riley!”

“Corrrect!” Host exclaims. The man breathes a sigh of relief as the crowd cheers. You stare at the ground. Overtime you grew a numbness to the contestants and their cruel fates. You had to, if you wanted to keep your sanity; but this was too much. Too close to home. Home you foolishly believed to be yours alone for years. It feels hard to breathe. 

“Everything alright, Y/n?”

“Yea.. Yes just….” You force yourself to bright up. “Excited for our guest getting his first question correct.”

“Glad to hear it! Onto the next one.”

The assistant at the stand leaves and the next makes their appearance. Body littered in bite marks; namely the neck and chest area. They ooze with a black liquid, dripping onto the phone as they take hold.

“We hooked up in the bathroom of the local theater. I saw you leaving a movie with your arm around someone thirty minutes later. You called me the next day. Who am I?” 

The man’s lip quivers. “I.. I..”

Steps draw near him. The assistant peers over his shoulder, receiver still in hand. The cord slaps against his neck, tightening as their breath hits his face. They repeat into the phone, unable to take otherwise. 

“Frankie.. Oh, god.. Frankie.” 

His shoulder heave at the second round of applause.  Tears fall from beneath his mask; rambling to himself as his nails rack against the podium. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry-“

“Marvelous! Only one round to go.”

The process repeats. The final assistant walks to the stage. Their skin a pure black, eyes crossed out with a red, crayon like ink. The same ink was sprawled over their chest like an crude, anatomically accurate heart; bleeding down their torso. Their lips moved unnaturally as they spoke, like a frame by frame picture. 

“I was the one who you came to most. You promised we’d be together eventually. I smiled when they went-"

“Blair…” The answer comes out in a quiver. He can’t bring himself to say more. He falls to his kneels; forces holding him like a puppet on a string allow him his moment of weakness. Your own legs feel like they’ll give out as well.

“Annnd there we have it, folks! Our contestant has finished all three base questions, but there’s still the bonus around for him to complete.”

“No, no, no. No, fuck you! You said I only had to do three! You lied!”

“Now, now. When did I say “only? Let’s get too it.”

The lights flicker yet again. There’s only a chair on stage, you now in it, and under the crowd's perpetual stare. They feel closer than normal, faceless grins shifting further upwards; socket-less eyes wide open and trained on you. Host appears on the screen above, speaking for the final assistant. 

“We met in high school.”

“No.. please..”

“I was the one that learned to sew when you couldn’t afford the jacket for your team.”

“Not you… Anyone, but you.”

“I was there for you when your mother died. Covered your shifts for you and took care of you when you were sick.”

“You can’t be here..”

“You abandoned me everytime I poured my heart out to you.”

“I was scared…”

“Who am I?”

“Don’t make me say this..”

“Who. Am. I.”

“I don’t know!”

Your heart sinks in your chest.

Wrong answer~

Suddenly, everything returns to normal – as normal as it could be in this twisted place. The assistants are back, all staring past you at the contestant. He rips the blindfold from his face, looking around the room. Fear streaked his face as his eyes fell on the assistants, and you before them; silent and in tears.

“Y/n… Is that really you?”

You turn away. The assistants stand.

“Y/n! I’ve looked everywhere for you. It’s me..”

He steps off the podium towards you. They advance.

“Everyone else gave up, but I still search. I’m sorry for everything done. Please… I love-"

They grab onto him. Arms around his neck, torso, legs. Their skin melts into his; merging as they begin to drag him off stage.

“Y-y/n help! I’m so sorry. Forgive me, please!”

Your eyes remain on the floor. Even if you wanted to save him you couldn’t.

“I didn’t want to say that! The blindfold! Y/n!”

He’s gone. You’re alone once again. During the whole event the audience remains silent. You don’t know what to do.

Finish the show. It never starts. It never ends. Without you.

“A-and that brings us to the end of another show with your host, Host. And me as your co-host – Y/n!”

The crowd goes wild. It’s a standing ovation. Their hands clap like fireworks popping in your ears. Their praise rang to the high heavens. Howls, whistles, holders; all in your name for another amazing performance. Confetti falls in your hair, roses and other bouquets of flowers at your feet. 

The set up is gone. It’s just you, Host, and your adoring fans. One arm snakes around your waist as he proclaims into the microphone. 

“Is that all you got for our shinning star? Give it your all!”

An encore of approval, from the people whose love for you knew no end. The people who depended on seeing you every day and never tired from it. You relish in the saudade of their praise; raised further by one new member of audience who could finally give you the love he never could before. 

[thepenultimateword]

Shiny

A response to @some-messed-up-writing-for-you's short prompt #446. Original post is here!

“This is cool and all...” - Villain mumbled, voice gradually turning unsure. “...But why?”

The supervillain grinned, eyes shining as they responded. “Am I not allowed to spoil my favorite little villain with gifts~?”

Villain carefully settled the shards of broken Christmas ornaments on the roof ledge in front of them, heart beating hard against their ribs beneath the hybrid's penetrating gaze.

"Are you the one who's been leaving things outside my window?" they said, eyes glued to the colored glass.

The master criminal, master killer, fluffed the feathers on the back of their neck and shoulders and stretched their enormous wings into a full spread that covered up the moon. Villain shrank back a step as they gave a couple light beats. Was that a threat? An assurance? A bird tic? Why didn't they take birdwatching more seriously when they were a kid?

Supervillain refolded the wings neatly against their back, extended one long leg in front of them, and dropped off the ledge to stand in front of Villain. Even on even ground, the supervillain loomed over them.

Monstrous. That was often how the heroes and citizens, even most of the other villains, described the supervillain. Villain wouldn't go that far themself, but they definitely understood where they were coming from. Apart from the 6-foot span of their wings, the tall stature, dark piercing eyes, and sharp black talons curling from their nailbeds did their own share in unsettling people. Then there were the feathers hanging off his arms and in an unnatural downy curtain from his head.

"Did you like them?" Supervillain said.

Villain swallowed and cleared their throat. "Yes." It was the truth. It had become something to look forward to every morning. Wake up, loath everyone and everything, check the window sill, restore their hope in the world. The best part was the surprise. The object was always random and differed wildly in value--a small coil of fairy lights, a green battery-powered candle, a very shiny nickel, an emerald pendant, a glass rose the size of their thumb, a gold pocket watch, etc. It had been cute. They had heard some birds liked giving humans gifts, but... Now they had to reevaluate everything. "Am I... Am I really your favorite? It's not like I'm that impressive of a bad guy."

"You saved my life."

Oh.

Villain had done that. They'd watched from this very rooftop a couple months ago as Supervillain melded into the dark spaces of the starry sky, dipping and rising in all their majesty. They were like something ethereal, ghostly, shaded, and unbound by the laws of this world. Then suddenly they were a stone.

They hit the ground in an alley outside the reach of the streetlights' glow, but when Villain raced down the stairs and tore the several blocks to their landing place, they didn't need light to understand the mess of blood and twisted netting at their feet.

Villain hadn't meant to save anyone. Helping wasn't exactly their thing. They'd actually pondered knifing the supervillain themself and letting the villain power struggle explode. But there had been something about the way they flew and something so wrong about seeing them like that trussed up in the dirt. And suddenly the heroes were coming and they just...they just dragged them into the dumpster without thinking. Once the heroes cleared out to widen their search range, they cut the nets and brought them home with them. It wasn't until they'd dressed every wound to the best of their abilities that they'd come to their senses and abandoned the supervillain sprawled out on their coffee table. When they returned the next evening, the apartment was empty, like nothing ever happened.

It had been nothing but random and impulsive and completely undeserving of this much...gratitude. They hadn't even realized Supervillain had been conscious enough to remember faces.

"Well...you're welcome. Er...did it you get home alright? Was anything broken? I wasn't exactly sure how to treat anything...uh...extra."

Supervillain chuckled and moved in closer, long feathered hair tickling Villain's cheek. "I broke a wing, but I have a doctor for that. I asked them to come get me a little while after you left. I'm fine now."

"Oh. Good. That's... Well." How did they politely explain that they wanted nothing to do with villainy's recent political upheaval and would rather not be seen with the main subject of it? They had done very well staying under the radar as every other villain in the city murdered and schemed for Supervillain's attention, and they didn't need anyone accusing them of getting into good graces in secret. "I'm sure you have a lot to do tonight. Underlings to visit. People to rip apart. So..."

Supervillain's taloned hand stopped Villain short as they reached around their waist for their pile of glass shards. The tip of their thumbnail pressed into the underside of their wrist and a sharp shiver ran up Villain's entire body.

"Are you uncomfortable around me? I suppose hybrids are a little...grotesque."

"No!"

"It's alright," Supervillain said, a sad smirk curving their mouth. "Most villains hide it with a smile because of who I am. At least you're honest."

Ugh, if Supervillain was going to get offended anyway, they should at least be offended for the right thing.

"It has nothing to do with that!" Villain said. "I just don't want any competitive drama for being seen with you."

Supervillain blinked, cocking their head. "Drama?"

"You are the top-tier villain. And you haven't replaced any of the seconds from the hero sting. its making everyone nuts."

"Ah." Supervillain released Villain's arm and let them gather up their gift. Villain felt their eyes boring into them as they cupped the glass safely against their chest. When they glanced back at them, Supervillain had a strange sort of smile tugging on their lips. Not quite a smirk, but not quite gentle either. "If you wanted to be a second, all you have to do is as--"

"No!" Villain interrupted firmly. "That's what I'm saying! I'm happy where I am, and I don't need anyone thinking otherwise! So, thank you for this," they nodded down at their hand, "but no."

Supervillain stared at them stunned, and Villain ducked their head. Why couldn't they just hold their tongue? Get gifted a broken Christmas ornament one time and suddenly they thought they could shout at the most powerful person in the city?

"Understood." Supervillain's voice sounded extremely close to their ear, freezing villain to the spot. "I'll take care of it."

They lightly nosed Villain's hair a couple times, almost like... Were they preening them?

Supervillain backed away before Villain could fully process the thought. "Take care, little villain." They stepped back onto the ledge, spread their massive wings, and swooped off into the night, leaving Villain with a red face and accelerated heart rate.

For some reason, the spool of sequined thread they found on their windowsill the next morning struck them differently.

Part Two

[crimsonfic]

Kyojuro Rengoku- Delectable Fire

Foreign Chef Y/N

8 Chapters

Subjects: Fluff, Smut, Angst, Blood, Slight mention of abuse, Mature Language

Chapter Four

Chapter Includes: Mature Language, some fluff, tiny tiny bit of gore

6.3k words

You were in the kitchen making breakfast for your mom and self when a banging on the door out front startled you.

You rushed to the door, pulling back the curtain to see who it was. It was Kyojuro and a large man with white hair. Eyeing them curiously you unlocked and opened the door.

"Hey Kyo." You said to him.

"Hello sweet pea. Sorry to bother you so early."

You raised your eyebrow. Early? He always comes at this time, you make breakfast for him after every patrol, and also you were wondering about the nickname.

Before you could say anything the tall man with him spoke.

"Sweet pea huh? That's rather cute. Is that what I call her too or is that personal?" He wiggled his eyebrows at Kyojuro.

Kyojuro didn't even look at him, his eyes were still on you as he smiled a bit wider.

"It's very personal. Her name is y/n."

"Well Miss Y/n, sweet y/n, it's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Tengen Uzui, sound Hashira." He bowed to you.

"Nice to meet you Tengen, are you joining us for breakfast?" You smiled, slightly holding the door open wider.

"Oh my, I get the flashy nickname now Flame Hashira," he winked at Kyojuro. "Am I joining you for breakfast?" He asked smiling at him.

Kyojuro responded "no, neither of us are staying for breakfast today actually, but Tengen had a request."

"Ah yes. Sweet y/n we're having a farewell party for dear Rengoku here, and it's come to my attention that you have the best food in town. Flames favorite. So I wanted to have the party here. Tonight." He said crossing his arms with a bright smile on his face.

"Oh." You answered surprised looking between both of their smiling faces. "I think I can do that, what time?"

"8, I realize you close at 9 though so I'm willing to pay extra."

You pulled your lips into a thin line as you thought about it. It's just you and your mom here, and your mom was actually going on a date tonight so you wouldn't have her help for the party. This also meant you would be working for maybe 12 hours. None of this mattered much to you though, since it was a party for Kyojuro.

"Okay. And the menu?" You looked between them but ultimately let your gaze rest on Kyojuro, it was for him after all.

"Anything. You pick." He told you.

Of course he would say that. You smiled at him before responding.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay." You nodded.

"Aww, isn't that sweet. But I do have a request. We need alcohol. And I know that where you're from you guys have some of the strongest stuff. Got any of that here?"

Laughing you responded. "Yes, I do."

"Outstanding!" He enthused. "This is going to be extravagant. Oh, I do have another request. Some of our fellow Hashira aren't as flashy as Rengoku and I, could you serve a traditional dish or two for those stains on fun?"

"Yeah sure, I can." You responded.

"Splendid. Oh and the headcount is around 15. We're inviting some more demon slayers who are cool enough to hang around us." He laughed loudly.

"Okay. Sounds good." You smiled.

Tengen pulled his wallet out from his pants, and held a stack of bills out to you. Looking at the color of the notes you could see that it was too much.

"Please accept all of this. I'm paying extra remember? Plus the cost of food, the ingredients so they can be replaced, the cost of imported alcohol, and for it being last minute. Oh! And so you don't miss out on any money by not opening the shop, so you're not overworked. Here." He extended his hand further out to you after slapping another note on top.

You took it from his hand skeptically. As you counted it your eyes practically fell from their sockets. "This is way too much. This is 6 months of rent plus inventory."

"Sounds perfect to me." Tengen replied.

Kyojuro laughed loudly, giving a quick nod of his head.

You looked at them horrified before separating the notes and handing some back to Tengen. You could not accept so much.

He put both his hands up "No way. That's yours."

You directed your hand to Kyojuro, "Can you give this to him please?"

He smiled at you before stepping close to you, and gently pushing your hands up to your chest before kissing your cheek.

"No can do sweetheart. We will see you later." He said before stepping away from you.

You stood with your hands crossed over your chest with a surprised look on your face. Did he just kiss you? And are they really giving you all of this money?

"See you tonight y/n." Tengen waved before he and Kyojuro walked off.

Tengen threw his arm over Kyojuro's shoulder. "Smooth move back there Flame, but you didn't have to be modest on my behalf, you could've laid one right on her lips." You vaguely heard before Kyojuro's booming laugh sounded as they got further and further away.

"Who was that?" Your mom called from behind you.

You turned around, letting the door close behind you before walking over to her.

"Kyo and his friend Tengen. They rented out the place for the day basically, so they can have a send off party for Kyojuro."

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped the closer you got to her and she saw the money in your hands.

You handed it to her and she counted it in awe. Eyes remaining wide.

"Okay, this is insane."

"I agree."

"So what do they want you to make?"

"Aside from a couple traditional dishes anything I choose, and they want alcohol from home."

"O-okay. And how many people?"

"15."

"So accounting for that, plus your time.....more is left over. The extra money is almost double the cost for today." She said incredulously as she held both stacks in her hand.

"I know. I tried to give it back but they wouldn't let me."

"Oh my god!"

"I know right." You said.

"What did you do to him babygirl?" You mom laughed.

"Me? I....I didn't do anything."

"This is a gift to you. No wonder they wouldn't take it back."

She handed the money back to you.

"Can't give gifts back." She laughed.

"Can't accept insanely expensive gifts either." You said.

"Yeah well.....I don't know. Come on let's eat and then I'll help you prepare for later, and run to the market if I have to."

"Okay."

You put the money in your pocket before washing your hands.

After you finished eating you and your mom came up with the party menu, deciding on practical easy to eat food that wouldn't require utensils since it seemed part of the night goal was to get drunk. For the traditional dishes you decided on onigiri and yakitori. You were going to make spiked drinks too just in case the alcohol was too strong for some.

You had a lot of down time until the party after prepping everything you needed, so you decided to nap. Your mom refused to let you go to the market with her so you had nothing to do. She felt bad that she wasn't going to be there to help so she wanted to do everything for you.

————

Time was approaching for the party to begin. And to be honest, you were starting to get nervous. You just finished the last dishes, and finished with drinks, in addition to putting a pitcher of water and bottle of alcohol on every table. You began to place the platters of food in the center of your large middle tables. Bringing everything you made out to the front for people to grab.

When you finished you sat down at your back booth, facing the door. At that moment all of your nerves came crashing at you. You've never been to a party here, never hosted one, hell you've never seen one here so you didn't know what to expect. Would people just come and eat? Or would it get loud and chaotic? You didn't know what to think. Kyojuro was already different from anyone else you've ever seen in the entire world, and after meeting Tengen, you didn't think anyone was like him either.

When the door opened revealing Kyojuro, Tengen and Mitsuri you relaxed. You're not shy, and it's not difficult for you to meet new people and talk with them but you really didn't know what to expect had someone else shown up first.

"Hey." You smiled standing up from your seat.

"Hi! It smells so good in here." Mitsuri said.

"Hello." Kyojuro said, they spoke in unison.

"Oh no. Take that off. Though it looks nice, no. Uh uhn." Tengen said gesturing to your apron.

"My apron?" You looked down then back to him slightly confused.

"Yeah, that. You're a guest, you're part of the party."

"I'm the host, technically."

"A very small technicality, because I'm the host too. So whatever you need help with show me, I'm extra hands, but yeah, you can't wear that." He said making a shoo gesture with both hands.

Laughing you untied it, carefully removing it from your neck.

"That's more like it." He smiled.

You shook your head playfully but went to hang it on your hook in the kitchen. When you came back they were eyeing everything.

"What this?" Tengen asked intrigued pointing to one of the bowls of dip you had out.

Kyojuro told him, and then grabbed a chip showing him how it's done.

Tengen followed suit and then got excited. "Oh my! That's incredible." He gleamed. Mitsuri reached over tasting some too and covered her mouth as she sighed.

"Very good."

"Yeah, I can't wait to eat. Y/n you're amazing, you made this?" Tengen said.

"Yeah." You told him.

"You really are a culinary wizard." He said.

You laughed. "You've been hanging around Kyo too long I see."

They all laughed.

"Maybe, but he was right. Can you tell me what all this is so I can know for future reference?"

"Yeah sure." You said before moving to the other side of the table and showing what everything was. You even took them to the kitchen to show him the drinks you mixed. He insisted you all have one right now, declaring that as the hosts and the guest of honor you deserved them before anyone else. When you guys came out of the kitchen with your drinks more people were walking through the door.

"Yeah, now it's a party! The troublemakers have arrived!" Tengen exclaimed making Mitsuri and Kyo laugh.

You peeked around Kyojuro's shoulder to see the people they were talking about and to be honest, they did look the part.

"Yeah yeah yeah." The man with scars and almost white hair said. The shorter man beside him had black hair and a bandage wrapped around the lower half of his face.

"What's that you got there?" The shorter man asked pointing to the cup in Tengen's hand.

You turned back around heading for the fridge for the smaller tray of drinks. When you came back Tengen's eyes widened at you.

"Hey, no more of that. I'll get it next time."

"Okay." You said as you walked past them up to the men who were still strangers to you.

"Hi, I'm y/n, I made these. They're a fruit drink mixed with alcohol. These are watermelon and peach, and I can make strawberry too if you prefer."

"Oh, y/n huh?" He said. "I'm Obanai." He added before taking a drink off the tray.

"Sanemi." The other man said taking a drink as well.

The door opened revealing more guests.

"Oh what are we drinking?" A woman with violet eyes and dark hair with a butterfly clip said walking right over to you and reaching between the two men in front of you.

"Hi, you must be y/n." She smiled pleasantly at you as she picked up a cup. "Im Shinobu."

"Nice to meet you." you smiled back.

"Drinks over here Giyu and Gyomei." She said as she backed away.

"Im not drinking." The man with dark hair with bangs and a ponytail said.

"Of course you aren't, loser." Sanemi said.

Your eyes widened at the way he spoke to him.

"Don't start with me." The boy replied exasperated.

The very tall man, that had to bend down to come into the building stepped over. "Nice to meet you y/n. Im Gyomei, It smells delicious in here, I'll be refraining from drinking tonight as well. I hope that isn't rude."

"Nice to meet you too, and it's not rude at all no worries." You told him.

"I'm Giyu." The other guy introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you."

It was becoming a pattern but the door opened revealing 5 more people. They however were a lot more formal than the others who were already here.

"Thank the heavens, I'm starved. So let's get started." Tengen said as he gestured for everyone to take a seat somewhere. He told everyone what the dishes were, how to eat them and pointed out to them the waters and tequila's around the room. He initiated a toast to Kyojuro saying that it's a been a while since any of them have had to go on a mission for this long, and by themselves. They wished him luck and shared stories. They talked about what the mission was and asked for details, which Kyojuro shared.

You sat listening intently to the things they talked about and watched in awe the way Kyojuro spoke about his duties for the mission. He was sitting right beside you and you found yourself getting lost in him. His voice, his attitude, his face, and his body of course. You hadn't realized you were staring until Tengen playfully kicked you from across the table. When you looked at him he started making kissy gestures with his fingers. Mitsuri beside him was holding in a laugh.

You waved your hand at him before taking a sip of your water. He's been making gestures at you and Kyojuro all night. Anytime one of you were staring at the other or held eye contact for too long he said something.

You ignored him, turning your attention back to Kyojuro. No one else but you seemed to be worried about him going on this mission. In fact they all had steel hard confidence in him and his abilities. You wish you were unshakable like them but you don't think you'd ever reach a point of talking about demons so casually and not being fearful of them, let alone slaying them.

Throughout the night you could see that everyone admires Kyojuro and thought very highly of him. It wasn't surprising at all. When you first met him you could sense that. His presence was commanding and comforting. It's a combination that pulls people in. Seeing him in this light, with his coworkers, people who admired him, he trained with and knew him as a man outside of his home life was very rewarding. He was clearly upstanding in every area of his life.

Towards the end of the night you were surprised to see that every single thing you made was eaten. Although with majority of it being eaten by Kyojuro, Tengen, Mitsuri and Gyomei, you shouldn't have been surprised at all.

Tengen stayed back helping you and Kyojuro to clean before he left. Now it was just you and Kyojuro. You were both standing in the hallway, across from eachother. His usual smile was present on his face.

You were taking in Kyojuro's appearance openly for the first time all night. You had to steal glances when everyone was around. He was wearing a black yukata loosely tied with a white juban underneath. He was wearing gray hakama pants similar to Senjuro's. He looked really cute and sophisticated.

"How are you feeling?" You asked him.

"Fine. You?" He asked back.

"Same." You replied.

"Good. Did you have fun tonight?"

"I did. You have very funny friends." You smiled.

He nodded with a laugh. "They are." He agreed.

"So when do you leave?"

"Very early, daybreak."

"Oh....you probably should leave now then huh? Since it's late." You said fidgeting with your fingers.

"Probably." He answered tilting his head to the side.

"Will you be able to write?"

"I'm not sure. Why? Are you asking that I write you?" He smiled playfully.

"Maybe." You joked back.

"I will." He nodded despite the playful smirk still on his face.

"I'll be waiting."

He didn't respond. Just held your gaze quietly. He seemed to be contemplating something. You wondered if it could be the exact same thing you were thinking about. You unconsciously took a step towards him. He noticed immediately, eyes quickly darting to your feet before he straightened up off of the wall.

"Waiting for a letter, or for me to return?" He asked.

You took your time to answer, again having to overcome your thoughts that told you to take things slow to protect your heart. It wasn't easy with him though.

"Both." You finally replied.

"Oh?" Kyojuro questioned taking a step towards you.

You smiled in response, nodding your head.

Kyojuro slowly reached out to grab your hand. He brought it up to his face before kissing it gently.

"I'll miss you." He said.

You were surprised to hear those words. They felt so intimate somehow, almost like he shouldn't be talking to you so softly. To be honest you didn't deserve that from him, you've been keeping him at arms length.

"I'll miss you too Kyo."

He sighed at the nickname before pulling you into a hug. Your arms around his shoulders and his around your back. You let one hand sit at the nape of his neck your fingers in his hair. He held you tightly in his arms, really allowing himself to bask in you. You both held each other tightly until you felt the hug was turning into something else. Neither of you did anything different, you think it was just the built up tension and lingering desire you felt for each other. You slightly pulled away from him, taking your hand out of his hair, looking up into his eyes.

"You'll be careful?"

"Of course." He answered.

"Okay." You replied stepping back.

You couldn't allow something to happen between you right now. Not when he was about to leave for 2 weeks.

He let you step away from him but he held onto your hand. Without another word he pulled you with him to the front door. He knew his resolve to wait for you had crumbled but he also didn't want you to regret anything you did with him so he wasn't going to linger here anymore, because in a second he would've had you on a table, exposed for him while he devoured you. His thoughts to be so frantic and vulgar regarding you was sign enough for him that he needed to leave. He wasn't thinking straight, and more like a starved man.

"I'll see you in two weeks." He said before kissing your cheek and stepping out of the door. He waited for you to lock it before he waved and walked away.

You rested your forehead against the door before sighing. You were surely falling in love with him.

——————

The next two weeks moved impossibly slow for you. It's not that you were miserable and lovesick, it's just that the days felt longer.

You had only seen Senjuro twice, the two times you went to his house like you promised you would once a week. You remembered both times clearly as they were very interesting without Kyojuro there.

You just made it to the front door with a basket of muffins and some cold beverages when you could hear Mr. Rengoku yelling loudly at Senji.

"You do what I said and go get it now."

"Father I will, I just-

"Who do you think you're talking back too?"

You opened the door, no longer concerned with formalities. You hated to hear him yelling at Senji like that.

"Hello." You said. Looking between Mr. Rengoku and Senji.

Per usual Mr. Rengoku's demeanor changed. "Uh...oh...it's you again."

"Yep, in the flesh, every week."

He relaxed his stance, his fist no longer balled.

You turned your attention to Senji.

"Hi Senji, you okay?" You asked him openly. Not caring that his father was there.

"Y-yes. I'm okay. How are you today?" He asked politely though you could see he was still hurting over being yelled at.

"I'm good Senji." You turned to Mr. Rengoku, as you stepped in side, taking your shoes off.

"I made muffins and brought drinks. You like these don't you?" You asked him holding the basket of drinks out to him.

"Y-yeah." He said taking one of the tall glass bottles out of the basket.

You pushed the muffins out towards him and he took one and walked away.

Grumbling a thank you.

When he was gone you gestured for Senji to follow you to the dining room and inside you both sat at the table. You asked him if he wanted to talk to you about what his dad was yelling for and he said no. So you guys just ate your muffins and read and played games. Later in the day Mr. Rengoku came slamming Senjuro's door open. When he saw you he gaped at the door like a fish. Given the time of day, you were sure he was coming to tell Senjuro to make him something to eat. You stood up offering to make it as Senji was napping but Mr. Rengoku said he would make it himself. You smiled at the silent victory, knowing that he wouldn't have even fed Senji or himself if it meant that he had to do it.

The following week when you came back, you and Senji did more paintings. He wanted to make one for Kyojuro and you just painted a steaming bun. You were watching Senji's art come to life but you tried to do it discreetly as he said it makes him nervous when people watch him create.

While you were doing your painting his dad came into the room, silently, and sat down. You and Senji looked at each other, both confused.

"A-are you okay father?" Senji asked.

"Yeah!" He grunted.

"Oh, okay." He responded.

The room was silent for a while before anyone said anything.

"Do you want to paint with us?" Senjuro asked, voice timid.

"No." His father grumbled.

You and Senji looked at each other again, this time Senji shrugged, a small smile creeping up on his face.

You smiled at him before putting your attention back on your painting. Senji is just happy that his father is around and not being grumpy. You hated that he could be so hot and cold to his children. It's too much to have to deal with. They don't deserve that. Not knowing which version of your parent you were going to get, had to be exhausting.

"Y/n, when Kyojuro comes home, I wanted to go to the beach. We haven't been since last year and we try to go at least once every summer. I want you to come with us. Will you?" He asked after another round of silence.

"Yeah, of course I will. That sounds fun."

Senjuro smiled. "It's gonna be great. Do you know how to swim?"

"No actually." You laughed, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Oh don't worry. We can teach you." Senjuro laughed as well.

Outside of those visits, your days were uneventful. You hadn't realized how much Kyojuro brightened your days. Your mom was back at her other location with Genji. Yoshi only visited once so you didn't have much going on besides working. Yoshi visiting was very insightful though, and it helped you get over your fear of rejection.

Where's your boyfriend? Was the first thing Yoshi said to you when he stepped up to the counter.

"What boyfriend?" You asked.

"You know what boyfriend. Your actual boyfriend!" He responded.

"I don't have a boyfriend Yoshi. Are you talking about Kyojuro?"

"The guy with the fire hair and fire eyes? Yes, him."

"That's not my boyfriend. He's out of town though." You laughed.

"Are you sure?"

"Am I sure he's out of town or am I sure he's not my boyfriend?"

"Both! Because I don't need him popping out of nowhere staring me down with those intense eyes." He gestured with his hands.

You couldn't help but laugh. "He doesn't stare you down."

"Yes he does! Have you not noticed?"

You covered your mouth trying to keep your laughter to a minimum as the both of you were really loud. You shook your head in reply though.

"See, that tells me everything I need to know. He only stares at me when you're not looking because he's threatening me."

"There's no way. He wouldn't threaten you. He's too sweet."

"Yeah sweet to you!" He emphasized. "He wants to kill me, its why I haven't been coming around. I'm telling you, he's been sending me silent death threats."

You gasped through your laughter. "So you have been staying away on purpose?"

"Yes! I don't want to die."

"Yoshi." You said putting your hand on your hip.

"I'm not kidding. He scares me."

"He's really sweet Yoshi, he wouldn't hurt you, and he just kinda looks like that. His eyes are intense on regular."

"No. They change when he directs them at me."

You slightly giggled. "Okay, if you say so. But I will talk to him."

"So he can really kill me? No thanks."

"Stop saying that." You laughed.

"Just tell him I'm not trying to steal you away from him or anything, but don't tell him I told you he stares at me."

"Okay." You laughed.

After he ordered his food and you brought it out to him he asked you more questions.

"So why does he think he's your boyfriend and you don't?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Well you're denying he's your boyfriend."

"We aren't in a relationship, so it's not denial it's the truth."

"And why not?"

"We just....aren't. He doesn't like me that way."

"I'm sorry, what? Have you gone insane?"

"No really, it's just that we.....you know. That's all." You shrugged your shoulder.

"Well I've got some news for you. It's more than you know what, to him."

"He really scares me." Yoshi shuddered.

You laughed slightly. There's no way Kyo glares at him. He wouldn't do that. Would he? It just seems so out of his character. Does he even know how to glare? You couldn't even imagine it.

"Yoshi please don't stay away on purpose anymore. You're always welcome here and safe."

He gave you a look. One that said yeah right. He didn't believe you. You didn't see the looks Kyojuro gave him.

"I'll think about it."

You playfully hit his shoulder. "Don't think just do. If you're not here every week I'm going to come find you."

"Just don't bring your boyfriend with you." He laughed.

———-

You would be lying if you said that the idea of Kyojuro being your boyfriend didn't make you feel giddy inside. If Kyojuro had really been glaring at Yoshi, that would mean he does like you more than just for sexual pleasures right? No other man had ever given a second thought to someone else looking at you or vying for your attention. If they were sleeping with you why wouldn't other men be sleeping with you too? They didn't have any possessiveness over you, you were just one of many.

You've never been wanted. No one ever wanted you to be theirs before.

You would talk to Kyojuro when he got back. You had to ask him exactly how he felt about you. You had fallen for him but was so terrified of being rejected yet again that you didn't even consider that he felt the same.

————

The two weeks were coming to a close and you had just 3 days left before Kyojuro would possibly be back. Currently you were closing your shop. You just finished washing your dishes and were now pulling your large trash bag out to the dumpster in the back of the building. You just managed to hoist it up into the bin when you heard a sound like crying. You froze, turning your head to listen for the sound again. Maybe you were hearing things? Then you heard it again, plus the sound of footsteps.

"Help!"

The voice sounded so familiar. There was something about it that pierced deeply down to your gut, not the word help but the utter fear and panic in it. Before you knew it your feet were carrying you towards the voice. It took you around the corner from your shop. You kept going until you and the person that called for help crashed into each other, coming from different directions.

You recognized her as one of your regulars in your restaurant. In fact, she just left maybe an hour ago.

"Chiyo?"

"Y/n? Oh, oh no we have to go. There's a demon chasing me." She squeaked out. She was panting and gripping your arm tightly.

"Okay." You said despite the fear coursing through your veins. It wasn't until you turned to run that you saw that she was badly hurt. Vivid red stained your white dress. She looked to be slashed across her chest and arms in a few areas.

You grabbed her hand and began running away. She was weak and she was beginning to choke. That's when you noticed the scratch at the base of her throat. You pulled her along, as she wasn't moving as quickly as you.

When your shop came back into view you heard the most inhuman growl from behind you. It chilled your bones and caused Chiyo to cry out from beside you.

You didn't know what to do. Would it be stupid to go into your shop? Would it be able to come in?

You heard the heavy steps behind you, they started off slow, like they were just walking, but then they picked up, like they were running.

Oh god. Oh god you thought as you picked up your pace, deciding to just go inside anyway. You needed to get away from it.

Chiyo started crying beside you, but you could feel her doing her best to move quicker.

Suddenly, the footsteps disappeared all together. You wanted to look back but you were too terrified to see what was happening, so you kept pushing forward, almost back home, just a few more feet left.

Unexpectedly the demon appeared in front of you. You yelped and stepped back, tripping over your dress as you fell to your butt. Chiyo was slightly in front of you on the ground too, crying frantically. As the large misshapen and murky colored demon roared at you you grabbed for Chiyos arms, pulling her back before using your legs to slide you both back further from it.

You couldn't die here like this. You couldn't.

"Up Chiyo, up." You cried frantically as you tried to pull her up. Her legs were like jelly though, and she was weeping.

You managed to pull her back but it wasn't enough to get away from it by dragging across the floor.

The demon reached its massive arm back, clearly preparing to strike you two. You closed your eyes, but still pulled Chiyo back. Bracing your self for severe pain.

There was a whooshing noise in the air followed by a soft "poof" sound.

"Are you okay?"

You opened your eyes at the sound of Kyojuro's voice.

You felt Chiyo faint in your arms, as you watched Kyojuro put his sword away and rush over to you. He briefly touched your cheek before pulling bandages out of the small bag he was carrying. He started to tend to Chiyo's wounds.

You watched him as he worked in utter shock.

"Are you hurt?" He asked you looking at the blood on your dress.

You shook your head no.

You could've died, you were almost hurt, you saw a demon, Kyojuro saved you. Kyojuro was back home.

You couldn't keep up with all the emotions you were feeling.

Kyojuro sat watching you until other demon slayers showed up. You had no idea how long you sat there.

When they carried Chiyo away, Kyojuro stood up reaching out to you and pulling you up. He walked you back to your place, closing and locking the back door behind you. Upstairs he sat you on the couch as he went through your clothes and packed some for you. Then together you walked to his house. You still hadn't spoken yet even when he undressed you in his room. Not even when he sat in front of you waiting for your bath water to fill. It wasn't until he pulled you into the bathroom and you saw the view from the window that you spoke. The large window opened to a private garden and just above the tall fence you could see the stars in the night sky.

"Wow." Was all you said. It was pretty cool to have a small personal garden just for your bathroom.

Kyojuro helped you into the large and spacious tub before sitting down beside it.

You relaxed into the water, letting your mind soak up the imagery of the cute trees, shrubs, and rocks in the garden outside.

"You want to talk about what happened?" Kyojuro asked, his hand touching the top of your back that hasn't touched the water yet.

You shook your head no.

He didn't respond as he changed his position, letting his thumb rub soothing circles against the back of your neck.

After minutes of soaking in warm water, you looked at your fingers, seeing they had become soggy.

Kyojuro stood up and grabbed a towel for you, unraveling it before you could even fully turn around. You smiled at him. "Thanks." You said as you wrapped yourself inside before stepping out into the slippers he had on the floor for you.

"Yes, and help yourself to anything I have here." He said gesturing to what looked like oils and lotions on a tall shelf beside the sink.

You walked over to them, picking each up one by one to smell them. None of them smelled like him, like that smoky sweet scent you smelt your first night with him. That was rather unfortunate, but there was one that was pleasant and light so you chose it. You walked back into his room before sitting down on his mattress. You almost melted into it it was so soft. You started to moisturize your body, absently seeing nothing in front of you. When a breeze floated through the room, you quickly turned your head to the slightly open doors. You didn't even realize before that the doors were open.

"I can close that." Kyojuro said quietly from where he was standing near his gold plated and beautifully carved cabinet.

"No, it's fine." You told him. When you finished Kyojuro handed you a nightgown he bought from your house.

After getting dressed you walked over to the doors, looking out of the thin opening at the stars. When Kyo came out of the bathroom from putting your things away he walked over to you opening the doors wider.

You smiled up at him before going to lay on the bed. Facing the door you propped your head up on your arms. The starry sky was all you wanted to focus on.

Kyojuro let out a very quiet chuckle before he began removing his uniform. His hand paused on the waist of his pants. You could see him out of the corner of your eye.

"You can undress. It's fine." You told him.

He smiled before removing his pants.

Although you weren't looking at him, or focusing on him, you felt the strongest urge to look at him now that he was standing in his underwear. From the corner of your eye you could see how securely he wore his so there was very little fabric. Ignoring the strong urge to openly look at him you focused back on the color of the sky.

He came over and laid beside you on the bed. "Is that how you want to sleep?" He asked.

You realized then that you were laying across the bed the wrong way and sat up. He copied your movements, making you smile before you turned and laid the correct way, hugging your arms to your chest.

His warm body was directly behind your legs, before he moved, laying behind you and pulling the fluffy but thin cotton comforter over you.

"Thank you." You told him.

"Mhm." He replied smoothly.

You kept your eyes on the sky as minutes ticked by. If you counted all the stars you could see, or tried to find constellations your mind wouldn't have time to remember. You wouldn't have to see images you weren't ready to see if you made the ones you wanted to see.

Behind you Kyojuro looked into the sky too. He wanted to help, but he could tell that you were holding yourself together by a thread. Whatever that thread was, he was going to support it. He wanted you to have all the time you could possibly get before you snapped. So he stayed quiet, he kept his hands to himself, and would only speak if he had to. He would wait, and make sure he was there for you when you needed him to catch you.

******

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[dabisqueen]

Initiation

Toya x Reader x Tenko

⇢ rating: 18+

⇢ word count: roughly 7.2K

⇢ plot: Toya and Tenko are the most annoying guys on campus - but also the hottest. Even though you do everything to stay out of their way, your paths keep crossing

⇢ warnings: 18+, College AU, no quirks, all characters aged up, force, mentions of smoking, drug use, drinking, kissing, fingering, vaginal sex, orgasm, cream pie, cum, threesome, anal sex, squirting

⇢ NO MINORS ALLOWED!!!

personal note: god I am in love with this artwork. and with my all-time favorite bar. wanted to write a piece with quirkless toya and tenko, how it would have been with them in an alternate reality. turned out to be longer than planned.

Special thanks to:

@white-decay for letting me use her magnificent artwork for my header

@scruffymctee for always being there for me when I need some fucked up inspiration - and for the title names

@shig-a-shig-ah for always putting up with my shit, day and night

________________________________

A month into the semester, I wandered down the streets in search of a place to grab a drink. I had purposely avoided the main bars where all the jocks and popular girls would sit. A small, run-down brick building caught my attention, a sign on it reading "Washington Bar." Half the letters were unlit, one even threatening to fall onto the bypassers below at any second.

As I entered through the wooden chipped entry door, the typical raucous bar smell hit my nostrils – damp cigarette smoke, spilled old beer on the floor, the plasticky aroma of a vinyl cushion - and too much sweat. It was dark and dingy, a small bar set in the middle, surrounded by ragged velvet booths with tables in the middle. The window glasses were yellowed from years of cigarette abuse and framed by faded velvety red curtains. There was a small dancefloor off to the side, a huge poster of Johnny Cash's famous middle finger adorning the wall.

Approaching the bar, I sat down on one of the spindly looking, lop-sided barstools, letting my gaze roam over the array of liquor on the shelves. The bartender, a young handsome man, came over, leaned on to the counter, and asked what I'd like to drink. After I placed my order he nodded appreciatively and went to work.

The music was good, they played mostly rock and mashups and for the first time since starting the semester, with the first tests and assignments behind me, I felt at ease.

The bartender handed me my drink and I swept the little drops of condensation running down the glass with my thumb, tipping the liquid from side to side, watching the ice cubes jingle around.

The place slowly filled, still not crowded but enough to fill the place with low murmurs and chatters.

As I continued sipping my drink, I looked around the room over the rim of my glass. One of the guys sitting in a booth at the far corner caught my immediate attention. His hair was the color of pure snow, standing messy and hanging low over his eyes. He lounged lazily against the back of a booth, arms resting on the backrest. He was slender, tall, and good-looking.

Next to him sat another young man, raven tufts hanging lazily into his face. The way he was hunched over, a dim light illuminating his head from below had me assume he was staring at his handheld.

As my gaze turned to the other guy, our eyes met. I almost choked, as the corners of his lips curled up into a smirk. I turned back towards the bar, my cheeks ablaze, my heart racing. Trying to shrug off the feeling of his eyes lingering on me, I took another sip of my drink to calm my rattled nerves.

The evening went on and as I was on my second drink, I suddenly felt something brush my cheeks, an arm hook around my shoulder and a warm body lean against my back. Tufts of white hair tickled my face and I turned my head to be met by a mesmerizing smile and stunning turquoise eyes on a handsome face.

"Hi doll," his voice sinfully low and raspy, a devilish twinkle in his eyes.

His hand grabbed my wrist and with a squeak of protest, I was pulled off the stool, managing to grab my purse as he dragged me off. The place had filled up, and my drink spilled over my hand as we wound our way through the bodies. Stopping in front of the booth, he gently tugged me onto the cushion seat, flopping down next to me. I had to scoot sideways and bumped into someone to the left. I looked up to be met by crimson red eyes, almost glowing in the dark, framed by black disheveled hair of varying lengths. His facial features were delicate, almost feminine – a straight slender nose, strong jawline, and slim yet uneven lips, a black beauty mark underneath his chin.

An arm dropped on my shoulder and I was involuntarily nudged against the first guy's chest. He smelled good, of warm musk, fresh linen, and a hint of cigarette smoke. Black nail polish and silver rings adorned his strong dexterous fingers. He had several earrings on each ear and three little piercing studs in his nose. On each of his arms, he wore multiple silver and leather bracelets. I tilted my head up to meet his gaze and his lips curled up into a smile.

"Toya," he introduced himself, "and that over there is Tenko." his slender finger pointed towards the dark-haired guy. The latter nodded curtly, continuing to stare at me.

"Why did you drag me off? I was just fine over at the bar!“ I pouted.

“Wanted to get to know you,“ he snickered, eyes seductively half-lidded, a lazy smile on his face.

My phone vibrated in my purse and I grabbed it, my thumb swiping up to unlock it. Ari and Naoko had written, asking me where I was. Before I could reply though, Toya’s ring studded hand snagged it out of my grip and held it high above his head out of reach.

"Give it back!" I yelled while he kept blocking me with his body, chuckling boyishly as I was trying to snatch it back.

"Nuh-uh, it's not polite to text while in company," his fingers flew relentlessly across the screen. He only stopped after his phone went off in his pants. Tenko next to us snickered in amusement about our little bantering and Toya finally handed my cell phone back.

"Seriously?" I rolled my eyes at him as I saw his and Tenko’s number in my contacts and a message to himself, but he answered with a smug grin on his face. "Admit it, you wanted it," chuckling, pinching my cheek.

"Oh for god's sake..." I protested and stood up, as he kept laughing lowly, "Let me out," I demanded.

"Suit yourself" and he leaned back, arms crossed behind his head, his biceps flexing. He didn't budge and I huffed, lifting my leg atop his', shifting my weight to crawl over him only to lose balance and tip. My hands found his chest, steadying myself and when I gazed up, I stared right into his piercing blue eyes. His jaw was set, lips curved upwards into a smirk.

"That eager, huh?" He cocked his eyebrow, his nose almost brushing against mine.

Rolling my eyes I slid off him and wound my way to the exit, not looking back. I fumed internally the entire way back, imagining what I would have felt like swatting him or at least poking his oh so beautiful eyes out. I snorted in frustration, thinking to myself that he was dangerous and I should keep my hands off him.

Weeks passed after that evening. Toya being most definitely a playboy was constantly on my mind and I avoided getting involved with him any further. Yet, I couldn't help the feeling of being drawn in by him, his charisma, confidence– and cockiness.

Whenever we met or saw each other on campus, he’d throw me a smug grin, not averting his eyes from me. In return, I shot him a withering glare, trying to remind - no- to convince myself that I found him only annoying.

As the semester went on, I made new friends. Especially the guy from across my room, Kai, who helped me move into my dorm. We shared a few classes and had been studying together ever since. With time passing I noticed little signs of affection, his hand on my shoulder when leaning in too close while explaining something to me. Or brushing his hand over mine when he suggested edits to my notes. Even though I liked him, I never returned his affection, I just wasn't into any sort of relationship at this point.

The sun had shown its beautiful side on this spring morning as all of us hung out in the courtyard between lectures. There was constant chatting around me, my friends calling back and forth to each other, and Kai stood next to me, our shoulders almost brushing. His eyes never averted me, as he leaned in to whisper something into my ear. A light breeze picked up and blew some hair into my face. He lifted his hand to tug a loose strand behind my ear and I blushed at the intimacy of the situation.

Suddenly a group of young men closed in on us, let by Toya. He cocked a smirk as he approached me.

“There you are, doll” as I felt an arm drop on my shoulder, cold metal bracelets softly scraping the skin on my neck.

Kai took a step back and frowned, his face wearing a disgruntled expression, eyes darting between me and Toya. All my friends had gone quiet, frozen dead in their tracks.

"Toya, let go of me!" I gritted, trying to wiggle out from under his arm but he pressed me even tighter against him.

Seeing that I would not be let go soon I looked at Kai, "Uhm... Kai, this is Toya. Toya, this is Kai." I nudged my head towards my captor, my smile apologetic, but Kai's was forced as he held up his hand for a shake.

"Nice to meet you–" he pressed out between clenched teeth.

Toya nonchalantly ignored Kai and purred into my ear, "Missed you, doll," a mischievous glint in his eyes, the corners of his lips twitched suspiciously, for we both knew he was putting up a show.

I swapped his chest, my scorching glare and my plea to let me go being completely ignored. The irritation growing on Kai's face increased by the second, the tension starting to simmer. But Toya wasn't even remotely fazed, rather amused by his reaction.

"So, how about you visiting me tonight?" Toya pecked a kiss on my cheek. I almost lost my cool but then he let go of me, a wide grin on his face, eyes glinting with mischief. I inhaled deeply, trying to keep the irritation in my chest at bay. He blew me a kiss and strutted off to Tenko and the others waiting for him, hands lazily stuffed in his pockets.

Instantly, chatter erupted around me like a volcano. Suddenly being at the center of attention of our small group, the girls huddled around me, blurting out as if out of one mouth "You know Toya? “

"We met once," I shrugged, resisting the urge to scoff.

"Ohmygod, you are so lucky! He's so fucking hot! He's the hottest guy on campus!“ The girls were all giggles now, eyes gleaming with excitement.

"More like the most annoying," I growled. Peeking up I could still see them, the group of tall, handsome men chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Of course, he's hot. And of course, I had thought about how it would be to see more than just those bright blue eyes, to feel more than just his hands on my body.

"You are so lucky!" Ai pinched my cheeks, Naoko nudged my shoulder.

"Nah, don't think so…". I rolled my eyes, "What kind of show was that anyways?"

"He's jealous!" They winked and giggled behind their hands.

Kai had been quiet, looking after Toya, his eyes like slithers, darkening by the second.

"I am sorry, Kai," I apologized, "I- I am not meeting him tonight. Or at all.” I shook my head, “Whatever…" this was embarrassing.

He just nodded coldly, "It's alright, we'll talk another time, ok?" And with that, he turned and walked off.

“Kai–” my hand rose to hold him back but he was already out of reach and I couldn't hide my disappointment.

"Ok girls, need to go, it's late. See ya, kiss kiss," our hugs hasty as we placed quick pecks on each other’s cheeks.

That evening Kai surprisingly asked me to accompany him to a fraternity party that weekend. Wanting to make it up to him, I more than gladly agreed.

The party was huge. The entire fraternity house was packed to the brim. Kai just returned from the bar and handed me my second drink.

"Thank you, Kai," I beamed at him and our eyes met. He stroked my cheek, leaning in to whisper into my ear "I'm glad you are here with me."

I felt good, the alcohol giving me a sense of euphoria and I sipped the clear sweet liquid, burning down my throat. Seemingly endless amounts of bodies swayed in front of us, rubbing against each other. I could literally feel the sexual tension. Little beads of sweat started to form on my forehead and I wiped them off with the back of my hand, taking another sip from the glass. As I moved my feet to change my stance I swayed a bit. The drink packed quite the punch I thought, but then dizziness slowly flooded my brain.

Kai leaned in as he noticed my uneasiness, an unreadable expression on his face, "Hey princess, you alright there? "

"Uhm, yeah, think I need to lay down a sec. Drank too much–“ I mumbled and started pushing past him.

"Here lemme help," he said, wrapping an arm around me. He held me tight to his body, guiding me down the hallway, leaving the people and noises behind us. The further we went, the more I felt like walking on cotton.

Kai opened a door to a dim room and he laid me on a soft cushiony couch. Everything was spinning and I closed my eyes to find some relief. I barely noticed my wrists being pinned above my head, as a hand slid underneath my shirt and started groping my breast.

My eyes darted open and I bucked underneath him, trying to get him off me. Kai pushed himself down on me, his growing bulge pressing into my thigh as he growled into my ear "Relax, don't make this harder on you than it is."

I tried calling for help but his tongue darted into my mouth the second I parted my lips, suffocating every word that came out. I groaned as he bit into my lip, gripping my breast so hard it bruised. Caged in by his weight, I was not able to move an inch.

"Lemmego–“ I slurred, tears starting to pool in my eyes. He leaned in close, hissing into my ear, "Gonna fucking show that prick Toya who you belong to" as he lifted his hips, starting to unbuckle his belt.

My hands found his chest, my feeble attempts to push him off me were met with low laughter. My head still hazy, I gathered my remaining strength together and lashed out, boxing his groin with all my might.

He wailed out, tipping sideways, face contorted with anger and pain, and I managed to scramble out below him, falling to the floor, and tumbled towards the door.

I somehow found the strength to rip it open and swayed down the hallway.

I heard Kai swearing, taking up the pursuit but his limp slowed him down. I pressed through the sweaty bodies, my mind spinning, tripping, gasping for air as I felt like drowning, turning towards the front door.

I stumbled outside and staggered down the street, picking up the pace until my lungs and legs burned like a thousand fires and each breath was like needles down my throat.

Dizzy and exhausted, I stumbled to a halt and leaned against a wall, my legs giving in and I sagged to the floor. I stuffed my hand into my purse, fumbling for my phone, hysterically trying to sniff away the tears falling from my eyes.

I managed to dial Ai's number. It rang seemingly endless but no one picked up. I tried my other friends. Nothing.

My vision started darkening and panic took over, my heart raced as I found Toya's number. I hit the dial button, the ringing echoing in my head like a jackhammer. I groaned, and closed my eyes. Through the rushing of the blood in my ears, I heard a raspy voice, distant and blurred.

"Hey doll, what's up."

"Toya-" I slurred, feeling the world tilt around me.

"Hey, you ok?" His voice suddenly spiked with concern.

I sobbed, slowly sliding sideways, not being able to keep myself upright anymore, "No... Please–"

"Ok, tell me where you are," His voice low and stern, as I didn't respond immediately, he yelled, "Doll, hey– fuck– gimme something!"

My eyes roamed around, trying to pinpoint some signposts for him. And then I saw it. With my last conscious breath, I was able to mumble a street name before my cheek kissed the cold ground, the phone tumbled from my hand and darkness engulfed me.

I don't recall how long I was out. There were blurs of bright light, someone calling my name. Being lifted up, warmth engulfing me, something stroking my face. As I was coming to, I was nestled into Tenko’s arm on the back seat of a car, Toya behind the steering wheel.

Tenko asked, seeing I was conscious again, “Babe, what happened?"

I was able to describe the occurrences with a few jumbled words and with every one of them Toya became more feral.

Even in the dark of the night, I could see that his face spoke murder, I had never seen him that pissed. His eyes were narrow like slithers, lips pressed into tight thin lines. His jaw muscles kept twitching as he yanked the car around, driving down the road, coming to a screeching halt in front of the fraternity.

His head jerked around, his fiery eyes met those of his friend "Tenko, stay here with her. I'll be back in a sec.“

With that, he ripped the door open and jumped out of the car. All heads turned as he stormed towards the entrance, his face volcanic, flaming fury in his eyes as his voice erupted over the sound of the music. "Kai! You better fucking hide because I am coming to get ya!"

Then he disappeared in the masses. Tenko kept stroking my hair, kissing the top of my head as I nuzzled into his chest, taking in his comforting scent of damp linen and warm skin.

After a while, Toya returned, rubbing the bruised knuckles of his right hand, while he approached the car. As he sat down behind the wheel he calmly said "Kai's never going to bother you again." And with that he revved the engine, tires spinning, driving off.

It wasn't a long drive, but I fell asleep in Tenkos embrace. When I shortly regained consciousness I laid on the couch, head nestled into Toya’s lap, legs on Tenko's. They had draped a blanket over me, the feeling of warmth and comfort engulfing me. Exhaustion took over again, I closed my eyes, my mind soothed by warm hands gently stroking me and I fell asleep again.

The first thing I felt when I awoke was a slicing pain through my head and the thirst of a thousand days in the desert. I gasped for air, opening my eyes and closing them again, moaning in pain at the sudden painful intrusion of the brightness.

“Easy there doll,” I heard a familiar voice softly call out. Another moan escaped as I turned towards the source of the voice, feeling soft sheets hug my aching body.

“How're you feeling,” Toya leaned over me, stroking my cheek.

“Likeshit-,” I mumbled, feeling pelt on my tongue.

He chuckled, “That's the spirit.”

A sob erupted in my chest as the memories from last night came crashing in on me and Toya wiped them off with his thumb.

“I don't want to go back, I am afraid,” all the tension fell off me as the tears ran freely down my cheeks now.

His curled fingers gently nudged my chin up so our gazes met, “How about you stay with us until you find somewhere else."

Tenko lounged in the back, legs lazily spread apart, “What he's trying to say is that we need someone to cook for us." Getting sick of the shit takeout Toya's been bringing home.”

The latter threw a pillow at him, and they both laughed out loud.

"Uhm, ok I guess. If you really don't mind–" I sniffed.

"Naah–" Toya replied and Tenko winked at me, "As long as the food's good."

That evening, they helped me retrieve some things from my dorm. We gathered it in boxes and bags and stuffed it into Toya’s car. It wasn’t much, so we were able to get it all in one move.

As Toya was driving back I raised my gaze to meet Tenko's, "Won't Toya get into trouble for what he did to Kai?"

"Nuh-uh, his dad’s Enji Todoroki. He'll even get away with murder," a hoarse chuckle rumbled through his chest.

"The Enji Todoroki?" I stared in disbelief.

"Yeah, wait-" his eyebrows raised, "You didn't know?"

"Why would I, he never said a thing."

"Dummy," Tenko chuckled, stubbed my nose and I screwed up my face in mock disapproval.

That night, I slept really well. Toya let me have his bed and he took the couch. It felt so comforting, the smell of him in the sheets surrounding me, the knowledge of being safe with both of them.

The week started and I went to classes as usual. During the lecture, I spotted Kai sitting at the opposite end of the hall. Even from this far away I could make out his black eye as well as several cuts on his face. He looked miserable. Served him right, I thought.

It was the first week living with both men. Toya had been sleeping on the couch while I had access to his room. It was dark outside, soft music filled the air as we lounged on the couch, eating the food I had cooked.

When we finished clearing away the dishes we sat down again and Toya handed each one a glass of whiskey.

Watching some gory horror flick that Tenko had chosen, sipping on our drinks, I turned towards him, "Tenko, this is gross! Can't we watch something else?"

“That dude’s gross, what do you expect?” Toya chuckled and earned himself a punch in the shoulder from his friend.

I rolled my eyes, being stuck in between them, and sighed, throwing my back against the couch, “Can't you two self-proclaimed God's come up with something else to annoy me with?”

Both men went silent as they locked gazes, a smirk starting to form on their faces.

Tenko leaned in, purring into my ear “I could think of something-” as I felt his hand slowly descend on my leg. Toya's started rubbing slow circles into my other thigh.

“Guys-?” I glanced at them, both grinning boyishly, “Are you serious?”

"Tenko, how serious are we?” Toya looked up and I gasped for air, each roll of their hands had them move up a bit further. The double stimulation had my mind somersault, my heartbeat increase, as a familiar heat started to kindle between my legs.

“We are more than serious,” Tenko's lips grazed my ear, making my whole brain short circuit as I sucked in a quick little breath.

Toya snaked his arm behind my neck as he inched closer, breathing into my ear, " Question is, are you serious?"

He tilted his head, his mesmerizing blue eyes burned with unbridled desire as he angled his mouth above mine. I could feel the heat radiating off him and our lips met with surprising gentleness. He was soft, warm, and oh my God he was a good kisser. It was like electricity zipping through my body, making me gasp into his kiss. Every hair of my body stood up, goosebumps erupting all over my skin. Closing my eyes I moaned into the kiss, and he let out a low rumbling sound from his chest. His tongue grazed mine, twirling around, exploring the insides of my mouth. I tangled my fingers into his hair, tugging on it to pull him closer.

I was floating on air, tingles shooting from my head to my toes and all I could think about was wanting him - all the way. The kiss became rougher, blooming lust had his teeth clacking against mine. He squeezed my thigh as he tangled his tongue with mine once more until he eventually pulled back.

He dipped in one last time to bite my bottom lip and my squeal had him chuckle lowly. A faint smile crept across his face, making him look so perfect. I stared at him, our breaths hot on each other’s wet lips, the heat of his hands on my body, the way his eyes, half-lidded, pupils lust-blown, looked at me, made me slowly lose my mind.

As I heard a rustle next to me I slowly turned my head towards Tenko and there was no hesitation from his side. The moment our eyes met he crashed his lips on mine with an urgency unsurpassed. His hot firm lips pressed tightly against mine, his tongue slid in and kept swirling around my mouth, while he cupped my cheek with one of his warm palms. Butterflies exploded in my stomach and I melted right into him, intensifying our kiss as he pressed me back into the couch.

Our interaction grew more passionate, longing until my lips were rubbed raw and swollen. He sank against my body and I slowly slid my hands under his shirt, feeling his hot skin, having him groan into my mouth. Tenko pulled away, his mouth parted, pupils blown so wide I could barely see the vibrant crimson red of his irises.

Suddenly I felt being hoisted up as Toya threw me over his shoulder and stood up.

“What the fuck, Toya!” I yelled, futilely hitting his back, while he kept walking. "Let me-”

"No can do,'' he chuckled, a smug grin on his face as he slapped my butt.

“You're such an imbecile,” I winced as we entered his bedroom.

“Just for you, doll," He chuckled and turned around, yelling at Tenko “You coming or what?”

While Tenko strolled over, Toya threw me on the bed and lunged right on top of me. His hands were all over me while we exchanged open-mouthed kisses.

Tenko kneeled next to me, stroking my breasts through my shirt.

"You taste so good,'' Toya breathed into my mouth, "I want you so badly." He groaned unabashedly, as I caught his tongue with my lips and started sucking on it, running up and down its length until I released it and he pulled back, a string of silvery saliva connecting us.

Leaning back, he slowly pulled down my pants and underwear and I inhaled sharply at the feeling of cold air hitting my heated core.

I sat up, Tenko behind me, kissing my neck, slipping his hand under my shirt, snapping open the latch of my bra. Trailing his hands to my breasts, his fingertips caught my nipples, rolling them lightly between two fingers. As the nubs puckered and stiffened, he moved on to softly circling my breasts.

Toya kept kissing me, cupping my face with one hand, the other trailed down to the hem of my shirt, pulling it up. I helped them get it off and Tenko slipped the drooping bra off my chest.

“You're beautiful,“ Toya murmured, cupping my breast, running his thumb over my sensitive nub, giving it a little squeeze.

He stood up and pulled his shirt off, revealing his well-sculpted abs. Reaching down and unbuckling his belt, he pulled down his pants and underwear with one swift move. Tenko followed his lead, dropping the clothes carelessly onto the floor next to the bed. A soft gasp escaped my lips at the sight of their cocks, both beautiful, girthy, and long. They twitched with excitement, precum glistening on their tops. I had to swallow down the hot drool flooding my mouth and my core started contracting achingly in anticipation of what was about to follow.

Toya gently helped me on my back, my hair framing my face nestled into the pillow. Each man grabbed one wrist and pinned it above my head. They locked gazes with me as they lowered their heads, slowly descending on my breasts.

I couldn't help but mewl below them, an unfamiliar feeling arising in me, not being used to such double attention. Their tongues darted out, the flat sliding over my skin, drawing little soft whimpers from me. Toya took my hardened nipple into his warm mouth, latching around it, sucking it, flicking it with the tip of his tongue. Tenko kept mouthing my breast, releasing it with a plop before latching around it again.

When Tenko bit down on my nipple, my mouth fell open, as a heated moan shot up my throat and my eyes rolled back with pleasure. Toya chucked sinfully at my response. They kept kneading my breast, pinching my nipples, letting off throaty grunts as they kept biting, sucking and nibbling on my mounds, setting off fireworks throughout my body.

I arched my back, mewling as they kept sucking relentlessly, building up an unknown heat each time their tongues circled my erect nubs.

Tenko’s hand trailed down my belly between my thighs and he dragged a long finger along my aching slit.

"You’re soaked," he chuckled and bit on my nipple, pulling it up and releasing it with a plop.

“God—” I moaned, a spark shooting down to my core in response. He circled at my entrance, slipping through my slick, sinking inside. A low groan escaped his lips when he felt my wetness drip down past his finger.

Toya’s hand joined his, grazing my clit with every pass. His ringed fingers traced a wicked swirl around my sensitive nub and my legs started to shake.

“Oh fuck,” all inhibitions disappeared as his fingers kept running along my clit and Tenko's slowly pumping in and out of me.

I keened when he inserted a third finger, curling them up to graze that special spongy spot inside. He started fucking his fingers into me in earnest now, as I cried out and tried not to cum right in that moment.

The double sensation of Tenko hitting that special pot, Toya stimulating my sensitive nub soon had me hurling towards my climax, a white heat starting to build inside me.

Toya–, T-Tenko–" I whined.

“Cum for us.” Toya nipped at my lips, kissing me sweetly, sensually and something inside of me snapped.

An earthquake-like tremor ran through my body and Toya groaned low and deep, pressing his mouth against mine, tasting my lust, my desperation as I came undone beneath them. Their hands kept pressing my arms up, gently holding them in place as a loud keen erupting from within, my vision blurring. Tenko let out a choked groan at the way my folds contracted around his fingers with each contraction of my climax. They gently helped me through my high, still moving their fingers, slowly decreasing the pace.

My legs were still shaking and I was panting by the time they stopped, small beads of sweat on my forehead. Toya let go of my hand and stroked some sweaty hair off my forehead, placing gentle kisses along the corner of my lips.

They pulled back, a smug grin stretching across their faces, seeing me fully delirious below them.

Tenko pulled out and held his fingers - covered in my release - up to Toya who took them in his mouth and started sucking them off.

"Oh fuck–" I mumbled, my lust-blown eyes staring at the scene before me, the sight of him sucking off his friends' fingers.

"Taste so sweet," Toya mumbled, licking and sucking each one off individually, smirking at Tenko.

As I tried to catch my breath, Tenko laid down on the sheets in the middle of the bed, head propped up against the headboard.

He lazily started stroking his dick, picking up the precum with his palm, smearing it along his length. His cock was impressive, thick and girthy, the swollen head pink and flushed. I was wondering if I could take him at all but then again–

I looked between both guys and asked "So, how are we going to do this? Who wants first?"

Toya laughed low and cocked his head, seductive eyes half-lidded, as he cooed "We thought more about going at the same time."

My eyes widened as I realized what he just said.

"Oh–" I swallowed, looking at Tenkos throbbing cock "Not sure if this one will fit in the back though–"

Toya closed in on me and cupped my face, "I'll go then," and sensually kissed me on my lips. I stared at his impressive cock, also thick but longer, with prominent veins running along its length and a pretty pink tip, "Not sure," I wiggled a finger in its direction, "if that makes a big difference, to be honest."

Toya looked at me over his shoulder and chuckled, "I'll be careful, doll." And retrieved some lube from his nightstand, "Something he..." he nudged his head towards Tenko, "...can't be."

"Fuck off," Tenko tried kicking him with his foot, but Toya dodged skillfully.

Tenko growled, red eyes gleaming, but then relaxed when he turned towards me, "C'mon over here, babe" and I slowly moved towards him, taking him in hungrily, desperately.

We met in a passionate kiss, while he pulled me to hover over his body. His hands grasped my waist and positioned me above his cock. I braced myself on his shoulders and slowly started to sink down on his tip. A sharp pain tore through my core and I whined against him, feeling him splitting me open.

"S'not gonna fit,'' I pressed out, biting my lips to suppress a wail, relaxing as I tried to open up for him. As Tenko gave a short rut of his hips, sinking even further inside, Toya cussed at the sight of me taking him in. He stroke his hard cock slowly, spreading the lube all over it. With yet another rut of Tenko's hips, he was fully inserted and a deep loud wail escaped my lips as I collapsed against him.

"Told ya he can't be careful," Toya snickered and Tenko pierced him with angry eyes, his lips silently forming the words shut up.

I had gone lax, trying to get used to the exquisite yet painful stretch, feeling his cock twitch inside me with excitement.

"Now, my turn," Toya said and I felt his warm fingers against my puckered hole. My nails dug into Tenkos shoulders as he began to circle his digits around the entrance.

“Fuck, so tight–“ Toya hissed as he dipped his finger inside me to the first knuckle, feeling me squeeze around him as Tenko trailed my neck with kisses, his cock still unruly inside of me. He bit down on my skin to try and distract me from the stretch, stroking my back with his palm, whispering reassuring words into my ear.

Toya slid another lube-covered finger inside me, having me whimper at the stretch, slowly sliding in and out until the resistance started to decrease. I pressed my head into Tenkos neck, as he mumbled doing good and so proud of you babe.

“Are you ready to take both of us, doll?” Toya whispered against my neck.

“Nghhh–” I winced as I braced myself, trying to steady my breathing as I waited for him to line himself up. I felt his hot tip stroke my entrance and then he began to press forward to breach my tightness, Tenko trying to relax my body while he pressed further, inch by inch.

"Oh my god," I choked out.

"I'll go slow, doll," he groaned, unsure of his ability to keep that promise with the way my walls were pulsing around him.

I buried my face deeper into Tenkos neck, a low moan threatening to spill past my parted lips as I grit my teeth together.

“I know you can take it, you’re such a good girl,” he cooed in my ear as I felt Toya push his girth deeper inside me.

"Just a bit- ahh - almost there" Toya huffed and with a final rut, bottomed out inside me as he rested his head against my shoulder to try and calm his own body down. I felt so full, I could hardly breathe. My core started to contract and Toya hissed, feeling my tight walls gripping his cock.

“You okay, babe?” Tenko whispered, pressing a tender kiss against my head as he held me against his chest. I gave the slightest hint of a nod and as if they had waited for it they both started to give slow, shallow thrusts.

“Such a good doll,” Toya growled, slowly easing himself in and out of my tight hole. After a while, I felt myself relax but still whimpered as both men began to pick up the pace, neither of them clinging to a rhythm.

I felt completely delirious, it was like being drunk on the feeling of both men stuffing me as they continued to slam themselves into my holes. With each of Tenko's thrusts, his tip grazed that special spot, hurling me toward another unprecedented high, intensified by Toya's cock rutting in and out of me from behind.

Toya gritted his teeth as he dug his nails into the skin of my hips and I whimpered at the slightly painful sensation as he picked up the pace. An unknown feeling continued to kindle in my body, as Tenko also started frantically slamming his hips into me. Heated moans and groans spilled uncontrollably from our mouths by now, their sounds filling the room, as we all neared our highs together.

Looking down at Tenko I got lost in the sight of his crimson eyes, the way his hair stuck to his forehead, damp with sweat, lips slightly parted. He moved his fingers down to brush against my clit, jolts of electricity sparking through my body as I shook from my impending climax.

“I’m gonna cum–” I couldn’t control my body at this point, the sensation becoming overwhelming as I felt myself clench around both men’s cocks.

“Holy shit–” Tenko let out a low rasp as I arched my back and felt my release wash over me, my core convulsing with a force unbeknown. My eyes rolled back in my head, my mouth opened in a silent scream, only gargled moans erupting from it. My body became slack and I dropped on Tenko’s chest, as the sensation of pressure releasing throbbed between my legs and I felt myself come undone. A clear stream began to seep from my folds all over Tenkos pelvis and abdomen, as he continued rutting his hips with sloshing sounds into me. He let out a rasped "Shit–" as his eyes went wide while both men continued to fuck my quivering body.

Aftershocks continued to travel through my body, the sensation of me clenching around both men had them hurl over the edge.

They both let out a choked groan as they bottomed inside me, coming deep inside my quivering walls, shooting hot, thick ropes of cum into me. After a few more ruts they stuttered to a halt, holding me tight, peppering my neck and shoulders with soft kisses.

I felt both of them slowly going soft inside me, as Tenko smoothed my hair out of my sweaty face, brushing his fingertips along the line of my jaw.

“You have no idea how long we've been waiting to do this,” he panted, cupping my face. Toya pulled out and rolled off to the side, while Tenko tugged me into his arm, resting my head on his warm chest.

After we caught our breaths, he turned his head lazily, pupils still lust blown, "So, Toya, what do you think– is she?"

Toya clicked his tongue and sat up, “You even ask?!” and let out a breathless chuckle.

He leaned forward and over me, giving me a long and deep kiss, his tongue rolling around mine, giving my lower lip a teasing bite as he pulled back, “Doll, you've been officially initiated.”

“I've been what?!” I freed myself of Tenko’s embrace, propping myself up on my elbows, blinking confusedly.

Raking his cerulean eyes over my body, over my face, lingering on my mouth before meeting my gaze once more, he purred ”Yeah, It's a ritual. Everyone living here went through it.”

“What we just did? But- there's only you two living here,“ I frowned.

“That's indeed true,” Toya cocked his head, a smug grin on his face, while Tenko crossed his arm behind his head, a little rosy flush appearing on his cheeks.

And then it hit me. “Oh- oohh…!“ My eyes went wide like saucers as they darted between Tenko and Toya.

"No way," I made a punch-out sound.

Toya chuckled as I jabbed a finger in his chest, "That's admittedly the hottest thing I've ever heard." I giggled, my raw cunt starting to throb at the thought of it, "Next time I'm in, ok?" I pursed my lips in a mock pout.

"For sure," His lips met mine again, "Cause you're ours now, doll.”

“Yeah– ours,” Tenko mumbled lazily as he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me down onto him despite my protests. Toya turned to the side, hitting the switch on the night lamp and darkness engulfed us. The light of the moon shone in through the windows, bedding us in its dim light. Tenko rolled over on his side, and I wrapped my arms around him, pulling up the sheets over us, burying my face into his back, breathing in his scent. Toya's hand found my hair, his face nestled into it, inhaling me, my warmth, as he wrapped his arms around my chest and entangled his legs with mine.

I felt warm, comforted, at home. It didn't take long for our breathing to relax and our heartbeat to become one, smooth and regular. Growing sluggish, sleep finally took mercy on us as we remained in each other’s arms until the next morning.

________________________________

[clementinesjourney]

Record Shop Funk - Pt. 1 Like real people do

A.N. : Hey guys, so i had this idea yesterday, and i really hope you'll like it. <3

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.

Words: 1,9k

Pairing: camboy!Steve x Reader, roommate!Bucky x reader, Stucky x reader (as the story goes)

Warnings: nothing yet :)

Summary: Who knew that having a secret crush, then a hearbreak will end in such a sweet thing..

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You and Bucky shared an apartment above the recordshop you both worked in. Your aunt was the owner of both, so it was a fairly good payment, and a fairly good apartment for a cheap price. It was a bright and big apartment with two bedrooms, so your decided to rent it out, all while searching for a helper to the shop downstairs. When Bucky came in applying for the job, you asked out of joke if he needs a place to live since you had seen around 5 people already and none of them felt right. His eyes lit up as he said he is in fact looking for a place. Since he was fitting for a job, and looked like a decent guy, you congratulated him on his new job, and asked if he wants to see the place today. You still had one and a half hour to close, but after it you would gladly show him the apartment.

He had nothing better to do, so he agreed to it, feeling happy about having a job he might actually like and a coworker he might actually will get along with.

-Do you drink coffee? I was thinking of getting one in the meantime. My friend works close by, and they make the best coffee in town. - He asked.

-I could go for one thank you - you smiled at him - iced cold-brew, no sugar, i'm sweet enough.. - you said with a smile.

He couldn't help but smile back at the joke. When he arrived at the café, he saw his friend Steve flirting with a girl whom he could visibly see trembling just cause he talked to her. Steve always had his way with girls, ever since the serum of course. After he broke up with Peggy, it was mostly just hookups, never finding a girl worth keeping around. Not as if they werent kind, pretty or good to him, it just never felt right. Bucky smiled at his friend, Steve immediately shifted his gaze from the girl, to a very happy Bucky.

-Did you get the job?

-Better.. I got the job, and she has a room for rent which i'll see tonight.

-Wow Bucky, i didn't know you were even better then i am.. sooo how does she look? - asked Steve with a slight wiggle of his eyebrows. He wanted Bucky to get a girl since ages and hearing this, his mind immediately ventured there.

-5'7, ginger, green eyes, freckles, curvy just the right places. why?

-Nothing Buck.. nothing.. - Steve said smirking at his friend.. Bucky never realized when he liked a girl, so he never really acted on it. He last had a woman back in the 40's.

-Sooo i know you didn't come to have chat with me, one black coffee and.. ?

-ah, iced cold-brew, no sugar..

After paying for the coffee, he hurried back to the shop, hoping to get to know his coworker a little bit better.

You thanked him for the coffee, and when you tried to pay, he refused.

-Next round's mine then. - You smiled at him with your 1000 watt smile, which again he couldn't help but smile back at.

-So tell me about you Bucky, what do you do in your freetime?

-Nothing really, just reading, spending time with my friends, kind of thats it.. I have a boring life really. What about you?

-Well, i work here, then i go home and listen to music, cook, god i love to cook, thats a big pro for the apartment.. just saying. - you said with a playful wink. - besides that nothing much. Sometimes i go to a nearby bar with my friends maybe concerts and thats it.

-I like washing dishes if that helps with the application for the room. - he said with a shy laugh which made your heart skip a beat.

- It sure does.. Do you leave your stuff around?

-No i'm a tidy person.. thank you very much. - he said cockily (just for the sake of being funny really).

-Okay okay, if you like it you can have the room, just promise to tell if you bring up a girl so i can leave. The walls are kind of thin.

-It's okay, i don't really...

-Oh um i'm sorry, i didn't meant to intrude, it just something i would really like everyone to add to their rental contracts. - you chuckled embarassed.

-Noo no, it's okay, i'm not embarassed by it. I guess i don't want hook ups, if one day there's someone i'll tell in advance.

-yea me too, i promise. If you end up renting it anyway haha. on that note it's time to close so i can show the room in a min.

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When you opened the door to the apartment Buckyquietly took in it all. It was really bright, white walls with paintings all over the walls, plants in every corner or shelf you can put one on, a comfy looking mustard couch, aztec-y rug under the coffeetable, and a wall fully shelved, filled with books and little trinkets, it looked like a home he never had a chance to have. The livingroom had an american kitchen on the side, island in the middle of the kitchen area, it was white, and blue which reminded him of greece, down the hallway you showed him the bathroom which of course had a lot of plants that liked the atmosphere of a bathroom, a shower in the corner and a bathtub under the window. You then showed the empty room he could rent out. It only had a shelf and a wardrobe, and a queen sized bed. No decorations, no signs of anybody ever living there. You then pointed to the room the opposit of what could possibly be Bucky's in the future, saying that is yours. You didn't show your room, he wasn't gonna go in there anyway, and showing your most private space on the first day didn't seem like a good idea either. You then invited him out to the balcony, watching the setting sun, smoking a cigarette.

-So thats about it, what do you think?

-I really like it, and i mean.. my workplace is pretty close so thats a plus, also you said something about cooking all the time.. sooo if it's alright with you i would love to rent it out.

-It's settled then roomie. I'll give you the keys, you can move in whenever you want to. Tomorrow we are closed, so maybe that would be ideal.

-Yea, then tomorrow it is then. I'll ask my friend to help, then we can maybe hang a bit if you're free.

-Sure, i have nothing planned, and it's good to know who i'll be living with. - you said with a smile.

Before closing the door, you said your goodbyes, and you realized what did you just do, after he wished you good night with a killer halfsmile that almost had your knees buckle. You just agreed to living together with possibly the most handsome man you've ever seen who is also your new coworker, so you will basically spend most of your time with him.. Guess we'll see how this goes you thought to yourself.

Morning came soon enough, you were sitting out on the balcony when you saw Bucky arrive with a very tall, just as handsome man, carrying boxes of books, and bags of clothing. Bucky looked up at the balcony, waving towards you, you waved back, then moved to open the front door before going back out to the balcony, resuming your coffee and smoke.

When they finished bringing all Bucky's stuff in, it was already midday, so you decided you'd order pizza for all of you, as in like a welcome present.

-Hey guys, i'm thinking of ordering pizza, what kind would you like?

-Oh (y/n) you don't have to. - said Bucky, earning a smirk from Steve as he looked back and forth between you two.

- Noo i insist, today won't be the day i'll start to slowly kill you with my cooking. - you said giggling a bit.

- Whatever's fine peach. - said Steve with a wink, that you decided was just out of friendlyness. You didn't veen knew his name, and he seemed like a lady's man anyways. Not really your type no matter how handsome and muscular he is.

- Steve, by the way, nice to meet you.

-(Y/n), likewise. - you shook his hand.

When the pizzas arrived you called them to the kitchen, listening to all their shared stories from their early years. They seemed like really close friends, and genuinely good people. You had a really great time. It was nearly 9 pm when Steve left, for saving a dame from dying cause of boredom he said. You and Bucky chuckled, then he let him out, closing the door, locking it for the night.

-I guess i have some packing to do, so.. good night (y/n).

-Good night Bucky, if you need anything just knock. - you said with a smile, and he couldn't help but smile back. He felt at peace. He had Steve, now he had a job, and a room to make a home of, and you as a new addition. You were so kind, so eager to help if he needed anything, he loved how the scent of raspberries and flowers lingered in the apartment mixed with coffee and cigarette smoke. It seemed to have a calming effect on him.

You heard a soft knock half an hour later. WHen you opened the door you saw a smiling Bucky, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

- Hey, um.. sorry. I forgot i didn't bring a blanket, could i borrow one until i get my own?

-Yea sure, i'll get one in a min. - You said, leaving the door open, letting him see a bit of "you" while you were searching for your spare blanket in your wardrobe. The room really was you. White, with mustardy curtains on the window, plants everywhere, books piled up here and there, a really comfy looking bed, pictures of you and your friends on the walls. And damn, your room smelled even more like you. If he wouldn't pay attention your scent would lure him into your room and never let him leave he thought.

-There you go. - you handed him the blanket smiling.

-Thank you very much.

Then he stood there for a moment drinking in the sight of you in front of him. You were wearing an oversized tshirt, that ended just around the middle of your thighs, hair in a messy bun, no makeup. He could swear he thought you were pretty before, but seeing you as you were made him fancy you even more.

With a small smile you told him goodnight again, then closed the door in his face.

You could hear his little laugh on the other side of the door, then his door closing. For the first time in months he didn't wake up in the middle of the night, and he didn't had a nightmare either. He was afraid he would, and then he would wake you up with his screaming, but looks like the blanket which smelled just like you calmed him enough.

After waking up because the rays of sunshine on his face, he smiled to himself guess i'll wait with getting my own blanket then...

[gryffindors-weasley]

Midnight Dances

Benedict Bridgerton x Fem!Reader

Summary: Upon your first week settling into your estate as a newlywed couple, you share a moment alone.

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: brief mention of alcohol, fluff, kissing

(aesthetic made by the lovely @heloisedaphnebrightmore )

It has been three days since your arrival at your new estate across England, and still, you have yet to see the entirety of its beauty. It was extraordinarily perfect in every way one could imagine, and impossibly grand for two newlyweds who spent most of their time in each other’s presence. In just three days time, you felt as though maybe you’d only seen just half of your newfound home, and you were determined to change that.

You huff out a quiet sigh as you stare up at the ceiling once more, not a single bit of fatigue as you lay awake. The same could not be said about Benedict as he lay tangled with you, soft snores puffing into your skin lightly. Nothing could get you to sleep; not the warmth of his skin on yours, not the late hour of the night, not the breeze seeping in through the open window, bringing with it the scent of flowers and fresh air. Any and all efforts to be swept into a blissful sleep were rapidly proving to be futile as the minutes passed.

With an exasperated sigh, you untangle yourself from him as carefully as you can manage, a smile gracing your lips as you watch his face nuzzle into the pillow. You slip on your night robe with a fond shake of your head, tying it closed before heading towards the door. You offer one last glance at your lover, at the grand details of your bedroom and the way the curtains fluttered under the breeze blowing against them. You slip out of the room and pull the door closed quietly, making your leave down the hall.

Your footsteps go unheard on the navy colored rug, not a single tassel out of place as they lined the entirety of the hall. Warm lighting illuminated the space in a dim glow, just enough to navigate but not enough to wake those trying to sleep. You were quite sure everyone in the vicinity had been asleep, everyone in the town even, everyone except for you.

The windows you pass by overlooked the gardens, perhaps the most brilliant and extravagant you’ve had the pleasure of seeing. It was hard to believe that it was yours. Finely manicured bushes were assembled in a meticulous pattern, almost maze like. And there were as many flowers as one could possibly imagine and then some, each different in color and type, each just as beautiful as the last. The blossoming trees were what had enchanted you the most, with the way their petals rain down in a flurry of pale pinks with just the slightest gust of wind.

You descended the marble staircase, your hand sliding down the smooth and cool stone railing as you made your way down the curving steps. It felt impossible to look at any one thing at a time, for everything was too glamorous and too wondrous to do so. Even down to the candles melted at varying heights as they sit in their rightful candelabras, ready to be lit again.

Shortly you arrive at the first landing, the familiar skylight coming into view as you continue walking down the stairs. The arched glass structure tucked amongst the lavish detailings on the ceiling lit up the first floor with a natural glow, the stars glimmering just beyond it. You found you liked it better at night than in the light of day.

You pass through familiar halls, ones you’ve frequented most often since arriving there but a few days ago. You passed familiar rooms such as the library, too grand and full of books for your own excited good. You passed the kitchen, still smelling of honey and cinnamon from that night’s dessert. It was the kind of scent that carried with it warmth and the feeling of being truly at home, regardless of the fact that this estate was still very new to you and most likely would be for a little while as you adjust.

With what seemed like a daunting amount of wandering through gorgeous hallways, each just as vacant as the last, you finally reach unfamiliar territory. Maybe you’d already been there, things tended to look quite similar when you were lost. The sound of ticking clocks had been apparent just about anywhere you’d been and anywhere you will go, as was the consistent artwork adorning every other wall in small glimpses of other worlds in depictions of nature. The only noticeable difference was the navy rugs had since changed to a soft lilac, fluffy golden tassels lining the perimeter.

With a few more steps, your brow raises at the sight of the unfamiliar double doors standing tall before you, adorned with intricately carved woodwork as gold sparkled on its surface. You have yet to see what was on the other side at all, and now you were taking full advantage of the opportunity to with your newfound time.

Upon pushing open the doors, you’re met with a sight so grand and enthralling you hadn’t quite expected to be presented with such beauty. Perhaps the most wondrous ballroom was contained within your very own home. It’s cream-colored walls were lined with carved framework at every edge and every corner, a metallic bronze detailing every curve and bit of linework lacing along its perimeters. Several paintings lined them, each encased in a carved and complex frame to house each nature scene captured within them. The far end of the large room held rather tall windows, nearly floor to ceiling, the very tops arched with a matching set of mirrors to adorn the walls between the glass structures. Not a single smudge was to be found.

Ruffles of silky cream curtains frame each window, pooling on the polished wood floors. Through those very windows, the moonlight had been streaming in so brightly it illuminated the room much like any candelabra could. It’s moonbeams reflected off the several chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, the myriad of crystals that dangle from each one casting little flecks of light on the floor and over your skin. The ceilings were made up of several sunken ovals, the same bronze detailing encircling each one. The murals inside had made you feel as though you were standing underneath the sky itself, and it was so meticulously painted you hadn’t known how many hours it must have taken. Surely far too many to wrap your head around. The ceiling in its entirety was so impossibly detailed and intricate you could give yourself a headache thinking of the effort put into creating it. It was delightfully busy.

Your eyes fall on a grand piano sat in the corner next, sleek and pristine with its ivory keys on display and waiting to be played. And the silky upholstered seats spaced out throughout the room. It was spacious, so vast you felt as though it could house all of England if they’d been invited. Though selfishly, a part of you wanted to keep this all to yourself.

“So, this is where you’ve run off to?”

You spin on your heel, a smile pulling at your lips once you see Benedict standing in the doorway. His arms crossed over his chest, the buttons of his shirt only half done and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows in a haphazard attempt to look decent as he roamed the halls in search of you. His hair was a mess, however, dipping over his forehead as the corner of his mouth quirked up in a lopsided grin. A grin that never fails to uncage butterflies in your stomach. You were unaware of just how long you’d been gone.

You smile, twirling once in the grand room as your nightdress flutters at the action. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“I quite like it,” he says with a shrug, pushing himself off the doorframe to make his way over to you. “Though I do believe that some things in this room are far more beautiful than others.”

You turn to face him fully, a blush staining your cheeks that had fortunately gone unseen in the lighting. His smile widened as he raised a brow at you, a laugh falling past his lips when you rolled your eyes.

“What? I was referring to the chandeliers, of course,” He quips with mischief, his eyes crinkling with his grin as you swat at his arm lightly. Your attempts to evade his grasp were futile as he grabs your hand, turning you to face him again as his lips press to your cheek. “I am only kidding, my love.”

“You really are terrible sometimes, you know that, don’t you?” You ask, a lightness in your tone as he drops a kiss to your neck.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” He says, his hands squeezing your own. “Though I suppose it’s better than being terrible all the time, is it not?”

You roll your eyes once more as you turn away from him in an effort to conceal your smile at his antics, walking over to one of the large windows. Just outside was a different angle of the garden, a view aiming straight down a long pathway of perfectly imperfect trees. Fluffy hydrangeas appeared just under the stone window ledges in varying hues of pinks and purples, vines climbing up the far wall of the building.

It hadn’t been long before you felt his arms snake around you, his chin resting on your shoulder.

“We must take a walk through the garden tomorrow,” you state, your heart fluttering at the feeling of his lips on the exposed skin of your shoulder. You could barely remember what you had planned to say next, until you’d forgotten altogether. “Are you listening?”

“Certainly, we must,” he responds with a soft laugh, pressing his lips to your cheek again. “And should it rain?”

“Then we shall take an umbrella,” you say as if your answer was entirely obvious as you slip from his arms with a delighted grin and a tap of your finger to his nose. You left him to look after you with parted lips and a shake of his head. He was awestruck to say the very least.

You wander about the room again with a bounce in your step, running the tips of your fingers along the soft curtains. Upon closer inspection, you discover the detailed linework you had seen moments before were in fact sculpted and carved vines and flowers spidering up the walls. Such a beauty nearly made you swoon at the very sight of it. Everything just kept getting better and better the more you gazed at it.

“What could be the need of a ballroom this grand?” You ask with a laugh, your eyes falling on Benedict.

“Perhaps to dance in,” he says with a shrug, an amusement in his features. You huff out a sigh though you can’t seem to fight your smile this time.

“You know what I meant. Of course it is made for dancing. ”

“Would you be so kind as to have this dance with me, then?” He asks, a teasing tone still weaving around his words as he offers you his hand.

“If I must,” you huff lightheartedly.

His nose scrunches at your counter and he promptly pulls you close, eliciting a squeal to echo into the room at the sudden action. His hand envelopes your own and his arm encircles your waist in the rightful position of a slow dance. Though this time, it was much less formal with the absence of watchful eyes and the need to execute every move with a flawless ease. For you were quite sure bare feet and slippers, night robes and half-tucked in, half-unbuttoned dress shirts were not of appropriate attire for such things.

No music was needed to find your own rhythm, no music was ever needed when the two of you were in your own world.

“I apologize…for waking you,” you say after a few moments, meeting his gaze once more.

“I was barely asleep, not with all your tossing and turning,” He says as you sway.

“Your snoring tells me otherwise.”

A look of faux surprise and offense crosses his face as he twirls you, wrapping his arm around you once more, “I do no such thing!”

An incredulous scoff leaves your lips as he tugs you close, your brows knit together and he continues to act as though he had entirely no idea what you had been talking about.

“I suppose I’m just hearing things then,” you state, far from being earnest as he nods along, “Perhaps it may have even been me.”

“Perhaps it might’ve,” he repeats in playful agreement, halting your frown from deepening as his lips press to yours in what surely would not be the last of many kisses that evening.

You sigh softly as your lighthearted bickering falls silent in favor of enjoying each other’s presence, enjoying the very fact that this was your home. This was your life now and you couldn’t think of anything better than that. He was ever so tender when he kissed you, when his fingers grazed up your side each time you fell out of rhythm. He claims it was just to hear you laugh, and rightfully so, but it was also in a playful payback for your sleepy dancing skills or lack thereof.

He was patient regardless, for the technicalities of the dance were not of much importance, they never were. Not even in a formal setting did he care if it was done perfectly. He cared about the fact that the most wonderful person in the world had been in his arms, and he loved you for all that you are and all that you will be. He hadn’t even needed a fancy ballroom to want to dance with you, hadn’t needed a large estate to be happy with you. He was perfectly content dancing with you in the field of flowers he’d spotted just two days before, and he made a mental note to take you there the following day.

For a while it was silent between the two of you, save for the occasional giggle when his fingers brushed over your skin. Or the patter of your slippers on the hardwood floors. Or his boisterous laughter he cannot contain when your lips ghost over that very sensitive spot just under his jaw, the fading scent of his cologne still lingering on his skin.

He twirls you before drawing you back into his arms, not without you stumbling into him, of course. It was as if your own two feet had been out to get you, and the undeniable grin on his face was telling enough that he’d been up to no good. Not after that.

“Remember that one dinner with my family?” You sigh in mild exasperation as you groan and look away from him at his words, fighting your smile nonetheless. “You had been so nervous you’d sent a spoonful of peas all over the floor. And—if I recall correctly, you proceeded to knock your wine onto my lap.”

“Am I to assume that you shall never let me live that down, Benedict?” You ask with a squint, your arms wrapping around his neck.

“Yes, you would assume correctly, Y/n.”

“It is only your fault, you have a dreadful habit of making me flustered after all,” you defend with furrowed brows and pursed lips.

“I very well see that,” he says, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a smirk.

You bite the inside of your cheek to stave off your grin, he did not deserve that satisfaction. Instead, you lean on your toes and press your lips on his, effectively kissing away the teasing smile he once had in favor of basking in the feeling of the warmth of your lips brushing over his own. In the feeling of your fingers tangling in the hair at the nape of his neck once more. His arms tighten their hold around you out of instinct, a soft hum escaping him.

“Perhaps I should bring it up more often if this is how you choose to quiet me,” he suggests against you, stealing another kiss.

“Or perhaps you shouldn’t.”

You pull away from him much to his dismay, and he finds himself chasing your lips for more. You laugh softly, your hand settling on his cheek as his once teasing smirk turns to that of a fond smile. The crystal reflections of the chandeliers above glimmer down over you, the moonlight illuminating the loving gaze that had been focused on you and only you. He couldn’t help but to capture your lips once more, for now that he had the opportunity to do so just as much as so he pleases he finds he can’t get enough.

Your hand falls from his face as your giggle brushes against his lips, his embrace sending you stumbling back a step or two.

“We’re supposed to be dancing, are we not?” You ask, breaking from his hold and spinning away from him, leaving him to smile after you in a lovestruck daze as you twirl in the glow moonlight.

He stood back to watch you for a moment, the way you seemed to beam more beautifully than any natural wonder ever could. The way you captured his attention far more than the lavish ballroom you currently resided in. Of all the luxuries he’s seen, of all the dashing estates and elegantly decorated soirée’s he’s been in attendance of in his life, there could be no greater beauty than you. There could be nothing in the world that is more enamoring, more effortlessly alluring.

He never knew the profound effects of love until it came along and grabbed hold of his heart, the feeling lancing through him with a wholehearted certainty that it was real and it was all-consuming. He knew love, of course. The Bridgerton family was large and filled with an unwavering warmth and welcoming one could surely wish for. He knew unconditional familial love amongst numerous siblings no matter the bickering that was bound to take place, serious or not. But this—this was different.

This kind of love was wonderfully and delightfully dizzying as it crashed down upon him in waves, immeasurably intoxicating with every fleeting moment that passed him by.

“Are you going to stare at me for the entirety of the night?”

Your teasing voice had stolen his attention once more, his attention that had been so distracted focused on you. It was then that he grabbed you by the waist and lifted you off your feet, suddenly spinning with you in playful retaliation for noting his gawking and telling him all about such a thing. Your laughter rang out into the glorious space while his lips pressed a flurry of kisses up your neck, your hands settling on his shoulders as his breath danced across your flushed skin.

To marry your best friend, whom you truly love endlessly is but a wonder indeed, a fate many dream of but very few experience. It is a feeling most incomparable to all else.

He set you back on your feet but his kisses never cease, his lips brushing along the underside of your jaw with his laughter left to linger against your skin. They travel upwards to press tenderly across your blush stained cheeks, to the very tip of your nose, and perhaps most giddily and passionately to your already kiss swollen lips.

He doesn’t know how he manages to stop; perhaps it’s your constant yet soft laughter breaking the two of you apart, or perhaps it’s his desire to see the way your eyes sparkle in the glowing light. Or the way your face is illuminated so beautifully that it has him fighting the urge to grab his sketchbook, but he does not want to leave you not even for a second. Perhaps it’s both and it’s almost entirely too much for him to handle all in one moment.

“Why ever are you looking at me like that?” You ask, amusement in your tone.

“Because,” He says with a breathless laugh, “because I love you. I burn for you.”

A fond smile pulls at your lips immediately as you look at him, and it is impossible to ignore the warmth blossoming in your chest, lancing through you. It is impossible to ignore the insurmountable love coursing through every part of your being as you gaze into the eyes of your lover.

“I love you, Benedict,” you murmur, “I burn for you.”

He finds his smile unable to be contained as his forehead drops to rest on yours, noses brushing. His hand once again finds yours, his arm encircling your waist, and you sway. In the ridiculously large ballroom, to a melody unheard by anyone else. You sway and twirl and laugh in a slow dance all your own, a midnight dance.

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Tags: @dreaming-about-fanfictions @valwritesx