#and i expected at least... SOME results even if they weren't very good or deep

[gloriousmonsters]

i just saw someone call shiori a straight woman in an article....

[shotgunbunny]

Blood, paint and cum

WC: 2k+ GIF by weheartchrisevans

[dark!stepbrother!Curtisx innocent!stepsister!Reader]

[Warnings!! Stepcest/abuse mentions/toxic/slut shaming/manipulation/Curtis being horny/smut!!!/breeding kink]

Curtis loved you from the second he saw you. He truly thought he had been blessed from heaven for tolerating his abusive father. And because he believed so heavily that you were his reward for his hard life he treasured you like one.

Which is why he currently had you bouncing on his cock, moaning his name while your tits bounced in his face. He couldn't help but his large hands on your delicate hips and push you further down, to the point his balls brushed against your ass. He knew it would be too much so he leaned into your chest and kissed until he found a nipple and began to suckle on it. Which you reacted by wrapping your arms around his buzzed head and whining all while arching your back, pushing your breasts further into his rugged face. In his dark mind this further solidified the idea you were from heaven, right now you looked like an angel and sounded like one too.

He couldn't help but pull away and put one of his big hands behind your head and push your lips together, swallowing your beautiful breathy moans into a kiss while he fucked up into you. The pleasure you both were feeling was intense, but that was what happened when lovers entangled there souls though sex. At least that's what Curtis said and you believed him because he knew everything.

He knew that even if you did get pregnant everything would be okay since you weren't actual siblings far from it, and because of that he was fine fucking his load into you everytime.

Just like he was now, you were squeezing his fat cock from cumming all over him, and he was so deep inside you, trying to make sure his cum stayed in you and took root.

"Did so good for me suga'."

"I-i did?"

"Yeah baby, ya' did. Fuckin' perfect for me, ya' know that baby?"

"Ofcourse I know that daddy."

When you two first met it was when you and your dad was moving into Curtis's mums house. It was a three bedroomed house and was on a very nice street where everything seemed perfect, especially in summer.

Curtis was sat in the kitchen wrapping his knuckles in bandages after his latest fight at the bar. You see where he worked there was always some asshole who came in and thought he was better than everyone. But yesterday one of these assholes flaunted their fake confidence infront of Curtis, resulting in him breaking their nose, and his bruising his knuckles.

His mum tutted at him constantly for retaliating with violence but he ignored it. He didn't need her lecturing him when all he could remember was her trying to calm her dad with words and him replying with a fist. He wouldn't let that happen ever again not this time.

Just as he was about to sit down the doorbell hummed and he looked up at his mum, expecting her to answer but she had her back turned and was beginning cooking dinner for everyone.

"I'll get that."

"Oh thank you darling!"

He was glad only in his loose grey joggey bottoms when he answered the door. Yet he didn't see anyone until he heard a small feminine cough. He looked down and there you were.

Small, dressed in a little pink dress, with a locket around your neck, and 2 boxes wrapped in paper that was printed with pink cupcakes on it. To say Curtis was awe struck wouldn't even be able to describe how he felt.

"H-hi there"

Your voice flossed his ears with how melodious it was. Fuck you were perfect. Ofcourse he would be getting the perfect woman as his fucking step sister. He took a breath and smiled down at you.

"Come on suga' do you wanna put those cute little presents in the kitchen along with yourself?"

You blushed and smiled, charming Curtis even more and making his cock start to harden a little too.

"I'd love to put the presents in the kitchen but I need to get my stuff!"

"Oh suga' I don't mind getting your stuff for ya'. You're too pretty to be carrying too much anyway. Come on in you go."

You giggled at him before you stepped in and then stood beside him. He couldn't help but try and seem more gentle to show he wasn't a big brute. He was drowning you in the doorway at a solid 6'7. He smiled down at you pointed the way to the kitchen. Just as he stepped outside you gently called his name to which he stopped and turned.

You leaned up and kissed his cheek and thanked him for his kindness before you skipped off to the kitchen. Leaving him dizzy with adoration and hard with arousal.

It took 3 months for you and Curtis to be bestfriends and you were happier than ever with him. He was so nice to you. Whenever you went shopping he always got your favourite cookies from the highest shelf and paid for them! He always made sure creeps stayed away from you!

And the best part was when he went to the carnival with his friends and came home with a small teddy bear;

"Just for you suga'. Cause you're my baby bear,"

You giggled at him and hugged the bear before hugging Curtis. Yet he wasn't happy with the space in the hug, so he bent down and grabbed the back of your thighs and made you jump up so your legs wrapped around him. You wrapped your arms around his big shoulders and whispered gently to him,

"Well then you're my big bear."

He chuckled and carried you to your room where he gently placed you and your prized toy before he kissed your forehead and said goodnight.

But in those 3 months you never had chance to decorate your room or even paint it! Luckily Curtis had a plan. And you were finally acting out on it!

Your parents were gone for the week for another honeymoon, and they left Curtis incharge. And Curtis decided he wanted to decorate your room and also make a peephole but you didn't need to know about that.

So when Curtis picked you up from college the very day your parents left, you let out a squeal of joy when you saw all the pink and white paint and all the cute fluffy things in the back of his car.

"Wow suga', you look great in my old clothes"

You giggled. When you both got home, you changed into old clothes that Curtis had so you could paint and not ruin your clothes. Luckily you just had to wear one of his shirts and they looked like a dress on you.

"Don't flatter me big bear! We have work to do!"

"Is that right baby bear?"

"Mhmm!"

And after a chuckle you began painting.

However as you got halfway through your room you got bored and decided to cause mischief. You dipped your roller in paint and rolled all along Curtis's back, to which he let out a dark chuckle. You were frozen when he slowly turned with his brush in hand and a playful gleam in his eye.

And the chase began, you both laughing trying to paint the other, when you finally got him back, he chased you and you were stuck against the wall in the blink of an eye. Curtis had been so fast that he had picked you up and pinned you against the wall so he was slot so comfortably between your thighs.

He chuckled and gently swiped a piece of paint from his thumb into your cheek. Yet all you could hear was your heartbeat and all you could feel was the paintbrush Curtis was holding between your legs where his crotch was. You were so caught up in the hardness that lingered against your cunt that you didn't notice yourself grinding against Curtis's bulge which you believed to be a paintbrush.

You were snapped out of this when he grabbed your chin with his paint covered hand and made you look at him, before he leaned down and kissed you.

You'd never been properly kissed before so this was truly a moment when you felt butterflies and tingles everywhere, all the while Curtis was trying to hold back fucking you against the half painted walls. So he pulled away and pecked your lips again smiling.

"Did you like that baby bear?"

"Yeah! It felt g-good Curtis."

"Good. You wanna do it more baby bear?"

"y-yeah"

"Then you gotta keep it a secret baby bear. You can't tell anyone what we do okay? If anyone finds out they'll think it was all your fault and that you're a slut."

At his words you teared up. You didn't want anyone thinking that! You weren't a slut, you were a good girl. You'd never do anything to warrant you being called a slut, so you agreed and with that you became Curtis's without even knowing.

After you had painted your room fully you had to wait for it to dry, and because of that Curtis had offered to share his bed with you.

Which is where you currently were. Wearing nothing but your cute pink panties and another one of Curtis's top, but this one was flannel. Not any flannel though, it was Curtis's favourite which is why you felt so special.

It was getting late and Curtis was cuddled up to you watching the TV with you. You were watching 50 shades of grey, a naughty movie that you always wanted to watch but never had the courage to. But thankfully Curtis had bullied you into it.

As the movie was getting more sexual, Curtis's hands began moving. You felt his big hand at the bottom of the flannel you were wearing and you felt tingles almost like you were anticipating something but you disregarded it and watched the movie. When suddenly he unbuttoned the bottom button. And then the next. Yet you didn't stop him. You didn't even stop him when his arm was across the valley of your breasts and his hand was unbuttoning the last button.

When he did the flannel fell open and you snuggled against Curtis, pushing your ass against his rock hard erection. He was in fucking heaven. He bet you had no idea that you were horny, and he honestly didn't give a fuck. You were his. And he was gonna fuck you. Tonight.

As you turned your attention back to the movie, Curtis shifted and began kissing your neck while his hand slowly went from your chest to your breast. He groped your tit groaning before he began playing with your nipple until it pebbled. All the while you were letting out weak little moans.

Curtis pushed your shoulder so you were laying with your back flat on the bed when he climbed on top of you and kissed you, still rubbing your tough peak. When he pulled away he leaned down to your forgotten breast and kissed it before he took your other nipple into his mouth suckling it and swirling his tongue around it until it peaked.

You were in heaven whatever you just felt was magical, and you were getting lost in the pleasure. You were so caught up in Curtis fondling your tits you didn't even notice him stripping your panties off. You gasped when you felt something wet lick you down there. When you peaked you saw Curtis looking at you hungrily with his face between you legs. Before you could even question him, he took your clit into his mouth and licked and sucked. You bucked up into his mouth.

All the while one of his hands was lazily playing with your nipple and the other had 2 fingers in your tight virgin cunt. He added another finger, stretching you when he felt you shaking and your liquid coating his tongue and finger.

While you were coming down from your peak you were heedless to see Curtis pulling his cock out of his boxers. If you did you would have said no purely due to the sheer size of him. He was thick and long all decorated with a pair of heavy balls and dark hair.

He moved the head of his cock up and down your slit. Bumping it against your clit and hissing at how you jerked from your sensitivity. He leaned down and kissed your cheek before he muffled the scream from you lips with his hand. He pushed his whole cock in you. Groaning at how tight you were and how well you hugged his cock. He stayed there with his head against your forehead and his cock kissing your cervix. He wiped your tears as he waited for you to adjust.

"This cunt is mine now baby bear. It's fucking mine. So goddam perfect. It's gonna feel good baby, and then you're gonna want my cock all the time suga'. You're gonna want daddies cock all the time."

At his words he felt you get wetter and he knew it was time. He slowly pulled out leaving the tip of his cock in and then pushed back in. Then he began setting a good pace thrusting into you and removing his hand from your mouth to hear your precious little moans.

"Such a good little baby huh? Taking my cock so good. Your little baby pussy is so fucking good that daddy just has to cum in it. You want that huh? You want daddy to mark your baby cunt with his cum yeah? Ofcourse you do, because daddy says so."

All those words were going over you head and all you could do was moan and babble about how stuffed you felt and that you were close.

Curtis could feel you were close and decided to push you by putting his fingers on your clit and circling it until he felt you start to tighten. He groaned as he felt you coat his cock and pubes with your cum and started fucking you fast. When his thrusts stuttered he unloaded his cum in you.

"Did so good baby. So fucking good."

After that first time you really were addicted to his cock. So addicted that here you were, 2 years later. Straddling his 6'7 frame with his cum leaking out of you after riding him. With his help ofcourse.

You didn't even know how he saw you playing with yourself from your room. Only that one moment you were playing with your clit and the next Curtis was slapping it and telling you off for playing with his cunt without his permission.

But despite how he knew what you were doing all the time you were happy. Curtis had recently bought a house for you and him but he said the catch was that if you wanted to live with him, you had to be his wife. And how could you refuse that. He was your protector and your big bear after all.

[mieanme]

Merman x Siren au

Hualian - (part VI)

First part: PART I

Previous part: PART V

***

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?!"

When Xie Lian gets back, he sure expects other mers to be shocked that he actually did what the Emperor forbade. He also knows that there's probably a scolding from the Emperor himself awaiting him.

However, what he doesn't see coming, is bumping into his two friends the second he gets closer to the main cave formation in the pod's territory. The area loosely called a 'capital' by others is usually guarded through out the night and day, but taking into account that both Mu Qing and Feng Xin had a shift just the other day (he checked in with both of them in the canteen twice, to make sure), Xie Lian thinks he got really unlucky that they have another one right when he decides to not sneak around so much anymore.

"Feng Xin, please, calm dow—,"

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? I AM FOR NOW VERY MUCH FUCKING CALM!"

The loud, harsh sounds that escape the merman's mouth are truly something else. Xie Lian knows only one mer that can produce noise of this caliber and it's none other than his friend. Good thing Ruoye left Xie Lian's side as they were passing by the collar reef, cuz it could never withstand those loud, deep squeaks of Feng Xin.

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO RECKLESS? WHERE HAVE YOU EVEN BEEN? I WANTED TO VISIT YOU, BUT YOU WEREN'T HOME. YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL ANY OF US YOU'RE GOING OUT DURING THE NIGHT! IT'S DANGEROUS! YOU'RE RIDICULOUS!" There's no end to the merman's rage.

"Feng Xin, shut it, you're behaving like you're his mother," Mu Qing chimes in, slapping Feng Xin's back with his deep purple fin, completely not trying to be gentle.

The comment seems a little bit off, because Xie Lian doesn't even remember his mother, but he's not bothered by it. He's sure Mu Qing means no harm.

"Hey!" Feng Xin exclaims, ready to throw a punch at the other merman, but Mu Qing swims around him adroitly. "We're friends! I care about him! Unlike you!"

"Well, at least I didn't try to visit him empty handed yesterday. I came with some food and saw your brown pathetic ass miserably banging at his cave entrance. The bigger the fins, the smaller the brain."

Mu Qing's slay smile seems to enrage the other merman more than his words, even if Feng Xin is known for having one of the biggest fins in the pod. This time he doesn't miss though, getting to punch Mu Qing straight in the face.

Xie Lian sighs. For as long as he remembers, his two friends have always been bickering over the smallest things. Even from the very day they rescued him in the wild, when they all were still children, he can recall a heated argument they had right before his eyes. They both are great mermen in Xie Lian's opinion, so till this day he can't figure out why they are always so hostile against each other. At this point he's certain he will have to live with that question unanswered till the day he passes.

It doesn't mean he can't try and stop them every time he has a chance though.

"Hey, hey, hey, now! It's okay! I'm back and unscratched, right?" Xie Lian swims in between them right after Mu Qing lands a successful slap on Feng Xin's cheek, making them equal for the time being. "And I got something very important!"

They both actually stop to look down at the algae in Xie Lian's hands, to his delight.

"And what is this? Looks like a sperm whale's vomit. Why did you drag some random plants back to the capital?" Mu Qing scrunches his nose, glaring at Xie Lian.

"It's an algae from the oceanic trench," he states with a small smile, but it fades quickly when this time both of his friends yell at him.

"IT'S A WHAT NOW?" Feng Xin and Mu Qing both scream in unison.

Xie Lian grins, shaking his head.

"I guess I have a lot of explaining to do anyways, so why don't we find the Elder medic first? I want to deliver those as soon as possible."

"The medics are still discussing today's search results with the Emperor and all hunters that are off duty. We're an exception as guards," Feng Xin states, looking back at the highest part of the cave formation, that serves as a house of the Emperor and also a kind of a city hall.

"I will hurry up then, it's good that everyone's gathered in one place!"

Xie Lian of course doesn't get to depart alone this time. Feng Xin and Mu Qing both stubbornly insist on escorting him, so the three of them make their way to the Emperor's caves quickly.

Inside, there actually is a lot of merpeople gathered. Xie Lian enters through a small hole on the top of the main hall that's always open to everyone to come and discuss important matters. The cave itself is huge, it could fit every mer that belongs to the pod and there would still be plenty of space left. Jun Wu spends a lot of time here, tending to other merpeople matters and naturally he's here now too, resting on a seat sculptured especially for him inside the hall. He seems troubled even from afar, supporting his chin on one hand, his golden tail and scales lacking their usual shine.

Xie Lian always thought that very tail might have been the only reason the Emperor let him stay in this pod - they share quite a similarity. They both have features that bring one's eye to their person, so Xie Lian thinks Jun Wu might understand his white-tail-stuggles. However, Jun Wu was never untrusted by his pod, on the contrary, he was always priced for his unusual scales. His handsome face and great intelligance lead him on the top, where he remains till this day, while Xie Lian is collecting scrap for a living.

This world is truly unfair.

"Emperor! Elders! Everyone! I'm sorry to interrupt!" Xie Lian exclaims, silencing the discussion that has been going on and on for probably hours before he even came back to the capital. "I have great news!"

Xie Lian makes his way through the hall right to Jun Wu's throne. He lowers his head and extends his hands, showing the Emperor the plants he managed to take back with him.

"I got the algae we have been discussing about during the prior days! If the medic Elder is ready, please, use them as medicine for the mers that had fallen ill!"

A round of heated whispers explodes right after he finishes his sentence. Unbelievable - the merman almost everyone despices came back with the right plant so fast? Where did he get it? Is this a joke of some sort?

"Silence."

One sound from Jun Wu manages to get a hold of the situation.

"Xie Lian," the Emperor calls his name, so the merman obediently lifts his gaze to meet Jun Wu's golden eyes. "How come you found the algae before everyone else had even found a place it might grow in? Are you sure it's the cure we're looking for? Where did you get it?"

Yes. Xie Lian knew these questions were coming. As for being prepared to answer them, well, that's a whole different story.

"Emperor, I got them from... the trench we all know of."

Another round of gasps of disbelief arises in the hall.

"Did he go to the siren's territory?"

"Is he crazy? The Emperor forbade anyone from going there!"

"How is he even alive? There's no way the siren wouldn't notice him with that white tail of his!"

"What if he's lying? Aren't those just a regular looking algae? Maybe it's poison!"

Jun Wu waves his hands, unwilling to scold the crowd verbally yet again. When everyone stops commenting, he asks the medic Elder, that seemed to be the most knowledgeable about the disease, to examine the plants Xie Lian brought with himself.

The old merman studies the algae only for a few moments and, with not much deliberation, but with great disbelief spread on his face, he speaks up.

"It's indeed the algae we need!" The old merman exclaims, looking in shock at Xie Lian's face. "How did you do it?! You shouldn't be able—"

He stops himself before he can finish the sentence, but Xie Lian gets the message.

'It grows too deep for any mer to pick it. Your elder didn't mention it, did they?'

"Very well," the Emperor chimes in. "Please, take the algae and prepare the medicine as soon as possible. Will this be enough to treat the ill merpeople and store something in case the disease resurfaces?"

"Yes, Emperor! More than enough!"

"Then we can stop the search for other places for now. Everyone is dismissed. You worked hard, take some rest," Jun Wu announces and immediately everyone starts leaving the city hall.

Except, when Xie Lian hands over the algae and turns around with a smile to leave as well, the Emperor speaks up again.

"You stay, Xie Lian. I want to have a word with you."

***

Next part: PART VII

Okay, I have to admit, Jun Wu is hot af. I KNOW HE'S A BAD GUY (I haven't reached that part of the books yet, but tiktok spoilered me that), but I can't deny sky daddy is doing things to my brain and I am awaiting the arc in which I get to meet him as a villain, BECAUSE I HAVE TO STOP SIMPING. BUT I CAN'T. DOES ANYONE UNDERSTAND ME.

[razzellyn]

The ask disappeared but uh... I think it was from @gweebis ? Idk i forgor I'm sorry :(

But here's

Music 'n Talkin'

In which the reader and the bot's sneak out in the middle of the night and hang out!

• Mega Trucker

• Phoenix Fire

• Shadow X

• Fleta Z

• Wild Guardy (i kept forgetting him 💔)

(Odd choices of bots ik)

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Mega Trucker:

• The two of you always hangout somewhere FAR from civilization. Not that it's 'romantic', but because your music playlists are louder than a night in the weekend.

• The hangout usually consists of loud music, loud talking, and some crazy breakdance from either of you.

• Oh it's always a blast! For you two. Sure, the two of you almost got caught and confronted, but somehow everyone believed your lies. (No they didn't.)

• One time the two of you were having too much fun, half of a neighborhood could hear your music. Good thing the cops didn't find out, not even Blue Cop!

• Sometimes, your little hangout session can get tiring. Too much dancing and talking loudly is extremely tiring you know?

• So, as a way to cool down, you two cuddle. Totally normal friendship cuddling. The two of you just lay on the ground, watching the stars and talking, less loudly this time.

• At one point you two slept on the ground, hugging each other. Safe to say, Mega Trucker doesn't actually mind!

• Not without being slightly flustered, but he wouldn't pass on a cuddle. He actually really likes it!

• Perhaps the two of you could just... cuddle? Not after a tiresome dance off, just regular, totally friendly cuddle! He would like that.

Phoenix Fire:

• You weren't expecting Phoenix Fire to be up and about especially late at night. But you're not complaining. His company definitely made your nights better than alone.

• The two of you started off being quietly awkward with each other. Not knowing what to talk about while also being terribly tired.

• Overtime, you gradually learned how to keep the conversation going. He seems to really enjoy his job. Even with his fears sometimes taking over him.

• You find that he's very VERY talkative. Even in the dead of night. He is quite literally a golden retriever. Somehow always full of energy.

• You talked about your past once and now he seemed persistent in finding the whole story. Practically begging you to tell him all about your adventures. Even if there's none.

• Remember, it's still nightime. Despite your or his interesting stories, the two of you are... probably sleep deprived.

• Once you were just talking your mind off, and he was dozed off without any of you realizing. He's a bit sheepish once you wake him up, apologizing to you over and over before you told him to just rest.

• By rest, you meant sleeping together. Not that. Just you leaning onto him as he leaned against a wall or.. tree or whatever. You two just sleep like that.

• This went on for too many times to count, resulting in either of you sleeping on accident before the other sleeps as well. You woke up with a hurting back though, good luck with that.

• At least he's kind enough to help you relax. Basically massaging you, like Blue Cop in that one scene in eps 2. (Can everybot do that?)

Shadow X:

• Totally didn't stalk you in the middle of the night. It's not creepy if you're friends. Definitely creepy if you're not though.

• You told him that his rotors were quite loud, especially at night, telling him that he'd need to get to your hangout place by foot. Guess what he did?

• Nothing. Still using his vehicle mode. He pisses you off that it's endearing in a way.

• Hangout usually goes with you two laying on the ground, stargazing as you two talk. What's surprising is that, he's actually willing to have a deep talk with you.

• Still sarcastic about it though. Just less annoying.

• Other times he'd take you out on a ride. Letting you sit in his cockpit as he flies over the buildings or clouds. It's a great view actually. Perhaps that's why he flies so often.

• He's still energetic. Despite being in the dead of night. Surprisingly though he actually isn't THAT annoying around this time. Probably because he's tired.

• Sometimes you've even slept in his cockpit. He doesn't really mind it, it's actually quite peaceful to him.

• Though he will wake you up once he's nearing your house. He doesn't plan on letting you sleep in his cockpit all night.

• If he ends up sleeping however, he's still going to sleep even if you force him to wake up. He's probably in a position too comfortable for him to bother sleeping properly.

Fleta Z:

• His music scared you at one point. Who wouldn't though? A random flute being played in the middle of the night? Horror film right there.

• Fortunately you start getting used to his music. Even finding it soothing, especially at night.

• Your little hangout session is really peaceful! You two just talk about whatever that comes to mind and laugh at jokes you come up with.

• He's much more silly now that you've learned more about him.

• Sometimes you two watch videos on your phone. You've even shown some video games! Man, he's seriously interested in that.

• Other times the two of you just started stargazing. Moongazing. Cloudgazing. Whatever there is in the night sky.

• If the city starts getting a little too loud at night time, say some type of celebration, the two of you move a little closer to the forest. You might even come across Dexter!

• Whenever you two hangout, Fleta Z would tell you to go to sleep. Perhaps even try to make you sleep by playing his flute, surprisingly it works.

• He'd lull you into a near-sleep state with his flute, gently bringing you to rest as you lean against him.

• His presence is really calming for someone his size, even more surprising how gentle he could be with your sleeping form.

• You're never gonna catch him sleep though. Good luck if you're trying to.

Wild Guardy:

• You're surprised he's still awake he's surprised you're still awake.

• The hangout usually goes like this: Awkward silence. Comments on today's events. Talking smack about some bot. Comfortable silence. "So how's your day?"

• It almost never changes. 'Almost', because now he stopped talking smack about other bots and that left you confused for a bit, but it's a nice change.

• The two of you weren't exactly the most 'social' when compared to the others. Yet somehow it's as if you guys haven't run out of topics for a conversation.

• It's surprisingly a 'fun' talk with him. Probably because you're both tired and could careless about what you're talking about but it's honestly just his presence in general.

• He's actually a pretty chill guy. You just gotta get used to him. Sure he could be a bit puzzling at times, but that's just one of his... charms?

• At some point you two just sit around, comfortably enjoying each other's presence in the dead of night. Except for Wild Guardy.

• He was, surprisingly, the first one to sleep on accident. He's too tired to realize, since he's passed out, so you just let him be. Then he wakes up and realized he left you alone and slept.

• He apologizes to you first thing in the morning.

• Other times you're the first to sleep on accident. He wakes you up as gently as he could be, which is not at all gentle, but he's working on it. Perhaps he could just let you sleep on his thigh? Perhaps. Probably not though.

[amunyan]

I can't believe I've got this far into the story. 🫣🤯But now we are nearing the end. This is already the penultimate chapter... Even though there is still a part of chapter 6 and the final chapter in the works. But I am happy that there are at least some people out there who read my stuff. 😅☺️

Wordcount; is somewhere around 3,240 (if anyone cares... )

Love me, not him (6/7)

6C

It was a rough start to the day for you. Not sleeping at all or crying your eyes out over your betrayal.... Neither of these did much to improve your mood.

You were accordingly tired and exhausted when you slurped your way into the common room in the early afternoon. Your vision was still blurred from all the tears and the short night. You also had a sinking feeling in your stomach. It could have been hunger or fear of Mereoleona; you skipped the morning training. But a voice in your head told you that it was all right if no one was looking for you. And because of the time of day, there were only a few other comrades at the tables, but they didn't pay any attention to you.

You were looking around for something to eat when you overheard a rumour that piqued your interest; the Royal Knights had been formed and the mission might start as early as tomorrow morning - much sooner than expected.

The rumour came from Leo, who was disappointed that he had not passed the entrance exam. He sat near the edge of a table and some other comrades tried to cheer him up.

Since you couldn't get any food and Leo looked sad too, you sat down opposite him. The two of you sat there, looking at each other with a deep gaze at the same time, looking down in defeat. He let out a deep sight and started, without words of greeting, to complain about the Entrance exam. „Damn it... I've trained so much, but I'm still weaker than everyone else. Asta made it. So did Yuno and Noelle. This is unfair. I can't believe I'm falling behind them.” He was clearly disappointed. The others had left the table as soon as he started talking. Perhaps he had told everyone this story over and over again, and now you were his next victim. „ And my sister gave me a hard time at training this morning. .... Even though she's supposed to be leading this new unit, she didn't notice how I was improving and that I should be there. She gave me the cold shoulder. Damn it. This is so unfair. I have to get stronger...“

Even though you weren't present at the exam and couldn't say much about the results, you could understand him. Too well...

„Yes,“ you nodded as your thoughts drifted to his sister. „ And I gave her another reason to be mad...“

Leo looked at you with a raised eyebrow. Not sure what to expect next. At the sight of his face, you felt a pang of guilt and quickly waved it away. „I'm sorry, Leo. That was tactless. You complained to me about your misery and I made it about me.“

„No worries,“ he replied nonchalantly, his head shaking as his eyes filled with sympathy. He pressed his lips together and his expression softened even more, as did his voice. „You look terrible too. Looks like my big sister is taking quite a toll on you?“

You flinched for a moment. You felt caught. „If only he knew how true that is,“ you thought to yourself.

„Do you wanna talk about it? You know her. Sometimes she can be very...“ he paused for a moment, seemingly searching for words that would aptly describe his sister but wouldn't be too rude, „...brutal and scary?“ It sounded more like a question, which he was fully aware of, trapped by his embarrassed grin. But you nodded in agreement.

„But she likes you, (Y/N). So does my brother. It must be hard for you too, not knowing if he's going to wake up or not...“

„You must be talking. He's just a good friend of mine,“ you said, blushing. You knew that was far from the truth. But you pulled yourself together and looked at Leo seriously. „He's your older brother. Your mentor. You idolise him more than anyone else and have been emulating him for years. It must be much harder for you, Leo.”

„Somehow; yes. But I know how strong Fuegoleon is. He'll wake up again.“ His voice was firm. He was convinced of it. He has a deep trust in his brother. Like a strong bond that cannot be broken.

„Yeah, I hope so too,“ you whispered, looking out the large window. You weren't as convinced as Leo. Even if you wanted to be.

Leo, however, was still staring at you. You could clearly feel his penetrating gaze. Maybe he really expected you to talk to him about your problems. But no matter how sweet Leo was, you resisted and ruffled his red fuzzy hair as you stood up.

„Thanks for the little chat, Leo“ you said to him before you left.

You know what to do now. You need time to think it all through. So you took the time and the nice weather this afternoon and left headquarters for your favorite secret place by the small river.

*******************************

To which result do you came?

A) „I'm glad Mereoleona leaves me alone for now....“

-> Part 6E, if you left her in the morning

Else; ->Chapter 7

B) „Maybe I should talk to her again?“

-> Part 6D

*******************************

6D

You thought you would find Mereoleona in the office at this time of the day; so you went there in the early evening. You stood a little nervously in front of the door, rubbing your hands together until you felt brave enough for a moment to knock on the wooden door. Mereoleona’s slightly aggressive, gruff voice sounded to invite you in. Shyly you opened the door and pushed your way in.

„Captain Mereoleona? Do you have time for me?“

„Oh, you are?“ She looked up from her desk, cluttered with papers, and asked you the reason for your visit.

*********************

6D-1 ; When you didn’t fight the night before

6D-2 After rejecting the kiss/ Sex

*********************

6D-1

„I don't have much time for someone as weak as you.“ Her voice was harsh and made you look away, guilty and visibly affected. You let out a deep sigh and looked around nervously. Unable to form words or even concentrate on her. Nervousness crept into your chest and constricted your lungs. It grew bigger and stronger when you noticed Mereoleona hammering her fingers restlessly on the tabletop.

„Nothing?“ She asked with raised eyebrows. „Then get lost! I have to do this stupid paperwork for the Royal Knights. This crap here should have been done by now. I still don't know why they need so many forms for a simple mission like that. Or why Nozzle doesn't care. We could just run off and kill the guys from the Midnight Sun. We don’t need those shitty papers.“ She gave an annoyed groan. „I know exactly why I hate this job here.“ She grumbled quietly to herself as a stack of papers felt to the floor at the same moment.

Almost automatically, you bent down to gather the papers.

„Mereoleona seems really stressed out by all the paperwork. „This work is definitely not suitable for her...“ Though you thought of offering her your help, you were still unable to speak normally. You could only stammer a few sounds as you sat down on the floor for the rest of the papers, „Um... it's so..... I...“

A stern look, as if Mereoleona would climb over the desk at any moment to come to you, settled on you. As if you were annoying her even more than the mess of papers. You startled for a moment and you almost crumpled the papers. The sight of Mereoleona, who was now standing up and towering over you, was more than frightening and you pumped your bum. But it helped you to loosen your tongue again.

„About the fight yesterday...“ now you could speak, you felt the urge to tell her the reason for your visit that she had asked about earlier. „I'm... I'm sorry. I wanted to talk to you again. And-”

Mereoleona cut you off in the middle of your sentence: „You don't need to apologize to me. Only to you...“

„S-sure... that's right,“ you whispered understandingly and looked away again. For a few moments there was silence in the room. Only to be broken by Mereoleona, who pushed back her chair and knelt on the floor to pick up the rest of the papers. You looked at her in disbelief, but she didn't seem to mind your gaze. „I can understand that you don’t like fighting this much, (Y/N). Your magic isn't made for combat. But you are a magic knight after all. So…” With a haunting look in her eyes, quite different from her soft voice, she approached you. You couldn't help but crawling back, but the desk got in your way. „Hey... don't gimme that look. Am I so scary to you?“

You bit your lower lip and were about to reply when Mereo let out a deep sigh and stood up again. „You know, everyone has weaknesses,“ she said, looking at the choatic desk. „Everyone just thinks you have to overcome them. But that's impossible. You have to know your strengths to find a way around your weaknesses. To compensate for them. Understand?“

„Yes, ma’am,“ you answer immediately and also get up to hand the papers to Mereoleona. With a soft smile on her face, she took them and put them on the desk. „I want you to be strong enough to fight for yourself. So I don't have to worry about you.“

„Huh?“

„You don't see it, do you?“ As her gaze meets yours, a cold shiver runs down your spine. You never thought Mereoleona could look this sad. „Well, who's surprised? You still see me as a scary person - like everyone else here. But I ...“

She came closer to you, almost pressurized you again like the day before. So close you could feel her warm breath on your skin. Her fiery scent in your nostrils. Your heart began to beat faster, not knowing what would come next.

„Don't worry, (Y/N). I've learned my lesson,“ Mereoleona said in a calm voice, waving her hand through your hair. „ I still like you. More than you can imagine. I've known you for years. I know how your magic works. As I told you, it is good for defence, and with your stamina you could build a great strategy around your strengths. Take this as a hint; after all, it is your job to become stronger and to recognise your strengths. Above all, be proud of them. Find your own way to fight!“ She ordered you and gave you a challenging look.

You just stood there with your mouth open, not knowing what to say as relief overcame you. A smile flitted across your lips and your mouth formed a strong, piercing „Yes, Mereoleona!”

+5 by Mereoleona (you became neutral again...)

-> next chapter

6D-2

(Bonus Dialog if you left in the morning): „I really missed you this morning...“ she adds and you can clearly hear the reproachful undertone in her voice.

„Yeah... I’m sorry I left without a word today and sent you into the unknown...“

You were still rubbing the palms of your hands together, restless. Somehow nervous. Like your gaze. You couldn't concentrate on Mereoleona and your eyes wandered twitchily around the room. A feeling of insecurity crept up inside you. You didn't know how she would react when you told her the reason for your visit.

„I am sure she is not the type of person who likes people who change their minds the way others change their underwear... But I have to tell her how I feel. And it's not like I'm being erratic or worse...“ You told yourself it was all right and took a deep breath.

But as much as you wanted to talk to Mereoleona, to talk about your feelings, you kept quiet. Nervousness crept into your chest and constricted your lungs. It grew bigger and stronger when you noticed Mereoleona hammering her fingers restlessly on the tabletop.

„So, what is it? Split it out? Or do you have nothing more to say to me?” She paused for a moment to gave you a stern look. But since you were not only frightened by her look, but could also imagine her becoming even angrier after you had told her the reason for your visit, you remained calm.

„Then get lost! I have to do this stupid paperwork for the Royal Knights. This crap here should have been done by now. I still don't know why they need so many forms for a simple mission like that. Or why Nozzle doesn't care. We could just run off and kill the guys from the Midnight Sun. We don’t need those shitty papers.“ She gave an annoyed groan. „I know exactly why I hate this job here.“ She grumbled quietly to herself as a stack of papers felt to the floor at the same moment.

Almost automatically, you bent down to gather the papers.

„Mereoleona seems really stressed out by all the paperwork. „This work is definitely not suitable for her...“ Though you thought of offering her your help, you were still unable to speak normally. You could only stammer a few sounds as you sat down on the floor for the rest of the papers, „Um... it's so..... I...“

Again; a stern look, as if Mereoleona would climb over the desk at any moment to come to you, settled on you. As if you were annoying her even more than the mess of papers. You startled for a moment and you almost crumpled the papers. The sight of Mereoleona, who was now standing up and towering over you, was more than frightening and you pumped your bum.

For a few moments there was silence in the room. Only to be broken by Mereoleona, who pushed back her chair with a loud slurping sound to also knelt down on the floor to pick up the rest of the papers. With a little disbelieve you looked at her, but she didn’t mind your gaze

„Will you finally tell me why you are here, (Y/N)? To annoy me? To play my secretary? Come on, if you don't like me and think yesterday was a mistake, you can tell me. I'm not as stupid as you think. I can tell not only tell from your mana how nervous you are. You look and act like a big mess. And there is only one reason I can think of..."

„Huh? Oh. No...“ you shook your head slowly. „ It's not about that. Not really. You surprised me yesterday and I couldn't find any other answer than to run away. I never thought of you that way. I never thought you'd be so open with me about your feelings. I didn't feel ready... As if... No one would believe we were really together...“

„Do you really think that's strange? I mean... We've been friends for years now. We always train together. We even bathe together.“ The two of you exchanged intense looks as Mereoleona approached you. You couldn't help but crawl back, but the desk was in your way. Not only. She had put her hand against the table, making escape impossible. Shyly, you held the papers you had just picked up from the floor in front of your face. Blushing, you looked away as you continued: „We are two girls, two women... This is somehow normal for us... But... Friends don't do things like that... Like kissing...“

After these words, there was a leaden silence in the room for a few moments.

„Mereo...“, you whispered. Still with the papers in front of your face, mostly covering your mouth. But Mereoleona was getting more and more annoyed. With a quick flick of her wrist, she snatches the papers from your hand, only to stand up in the same motion and toss the papers carelessly in her anger onto the desk. You jumped and huddled even closer to the desk as Mereoleona’s gaze lingered on you. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her eyebrows pulled together. But she didn't say anything. She just stared at you.

You swallowed, and it was no surprise that your voice was shaking when you begun to speak again: „I'm not here to tell you that I hate you. If that were the case, I would have already left the order.“ You paused and looked up at Mereo. She was still staring at you. You could feel the tension in the air. Her whole body was tense and she was literally holding her breath.

„No... I wanted to talk to you again. About us...“ Again; there was time for reflection on your words. „But I need time. As I told you; I never thought of us that way. You knew about my feelings for Fuegoleon. I still like him. I like you both. You are both so important to me. It's not just you. Your brother also has been by my side for so long. You have both always cheered me on and encouraged me. I cannot do that now. I cannot choose you over him, without talking to him first. Furthermore...“ You took a deep breath before looking into her blue eyes. She was still standing over you, staring at you in silence.

„I want to be able to return your feelings with all my heart and sincerity. You deserve it, Mereo...“

For a moment, you could have sworn Mereoleona had a blush on her face before she reached out her hand and pulled you up. Strongly enough to pull you into an embrace. „You really are a sweetheart,“ she whispered, her breath close to your skin and ear. „You know... all these years I have been looking forward to seeing you again when I go home for a few weeks. Even if it meant supporting you in your interest in my brother. But as the years went by and I saw no progress, only you getting sadder and sadder, I changed my mind. I wanted to be there for you. To cheer you on. To show you what a great person you are. But maybe I went too far without realising it. Like... I only realised I had gone too far yesterday when you ran away in tears. And I didn't stop. I dragged you into something you weren't quite sure about. I even gave you alcohol. That was probably rash, if not unfair.

„Don't worry. It was my fault too,“ you said in a soft voice, putting your arms around her. „I don't want to lose either of you. You have both given me the strength I have always needed. You both believe in me no matter what. I don't want to put one over the other without talking to both of you. But most of all... I don't want to disappoint either of you. I want to become what you both already know me to be and learn to love it! .... As you both have always done...“

-5 by Mereoleona (you became neutral again...)

-> next chapter

[misschifuyu]

Temporary

characters: sano manjiro (mikey) + gn! reader

genre: angst

warnings: swearing

It didn’t take a genius to notice.

At first, you figured it was simply because of work; busy work amongst the members that he had to deal with, taking up all his free time. You understood what it meant to be the leader of such a prestigious gang - if one could call it as such - so you didn’t think much of it.

“Did everything go okay today?”

“Yeah”

It was strange, to say the least, seeing him so quiet as you greeted him into your home. Having not seen him in a few days, you figured this would be a perfect opportunity to get together, one Wednesday afternoon you thought he would be free.

Of course, he had answered your text with an ‘okay’ to your suggestion; as a result, you were surprised to see him in such a glum mood.

That afternoon he had sat with you, but it felt as though the two of you were miles apart. Only a few words were exchanged, and you knew, without a doubt, that something wasn’t right.

Days passed on, and you tried to leave him some space. You knew well how much Mikey could get overwhelmed with life’s troubles, so you figured it was best to leave him sort them out before trying to intervene. The last thing you wanted was to make matters worse, after all, so you trusted it was the right decision.

Unfortunately, this ended up spanning into a week without knowing anything about him.

As it got to the 7th day, you couldn’t stop yourself from calling him. Grabbing your own, you clicked on his profile, a picture of the two of you showing up as you did.

What if something had happened to him?

Listening to the ringing tone by your ear, your mind drifted off into all the possibilities; despite knowing how your boyfriend was, you still worried for him. More than he could ever even imagine, frankly.

After a few seconds, you reckoned he wasn’t going to pick up. You couldn’t even begin to think of why, your legs taking you out into the streets of Tokyo as you hurried to the place you could only think he would be.

Near the riverbed.

Luckily, your house wasn't located too far from the spot where you had spent countless evenings throughout your relationship. It always seemed to bring Mikey a sense of serenity, watching the water flow by as he would rest on the grassy hill. Truthfully, you weren't entirely sure you'd find him there, but it was a place to start searching for him, at least.

Rounding the corner of the final block, you spotted a sitting figure. By the flowing, black jacket that was hung on the person's back, you recognised them immediately - unless another Toman member had decided to get a very similar haircut to your boyfriend, that is.

You were relieved, glad to know that you weren't going to have to search for him or even ask around for his whereabouts. And as far as you could tell, he didn't seem to be injured or in any bad state. Letting your chest heave out a deep breath from running just seconds earlier, you slowed down your pace to approach him.

He was silent. No surprise, seeing as he was alone, but as you got closer you could tell that he was far from being in a happy mood. The way his eyes were locked onto the distant view of the city made it clear that he was deep in though, and seeing as he wasn't accompanied by anyone, it would seem that he had come here to be alone with his thoughts.

A sense of pity filled your senses, and all you wanted to do was console him. But you knew that would be of no way to come up to him, so you stopped a few metres away from him, hoping he had already sensed your presence, so as to not startle him.

"...Manjiro?"

Addressing him by his first name, you remained still in your position. By his slow reaction, you assumed he had known you were there, but had chosen to ignore your presence until you spoke up.

He looked up at you with what could only be described as an empty stare. It worried you, seeing him look at you with such dull eyes, but you stood silent, waiting for him to speak up on his behalf.

"Why are you here?"

Far from what you had expected as the first words he aimed at you after a week's worth of disappearance, you sucked in a breath. Was this really his reaction upon seeing you after such a time period? And if you hadn't come, would he have continued to act as if you held no place in his life?

"I wanted to make sure you were doing okay...You haven't come over for a week, so I was starting to worry and-"

"It was for your own good"

Upon his interruption, you knitted your eyebrows together, a prominently confused look on your face.

"What?"

Mikey blinked away from you, looking instead towards whatever was behind you. He was avoiding eye contact with you, and that was the last thing you needed when you were trying to understand him. His distance had been a clear sign that something was wrong, and now he couldn't even bare to look straight at you.

"Things have been getting complicated as of late, and I didn't want to bother you with all of that"

Now that you had a closer look at him, you could see that he wasn't in the same shape he was always in. His right arm, which had been out of your sight until you stopped before him, showed a series of dark bruises, and a nasty cut was split by his top lip, clearly caused recently by the bright, red tones that made up the injury.

That wasn't to mention his ripped attire. Strewn across the sleeves and even the front piece, they looked to be a consequence from a knife, tearing the fabric in an attempt to reach him instead.

"Mikey, you know you would never bother me with any of this, you should've come to my house, I would've helped you"

With a shake of his head, the blond strands that you so loved to run your fingers through moved in sync with his movements.

"No, Y/N. Shit gets ugly after a fight, and the last thing I want is for you to see me like that. Can't you just be patient for a little longer?"

His tone was starting to sound aggravated, and you hadn't the faintest ideas as to why. All you had done was come up to him to ask about his wellbeing, and yet he was adamant in pushing you away.

"Patient? Mikey, I've been worried sick this past week, not knowing where you've been or what you've been doing. All I've gotten are ignored calls and messages, do you really expect me to just be alright with that?"

He had turned to look back at the river by now, listening to you but with what seemed to be very little interest. It was as if you were speaking to a wall, and you were starting to get worried that this wasn't going to end well.

The fact he didn't trust you enough to continue to be at his side when at his lowest point was giving you clear signs that something wasn't going right in the relationship. He had helped you countless times when you needed him, so how come he didn't allow himself to seek out your help in such times?

The silence between the two of you was heart wrenching.

"Manjiro? Are you even listening to me?"

Shoulders lifting, he closed his eyes momentarily before turning fully towards you.

"Y/N, I'm just fucking afraid you'll end up seeing me the way I see myself. It's not all sunshine and smiles, but I don't want you to see that because I know damn well you'll leave me if I show up to your house looking like this"

So he didn't.

He didn't believe he could count on you when he was going through tough moments. He truly thought you were so empty-hearted that you would leave him for something you knew right from the start could happen. Hell, you knew before even dating that he could show up busted and bloodied out of the blue.

And yet he had convinced himself that, somehow, you would ditch him because of it.

He had created a distance between the two of you, one that you had never thought even existed. On your behalf, such a gap had never even come to mind, but it seemed his just continued to grow.

"I would never leave you for something like that, Mikey...why would you even think of that? I love you for everything that you are, no matter the state you come home in"

"Don't lie to yourself, Y/N. I know what kind of person I can be, and it's far from something one would want to be with. I'm a worthless idiot who spends his days fighting endlessly without a clear objective...what if I end up doing the same to you?"

"Mikey, don't say that, you know-"

"No, I fucking don't, okay? Every damn day I'm scared that I could turn on everything that I know and love, and I don't want you to go through that"

You could feel a knot in your stomach as you took in his words, each one hurting more that the last. Why would he speak about himself like that? You knew he didn't have an easy life but, turn on everyone? That was far from the reality.

"But-"

"Look, I'm not dealing with this, now or ever. If it bothers you that much, you can leave. I'm not going to put you in any sort of danger, so if you see that as negligence, I don't see us getting any further than this"

That's how he felt.

That's how he felt about the relationship; something to be brushed off so easily in a matter of a few words.

Just a temporary circumstance.

[d6rkroom]

— ‘𝗻𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼.’

finn mcnamara x top!male reader. (wc; 1.7k)

#a/n: this took way longer than it should've, my apologies fer’ that! BUT THANK YOU ELIAN FOR GIVIN’ ME THE GENERAL IDEA FOR THIS, I HAD A TON OF FUN WRITIN’ IT! YER’ BIG BRAIN AS HELL!

warnings. forced breeding, dubcon, mentions of cheating, possessive behavior, degrading k., dumbification, brat taming, sex infront of a mirror, manhandling, belly bulge, cum inflation, implied mpreg.

it was expected, it was only a matter of time before his olden behavior caved in on him and he relapsed right back into those sickly habits from nothing more than a year prior.

finn mcnamara was a slut. a dirty, good for nothing cheater. you knew his loyalty was short lived— his drive for exploration and choas secured that lucid notion in your brain ever since the two of you had started your dating journey.

how naive were you to untrust your heart with him, so utterly idiotic.

there you were, fingers curled around the doorknob as you lay in wait for your boyfriend to take note of the new presence clouding the room. your face was sheathed in coats of not shock, nor distaste— just inflicted with an expressionless disappointment. whatever bit of rage that fogged your mind swiftly dissolved along with his sexual mate that accompanied your spot on the bed.

nonchalant as ever, he sent a sloppy smile your direction; probably as a result of whatever poor pounding he just received from the rather small looking guy who was just in your room. pathetic, he couldn't even wait a few hours for your attention so he tossed aside his pride and let his greedy hole get creamed by someone at least half your size.

“satisfied with yourself, whore?” a satirical snear contorted your lips. one he knew a little to well, one he could tell apart from your usual one. the one you would often flicker as the two of you conversed. he knew you loved him, as did he; yet, the outcome of pushing your buttons was one he couldn't shake the craving for.

“hah, as satisfied as ever— sweetheart.” his first mistake was underestimating your tolerance for his bullshit. the second was letting that sour chuckle rip past his throat.

he was already exposed, clothes abandoned along side his dignity. letting such a inexperienced and second option hook-up ruin his beautifully stretched hole was baffling to you. was he really that desperate to have his ass filled and feel full for the remainder of the evening? you already knew the answer to your own inquiry.

he sputtered out a few words that glazed past your ears and straight out the back of your head. you had no care to hear any other soft attempts to convey how what he committed was mistake or how his body was now yours for the night. you had tunnel-vision set on his spend, plump ass that was already wiggling in the air— contrast from his cheek, which was pressed into the matress.

you give a harsh smack on the milky flesh, making finn’s lower half jolt in retaliation; halting his train of thought and stopping his tongue mid monologue. his hands instinctively sink into the pillow beneath his neck. you shift your weight, prying his thighs apart and spreading his cheeks wide open; the perfect view. the head of your cock, flushed red and throbbing gives a few pokes at his pulsating rim which is already venting around nothing.

you give his hole a few, firm slaps from the length of your shaft. beckoning that bratty inclination from out from beneath him— you wanted to hear those lips bark out your name. persuading you to rock in and out of his useless body.

“you want that? my cock to just slip right inside you without need for an apology? without regard for what i just caught you doing in, our bed?”

you almost give in, but you're smarter than to let finn get what he so desperately wants, that easily. rubbing your palm into his hips, small pats connecting with the side of his abdomen insinuate he fetches the mirror from the corner of the bedroom. no words were required in the exchange, he knew his place— plain and simple. and he sure as hell knew what you silently commanded he do.

an exasperated groan grumbles from the depths of his chest, his tongue clicked in annoyance at the sudden expectation for him to remove himself from his lewd position. so stupid, he throws away your years of love to get fucked by some stranger and then complains as you whisk him away from the sheets. he had driven you to your witt's end.

“excuse you, cunt? did i just hear you protest, after cheating in my bed, in my house? don't forget who owns you.”

his blood ran cold and the hairs on the back of his neck sprung to life with an accompanying chill that relished up his spine. his shoulders visibly cringed at your tone as he wasted no time flipping over and hoisting the mirror slowly to the foot of the bed. with the reflective piece of glass now fitted nicely as it leaned against the bedframe— finn crawled atop the messy array of sheets.

“y/n look.. m’sorry don't-” he wasn't allowed to finish, at least not anymore he wasn't. you weren't going to let him disrespect your authority under your roof any longer.

without thinking your hand reaches to unbuckle your belt, fingers toying with the zipper and button respectively. tugging your pants and boxers down without caution— you carded a few free fingers into his messy, mop of hair. digging into and only making it a much more noticable mess than before as you yanked his face to meet yours.

you felt a guley glob of spit collect under your tongue, shooting the wad right between his eyes; saliva leaking down the bridge of his nose and bleeding onto his upperlip. you knew how he adorded being tossed around like trash, better yet, treated as such. he was getting off to this, his eyes pooling wide with lust everytime a vulgar insult leaped from behind your teeth.

he tries not to let his words slur as you play with his still, very tender asshole. breath hitching every step of the way as you spin him to face the direction of the mirror. his hole was still lubed and wet from his previous visitor, giving you very easy access with little push or resistance.

his eyes roll back, you keep your gaze attentive on his decoy on the other side of the glass. your fat cock streaching him out has his lips parting to release a squeal of appreciation, a lavish burn following close suit as you sink deeper inside of him. he's not regretting his choice to unturn his devotion towards you; not yet at least.

“getting off to this slut? look at yourself, i haven't even started to really fuck you yet. pathetic.”

finn’s eyes are trained on his reflection, the look of tragedy curling over his spit-slicked lips. he could feel how deep you were, reaching spots he didn't even know were there. he can also make out the veins on your cock dragging along his walls and you're right; he is getting off to this. it felt so good— he felt so good— it all was good.

you rut into his ass like a feral animal, grunting cocktailed with sour remarks to keep the tension rising. instinctively he clings onto the fabric beneath him for dear life, knuckles fading from bright red to a pale white. through the fog of pleasure clogging his mind, he can only keen out an audible ‘yes’ to all of the questions and words that jumbled from your mouth.

with your eyes fixated on the way his skin ripples and jiggles against your hips, the fat riding up onto yer’ waist with the brutal pace you keep. he attempts to protest with how close he feels himself getting, only to be cut off by one hard slam after another— cock drilling into his tight little hole with intentions to impregnate him.

concepts of his usualy flat tummy growing round and bloated as you fucked it full of your little swimmers now press into your mind. each seed racing to see which will be the one to knock up your boyfriend; rendering him yours forever. your vigor prevails, motivated by the sole image of your slut giving birth to one, maybe two of your genetic creations. your offspring.

finn wonders if the cheating scandal really has your stamina skyrocketing, that is until through the intoxication of your speed— he realizes. fuck, you don't have a condom. he can't get pregnant, as much as he'd want to settle down with you he has way to many jobs that would release him from employment if they found out he had a baby in his belly. you wouldn't do that to him, would you? you knew how near and dear traveling from place to place, job to job was to him. was this punishment?

“sweeti- ah! y/n c-condom!”

even with his tongue tripping over ever other word, you could decipher the clutter of gibberish all too well. he had figured out your plan to breed his tiny body.

“oh? that silly thing? i gotta make you my wife, remember? just a stupid little whore who can only work from home. nobody wants to fuck a pregnant bitch. maybe that'll teach you to keep it in your pants.”

“n-no— ah-! fuck..”

your words sent tingles over his scalp, squelching noises resonate through the air mingled with your bitter laughter. drool starts to seep from the corners of his mouth and tears begin to well up in his eyes as he watches his mirror double get impailed by the outline of your cock. he knows soon that a small child will fill the roll of your shaft, he can't do anything but try to resist as the idea of your warm, stick love flooding his womb only grows on him.

at this point, all finn is doing is whimpering on your cock, degrading making the pressure behind his thighs hotter and his ass tighter. that familiar knot twisting in his lower stomach begging to snap as you roll into his prostate with a hunger glistening in your eyes. you flip finn on his back and catch his bottom, wet lip between your teeth and tug with the push of your hips. eye contact is never broken as your hot load spurts long and sticky ropes through his ass and into his belly. so full, he's so positively full as he feels your genes enter his boy womb— effectively impregnating and painting his gummy walls with white fluid.

soon a bunch of mini you’s will roam the empty spaces in your home and you'll start the perfect family together. you had planned to make him your bitch for quite some time, but the cheating only sped up the inevitable. finn sobbed into the crook of your neck; protruding tummy poking at your abdomen as he loosely attached to you.

the whole ordeal would be burned into his brain and yours, the mirror serving his eyes a sick reminder that he was now tasked with carrying your kid. forever.

[aio-rya]

Heartslabyul Kabedon Headcanons

Fem!Reader SO x Heartslabyul

「Requested by: Anon」

Ace ♥️

・You know this boy is a mess. He's always in a rush, not necessarily because of school but to make disaster along Deuce and you; the trouble trio. And finding a way to avoid punishments. That's exactly what's getting on your way for this plan.

・You have tried many, really, many times to do it and each one of them you fail or fall or get caught by Deuce. You must make Ace being quiet and that's an impossible task; until today when he was feeding the flamingoes alone.

・You jumped into him on his way back to the dorm building, clinging onto his tired back, falling over him and pinning him down to the floor. Yeah, you caught him into the less conventional way, somehow the angle you chose was perfect to make him unable to move —almost.

・He could swear he heard the flash of a camera between the sound of your laugh. As you made fun of him, he spotted a weak point in your position and used it to turn positions, holding you against the floor as you stopped laughing to realise he won this round.

・"C'mon, sweetie, keep on laughing", he mocked with a cocky smirk, though you could keep on laughing just by the sight of his pink clothes, you pouted. You started complaining about how hard was to catch him off guard and alone just to fail, not just that, to be humiliated by him!

・Successfully, you made him feel guilty. Even so, he wouldn't move, he will just keep you there and apologise –unfortunately for you, he knew very well how your mind worked and he knew you were not really sad. So, Ace assure it would be very easy for him to catch you off guard now that he used your own move against you.

・He can be a bitch when he wants to, that's why you asked Deuce to send you the pic he took of Ace on his pink clothes with you. Every single time he tries to pin you into a wall, you show him the evidence and blackmail him with that. You'll post it on Magicam if he dare to do that again.

Deuce ♠️

・You expected him to be shy, flushed, quiet, speechless; to get red as a tomato as you mischievously giggled at him and talked about your intentions with a teasing tone even though these were completely innocent. Oh, how wrong you got it! You did it with your best intention, unintentionally awakening his badass mood.

・You didn't even got the chance to make his back touch the wall, you had barely gripped his hands when he escaped from your touch, held your waist and pulled you against his chest, turning around to slam his free arm into the wall. The shocked one were you.

・Well, that doesn't mean he weren't surprised. In fact, he blushed when he realised it was you who tried to attack him from behind. Deucey is not a rough or teasing person, but the way you reacted to your own trick was too much for him, you looked so cute and defenseless. The mischievous was him, smirking at you after the impression.

・His payback was sweeter than you could have imagined, a torture though: thickles. Yeah, he pressed you against the wall and started moving his fingers on your sides ans your stomach, sometimes messing with your neck, but never letting you take a break. Laughter after laughter until some small tears fell from your eyes, he stopped to hug you.

・"Make some noise next time, just your steps or something like that. I don't want to hurt you with my defensive reflexes", he says with soft voice, lending you a handkerchief to dry your eyes and clean your sweat. It was so romantic, you were surprised he was one of those guys. Don't get fooled by his kindness, you still owe him an explanation.

・That's exactly what you do, explain. Yes, some way because you wanted him to know what was the original plan on surprising him all of a sudden. Also, there was the fact that he was not letting you go until he knew the reason why he almost hurted his SO.

・Rest assure. He will keep in mind what you have done today. He's not the kind of person who seeks for revenge, he is actually the kind of person who enjoys learning from others and helping others learn from him. And now, my dear, you are going to learn why is bad teasing on Deuce's bad guy side.

Cater ♦️

・Nice moment you chose to take your phone out for a selfie, Diamond! Your movements were perfect, silent, extremely well planned to be ruined by his phone camera! But, of course, you didn't realise about it and that's why things ended up like this...

・How? You may ask. Well, you're sitting over one of the Light Music Club's stools, leaning your back against the wall as your lover's arms lay at each side of your head, hands on the surface behind you. A huge, pleased smile on his face staring at your blushed self, holding his phone on one of his hands.

・"My, my! How daring of you! Jumping into me from behind~", he laughs melodically, winking at you as cheerful as always. His method for making you talk is just asking. Yeah, easy, right? And you bend. He's just so lovely.

・You confess to him that you waited patiently behind the door until Lilia and Kalim left to surprise you. He has been so busy to visit you, so it was time for you to come to him. He just laughs and agrees with you, it was a nice movement he will definitely keep in mind.

・But you are both cheerful and playful with each other, pranks are never missing in this relationship and this moment deserves its own reminder. The photo he took when you were about to jump into him —let's just say it wasn't your best angle. And it was indeed his payback.

・Ace and Deuce will make fun of you for a long, long time thanks to Cay's post. Specially since he catches your body against the wall every single time you visit his dorm... Without failing.

Trey ♣️

・You over thought about attempting it, there wasn't a chance you could catch him, at least not without a sense of silence and discretion. Your lover was a clever and wary man, every movement must be precise and flawless —in fact, they were. Until you stumbled.

・There wouldn't have been any trouble, unless you have chosen the worst possible location: the kitchen. So, maybe your fall could have been stopped by the imminent weight of Trey's body on the wall helping you to trap him perfectly between your arms but now, he was holding you since you tried to pin him into the kitchen's bar. You felt even smaller.

・"Are you all right?", he will ask with concern. Your affirmative answer relieves him, slowly letting you go until he realise you are not supposed to be in his dorm, or in the kitchen. His grip around you strengthen as he "gently" ask what brought you there; he knows you as well as you know him, there's no way you could lie to get out of this. He discovered immediately you were planning something.

・The interrogation was not completely necessary, Trey's eyes had that power of persuasion which made you speak immediately. Yes, you could try resisting but it would not be a very smart alternative; so, when he took his glasses away and placed them behind you, there was nothing to do on it. You started explaining the situation, giving him and advantage since now you were the one between his arms.

・Oh, no. You are being pressed against the fridge door now without any option than looking back at him, that was a dirty move of him, wasn't it ? He has now another good reason for scolding you, not only the place but the true intention behind your deeds. With a deep breath and severe voice, he asks for an excuse for not applying any punishment on you.

・You beg to him not to forbid you of entering to that room of the Dorm, he knows how much you love baking with him on your free time, or helping him with the food for Unbirthday Parties. He could not be so evil with you, less when you use that puppy eyes of yours, a weakness he have always had on you.

・He seems to forgive you, becoming insistent about giving you a farewell kiss. It's not like him to be that insistent on affectionate greetings but you give in... Just to get an awful, still hilarious surprise: he used his Doodle Suit on you to change the taste of the kiss into the food you hate the most. Sweet revenge.

Riddle ♔

・His immediate reaction would be flushing. An intense crimson staining his face as he was looking for an answer inside his memory, searching over the 810 Rules of the Queen of Hearts in vain since none of them stated how to react when your lover trapped you over a wall.

・To be honest, you though you have broken him. He just stared into the void as you blushed in front of him, retracting your arms to set him free. Did you scare him that much with your sudden action? Well, not really since he held your arms before you could separate from him. A smirk slowly appearing on his face.

・You didn't even realise when he made you give an elegant turn so now you were at his mercy. Still, the blush remained on his skin as he found your actions lovely, but now he was delighted with your confused expression as your move resulted against you.

・He lifted his head, watching from above, leaning over you dangerously near to your lips, passing off them to whisper in your ear. "Where you trying to misbehave, my beloved rose?", he ask with a teasing tone as he pronounced your nickname. "You know my beliefs about breaking the rules", he continues, placing his finger under your chin and his hand behind your back to make you straighten and avoiding you looking away.

・For a second, just a second, you are truly intimidated. He's always a gentleman, though he loves games and that was the reason why you did this in first place —you're aware that he was teasing you. From one second to another, you giggled and your eyes softened, throwing your arms into his neck, burying your face into his coat to silence your laughter.

・Well, you knew he had been busy and worried so you tried to surprise him. In the end, you made him get a bit relaxed, he followed your game as you tried to turn places, he kept refusing to let you go. The fun of the moment relied on how you managed to make him laugh.

・"It's off with your head, darling", he laughs in a mischievous tone, caressing your cheek before walking away. Oh, no, he was planning his payback. Yes, he would never "chop" off your head, as a couple, that sentence was part of your intimate code and you knew that meant... You had to be careful and watch your back. Riddle will pin you into the wall when you less expected so and he won't be "gentle".

[yourmidnightlover]

i would never leave you

Summary- when reader gets injured on a case, spencer stays with her to take care of her, even if he already had plans.

TW: talk about case, undercover!fem!reader, kissing, a little cursing, reader gets stabbed

WC- 4,998

masterlist

————————————————————————

the team was so close to catching the unsub. all they needed you to do was go undercover, act interested in him, and catch him in the act.

so there you were getting ready in the bathroom at the bau. the girls had chosen a flowy strapless black dress that went below your knee, some black pumps, and a gold necklace for you to wear.

you threw the dress on, admiring the amount of tasteful cleavage it displayed, followed by the shoes and necklace.

you applied some red lipstick and added some more mascara before you ran your fingers through the waves in your hair, trying to give it a bit more volume before greeting the team.

you had been insecure in the past, a result of some standard high school bullies, but you had gotten through it with the help of your parents. they re-educated you on what confidence meant and where it came from.

you had only gotten insecure every once in a while, normally when all the attention was on you.

so when you entered the conference room with your clothes in hand and all eyes were on you, you felt yourself close up from the stares.

"umm... too much?" you questioned, grabbing the blazer you were wearing and throwing it on over your shoulders.

you noticed spencer looking at you with his brows raised, not saying anything but with his mouth slightly agape as he looked at morgan, who was also entranced by your new appearance, and back at you.

"no, y/n," jj consoled. "you look great, sweetie," she said as she ran her hands up and down your arms comfortingly before stepping back after taking your clothes, and blazer, from you.

"y/n..." morgan trailed on, "who knew you were hiding that underneath those pantsuits, mama," he smirked.

"oh, don't mama me, derek," you chastised, pointing a finger accusingly at him as he raised his hands at his head in defense.

"you truly look fabulous, y/n. and derek will stop with the comments as of right now," penny scolded him while giving you a smile.

"thank you pen," you said with a grin. "so when can we get this over with? this dress isn't exactly very comfortable," you asked, looking over at hotch for further direction.

"right. so i need everyone to listen to this part because we are all responsible for keeping y/n safe if things go awry," hotch demanded as you all made your way to your seats.

"the unsub will lure you out of the art gallery. there weren't any traces of drugs, so he won't try to routine you. you need to go willingly, that's part of what gets him off. we'll have someone in there with you and keeping an eye on you from a distance," he directed you, to which you nodded your head.

"he's going to most likely take you to his car, it will be a nice one, expensive. he's going to drive you somewhere more secluded, but still in the open and then will attack," hotch clarified, his eyes now scanning across everyone in the room.

"so when you leave the gallery we will follow behind and garcia will be tracking your phone the entire time," he ordered, now looking at garcia.

"we will do the takedown at whatever park he takes you," he made sure you were looking directly at him. "you can back out if you aren't up for it, y/n. just say the word."

"don't be ridiculous, this is the best way to catch him," you assured, shaking your head no. "just don't let me die and i'll be good," you laughed.

"i was just making sure," he grinned. "we should get going now. it's almost time for the gallery to open and he's really punctual," hotch said as he stood up.

you stood up and pulled your dress down a bit since it began to ride up as you were sitting. when you turned around you saw spencer looking at you with a similar expression as earlier.

"y-you look beautiful, y/n," spencer said softly, walking around the table to get closer to you.

"oh, umm. thank you," you smiled kindly at the shaggy haired man.

truth be told, you had a bit of a crush on him for a while now.

his adorably perfect smile, the way he gets so excited when he begins to ramble on about something, his harmonious laugh, his voice as he reads you a book on the plane so you can fall asleep easier, wishing the monsters that pry at your mind away.

okay so maybe it wasn't just a bit of a crush.

you really, really, really liked him.

you would say love, but you've never truly experienced true love. you had nothing to compare this feeling to.

"no problem," he continued to look at you. not in the way derek was looking at you. he was truly looking at you. he saw you. "just... please be careful out there," he bit his lip from the nerves of you being in line of danger.

"i will be. i always am. you know that, spence," you furrowed your brow in confusion from his sudden concern.

"i-i know. it's just that... you've never been undercover with a serial killer before and i j-just don't want you to get hurt," he stuttered.

"you're worried about me?" he nodded.

you placed your hand on his bicep and gently squeezed before pulling him into a hug.

"it's sweet that you're worried. i promise i'll be careful," you whispered in his ear before pulling back, squeezing his arms one more time and walking past him.

spencer watched as you walked out, still feeling beyond anxious as you were literally walking towards danger with each step you took.

he began to think about all the possible outcomes of the night, everything that could go wrong and lead to you getting hurt... or worse.

he walked out of the room once he collected his thoughts, and pushed them aside. he couldn't be distracted right now. he had to make sure you would be safe and okay.

he always wanted you to be okay. he wanted you to have everything you've ever wanted it. in his mind, that's the least you deserved for being... you.

you made sure everyone else was okay after a rough case. you always gave them a hug when they needed one. you let everyone vent to you when they were having a rough time. you let him finish his rants and never told him that 'nobody cares' or rudely change the subject.

you even went to watch movies with him when others would refuse - even though he knew you did that out of pity, he couldn't help but feel special. you would always offer your presence in place of the others. he eventually just started asking you after a while, to which you would happily agree.

but you never asked for anything in return. ever. you were obviously beginning to get stressed from having to manage everyone else's problems atop your own.

he wanted to help you with that. he wants to be the person you talk to about rough things. he wants to be the shoulder your tears can fall on. he wants to be there for you. he wants to be with you.

walking out of the room hotch told him he would be the person undercover inside with morgan, keeping an eye on you as you openly flirted with a hot serial killer.

great.

you slid into the passenger seat of the car after putting a mic on somewhere he wouldn't notice a few minutes before you were joined by spencer and morgan, morgan of course being the driver.

"so, pretty girl, pretty boy and i are gonna be your watchdogs for the night," morgan informed you.

"so hotch, jj, emily, and rossi are in charge of the cars?" you wanted affirmation.

"yup. they're gonna be right outside all night until you leave. when you do, we're going back to this car to follow you as well," spencer finalized, admiring the way your skin was glowing with the street lights beaming down through the windshield.

"right. sounds good to me," you assured them, trying to mask the way the nerves were eating at you.

"hey," morgan reached over and placed a hand on your thigh comfortingly. "we're not gonna let anything happen to you."

"i know," you took a deep breath. "just a little nervous."

"that's to be expected. you're putting your life at risk for the betterment of others, y/n," spencer gushed. "that's extremely admirable of you."

"thank you, spence," you turned around, placed a hand on his knee, and lightly squeezed.

the rest of the drive to the gallery was quiet and comfortable. you managed to get out of your own head and focus on what was about to go down.

you went into the gallery a couple minutes after it opened, wanting the unsub to watch you entering. the guys followed behind you after about 5 minutes.

you clocked the unsub after being in there a few minutes, and began walking over to greet him.

you stood beside him as he was admiring a painting of 'infinity mirror room fireflies on water' by yayoi kusama. he turned to face you with a smirk on his face.

"it's beautiful, isn't it?" you asked, nudging his arm gently as he continued to search your appearance.

"indeed it is," he said, still eyeing your body. you mentally gagged, but externally you giggled, bringing a hand up to your chin to bring attention to your lips.

"this particular painting is supposedly one of her most popular pieces. this one, followed by 'narcissus garden'," you informed him, to which he raised his eyebrows in approval.

"wow. you must know your art, huh?" he asked, you nodded. "smart... i like that," he said as he reached up to move your hair behind your ear. "i'm michael."

"y/n."

spencer was watching the whole time. he couldn't help but wish it was him you were giggling at. he wished he was the one pushing a strand of hair behind your ear.

you were imagining it was him.

"how about we get out of here?" he asked, bringing his hand to cup your face softly. "i know a nice, quiet place we can go."

if it were anyone else, and if you didn't know what he really meant by a 'nice, quiet place," you might've thought it was a sweet sentiment. but he was a literal serial killer.

"yea?" you bit your lip softly. "that sounds great," you agreed before he took your arm in the crook of his, leading you outside.

you turned your head to make sure spencer and morgan were aware of what was happening. they nodded their head as they watched him escort you through the doors.

he had the valley pick up his car and open the door for you.

"such a gentleman," you nodded at him as he gave you a straight-toothed smile.

spencer and morgan ran to the car as they saw you hop in his with him. they were the first ones lined up behind you and michael.

the ride with him was quiet and eerie, probably because you knew what his true intentions were.

meanwhile, spencer and morgan were anticipating your arrival at some undisclosed location. in an attempt to ease their nerves, they tried to talk about another subject.

"sooo... y/n looked nice tonight, huh?" morgan probed.

"i-i'm not discussing this with you!" spencer shouted.

"alright, alright," he took a deep breath, trying to think about what else to talk about. "so are you looking forward to this weekend?" he asked.

"actually, yea. i've been looking. forward to it for weeks now!" spencer shouted, excited this time. "jane goodall doesn't lecture very often, and the fact that he's doing it so close and i somehow managed to get a ticket is astonishing," he gushed.

"wow, you're really excited about this," morgan stated the obvious, to which spencer nodded eagerly.

"i am," he said before noticing michael pulling into a parking lot. "there! turn right there!" spencer pointed as morgan began to take the turn.

michael escorted you out of the car, walking hand in hand. he lead to you a bench, and you knew that was where he was planning his attack. you felt your heartbeat pick up as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled something out.

spencer and morgan ran up to where you two were sitting right before he revealed that he was holding a knife.

"FBI! MICHAEL DAVID PUT YOUR HANDS UP!" morgan demanded, his and spencer's guns raised.

"michael, y/n is not your ex wife. she isn't her," spencer attempted to talk him down.

"i don't care! she needs to die! savannah needs to pay!" michael yelled in frustration as he took you underneath his arm, pressing the knife into the side of your torso.

"let. her. go," spencer demanded.

"NO!!" michael squeezed tighter. "she has to SUFFER!!" he said as he jabbed the knife deep in your side and removed it.

morgan ran over to arrest michael as spencer ran to your side as you began to fall to the ground, calling medics as he caught you in his arms right before you hit the ground.

"hey, hey," spencer calmed you as he moved a piece of hair from your face. "stay with me."

"i-i'm okay," you consoled spencer, holding your hand over his that rested on your face. "he-he took the knife out. apply pr-pressure," you instructed.

"r-right. of course," he said as he moved one of his hands to press on the incision, a wince coming from you as he did so. "i'm s-sorry."

"don't worry ab-about it. ahh!" you groaned as you heard sirens approaching.

"shhh, shhh. i'm here. it's okay. i'm not leaving you," he told you as you moved your free hand to cup his face.

"promise?" you asked meekly.

"i promise. i would never leave you," he said as he leaned into your touch.

they loaded you into the back of the ambulance, to which spencer hopped in with you. he held your hand the entire way to the hospital, only releasing it when they needed to perform cpr after you bled out too much.

they had to give you stitches because of the stabbing, but no major organs were punctured in the process. they made you aware of the trouble you would have when walking or standing for a certain amount of time. they kept you overnight for one day and released you for the weekend.

hotch had given everyone their mandatory two weeks off because of the spur of back to back cases you had gotten and asked anderson to drive you home.

you had never been one to ask for help, and spencer knew that. if anyone truly payed any attention, they would realize that as well.

he knew that you wouldn't want to bother anyone's time off with having to help you through an injury.

he also felt guilty for your injury in the first place.

if he had been able to talk the unsub down then you wouldn't have been hurt. it was his fault you were in pain, and hiding your pain nonetheless.

spencer had also been waiting to hear jane goodall's lecture for so long now... and there was no telling if she would ever lecture again.

you were struggling. far more than you'd want to admit. you could barely get up to get yourself a glass of water, let alone stand in the shower for long enough.

you had learned to lean against the wall for the majority of the time in the shower, and rinsing off as quickly as you could. luckily you put a bar along the wall, you had installed it while sitting down on the floor.

you could barely manage to change into any clothes. you hadn't been wearing a bra since the accident because you just couldn't turn your body at all in order to put one on.

you had finally come to the conclusion you really didn't want to admit.

you needed help.

you had become so desperate and helpless that you had to call someone.

but who should you call?

jj was with will and her kids, morgan with savannah, hotch with jack, penny with kevin, rossi with joy, and you didn't know what spencer was doing.

maybe you could call him?

you dialed his number as you winced from trying to change the bandage on your side.

"spencer reid here," he answered cheerily, already feeling happy from receiving a call from you.

"hey, spence," you answered, already feeling guilty for having to ask so much from him. "wh-what are you doing right now? did you have any plans?" you asked with a shaky, guilt ridden voice.

spencer thought about what this question meant. you wanted to know what he was doing so he could help you. you couldn't go out right now because of your stabbing, so you obviously needed help.

he felt partially guilty for not offering you his help in the first place, but you both knew that you would refuse it the first time he would've offered anyway.

so what, jane goodall was lecturing for possibly the last time ever right near him and he had tickets? you needed help. and you wanted him to help. you wanted him.

"nope. no plans," he lied, much to your relief.

"i need - would you - can..." you took a deep breath, trying to figure out the right words. "i'm sorry to have to ask but... i need help, spence. w-would you mind coming over?" you asked in a reserved manner.

spencer felt his heart swell at the thought of you needing his help. it made him feel wanted, and needed. for such an independent, strong woman to need him he felt as though it was more him that needed to check up on you.

"i wouldn't mind at all," he replied with an apparent grin.

"oh my gosh, you're a life saver. could you stay the weekend? i just... i just really need the help," you admitted with a chuckle to hide the disappointment.

"yea. sure. i can stay the weekend," he agreed happily. "i'll be there in 15 minutes."

he grabbed his go bag and ran to the nearest convenient store to grab some of your favorite snacks.

you popped a pain killer in your mouth in an attempt to ease the pain a bit more while spencer was with you.

he used his spare key to get inside and set the bag of goodies on your living room table.

"y/n?" spencer called out in an attempt to find you.

"hey, spence," you said as you peeked out of the bathroom after putting the painkillers back into your cabinet.

you wobbled out of the bathroom, clutching your side as you took each step. spencer felt horrible watching you in pain while doing something as simple as walking.

"hi. how're you feeling? wait, that's kind of a stupid question considering..." he rolled his eyes at his response as he met you about as soon as you stepped out of the restroom and wrapped your free arm around his shoulder so he could help you finish the trek to your living room.

"i'm feeling better than i was yesterday, which i would definitely consider a success," you feigned a smile.

he knew you were probably dulling down how bad you felt by trying to shed some light on whatever you could. you've always tried to avoid pity as much as you could, reasonably so. he just wished you would be straight forward with him.

"y/n, i know you're trying to downsizing how bad you feel by diverting my attention to something more positive. how are you feeling now," spencer corrected his question as he helped you ease onto the couch.

"shitty. i feel shitty," you said, looking down at your hands and paying around with them. "i just feel bad for dragging you away from your vacation. we rarely get time off, and the one time we do i take up your time. it just doesn't seem fair for you," you explained as spencer sat down beside you.

"you aren't a burden, y/n," spencer consoled as he placed a hand on your lower thigh. "i'm glad you called me to help you. i'm glad that i'm spending my vacation time with you. don't ever think that it isn't fair for me, because i truly enjoy spending time with you. okay?"

you took a deep breath, trying to take in the environment around you. placing your hand atop his, you interlaced your fingers and bent your head down to lean onto his shoulder.

"thank you, spencer," you sighed deeply. "for everything."

"it's no problem at all," he replied as he placed a kiss on the top of your head, leaning his cheek down to rest on your head. "oh! i brought you your favorite snacks!" he exclaimed.

you lifted your head off his shoulder as he jumped up to retrieve the bag of goodies. he sat back down and began unboxing the snacks in an amusing manner.

"ohh, just you wait until i show you the last one!" he said as he pulled out your favorite chips on the coffee table.

he then followed by revealing your favorite drinks, favorite spicy snack, and finally, after a long drumroll, he revealed your favorite candy.

"spencer walter reid, i think i'm in love," you said as you placed a kiss on his cheek.

you didn't realize what you'd said or done until the time had passed. you bit your lip softly after removing your lips from his cheek, noticing the smile and blush growing on his face.

he wanted that kiss to be a couple inches to the left, right in the center of his face, right on his lips. he wanted you to mean it when you told him you were in love with him.

and you wanted that too.

"i knew i was doing good," he smirked.

that comment made his gut twist in a way it hasn't in a long time. he didn't know if you meant what you had said, he's never been good at social ques. but even then, the way you blushed and bit your lip as if you had revealed something told him something different.

"hmm, now that's downsizing it," you countered, a laugh erupting from both yours and spencer's chest. "how about we dig in? i haven't eaten much since the hospital since it's kinda hard to get around."

"how could i refuse?" spencer quipped as he reached for the chips, opening them and placing one in his mouth and offering the bag to you.

you and him sat on the couch and talked for a while. he mentioned the theories of relativity and how einstein even developed it. you were engrossed by his rants and monologues, mesmerized by his tone and voice.

the way his throat would get raspy the longer he had been talking, not even that would stop him from getting his message across. he's always been a determined guy, something you've found attractive in him. he's not really one to give up. he's quite resilient, and makes for really good conversation as well.

you both had even decided to watch a movie. he convinced you to finally watch star trek with him, mostly because you had never seen it and he looked so damn cute trying to convince you to go on that journey with him.

spencer didn't feel like he was even missing out on the lecture when he was with you. in fact, he didn't even remember he had wanted to go. he was too entranced by you to notice.

the hours that went by felt like it went by far too quickly. by the time you looked at the clock, it was half past 11 pm., which also meant it was time for you to take your meds again and change your bandage.

"okay..." you sighed. "it's doctor time now," you grimaced at the thought of having to get up again.

"right!" he stood up from the couch and bent down to help you. "let's get you up," he said as he wrapped your arm around his shoulder and his underneath your armpit, wanting to avoid the incision.

you were able to smell his aroma, the warmth his scent provided to you, the comfort it ensued, the distraction it so graciously offered from the pain that wreaked havoc on your mind. it transported you to a place where you were too preoccupied by the smell of coffee and burnt vanilla to notice the pain even if it was just for a few minutes.

he helped you sit on your bathroom counter as he got your meds and the bandages you guided him to retrieve.

"so can i-or you- or just.. we need to remove your shirt," he stuttered out, already feeling nervous at the thought of seeing what was underneath your shirt.

you were silently thanking yourself for putting on a good bra today as you subtlety leaned back and lifted your arms up for him to remove your shirt.

his eyes tried their best to avoid looking at your chest. although he definitely wished he could, he knew it wasn't right because of how you were inured right now. instead, he opted to look at the injury, trying to assess the stages of healing.

"okay, the stitches look good, although they do look rather irritated," he said as he gently ran his hands around the cut.

his touch brought shivers to your body, and he noticed the goosebumps from your body betraying you.

"so... i just need to not wear a shirt for the next few days?" you asked with your brows raised. "or are you just trying to see me walk around topless for a while?" you laughed enthusiastically, wincing as your muscles contracted round the stabbing.

"hey, hey, hey..." spencer said grabbing your face to help you concentrate on something else. "i'm gonna put the medication on the wound now, so we should talk about something to distract you now. any recommendations?" he said as he grabbed the ointment the doctor prescribed.

"so, what were your plans for the break? anything special?" you asked as he dabbed some of the medication on.

you ended up squirming slightly as he continued to apply it. spencer noticed your discomfort quickly, so he offered you his hand to hold and squeeze as you felt the pain.

"umm actually there was one thing, but i don't think that'll work out anymore," he admitted as he felt your hand squeeze gently.

"wh-what was that? your plans?" you asked softly.

"jane goodall was lecturing," he said, only revealing enough to not make you feel so guilty.

"jane goodall doesn't lecture very often. i'm pretty sure that was today, right? it was downtown DC," you clarified, brows furrowing in the process.

of course you would know that. you liked goodall, too. he knew that look on your face and he should've known better than to say anything at all.

"yea. it was today," he smiled as he thought of the day he spent with you instead of a famous scientist.

you squeezed his hand harder and leaned back with your eyes wide at the revelation, mouth parted slightly.

"spencer, you didn't," you sad solemnly, sighing as the guilt flooded through you.

"don't worry about it. i wanted to help you," he said, lifting your head up by your chin to look him in the eyes.

"she rarely lectures anymore. that was probably her last one, spence. you missed it because of me," you said with an eyeroll, upset that he would do something so reckless. "for a genius you're kinda stupid."

love makes you stupid, spencer thought to himself.

"i would rather make sure you're okay and well taken care of than see her work," he tried to convince you as you shook your head in defiance.

"since when did you think that doing that would be the right choice, spence? why did you do that?" you pushed his shoulder back gently as you furrowed your brows slightly in confusion.

"y/n..." he trailed off, feeling the nerves eating at him as you raised your eyebrows in question. "i-i um... iminlovewithyou," he spurted out.

"what?" you asked him, not understanding what he said.

"i... am... in love..." he took a deep breath, avoiding eye contact, "with you."

this time you grabbed him by his face and pulled him into yours, your lips colliding. he was tense at first, not realizing what was going on, but very soon relaxed at your touch.

he placed his hand on the side of your face as he brought the other to the back of your head, deepening the kiss. you wrapped one of your hands into his hair, playing with his beautiful locks as you continued the kiss.

after a few more seconds, you both pulled back from one another for a breath.

"i love you too, spencer," you said with a smile.

"let's finish putting this medication on, then we can talk about that some more," he said as he placed the bandage on your wound gently, not wanting to further hurt you.

"so... that's why you missed that lecture, huh?" you questioned with a smirk.

"well," he replied, "that and i promised you i would never leave you. even if there is a famous scientist lecturing right near us."

@averyhotchner​ @greenprisca @muffin-cup

[redandyellowziam]

Must is a very big word. They signed a contract to participate in a public narrative that was/is a lie. In exchange for some form of monetary or personal gain. This at the expense of human beings who they know were participating in the narrative against their free will. If you agree to participate in that narrative willingly, then I am not sure you necessarily care how the public reacts to your part in the lie. Empathy, compassion, understanding seems not in their vocabulary. As for the label it is a billion-dollar mega corporation. It would take much more than an outraged fan base to make it change its tactics. Tactics of imposing their will on the artists signed to them. But to hedge its bets they have crafted narratives structured to fracture the fanbase and leave at least some in the public skeptical of their participation in the narrative itself. Even with a great PR campaign with the lads and various other people talking to correct the record the corporation will survive. Michael Jackson, Prince, George Michael ring a bell.

As to the structure of a contract. It may depend on what the expectations are and what you are trying to accomplish. It is much easier managing a solo artist as opposed to a band. Personalities, egos, differences in musical expression all play a factor in creating a band. As well as the likelihood of the bands longevity in this industry as a result of these personalities, egos, differences in musical expression. As I said 1D was thrown together. They did not arrive as a band but rather competed as individuals. I don't think there was any expectation by mgmt. that 1D had potential for any significant longevity in this industry. Questioning the different talent levels of the different members being one example. Hence, I don't think an extended contract offer was extended to 1D. But a result of the public's response to 1D once the band was introduced to them, I think they thought that they would get as much profit out of them as they could while they managed them. Subsequently, 1D released five albums in five years and produced 100s of millions in profit for label/mgmt. If you have a 30 yr. contract for example, why are you doing five albums in five years? It was most certainly not at the request and direction of 1D. I see it a way that mgmt. thought they could get as much money as they could while 1D was still under contract as a group. While also laying the groundwork for managing one or two of the members as solo artists and letting the others go. While it may have seemed a good strategy in the beginning seeing as how many bands want to go their separate ways an embark on their solo careers. What made 1D very different than any other band was the internal relationships within 1D. The ability for mgmt. to pit 1D against each other as a means to break the band up and thus expedite the desired result of focusing on solo careers did not work. What it did do however was make 1D collectively refuse to renew their contract with label/mgmt. They wanted solo artists not a group. Why does Liam hint at a reunion from time to time? Perhaps there is a method to his madness.

Okay, so according to you, once they saw they couldn't bring the 'bad blood' narrative between them, they got them to refuse to renew the contracts, so they could have the solo artists they wanted. But then if those contracts weren't renewed, which ones are supposedly ending in 2023/24? The solo ones? And if so, how can they be connected to each other?

Also, mind me for asking this but, even if these conclusions are what lot of us got to, you seem to speak from experience or at very least deep knowledge about it, so I don't know who you are or where you come from, but let me tell you, you just became a really 'reliable' source for us.

The solo contracts, even if all of them seem controlling and as bad as the ones when they were in the band, seem to be really different for each of the boys. For example, Louis seems to have a bit more freedom with the new label, and even if his pr and stunts are still going on, it does not make as much noise as Liam's, Zayn's and Harry's. Will all of them expire relatively close in time, or will they go on even further than 2023? What will that do to all of them?

I'm just trying to understand all of it.

[softsebnbuckystan]

Souls ties - Part 3 (Bucky Barnes au)

"I had all and then most of you

Some and now none of you

Take me back to the night we met"

The sun had set a while ago and the band had been replaced by speakers, meaning the party was coming to an end, even though you still hadn't properly talked to Bucky. You  knew you probably should've payed more attention to your own husband but Darren seemed to enjoy himself more around his college friends. It would've driven you mad, had it been a regular party. Oddly enough, his behaviour that night didn't bother you as much as it should've. One might say your attention was elsewhere. It was late, and you were thirsty for water after all the champagne and hors-d'oeuvres you'd had. You were positive your rosy cheeks attested for it. At the bar, you took a minute for yourself and sat down, taking this occasion to relieve your feet from your high-heel shoes. The night's fresh air made the hair on your neck stand on end and your body's instinct was to shiver, even though the weather was still quite nice. Your body tensed up as you felt a presence at your side.

"Feeling a little tired there?" he asked. You were starting to know this voice now, and it was like music to your ears.

"I needed to be away from the crowd for a moment," you confessed.

"Oh, I can leave if you want."

This made you look at him instantly. "No, stay." You realised how pressing you must've sound and chuckled at his confused eyes – which had a beautiful shade of blue in the moonlight. "I mean...I didn't want to get away  from you, specifically. Sorry if it sounded that way."

"I'd get it, you know," Bucky said. "What happened earlier..."

"...was disturbing for us both, I assume."

Bucky didn't say anything about you interrupting him. It felt natural, actually, almost like finishing his sentence rather than rudely stopping him mid-speech.  "Yeah, exactly," he continued. "I'm really sorry if that caused you...any pain or something."

"What? The coffee?" you asked naïvely. "Don't worry, it wasn't that hot," you said with a wink.

A faint smile appeared on Bucky's lips, making you notice both how he hadn't smiled much until then and that it lightened up his face in a touching way.

"I meant pain as in fear, or anxiety. Your wedding mustn't be the place you expected to hear those words." He looked you in the eyes and you  shivered once more. "Are you cold?"

You shook your head no before looking down to your knees. His eyes on you were making you  feel all sorts of ways you wouldn't dream of sharing with anyone. "No, I'm not," you said. Taking a careful breath in, you decided to glance at him. Your eyes paused at the same time as your lungs, taken away by the beauty of the man's face. Something behind his blue iris was beyond description and drove you even more eager to get to know him, his story, his passions and pet-peeves, his everything. He'd seemed to have stopped breathing for a second as well, but you weren't entirely sure it hadn't been a figment of your imagination.

"Maybe we should go back to the others," you whispered. You tried getting off your stool and slipped next to your shoe. Bucky moved fast to grab you with his arm and prevent you from hitting the ground. His grip was firm –  exaggeratedly firm. You brushed off the sensation of his leather glove on your back and thanked him hastily before going back to Steve.

"Are you okay?" he asked, lowering his voice.

"Yeah, sure." You knew he wasn't fooled by your answer ; Steve knew you better than you knew yourself. Bucky stayed silent for a while after that, and neither of you seemed to fathom what to do next.

---

"Ready to go, honey?"

You opened surprised eyes at Darren's question. It was barely past midnight.

"Darren, we can't leave before the other guests, c'mon..."

Your husband looked disappointed and now that most of your shock had gone away, his attitude was slowly driving you mad, especially when you gave deeper thought to his actions and words throughout the day.

"Do you even want to be here at all?" you asked him, somewhat dryly.

"Calm down, y/n. We've been here forever and I wanna rest for the night. Is that too much to ask?"

"Resting on your wedding night? Yeah,  that's a lot to ask for," you replied. "I thought we were going to party until the end and have fun with our friends before going home. Consensual marriage is supposed to be celebrated, don't you know that? Ugh, you really are a buzzkill sometimes."

"Wow, easy there. If you want to stay,  fine. But I'm going home."

"Are you serious right now?" Your stomach was burning with anger and disappointment. You loved Darren, but this kind of behaviour had become a habit of his. "You're going to leave me alone at our wedding party?"

"You're not alone, you have Steve and Wanda and...whoever that guy is over there. Enjoy the rest of your night."

"Damn it, Darren, that's not fair!"

Wanda's eyes turning towards you made you realise how loud your voices had been and you lowered yours a notch.

"Fine, go home. But don't expect me to be all smiles when I join you, if I even do."

Upon those words, you turned around and walked away from him. You were perfectly aware that there was no point in reasoning with him at this point. You ended up going back to your group and were surprised to see that Steve and Wanda had walked away as well, leaving Bucky alone.

"Where are they  going?" you asked, still angry from what'd just happened.

"They're grabbing more drinks. Wanda said she'd choose something for you since you were...busy."

You brought your hand to your forehead, ashamed that he'd heard you losing your temper.

"Sorry about that. He's just...difficult, sometimes."

"I saw that," he said with his hands in his pockets, "and no need to be sorry." You could see him take a deep breath in before he kept talking, even  though he was trying hard to look as calm and composed as possible. "Come, let's take a walk. It'll help you blow off some steam."

You followed Bucky through the garden and as you drifted away from the crowd, hearing less and less voices, a soothing feeling filled your body and mind. You took deep breaths in and deep breaths out, taking in the bucolic smell of the close-by forest. The only thing left bothering you were your shoes, and you made the call to take them off, leaning on Bucky's shoulder without even thinking about it. He stopped to let you do it.

"Here, let me hold them." He gently grabbed your shoes by the heels and carried them for the way.

"Thank you." You took a peek at him and smiled. "How did you know a walk would calm me down?"

"I...I  just did," he answered with a shrug. "Did it work?"

"It's starting to." You smiled at him ingenuously, taking in some of his features at the same time. The slight crook of his nose, the rebellious hair on his neck...  A question was burning your lips. It was just the two of you, so you might as well just ask. "Did you ever give much thought to what your tattoo said?"

He didn't seem taken aback by your question. At least you didn't think he was, even though his emotions were hard to read.

"Not really. I just assumed someone would pay me a compliment out of the blue  and confuse the hell out of me." He chuckled for the first time since you'd met him and you got a feeling that didn't happen often. He stopped quickly, as would a kid caught red-handed. "You?"

"I had lots of scenarios in my head. Someone bumping into me, stepping on my feet or even running me over with a car...I mean, that sentence could've been said at many occasions, really."

"It's true, though I don't think saying 'shit, I'm sorry' would be an appropriate apology after running somebody over with a car."

You laughed at his remark and nodded in agreement.

"True. It is only an appropriate apology for spilling coffee all over someone," you teased.

You couldn't even hear the music the speakers were playing anymore, only the insects buzzing and leaves brushing against each other. As you walked, you got dangerously closer to Bucky. You knew what your body was doing, where your legs were taking you, but you had no idea why  they were doing it. You shouldn't have been standing so close to him, especially on your wedding night. Your hand accidentally brushed against his leather glove and he moved away. His movement wasn't big enough to call it an act of repulsion, but you also didn't know why exactly he didn't want to be close to you.

"I'm sorry," you said. "I just..."

"...want to be close. I know." He sighed and stopped walking. "It's a weird feeling and I didn't think you...I thought you weren't feeling it."

"What? The feeling that draws me to you and that I can't control? Of course I feel that. I've...I've met you hours ago, and yet..."

"You feel a connection that dates to much longer than that," he finished.

"Exactly. I couldn't really put words on it but...yeah. That's what it feels like."

"I'm sorry," he said. "Steve wanted me to come here for some reason and I..."

"Don't say you shouldn't have come, please."

He looked back at you and saw you'd been staring at your feet saying that sentence. His face changed in an instant.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. Not at all, actually... If I hadn't been there tonight, you might have actually enjoyed your wedding."

"I did enjoy it," you replied in a hurry. "Just not the way I imagined." You stared into his eyes,  trying to understand what he was feeling in this very moment. "We'll see each other again, right?"

"That might not be a good idea, as much as I would want to."

"But...as my sister always tells me, soulmates don't have to be romantic. I can be happily married and still get to know you....can I?"

He tightened his lips, thinking about his answer. His face gave you no clue as to what he truly wanted, but the answer he gave you might have been an indication.

"You can try. I can try."

---

Part 3 is where I chose to start the fluff haha! I hope you enjoyed this part. It felt quite cute writing it, so I hope the final result is :)

tag list:

@ginger-swag-rapunzel

[stardestroyer81]

On September 11th, 2020, I posted this, a teaser for a 'faux Earthbound-inspired project' featuring four brightly colored silhouettes of its four main characters. The concept and characters were shrouded in mystery up until April 7th of the following year, where I posted yet another teaser in the form of an in-game screenshot, revealing the character of Lauren Henley and the project's placeholder title, Project 2000.

In that post, I mentioned that Project 2000 isn't the project's final name, and that I would be unveiling its true name later on down the line. The truth of the matter was that I could have gone and revealed the true name as early as... well, 2020 if I wanted to. But a lot of the project was still being figured out at that time (Including the designs of its main characters!), and I wanted to hold off on revealing anything more until I knew I was 100% ready to explain what this 'Project 2000' even is.

Now, nearing a year after I posted the initial first teaser, I feel as though it's about time to introduce a few more original characters of mine to this blog, and with that being said...

Let's talk about Override!

Shigesato Itoi's 1994 cult classic Earthbound (Known as MOTHER 2 in Japan) flopped due to misleading marketing when it came around to being released in the states, but its witty humor, nonstandard JRPG setting and its colorful visual presentation proved to be a hit to the American audience in due time.

This, of course, led to creators opting to shape games around a similar basis to Earthbound, whether its in terms of graphical style, humor, battle tactics, and much more. I think the most popular example when the phrase "Earthbound-Inspired RPG" comes to mind is undoubtedly Toby Fox's Undertale, which shared a lot of the same humor as its inspiration as well as a similar graphical style.

Some fans liked the MOTHER series so much that they wanted to take the franchise into their own hands and create the next installment after Shigesato Itoi stated that MOTHER 3 was the last game in the franchise, and MOTHER 4 began production by fans. Many Winter 2014s later, it was unsure if the game was still in production, though the project was officially rebranded as its own entity as Oddity in 2020.

Override is, essentially, my kind of Undertale/Oddity, mixing elements from Earthbound, MOTHER 3, the Y2K bug and the general 2000s aesthetic together into one. By that first part, I mean it's an Earthbound-Inspired RPG crafted by my own hand (Dating as far back as mid-2019); it, of course, isn't an actual game, but rather a collection of conceptual art pieces and faux in-game screenshots I've made detailing what it would look like as a real game (Like Mega Man Ultimate).

Oh, right, the plot! Bear in mind that a lot of the finer details of Override's story haven't quite been figured out yet, but I can say that I at least have enough to finally get around to talking about it.

Charles Feldman, CEO of Synergon Robotics, longs to spearhead a dystopian world with an invincible army of technologic law-enforcers, though finds it almost impossible to in his current time, the year 2095, where such technology is commonplace.

For years, he has meticulously shaped a plan where he, a team of subordinates and all the robo-security he could need would time travel back just before the year 2000, wherein he would corrupt all technology at that point with a 'Y2K Bug' and force the denizens of the world to live a lifestyle not unlike the events of the novel 1984, wherein humanity's every move is closely observed, and if someone steps out of line, they fall to the wrath of the Synergon Police.

His plan, for the most part, is successful. He travels back to the date November 18th, 1997 to have enough time to prepare for his eventual world-ruling plan on midnight, January 1st, 2000. The aforementioned Synergon police are armed with powerful devices called 'Psiometers', which are watch-like gadgets which connect to the user's neural network to unlock the powers of the mind.

Psiometers alongside other tech necessary for Feldman's ploy are transferred base-to-base in the middle of the night via drones, which are equipped with cameras and can hold up to twenty pounds of equipment. However, on the night of December 30th, 1999, a flaw in the wrap-up of Feldman's ultimate plan occurs, when a last minute drone delivery of two Psiometer units results in a crash.

The drone lands in the yard of the Henley residence. Nine and a half year old Lauren Henley overhears the crash and goes outside to investigate, finding the busted drone amidst the snow. After another brief malfunction, it shuts itself down, and Lauren, vowing to figure out its origins, drags it into the garage and goes back to bed...

December 31st, 1999. Lauren brings the Synergon drone to her neighbor's house, and shows it to her best friend, nine year old Casey Treverton. The two shortly discover the drone's contents, and Lauren instantly suspects there's more to the Synergon story. They ultimately are short on answers for the time being, and keep the whole thing a secret from their parents until later that night...

One minute until the new year. Casey and Lauren hurry to the downstairs of the Treverton residence to catch the ball drop for the new millennium. Whatever weirdness happened earlier is put on the backburner as the two flop down in front of the TV, eagerly counting down the seconds left of 1999.

"5... 4... 3... 2..."

Then, a nationwide power shortage. Nobody has any clue what's going on. Eventually, the TV flickers back on, and instead of the new year festivities they had been watching prior, the picture depicts a grizzled although finely dressed man in front of a white backdrop; Charles Feldman.

He states that his message is being broadcast across every television in the country, and reveals his lengthy plan to create a highly technical dystopian society overseen by Synergon Robotics, threatening to rewire any technology he pleases for the worst should anyone oppose him.

Casey and Lauren grimace at each other.

Three months pass. Not a lot has changed this early on in, though the citizens of Maywood are under close surveillance by various automatons to make sure nobody tries anything funny. Lauren decides that she has had enough of this 'Synergon Business' and asks Casey if he's interested in figuring out how the Psiometers work and using them against Synergon to ultimately take them down.

At first, Casey is unsure, true to his nervous personality. There isn't any rational way two children could lead to the downfall of an entity which has taken over the world, but Lauren is sure of their success, and with enough coercing the two embark on a mission to take back what's theirs. Who do they meet along the way? Just how deep does the Synergon plan run? And will they reign victorious? Only time will tell...

Well, now that we have the lengthy scene-setting out of the way, let's check out the good stuff; checking out the four heroes of Override which were teased last year! It's a good thing I chose to wait to show their designs off, because the silhouettes shown in the teaser weren't the same designs as what I have now. So, let's get right into it!

It may have taken much longer than I expected to show Override off, but at the very least that means I can now get around to posting/writing about what I've come up for it! I have a lot of Override-related content on the way, though I find that this is an excellent way to introduce its world! A LOT of work was put into this, so I hope you've enjoyed everything this post has to offer!

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS | CHAPTER 19

First time reader click here

Summary+TWs: We're talking serious feelings here, okay? Reader, you're literally emotionally illiterate. You also have PTSD, which is finally addressed - kinda. Bruce does his best. And he also knows how to kiss... But y'all know that if you read my ramblings about lucid dreaming/shifting/whatever... Chile-, anyways...

My phone kept buzzing and I ignored it until Bruce declared it was time to take a break and review the results. Whilst the man was typing up the data on a nearby StarkPad, I fought the sudden influx of messages that I received from haters and supporters alike after Tony decided on tweeting a reply that could be interpreted in an alarming variety of ways. It was a smart move, I'll admit, but a fucking bother for me nonetheless.

Disabling my DMs and dealing with a follower increase in the thousands wasn't hard; I didn't consider myself a problematic asshole and didn't need to be afraid of "exposure". The parties I went to - I doubted there was any blackmail material in there and the few nudes I'd sent over the years were always face-less. As a gen Z, I knew my internet safety.

The trolls didn't bother me either. It was more sad than annoying, people shitting on others for clout. Iron Man stans were witty, at least, if jealous. I must admit I've never considered the influx of popularity I would experience should I publicly out myself as a friend of Tony's. Girlfriend? Intern? Science child? Whatever cover story he was going to feed the press worked for me, as long as I still got the hugs, the kisses, the dick and the attention.

"Tony..." Bruce groaned, evidently done with the data processing, had to have opened his social media to see his own skyrocketing popularity.

"Yeah, our Tony is being a Tony again," I chuckled, having reset my social media settings so my phone wouldn't constantly beep, vibrate and bother me. School was going to be fun.

Bruce shook his head, fond, coming over to my side of the lab after removing his own hazmat suit. His eyes shiny with newfound knowledge and hair turned adorably fluffy in the confines of the head covering. He was smiling softly. "Food?"

"Sure."

We chewed our sandwiches in silence for a moment, each of us lost in our thoughts.

"I still can't believe Tony told everyone on Twitter you're his girlfriend, usually he keeps this stuff private or schedules a fancy press conference," Bruce's tone was thoughtful.

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that what it was? Seemed ambiguous to me..." I trailed off, confused.

"He worded it like that on purpose, I mean, you're still in high school," The scientist was confident in his words. "But I know Tony. I'm a hundred percent sure that he meant exactly that. Aren't you?"

Shock flooded me. Suddenly, I understood I completely misread the situation. "Um, no? I thought we were, y'know, just fucking. We never defined our relationship and we're definitely not exclusive." I said, chewing on my lip. "You make a valid argument, I'm a high school student and he's a grown ass man that does grown man stuff. Putting aside the fact that he could have anybody in the world so why would he choose me?" I was rambling, thinking out loud. Discussing my feelings has never my strong forte. "It would be stupid to impose monogamy on such a complex man like Tony. Downright idiotic to expect a genius to confine to social norms just because it suits others." I finished with a wave of my hand. Another bubble of thought that had festered within me for the longest time. I felt relieved, finally voicing it out loud. A weight had been lifted off my shoulders, a weight I wasn't previously consciously aware of.

Bruce was watching me intently, with an unreadable expression that held the tiniest bit of awe, admiration perhaps. The silence that followed was unnerving. I fidgeted with my hands, not really knowing where to put them or where to look.

"You know," He took off his glasses, fiddling them in his hands. "I'm not going to sugar coat it. For the longest time, I thought you were going to inadvertently hurt him when you get bored with whatever you've got going on. I respect you, don't misunderstand me, but you are young. Now, I've changed my mind. You've changed my mind," He punctuated his statement with his hand on mine, grasping it. "I think you managed to understand him in a way most people can't. Or don't want to. Understand and accept him in a way that some of us can't even after years of working and living side by side with him." Bruce's gentle fingers skimmed along the top of my palm.

"I don't always understand Tony but I do accept him," I agreed. "Because Tony is a great man."

"I think you're in love with him," Bruce said, absolutely having ignored my previous statement. Just like that, point blank, he pushed to the surface the very feelings I got so good at ignoring. There was no rest for me in this place.

My heart fluttered, picking up the pace. I kept my mouth shut, not trusting it whatsoever. My thoughts became akin to panicked hares, jumping and zigzagging aimlessly in my skull. I didn't see the point in defending myself because the scientist had pointed out the obvious.

Bruce looked at me, softly, warmly. "And don't think we haven't noticed the rise in team morale. The improvement not only in communication, but on the battlefield, too. It's easier to entrust your back to someone with whom you've shared a laugh and a drink the previous night. You're the glue that keeps us together."

Something warm and wet was on my cheeks. I stared at our clasped hands, his words echoing in my head over and over and over. The moment I realized I was crying, I willed myself to stop and failed spectacularly - only more salty fluid streamed down, some of it getting in my nose, on my lips. The sleepless nights were making me unstable.

It took a single sniffle for Bruce to pick me up and wrap up in his kind embrace. I didn't resist, tucking my face into the crook of his neck, holding onto the back of his lab coat, inhaling the smell of his skin and chemicals. It was familiar, calming. Minutes ticked by with me slowly leaking the tension out of my body.

"He loves you, too, maybe he just doesn't realize it yet." Bruce whispered into my hair. "I've never seen Tony so happy, even with Pepper. You are special and you are loved."

There was something unsaid, I felt it. It hung in the ear, it burned the tips of my ears, stood sharp on the tip of my tongue. "I love you too, Bwucie-bear," I whispered into the space between his ear and his jaw. His arms tightened around me.

The man placed several chaste kisses in my hair, running a palm over my back. In moments like these, the crush for him, the very crush that got out of control, blossomed fully into a deep sense of respect and admiration. He made me feel safe. He said all the right words at the right time.

Drowsiness overtook me. As usual, any worries and anxieties I had evaporated, once Banner had his arms around me, shielding me from the world. I didn't forbid myself this time: delicately, my hand slipped through the man's soft messy curls, eliciting a contented sigh.

"You haven't been sleeping well," He more stated than asked.

I had no choice but to nod. "Clint keeps dying in my dreams. Or even worse, he doesn't, he just suffers, endlessly, painfully." I admitted.

Bruce flinched under me, tensing. My face was in between his hands in a second, the scientist sternly looking into my eyes. "Why didn't you say anything? All of us assumed you were okay after what happened." He looked - angry. Not Hulk-out pissed but Bruce-pissed, which equalled a kicked-puppy look seasoned with a great pinch of disappointment.

"I am okay." I lied, shamelessly. "It's getting better. That's why I want to have a party - relax a little, dance, socialize. I don't think Tony would let me go on my own so I figured I can convince him to throw one here." I looked away. It was better for everyone if I dealt with my own problems - they were superheroes, not babysitters.

Bruce frowned. "Why wouldn't Tony let you go?"

"Because of that one time I snorted coke," I rolled my eyes at Bruce's naiveté, leaving the less obvious parts unsaid. Tony knew exactly what I was going to do once I got free reign, he considered it destructive and told me so himself. Admittedly, he had a point but still... I wished I'd been given a choice.

"I'll talk to him," Bruce nodded firmly. "That's not acceptable. He can't forbid you from making mistakes and learning from them."

He was met with my shrug. No excitement came from me regarding this particular turn of conversation. I was drained, limbs like jello, thoughts sluggish. My face was drooping.

"Let's get you to bed," Banner stood up with me wrapped around him. "You need a nap."

"No," I protested. If I went to sleep now, only Satan knew at what ungodly hour I would wake up.

"Yes, Princess," Bruce smirked. I wiggled uncomfortably - when he went all caretaker like, my ovaries wreaked havoc on my body and brain. My thoughts weren't appropriate if Bruce wanted me to see him as a father figure. The signals he was sending were mixed. People around me did that a lot and I wasn't sure how to act so I usually just went with the flow. I decided to do the very same thing in that particular moment.

Curiosity sparked within me, tightly interwoven with the deep longing that settled below my collarbones whenever Tony or one of the others wasn't sitting next to me or talking my ear off. I've almost forgotten how it was to be alone with my thoughts. The maze of my very own self was becoming unfamiliar territory. Alarming.

I allowed Bruce to help me shed my shoes and outer layer of clothing, shivering in the coolness of my room. Despite being a frequent visitor, I still had a 'guest' room in the tower - I mostly stayed at Tony's or Wanda's anyways. During our sleepovers neither me nor the witch minded sharing her enormous bed, to be fair, we could have fit at least two more people in it besides us. Tony took care of his own - all the tower's residents had their apartments furnished with the best stuff.

"Sleep now, Princess," Bruce chastised, tucking a blanket around me, having noticed an earbud in my ear and my smartphone in my hand. I had hoped to kill some time online, damn well knowing sleep wouldn't come easy.

"I don't think I can fall asleep, Bruce," I admitted, looking away. There was just so much going on. My brain wouldn't shut up and if I couldn't drown out the cacophony by being productive, I'd troll the internet, as usual.

Banner sighed, coming to sit next to me, leaning against the headboard. Gently running his fingers through my hair, brushing the outside of his palm against my cheek. "How do you usually deal with this?"

Involuntarily, my eyelashes fluttered. "Tony does most of the work," I admitted coyly. The engineer had a whole arsenal of tricks up his sleeve - sexy and exhausting tricks.

"I see," Bruce muttered, thoughtfully.

I opened my eyes to see him looking down at me with a look I haven't seen before. The usual mildly absent, slightly anxious face he wore was replaced by something I could only describe as hurt envy, like a kid looking at their schoolmate who had all the newest, coolest toys. I used to be on the receiving end of that look far too often and I hated it.

I hid my face against his leg, rubbing my cheek on the raspy corduroy fabric of his pants. "Got any good ideas of your own?" I wondered lowly, thinking about what in the world possessed Bruce to wear corduroy trousers on a semi-casual day, in the twenty-first century.

"Only bad ideas," He replied in a matching low tone. His soft fingertips relocated to my nape, goosebumps rising down my back.

"Humour me," I grinned against his leg.

Bruce was quiet for a moment, the sound of his thinking screaming louder than any words could have done. Knowing the scientist so closely, I found out he was full of surprises - bolder than he appeared outwardly and competitive to a boot. He thought he had a lot to prove to himself and by extension, to others. The unknown, the mystery dangling in front of my nose was exhilarating, trepidation addictive. It took me away from the chaos in my mind.

A gentle grasp on my chin had me turning to look upwards, Bruce's face flushed and focused on my own, open and trusting. He needed to see the obvious, that I trusted him to take care of me. He pulled and I followed, sitting up on my elbows, coming up to his shoulder level, our faces inches apart, enveloped in the unique, intense scent of his herbal tea. It was a tart, strong smell and it suited his quiet but passionate character.

Once, twice, I caught my eyes sliding to his plump lips. They looked far too appealing in this position. I usually strategically stayed away from positions so compromising, fearing the very thing that I'd already let happen, however this time the atmosphere was different. We stood on ambiguous grounds, waiting for Bruce to make a decision.

The man wasn't stupid, he saw the way I looked at him. The nightmares and inability to take a break from life put a significant dent in my resolve to keep a distance between us, romantically - I could have settled even for a pity kiss, a pity fuck. Anything to put my brain on pause.

His lips were softer than I had imagined. Skilled, too, he easily steered the kiss into the shallow waters of our combined longing.

With Tony, it was like an avalanche. Tony ran hot like Peterbilt engines, hard and fast, almost angry in his race for satisfaction. Tony was a man that was used to getting whatever he wanted and it became plainly obvious when we fucked.

Bruce was the opposite. He savoured the kiss, losing himself in a way that could almost be described as delicate. Bruce was humming, softly, as we tasted each other, holding the left side of my face with careful fingertips. Almost as if he was afraid to break me. The feel of his skin on mine was soothing in a way that made me sigh and relax even further.

"Wanna make you feel good." His voice had dropped, gone husky, but his breathing held even. He must know all about self-control.

"Yeah," I was ready to agree with whatever the fuck he was offering. My eyelids remained shut.

THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub ​ @mostly-marvel-musings  @vozit ​ @littlegasps ​ @pilloclock ​ @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads ​ @hermione-grangers-wife ​ @individualistfem ​ @sleep-i-ness @capbrie @lillsxd @agustdowney @dee-vn @justanotherblonde23 @fanngirl19 @persephonehemingway @softie-socks @schemefrenzy @letsby @cutenessloading @romeo-the-cactus @jelly-fishy-babie

PS. Letsby, please don't combust. The underwear is coming off in the next chapter. 😶

[moonstruckholland]

Sober (t.h)

Word count: 1,918

Warnings: drinking, fluff, tiny bits of angst

A/N: The second oneshot for Cosmic Souls! I really hope y'all like this 💕 let me know what you think if you do and if you want, you can find the first oneshot in my masterlist 🥰 also, as always, shout out to the amazing @fangirlwithasweettooth for reading this over

It was obvious by the way you were dressed you hadn't originally planned on having Tom over.

Usually, you didn't care much for getting dressed up when you hung out with Tom at your place, opting for a pair of sweatpants and a loose t-shirt. Not that he ever minded, he loved that you felt comfortable enough to be yourself around him.

Tonight though you had on a pretty floral dress that complimented your skin and more makeup than you usually cared to put on, pops of color and shimmer on your lids that added to the natural sparkle in your eyes.

Tom thought you looked beautiful.

Though, to be fair, there hadn't been a moment since he met you three years ago, in the music history class the both of you were forced to take, where he hadn't thought you looked absolutely stunning.

"So, what exactly happened tonight, love?" He looked up to where you were sitting next to him on the couch, hoping he didn't seem too eager to hear your answer, "You were pretty vague with the details over the phone."

"Fuck, Tommy, it was horrible," you took a sip of your cup, that was mostly filled with vodka, scrunching your nose as the liquid went down your throat, "I had a date tonight with that dude I was telling you about the other day, from my child and family development class."

Tom felt a pang in his chest as he remembered exactly who you were talking about, recalling how you fawned over him while the two of you were having lunch together, mentioning something about wanting to jump his bones.

He felt just as jealous then as he did now, wondering if you'd ever noticed the fact that he would literally do anything for you.

"Not only was he almost an hour late, didn't even bother to warn me, by the way," you rolled your eyes, bringing your cup to your lips again, "He wouldn't stop talking about his ex the whole time, but I'm getting ahead of myself, let me start from when he finally picked me up."

You continued on, taking large gulps of your drink as the details of the story got worse and worse.

Tom followed in your footsteps, drinking more from his cup than he had originally planned when you first handed it to him, each sip helping him refrain from blurting out what he actually wanted to say to you.

It was safe to say by the time you were done talking, the two of you were definitely tipsy.

It was safe to say by the time you were done talking, Tom was definitely buzzed. You on the other hand were on a completely different level, taking shots in between drinks, going harder than Tom had ever seen.

You had just finished your third cup, already working on your fourth one, while Tom had barely taken sips of his third one, figuring it'd be best if at least one of you slowed down.

"How do you manage to find the worst guys to go on dates with?"

You sighed, "I don't know, I just want one actually nice guy to want me, that's it."

'I want you,' is what Tom's thoughts were begging him to say. Instead he gave you a sympathetic smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "You'll have that some day, darling."

You leaned back on the couch, sadness overcoming your features, "I wish there were more guys like you, Tommy."

He barely had time to register your words, his head fuzzy from the alcohol, before you distracted him with an awkward cough, mumbling something about it being too warm.

"Maybe you should take that as a sign to take a break."

Just like that the sadness washed away, replaced with a wicked smile, "I don't know what you're talking about, I'm only getting started."

Tom rolled his eyes, getting up from the couch with a groan and walking over to the fridge to get a couple of water bottles and the bag of chips on the kitchen counter, knowing you'd have the worst hangover if he didn't get some food and something non-alcoholic in your system.

He brought them over to you, handing you the bottle and putting the chips on your lap, "Eat something please, darling."

"Don't wanna eat," you shook your head stubbornly, "I wanna dance."

Before Tom could protest, you downed the rest of your cup before jumping up and grabbing his hand, pulling him up with you. "C'mon, dance with me, Tommy, please."

"But there's no music."

Tom expected you to do the easy thing and connect your phone to your Bluetooth speakers and play one of the dozens of playlists you had on Spotify, instead you caught him off guard by belting out the lyrics to What Makes You Beautiful.

He couldn't help the laughter that bursted from him as you started swaying and twirling while you sang.

It was totally ridiculous, but Tom found himself singing along with you, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you close so you could sway together.

After a while you stopped singing and put your head on his chest, making his heart hurt. He wished this was more than what it was, more than him comforting you after a bad date.

Tom tried not to dwell on his negative thoughts, deciding to just close his eyes, lay his head on top of yours, and enjoy having you close to him like this.

He got lost in you, the feeling of your hands in his and the way your body was pressed against him, so close he could smell the scent of your favorite perfume.

He'd been close to you so many times over the years, but something about this was inherently different, more intimate than you'd ever been before.

There was nothing he wanted more than to stay in this moment, in your embrace, for the rest of the night and honestly he would've if you hadn't somehow tripped over his feet, resulting in the two of you falling back onto the couch.

You landed on top of Tom, drunken giggles escaping your lips, "Are you okay?"

"I'm cutting you off for the night," he huffed, making you laugh even more as you attempted to apologize.

You rolled off of him after a moment, your chest rising rapidly as you tried to catch your breath. It took everything in him not to pull you back, his body aching for your warmth as soon as it was gone

"I think...it's time for bed."

"Good idea," Tom stood up, holding out his hand to help you do the same.

"Will you pretty please carry me? I have jelly legs."

Tom couldn't help rolling his eyes at you, "Jelly legs from what? You're the one that fell on me."

"Please?" You pouted, "Because you love me?"

'I really do.'

If he had wanted to, he would've put up a fight, but deep down he knew he would do anything you asked of him. You had him completely wrapped around your finger.

"Fine," he said, pretending to be annoyed, as if he hadn't already decided he would carry you the second you asked him to.

He hooked one arm underneath your legs, the other under your back, holding you close to his chest as he carried you to your bedroom.

"Thank you for taking care of me, Tommy," you said softly as he laid you down, pulling your blanket over you and pressing a kiss to your forehead.

"I'll always be here to take care of you."

'I'd do anything for you.'

He was about to leave your room and pass out on the couch, when you grabbed his arm, "Stay with me? Please?"

He nodded, wordlessly crawling under the covers beside you.

You turned over so you were facing him, your hands in between you, just barely touching Tom's, an unreadable expression on your features.

"What are you thinking about?"

You shook your head, "It's so dumb."

He gently nudged your leg with his, "Tell me, darling."

"I-fuck, okay," you looked down, suddenly very interested in the pattern on your blanket. "I swear there wasn't a moment tonight where I hadn't wished I was with you."

"After what you told me, I wish I was there too."

"No, Tommy, you don't get it," you chewed your lip nervously, looking everywhere but at him, "I don't just feel this way about this date, it's every date."

Your words weren't really clicking in Tom's head and he was starting to think the alcohol was having more of an effect on him than he originally thought.

"I want you to be the one to pick me up and take me to dinner. I want to hold your hand when we go to the movies," you voice got lower the more you talked and you shyly peeked up through your lashes to gauge Tom's reaction, "I want to kiss you and murmur how much I love you against your lips."

Tom's heart was beating hard against his chest, the sound so loud in his ears he could barely hear you.

He couldn't believe it. Were you really saying the words he's been wanting to hear since the day he met you?

If his head wasn't buzzing with a million different thoughts, he probably would've kissed you or at least said a few coherent sentences but all he could manage to blurt out was, "You love me?"

Something in you seemed to switch, your words stuttering and your eyes widening with shock as you realized exactly what you just said to Tom.

"Shit. I-I'm so drunk," you turned over, your back now facing him, "I, um, I'm tired. I need to go to sleep."

"Y/n-"

"No, Tom, it's okay. Please just Forget I said anything."

He laid there in complete silence, his eyes glued to your back as he contemplated what he should do, if he should say anything or do as you said and put tonight behind him.

'Don't be an idiot, tell her.'

"Y/n?"

You didn't say anything for a moment too long, making Tom's stomach clench. What if you were asleep and he missed his chance completely?

"Yeah, Tommy?" You said so quietly Tom could barely hear you.

"I love you too."

He felt like he was going to be sick as he waited for you to say something or just do anything to let him know you hadn't suddenly changed your mind.

Tom was starting to wonder if you heard him or maybe you just didn't care when you reached behind your back and grabbed his arm, pulling it towards you. You laced your fingers through his as you brought his hand to your lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

He let out a breath of relief he hadn't realized he'd been holding before hesitantly scooting closer to you, closing up the little space between you.

Once again Tom found himself in a position he'd been a million times, wrapped up in you, but the air had changed and it was almost like it was the first time.

In the back of his mind he knew there was a chance you were only saying this because of the alcohol in your system, but he pushed the thought away, and nuzzled his face into your hair before closing his eyes, hoping you'd still mean what you said when the sun came up.

Tagging: @fangirlwithasweettooth @bravest-at-heart @hollandsamor @constellatinq @aidiastyles @ravenclawmarvel @cosmicholland @sleepyhollands @devildisguiseasangel @fairytaleparker @hollandsosterfield @now-imagine @officiallyunofficialperson @stealth-spiderr @xxxxdelenaxxxx @its-the-aerieljeane @petersstarcadet @babebenhardy @antoouu @lovinnholland @kxrtwxgner @sleepybesson @awkwardfangirl2014 @brookeelee98 @nedthegay @petersmparker @parkeroffline @snjms02 @the-queen-procrastinator @tomhollandsumbrella @spideyosterfield @thollandx @styles-balor4eva @80sthottie @marvelobsessedteenager @marshyrebelcloud @sixwyrxstuff @itscaminow @tomshufflepuff @jillanaholland @howdyherron @undiadeestos @quaksonhehe @theslytherinwarrior @itstaskeen

[itsmyara]

About That Night... (Hisomachi Fanfic)

Note: Another translation, though my English is not that great ^^’. It’s 3532 words NO SMUT! I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Pairing: Hisoka/Machi

Summary: Hisoka realized that he was still analyzing her for a reason other than trying to investigate the possible sources of her drunkenness. He was mesmerized by the way emotions were running free in her face, something he had never seen before.

Warning: Drunk!Machi, Jealous!Hisoka, Alcohol, Mentions of Drugs, Mentions of Sex, Mentions of Getting Sick, Passing Out, Hangover, Mild Language.

[Link to AO3 in English] 

[Link to AO3 in Brazilian Portuguese]

Her body moved insanely under the colorful lights of the room to the sound of a repetitive and irritating electronic beat. Although she was dressed much more discreetly than the other girls in the club, wearing simple jeans and a black tank top, she drew attention and caused a small audience to gather around her. Dancing with a big, strong man covered in tattoos and looking like a local crime boss, she moved boldly and sensually, with a loose laugh that occasionally lit up her face.

"Is this just alcohol effect or did she use something else?" Hisoka questioned the man standing next to him, without taking his eyes off Machi on the dance floor.

The tattooed man's hand slid down her small body and slipped under the black tank top, pressing her waist against him while his mouth whispered something in her ear that made her laugh. Hisoka's fists clenched hard.

Illumi shrugged before answering the question in a monotone voice:

"I don't know, she was already like this when I arrived, so I called you. She's dancing with my target and it doesn't look like she's going to leave him anytime soon. So I called you. I figured you wouldn't want it to be me taking her out of there."

Hisoka moved his eyes to face the ever-so-cold colleague. He was right. If he used his methods against Machi, even if it was just to get her out of the way, he would have to make a little reckoning with him. But the assassin was smart. Illumi decided to turn the situation around and, by calling Hisoka, he won himself a favor to collect later.

When the magician looked back at the pink-haired woman, he saw the tattoed man leading her towards a door in a reserved corner of the nightclub.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Illumi observed the scenario calmly and then turned away, unconcerned.

"Just remember that no matter what he does to your girl. He is my target and I need him alive. I will wait outside."

Hisoka responded with an annoyed snort before walking in the opposite direction of his friend. The bloodlust that exuded from the magician made people open the way naturally, looking suspiciously at the strange man who carried a macabre look on his face.

He unceremoniously kicked down the door to the private room, much to the surprise of some people who ran away, but not Machi. She has been waiting for him, even though she was pressed against the wall by the other man's body. She could be intoxicated, but her perception would never fail to notice Hisoka's bloodlust.

Hisoka leaned against the damaged door frame, crossing his arms casually as he faced the scene in the room by the half-light.

"Oh, am I interrupting something?" He asked wryly.

The tattooed man immediately released Machi and faced him without fear.

"What's up, clown? This one is mine now, if you want the leftover you'll have to wait outside."

Hisoka laughed shortly. The man had given the worst answer he could when he was so obviously in a risky position. He was nothing between the two nen users — even though one of them was intoxicated — and the only difficulty the magician faced was being forced to use only his fists to bring down the thug. He didn't like having to control himself that way, not when he wanted to end the existence of someone so weak and unwary, but he would have to leave that to Illumi.

Machi only seemed to understand the situation completely when the man was already lying on the floor unconscious, and Hisoka was heading to her with an enigmatic smile.

"You could have chosen someone stronger, you know? This is almost an insult..."

"What are you doing here? After everything you’ve done, you decided to follow me?"

Even though the place was dark, Hisoka could see her cheeks flushed. Her eyes shone with tears and her lips swollen, red, and moist; probably as a result of the kisses she shared with that useless guy. He took a long time to analyze it, for a moment believing that it was because he had to determine if she was under the influence of a drug other than alcohol.

His hands grabbed her face, and the only reaction she had was to hold his arms as if she was going to try to stop him, but she didn’t actually apply enough force to it.

"I'm too busy to follow you, ok? But when a little bird tells me that you're out there screwing up, I have to act, don't I?"

Machi laughed sadly, her chest shaking almost quietly between them, and Hisoka realized that he was still analyzing her for a reason other than trying to investigate the possible sources of her drunkenness. He was mesmerized by the way emotions were running free in her face, something he had never seen before.

"You think I'm weak, Hisoka..." she murmured under her breath, and then in a burst, she pulled his hands away from her face and pushed him away. "Do you think I need you to defend me from this ?" She pointed to the dead weight on the floor and then laughed sadly again.

Actually, he was defending her from Illumi, who wouldn't be so patient with her drama, but Hisoka resigned himself to smile in response, making her snort.

"I hate you!"

There was a very sincere feeling in those words, which came out of her mouth as if they were ripping her up. This made Hisoka lean his head in curiosity. However, Machi simply looked at him from head to toes in disbelief before turning away and stumbling out of that room, pushing one or the other person off her way and randomly stealing a drinking glass from one of them as she headed to the exit.

Hisoka sighed, grabbing the unconscious man by the hair and dragging him along while he went behind the woman. He caught up with Machi near the door, where even the security guards had already moved away. Without saying a word, he wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her off the floor, carrying her out despite her protests.

"This is yours," Hisoka declared as he threw the unconscious body at Illumi’s feet.

The body that writhed and struggled, trying weakly to attack Hisoka without ceasing, was his.

"Do you want some help with her?" Illumi offered, watching the woman's wildness with some curiosity.

"No, she has the right to protest. When she gets tired, she'll see that this is in her best interest."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here, you wretch! Fight me like a man! I'm going to kill you with my bare hands!"

Between punches and kicks, Hisoka just waved a greeting to Illumi and went on his way.

[...]

When he crossed the threshold of his hotel room, Machi was less savage in his arms. In fact, at some point along the way, she had given up attacking him and started just pouring out words about him being a traitor, about Chrollo, and even something about Pakunoda's death. Some of her words actually made sense, but the state she was still in, which seemed to get worse by the second, made any response from him useless.

Therefore, in the face of silence, Machi finally burst into tears before reaching their destination, and Hisoka thought it was best to cradle her properly in his arms so that when they crossed the door she was being carried like a bride, but a tearful one against his chest.

When he tried to accommodate her on the couch, she clung more tightly to his shoulders, as a clear sign that she didn't want to part at that moment.

"Oh? I thought you hated me," he declared with a playful laugh.

"Why do you have to be like this?"

Her voice was so heartfelt that he couldn't help but sigh before settling on the couch with her in his arms. Machi wouldn't remember any of that the next day, which is why he stopped to think for a few seconds about what she just said. He knew that she was not referring to his jokes, but to the fact that he had lied for years and, in the end, revealed a goal that clashed with her own completely. If it weren't for that, maybe she wouldn't have to hate him that much.

She finally looked up and, not without effort, focused her reddened eyes on his. Hisoka looked at her expression legitimately surprised. He could expect hatred and tears on her part, but the way she looked at him now was... sweet. For some reason, he was sure that if he kissed her now, despite anything that preceded this moment, what he would taste on her lips would be something so deep and meaningful that, yes, it scared him.

That's why he didn't kiss her, allowing her to break the silence:

"You're spinning..." Machi murmured, and then laughed in a silly way, breaking the magic as well. "You're spinning and you're not going to tell me anything, are you? You're not even here, I'm imagining you," she put her face back on his shoulder. "At least you smell good…"

"Machi, what did you use?" Hisoka knew he probably wouldn't get a coherent answer, but that doubt had haunted him since the moment he saw her that night. It was hard to believe that only alcohol would do that to a woman as strong as her. There had to be some other chemistry influencing her altered state.

"What did I use?" She asked, confused, and then looked up to him again. "Ah… you wanna know if I did something," she approached his ear and whispered: "Maybe…"

Suddenly she let go of his shoulders and stood up, staggering a little and cleaning the tracks of the tears on her face with the back of her hands. She walked a few steps erratically and looked around in amazement before looking at him again.

"Do you pay to sleep here?" Machi asked in surprise and laughed right away as if it were really hilarious. "You pay ! You're such a fancy-pants."

Hisoka just settled down more comfortably on the couch, watching the scene. On several occasions, he wished to see her acting more spontaneously, freer, but this situation was just sad. He didn’t even want to take advantage of it or tease her about it — at least not until the next day.

He watched Machi shrink into herself again, leaning against the wall and letting the weight of her body drag her to the floor. She crossed her arms very specifically over her stomach, and he knew it was a sign that something rather unpleasant was about to happen.

"You’re feeling sick," he declared, standing up to meet her.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" Machi flinched a little more, however. "I just miss them..."

Ignoring the way she was closing herself off, Hisoka lifted her from the floor by the shoulders, as if she were a small child. He looked at Machi’s eyes seriously, while pinning her against the wall.

"I know you miss them, but acting like this is stupid. I can't believe you're the same Machi I know."

"Pakunoda was the first person who cared about me in this world," she declared and then swallowed hard before continuing: "she was my family and now she’s dead. Chrollo is my family and now he's far away, unable to use his nen, and I know you had a part in it. The chain guy..." Machi closed her eyes briefly as if to take his name from memory, "Kurapika, you sold our secrets to Kurapika because you wanted to, didn't you? He didn't do to you what he did to Paku, you don't have a fucking chain in your heart. You don't even have a fucking heart! You are a..." eyelids closed again, this time, however, she couldn't remember the word. A single tear streamed down her left eye. "Damn it…"

"You talk as if you have a heart," Hisoka interrupted her coldly, which made her look at him with a sharp look, a faint bloodlust pulsing from her intoxicated body. "You don't feel anything for anyone but for a few of your friends. You're not much better than me."

Machi struggled in his hands for a fraction of a second, resigning herself to kill him only with her intentions when she was unable to leave. She looked a little more like who she really was now.

"You have no idea, you idiot."

Those words were followed by a few seconds of silence in which the blue of her eyes became indecipherable. That was when he remembered who she was and why he cared so much. Machi was the lady of the labyrinth, and he had never managed to get out of her tortuous paths because, very wisely, she had never given him her threads, leaving him lost forever in her maze.

"When I fight Chrollo, who do you want to survive?" He didn’t know where this question came from when it left his mouth, but the reaction it had caused in the woman justified it.

Machi blinked a few times, as if trying to calculate the seriousness of what he had asked, and then closed her eyes with a certain solemnity.

"I don't want you to fight Danchou. I don't want either of you dead."

Perhaps the answer was more than enough, but she had also progressively got closer to him, so much so that her lips touched his lightly at first, completing the touch quickly in a kiss. Without so much lightness, he finally advanced against her mouth, pressing her against the wall now with the weight of his own body.

Machi moaned at his advance, embracing him with arms and legs irresistibly, making him also express the delight that took his body and his aura when, suddenly, she stepped away from him, with such assertiveness and urgency that he couldn't stop it.

And he was thankful for that when he saw her turn and lean her body, finally fulfilling the omen he had moments ago, throwing up on the floor of the hotel room.

Hisoka gave a disappointed snort, but the way her back curved with each spasm of her stomach made him quickly accept that this night would really be unique in his life.

The night he would spend taking care of someone's booze.

[...]

Machi opened her eyes, but the ambient light hurt like a razor and she hid her face in the pillow by reflex. Both her head and stomach were aching with an intensity that made any thought difficult, but when she smelled Hisoka's scent on the pillowcase, she knew something was very wrong. She fought the pain and opened her eyes at once, sitting on the bed and trying to identify where she was. A messy double bed, a hotel room lit with curtains open. Then she found herself wearing only a stretched, cropped T-shirt with playing card suits printed and panties that she at least recognized as her own.

Her nightmare was completed when she heard the magician's happy voice humming at the bedroom door.

"Good morning sunshine!"

There he was, holding a breakfast tray and wearing nothing but one of his ridiculous pants.

Machi wanted to disappear, but the best she could do was cover herself with the bedsheets.

"Don't worry, I saw all this and much more last night," Hisoka stated at her gesture as he left the tray on the nightstand and sat beside her on the bed.

She wanted to emanate bloodlust to let him know it wasn't funny, but the pain in her body prevented her, so she just squinted, watching him pour coffee in a cup and hold it out to her.

"Take this, it will make you feel better."

Machi held the cup suspiciously, without bringing it to her mouth, however. The smell of the drink, which at another time would be inviting, made her stomach turn.

"What's going on? What did you do to me?"

"Now, now, don't you remember anything?" He lay on his stomach beside her, looking at her in that paradoxically, uncomfortable and inviting way.

Machi vaguely remembered some things, but none of them made sense. So she let Hisoka continue:

"I saw you at a party yesterday by chance, you were already… happy… so don't ask me anything before that. You were dancing with a man who is dead now. I got him out of the way because he wasn't treating you like you deserve. So we danced, I made you laugh a few times, I brought you here, we made many, delicious things on the couch, and then against the wall, but unfortunately, you got sick and, by the way, that's why I pay to stay here, they clean up this kind of a mess," the smile broke with malice on his lips, while she tried to assimilate everything he said. "Now you, I was the one who cleaned you up. We took a hot shower together and you fell asleep in my arms soon after."

The sharp pain in her head seemed to create a wall in her own memories and in her ability to distinguish, in his words, what were lies and what were truths. Machi knew he was lying; it was too perfect a situation for him. Too easy. But the way she found herself left her without arguments.

"Well, I don't feel like we did anything much last night," she tried to fish, her voice cold, but he just laughed briefly.

"I was gentle with you this time. Believe it or not, I care about you."

"Liar," Machi accused him coldly, and then abandoned the cup on the nightstand beside her, making an effort to get out of bed, despite the pain.

It was incredible how she, always so resistant, was now suffering just because of a headache.

Machi looked for her clothes in the room, finding them folded on a chair, and began to dress while her other headache who was lying on the bed brought to him the cup she had abandoned — using nen, most likely — sipping and mumbling something about how she really should have drunk the coffee to feel better. Her eyes looked at Hisoka briefly. From her position, she had a wide view of his back, and the absence of the spider tattoo there, which was no longer needed because he was no longer keeping cover, seemed to make her a little dizzy.

How had she not realized before that his tattoo was nothing more than his Texture Surprise? How had her intuition not warned her that he was lying all the time? And why was the real Hisoka — well, at least, the Hisoka who no longer had to pretend he belonged with the Troupe — bothering to bring her coffee in bed?

She shook her head, with the excuse of trying to fix her hair, when in fact Machi was trying to put away those pathetic thoughts, even if the gesture caused her more pain. As soon as she buttoned up her jeans she headed to the bedroom door, stopping in her tracks, however, by his words, or by the unconscious desire to hear them.

"You should stay, you're not completely recovered and it's cold outside."

Hisoka sat on the bed but just looked at her with that serenity of someone who knows what they want, and knows that the object of their desire wants them in return. But it wouldn't happen today, and possibly, on any other day after he revealed his betrayal, Machi tried to conclude.

"I know how to take care of myself," she replied, determined to continue on her way.

"At least get a coat before you leave..."

"Stop pretending that you worry, you know you don't have to fake it anymore!" Machi declared, like an outburst, and finally left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Alone, Hisoka deposited the cup on the tray and lay down on the bed, taking a deep breath when feeling its comfort. He had missed it after spending the night on the couch.

He had obviously intertwined lies and truths in the story he told her. After Machi felt sick, he had actually called the room service to clean up the mess while he undressed and bathed her in the bathroom; she was so lethargic that she didn't even protest. Nor had she protested when he dressed her in his t-shirt and left her sleeping alone in his bed. Just that, and nothing more than that.

Still, he knew that last night had been very interesting and revealing in many ways, and he was satisfied with that.

He looked to the side and found a pink strand of hair on the white pillow. He took it between his fingers, bringing it to him as if it were a beautiful and precious memento.

"You have no idea, do you?" He murmured to that tiny part of her she had left behind. "You have absolutely no idea..."

[littlemisslol-fic]

Summary: Two years after the events of Barviel Keep, Varian has tried to adapt to the expectations brought by being a King’s Ward, with mixed results. Haunted by ghosts, Varian is forced to face the demons he tried to leave behind in Bayangor when his abdication is forcibly stopped by a third party, out for revenge against the Bayan Royal bloodline. On the run, with few allies left to turn to, Varian finds himself chasing a ghost through a series of tests that only a true heir of Demanitus could ever hope to pass.But the shadows are ever present, looming and dark, and not everything is as simple as it might seem.

Notes: There are many things of interest, buried deep in the earth.

The adder stone was a slight weight in Varian's hand. He idly played with it, watching how the carved runes seemed to glitter in the sunlight. It was hypnotic, the shimmering light of subtle magic playing through the stone in delicate wisps. Ori had said it was good for lost things, whatever that meant, but he’d neglected to give any more information after that, instead opting to shuffle them out the door with a grin and a wave.

They'd gone back to the boat after the events of the early afternoon. Ori's cabin, it turned out, was only a small walk back to the center of town, so the trip had been brief at best. Rapunzel had kept a hold of Varian's hand the whole walk back, her grip tight and unyielding as she borderline dragged Varian back to the known territory of the Oracle.

The boat rocked softly under them, still tied off to the pier. Eugene bustled in front of a small cook-stove, one made of thick metal to avoid burning the wood of the deck. The man's jaunty whistling mixing in with the gentle beating of waves against the Oracle's side. Varian could smell some kind of fish cooking, alongside some roasting onions if his nose was correct, and tried to ignore the small pang of hunger he felt at the smell. Ruddiger made an impatient chirp next to him, making grabby hands towards Eugene.

"Almost time, bud," Varian gave him a scritch behind the ear. "Be patient."

Ruddiger huffed but settled, curling closer to Varian's leg on the crate they were sitting on. Varian snickered, giving the raccoon another scratch for his trouble.

The boy took another look to the adder stone, twisting it between his gloved fingers. It looked relatively normal, save for the shimmering runes of subtle magic, but he knew better than to trust something based on looks alone. He turned it again, seeing his palm through the smooth, circular hole carved in the center of it.

He brought up the stone, at least somewhat familiar with the mythos surrounding it, and held it to one of his eyes. He squeezed the other shut, peering through curiously. Everything seemed relatively normal, if not a little duller in colour, and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He looked around a little more, trying to see if anything looked interesting. He saw Eugene, just as dulled as the rest of the Oracle, the deck of the ship, up above he could see seabirds flying without a care.

"Varian?"

He twisted a bit to look at Rapunzel. Through the adder stone he could see her entire figure glowing a bright yellow, like an aura. It was similar to how she'd glowed when using the power of the Sundrop. Varian blinked, lowering the stone. Without it, Rapunzel looked normal, if not confused about what he was doing. He brought the stone back up once more, noting with a little bit of childish delight that he could once again see the glow.

"What are you doing?" she asked, tilting her head. "Isn't it just a rock?"

"It's a special rock," he grinned, lowering it again. "Lets you see magical things easier. You still glow!"

"I do?" she asked. He handed her the stone, and she peered through it like Varian had been, looking at her own hand. "Huh," she said, "That's different."

She passed him the stone back, letting Varian continue to look around with it. He didn't see much else on the boat; Ruddiger seemed even more monochrome through the stone, which was kind of funny but not important, and though Rapunzel glowed it wasn't exactly breaking news that she'd had magical ties.

He twisted again, this time looking at the town through the stone. Like most things it was dulled, almost black and white, save for one noticeable difference.

Off in the distance, in the same way Rapunzel glowed, was a shining blue light. Varian tilted his head, standing up to try and see what was causing the light, but it was too far away. He let the stone drop, trying to for a better look, and caught the look of a clearing in the trees at the far side of the town.

"What're you lookin' at, kid?" Eugene asked. Varian didn't turn around, still squinting in the sunlight.

"I'm not sure," the alchemist replied, "But I think there's something at the edge of town." He un-twisted, looking at Eugene. The man pursed his lips, thinking.

"Think it's her?" he asked, "No one in town seemed to know who she was, but if Ori's weird rock is giving you hints, maybe that's where we're supposed to look?"

"Maybe," Varian shrugged, "Can't hurt to check, I guess."

He felt that creeping disappointment from town creep up again, at the reminder that they hadn't found his mother yet. He'd been nervous, and excited, to meet her, and the sting of a failed day was still fresh. He let himself sink back onto the crate, looking out over the water to where he'd seen the light.

Eugene seemed to pick up on his mood, the man smiling easily and scooping up some fish with his spatula. He plated it, along with a few other odds and ends, and gently set it next to Varian. It smelled good, but Varian didn't break eye contact with the shoreline.

He felt Eugene put a hand on his shoulder, patting gently.

"It's okay, goggles," the man said, "We'll find her. Just gotta keep trying, right?"

Varian smiled, weak but there. "Yeah. Of course."

Eugene's grin got wider, more real. "There's my boy," he nodded. "Now eat your lunch, you need some meat on those bones."

Varian snorted, but took the plate nonetheless. He fed Ruddiger in between bites of his own, eyes drifting to where he'd seen the glow. From the way the trees broke, there was definitely something there, though he couldn't tell what it was. The sound of conversation behind him fuzzed out, the boy focused on the parting of the trees.

The town may have been a bust, but they weren't out of ideas yet. With a newfound determination he shoveled food into his mouth, ready to take on the next step.

He just had to keep trying, and eventually he'd find her.

No matter what it took.

>>>><<<<

The gap in the trees, it turned out, had been a graveyard. An old one, from the looks of the crumbling tombstones and large, creeping vines covering everything. Probably abandoned, Varian thought as he almost tripped over an exposed root, or at the very least uncared for.

They passed by a large mausoleum, one of many littering the grounds, and reached the center of the graveyard. It was oddly huge, for being near such a small town; the graveyard for Old Corona had been maybe a quarter of the size. When Varian pointed it out, Eugene just shrugged.

"Maybe the town used to be bigger," he said, "Or there was a lot of deaths. Sometimes there's things like plague, fire, flood, things like that... that'll make a graveyard double in size in a short time."

Varian grimaced at the implications, the numerous gravestones suddenly seeming all the more sinister. The sun blazed high above them, hot and brutally beating down on them all. Varian looked around for a second, noting how isolated they were, before dropping his hood. Rapunzel made a nervous noise when he did, but a nudge from Eugene and she dropped it.

Varian looked around again, unable to see anything that seemed out of the norm. Just a creepy, old graveyard, he thought, a little fed up.

He reached into his pocket, drawing out the adder stone and holding it to his face. The rock was warm to the touch. He peered through it, but had to bring it away from his face with a grimace when everything was glowing the same blue he'd seen from the boat.

He blinked the spots out of his vision, looking through again more carefully. Sure enough the entire graveyard was permeated by the blue glow, a soft, seafoam shade. It covered everything like fog, making picking any sort of source impossible. Varian let his drop with a scoff.

"Useless," he mumbled. Though, if there were something around here sending this much magical energy into the surrounding area, it must have been powerful.

Or, theymust have been.

Eugene set himself down on a fallen log, looking around the graveyard. "Got anything?" he asked, "Cuz I'm seeing a whole lotta nothing, I'll be honest."

Varian snorted, scratching at his chin in thought. "Nothing yet," he admitted, "But I'll keep you posted. There's gotta be something around here to cause the glow, even if it's not... not her."

He combed over the graveyard for the rest of the afternoon, slowly growing more desperate as the time ticked on. Soon enough the sun was beginning to set, casting the graveyard into shadow. Varian had walked the perimeter of the graveyard six times, had looked at every tombstone and mausoleum a hundred times over, and even had climbed a tree at one point to try and get an areal view, only for all of his ideas to end in nothing. It was more than a little frustrating.

"There has to be something," Varian grumbled as he threw himself down next to Eugene. The man had given up an hour ago, he had long since slouched against a rock and covered his face with an arm. Eugene snorted awake when Varian flopped next to him, blinking rapidly.

"Ehm-up!" he slurred, "What's first, captain?"

Varian rolled his eyes, glaring around the graveyard again. "I must be missing something," he said, "A key, or a clue, or a cypher, but whatever it is I can't find it."

Ruddiger chittered in consolation, patting Varian's knee. The boy scratched his pet with a frown, leaning back against Eugene's rock. The sun was nearly down for the night, but Varian wasn't ready to give up. Rapunzel was nearby, picking her way through the graves carefully.

She'd been quiet since they'd gotten to the graveyard, but Varian was slowly growing used to being able to get his way through a full sentence. It was oddly... nice. He felt the sting of guilt for feeling that way, but shoved it aside. He could have something to himself for now, even if it wouldn’t last forever. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. One problem at a time. Rapunzel knew what she'd done, even if she'd apologized Varian wasn't quite ready to forgive her for the note-

Wait.

The note.

Varian pulled out the note from his mother, looking it over again. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but... well, it was worth a shot. He snagged the adder stone out of his other pocket, setting the note down on his lap and lifting the stone to his eye.

He squinted through the green haze caused by the graveyard, looking down at the dull page. The letter was the exact same as always, though when Varian looked down to the very bottom he noticed a subtle green glow. He tilted his head, peering closer, and blinked in shock when words began to appear at the foot of the page.

He moved the stone away to double check, and sure enough the words vanished without a trace. Varian felt a grin split across his face, bringing the adder stone back and took a better look.

"I lay within the gaze of our ancestor," he read aloud, voice soft to not break the quiet of the coming evening.

"Whazzat?" Eugene asked. Varian let the hand holding the stone drop down, shaking the note gently.

"I found the missing piece!" he crowed, shooting to his feet. "She left me a clue, I just needed to look closer!"

"That's great, kid!" Eugene got to his feet as well. "What did it say?"

"I lay within the gaze of our ancestor," Varian repeated, putting the note away with the adder stone.

"Great!" Eugene said, "...What does that mean, though?"

Varian paused, unsure. "I don't know," he admitted. "But has to be a reference to something, right?"

The man nodded, but stopped when Rapunzel cleared her throat from nearby.

"We should call it a night," she said, "It's getting dark."

Varian felt his heart sink. They'd been in the graveyard for half a day, and she wanted to leave just when they found their first real clue? He didn't want to leave yet, not when he'd finally had a break! He knew the second she succeeded in getting them back to the boat, it would be a fight to get back here tomorrow. He needed time, and space to figure this out, and he wasn’t about to get it back on the Oracle.

"I think I'm going to stick around," he said. He tried not to feel cowed when her eyes snapped to him, but it was a near thing. "I'm going to look around for something to do with the clue."

Rapunzel pursed her lips, looking ready to argue, when Eugene piped up. "If you're going to stay, then so am I," he shrugged, "No sense in splitting up. It'll be a team awesome sleepover under the stars, right kid?"

Varian couldn't help but chuckle, nodding. "Sure, sounds like fun."

The boy could see the way Rapunzel wanted to argue, the way her shoulders were raised, and her mouth opened only to snap shut when she realized she was out voted.

"I'll start the fire," she said flatly, spinning on her heel and leaving the boys behind in the graveyard.

Varian sighed, slumping a little. He felt Eugene put a hand on his shoulder, and looked up at the older man with what was probably a very kicked puppyexpression from the way Eugene frowned.

"She'll come around," he soothed. "She's under a lot of stress, and we both know how this whole thing makes her feel. Give her some time to get settled. She was the same when Cass- well, when they had their problems."

Varian slouched a little more. As much as it hurt, this was something he had to dig his heels in over. If he didn't, he'd go right back to being dragged everywhere by the wrist for the rest of his life. He couldn't do it again, not now that he'd finally broken through that boundary. He wouldn't be shoved back into the mourning waif box, even if it was causing strife with Rapunzel. Not after all the progress he’d made while out of Corona.

But that didn't make the sight of her retreating back any harder to watch.

>>>><<<<

They'd set up a fire on the outskirts of the graveyard. Nowhere near the tombstones, more of an open field that was next to the graveyard to be honest; just far enough to feel respectful. Varian huddled close to the fire, wrapping his dad's cloak tightly around himself to ward off the cold. It didn't do much, but he was, at this point, used to the chill in the spring air. Eugene was nearby, as was Rapunzel, the two of them quietly talking between themselves.

Ruddiger purred as he snuggled close to Varian's hip; the boy smiled and ran a soothing hand down the raccoon's spine, lost in thought. The note was on his lap, just as cryptic had it had been before. Varian grumbled, flipping it over and staring at it through the adder stone. Other than the new sentence, the note didn't have any more secrets to give, it seemed, and Varian couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at the fact.

Rapunzel quietly stirred a pot that they'd put over the fire, filled with some kind of soup. Eugene had said what kind, but the specifics slipped Varian's mind in favor of staring at his mother's handwriting. He pursed his lips, flipping the paper over again and letting the adder stone drop. He chanced a glace up when Eugene pushed himself to his feet, the man stretching.

"Gunna get more firewood," he explained when Varian shot him a look, "You two don't burn anything down while I'm gone, yeah?"

Rapunzel patted his knee with a small smile. "I'm sure we can handle that, between the two of us," she said. Eugene took her hand, bending at the waist and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. Varian made a dramatic gagging noise, pulling a face at the lovey-dovey display; doubling down when Eugene stuck his tongue out in retaliation. The man laughed, walking past Varian and taking a second to rustle the boy's hair as he passed. Varian grumbled at the attention, swatting at Eugene's hands, but took it with grace. Eugene's footsteps faded behind him, the man wandering off into the forested section in the middle distance.

Varian sighed and looked back to the note, gnawing at his lip. It hadn’t given him any more clues, and he’d be staring at it for hours now. He’d be content to stare at it for hours more, but not even a minute after Eugene left, the silence was broken again.

"Can you please put that down for a second?" Ah, Rapunzel.

Varian looked up, blinking in question. Rapunzel wrung her hands, looking at the note.

"I- sure, why?" he asked her, folding the note and putting it away in his cloak pocket.

Rapunzel visibly relaxed with the letter out of sight. She waved him over, shuffling over to make room when Varian got up and shuffled around the fire to sit next to her. He waited, knowing Rapunzel enough to know she would speak when ready. She didn’t usually ask for his undivided attention unless she had something to say; and he was willing to hear her out, for now. He wanted to try and mend things, but if she wasn’t willing to give ground, he wasn’t sure if he would accept that. Rapunzel seemed to finally get her bearings, twisting her hand around her brunette hair.

"I... know you're excited," she started. "To find your- well, to find her."

Varian felt a tingle of apprehension in his gut, but tried to ignore it. This was the first time Rapunzel had said anything beyond flat, safe statements regarding Aisha, and if this was her way of making a step towards reconciliation, then Varian was willing to hear her out.

"I am," he admitted. "Excited, but mostly nervous, I guess?"

Rapunzel smiled, her face drawn and tired. "I understand that," she admitted. "When I first- well, when I first came home, after the tower, I felt the same way about meeting my parents."

Varian nodded. He felt the urge to hold her hand, to reach out to her in comfort, but refrained. He still felt a little off when it came to her; if he pushed too quickly, he knew he'd let her steamroll him once again.

"Sounds stressful," is all he said, trying to get a laugh. It worked, Rapunzel huffing out a breath. The fire in front of them crackled, bright and cheerful. Varian felt himself relax a little, forcing his shoulders to lose their tension. Rapunzel shook her head fondly, obviously lost in her memories.

"It was," she agreed. "I didn't know them, didn't know what they were like. After m- after Gothel, I had a few days to think about what they could be like."

Varian felt a rock settle in his gut, starting to get an inkling of where she was headed with this. He clenched the hand farthest from her so she wouldn't see the reaction, and kept his face carefully blank, hoping beyond hope that he was wrong.

"When I first met them, I had this... idea, of what they'd be like," she mused. "I was wrong, for both of them. The real version of them turned out... a lot more complicated, then I thought they'd be-"

There it is.

"-And I had to give up that perfect idea of them, to see how they really were. I'm sure they had to do the same thing for me. But if I had clung to that imaginary version, I'd never really meet them. See them." She huffed another breath, toeing at the ground with a bare foot. Varian's hand clenched tighter, the apprehension settling into proper dread.

"I just want you to be careful," Rapunzel said, and bingo, we're back on this. Varian had to refrain from rolling his eyes, not really wanting to have this conversation again.

"I will be," he soothed. "I know, she was evil incarnate, I remember."

Rapunzel's face fell at the sass, the woman leaning forward and wrapping her arms around her knees.

"You know I didn't mean it like that," she said firmly, but Varian cut her off. He was over trying to dance around each other, if she wanted to have this conversation, then it was time they had it.

"Then how?" he asked, not harsh, but firm. "How did you mean it? Because you've made it perfectly clear what you think of me trying to find her-"

"I'm just trying to keep you safe!" Rapunzel argued, "You seem to think that you're going to find her and everything's just going to work out!" She slouched again, shaking her head. "Things don't always happen like that," she said, "And I just want you to be ready if something goes wrong."

Varian scoffed, looking away. He didn't want to admit she was playing to some of his insecurities, the nerves that had been plaguing him for days since finding the note stirring at her words. They’d been whispering in his ear since he’d arrived on the island, but he wasn’t about to let them ruin what he was trying to build. He ignored the insecurities, shaking his head. He knew exactly why she was trying to feed those doubts.

"Are you saying that because you're worried about me?" he asked, "Or because you want to see this go south so you can be right?"

Rapunzel reeled back, bodily flinching. "What?" she asked, stunned. "How could you think I'd want that?"

"Because I'd go home with you." The feeling of apprehension in Varian's mind was long gone, replaced by irritation. "Because if this all goes to hell, then you get exactly what you want. You want her to be terrible, so I'll run back to Corona and hide in the castle with you until I'm old and grey."

Rapunzel balked. "Is that really what you think?" she breathed. "You think I'd ever want to keep you somewhere you didn't want to be?"

"You already lied to me." Varian pointed out. The letter in his pocket felt impossibly heavy. "Honestly, I'm not sure how far you'd go."

"I just want you safe!" Rapunzel finally seemed to lose her cool, her volume raising. "After everything that happened, why do you think I want anything else? I'm trying to protect you!"

"You're trying to keep me in a box!" Varian snapped back, "So yeah, I might be safe there, but I wasn’t ever given a moment’s peace! And everyone treated me like glass all the time, and I couldn't escape, Rapunzel, every time I looked around there was something that reminded me of- of him, or of Meave, or my dad-"

"And what, you think finding her is going to solve it?" Rapunzel seemed more agitated, "That if you just pack up and abandon everything that it'll be like nothing ever happened? It doesn't work like that, Varian!"

"It's better than staying!"

"Is it? You'd leave everything and run away just so you can keep ignoring Bayangor?"

"If that's what it takes!"

Rapunzel threw her hands up, shaking her head. "You can't just run forever," she told him. Varian felt a pulse of panic as the conversation quickly got away from him. Rapunzel didn't realize, continuing to rant. "I knowit's hard, out of everyone I promise you I relate the most out of anyone, but that's why I'm telling you that you can'texpect finding her to make you suddenly-"

"Suddenly what?" he demanded, "Suddenly my own person? Someone that I actually am instead of what you all want me to be? I want out so I can be treated like I'm not going to shatter the second anyone looks at me wrong!"

"That's not what this is about-" Rapunzel was as tense as bowstring, "-And you know it! You just want something to chase, so you don't have to work through things back home. I was the same, with the Moonstone! And look how well that turned out! You wanted to leave before you knew she was alive!"

"Which you lied to me about!"

"So you wouldn't use it as an excuse!"

This was getting too close to the chest. Varian could feel himself start to hyperventilate, the breaths coming quick and stuttering. He pushed himself up off the ground on shaking hands, refusing to look at her. He hadn't meant for that to come out, hadn't meant to get that close-

Rapunzel's hand grabbed his, keeping him in place. He whipped around, tugging fruitlessly at his arm to try and pull himself from her grasp. Rapunzel held firm, irritation clear on her face. Varian's panic only grew, the boy tugging harder the longer she refused to let go.

Rapunzel stood, the woman still taller than him. "I'm letting you do this-" she said, the bitterness easily apparent in her voice, "-Because you want to do it. But I'm not going to pretend like this is going to fix all our problems, no matter how much you pretend they will."

Varian tugged again, nearly frantic. "Let go," he breathed, voice weak. "Let go."

Rapunzel didn't seem to hear him, still on her own train of thought. The alchemist gasped again, yanking his arm away.

"Stop touching me," he wailed, backing away and tripping over a rock behind him. He felt a pulse of pain on his spine where he landed, one of his wrists smarting as well. He sat there for a second, stunned, before pushing himself up into a sit and looking at his sister with wide, fearful eyes.

Rapunzel stopped dead, blinking in shock at his reaction. "Varian-" she started, reaching for him.

Varian scrambled back in the dirt, ignoring any sort of decorum in the animal urge to run. "Please," he gasped, "I just, I need space."

Rapunzel flinched back like he'd burned her. She brought her hands to her chest, closing them into tight fists. "I- are you okay?" she asked, eyes bright in the light of the fire. They were wide as saucers, the princess seeming unable to process what exactly had just happened.

There was a long beat of silence. The only sound was Varian's heavy breathing, like he'd just run a mile. Varian felt himself tense when she shifted on her feet. He- she wouldn't hurt him, he knew that, this was Rapunzel, but something in him still looked at her, looming over him just like Father had, and screamed threat.

"I need space," he gasped again, finally getting his feet back under him. He turned and nearly ran in the opposite direction of her, unable to look at her broken-hearted expression for another second. He sprinted for the trees; he tried to ignore the feeling of salt burning his eyes, of dampness on his cheeks.

Tried, and failed.

>>>><<<<

The next morning, it was raining.

The air was considerably tenser than it had been before; any sort of tentative truce between Varian and Rapunzel had been shattered. Varian refused to even look at his sister, keeping to himself as he paced around the graveyard in the light of a new day. Rapunzel seemed to get the hint, maintaining the distance that Varian had created between them.

Dead grass crunched underfoot. Varian paced towards the center of the graveyard, slowly circling it by walking through every row. He kept an eye on names, bitterly wishing he'd listened more to Aldred's insane rambling- how was he supposed to know what ancestor Aisha had been talking about? In theory he wasn't even supposed to know about any of this.

He entered into a section of mausoleums, all of them surrounding a large statue. Varian looked at it, and was startled to see in the light of day that it was Demanitus. He peered closer, noting how worn down the statue looked in comparison to the ones he'd seen in Corona; it seemed the graveyard really hadn't been cared for in years. Something in Varian felt sad at the thought- he personally made sure that Quirin's grave was kept spick and span no matter the weather, just as his dad would have liked it. It was upsetting to think that all of the people buried here didn't get the same treatment, that they'd been forgotten here.

It made him despondent, the idea that someday Quirin's grave would likely end up the same. Hells, his own would too. It made him feel... cold. Eventually no one would be left, and they would all fade into nothing but dust. He looked back to Demanitus, deciding to drop that train of thought.

The great inventor hadn't been buried here. Varian knew that, the boy had been to his tomb in Corona, after all. To see him here, on a tiny island's disproportionately large graveyard, was a mite bit suspicious if he did say so. Varian drew close to the statue, inspecting.

Demanitus looked the same as he always did, the cracked marble doing nothing to hide the statue's visage. Varian chewed on his lip, thinking. Aisha had said our ancestor, the only one Varian knew of was Demanitus himself; in theory all of Aldred's family history was null and void, as it was Aisha's family line that would hold the clue.

Varian walked around the base of the large statue. He squinted up at the statue, noting that the eyes were indeed focused somewhere other than directly ahead. In fact, they were looking off to the side, towards another mausoleum. Varian fetched the adder stone, peering through it. Sure enough the marble building glowed the same bright blue, though it seemed to be much stronger than the light on the outskirts had been.

Choice made, Varian marched to the thick, iron doors of the tomb. Eugene was nearby, having been kicking stones, and wandered over when Varian moved.

"What's up, goggles?" he asked, eyeing the tomb. Varian reached up and rattled the door, testing it.

"I think it's in here," he said. Eugene went a little pale, eyes flicking between the mausoleum and Varian.

"You think she's... in the tomb," he said, apprehension obvious. "Are we, uh, are we sure about that?"

Varian nodded. "In the eyes of the ancestor," he repeated, pointing at the statue of Demanitus. Eugene turned toward the statue, then back to his charge.

"This feels morally wrong," he said thoughtfully, before his tone turned giddy. "Look at my little man, all grown up and graverobbing!"

Varian snorted, moving aside as Eugene drew a lockpick from his boot. The man-made quick work of the door, the old iron creaking open. Varian peered into the looming darkness with apprehension. Eugene stood next to him, brushing off the knees of his pants.

"Et, voila," he said, gesturing with his hands.

Varian didn't tear his eyes away from the tomb, slowly taking a step inside. "Thanks," he mumbled, offhandedly, already distracted by the interior.

The mausoleum was the same white marble as the outside had been, a large space that was nearly five meters square. In the very center was a single, stone coffin, topped with a sculpture of a woman. Varian could only assume that was the person buried in there, though the thought made him a little squeamish. At the foot of the coffin was a large, ornate design in the floor, a compass rose with north pointing towards the coffin.

Varian nearly jumped a foot when the torches on the walls all sprung to life at once, the flames all starting without a trigger. He let out a very manly yelp, nearly falling on his ass when his boots slipped on the marble. Ruddiger hissed, digging his little claws into Varian's shoulder to keep steady as the boy found his balance.

"Magic," Varian muttered, "Why is it always magic?"

"Kid?" Eugene. "Everything okay?"

Varian turned, shrugging as Eugene and Rapunzel entered the crypt. "Everything's fine," he said, trailing off. "I just need to figure out the next step. She said she was hiding, in the note, right?"

Rapunzel nodded, looking around at the blank, stone walls. She fidgeted, obviously a little unhappy with being in such a small space, but did aid the boys as they began to search. The stone was cold, unnaturally so. The rain pounded on the old roof, leaking through in a few places and making the polished stone slick. Varian walked the perimeter of the room, a hand on the wall. He didn't feel anything odd, nothing that would indicate a secret door or compartment at least, but he refused to give up.

"Guys?" Rapunzel's voice drifted across the room. Varian paused his pacing to look at her; Rapunzel's green eyes were locked on the compass rose design on the floor. "This isn't right," she said, tilting her head.

"How do you mean, sunshine?" Eugene asked. He walked over to Rapunzel, looking at the design as well.

"It's pointing the wrong way," Rapunzel explained. "Look, it's got its north pointing towards the south." She pulled out a working compass from the duffle bag, holding it up. Sure enough she was right, the arrow spinning and pointing toward the door. Rapunzel remained kneeling near the design, running a hand along it once more.

Varain drew close, inspecting it again. It was a darker stone, embedded in the marble with perfect accuracy. When Rapunzel squatted down next to it and ran a hand across the compass her fingers never hit even a groove. Varian mimicked her, pausing when he saw something strange in a puddle nearby.

It was on the edge, overlapping where the two types of stone met, and in the puddle Varian could see small bubbles of air floating up. He scooted over. His brows furrowed in thought as he swirled a finger through the rainwater, disturbing it roughly. When it settled again, Varian noticed that the bubbles began to rise once more.

"There's something under here," he said softly.

"What?" Rapunzel asked, leaning closer.

"Look," he pointed to the bubbles. "There must be a space under the floor, there's air coming up through a seam in the rock."

Rapunzel blinked, nodding. Eugene took a peek as well, patting Varian on the back.

"Good catch guys," he said, "Now we just have to figure out how to get down there. I don't suppose either of you brought shovels?"

Varian huffed a laugh through his nose, poking at the design again. Rapunzel did the same, to his left.

"I still don't understand," she mumbled, "Why include a compass and have it point the wrong way?"

Varian tuned her out for a second, watching the bubbles. Eugene began to poke at the center of the compass rose, Varian was ready to ignore him too before a subtle click was heard. The boy snapped his attention back, seeing Eugene fiddling with the center of the design, which had popped up and out of the floor.

"Woah," Varian said, "How'd that happen?"

Eugene shrugged, tugging at the centerpiece. Varian and Rapunzel scooted backward, watching with curiosity as the entire design of the compass rose slowly lifted from the floor, held by a small contraption in the very center. It was only a few inches off the ground now, but Varian still looked at in in fascination.

"Rapunzel," he caught her attention, "What way did you say true north actually was?"

Rapunzel caught on to what he was asking, pulling out her compass. "It's towards the door," she said. She twisted a little, looking directly behind them. Varian smiled, feeling a rush of satisfaction as he grabbed one of the points of the compass, the west one, to be exact, and gave it an experimental push. Sure enough the large design began to spin on its axis, still parallel to the floor and supported by the mechanism in the center.

The alchemist kept pushing, slowly rotating the stone until it had gone in a perfect half-circle. The north arrow finally pointed to true north, as it should have. Varian then pressed gently in the center, putting it back down into its original spot in the floor.

They all held their breath, waiting for something to happen. Rapunzel reached for Eugene's hand, eyes wide, while Varian set a hand on an anxious Ruddiger's paw. Varian held his breath, listening for anything at all; the only sound was the pelting rain above, an occasional gust of wind, and his own excited heartbeat.

They waited a second more, before Eugene slumped forward with a dramatic sigh. "Damn," he sighed, "I was actually thinking we had it-"

The coffin in front of them burst open like a balloon.

All three of them shrieked, jumping out of the way in a tangle of limbs and panic. Varian ended up with an elbow to the gut, letting out an oomph as they all hit the floor. His own landing was soft, cushioned by poor Eugene. Stone fragments rained down on all of them, clattering to the floor like hail. Varian covered his head with his arms, keeping Ruddiger covered as well; it wouldn't go well to get a shard to the eye.

Eventually the aftermath settled. Varian chanced a look toward the tomb, grimacing when he saw the entire lid, statue included, absolutely decimated by whatever explosive had been set inside.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked, slowly pushing his aching body into a kneel. Eugene groaned, facedown on the floor and seemingly unwilling to move but unhurt. Rapunzel was behind him, sitting up and rubbing at her head.

"We're alright," she said, "Are you?"

"Fine," Varian dusted a bit of the dirt from Quirin's cloak. "Fine, I think Eugene broke my fall."

"Yer we'chom," Eugene grumbled, his voice muffled by the floor he refused to get up off of. Varian bit his lip, trying not to laugh, and instead forced aching arms into pushing the boy to his feet. He slowly approached the coffin, coughing and trying to wave the plume of smoke away from his face.

"What was that?" Rapunzel asked, "Some kind of explosion?"

Varian coughed again. This probably wasn't good for his lungs. "Gunpowder, I think," he replied.

He inched closer, peeking into the gaping maw left behind. Varian blinked, a wry smile crossing his face.

The coffin was not only empty, but not a coffin at all. Varian waved dirt from his face, looking down into the hollow shell created by the coffin, covering a dusty old stone staircase that led deep into the earth. There was no corpse, hell at this point it seemed like the entire tomb had been a coverup for something much, much bigger.

"Guys," he waved them over. "I think we just found our way in."

Eugene and Rapunzel were taking behind him, but Varian tuned them out and put his hands on the lip of the coffin, swinging a leg over. He tested the stairs, grinning when they held strong. He brought the other leg in, taking the first step down.

"Ah, hey kid?" Eugene asked, "Maybe we shouldn't be going down the creepy staircase in the graveyard. Do you want ghosts? Because this is definitelyhow you get ghosts."

Varian looked down into the darkness, shrugging.

"I dunno, I have the afternoon free," he replied.

Eugene paused, before rolling his eyes. "If we end up haunted, I'm blaming you, goggles," he grumbled. Rapunzel giggled next to him, following Eugene's lead as they trailed Varian down the steps.

The stairs were long and thin, a straight shot down into the deep. Much like in the mausoleum, torches sprung to life when they drew close, only to snuff out once they'd passed. Varian grew used to the dim light, his eyes adjusting slowly to the darkness the further down they got. Rainwater followed them down, drip, drip, drip that echoed in the quiet.

Soon enough they hit the bottom, after nearly a full minute of descent. It was cold, so far underground; Varian couldn’t help but shiver as he peered through the darkness at the foot of the stair. There was nothing but a hallway; one way forward. Varian peered into the depths, not seeing anything untoward lurking in the dark but still cautious. He turned to his friends, seeing both of them looking nervous.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"I think it's creepy-" Eugene began, but Rapunzel cut him off.

"It might be dangerous," she admitted. "But if she- if your mother needed a place to hide, I could see this being a good one. If you want to keep going, we will." She pulled a piece of chalk from her dress pocket, and made a little arrow on the wall, pointing toward the staircase. "I'll add these as we go, that way we can find our way back if we need it."

"Haunted," Eugene grumbled again.

Varian snorted, taking a small step back toward the stairs. He felt his foot catch on something and looked down with a gasp. A small trip wire, barely noticeable, was caught on his boot.

"Oh, that's not good," he muttered. Eugene and Rapunzel followed his gaze, the two of them already moving. Varian felt two pairs of arms grab his own, dragging him forward and away from the stairs in a dead sprint as there was a loud poppingnoise coming from the walls.

With a horrible BANG the ceiling above the staircase crumbled, the large stones dropping to the floor in a plume of dust and smaller rocks. The noise it made was deafening, echoing through the thin halls and into his chest, rattling up his spine and into his brain. All Varian could register was the noise, flinching away as the ceiling continued to collapse.

Rapunzel and Eugene stopped a few meters away, all three of them watching with horror as the rocks continued to crumble down, quickly covering the way they'd come from with a pile of boulders and loose earth. The light from the staircase got dimmer and dimmer, unable to break through the stone. Varian felt a pulse of pure, primal terror as the sunlight was thinned out to a single, weak beam. With a tense note of finality, the last stone came down, covering their last hint of the surface and cutting off the light once and for all.

And then, there was nothing left but the dark.