#and i just KNOW that he gives the kind of hugs that rearrange your spine

[dangerousdan-dan]

Another day goes by with me thinking that a hug from Clark Kent would fix all my problems

[shoutogepi]

S/O begging to be choked

with Todoroki Shouto, Bakugou Katsuki, & Shinsou Hitoshi

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞 : ✘ 𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐰 (𝟏𝟖+)

𝐡𝐜 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭 :

and i decided to add my other two boys ;)

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 : it’s been a hot min since i’ve tried headcanons... perhaps they’re all into it... perhaps this is indulging my choking kink *laughs nervously*

𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐢 ❄️

reluctant about it at first, but after seeing how much you love it, he finds he thoroughly enjoys it.

he’s a switch, so this time you had asked sweetly if he would dom you. how could he say no to you pleading for him to fuck you, when you look like that?? mans is whipped. 

just getting into a rhythm with it, your legs bent over his shoulders as he rocks his hips into yours, he starts to pound your writhing body into the mattress. he hits a special spot when you’re in this position, and this fucker knows it, too— uses it to his advantage.

right when he thinks he’s got you right where he wants you, you whimper out “choke me baby, please~”

shocked as hell but damn it, he spoils you in every aspect of life, of course he’s gonna do what you ask.

he’s never choked you before, let alone anyone... but you may have just awoken a dormant kink o.o

⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆

“Mmm baby,” Shouto groans in your ear, breath heavy in his chest as his cock glides deeper inside of you. “You feel so good— so warm, so wet for me.” 

Your legs widen around his waist, ankles crossing behind his back in an attempt to push his hips closer to yours. You’re panting, head thrown back into the sheets and wrists pinned down by his tight grip, moaning as he starts to pick up the pace. “Aha— Sho, fuck yes, all for you!”

He takes your ear between his teeth, nibbling at your skin and washing the side of your face in his hot, ragged breath. His mouth moves to kiss and suck at your jaw, and you stretch your neck so you expose everything to him, wanting for him to mark your throat. 

“Sh-Shouto, choke me baby, please~” you whimper, eyes fluttering closed. 

Shouto’s so shocked that his hips actually falter, leaning back to look at you and make sure he heard you right. Even though he’s frozen to the spot, you’re restless for him— you shake one of his hands from your wrist and place it around your neck instead, squeezing his thumb and forefinger on the sides of your throat. Wiggling your hips, you urge him to start thrusting again, wanting nothing more than for him to rearrange your guts.

It takes him a second to recalibrate, putting all his weight on his free hand, and just barely pressing down on your neck with his other. But when he does, he groans at how you back arches, a fucked-out expression blooming on your features as your fingers dig into his skin.

Experimentally he give a few shallow thrusts, and when he’s satisfied with the desperate mewls that leak from your mouth, he shoves his cock deep inside of you, all the way. Squeezing at your throat just a little harder, he begins to fuck you eagerly. Excitement courses through him at the image of his hand around your neck, his cock harder than ever as your choked voice moans out his name again and again.

“You look so pretty with my fingers around your throat, baby,” he huffs, watching your tits bounce as his hips smack against yours. The lack of oxygen makes you feel dizzy, cunt twitching snug around his cock as you near your peak. “Gonna cum for me already, like it that much? Fuck babygirl, I like it too...”

𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐠𝐨𝐮 💥

enjoys fucking you roughly in the first place, this mans will not hesitate to fulfill your request.

you and bakugou have hot, rough sex on the daily. he’s got a lot of pent-up aggravation (somehow, even tho he’s screaming “DIE” every 10 mins), but you happen to like it when he takes it out on you between the legs. 

he’s taking you from behind, smothering your face into the pillows as his hips pummel yours, the slick slap of your skins filling the room.

fucks you like he’s got somewhere to be— fast and hard. 

but the thing is, he’s got the stamina of a young stallion, so he’s been drilling into you for quite some time now, ignoring your throbbing clit and whines for attention.

so when you moan out “fuck katsu, choke me, choke me”, you don’t think he’ll hear you. 

biiitch, you’ve never been more wrong in your life. 

⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆

Your slick is slowly dripping down the back of your thighs, each swing of Bakugou’s hips spreading it even further. A little puddle of drool is collecting below where he’s pressing your face against the comforter, your jaw hanging open and weak moans pouring out.

“You’re so fuckin’ loud,” Bakugou grunts, clapping a hand over your already-raw ass, causing you to clench around his thick length that’s plunging deep inside of you. “S’like you want the whole place to know how good you’re getting fucked, huh princess?”

His calloused fingers brush over your neglected clit when you don’t respond, your body seizing up. You let out a long moan instantly, pushing your ass onto his abs in pleasure. “Yessss Katsu, I love it!”

He snickers, pulling your hips back to meet his as he pushes his cock into your wet cunt with ease, watching how your body swallows him whole. Taking a second to spit on the base of his dick, he slaps your ass again, grabbing the flesh there and jiggling it.

“Fuck Katsu, choke me, choke me,” you mumble, starting to slam your ass back to meet his thrusts.

You’re yanked upright abruptly, his hands on your elbows and then one wrapping around your neck so fast you barely have time to realize he’d heard you. His thick fingers coil tight around your throat and you gasp for breath, his grip just loose enough so that you can take in a measly puff of air. Your back is arched perfectly now, on your hands and knees as he begins to plow into you without restraint.

“Fuckin’ dirty little girl,” he growls, loving the way your body looks contorted in his grasp. You try to moan but it comes out a garbled mess, Bakugou’s hand too tight around your throat for the noise to come out regularly. He’d be lying if he said your request didn’t make him ache with a fresh wave of lust— he bares his teeth as he furrows his brow and staves off his impending climax. “Gonna make me bust, you’re so sexy like this, shit..”

His admission sends chills down your spine, and his grip on your neck eases up enough to hear your whines pour out as his fingers start to play with your clit. You sob, your head spinning as you hurtle closer to the edge he’d been keeping you from crossing for so long now.

He chuckles when you start to shake, only pounding his cock into you harder. “If you’re gonna act like a slut, I’ll treat you like a slut.”

𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐮 🔮

dom daddy shinsou, is it really a surprise that he’ll take the ball and run with it?

with shinsou’s nonchalant, intimidating aura, he’s definitely the one to take the reins during sex. make no mistake, he is the one in charge. 

he loves to take his time with you and make you squirm until you’re crying for his cock, and then once he’s sure you’re ready for it, he’ll fuck you into next week, just like you beg him to.

he’s doing just that— toying with your overstimulated clit as he leisurely drags your dripping cunt along his thick cock, sitting back and whispering degrading things into your ear while your eyes roll back. 

you’re a blabbering mess, squeezing down on him as he sits you flush against his thighs, nestling his hot cock all the way inside. “uhhnn, choke me, daddy~” falls from your open lips, your eyelids fluttering almost shut as you lock eyes with his sinful, violet gaze.

he doesn’t have to say a word— you’re in for it now. 

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Shinsou moans in your ear, his deep voice making butterflies flutter in your stomach. Little do you know that while he loves to tease you and prep you for him, it makes his cock leak and throb for you— he’s been wanting to sheath himself in your tight cunt for a whole hour now, and finally, he does. Your mouth falls open as he guides your hips up, your wetness sliding down his length and into his lap. 

You can barely keep your mewls of pleasure in as he starts to bounce you on his thighs. He reaches down and thumbs over your slick clit, your eyelids struggling to stay open. 

“How’s that feel, kitten?” he grumbles, savoring the way your soft tits move with each drop of your hips. He fights the desire to latch onto your nipple with his mouth, tongue moving across the bottom of his front teeth instead.

“Fuckkkk, feels so good Toshi,” you cry, and his thumb starts to circle around your swollen clit faster in reward. He bucks his hips up into yours, making you shriek in pleasure. As he starts to pick up the pace, you move in tune with him, nose coming to nudge his cheek as you whine for him. “Uhhnn, choke me daddy~” you mumble in his ear.

Shinsou is still for a moment before his hand laces around your neck, gentle grasp soon becoming firm. With a steady hold on your throat, he pulls your body down to seat yourself on his cock even harder, making sure to rut his hips extra deep as well. Your cunt trembles, hugging his cock tight while you throw your arms around his muscled neck, your head dipping back in sheer ecstasy. He wraps his free arm around your waist, hand cupping your ass to throw your body onto his lap while your bouncing begins to get messier, off-balance. 

“Nnn, love your tight little cunt, kitty. You look so cute with my hand around your throat like this...” he rumbles, enjoying how your skin feels slapping against his. You’re so soaked at this point that you glide easily on his cock, only getting wetter by the minute with his fingers on your rapid pulse. “Didn’t know you were such a little whore— you like being choked? Like having daddy choke you, hmm?”

You can barely respond, eyes crossing as the head-rush starts getting to you. “Yesyesyes fuck yes daddy~” you whimper, his thumb stroking over your throat. Your clit grinds against his pelvis as you abandon any kind of rhythm with your hips, desperate just to feel his cock stretch your walls and deliver you to euphoria. 

Shinsou smirks through his labored breathing, watching you unravel on his cock with pleasure. “C’mon cutie, cum on my cock. Cum and I’ll fuck you hard and fast with my hand on your throat, just like you want.”

[inviouswriting]

Comfortable

Comfortable.

Simeon x Fem!Reader

Smut.  

Warnings below

Contains - Sex obviously, but whips, riding the angel, breeding kink, dirty talk, scratching, biting, deep penetrations, a good time.

You feel warm, very warm and cozy. Back in Simeon’s arms in his bed, he has them around you along with the blanket used to drape over you two. You scoot back into the angel whose response is to wrap his arms tighter and nuzzle his face into the side of yours on top. You both had taken a nap after your antics together. Simeon had taken you a few more times on his bed, having you ride him, the look on your face more than enough to make him want more of you.

Simeon allowed you to use a whip on him finding how you use it exciting. His skin tingled and there were a few lines left on him, specifically his back, you earned his retribution when a well-placed whip cracked on top of his ass. He had you pinned and begging for relief after that one.

You both were aware that you had to return to House of Lamentations, though you wish you could stay with Simeon. Perhaps you could stay another night, Simeon would never mind, though you were sure you would not get much sleep.

You shift in Simeon’s arms turning to face him, the movement earns his eyes open, and he presses on your back closer. You wind your arms around him rubbing his shoulders and down the middle of his back tracing his spine and shoulder blades. Simeon practically melts into your touch, pressing lips to your forehead. You use your other hand to rub his face touching his cheek, as he quietly loves you with his eyes.

“My lamb?” You hear him, and you raise your hands up to cup his face both thumbs rubbing his cheeks. You see the way his eyes are warm when you do this, the never fading smile widening with a warmth. He smiles with his entire being and you want to always see it.

“I was thinking about your question... of whether to go with you back to the Celestial Realm. Or have you come with me to the human world.” Simeon’s attention on you now. A hum in his voice as you talk of your conversation with him about that. You had never given him an answer.

“Yes?” You feel your face burn a little with the thought of your words. Simeon places his hands on your head holding you to look him in his eyes.  

“I think I would love it more if you came with me.” Your gaze drops to his chest, and Simeon tilts your head back to silently ask “look at me.”

“Why would you want me to come with you?” His thumb circles an ear rubbing along the ridge of it.

“It’s embarrassing!” You shrink down and bury your face into his chest, Simeon is now curious to what and why you would want him as a human.

“For you, I would happily be with you as a human. But I must know what is so embarrassing about your question, or why?” Fingers card through your hair, he is using both hands to comb tangles out, his hands feel nice.

“I... would like to... have a child with you maybe.” You feel his hands stop, and you bury your face further into his chest. You worry if this were the break between you two, that he would not want to give up his archangel role.

“Lamb. Look up at me.” You raise your head to look at bright blue eyes beaming to yours in happiness.  

“I would love to do that.” Simeon tugs you closer into his arms, and you nuzzle his chest feeling protected and further loved. This took a lot to admit wanting with him, and you worried he would reject the idea of a child.  

“So, you will come with me?” You ask him, you didn’t want him to go through with it if there was a shred of doubt. Simeon shifts to pin you beneath him; one of his hands finds yours to lace fingers together. Simeon presses his forehead to yours with a gentle tap.

“You were either going to come with me, or I would be going with you. I don’t see myself without you now. Specially after... all we have been doing...” He has a cute look to his face, a blush along with downcast eyes at all the sexual endeavors you had been doing with the angel. You cup his face to get him to look at you. He meets your stare with that warm smile he always has when looking at you.

“I am happy then. Simeon.” He lowers his head more to rest his forehead against yours again. Looking deep at your eyes, you see just how blue they are, with that hint of green. Your eyes take his in, and he is focused on yours. You want to see him blush further, and quickly kiss him. His eyes widen only to lower as he pushes back to you accepting your kiss.

You both glide hands across skin, till the familiar heat rises within you, to want him again. You feel him poking into your thigh, you can tell he wants the same thing.  

“Simeon?” You say after parting from your kiss with him.

“Yes? My lamb?” You feel him shift and guide your legs apart to fit between them. You splay your hands across his dark skin, touching along his chest to rub it earning an appreciative hum.

“Should we get started in trying then?” You look up at Simeon as he shoves the blankets off you both kicking them off the side to not dirty them. Simeon raises up as he guides his cock into you, you bite your lip at the stretch. All of the earlier sex making you tender to his thrust inside. He stills once he is completely inside.

“I think we can start trying then. Just so you know, I don’t intend to let up until I know you’re blessed with a child.” You wonder what you got yourself into with the angel, and you feel him drag himself slowly inside. Your hands going to his back to add onto the many scratches you have left there. He would have to wear something that covered his back.

“It makes me happy you would want that from me. I will do my best.” Simeon says as he picks up the pace, slow thrusts in, shallow to feel you around him sooner. Your legs being held apart by Simeon’s hands, one of his palms resting on your folds holding them open as he teases your clit.  

You feel hotter than before, like all of the earlier romps were nothing compared to the one you were doing with him now. It felt more intimate, Simeon lowering his head to press against yours, kissing your cheek as he pleases you with his fingers and thrusts. He listens to every sigh that escapes your lips, some with his name at the end.

You focus on Simeon, the way he thrusts against your waist driving himself as deep as he gets. Long draw backs of his hips and full pushes back in as hard as he gets when you vocalize for him to go harder. Simeon buries his face into your shoulder where he had bitten it earlier in the day, nibbling on the love bite there. Biting till he did taste a little bit of blood, a lick placed over it in apology. He does however go to the other side of your neck and places a deliberate bite at the crook of your neck.

Simeon hums in approval of how the bites look along your skin, even dipping down to place a few more along your chest. Your legs shake from the over-sensitivity and the fact that he is gentle with loving you. Save for the biting, that you barely notice when he is pressing kiss after kiss over your face, or the hot breath at your ear.

“You’ll look nice carrying my child... I can’t get enough of the mental thought of you heavy with one. Maybe try for more than just one. If I am going to seal my life with yours. I want to have many with you.” Simeon’s voice against your ear, hot breath along it, enough to make you clench down on him.

“Ah, you like that thought. Being full of my seed?” You feel your face burning with each word being said to your ear a kiss following each sentence. It is hard to believe that he is an angel sometimes you wonder if he was closer to falling than he lets on with the freedom he has. Your thoughts are distracted as Simeon stills himself, you look up to him wondering why he stopped.

“I want to change positions, please?” Simeon pulls from you and helps rearrange you, he practically helps pull you to your hands and knees in front of him. You see him grab the pillows and toss them off where the blankets lay to spare them the same from being soiled. Simeon grabs your waist, pulling you to him as he angles you the way he wants you. You look over your shoulder towards him and see him settling behind you.  

He guides himself back inside of you, and it takes a few thrusts to readjust to the rhythm you both lost. Simeon leans over the top of your back as he thrusts wild, tearing cries of pleasure out of you. Your hands scrambling to grab at the headboard scratching the surface when your nails grace it. Simeon is relentless in his pace you hear his panted moans. A hot kiss against your ear.

“I am going to do this every day... with you till there is no doubt you conceive. I think I can persuade Diavolo to have you stay at the Purgatory Hall under the guise of furthering our bond between humans and angels. But in our little secret... We will be like this, needing each other...” You bite your bottom lip at the idea of spending as much time with your angel like this. His thrusts got harder, and Simeon is thrusting deeper into you dragging down to brush that one spot that makes your hands and toes curl.

“What do you think? Want to be with me night and day?” Simeon places a bite at the nape of your neck, just under your hairline. You feel turned on the more he talks about you both like this.  

“I can tell you want the same thing... you are tightening down on me... My lamb... I want you to never leave my side... please stay with me.” You hear the emotion in his voice, and wish you could see his face right now, to see what kind of expression he makes with that tone of voice. As if he is afraid to lose you to the brothers.

“I want this! I want you! Simeon! I want to stay with you... please!” You manage out, feeling a lick along the helix of your ear again. Simeon hugs you from behind, lifting you so you are flush against his chest, he urges your left arm up, and turns you enough to press a heated kiss to your lips. His hands going to your waist rocking them back into his.  

“Good, my love... good... I am going to be deep... Think you can handle me? I will be rough for a bit.” Simeon murmurs against your lips, you feel one of his harder thrusts, him emphasizing what he means. You feel intense pleasure as he hits deep as if he is trying to be inside your womb.  

“I can handle it, as long as you promise me a gentle time later.” A quick peck on your face, and Simeon smiles against your skin as he kisses you. He pushes your hips down hard to his as he thrusts up. The motion and force of his thrusts drawing a higher moan out of you. You push yourself down to meet him finding the way he hits into your g-spot everything you want to feel. Your body is electric, Simeon kneads a breast with a hand as he guides your waist with his free hand.  

What you were not expecting where his wings curling around you both almost cocooning you in them to press you as close as you get. You feel softness as Simeon kisses down your neck to place another hickey on your arm blazing a trail down it, till he kisses the top of your left hand over your ring finger.

You soon feel the swell again, his movements faster as he moves the hand from your breast to rapidly rub your clit. Blinding pleasure runs through your mind, so much you do not realize how hard you cum on his hand. You do hear the load groan in his chest a series of panted moans till he follows you pushing your hips down to his till there is nary a peek of where you begin, and he ends as he fills you with his seed pushing deep in hope, he is successful. Simeon pulls you with him, having you lie on top of him as you thrash and shudder in your orgasm. Simeon pressing repeated kisses on your head and face.

Simeon keeps you there till he pulls from you wiping his fluid covered hand on the bedsheets, you move to flip over and lay on his chest, being tugged up into his arms where he cups your face as you seek kiss after kiss with him. You run your hands through his hair, rubbing his head as you learned how to touch him.  

“Did you mean all that? About asking me to stay here for a while?” You ask him, and Simeon smiles his warm smile, a little mischief behind his eyes.

“Of course, I do. I think it will be easy to persuade Diavolo with what I said. He’ll be thrilled on the surface, plus... if I recall yesterday, you were wanting a break from the brothers.” Simeon hums at the weight of you sitting on his waist. You smooth your hands into his feathers, Simeon lets you touch them, you note how the ends of the feathers have a familiar green tip to them.  

“Do you use one of your feathers as your quill?” You touch along the soft down feathers towards the center seeing him shiver visibly.

“You noticed! Yes, that is one of my feathers.” He raises a hand to run through your hair touching it in the same manner you are his wings.

“They’re pretty. Like you are.” Simeon blushes and presses a hand to his mouth.

“You are prettier lamb.” You lay fully on top of Simeon, and he presses his face into your hair. A happy hum out of him.

When you fall asleep, in his arms; Simeon adjusts and picks you up. He places you in the mess of blankets off his bed and sets about cleaning and remaking the bed itself with fresh linens. Simeon notes you have curled yourself in one of the blankets. A sigh escapes Simeon as he bends down to collect you and the blankets setting you down in the middle of the bed.

Simeon uncovers your face and presses a kiss to it. He also takes a picture of your sleeping face, content and happy from being worn out by the angel. Simeon turns your DDD back on and sees a lot of missed calls and messages. He makes a call to Beelzebub, to explain the situation, that you two had lost track together and you will be back the following day. He finds Beel easier to talk to for relaying information. Promising him one of Luke’s cakes if he can manage to tell the others without Mammon running over to the Purgatory Hall to snag you away from Simeon.

Now all he had to do was make the request to Diavolo.  

[sunsetcurvecuddles]

If you're still doing the prompts you should do the gang (alex, julie, luke, reggie) and (platonic) cuddles!!! (I'm so soft for them and have read every jatp fic tagged platonic cuddles KFKZKDKD)

you know what ask and you shall receive. i wanted to write core4/juke cuddles today so here’s a mindless piece with cuddles and nothing else.

sit tight like bookends // 1.5k words // ao3 link in reblogs!

--

Luke’s kind of having a terrible day.

It’s not terrible for any reason. He’s just grouchy. For starters, he misses being alive. It’s nice to be able to touch Julie now, and to occasionally be visible to people with her help, but it’s not the same. On a day like this in the past, he might have gone for a hard run, just to sweat and feel his heart race. Or maybe taken a nap. Or eaten a bunch. He knows ghosts don’t get hungry, but he misses being able to eat just for the sake of it sometimes, for the comfort of warm food on a cold day.

Not that he can feel the cold anymore either. But whatever. You get the point.

So he's having this terrible, grouchy day, and he ends up spread-eagled on Julie's bed, even though he knows he's not meant to be in her room. It just sucks how long she's gone at school every day, and he knows he's not supposed to visit her at school even more than he's not supposed to be in her room. He's not even prying through her stuff this time! He's just innocently feeling sorry for himself.

Even with his eyes closed, he can feel and hear the presence of someone else poofing into the room. Then he hears Alex's voice, "Dude, you know you're not supposed to be in here when Julie's not home."

Luke cracks open one eye. Alex is standing with his hands in his pockets, but his shoulders aren't all up against his ears like they get when he's anxious. More than anything, he looks that particular, Alex-brand mixture of irritated and concerned, eyebrows raised, lips pressed together, eyebrows furrowed. "C'mon, man. What gives?"

Luke sighs, long and dramatic, and snaps, "I don't know, okay?!" mostly just because in the moment, it feels good to be a little terse. Then the moment ends, and he feels bad, his stomach turning all tight and guilty. "Sorry, Lex," he groans, dragging his hands over his own face and then keeping them there, so he doesn't have to see Alex's expression melt into that other Alex-brand look, the one where he's halfway between knowing and affectionate. Somehow, that face is worse than the irritated-concerned one. "I'm just... I dunno. I don't wanna be a ghost any more. And I miss food. And Julie's still not home. Today sucks."

"That's fair enough," says Alex, like he always has when Luke is whinging for no reason, because Alex only ever tells him to shut up or be reasonable or quit whining when he's really being ridiculous, and Luke appreciates that, that Alex knows when to let him ramble but knows when enough is enough. Luke feels the mattress move as Alex sits on the end of the bed. "Like, you shouldn't be such an asshole about it—" Luke can't help but smile at that, knows Alex is grinning too without even looking "—but it's still fair." A moment of silence. In his mind's eye, Luke can see Alex staring into the carpet like it holds some answers for him, thinking hard enough it basically counts as a workout. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Alex asks eventually, soft. He means it.

Luke shrugs. It's nice in this dark little cave he's created with his hands. "I don't know, man."

"Okay," says Alex. The mattress shifts more under Luke. Then, Luke feels his right side glow with warmth as Alex lies down beside him. Sometimes he wonders if since they became ghosts, he can actually feel his boys' auras, or something, because he's sure this sense of care and steadiness didn't radiate off Alex quite like this when they were alive. Maybe it's been since the Orpheum, actually. Luke can't really remember. "C'mere," Alex encourages him. "I'm good for hugs today, if you want some."

Maybe once upon a time Luke would have pretended not to be eager, but even then, he would have done a bad job, and now he doesn't even bother with the act. Immediately, he takes his hands off his face, blinking against the return of the light as he turns to Alex, flings an arm across Alex's chest and a leg over Alex's hip, snuggling up tight until he's plastered to the side of Alex's body. Alex just laughs, quiet, extends his arm out so Luke can pillow his head on Alex's shoulder, one hand coming up to mess up Luke's hair even more than it already was.

For a moment, they lie there together, Luke relaxing until he feels more and more like his body and Alex's body are synced, breaths coming in and out at a similar pace. The bitter, jittery feeling in his spine eases back, lets go of his tongue, so he feels less likely to bite at whoever comes close.

Which is good timing, because there's another whoosh, and this weight lands behind him, on the bed as soon as they arrive.

"You guys are cuddling without me?" Reggie says, but he doesn't sound upset. In fact, he sounds delighted that there's cuddling happening, period. There's scuffling, and then two thuds, because Reggie knows better than to let his shoes touch Julie's bed, and then Luke feels a different warmth, sweeter than Alex's, more caramelised, and Reggie spoons against Luke's back, his nose burying into Luke's neck and one arm laying all the way over him to rest on Alex's chest.

"We were cuddling without you, because Luke was being a miserable grouch, but we've been interrupted," Alex says primly, and as Luke manages a mildly offended hey!, Reggie laughs, not phased at all. Luke can feel it as it vibrates from Reggie's chest to his own back, the tangibility of his joy making Luke feel warm from the inside. Reggie and Alex start bickering over the top of his head, and he doesn't really pay attention to them. Some part of him is trying to string some lyrics together, about being warm, about being able to feel someone else laughing because they're pressed so closely to you that their happiness feels just as much your own. But he's not quite sure what he's trying to say, yet.

They're still there when Julie gets home from school. Luke hears the door open and close, feels Reggie go tense, like he's worried they're going to get yelled at. But Julie only sounds kind of exasperated when she says, "Seriously, guys? Boundaries?"

"Luke's having a bad day," Reggie explains right away.

"Not anything serious," Alex corrects him, "just in a bad mood."

Luke nods and wriggles a bit between his boys, sits up so he can look at Julie properly.

The feeling of his heart in his mouth when he sees her will apparently never stop. She looks tired and ruffled from her day at school, hair a cloud around her face where he can see she was running her fingers through it as she thought in class, skirt crumpled at the hem where she would have wrinkled it in her fist, rubbed the fabric between her fingers. She dumps her backpack on the carpet and offers him a grin, and he can't remember what in the world he could have been grumpy about. If being a ghost brought him to her, being a ghost is awesome.

He looks around at the bed and realises they're going to have to rearrange, but Alex and Reggie seem on the same page at the same time, because they're his favourites and he loves them and he wants them close to him always. They move, adjusting and shuffling around, until a spot for Julie appears in between Alex and Luke. With a relieved sigh, she flops down, and Luke might be fooling himself, but he thinks he feels her energy, too. It's softer than Alex or Reggie, enveloping, like warm water scented with something beautiful.

She leans over Luke to kiss Reggie's forehead hello, then kisses Luke on the mouth (she tastes like the cherry bubblegum Flynn always carries around), then she turns to kiss Alex on the cheek. "I have homework to do later," she says, but it comes out a little garbled as she surprises herself with a yawn. Luke, Alex and Reggie exchange a fond look over the top of her head — she'll be asleep before she knows it. Alex nods his head at the clock on her desk and mouths I'll wake her up, because Luke and Reggie both have absolutely zero time perception.

Luke wraps his arms around Julie's waist and holds her close to him, and she settles in, Alex curling up to hold her from behind while Reggie moves up a bit, so he can press himself to Luke and run his hands gently through Julie's hair at the same time. Their different kinds of warm all stitch themselves together, weaving over Luke's body like a blanket, like a shield. All that's wrong with the world is on the other side, kept away from him by Alex's fingers rubbing little circles into Luke's side, by the feeling of Julie's chest rising and falling with her breaths, by the movement of Reggie's arms over his head. By all of them curled as close to him as they can be.

Luke's day isn't so terrible after all.

--

jatp taglist (lmk if you want to be added or removed!!): @queenmolina @nickalicious @bi-reginald @malecacidd @burntchromas @jughead-is-canonically-aroace @cinnamonstickrayofsunlight @chickwiththepurpleguitar @fairylightsandrainydays @joyandthephantoms @fighttoshine @michelangelinda @queenofthequillandink @random-nerd-3 @silent-silver-slip @apolo81 @evashmz @bagoffriedrice @thedeathdeelers

[cupidcreates]

Love You Equally

Chapter Thirty: Missing Items

Part 3: Camera Setup

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS NS//FW MATERIAL, VEIWER DESCRETION IS ADVISED

“What do you mean the camera’s didn’t capture any footage??”

The disbelief in Tamaki’s voice when Katsuki showed up to deliver the news later that day was palpable. Your worst fear had been confirmed; the cameras surrounding each and every one of your dorms had either been hacked to skip large chunks of footage, been broken just before the incident by some off-screen assailant, or had their footage erased all together. Any evidence you’d had of an intruder in your dorms was gone.

The school, thankfully, was taking the matter seriously and was upping security campus-wide. People in security uniforms patrolled the halls and streets of UA now, as well as stationed themselves outside the campus walls; community watchmen had been hired to patrol around the off-campus dorms as well.

Rumors about the cause of the increased security spread around campus like wildfire, but thankfully the administration was keeping tight-lipped on the whole situation; releasing an official statement that the increased security was due to concerns about drug movements through UA’s campus and out into the town. Most people seemed to buy it, and the fact that a lot of well-known plugs had cut back on their dealings only corroborated the story. The only people to know the truth of the matter - you, your soulmates, and your friends - weren’t keen on correcting anyone’s assumptions.

Needless to say the relief you felt when Saturday morning rolled around and you were able to get Yaoyorozu’s cameras from Jiro was immense. She walked you through the setup process and you spent the morning making the rounds to your soulmates dorms and housing helping them install the extra security.

Tamaki had decided to stay in his dorm for a while, to check it over and see if anything had gone missing in his month-long absence. You doubted there would be, as you were betting your stalker knew he’d been staying with you for a while, but you didn’t voice this opinion; it never hurt to be safe when dealing with potentially dangerous people. You bid him farewell with a kiss on the cheek and made your way through the winding hallways to Hitoshi’s dorm.

The door swung open the moment you arrived without you even having knocked, giving you the impression that he had been watching for you through the peephole. You stepped into his dorm and immediately noticed the drastic change that had occurred since you last visited him. Hitoshi was normally a very clean person, but now everything in his dorm was not only spotless but had at least a foot of distance separating it from everything else. There weren’t even books stacked on the shelf anymore, instead they were separated from one another by thin pieces of cardboard, colors alternating in a seven color pattern. No thought to space conservation, now if anything in his dorm was to be moved or go missing its absence would be immediately noticed.

“I uh- rearranged a bit”, Hitoshi said sheepishly from the doorway, closing the door and fastening his many locks, “I just wanted to be one-hundred percent sure I’d notice if something was missing or in a spot it shouldn’t be.”

“That’s smart,” you said as he crossed over to you, rubbing the back of his neck, “It can never hurt to be safe in a situation like this.”

“Definitely,” he said as you both moved into the living room, “Have you noticed anything else missing from your dorm since Wednesday?”

“No,” you said, discarding the cameras on the barren coffee table, “I’ve been keeping a close eye on everything but so far nothing has been missing.”

You sat down on the couch and Hitoshi plopped himself down next to you, flinging his arms over the back of the couch and letting his head roll back. You shifted to move yourself underneath his arm and laid your head on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to your forehead and brought his knuckles up to brush against your cheek.

“I just feel like they’re trying to lure us into a false sense of security,” Hitoshi said with a sigh “Like they’re planning something big for us and want us to have our guard down.”

You sit in silence for a moment, allowing yourself to be soothed by his caresses. You wrap one arm around Hitoshi and squeeze him in a facsimile of a hug.

“I really don’t like thinking about that, about what they could be planning next,” You sighed, “It really terrifies me. Is that what you think they want? To scare us?”

Hitoshi’s frown deepened and he signed, pulling away from you and standing up, “It probably is what they want,” he admitted, “especially if Monoma is behind all of this, which I’m now almost positive he is. This kind of thing is just his style.”

Hitoshi looked down at your worried face and his expression softened. “Listen kitten,” he said, bending down and titling your face up to look at him “Whatever he’s got planned next, whatever happens, I’ll be here for you okay? We’ll all stick together through this and make it out alright, alright? I promise you that.”

You smile as he comes in to capture your lips in a chaste kiss, “I believe you Toshi, thank you.”

Setting up Hitoshi’s cameras took longer than it did with your other four boyfriends, mostly because he needed to constantly be in some physical contact with you. Brushing his shoulder against yours, running his hands down your arms or your back, planting kisses on your face and neck, or even stopping you mid-action to pull you into a hug. You didn’t mind the attention, but you also couldn’t lie that this was abnormal for him. He wasn’t reserved with his affections like Katsuki was, but this was borderline Tamaki-levels of attachment.

You discarded your worries about his behavior as a result of multiple stresses; the stalker turned thief situation hit right before midterms were about to start up again, so undoubtedly Hitoshi would be a bit more clingy at this time.

You really didn’t think much of it at all, that was until you moved to the bedroom and were promptly thrown onto the bed, camera and setup pulled from your hands and swiftly discarded on a shelf by the door.

Hitoshi climbed atop you and flopped down, covering your entire body with his own and making your breath rush out of your lungs with a sharp whoosh. He buried his face in your neck and pushed his arms underneath your body, wrapping them around you and sighing. 

“Doing okay, Toshi?” You asked, pushing your hands up his shirt and rubbing his back in small soothing circles. He lifted his head and peppered your face with kisses. Gripping you tighter and using his thumbs to stroke your sides.

“I’m sorry,” he said in between kisses, “I’m sorry for this whole situation. It’s my fault, I should have blocked Monoma the second he contacted me, now he’s trying to fuck around with everyone to get back at me and I just-”

You covered Hitoshi’s mouth with your hand and pressed your forehead to his. “Hey,” you said sternly, “Don’t you apologize for what he’s done. None of what he’s done is your fault. It’s not your fault you tried to allow him back into your life and he fucked it up. Nothing that’s happened can be blamed on you and I don’t want to hear otherwise, alright?”

You removed your hand and captured his lips in a heated kiss before he could answer, he moaned into your mouth and swiped his tongue across your bottom lip. He pulled away and kissed the tip of your nose.

“Okay,” he said pressing his face back into your neck and sighing contentedly, “Okay, I’m sorry. And thank you, kitten.”

“Anytime,” you stroked your hands down his back and gripped his hips. You noticed that Hitoshi felt much less soft than he had before, his sides were now toned and hard with muscle that would give Katsuki a run for his money. Apparently he had bulked up over the past few months, and you had to wonder what brought about this change.

“Have you been working out recently?” You asked while pushing your hands between your bodies and tracing his hip bones, no longer covered by a layer of softness but now sharp and jutting out.

“A bit,” he replied, gasping sharply as you bent your fingers (as much as you could with them being squished between the both of you)  and ran your nails up his stomach. “Katsuki goes to the gym really early most mornings and I accompany him on the nights when I can’t sleep and accidentally stay up all- are you trying to start something Kitten?”

You grinned cheekily as your hands found their way back down to his hips and into his pants, stroking the insides of his thigh gently while being sure to get close, but not too close, to his crotch.

“Perhaps I am,” you retorted with an evil grin, “what are you going to do if I am? Going to finish it for me?”

A deep growl rumbled from Hitoshi’s chest as he grabbed both your wrists with one hand and pinned them up above your head, puncturing the movement with a harsh thrust that flattened your hands against his thighs and brushed his clothed cock right against your crotch.

“Oh I’ll finish it alright,” he purred in your ear sending shivers up your spine, “But only if you want me to, kitty-cat.”

“Oh yes,” you replied breathlessly, “I absolutely want you to finish it.”

He smirked, “That’s what I thought you’d say,” he said and caught your lips in a kiss, nipping your bottom lip hard and thrusting his tongue into your mouth as you gasped. Using the hand that wasn’t pinning your wrists above your head he unbuttoned your pants and pushed his hand downward into your underwear, quickly finding your clitoris and using two fingers to rub it in small circles.

You shuddered under his ministrations gasping and moaning into his mouth as he applied the perfect amount of pressure to your clit. You squirmed underneath him, feeling your cunt getting wetter with every passing moment he massaged you.

Just as you felt the pleasure start to build he pulled away, moving down your body and pulling both your pants and underwear with him. You had just a moment to gasp at the cool air hitting your skin before Hitoshi’s face was buried in your crotch; licking once over you entrance and letting his tongue slip inside your folds ever so slightly before suctioning his lips to your clit and massaging it.

You shuddered and cried out as he sucked and massaged your clit, his tongue swirling around it in a way that had you seeing stars. Every movement bringing you closer and closer to your orgasm and just as you felt yourself nearing your edge he pulled away once again. Moving off the bed and over to his nightstand and retrieving a condom from the top drawer.

You propped yourself up on your elbows as Hitsohi climbed back on top of you, undoing his pants and kissing you allowing you to taste yourself on his tongue. He leaned into you, pushing your back flat against the mattress again as he rolled the condom onto his cock and prodded your wet entrance with his head.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” He asked, pulling back to look you in the eyes, “I want to make sure you’re alright with this before I-”

“Listen here,” you snapped, grabbing his face with both of your hands, “you’re not going to eat me out like that and not fuck me after it, alright? So please.”

Hitoshi hummed and caught you in another kiss, “Only since you asked so nicely, Kitten” he said, “But you need to let me know how you’re doing okay? Say yellow if it’s too much and red if you need me to stop all together, alright?”

“Yellow?” You asked as he sucked a hickey into your neck, “A-And red?” 

“Mhm,” Hitoshi hummed against your neck, moving one hand up to your breast and pinching your nipple lightly, “I need you to communicate when it’s too much; Green is good, Yellow is pull back, and Red is stop all together, you okay with that?”

“I-” you cut off with a gasp as he jerked his hips once and pushed the tip of his cock in and out of you swiftly, “I-I’m o-okay with t-that, y-yeah.”

“Are you sure Kitten?” He taunted, pushing the tip in again only to yank it right back out of you, “I don’t want to do anything you’re not ready for-”

“God Hitoshi,” you groaned throwing your head back against the pillows, “Just fuck me already, please.”

Hitoshi took a moment to suck another hickey into your neck, pulling away only when the mark was sufficiently purple.

“As you wish Kitten,” He whispered in your ear before slamming his entire length inside of you.

Your back arched off the bed and you nearly screamed at the sudden intrusion. Hitoshi gave you no reprieve as he immediately set a back breaking pace, gripping your hips hard enough to bruise and impaling you on his cock repeatedly. You gripped the headboard and braced yourself against the onslaught, every thrust sending the head of Hitoshi’s cock directly into your g-spot. You wrapped your legs around his back and used them to push him even closer to you, forcing him to stay close and deep inside of you. Hitoshi removed one of his hands from your hips to press his thumb back into your clit, circling and pushing it with a practiced skill.

Your eyes rolled back into your skill as you took the pounding of your life, your orgasm fast approaching under his ministrations. It wouldn’t be long before you reached your peak, you grabbed his hips to keep him as deep inside you as you could, causing his movements to become harder and faster as he couldn’t pull away.

“Color,” He gasped out, “color, baby, how are you doing?”

“Green,” you all but screamed, “Green, green, green, please don’t stop I-”

You cut off as a particularly hard thrust sent you careening over the edge, orgasm hitting you with such force that stars flashed behind your eyelids and your whole body tensed.

Hitoshi groaned as you clenched around him, moving his hand back to your hips and fucking himself into you at an erratic pace, all semblance of rhythm forgotten as he chased his orgasm inside of you. One final thrust and and he stilled, shuddering as he came just moments after you.

You both collapsed with a huff, panting as you both came down from your post-orgasm high. Hitoshi peppered your face with kisses and slowly pulled himself out of you, leaving you feeling empty and sore.

Eventually Hitoshi spoke again, “A-are you okay Kitten? What color?”

“G-Green,” you stammered, bringing your leadened arms up around his shoulders and pressing a kiss to his cheek, “I’m so so green.”

He smiled and pressed a soft kiss to your nose, “I’m glad to hear it,” he relid.

You both lay for several moments longer, enjoying each other's embrace before you suddenly remembered why you’d come over here in the first place.

“Didn’t we have a camera to set up here?” you asked.

“We did,” he replied with a chuckle, “But I wanted to be sure we didn’t catch that on tape. Be a bit awkward to explain if we had to go through the footage in front of the administration.”

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[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

The Man in his Castle

Warnings: noncon sex. Let’s not be fools here. You know what I write.

This is dark!Charles Blackwood and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: A co-ed discovers that money is still king.

Note: Charles is fun because he’s already horrible. I know my summary sucks but I hope you all enjoy this. It takes place in the 1960s so keep that in mind and enjoy! But let me know what you think in reblog or reply and slap a like on there <3

There were more than a dozen girls squeezed into the windowless classroom in the basement of Victory Hall. The book club had grown quite a bit since your first week on campus. The Brownies, you called yourself. An ironic play upon a lifetime of ridicule.

Every Friday night you met in some abandoned room bartered off the registrar and set to discussing your most recent read. Sheila was the leader; bolder than you as she fostered your sprout of an idea. She was cooler, calmer, and by all means, more radical. And she was a senior.

The flock of freshmen looked up to her and the few other older girls in the group. She had brought along with her, Linda and Patty; the former with her stiff turtlenecks and the latter her faded beret. These were the types your mother had warned you against. Peddling their liberalism in the name of Kennedy and Kruschev.

That week, your group had chosen Miller’s famed play, The Crucible; still relevant despite a decade past. Though the red scare had faded to orange, there was still a breath of suspicion in the air. As people marched in the streets and sat-in at diners and cafes, the old breed was growing nervous. The world was about to change, with or without them.

You sat amid the circle with your worn copy against your knee. You took turns reading the lines and pausing to discuss the intricate and yet overt allusions made by the playwright. The furor of the blacklist which still lingered in the air. A paranoia much broader than years before. No longer just the Reds, but all who spoke of equality and freedom; no longer exclusive to a single group. The same tensions which kept you in the basement with the dingy old desks.

You couldn’t help but smile at the group of girls. When you’d arrived on campus, you were certain you’d be the same loner as before. Solitary nights spent barricaded in your dorm only to lose yourself in the crowd of the lecture hall. 

But Sheila had changed that. She was in your elective Lit class, filling a void in her audit so that she could graduate on time. You had lost yourself in a discussion of Marx and the mounting tensions with the East; not that they ever really subsided. 

Then she invited you to meet Linda and Patty for a drink. Your lack of ID didn’t keep you from the chance to make friends as she knew the doorman by name. That was when you mentioned the club. It was just you and your friend, Elsie. Not really a club, more so a pair of girls with nothing better to do. But Sheila liked it and the next week, she had six new girls to add to your duo.

Now, you were a full blown corps. The three seniors and at least fifteen freshmen, a few in between to fill out the circle. 

Sheila snapped her book shut and declared the end of the night as she checked her watch. 

“We’ll finish next week,” She chimed. “Granted we don’t devolve so easily again.”

The girls giggled and began to pack up. You stood and shoved your book into your leather bag. Sheila stood with Linda at the back of the circle and Patty offered a goodbye to each girl as they left. Most did so in pairs or trios. Safety in numbers.

Your dorm wasn’t far and so you would keep a brisk pace with your keys in hand. You turned and Sheila called to you before you could reach the door. You spun back and neared her and Linda.

“Hey, you need a walking partner?” She asked. “Me and Linda are head down the The Cask. We’ll be headed past yours.”

“If you’re headed that way,” You accepted eagerly.

You helped rearrange the chairs and desk with the three seniors. Patty left on her own as Sheila locked the door. You walked on her right as Linda kept to her left and made your way out of the depths of Victory Hall. The night was cool but not bitter. You pulled your collar up as you passed between the carefully trimmed hedges.

“You sure you don’t want to come for a drink?” Linda asked. “Seeing as Patty ditched us.”

“Oh, you know she has that boy waiting for her,” Sheila countered.

“Um, no, I have an early morning,” You replied. “But thanks.”

“What about next weekend?” Sheila asked.

“Next weekend?” You wondered.

“Wanna come to a party?”

“A… a senior party?” You glanced over at her as you tucked your hands in your pockets.

“Oh, no, it’s not on campus,” She trilled. “But I think you’d like it.”

“Off-campus?” You said surprised. “Really?”

“A bit of an older crowd but…” She lowered her voice, “Of a similar mind as us.”

Your eyes widened. You blinked at her and she laughed.

“Oh calm down, they’re no interlopers, merely open-minded,” She assured you. “You have to realize that this little club, that’s a children’s game. If you’re serious, these are the people you need to rub shoulders with.”

“I don’t know. It’s pretty seedy downtown and the last time--”

“Downtown?” She scoffed. “Oh, this is different from that hole in the wall.”

“Where--”

“Uptown, actually,” She preened. “You know, we do have allies with money. They hide among the enemy until we can truly act.”

“I don’t know. That sounds--”

“You worry too much. It’s not illegal to meet people who think like you do,” She said. “Otherwise us Brownies would be akin to the mob.”

You laughed at yourself and watched your scuffed shoes on the sidewalk. “I guess you’re right. Um, what kind of party is it, exactly?”

“Wear something nice,” She picked a thread from your jacket. “Fancy dress hides a humble heart.”

You nodded and gripped the strap of your bag. “Sure, why not?” You shrugged.

“I’ll see you in Lit,” She stopped just outside your gate. “I’ll give you the details then. You should ask Elsie to come with you.”

“Alright,” You breathed. “Yeah, I’ll ask her.”

“Have a good night,” She sang and Linda echoed her. 

“You, too.” You smiled.

You turned and unlocked your gate as their heels continued down the pavement. You let yourself inside and listened until there was silence. You were happy to have friends, happier that you were so much alike, but the thought of a party had your stomach aflutter.

🏰

You found your only formal dress. Rather, your most formal dress. A long-sleeved black number that flared at the knee. You wore the simple silver chain your mother gifted you for your high school graduation and a pair of kitten heels. You hugged yourself with a red shawl and grabbed your purse.

Elsie waited just outside your dorm room. She looked as nervous as you felt. The lack of details gave both of you the jitters. You were two shy girls who found each other among the sea of students. You took comfort in knowing you weren’t the only one in over your head.

And Sheila would be there too. She could help you maneuver your way through this maze of etiquette and idealism.

You took a bus as far as you could but at the last stop, you were still three blocks away from the place. Blackwood Manor. Sheila’s loopy cursive marked it on the corner of paper. The house on the hill, she said, can’t miss it.

The gates towered over you as you approached. Tinted lanterns lit the walkway and you pressed the button over the small speaker box. A dull voice greeted you from the other side.

“Um, hello,” Elsie squeezed your arm as you bent to speak into the box. “We’re here for the party.”

“Par-ty?” The voice said.

“We’re friends of, uh, Sheila.” You replied nervously.

“Ah, yes, Miss Sheila.” The crackle died and the gate clicked. 

You looked to Elsie and a man in grey neared from the other side. He pulled open the gate and removed his cap as he waited for you to enter. A car drove up, its bright headlights washed over you, as you walked up the drive and the gates man spoke with its occupants.

At the front door, you met with a man with grey hair and the same even tone that rose from the speaker. He took your shawl and Elsie’s coat and directed you to the next room. You detached Elsie from your arm and gave her a look. She smiled tensely and smoothed the front of her dress.

The sparkle of the chandelier drew your eyes first. The light refracted from the crystals and illuminated the large room. Men in suits stood around with drinks in hand and chattered. You heard the next guests enter behind you and stepped out of their way.

You spotted Sheila in the far corner, a broad pair of shoulders left her barely visible. There were several other girls you recognized; Linda. Darla and Colleen, two other Brownies, and even a couple girls from your Lit class. Every women in the room was barely that; they were all bright-eyed co-eds amid a conclave of stiff-lipped men.

You felt a chill crawl up your spine but resisted the shiver. You were just anxious about all these strangers. It was natural to be a little nervous.

Elsie followed you across the room and smiled at Sheila over the shoulder of the man she spoke to. She waved you over and the man turned to look at you. His blue eyes flicked from you to Elsie and back again. His expression was placid as he buttoned his jacket.

“Charles, these are my friends,” She introduced you and Elsie, “And this is Charles Blackwood, our host.”

He seemed to recall himself and shook your hand and then Elsie’s. His grip was firm and his expression unbreakable. He was entirely unimpressed by you and your plain black dress.

“You have a beautiful house,” You offered. “I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere so… grand.”

“It was my grandfather’s,” He said tersely as his eyes explored the room. “Sheila, if you’ll excuse me, I must speak with Gerald.”

“Of course,” She kissed his cheek and his lip curled before he walked away. “Sorry about him,” Sheila turned to you. “He’s a bit antsy, you know? Always is on nights like these.”

“I never…” You looked at Elsie as her eyes bounced around in wonder, “I never would think anyone who lived like this would you know, agree with us.”

“Oh, but we already know money isn’t everything,” She said. “You know, these men, they know that and they want to use their money for good. They want to make sure that students like us make it through college and go on to speak our truth to the world.”

She stopped a man passing by and took a wine glass from his tray. She offered you it and grabbed another for Elsie and herself. She batted her lashes at the waiter and returned her attention to you.

“Which is why you should loosen up and talk to some of these men,” She advised. “They are much preferable to the boys on campus and much more powerful. My second year, I had my tuition paid in full by one of Charles’ friends.”

“Wow,” Elsie gasped. “Really?”

“Consider it a grant,” Sheila explained. “Spread the wealth, right?”

“I suppose…” You uttered.

“Oh, there’s Patty,” Sheila perked up. “I knew she’d be the last one here. Pardon me a moment.”

“Alright,” You turned and watched her go as she waved over the heads to her friend. 

You brought the glass to your lips and the alcohol burned your nostrils. Your stomach turned and you lowered the flute. Elsie drank deeply as you glanced around. A man with thick silver hair and a sharp aquiline nose stared at you from across the room.

You fidgeted and slipped behind Elsie to set your glass down.

“You should take it easy,” You warned her as she gulped down the wine. 

🏰

The man with silver hair introduced himself as Harry. You weren’t fond of him as he talked of his new car and something about a cottage up north. You were confused. Sheila intimated that these people were like you; maybe not communists are heart, but left-leaning at least. They surely didn’t sound like it.

You glanced around for the umpteenth time and frowned. You didn’t see Sheila or Linda or Patty. Elsie was with a man in a striped suit, Darla and Colleen sipped from glasses as they listened to a pair of men banter, and you were stuck in the corner with this grey-haired boor.

You excused yourself, claiming to need the powder room, and walked along the wall as you searched the room. The seniors were gone. And something else caught your eye. The men drank from their stout tumblers and the women, more aptly girls, all held champagne flute. Yours was still on the table, untouched.

You neared Elsie and excused your interruption as you turned her away from her companion. You lowered your voice.

“Have you seen Sheila?” You asked.

She shook her head and wobbled. She giggled as she steadied herself with your arm. “Nope!”

“How much of that have you had?” You took her glass from her.

“This is only my…. Third,” She counted on her fingers.

“Well, I think three is enough,” You said. “Why don’t you come to the restroom with me? Splash some water on your face?”

“No, no,” She shrugged you off. “I’m talking to Gerald.” She turned back and smiled at the balding man. “He has a fellowship.”

“Elsie,” You drew her back. “Something’s… wrong.”

“What do you mean?” She hiccuped. “It’s all quite fine, isn’t it?”

“Just…” You peeked over your shoulder. “Wait here for me, okay? Don’t go anywhere else.”

She rolled her eyes and you sighed. You left her reluctantly and stopped a waiter as you neared the main archway. You asked him where the restroom was and ducked into the hallway. You passed by the foot of the staircase towards the next and paused. 

You peered around the wall and pulled back. You slipped off your heels and looked back at the room that swirled with voices. You tiptoed to the door and tried the handle. It was locked. You searched for a mechanism but there was only the intricately wrought handle. 

You went back to the stairs and listened to the buzz from the front room. You climbed a step at a time as your ears perked up at every creak and crack. You wondered what had happened to Sheila and the others. It was unlike them to leave early. And why was the door locked?

You found a window and carefully turned the latch. You shifted it up and cringed as the wood loudly rubbed together. You stuck your head out and stared down at the grass below. There was a tree not far from you, a few windows away.

“Can I help you?” The voice frightened you and you hit your head on the window as you reeled back. You turned to your host, Charles, as he leaned against the bannister.

“I was… looking for Sheila.” You lied.

“Oh, outside?” He wondered with a smirk.

“Well, no, I just needed a breath of fresh air so I thought…” Your voice trailed off as he stood straight.

“The party’s downstairs,” He said evenly. “I’m sure you just missed her.”

You stared at him. His eyes sparkled with mischief. Your heart dropped and your heels threatened to slip from your sweaty hand.

“She’s gone,” You said. His lips curved again and he chuckled. “What’s going on here?”

He inched forward as he pushed back his jacket and shoved a hand in his pocket.

“She did her job. Delivered what she promised.” He said coolly. “Can you blame her for cutting out?”

“What--” You backed up until you were against the window ledge. “I don’t understand.”

“You tried the front door, didn’t you?” 

You blinked and your shoes fell from your grasp.

“You think you can get to that tree? Even if you moved a few windows to the left?” He got closer. “Or maybe… you think you can get past me.”

Your lips parted as his features hardened. His brow twitched as he held your gaze. He didn’t look away as he knelt and grabbed your shoe. He took your foot and shoved the kitten heel on. He did the other and stood.

“Let’s go back to the party,” He growled. “It’s only just getting started.”

🏰

You stood against the wall as the room spun. Your chest was filled with doom as you looked around at the girls in their sheath dresses and chunky heels. Many shared the same glazed look as Elsie. They swayed just a little, giggled airily, and their eyelashes drooped. They were barely awake on their feet.

The man who answered the door stood beside you. He squinted at you every now and then. Charles had told him to keep an eye on you. You watched the host of the event disappear through another doorway. You thought of the invisible lock and the tree just a few windows down.

It was that crushing sense of defeat when you knew loss was imminent but unavoidable. So you watched it slowly creep forward until finally you had to submit. You shivered and shook your head at yourself. Sheila had done this. Ensnared all these girls in whatever sick game this was.

Time dragged. You watched the servers offer their tainted champagne and the girls all too ignorant to realize that something was amiss. Your eyes stung and you gripped your purse tight. Whatever was planned, it couldn’t be good.

The clinking of metal on glass silenced the room. Your eyes were drawn with every other to the other side. The men exchanged knowing looks. The girls were confused but not suspicious. They looked to Charles as he relinquished the glass and knife to a server. He grinned at his rapt audience.

“Shall we commence with our evening?” He asked; the men nodded and mumbled in agreement. The girls frowned and wavered on their feet. “Very well. Girls…”

He waved an arm to his left and the waiters, now free of their trays, dispersed to herd the girls to the other side of the room. You were led along with them and stood in the row of drunken co-eds. For a moment, you wished you had drank the wine. That you could be as oblivious as the rest.

The girl at the head of the line was ushered forward to stand beside Charles. Her red hair hung in ringlets and her cheeks were rosy with alcohol. He asked her her name and she slurred “Carrie.” He repeated it for all to hear and shouted a number. Ten thousand.

A man raised his hand and Charles called eleven thousand. Another gestured and the number went up again. Again. Again. Carrie was visibly confused as she tried to keep up. She couldn’t. She was sold for twenty-five thousand and ushered into the arms of her buyer.

Elsie was next. She could barely stand as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Eighteen thousand for the mousy-haired girl. Colleen went for about the same and Darla was in tears as she was bartered for an even twenty. 

You were near the end of the line. You marched up to the front and bit down as you stared at the bourgeois bastards. Harry was the first to bid for you. Your stomach flipped. Then another man you hadn’t even spoken to. You could see only his hand as he reached above the crowd. 

The bids bounced back and forth, Harry cursed as he wondered who was so determined to have you. You sold for forty thousand to the faceless man. You were shown out the side door by a waiter as the last girl was brought up to stand by Charles. 

You stood alone in a long dining room with a large table and more than a dozen chairs. You turned as the doors slid closed and faced the grey-haired man who had greeted you in his monotone at the door. You thought he was the help. You grimaced at him.

“You?” You sputtered.

“No,” He said blandly. “Not me.”

“Then…” You couldn’t finish as you were certain you knew the answer.

You swallowed and spun away from him. You gripped the back of a chair and placed your purse on the table. The furor from the other room reached a peak and then began to dwindle. The grey-haired man glanced at the doors.

“I must attend to the coats,” He announced. “Do not stray. He will be mad.”

You sighed as he slipped through the door. A hand kept them from closing and you watched the doorman rush away. Charles stepped through and shut the doors. He took a breath as he turned to you. He fixed his lapels as he stopped across the table from you. 

“What?” You hissed as he stared at you.

“No… thanks?” He asked.

“Thanks?” You narrowed your eyes. “For what?”

“Don’t tell me you wanted to fuck one of those old men?”

You blanched at his language and your lip curled in revulsion. He laughed.

“Don’t worry. I only need… a maid.” He smirked.

“A maid?” You wondered.

“Cooking. Cleaning.” He tapped two fingers on the table as he spoke. “They ever write about that in your books?”

Your eyes were glossy as you gulped. You were furious, frightened, and frustrated.

“You girls think you know it all,” He scoffed. “There’s a lot they don’t put in books.”

“No, there are horror stories,” You assured him. “Of repulsive monsters and their nasty ways.”

He chuckled and rounded the table. He stopped just beside you as his hand closed over your purse. He slowly lifted the strap from your shoulders and batted your hand away before you could stop him.

“Trust me,” He said as he flipped it open and looked inside. “There is no monster like me.”

🏰

You were shown to a room with a barred window. It didn’t matter as it was in the basement and so narrow that you couldn’t hope to fit through it. The door was locked but even so, there was a man without. You could see his shadow under the door and hear him cough every now and again.

You didn’t sleep much. There was a blanket on the floor beside some dusty boxes. You sat against the wall and dozed in spurts. The night replayed in your head on a loop. Then all those moments you’d spent with Sheila. How she had lied so easily. Was she even a student? 

Didn’t matter now. The sun rose slowly through the small window and the door opened shortly after. You were given a black dress, stockings, and a pair of black shoes. Nothing else. You were taken to a shower hidden in the cellar; the water was cold and you washed quickly in the closet-like restroom.

You dressed and contemplated turning your underwear inside out. They were too worn to re-use. You left them with the rest of your clothes and emerged in your uniform. The man in black who had spent his night outside your door was mute. You weren’t sure entirely if by choice.

Your first task was to clean the main room, still dirtied from the party. The grey-haired man, Albert, told you so and recited your list of chores. The kitchen would be next and then you were to sweep the upstairs corridors and check every room in case it needed dusting or new linens.

It took you hours to tidy up after the previous nights’ guests. When the glasses were cleaned, you stacked them in the cupboards and wiped the counters. Alone, you went to the back door. It was locked too. The windows on this floor only opened two inches. You cursed.

You climbed the stairs with a broom and pan and set to the endless tedium of sweeping every corner. That took another hour, if not more. You emptied the pan downstairs in the bin and returned with a duster. 

You knocked on each door before you entered. Most were pristine and required only a touch up. When you reached the end of the next hallway, your rap was answered as the door opened from the other side. 

Charles wore only an undershirt and pants as he looked you up and down. He waved you in wordlessly. You entered and set to dusting the mantle and all its ornaments. He moved around behind you and stopped in a doorway just left of the bed.

“I expect you to do more than dust in here,” He said. “Grab some fresh linen when you get the chance.”

He slipped through the door but left it open an inch. You huffed and continued on lazily. Call it spite or your fleeting mind. You tried the window. It opened but there was no way down. You closed it and turned away.

You went to find the sheets and when you had discovered the trove of pressed and folded cotton, you returned to the room. You could hear the soft ripple of water through the small doorway. You set the sheets down at the foot of the bed. You cleared the wrinkled clothing from the chair and dropped them in the hamper.

“Girl,” Charles’ deep timbre called sternly. “Girl.”

Your cheek twitched. He knew your name. You sneered and quickly wiped it away as you neared the door. You pushed it open hesitantly as you peered through.

“Towel,” He demanded.

He sat in the deep tub, his dark hair damp and his broad chest bare above the water. You tore your eyes away and grabbed the towel from its rack. As you faced him, he stood and the water dripped down his body shamelessly. You unfolded the towel and held it up so that you could not see all of him.

“Well,” He waved you closer and snatched it from you. 

He stepped out onto the bathmat and fanned the towel around his body. You looked away quickly and a soft chuckle escaped him as he secured the towel at his waist. He passed you, his wet arm touched your sleeve and he neared the mirror as he admired his freshly shaved face.

“Did you make the bed?” He asked.

You shook your head and turned to return to the bedroom.

“Wait,” He stopped you. “That’s ‘yes, sir’ or ‘no, sir’.”

“No, sir,” You said bitterly. 

“Then you better get to it,” He rebuffed.

You swept through and moved the new sheets to the chair before you stripped the mattress. He leaned in the doorway as he watched you. You could feel him as you moved around the bed and stretched the cotton over the corners. You spread out the top sheet and replaced the quilt over top. You changed the pillowcases and fluffed them. 

Done, you bundled up the old bedding in your arm. He went to the bed and dragged his fingers along the quilt. He grasped the blankets and tore them from the mattress. 

“Tuck in the edges,” He said. “Now, fix your mistake.”

“Yes,” You gritted. “Sir.”

You dropped the old sheets in the chair once more and set to redoing your work. He stood at the foot of the bed and when you slipped past him, you felt a brush across your ass. You ignored it, content to think it was natural friction, and carried on. You could feel the heat of his gaze upon you and as you faced him, it was confirmed.

“Very nice,” He commented. “You learn… quickly.”

“Quicker than the others?” You asked. “Huh? How many have you bought? What did you do to them?”

“Oh, you’re mistaken,” He said. “I’m not a buyer, I’m a seller… but well, I decided to indulge myself last night.”

Your mouth was dry. You turned and grabbed the linen again. As you backed up, you were stopped by a figure behind you. His arm stretched out around you and he held his towel out. Slowly, he released it and it flapped to the floor.

“You don’t learn that quick though,” He mused as his hand settled on your shoulder. “You think I would spend that much money on a maid.” His fingers crawled along your neck. He gripped your jaw as he pressed himself against you. You felt the prod of his arousal through your skirt. “But it was fun to watch you try.”

“Why me?” You breathed as he gripped your arms and pulled them away from the laundry. The bundle fell to the chair and drooped down onto the floor.

“Because you’re the first to figure it out,” He answered. 

“Please,” You begged weakly as he pulled your arms back and rolled his hips so that he poked you.

“Get on the chair.” He ordered.

Your breath caught in your throat. You stood staring at the yellow wallpaper with its golden lilies. You turned slightly and he caught you. 

“No, don’t turn around.” His voice sent a shiver through you.

Your lip trembled and you lifted a knee, then the other. His hands ran up your arms and around your back. He shoved you so you caught yourself against the back of the chair. You tensed as his hands fell to your hips and over your ass.

He squeezed and stepped between your ankles so that his legs were against the seat. He ran his hands down your thighs and kneaded through the skirt. He reached the hem and slowly raised it an inch at a time. When it was higher than your stockings, your hand flew back to stop him.

He grabbed your wrist and twisted until you cried out.

“If you scream, there’s no one here who will care,” He snarled. “And they certainly won’t help you.”

He pushed your hand away and tore your skirt up over your ass. He slapped you so hard you yelped. You could feel the heat of his palm across your ass even after it was gone. He bunched your skirts around your waist and hummed in approval.

“You look nice in black,” He said, “Better out of it.”

You kept your eyes forward. You couldn’t have looked at him if you wanted. This man, this stranger, was touching you like no one had before. And he meant to do more. Because he owned you.

His hand snaked around your hip and down your pelvis. He tickled the hair there and slid lower. You tried to press your thighs together but your ankles hit his legs. He tutted and leaned against you.

“I’m being nice,” He warned. “I don’t have to be.”

You grabbed his hand and shoved it away. He struck your ass again as he stood straight. He grasped the back of your neck and pushed your head down against the back of the chair. Your fingers clutched at the cushion beside your face as he held you there.

“I told you last night,” He pinched your thigh. “I can be the worst fiend you’ve ever known.”

He pushed his knees up on the chair between yours. His fingers crawled around your hip again and along your pelvis. He pushed two down along your folds. He rubbed your bud with his middle finger as he spread your lips. He flicked and teased until your hips bucked.

“Not so bad…” He purred. “Am I?”

“Stop,” You begged as his grip tightened on your neck. “Why are you doing this?”

“I can’t just let you go,” He said. “That’d be a poor investment. Even you could see that.”

He dipped his finger inside of you and you inhaled sharply. He drew it in and out and added another. Your thighs shook and your fingers bent against the cushion.

“You don’t realize how fucking lucky you got,” He pushed his palm to your clit as he rocked his hand. “Those other men; old men, they’d fuck you for two seconds before they blew. Leave you there, unsatisfied, discarded. The girls never last long.”

He curled his fingers and moved his hand faster.

“The men get bored. Naturally, they’re greedy,” His nose tickled your ear as his breath glossed over your cheek. “Or maybe the girl gets pregnant. No good. Send her away. Don’t care where, just don’t want to hear about her ever again.” 

He nuzzled your hair as your breaths grew laboured. You found it hard to resist the heat that radiated from his touch. You shook as you tried to force the ripples back down.

“So, you keep me happy, girl,” He sneered. “And you might just last.”

You squealed as you came. You were ashamed and astounded. You’d never felt so… much. Never felt anything so deeply. You quivered around his hand and he slowly drew away and wiped his wet fingers on your bunched up skirt.

He reached between your thighs and you felt his length rub against your ass. He teased you and dragged his fingers along your ass. He pressed his tip to your skin and guided it down. He squeezed your neck and you whimpered. He pushed against your entrance and paused.

“You’re not…” He began and thrust inside of you all at once. “Well, it doesn’t really matter.”

Your walls ached as he filled you. The pain was nothing compared to relief that washed over you. You hadn’t realized how much you longed for that feeling. His hand slid from your neck and he gripped your shoulder. His other went to your hip and he rocked his hips.

You grunted as he thrust. You wanted it to end but you also didn’t want him to stop. He was relentless and impatient. You expected little else from the steely man. You quaked as his pelvis slapped against your ass. The noise echoed off the corners of the room, interspersed with his low groans and you pathetic mewls.

He moved your body against his as he plunged deeper and deeper. He sped up, driven by your helpless moans as you clawed at the upholstered chair. You wanted to get away as much as you just wanted to grab onto something steady. You turned your head back and forth as your nerves flared. You shook and gasped as you came again.

“St-st-stop,” You pleaded. “Stop. It’s too--”

He slammed into you so hard you shrieked. He didn’t let up as he crushed you against the back of the chair. He snaked his hand up in front of you and groped your tit as his other arm wrapped around your neck. His thick muscle choked you as he pounded into you and the chair creaked dangerously. You trembled as the ripples washed over you and you skin tingled with the heat of the man behind you.

His thrusts turned sharp and furious. His arm tightened around your neck as he pulled his other hand back. He pushed into as far as he could, holding himself there for just a second each time. His heavy breaths were like hungry growls in your ear.

He pulled out of you suddenly and you felt his knuckles against your ass as they moved frantically. A warmth spurted along your lower back and his hand slowed. 

He sighed and unhooked his arm from around your neck. He climbed off the chair and smacked your ass again. It stung so much you were certain there was already a bruise.

“Clean yourself up.” He demanded as he sat on the bed heavily. “Then take that damn dress off.”

[thirsty-x1]

Too Much | Cho Seungyoun

Request:

can i request a smutty oneshot where the reader is ceo!seungyoun’s gf and after a couple days of him coming home late/not coming him at all because he’s overworking himself, she goes to his office herself (all dressed up 👀) to try and help him unwind/relax? basically him fucking his gf over a desk lmao, hope this is okay!

↬ Pairing: Seungyoun x fem!reader.

↬ Genre: Smut, bit of fluffy ending.

↬ Warnings: explicit language, dom!Seungyoun, dirty talking, slight degradation, semi-exhibitionism, oral sex (blowjob), very slight bondage, fingering, unprotected sex.

↬ Word Count: 3.8k.

↬ Song Recommendation: “Too Much” by Loco ft. Dean.

The sun coming down reflected on your windshield as you drove your car, turning right before seeing your destination come in sight. The building stood tall, somehow looking threatening and making you doubt whether you really were going to follow through your plan. It wasn’t a hurried decision considering that you had been trying to gather the courage to do it since quite a few weeks after noticing the pattern your boyfriend had started to create, but it was also your first time visiting him at work. Taking a deep breath, you parked the car, your fingers turning white as you held the steering wheel tightly, comforting you a bit before you got out.

A slight breeze sent shivers down your spine, the cold air impacting mainly on your exposed legs. Your eyes travelled down examining your outfit, wondering if it was fancy enough; as the CEO’s girlfriend, you couldn’t just show up in any clothes. The mid-thigh skirt wasn’t doing much to protect you against the weather, although it would have been much worse without the thin dark stockings underneath it. You ironed the white shirt with your fingers and fixed your coat while walking towards the entrance, the sound of your high heels resonating on the empty street.

Pushing through the heavy glass door, a man behind the welcoming desk smiled at you kindly but without saying a word, waiting for you to initiate the conversation, which was rather odd… wasn’t that supposed to work the other way? Without giving it much thought, you proceeded to ask in a low voice.

“Excuse me… I have come to meet the CEO, Cho Seungyoun.”

The man nodded, as if he expected it, and asked in a condescending tone: “Do you have an appointment?”

“Ah, no, but I–” He waited no time in interrupting you.

“Then I’m afraid you can’t see him now. If you call to this number,” he scribbled down in a card, handing it to you, the tactic being too obvious as you saw what was probably his name on it, “you can arrange a meeting.”

Smiling as sweetly as you could, you declined his offer. “I’m his girlfriend.”

You could see the blush on his face as his eyes opened wide, starting to stutter as he pointed out the way indicating which floor you had to go to, much more polite than at the beginning. It was fun to see the immediate change without even confirming whether it was true, the thought of the employee trembling at the fact making you wonder just how strict of a boss was Seungyoun.

Waiting for the elevator you could feel eyes on you, turning away whenever you tried to catch who they belonged to. As you heard a few people muttering, you noticed that other’s women outfits weren’t as sophisticated as you were, rather using full suits instead of skirts and blazers on top of their shirts. You started to feel slightly embarrassed, focusing on the numbers changing as the elevator went up, your hands quickly closing the long coat as a way to protect yourself from the gazes.

After what it seemed to take forever, you got to the floor, hurriedly getting out of the cramped space while examining the whole room to see if you could find your boyfriend’s office. Finally, you noticed a slouched figure behind one of the glass walls, a sudden relief washing over your body as you recognized Seungyoun working on his office, sitting behind his desk as he seemed to study the papers in front of him. Nodding to some of the workers you passed by, you opened the door, careful to not disturb him as you got in.

“Have you finally brought the right papers? Also, ask everyone to stop sending messages through the work chat, I can see them, and what are they all being so loud for? Who came? I haven’t authorized anyone to pass.” His tone was completely serious as he rearranged some of the papers on the desk, almost throwing one of the folders to you as he looked up to his screen to check something. “The numbers are wrong, ask the statistic office to check them at least once.”

It was hard to hold back your giggle. “Would be nice if you looked up every now and then, your employees will hate you otherwise.”

Right when you started the sentence, his eyes shoot up, a smile spreading on his face as he stood up and walked around the dark wood table to hug you.

“What are you doing here? I thought you would be at home…”

Pouting, you played with the collar of his shirt. “Well, you have been working way too much… and since it’s impossible to make you take one free day, I thought of coming here.” You placed your hands on his shoulders, leaning to press a kiss against his sleep thankful that he was covering you from anyone spying.

“I know, it’s just that the deadline is close and everything must be perfect, plus we started a new deal with another business.” It was fun to see the contrast between his boss-self and the Seungyoun you were so familiar with, especially as he put a strand of your hair behind your ear. “I need to finish some work now, would you mind to wait for a bit? We can go have dinner to some fancy place afterwards.”

There wasn’t much you could do now and he was being too kind considering you came without prior notice too. You nodded, not without slapping his butt as he turned around to go back to his seat. While you heard the incessant typing, you walked around, staring at the multiple diplomas and degrees on the walls. On one of the shelves, there were all the awards that the agency had won next to pictures of Seungyoun with numerous renowned business men. It had been barely a year since you two had started dating, but by now you had noticed he wasn’t too keen on talking about his work, which was a bit surprising seeing just how big part of his life it had become. When you asked him about it, he simply said it was because he preferred to keep both separated and focus on relaxing while at home and you hadn’t pressed much on it.

After a few minutes, you took of your coat and sat down on the sofa, grabbing one of the magazines that was on the coffee table without paying much attention to it. Instead, you preferred to watch Seungyoun working: the way his hair was slicked back, his tie slightly loose since he pulled on it whenever he got stressed, the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled showing the shiny wrist watch that blinded you each time he angled it in a particular way and one of your favorite tattoos of him, his glasses resting on the bridge of his nose sliding a bit and his hand quickly putting them back in place, how he nibbled on his bottom lip, the soft grunt he would let out when something in the screen wasn’t going the way he wanted… You knew he was having a hard time, but he was also looking extremely hot while doing it so, to the point where you couldn’t think straight anymore.

“Is that article so interesting?” His question interrupted your thoughts, causing you to blink a few times and he smirked. “You have been drooling for quite a while…”

You let out a breathy laugh and got up to walk next to him, hugging him from behind and resting your head on the crook of his neck. “Is there a lot left?”

He pressed a soft kiss on the back of your hand. “Almost done.”

“Hmm… You are pretty tense.” Your hands slid down his chest, barely grazing his belt. “Want me to help you relax a bit?”

Seungyoun sighed, grasping your wrist right before it got to his groin. “I’m at work, princess.”

“And?” You pressed your lips against his neck, lightly nibbling on the skin before licking a stripe, his head falling to a side to allow you reach more. “If I get under the desk, it should be fine, right? You deserve it, you have been working so hard…”

Before he could even form an answer, you took a peak outside the office only to notice almost everyone had gone by now and dropped to your knees, quickly undoing his belt and unzipping his pants, palming him over his underwear earning a groan from him. Maybe it was the rush of being caught what turned him on so much because in just a few minutes he was hard, his length twitching under the fabric.

“Don’t tease me, y/n.” His tone was commanding, eyes piercing as he looked down on you, the new side of him making you wet. “Be a good girl and suck me off, hm?”

Unable to form any kind of reply that didn’t expose just how much power his words had over your whole self, you decided to follow his order. Hooking your fingers on the tight band of his underwear, you pulled it down enough to free him, his head thrown back as you slid your tongue on his shaft covering it up with your saliva. With a wicked smile, you teased the tip of his cock, already tasting the precum forming on the tiny slit. His head rested on the back of your head, encouraging you to take him in your mouth, shutting his eyes closed as he felt your lips wrapping around his member.

Right as you were about to begin bobbing your head, the door of the office opened, the sound of steps getting closer to the desk stopping you dead on your tracks. You looked up, trying to get some kind of indication on what to do from your boyfriend but he was completely ignoring you, his gaze fixed on the person before him.

“Is there anything you want to tell me, Miss Lee?”

“Ah, yes, here are the files you asked for, Sir.” You could feel a hesitant tone on her voice and you wondered if she was the woman that Seungyoun was waiting for when you had entered his office earlier.

“Thank you.” Realizing that the woman hadn’t left, Seungyoun continued. “Anything else?”

“W-well, you see… Some of the other employees were going to have a drinking meet up to celebrate the stocks going up, a-and… I was wondering if you would like to c-come…” You rolled your eyes at the obvious excuse to flirt with him, but what annoyed you the most was how much time your boyfriend was taking to decline the offer so you could continue, so you engulfed more of his length into your mouth and heard his fist impact on the desk, scaring you and his secretary, apparently. “A-are you feeling well, Sir?”

“Yes, it’s nothing, sorry, thought there was… something…” His voice sounded strained, so you swirled your tongue and pressed lightly on the underside of his tip.

“I see… T-then, will you come with us to celebrate?”

Just as a reminder, you went all the way, holding back a gag when you felt him hit the back of your throat, causing him to clear his own. “No, I’m sorry, but I have plans with my girlfriend tonight.” Pleased with his answer, you were about to pull out until his hand forced you to stay in place.

“Oh… I will get going then. Have a good night, sir.”

As the door closed, you hurriedly tapped on his thigh and he put his hand away allowing you to pull his dick out of your mouth as you coughed violently, the air hitting your lungs all at once as you tried to dry the tears that had clouded your vision. While you tried to recover, Seungyoun put away all the things on his work station with the most calmed expression, taking his time until he finished and went back to look at you, his thumb wiping the corner of your lips.

“I warned you to not tease me, baby.” He fixed his clothes again before he leaned in and picked you up, placing you on his desk. “Guess I should have expected it seeing the outfit you are wearing. Were you the one to cause all that fuss in the office?” His hand slid up your leg, appreciating the smoothness of the stockings. “I can’t have you wrecking the whole place… or was that what you wanted?”

“N-no…”

His actions made it hard for you to focus on what he was saying, the previous situation had already turned you on beyond any expectation but now it was him acting all confident, teasing you on purpose.

“Are you sure? Are you sure you didn’t want my secretary to listen to those lewd noises you made while choking on my cock?” His fingers slipped under your skirt. “Or have my employees trying to get a sneak peak of your ass?” Seungyoun’s gaze burned, your cheeks hot as he analyzed each of your reactions, smirking at the gasp that left your lips when he cupped your core. “You are dripping wet, sweetheart…”

“Seungyoun, please…”

His fingers kept rubbing you, the friction not being enough, the two layers of fabric, your panties and the stockings, starting to become annoying as you held his hand in place.

“Tsk, no, you didn’t follow my order before, so you don’t get to do what you want.”

Within a second, he slapped your grip, undoing his tie and wrapping it around your wrists, tying them behind your back rather tightly. You could feel the blood burn under your skin, your muscles itching in anticipation and your heart beating faster as you noticed a few lights still on outside the office. What if there was anyone out there? What if you got caught in the act? How was Seungyoun going to explain that and would it have any negative consequences on his position? All the questions dissipated from your mind as you heard a loud ripping noise, looking down to find your boyfriend smiling playfully.

“You- You ripped my stockings?!” For a second, you forgot of the whole scenario, but he made sure to remind you who was in charge in a flash, his fingers making your underwear to a side and feeling up the slit of your pussy.

“They were in the way and this is most discrete than having you fully exposed on my desk, don’t you think?” Your muscles tightened at the suggestion and he raised an eyebrow. “You like that idea? Hmm, who would have thought that my darling could be such a slut…? Wanting to be exhibited…” One of his fingers entered you, Seungyoun purring on your ear as he felt you clenching around it. “What would everyone think? You looked so professional a few hours ago and now you are sprawled and whining for me on my desk.”

The feeling was overwhelming, his breath grazing your skin with each word he said, making you feel hot all over as you fought with the strains that prohibited you touching him. He kept fingering you at a slow pace, loving how you squirmed under his touch, trying to keep your sounds low in case anyone would hear, but when he suddenly inserted another finger, it was impossible to hold back the guttural moan you let out.

“Fuck, Seungyoun, I really can’t take it…”

“Hm? Weren’t you going to help me relax? Maybe you are not the good pet I thought you would be…” You could feel that he was going to pull back, so reuniting each bit of strength you had left, you surrounded him with your legs and pressed him against you.

“Please, please… Use me in any way you want but I beg you to fuck me, I just can’t wait anymore, I need you, Youn, please…” The last few words came out muffled with sobs, the need in your system growing bigger and bigger under his hungry stare.

“You are too much, babygirl, too much for anyone to handle…” His hands unbuttoned your shirt impatiently, sighing when his favorite lacy bra came into view. “Anyone but me.”

His lips crashed against yours in a rough kiss, groaning at his own taste on your mouth as he slipped his tongue in, swallowing all of your whimpers when he took out his cock and buried inside you in one strong thrust. Smoothly, he pushed your shoulders until you felt the cold wood through the thin fabric of your shirt, and Seungyoun would swear he could have come right then at the view: you, laying back on his desk with your hands tied up behind your back, your breasts bouncing each time he rammed into you, your skirt lifting up slightly to show your cunt taking him in with the panties aside and your ripped stockings, some of his precum smeared on the side of your face, your loud whimpers and the wet sound filling the room in evidence of the lustful act you two were doing. It was his biggest fantasy come true, but the real thing was so much better than what he had played on his mind over and over again.

Right as you felt the knot on your stomach tightening up, you saw a shadow cross the glass wall, fear invading you, but when you looked at Seungyoun, his smile was bigger than ever.

“Why are you so quiet now, doll? You suddenly feel shy? I’m their boss anyway.” His high pitched laugh didn’t match the aggressive pace he maintained while moving his hips. “Why don’t you let them hear who you belong to, hm? Who makes you feel this way? Who is in charge of pleasing you?”

You didn’t dare to reply with words, shaking your head multiple times while trying to make him stop somehow, although the way your body reacted to his voice was betraying your true desires.

“C’mon y/n, I know you love this… I can feel your dirty juices spilling, making a mess… Just admit it, baby, you love being fucked raw by me, completely at my mercy and being this vulnerable and exposed… so helpless…” He continued to shove his length into you, his hands holding your hips in place. “Can you let go of your inhibitions for me?”

Shyly, you opened your mouth. “I-It’s… too much…” Your whimper sent shivers down his spine, his cheeks blushing as he got closer to you.

“I know you can and want to take all of me in this pretty, tight hole of yours, my love, you just have to ask.” Seungyoun pressed a few kisses on the valley of your breasts, sucking on the skin and leaving marks. “Give yourself to me, y/n.”

Just like that, your whole body crumbled, your thighs shaking as your orgasm washed over you, your mouth letting out a mix of incoherencies along with your boyfriend’s name. A few thrusts later, Seungyoun came as well, the feeling of his sperm filling you making you complain from oversensitivity while he made sure to completely empty inside of you. He stayed like that for a while, holding you before peppering you with small kisses and praising against your skin just how good you had been for him, his hands quickly untying yours. When he got soft, he pulled out, hiding a giggle at the complete mess he had caused before looking for some wipes to clean you and himself a little.

When you composed yourself, you fixed your clothes, still feeling a bit uncomfortable with each movement you made since you could feel some of “Seungyoun” inside of you. Everything seemed to be in order, except for your ripped stockings for the which ones your boyfriend apologized under the promise of buying you even better ones, and while you were trying to comb your hair with your fingers, the criminal got closer, helping you put on your coat before hugging you.

“Do you feel more relaxed now?”

He laughed at your sarcastic question. “Yes, very.” Seungyoun pulled away, holding your face in his hands. “Thank you, really. Wasn’t quite expecting that ending but… It was amazing. You really are a good girl.”

Your whole face got red at the sudden compliment, slapping his arm before you grabbed your purse and got out of the office, still waiting for him outside of it. Carefully, you studied the surroundings, but no one seemed to be at the building, so maybe the shadow you had seen before was just a product of your imagination… or so you hoped.

As you got down on the elevator with Seungyoun tightly holding your hands and discussing where you should go to have dinner, you were greeted with an overall familiar face. The guy that had welcomed you earlier that day, and something told you that the blush on his cheeks wasn’t caused merely because of the incident during your presentation.

“Ah, Hangyul, you are still here?” Seungyoun’s tone was extremely casual, your eyes getting bigger as you realized that they must have been more than just co-workers. “Thought you would have gone out with Miss Lee to celebrate.”

The other man wouldn’t look at you in the eye and furtively avoiding your boyfriend’s stare. “Yeah, I just thought it would be more interesting to stay around here and… do some work…”

It was just for a fraction of a second, but you got to see the rampaging boner that the younger had, although he was desperately trying to cover it with his briefcase. Seungyoun must have noticed, because in a second he was standing in front of you, hiding you from his friend.

“I see. Was it interesting enough?” You suppose the other must have nodded due to the elder’s laugh. “Well done today, hope we can work together on some other opportunity. We will be leaving first, make sure to close properly and handle all unfinished business first hand.”

Immediately after you two left the building, Seungyoun exploded in laughter, making you feel even more embarrassed than before as you reprimanded him for making fun of the poor guy.

“That was too much, Youn! You crossed a line!”

His laughing fit started to calm, sliding an arm behind your back as you started walking to your car. “I was just imitating you, my love.”

The only sound that was heard was the echo of Seungyoun’s whine after you flicked his forehead. Despite his bad puns and silly attitude, he was still the man you had fallen for. A man that was “too much” for anyone, but not for you.

this has no business being so fucking long and I don’t know why I added Gyul at the ending but it just seemed fun and I want to cry so much because writing this made me incredibly horny bye

~Nani

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[lovelyirony]

hey girlie! so i have another prompt! i would really like your take on the avengers first few weeks/months/year together and how things changed and how they learned to really trust each other and the different, perhaps unexpected, bonds that grew! just some fun almost 2012-esque fluff uwu? (but if you made it angst, i would not complain. you do you) thank you!

Tony took one look at Fury. 

“No.” 

“Stark, where the hell else are they gonna go?” 

“Idaho!” Tony says. “Hulk can leap a ton, he’ll get to New York in about ten minutes with all of them hanging off his back. It’ll be fine.” 

Director Fury wants to use Tony’s place of residence as a way to hold the Avengers. As if Tony is just this Amazing, Fantastic Man Who Can Definitely Hold the Avengers in a Building. 

He calls Pepper because he knows that they’ll show up. He needs reinforced glass and he needs to start testing just how well his coffee machine can hold up, or if he needs to build an entirely new one. 

He probably needs a new one. 

Rhodey, understandably, is a bit pissed. 

“What, so Fury just decided ‘haha fuck you take these poor souls in’?” Rhodey asks. Tony sighs, flopping down on the couch. 

“Essentially, yes. Because apparently, I have better resources to contain them.” 

“Military spends over six hundred billion for their budget alone, and SHIELD really thinks you’re the only one who has resources?” 

“I’m the only one sharing them,” Tony says, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Do you think that they need healthcare? Steve might need healthcare, I’m not even sure if the serum would allow that…” 

“You are not giving them healthcare, I don’t care how nice you are,” Rhodey says. “They can do it themselves since they’re ruining fruit pizza night.” 

Fuck. 

- 

Clint is shouldering one duffle bag, another bag that he’s trying to keep still, and looking at Natasha, who is staring up at the garish “A” that was put back up after the fight. 

“You think this’ll be fine?” Clint asks. 

“No.” And just like that, Natasha walks in, like this has always been her home. 

The elevator is weird. Clint’s not used to a functional elevator, and realizes that he’ll have to add arm workouts because he won’t have to pry himself from the elevator doors anymore. 

He doesn’t know where the gym is. He also doesn’t know how seriously Tony takes coffee. 

- 

Steve is…well they told him that he has a room available at Stark Tower, but he’s not entirely sure that he should go. 

The apartment in Brooklyn is just fine, even if the rent is too damn expensive. It’s a shoe box of a place, but as long as he can have a bed and a window he’s fine. 

“You’re so sad,” Natasha says to him on the phone. He appreciates texting, but it seems that everyone thinks his poor 1940s sensibilities are still ingrained. To some aspect they are, but he also realized that looking at videos of people falling for twenty minutes is hilarious. Everyone else thinks he’s doing something else. He is not. 

But he doesn’t want to move. He just got here. And he keeps talking to people who aren’t there. 

(He asked Bucky if he still wanted bacon that morning. 

He’s not there.) 

Fury insists on it. 

“You’re under SHIELD,” he says. “And besides, it’ll be good for Stark to finally have someone who’s on his…level.” 

“What do you mean by that, Sir?” 

“He has an ego. Needs to be taken down a few pegs.” 

Steve nods. He’s not completely sure that he agrees with that. Tony flew under giant jet propellers, flew into the sky for what needed to be done. It was death, he knew that. 

(Oh, he knew it a bit too well. Sent ice down his spine as a reminder for how well he knows it.) 

But he grabs his things because he’s anything if not a good rule-follower, according to history. 

He just leaves a bit of a mess for Fury to deal with in the form of “oh, those gosh-darn-new-fangled washing machines! I don’t know what I did. I put spaghetti sauce in the dish detergent area I thought that’s where extra food went!” 

Steve knows for a damn fact that that’s not where food goes. He just likes letting them know that he’s not some “how high do I jump, Sir?” kind of guy. 

He stares up at the big, ugly tower. Well…here goes nothing. 

- 

Thor was actually pretty okay with sleeping on a couch. He was not expecting a bedroom of his own, so when Tony told him? 

Thor hugs him. 

“Thank you,” he says, smiling. “Your kindness stretches for miles.” 

“Um…you’re welcome?” Tony questions, subconsciously rubbing his own arms, as if he can’t believe that someone else hugged him. 

“I have a question about human advancement,” Thor says, changing the subject. “I…you guys haven’t figured out my sort of transportation, correct?” 

“I didn’t even know we could do that,” Tony says, eyes going wide. “Does it rearrange your cells? Do you have to think about it? How dangerous is it?” 

Thor grins, setting down his bag and resting at the kitchen counter. He’ll be ready to talk about this for a while. 

- 

Bruce comes into the Tower as quietly as possible, not wanting to cause any huge sort of fuss. 

This doesn’t matter when Tony finds him and visibly brightens. Thor is already sitting at the kitchen. He looks surprisingly domestic, just in jeans and a worn t-shirt. 

“I didn’t know you went shopping,” Bruce remarked. 

“Have to fit in with your mortals somehow,” Thor jokes. “Good to see you again, Doctor.” 

“Just call me Bruce,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “What have you guys been talking about?” 

“Interdimensional travel. Tony’s betting he can perfect it in under a year,” Thor says. 

Bruce looks to Tony. 

“You sure about that?” 

“So long as you help me,” Tony teases.  

- 

The team being together is…awkward. Tony is not used to people living in his house, so he forgets to amend his usual…habits. 

Rhodey is used to them, but currently he is overseas on a “top secret” mission. Tony knows all, because that’s the type of friend he can be. He’s sending Rhodey a postcard, addressed to the exact location. Rhodey’s superiors will be furious, unless if it’s one of the older ones. 

But Tony is not used to other people being present for his breakfast shenanigans, so he’s in an old tank top that is stained with grease, and he’s humming as he’s flitting around the kitchen, turning on the coffeepot without so much as a thought. 

When he turns, he sees Clint. 

“You’re a morning person?” Clint asks, eyes as wide as can be. 

“You are also up at six in the morning,” Tony says. “So I think that qualifies you as well.” 

“Had it not been for SHIELD, neither of us get up before eleven,” Natasha says. “Like the rag you call a shirt, Stark. Suits you.” 

Tony pokes out his tongue, taking a swig of coffee. 

“You’re just jealous,” Tony says. “I make this look like it could be four hundred dollars.” 

Clint groans. 

“I’m mad that you’re right,” Clint says. “Hey, quick question. How averse are you to me using your coffeepot?” 

“I’m done, go for it,” Tony says. “Thank you for asking, I appreciate it.” 

Clint brings out a bag of coffee that Tony was banned from about two years ago. 

Pepper does not need to know that. 

“If I give you money, will you buy more of this?” Tony says, eyes wide. 

“Um, yeah?” Clint says. “This is the only coffee that wakes me up in the morning.” 

“Why can’t you buy it?” Natasha asks, suspicious. “Were you banned?” 

“Sir was, indeed, banned from the substance,” Jarvis intercedes, smoothly. Natasha jumps a bit. “I would highly advise against buying it for him, as that would induce the wrath of Ms. Potts.” 

“Spoilsport,” Tony pouts. “Clint, I will make you a custom-bow with the perfect measurements and full custom design. I would even deign to put any logo on it that you wanted.” 

“So if I wanted it to be themed, you’d do it?” 

“Yes.” 

“Worth it. I also don’t fear death by a powerful woman, it’s in my Top Five Ways to Die list,” Clint says with a shrug. 

- 

Steve is used to living with other people. He was in the army, after all, and guys slept about three feet apart. He had thought he would see it all. 

This is until he walks in to see Bruce and Natasha in a staredown, hands clasped in an arm-wrestling pose. 

“What are the stakes?” Steve asks. 

“There are communal strawberries on the line,” Bruce says, not blinking. “And I am going to eat them. Natasha seems to think that she will be taking them to her room.” 

“Why not buy more?” Steve asks, settling into the bar with his sketchpad. 

“Because that’s the route for pacifists,” Natasha answers. 

“Bruce, are you not a pacifist?” Steve asks, raising eyebrows. 

“Technically? Yes,” Bruce says. His arm is shaking with effort. “But when fruit is involved that tends to…ebb.” 

“I’m going to leave,” Steve says slowly. “I am scared.” 

He hears a thump on his way out, a curse from Natasha, and then Bruce passes by him with a huge box of strawberries, cackling maniacally as Natasha rushes after him. 

Steve laughs. 

Thor raises an eyebrow as Bruce launches himself into his room, shutting the door. 

“Do you know what’s going on?” 

“Strawberry fights. Very serious thing,” Steve asks, grinning. “Wanna take a bet on if Natasha gets in?” 

“She will,” Thor answers. “But twenty bucks says she does it in ten minutes.” 

“Twenty minutes for me. You’re on,” Steve counters.

- 

Of course, it isn’t all violets and roses. Steve and Tony fight like cats and dogs, and Bruce gets short with people. 

Natasha doesn’t like talking feelings, and Clint would rather launch himself off a building than deal with any sort of threat that is adulthood. 

Thor…Thor is older significantly. He’s just dealing with mortal life and how quickly it goes by and the truth behind his father’s reign of Asgard. 

The team, gets through it. But not without a few hard knocks. 

- 

One of the first moments of bonding as a team is due to the ever-heated-debate of pineapple. 

Natasha, Tony, Bruce, and Thor are on the side of “acceptable.” 

Clint and Steve are on the side of “simply terrible and the absolute worst.” 

Steve comes up to bat first with the line of “I ate war rations that were better than this shit.” 

Bruce has nothing to add other than “my self-esteem directly correlates to pineapple on pizza.” 

“I don’t know what that means, but! I think if we put pineapple on pizza then you guys can’t argue when I make my food.” 

“You think putting cheese-sticks instead of shredded cheese on pizza is acceptable,” Tony says. “I have trust issues because of that. They didn’t even melt right!” 

“I thought you were all about admitting to mistakes, Mr. Sorry-I-Accused-the-Whole-Team-of-Stealing-My-Kiwi-When-it-was-Rhodey,” Clint teases. 

“Speaking of, what is Rhodey’s opinion on this?” Steve asks. “I bet he hates pineapple!” 

“We are not bringing him into this,” Tony says quickly. 

“I’m calling him,” Clint says. 

“How do you have his number?” 

“I’m Hawkeye. I see all.” 

“You couldn’t even see the name of ‘Bruce Banner’ on top of my Murtabak.” 

“How am I expected to read that shitty doctor language? Anyways, you should be grateful that I ate it because my toes curled because of the spice.” 

“You can’t handle the spice!” 

“You’re right!” 

From there, it dissolves into giggles and laughs. 

Tony orders pizza, and they all sit around the common room, debating over what is the least acceptable topping (other than pineapple in some settings). 

They end up debating over sardines next, which Steve says “aren’t the worst.” 

Natasha says broccoli, which is agree upon. Broccoli should not go on pizza. 

Steve draws a little picture of Clint and Tony arguing, complete with gesticulating hands and the little t-shirt details of Clint. 

Thor hangs it up on the fridge. 

“This is now where we hang accomplishments,” Thor says gravely. “I saw it in a show. Do people actually do that here?” 

“Don’t ask me,” Steve says. “I just got a fridge this century. Didn’t have one growing up. Too poor in the Depression.” 

“I can’t believe you and me both lived in a Depression,” Bruce says thoughtfully. 

“Bruce, you were born in the–” Steve stops for a moment. “Oh. Now that’s a neat joke.” 

Bruce snorts. 

The fridge is stacked with sticky notes that are usually petty in nature, although Tony allows his good stationary to be used for good accomplishments. 

The Petty Messages are as Follows: 

Bruce managed to share blueberries with Natasha and not bitch about it the whole duration. Incredible. -Nat. 

Thor actually didn’t monopolize the aux cord and play his super shitty playlist that is full of bad 2000s music. -Tony 

Tony withstood the whole duration of American Classic “Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls” and only winced once. -Thor. 

Steve managed to be tolerable for more than three hours. -Bruce 

Clint is a Good Guy Who Deserves Good Things -Natasha 

Even though she wrote that drunk she’s right lmao -Clint 

The Excellent Messages are as Follows: 

Tony actually opened up and told us what was bothering him so we could address it! -Clint and Bruce 

Thor helped Natasha with her furniture and helped us calm down from IKEA instructions. -Steve 

Bruce kicked the government’s ass. -Everyone on the team plus Maria and Fury 

Steve tried to roller skate and provided wholesome content when he was gripping the wall but also bonded with the team. -Natasha 

Clint baked cookies!!!!!!!!! And didn’t burn the tower down!!!!! -Tony 

Rhodey finally let us make fruit pizza and shared his music playlists. -Thor 

Natasha helped with group therapy today and opened up. It was amazing and I love her so much for that. -Bruce 

- 

The team grows closer, due to many reasons. But most of all, it is because they kept trying, which is very important. Even when they wanted to rip their hair out and they said the wrong things, they were still there and circling back around to make an apology. 

So when they’re out for battle, they don’t worry if someone won’t have their back. Hulk will be there with outstretched palm, Iron Man will be there with a quick joke and open arms, Black Widow will be there with deadly skill. Hawkeye will be there with the most accurate aim in the world, Thor will be there with thunderous force, and Captain America will have a shield and protection. 

But Bruce will be there when they need a joke and calm reassurance. Tony will be there to share his endless affection and touch. Natasha will be there with sound logic, a smile, and soft sweaters. Thor will be there with stories of old, energetic reassurance, and a strong and reliant personality. Steve will be there with art and words that go unsaid but not unheard. 

That, perhaps, is the most important. 

[artificialqueens]

Galactica, Chapter 52 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Violet learned more about Sutan, Courtney got spoiled, and Katya turned her kitchen into a Thanksgiving factory.

This Chapter: Adore gets an unexpected invite, Violet experiences a relatively functional family, Fame hides out, and Courtney makes a bold move. (Thanksgiving Chronicles 3 of ??)

***

Adore stared at her phone as it rang, trying to get over her surprise and figure out what to do. Even Courtney looked shocked, eyebrows raising to her hairline.

“Are you gonna answer?”

“Uh...I dunno.” She stared for another second before curiosity finally got the better of her. “Hello?”

“Hey,” Pearl said and ugh, she sounded as sexy as ever.

“Uh...what’s up?”

“Um…” Pearl cleared her throat uncomfortably. “I was just like...thinking about you, and...uh…how are you doing?”

Adore smiled to herself. In spite of everything that had gone down, she still had a soft spot for Pearl, a very tiny and distinct hope that maybe they could work things out. She knew how hard it must have been for her to make this call. Maybe it was a sign?

“I’m alright.”

They exchanged small talk for a minute or two as Adore walked beside Courtney, back into Bianca’s building.

“I might lose you soon, we’re almost at the elevator-” Adore began.

“Wait!”

Adore stopped, brow furrowed, holding up a finger to Courtney, who nodded and stopped walking, leaning against one of the lobby’s giant marble columns.

“Yes?”

“I just...I really hated how things ended and I...would really like to see you again.”

“You would?”

“Yeah! Of course. I think we should talk, And, um...we’re doing this whole Friendsgiving cocktail party thing tonight. Maybe you wanna swing by? Everyone misses you, so...but I know you’re at your sister’s, so don’t feel like you have to-”

“Well I guess…” Adore took a deep breath, trying to slow her pounding heart. Did Pearl want to get back together? “I guess I could head over for a bit. We’re done eating here.”

“Okay, awesome! Come anytime, it’s just like an open house party thing.”

“Sure, see ya soon.”

Adore hung up, a little conflicted about the whole conversation. As much as she wanted to see Pearl again, she wasn’t so sure that it was the best idea.

“So...what did Pearl have to say?” Courtney asked, and Adore had to hand it to her for keeping her face entirely judgment free.

“She wants me to come hang out. She sounded...sorry?”

“Well, that’s good, right? I mean, she should be sorry.” Courtney linked her arm through Adore’s as they walked into the elevator. “Losing you would make any rational person sorry.”

“Not that you’re biased,” Adore chuckled, dropping a kiss to the top of Courtney’s head.

“Not a bit.”

“...Do you think I should go?” Adore bit her lip, still trying to get her hopes up too much.

“Do you want to go?”

“Kind of. I just feel like...even if we can’t like, make the relationship work, it would be good to be on better terms...” She didn’t voice the next through out loud. That maybe, just maybe, they could make it work.

“Then it probably makes sense to see what she has to say.”

“Yeah...you won’t feel abandoned, will you?” Adore asked.

“Um, no. I’ll probably just help Bianca clean up and then take off. Back to my own palace,” she joked, making Adore giggle, since her apartment was the literal exact opposite of a palace.

As they stepped back into Bianca’s foyer, she pulled Courtney in for a tight hug.

“You’re honestly the best, you know that?”

***

“Anybody want more coffee?”

“No thanks.” Violet shook her head, a smile on her face as she watched Sutan walk around the small kitchen table, pot of coffee in hand. Violet was absolutely stuffed, though not as much as Raven, the model asleep on the couch in the den after three servings of pie.

“More pie Violet?” Murni held up the pumpkin pie, Sutan pouring another cup for Raja.

“No thanks.” Violet shook her head. “I don’t think I could eat another bite.”

“You should be proud Bunda,” Sutan smiled, taking a seat next to Raja. “I can’t remember Violet ever eating this much.”

“Sutan!” Murni shot him a look, and Violet felt herself blush, warm rising in her cheeks. “Manners.”

“Sorry,” Sutan grinned, and Raja giggled too.

“He’s right though-” Violet didn’t know what came over her, but she didn’t want this tiny woman to think badly of her, didn’t want to seem ungrateful in any way. “You’re a very good chef.”

Murni’s cooking had been absolutely delicious, the Thanksgiving meal the best one Violet could remember ever having. Sure, they were served chicken instead of turkey, Raja smiling her way through the story about how Murni had first made the mistake when they were children and they all liked it too much to let go of the tradition, but it wasn’t the food that had made Violet eat so much.

It was the mood around the table.

Violet knew a lot of people saw her as picky, that Sutan probably thought that way of her too, but she wasn’t, she simply got nervous and then retreated back to the foods she knew.

It had been so nice to sit down with someone who felt like a family, to feel like she was actually genuinely welcomed at the table.

“Thank you sweet girl,” Murni smiled, her dark eyes filled with a deep warmth.

“See Sutan?” Raja turned to her twin, nudging her elbow into his side. “It isn’t that hard to bring home someone who isn’t a raging bitch.”

“Raja! Don’t talk like that!”

“Sorry,” Raja smirked, grabbing her coffee cup. “But she was an absolute cunt.”

***

“Darling?”

Patrick opened the door to their bedroom, waiting a second as he looked around. Fame had gone missing after dessert, giving some quick excuse about checking up on Charles, but when Patrick had actually found their dog happily munching away on his chef-arranged plate of leftovers, his wife was nowhere to be seen.

The bedroom was dark, and Patrick was just about to leave, when he noticed a sliver of light coming from underneath the door to the walk-in closet.

“Fame?” Patrick walked inside, closing and locking the bedroom door behind him, an unsettling sensation growing in his stomach.

His family was downstairs, watching football and grazing on the last of the several desserts Fame had ordered, his mother making a snide comment that if she couldn’t cook, at least she knew how to hire a chef.

Pareick grabbed the door to the walk-in closet and slid it open, catching sight of Fame, who was sitting on the floor, apprentently rearranging her sunglasses drawer, a glass of wine at her side.

“.... Fame?”

Fame looked up, only just noticing him, and Patrick realized how right his gut feeling had been.

“Patrick,” Fame raised her hand, quickly drying under her eyes, but it was too late. Patrick had already seen the streaks, his wife's ever perfect makeup marred by what could only be tears. “I didn’t see you-“

“What’s wrong?” Patrick sat down on his knees, not reaching out to touch.

“I’m fine.”

“Nothing says fine like rearranging your 2003 Guccis.”

“They’re not-“ Fame cut herself off and Patrick had to hide a smile, the sunglasses obviously Chanel, but if Fame was rising to the bait, whatever mood she was in was salvageable. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s never just nothing with you darling.” Patrick leaned back against one of the many closet doors. “Now tell me.”

“It’s just,” Fame picked up a pair of sunglasses. “I just needed a break from the accusations of robbing your mother of her grandchildren.”

“Ah,” Patrick cringed. He had always been clear to his family about not wanting children, but it seemed like his mother had gone deaf since her friends started having grandbabies. They had busy, fulfilling lives - their friends, their dog, their work. They simply didn’t want children.  “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Fame wasn’t looking at him, her blue eyes focused on the drawer. “I just wish… I wished she wouldn’t constantly tell me I’m not enough for you, that I’m the one who-“

“Hey-“ Patrick reached out, grabbing Fame’s hand. “You’re my forever Famie.”

“Patrick.” Fame looked up, and Patrick turned her hand in his, making sure she could see the sparkling diamond on her ring finger.

“You are,” Patrick squeezed her hand. “And we’re the ones who don't want kids. Both of us. Together. Unanimous decision.”

“You’re such a lawyer.” Fame smiled, leaning forward to place a sweet kiss against his lip.

***

Bianca’s reaction to Adore’s plan to see Pearl was slightly different from Courtney’s, her spine going rigid and teeth clenching at the news.

“If that’s what you want,” she said tersely, snapping the lid shut on a tupperware and shoving it into the fridge.

“B…”

Bianca looked up, giving a resigned sigh and opening her arms to her sister.

“Come here.”

Courtney watched from the doorway, a smile tugging on her lips as they hugged.

“Do what you gotta do, pussycat,” Bianca murmured, finally releasing her with an insincere, “And give Pearl my very best!”

“Will do!” Adore laughed, blowing Courtney a kiss as she headed for the door.

Courtney stepped into the kitchen, her hands full of the last few glasses that had been on the dining room table. Secretly, she was thrilled that they were now alone together.

“Where can I…”

“Oh, just stick it right there.” Bianca gestured to the huge pile of dishes next to the sink. It was hard to believe that the three of them had created this big of a mess.

“Can I help you clean up?” she asked.

“Uh...sure…Most of it can just go in here.”

Bianca opened the giant dishwasher and beckoned Courtney over.

“So…” Courtney bit her cheek, doing her best not to sneak glances at the lacy black bra visible through the slit in Bianca’s top, turning her attention instead to the apparently 47 glasses they’d gone through. She picked them up one at a time, carefully placing them in the top rack of the dishwasher. “Not a Pearl fan, eh?”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Uhhh...yeah,” Courtney giggled.

“I just...I know she’s gonna hurt my sister again. Why? You think she’s great?” Bianca asked, the last word loaded with bitterness.

“No, I think she’s a cunt,” Courtney said bluntly, and Bianca let out a cackle of agreement, eyes sparkling with delight. “But...Adore really liked her, and it sounds like she feels really bad about how things ended, so...maybe it’s good that they’re gonna talk some more. Maybe they can even work it out.”

“You’re naive.”

“Possibly, but I prefer optimistic.” Courtney flashed a sunny smile, Bianca returning it slightly before shaking her head and reaching for her wine glass.

“Yeah, well, she doesn’t deserve your optimism. And she doesn’t deserve Adore.” She drained her wine glass and then stuck it into the dishwasher with the others, turning to the plates.

“I think it’s really cute how protective you are,” Courtney said softly, fingertips brushing against Bianca’s shoulder.

“I’m not, usually,” Bianca explained with a chuckle. “But I know Pearl, and she’s...a player, you know? She goes through women like Kleenex, and I just don’t buy that she’s capable of any kind of meaningful commitment, which is what I know Adore wants.” She looked up and caught Courtney’s amused smile, adding, “What?”

“You know that’s what people say about you, right?”

“Yeah, and they’re right!” Bianca barked, eyes hard, and Courtney took a small step back. Bianca’s face fell, immediately looking regretful, saying, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“It’s okay,” Courtney said. “I know you’re just worried about her.”

She went back to the dishwasher, now trying to Tetris in the various bowls and coffee cups.

“Who’ve you been talking to about me, anyway?” Bianca asked, the gruffness softening slightly.

“I’m not gonna reveal my sources!”

“Multiple sources, huh?”

“Perhaps,” Courtney twinkled, twirling a stray wine glass by the stem before putting it into the rack.

“Hm. Well, I’d ask around about you, but nobody knows who the fuck you are, so…”

“That’s true. I’m shamefully irrelevant in this city. Just another small-town kid trying to make it in the Big Apple.”

“Teasing you is no fun. You always agree.” Bianca’s voice was low and husky, dimples appearing for a brief second.

“Sorry, I’ll try to be less agreeable,” Courtney shot back, stomach flipping as Bianca leaned towards her.

“Good idea,” she proclaimed, picking up a serving dish from the pile and putting it into the sink.

“So...since nobody knows who I am, I guess you’ll have to just judge for yourself, eh?”

“I suppose so.”

“Well…” Courtney swallowed, not entirely sure she was prepared for the answer to her question, before turning around to face her and bravely venturing, “What do you think?

“I think...that one day you’re gonna look in the mirror and own how absolutely extraordinary you are. And then you’re gonna be fucking unstoppable.”

It certainly wasn’t what Courtney expected, and she inhaled sharply, eyes glued to Bianca’s. And suddenly it was all too much. The lingering glances, the brief touches, the heated silence. Kiss me, Courtney found herself wishing, searching Bianca’s eyes for a sign…any sign, that she felt the same way.

Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me…

Bianca leaned in and brushed a lock of hair from her eyes, and Courtney gripped the edge of the sink, an ache growing in the pit of her stomach. She desperately wanted to close the distance, to taste Bianca’s plush ruby lips. She could feel her heart pounding in her throat as Bianca cupped her cheeks.

“This is probably…a very bad idea,” Bianca said.

“Okay.” Courtney nodded slowly.

Bianca stroked her cheeks, leaning in closer. “I told you to stop agreeing,” she whispered.

“Right…” All Courtney could think about was the warm breath on her face, Bianca’s perfect curves so, so close.

“Fuck,” said Bianca softly, finally leaning in all the way, pressing her against the counter, letting their lips touch.

Courtney thought she was going to faint. Somehow, she’d expected the kiss to be like Bianca - aggressive and strong and maybe even a little bit scary. But it was the softest, sweetest kiss she’d ever had, the light and teasing brush of her lips making her crazy before finally deepening. She melted into Bianca’s arms, letting the whole moment envelope her as the edge of the counter dug into her lower back--the only thing keeping her grounded.

One of Bianca’s hands slid down, and now it was on her waist, fingers on her skin sending shivers all up her spine, a soft whimper falling from her lips as she arched forward into the touch.

Then, without any warning, Bianca sprung back, leaving her trembling, chest heaving.

“I’m sorry,” Bianca said, shaking her head. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

It was a battle for Courtney to connect with her addled mind, her skin still tingling from where she’d been touched, and when she did, she still couldn’t make sense of it all.

Bianca continued to apologize profusely, even adding a regretful, “You’re not the first straight girl to get caught in my web. I’m...I’m really sorry.”

“I…” Courtney tried to respond, but it felt like her tongue was paralyzed.

“Um...why don’t I call you a car?” Bianca said.

“That’s not...you don’t have to-”

“No, I insist. It’s dark and you’re...you should take some food!”

“What?” Courtney shook her head, pangs of regret making her chest hurt, trying to understand what went wrong.

“Yeah, um...I gotta go out of town tomorrow and I don’t want it to go to waste, so-” She turned to the fridge and began pulling containers out, filling a Neiman Marcus bag she grabbed from a nearby cabinet.

Courtney still didn’t know what to say, so she just followed her numbly to the door, slowly putting on her jacket and scarf while Bianca called whoever it was in her life that made towncars appear. She finally stepped into the elevator, arms loaded with two shopping bags of food, watching her fantasies dissolve as the doors shut.

Downstairs, both the concierge and the doorman were expecting her, directing her to the black sedan waiting outside. It had gotten dark since she’d been out with Adore, the damp air somehow far more bitterly cold now. She took another step towards the car before hesitating, looking back longingly at Bianca’s building.

***

Bianca closed her eyes. The bewildered, stricken look on Courtney’s face as the elevator doors slid shut would be burned into her brain forever, she was sure of it. Along with the feeling of being absolute fucking garbage.

Flirting was one thing. Flirting was harmless fun for everyone. But the fact that she’d taken advantage of one moment of weakness--and with Adore’s best friend, no less. Adore’s straight friend. What the fuck was wrong with her?

In the moment, it had seemed so right: the softness in her eyes, lips parted, head tilted--it looked so much like an invitation, practically a dare. But it was a dare Bianca should have resisted. She knew better. Even at the time, she’d known better, known that she was making a reckless and irresponsible mistake. She’d done it anyway, though, hadn’t she?

She groaned, heading to the bar. She needed something much stronger than wine right now. She searched through the shelf, finally finding some Kentucky bourbon and picked it up, briefly considering taking a swig right from the bottle before pulling down a heavy glass and pouring herself a generous double shot. Possibly triple, she wasn’t measuring.

The liquor burned her throat, stinging her eyes. She pressed her palms to the top of the bar, blinking slowly, hoping the gross feeling she had would dissipate. It didn’t. She still felt Courtney’s petite body, shaking like a leaf under her hands. She headed for the stairs, thinking that a Silkwood shower was probably her last hope when her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Del Rio,” Carson’s syrupy voice came on the line. “I have Ms. Jenek here. She seems to have left her phone in your apartment. Shall I send her up to fetch it?”

“Uh...yeah, that’s fine.”

Bianca hung up, looking slightly bleary-eyed at the dining room table, which was empty save for the massive vase of Fall flowers, and then moved onto the kitchen. Where else could it be? Den, maybe? She was about to go search when she heard footsteps in the foyer, the dogs bursting into excited yips as they ran to greet Courtney at the elevator. She followed, shaking her head apologetically.

“Hey, I’m not sure where your phone is. Maybe we should check the-”

She was cut off as Courtney rushed forward, dropping the bags in her hand, the containers inside clattering to the floor. And before Bianca knew what was happening, Courtney had flung herself into her arms, pulling her into a desperate, heated kiss.

[anywhozits]

Kristoff’s Favorite Christmas Present

Rating: G

Words: 4583

Verse: Canonverse

Pairing: Kristanna

Summary: Anna has a plan to give Kristoff the best present of all time. Naturally she must enlist the help of her magical sister and twin daughters.

READ ON AO3 HERE

“I’m sorry—you put the peppermint where?” Anna gasped, stopping her frantic Christmas present rearranging to stare wide-eyed at her daughter.

Two-and-a-half-year-old Iduna’s lower lip curled as she whispered, “Reindeer’s nose?”

“Reindeer…” Anna furrowed her eyebrows. “Sven’s nose?”

Iduna bobbed her head up and down, and Anna couldn’t help but laugh despite feeling mighty sorry for Sven.

“Duna!”

She shrugged. “He was hungry!”

Anna laughed again, dropping to her knees to explain calmly, “Hungry means you should put the peppermint into his mouth, not his nose. Nose is for smelling. Mouth is for eating. Let’s get this sorted out, okay? Why don’t you go with…” Anna’s eyes scanned the entire room for somebody—anybody—to lead this expedition, but they all looked more than busy.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Kristoff. The reminder that he was only minutes away from opening his Christmas present was enough to send an excited tingle down her spine.

Her wonderful husband had his arms full carrying their other twin, Asta, while also trying to balance Elsa’s presents. Anna could hear Asta’s adorable squeal, “Papa, papa! Booger tastes gingerbread-y!”

Anna chuckled. Oh, Asti…

For fear of spoiling everything prematurely, Anna had to look away, thus noticing that only one person—well, snowman, appeared not otherwise occupied. Smiling widely all the way, Olaf hobbled around the room, greeting everyone he saw with a wave of his twig arm and a repeated “Oh, I just love the holidays!”

“Olaf!”

“Oh, hi, Anna! Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas! Hey, can you take Iduna to find Sven? I think he might have a peppermint stuck up his nose…”

“Gotta put mouth! Sven hungry!” Iduna reached out to grab Olaf’s hand.

“Gotcha!” He said, giving Anna a wink. “Why, hello, Princess Duna. Looks like we were both on the nice list this year?” Olaf gestured to the mountains of presents under the tree. Each member of the family had a different wrapping paper color to help differentiate the gifts. Olaf’s, for instance, was blue, centrally featuring several friendly snowmen. Both Iduna and Asta, however, had already opened their presents when they woke up at the literal crack of dawn. The carnage of red and gold wrapping paper now sat in massive piles in the corner of the ballroom.

Iduna let out a high-pitched laugh. “Ya!”

As Anna watched them walk away, she let out a sigh. Still so much to prepare… and she started to feel so nervous and excited (hah—nervecited) all over again.

Her eyes drifted to Kristoff once more and then all the butterflies in her stomach unleashed themselves at once. She needed to look away. Nervecited. Yup. Still couldn’t look at Kristoff. Noted.

“Els!” Her sister, instead, provided the perfect distraction.

“Yes, Anna?” Elsa was working diligently on her ice sculptures, finishing up the last details of the ice sleigh she loved featuring as a centerpiece.

“Are you—you know what we’re gonna do? You know the plan?”

Elsa smiled. “Yep. I’ve got it.”

“Okay. Good—great.”

“You feeling all right?”

“Yes, actually. Just—”

“Nervecited?”

“Uh-huh.”

Elsa gave Anna a gentle nudge. “You don’t have to wait much longer, you know.”

And then Anna sighed. “It feels like I’ve already waited too long.”

“Why don’t we get on with it, then?”

“Okay. Yeah. Okay. That’s a good idea. Why wait anymore, right? We can… we can just go for it. Celebrate! He’ll want to celebrate, right? We’ll all celebrate?”

“Definitely!”

“Definitely, right! God, I’m so excited! Wanna grab the girls? I sent Iduna off with Olaf to find Sven and fix his nose—"

"Fix his—?"

"And once they’re back—”

“Oh! They’re here!”

Turning around, Anna saw her daughter and Olaf quickly approaching, both of them moving about in a clumsy pattern due to their collectively short legs.

“Mama!” Iduna called. “Sven love peppermint—no hungry more!” Anna giggled as she picked Duna up and snuggled her.

“Thank you for doing that, sweetie.”

“Welcome, Mama!”

“I’m happy that he loved it,” Anna said. Afterwards, Iduna tightened her hold on Anna and snuggled in close, popping her left thumb into her mouth and sucking gently. Anna kissed the top of her blonde hair.

“Shall we get started on our present for Papa?”

Iduna’s head nodded a couple times.

Okay—it was time. Nervecited. But now, way more excited than nervous.

Just one more twin to round up…

“Asti!”

She heard a little bit of a moan or a groan or maybe even an excited squeal and turned to see Asta stuffing her face with most, if not all, of the chocolate from her stocking. Her mouth was so stuffed that barely any sound could make it out.

There was also heaps and heaps of melted chocolate on her hands and her cheeks and her lips. She was a chocolate mess.

But Anna loved it. She didn’t even mind when Asti took her hand and all that melted chocolate squished between them.

“We’re gonna give Papa his present, okay?”

“Mmm!” Her mouth was still so full of chocolate.

Elsa soon joined them next to the tree, bouncing up and down in her own excitement. She took Asta’s other hand.

“Okay!” Anna shouted. “It’s time to finish opening presents!” Excited, excited! Nervous—nervecited. Excited! Anna’s mind and heart utterly couldn’t pick an emotion today. “Kris, you’re next!”

He strolled toward her with an amused smirk, kissing the twins’ foreheads before bringing in his wife for a tender smooch.

“I told you not to get me anything,” he said as he snaked an arm around her waist.

Anna laughed. “Oh, hush! You know we’d never listen to a request as ridiculous as that!”

“Besides, Kristoff, you’re gonna love it,” Elsa explained. “Right, Anna? He’s gonna love it?”

“You’re gonna love it,” Anna confirmed.

“Okay,” he said, kissing his wife yet again. “I’m intrigued.”

Anna absolutely beamed before handing Iduna over to Elsa. Elsa immediately placed her gently on the floor next to her twin. Iduna looked up at her aunt with her big cerulean eyes and kept sucking on her thumb.

The three of them—Elsa, Iduna, and Asta—then formed a circle. Elsa got on her knees, trying to remain at eye level of the two-and-a-half-year-old twins. She whispered something into both of their ears, and they smiled. Iduna freed her thumb from her mouth.

“Remember what I told you yesterday—think really, really hard about what you want to do. Picture it in your head. Concentrate… on what you want to create and how much you love your mama and your papa.”

“Auntie, too!” Asta added.

Elsa hesitated. “Oh—I… if you want to think of that, too, then—yes. You can… you can think of Auntie Elsa, too.”

“Love you!” Asta squealed, making Elsa blush.

“And I love you, too. Both of you!” Elsa booped the girls on their noses and they giggled. “Okay—are you ready?”

Both Asta and Iduna nodded and joined hands. To harness the full strength of their magic properly they needed to share it. Either they used their powers together or one relinquished the powers temporarily to the other. It’s a twin thing. And given their May Day birthday, their power must be spring themed…

Branches came to life, flowing across the room with an elegant choreography. The branches weaved together to form the shape of a wicker bassinet. The twins controlled nature—springtime nature—the earth, really. Flowers, dirt, trees, the like. The other side of Elsa’s powers.

As the girls finished their bassinet, Elsa swirled her own hands together to create the final touch—a baby made out of permafrost and ice, connected to the twins’ creation. Complete with a lovely semi-circle arrangement that allowed this piece to hang on a Christmas tree.

Ta-da, Elsa gestured. “It’s an ornament!”

“For you, baby,” Anna added as she gave her husband a slight nudge.

“Auntie Belsa! Up, please!” Iduna reached her hands out to Elsa, who happily lifted her up. Somehow, Elsa and Iduna looked more like twins than Iduna and Asta did. Truly the only key difference was that Iduna had slightly darker more-Kristoff-than-Elsa blonde hair.

Meanwhile, Asta plopped down to the floor to start licking chocolate off her hands and her face. She had more of the Kristoff genes—kind brown eyes and a fierce nose. But her face was still covered in Anna’s freckles.

“It’s beautiful,” Kristoff said. “I love that Elsa taught our daughters how to use their powers to make this.”

Anna sighed. If he hadn’t mentioned… did he really not get it? Or … was this an actually a super dumb idea akin to those first few supposedly impossible charades hints that Elsa and Olaf couldn’t get?

Kristoff gave thankful kisses to his daughters and a gracious hug to his sister-in-law. “I mean it. Elsa, you’ve clearly taught them so well. They already have such good control over their powers.”

“Well,” Elsa shrugged. “They’ve got a lot of love in their lives.”

Okay—fine. Time to push a little more. Anna urged, “Sooo, what do you think this ornament is?”

Kristoff looked at her curiously. “What?”

“Like, what’s… what’s in the ornament? What’s the theme? Who’s the baby?”

“Oh—well…it’s a nativity ornament, right?”

Both Anna and Elsa exchanged confused glances before bursting out into laughter.

“What? This is … baby Jesus, right?” Kristoff continued. “The nativity… it’s Christmas.”

Elsa buried her head in her hand and Anna groaned, clarifying, “It’s not a… it’s not a nativity ornament…”

“I can see why you’d think that, though, Kristoff,” Elsa said. “Because, well, it is Christmas. We probably should’ve given this a bit more thought.”

Anna’s heart skipped a beat. All right. Time for Plan B.

She scurried to the tree and pulled out a present wrapped in Kristoff themed red reindeer paper. “Here. This one’s from me.”

Kristoff gave it a couple hearty shakes, then he ran his hands along the creases. “Feels like a book.” Next he brought it up to his face to take a closer look. “Looks like a book.” And, finally, sniffed it. “Smells like a book.”

This was it. The present was obvious—clear. No room for misinterpretation this time.

Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod it was about to happen.

“OPEN IT!” Anna yelled, unable to contain her excitement anymore.

He tore off the paper quickly and started smiling at a black leather notebook. “Thank you, baby. You know I love a good notebook.”

“There’s something inside, Kris!” Anna eagerly explained. “You should read it.”

Giving his wife a curious look, Kristoff opened the notebook.

The second he allowed himself to read the words written in Anna’s script, his jaw dropped.

Baby Bjorgman Number 3

Week 8: Baby’s the size of a kidney bean

-Feeling great overall! Shocker!

-Little bit of nausea when smelling onions

-Truly disgusting amount of saliva in the mouth. Need to spit every 2 seconds

-Kinda tired? Maybe? From baby or from queen things?

-Super weird, vivid dreams about Sven dancing in a tutu. Like, every night.

He was silent—in shock. When he looked up, finally, Anna beamed at him. “See, it wasn’t Baby Jesus. It was—”

Before Anna could finish the thought, she flew in the air. Kristoff lifted her up and twirled her around—his signature move.

He had done the same when she told him she was pregnant the first time, and it meant so much to Anna that he was just as excited this time around.

As Kristoff brought her back to the ground, he kept his hands around her waist and then drew her in for a tender yet passionate kiss. One of his large hands dropped to her stomach to caress her nonexistent baby bump.

“Our little bean!” He kissed her again. “This is the best Christmas present I’ve ever—and it’s even more special since you, Elsa, and the girls worked on this together. With the magic and the ornament, and, obviously, the journal you made.”

“Yay—good! I thought this would be fun! You know—since we surprised Elsa last time, I thought it only fair we return the favor. Really get you good.”

He smiled and said, “You got me real good. I had no idea, honest. I can’t say I didn’t hope but I still didn’t expect it. I take back what I said about not wanting anything for Christmas. This is what I wanted. This is everything I ever wanted.” His hand still rested protectively on Anna’s belly. “How long have you known?”

“Barely a week! I thought I was just late or stressed or something since I’ve been feeling really great, honestly. Maybe this means there’s only one baby this time?”

Kristoff laughed.

“So, you’re happy? You’re excited?”

“Of course, Anna,” he said. “This is the best Christmas present I could ever ask for.”

Tears actually shot out of Anna’s eyes. Her husband was quite literally the perfect human.

Kristoff kissed her again, and he felt it too. Honestly just as emotional as his wife. On the brink of tears. In reality, he had hoped this announcement would come soon. The doctor told them to wait until the twins were at least two before they started trying again, but on their birthday, Anna and Kristoff had decided at least was a useless phrase. Two years would be plenty.

And now, seven months later, their third kid was on the way… 8 weeks on the way already.

When Kristoff pulled away, he suddenly remembered that he and Anna weren’t alone.

“Elsa, I—thank you, again. It means… it’s so much more special now that I know.”

“You’re welcome! It’s been fun to plan. I knew you’d be thrilled.”

Kristoff smiled so genuinely his eyes crinkled. “You know me well. When did you find out?”

“She told me when I got here a few days ago. Well, she said that she thought maybe, but didn’t know for sure.”

“Once the doctor confirmed everything, we started planning this.” Anna had wanted to really surprise Kristoff this time around. She was so anxious and excited and enthusiastic the first time it was nearly impossible for her to keep anything to herself. It all started when she got that weird headache a week before her monthly cycle was due. From that point on, she told Kristoff everything, in great detail. This time, all of her thoughts, feelings, and emotions about being late but without any of her previous symptoms remained barricaded in her mind and her mind only. She really had convinced herself it was nothing more than stress. But even still, given the other-more-exciting thing was definitely a possibility, she had to keep mum. Because she really wanted to surprise him—do something special. And, conveniently, Christmas had been just around the corner.

It shocked Anna that she made it this far, honestly. A perfectly kept secret.

“And you told the twins too?”

“Yep. I told them… although not too sure how much they really understand what’s going on,” Anna laughed. They really did look as confused as ever. “But whatever—I still wanted to make sure our little cuties were involved! And Elsa kept saying that their magic lessons are going so great, too, so I wanted to see!”

Kristoff reached down and took Asta into his arms. She had wholly cleaned herself of the chocolate. Sugar-high very much imminent.

“Asti, you’re gonna be a big sister! How does it feel?”

“I have sister!”

They all laughed.

“You do have a sister. You have Iduna. But this summer—uh, when exactly did they say?”

“Mid-July, probably. Maybe late July. Maybe early August,” Anna responded. “Toss-up between Cancer and Leo baby!”

“Ooh right. That’ll be interesting,” Elsa said. “Honeymaren said she wanted to help me with a full astrological reading whenever you have your next baby. We’ll have some thinking to do before this summer.”

Anna legitimately squealed. “Aww, that’s nice of her! How fun! I love your readings, Els.”

“Thanks.”

“So, wait. Anna, you’re really feeling okay?” Kristoff sounded stunned. Granted, he had to watch her throw up everything she put into her mouth (other than chocolate) for the first almost 15 weeks of her last pregnancy, so his shock was more than founded.

“Uh-huh! It’s super weird. Disorienting, honestly. I can eat real food and not have to worry about tossing it back up later. Although now that I said that I bet it’ll all change and I’m gonna have to throw up all the—ugh, I’m totally jinxing it, aren’t I?”

“Nah, honey. There’s no such thing as a jinx.”

“You’re talking to someone who has a fifth spirit sister, a talking snowman best pal, and also twin daughters with special earthy springtime nature powers,” Anna deadpanned, so much so that Kristoff chuckled. “There are totally such things as jinxes, husband. Totally, totally.”

She was probably right on that one.

“Well I know you’re—ah, guess I shouldn’t say that, with the jinx and everything—but, um, even though you’re—” Kristoff gestured and made noises that sounded like he completed the phrase with ‘feeling great’ without actually saying the words. “But, what would you say if I started up my chocolate collection again?”

“Um, well, obviously I would say the only thing I can say which is… bring it on, baby! I’d love some chocolate. Chocolate sounds amazing right now. Honestly I was about to lick it all off of Asta’s hands until she licked it off herself.”

This got Asti’s attention. “More chocolate?”

“Chocolate for Mama this time! And maybe we’ll save some for you, too, soon-to-be-big-sister.” Anna said while giving Asti’s blonde hair a good ruffle.

In the meantime, Kristoff’s eyes darted quickly to the hutch in the corner of the expansive ballroom and he eyeballed the collection of silverware, trying to locate his favorite chocolate-making spoons. He couldn’t help but note the fact that one of the spoons is distractedly off-kilter. He smirked. “Asti, wanna come with me to get some chocolate, love?”

“Mmhmm!”

And then they were off.

Anna looked around curiously for a second before turning back to Elsa. “Wait, wait, wait, wait. Where did Olaf run off to? Was he even here when Kristoff figured it out?”

“I have no idea.”

“Duna, have you seen Olaf?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Olaf!” Anna called out. “Olaf, are you here? Are you anywhere?”

Nothing.

But then, soon enough, they heard the pitter patter of snowman feet on the wood floors. “I’m coming, I’m coming, I’m coming!” He was going as fast as he can, holding onto an extremely shoddily wrapped present.

He stopped in his tracks, right in front of Anna, took a bow, and then held up the present to her face. “This one’s for you! And Kristoff!”

“Oh! Thank you, Olaf,” Anna said, taking the present into her hands. “When’d you run off?”

“After you gave Kristoff his gift.”

“Oh—so you—”

“Anna! Chocolate!”

Anna snapped to attention when a bar of sea salt dark chocolate barrels toward her face. She caught it with her left hand thanks to some kind of crazy reflex she didn’t even know she had. “Thank you, husband!”

When she gave Kristoff a gracious look, she noticed that Asta was sucking on some more chocolate. All right. Super, super crazy sugar-rush now even more imminent.

Olaf skipped toward Kristoff. “I have a present for you!”

“Oh, uh—”

“I’ve got it here, Kris,” Anna explained, holding up said present.

“Great!”

Kristoff put Asta down and stood next to his wife, helping her tear open the present. Upon removing the crumpled wrapping paper, a marvelous creation revealed itself.

Adorable blue knit booties. Baby-sized.

Both Anna and Kristoff’s eyes widened to a saucer-like degree. Kristoff started, “Olaf, how did you—”

At the same time that Anna added, “Did you make these yourself?”

“Yup! Made them yesterday—oh boy was I excited when I overheard you and Elsa talking about the new baby! And now I know that babies come from eating a special pie thingie from the trolls, and that they start off really tiny inside you and then they’re born after a really, really long time. And when they’re born, they have little feet that could get cold! So yes, I made these,” Olaf said proudly. “And by the way, I did such a great job keeping the secret—but it was so hard. I told so many rocks and trees and snowballs in the forest. And a couple fish. Oh, and maybe twelve puffins!”

“Those puffins. Surprised they didn’t come blabbing,” Anna joked, giggling. “Well, thank you, Olaf. These are adorable and it’s so sweet that you worked so hard to make them! Baby’s gonna love them. You’re right, they’ll be perfect for keeping baby’s little teeny tiny feet so nice and warm. But, wait… since when do you know how to knit?”

“Just something I’ve picked up with my old age.”

Kristoff raised his eyebrows. “Old age, huh?”

Entertaining Kristoff zero, Olaf narrowed his eyes and waddled closer to Anna. “So the baby’s still really tiny, right?”

“Yes! You could tell if the baby were bigger. Remember last time the babies grew a lot before they were born?”

“Oh, yes, I do remember,” Olaf said. “It looked like you ate Sven!”

Laughs all around.

Then, Asta toddled on over to her snowman best friend. “Play, play with Olaf!”

“I would love to play with you, Princess Asti!”

Iduna started squirming in Elsa’s arms, signaling that she, too, wanted to play. Elsa set her down carefully and Iduna’s legs propelled her toward Olaf at warp speed.

“Hello again, Princess Duna.”

“Olaf!” She ran to give him a hug. “Play!”

“Why, yes, I’d love to play with you too! This is so much fun—playing with the twin big sisters! What should we play?”

Asta started, “Ring around rosie!”

And Iduna chimed in at practically the same time, “Olaf says!”

“Hmm. Both wonderful games! And I bet we have time for both. What should we start with?”

“Ring around the rosie!”

“Olaf says!”

“Huh. A stalemate. How can we solve this? A dance off?”

The girls giggled.

“Or can I choose the order?”

They both stared blankly at Olaf.

“Ring around the rosie first! Sorry, Iduna. We’ll play Olaf says next, okay? And I’ll make it extra special just for you, future-big-sister.”

Asta jumped in the air and ran around in probably twenty circles in excitement. The chocolate evidently hit Asti right at that second.

Eventually, they positioned themselves for game time in the middle of the ballroom, leaving Kristoff, Elsa, and Anna alone by the tree.

Kristoff took this as his opportunity to cozy up to his wife. He usually wouldn’t do this in such a public space. As much as he loved physical touch and affection, he was never one for PDA in the usual sense of the term. But something about today felt different. Something about this whole wonderful and exciting situation felt different.

Immediately he dropped to his knees, and then two large hands grabbed Anna’s still-small waist. First, he ran one hand along her stomach, and then he planted gentle kisses on the place that would grow over the next seven months.

Anna giggled and blushed. She always loved when he did this. It made her feel even a pang of regret that she worked so hard to keep the possible pregnancy a secret. Because she missed out on four weeks of this…

But seeing his wide, surprised, ecstatic eyes… and witnessing their daughters working to make this surprise present happen made it all the worth it. They’d still have time for this. Now, even—now was the perfect time.

And it was, clearly. Kristoff felt it, too. He cooed, “Tiny bean baby. Not Sven sized—bean sized. I love you, baby bean. Papa loves you.” His voice got pretty high-pitched and sing-songy when he spoke.

Of course, Elsa heard from Anna that Kristoff tended to speak a little differently around her—their cutesy nicknames only one example. But witnessing it firsthand made Elsa smile a smile unparalleled in sincerity.

Bringing in Olaf’s booties close to her heart, Anna blushed in pure delight, cherishing them as much as she cherished the moment.

Kristoff continued making faces at Anna’s stomach, putting his ear against it, and speaking in high-pitched whispers.

This visual was far too cute for Elsa and she felt the emotions getting ready to pour out of her.

“I’m so happy for you two! Really—I said this all to Anna the other day—with tears and everything, but you’ve both been so wonderful to Duna and Asti, and it’s clear to me, given how they already have such a good grasp on their powers. I guess I did have control somewhat when I was younger, but then it got worse, when, uh—” She hesitated but then cleared her throat. Not wanting to go down that road tonight. “But you two. You’re really doing well. You’re great parents. You’re meant to be parents.”

This made Kristoff stop what he was doing and run to give Elsa a nice, big hug. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, Els,” Anna agreed, walking over to put one loving hand on Elsa’s shoulder. “That means a lot to us. Like, a lot a lot. We were just two fools who knew a lot about being alone. And almost nothing about childrearing.”

“Your heart’s so big, though. You… you always had it in you. Both of you.”

Anna laughed and Kristoff hugged Elsa tighter. PDA-mode very much activated. “Hope this’ll hold true once we’re outnumbered.”

“You won’t be outnumbered,” Elsa explained. “You’ve still got Auntie Belsa.”

Anna automatically felt tears welling up in her eyes. One cute little line from her sister and she was off to the crying races yet again. “Thank goodness—we’re so lucky to have you.” Okay, it had gotten worse. Anna was practically a hyperventilating mess of tears at this point. Barely able to get out the sentence without a sob in between each word.

Then they heard a chorus of rambunctious squeals from the twins and an enthusiastic yelp from Olaf. Their attention focused on the middle of the room.

They gasped.

Iduna and Asta had created floating roses that hang above their heads as they play the game, and each of the three held their own bouquet of roses in their hands.

When Elsa said they had good control of their powers, Anna didn’t quite think she meant this. Without Elsa’s coaching, even.

They watched as the roses swelled in time with their singing

Ring around the rosie

A pocket full of posies

“Posies!” Asti yelled. “In pocket!”

With two swirls of her hand, posies appeared. Both Asta and Iduna stuffed them into their dresses. Olaf positioned a couple on his head. The girls laughed at that sight.

Seeing this, Anna sighed, lovingly and longingly. “They’re perfect.”

“And another perfect one’s on the way.” Kristoff smiled and rubbed her belly one more time for good measure.

“Wow,” Anna gushed. “Next year there’ll be three.”

“Outnumbered,” Kristoff added.

But Elsa huffed. “Not outnumbered!”

“I can’t wait!” Anna squealed.

And she couldn’t. They all couldn’t.

Because this Christmas was absolutely everything they could've wished and hoped for. And naturally, all their future Christmases, complete with a gaggle of three or four or five-hundred Bjorgman children, would be just as perfect.

With its open gates, full hearts, and an even fuller castle.

[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 1: Binary Stars

Neither Keith nor Lance want anything to do with what’s about to happen, but neither of them have a choice.

First   Next

“I want my knife back.”

“Perhaps you can talk to the prince about it.”

Keith shifts awkwardly. He’s uncomfortable. These Altean clothes are so stiff. He can hardly bend his spine. That's reportedly the point, which is horrifying in its own right. How is he to fight if he can hardly move?!

He inspects the heavy, gold-stitched clothes. The Altean who dressed him had made massive fuss over his refusal to wear the gloves. The argument had ended when Keith had let them put the stupid things on, then immediately extended his claws, effectively ruining them. The Altean had been very upset. Keith doesn’t care. They took his knife, so he needs his claws. If something as silly as gloves ruins the ceremony, it's on them. Not him.

He has much bigger problems you worry about.

“You know,” Shiro began, leaning up against the far wall opposite. “You didn’t have to be mean. They were only trying to help. Gloves are part of the ceremony.”

“They insulted my gender. They deserved it.”

“They didn’t understand.”

“I’m a man. It’s not hard to understand.”

“You do have an... unusual arrangement. By their standards.”

“And look where that’s got me. Being traded like a choice cut of meat.” Keith sighs, leans against a pillar. Time was, his ‘arrangement’ would have given him the undeniable right to choose his mate. Now, it makes him a commodity.

Times have changed.

“It won’t be so bad,” Shiro murmurs. The large Galra pushes himself off the opposite wall, lays a hand on his shoulder. “The Prince is... eccentric. But he’s held in fond regard by his people.”

“Yes, because the money he spends in brothels keeps this planet in gold.” Keith’s ears wilt. “I suppose it hardly matters.”

Keith’s tail curls on the floor. He’s not ready for this. He’s still about a decaphoeb from maturity. He’s just a kit. He has no desire to mate, or even find one. He still sleeps in a den with his mother! Or he would, if she were here.

“Shiro, I-” Keith breaks off. He knows there’s nothing Shiro can do for him. The poor captain can’t stop this, can’t protect him, can’t change anything. He tries to keep his fear to himself.

It doesn’t work, of course. Shiro knows him too well. The large Galra pulls him into an embrace, warm and kind. Keith nuzzles into it, purring as he wraps his tail around one of Shiro’s ankles.

“It’ll be okay, Keith. I promise. I’ve asked around. The prince is a good man. I think he will be good to you. Or, you know, we’ll kill him and blow up the planet.” Keith laughs weakly. He knows his adoptive littermate means it. Shiro really will kill this silly, perverted prince if Keith comes to any harm.

“Keith.” Keith turns, finds the emperor standing there, arm-in-arm with his mate, Honerva. “Wife,” as the Alteans call it. “We will be entering in a few minutes. Please prepare yourself. Do you remember what you must say?”

“Y-yes.” Keith lets out a nervous chirp, a vestige of his childhood not yet quashed by his first season. His ears twitch with embarrassment and he clenches his jaw as he threatens to chirp again, announcing his discomfort, seeking help from his pack.

Emperor Zarkon frowns, though not necessarily disapproving. Probably more sad. He only has one child, and he’s already given him up for this supposed alliance. Keith is resolved, despite his fear, to bear the rest as his emperor wishes. As his people need.

Shiro’s hand finds his shoulder. The large Galra leans down. “It will be alright. I’m right here. If they try anything, we’ll rip them apart and I’ll take you right back to our den.” Keith nods. Shiro’s offer is likely what he wishes would happen. Shiro doesn’t want this for him. No one would. Not Galra, at the very least.

All of the full-grown Galra in his presence (all two and a half of them) would much rather protect him from this than offer him up. But here they are.

Keith glances to Princess Allura, who’s chatting happily with her husband. Romelle wasn't well enough for traveling at the moment. They're happy. He doubts he’ll get that lucky and find friendship with his own prince.

“We’d best line up,” Zarkon murmurs. “We’ll be called any minute.”

Keith takes a deep breath and unwraps his tail from around his brother’s ankle. He has to let go.

He prepares himself for a fight unlike any other.

Lance heaves a sigh, fiddling with the sleeves of his garb, with the long, gossamer fabric attached to his stiff clothes at the shoulders and wrists. The gold chains crossing from his waist on the right to his left hip chime as he moves. He resists the urge to roll his painted lips, settling instead for twisting the bracelets on his wrist.

He resolutely ignores the courtiers hovering on either side of the long carpet dividing the throne room. They whisper, spreading rumor, gossip, utter lies, and general nonsense among themselves. Nothing new there.

“Prince Lancel, please do not sigh when you meet Lord Yorak. In fact, please do not sigh at all for the rest of today.” Lance glances to his father, standing next to him on the royal dais. “I understand your position, truly, and I am grateful to you for agreeing to this arrangement, but please behave.”

“It’s not like I had much choice, Father.”

“You and your sister both had a choice.”

“It wasn’t a choice!” Lance hisses, turning back to face the throne room, all of his bitterness falling away as quickly as it rose. The courtiers murmur and gossip in the background. “Either marry a stranger or risk our peoples falling back into war. What kind of a choice is that?”

“It is a choice, dear son, that not all would find as easy as you did.” Lance agrees with that. The Altean high court is full of fools and fops who will do anything for their planet... unless it inconveniences them. “We’ll have to be careful of him. We can only hope that he is of good intent-”

“We must ensure that he is safe, as well,” Lance interrupts. “He will be in danger while he is within our planet’s boundaries. At least until we can find a way to endear him to the people.” A heavy hand finds Lance’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. He lifts his gaze to find his father looking down at him, eyes gleaming with rare pride.

“Well done, son.” Alfor finally smiles. “Your mother would be proud, and your fathers are.” Lance bows his head, the gold chains dangling from the cuffs in his ears tinkling as he moves. His body feels heavy. Alfor’s praise is hard to come by, and Lance is far from perfect. Granted that’s partially intentional, but still.

A side door opens and Coran hurries up the dais. “My love, they are ready. They will be in shortly. Lance, your hair.” Coran gently removes Lance’s circlet, carefully rearranges Lance’s wavy white hair. “Are you ready for this?”

Lance shakes his head, fear taking his voice momentarily. Coran carefully replaces the circlet, fussing with his hair a bit more, straightening his clothes, rearranging the gold chains, inspecting his face, the lining around his eyes, the paint on his lips. Lance lets his step-father reach out to his quintessence. He allows Coran to feel all of his fear and sadness and anxieties. His resolve.

He feels Coran pour a little of his own quintessence into him, making his hair a bit more lustrous, skin glistening with life, the scales on his cheeks (and everywhere else) glowing a soft blue. It’s one of Coran’s silent ways of showing his care, ensuring his son is the most beautiful thing there. Lance loves the man for it.

“Everything will be alright, son. Don’t you worry. And if it’s not, we’ll crack a few heads and call it a day-”

“Coran, please,” Alfor practically begs, even as fondness edges its way in. Lance smiles. He barely remembers his mother, Melinor. He only knows her through what his family has told him. For as long as he can remember, Coran has been his second parent. His fathers have a great dynamic, always loving. But Alfor often ends up being the disciplinarian since Coran doesn’t have a hard bone in his body.

“Right. Yes. We will do the diplomatic version of cracking heads.” Coran reaches back to pinch his husband’s rear. Lance laughs, giving his step-father a brief hug. He knows the man can still sense his maelstrom of feelings. “Even though it’s much less fun... He’ll be presented any minute now, so-” Coran kindly leads him to his throne, to Alfor’s right, gently guiding his unsteady footsteps. All the silly gold on his clothes, wrists, and ears jangle and chime as he moves. “All you have to do is be your usual, stunning self. Everything else will come with time.”

Lance looks up at his step-father. He knows what Coran means, but he still has his doubts. The dark-eyed man smiles, then hurries to take his place to Alfor’s left.

He stares at the double doors, waiting to meet the man he's expected to spend his life with. The throng of fools whispers with rising excitement, and Lance's heart swells with fondness.

He loves these silly little people. He'd do anything for them. Even this.

[dimigex]

Imposter - Kaka/Yama

So this is another request from @vibgyoroygbiv for the amazing art that you can find on their blog here. Seriously, I fell in love with this art from the moment I saw it and could not have asked for a cuter scene to capture with words. Thanks for letting me! You can also find this piece on A03 and FF. 

After scrubbing through his damp hair, Kakashi blinked at the reflection in the mirror. Dark circles beneath his eyes suggested that he needed sleep more than a shower, but there were more important things to take care of first. Kakashi had been out of the village for two weeks at a kage summit, and for some idiotic reason, he'd left Tenzo behind to look after the village. He made a mental note to never make that mistake again; the days apart had been miserable.

The pair had been dating, officially, for over a year now, a reality that continued to amaze Kakashi. He'd expected that Tenzo would get sick of him or realize that life was easier without him. Instead, impossibly, Tenzo seemed more determined than ever to stick by Kakashi's side. He couldn't put his gratefulness into words, so he didn't try. Besides, Tenzo knew, he had to. Why else would he put up with the chaos that was Kakashi?

Frowning, Kakashi ran his fingers through his hair to perfect the spikes. He hated the way it laid against his forehead when wet; it made him look more like his father than he cared to admit. He spent a few seconds adjusting the way it fell before giving up. The bedroom was dark enough that Tenzo wouldn't notice anyway. If Kakashi hadn't been covered in dirt and half asleep from rushing back to surprise Tenzo two days ahead of schedule, he wouldn't have bothered with a shower either. The cool water woke him up enough to be semi-functional, at least.

Pulling on a clean pair of boxers, Kakashi flipped off the light. He'd been as quiet as he could be, but wasn't certain that he hadn't woken Tenzo up accidentally. The man was the head of Anbu after all. When Kakashi had first arrived back at the apartment, he had felt the flicker of Tenzo's chakra in the bedroom. The steady strum of sleep hadn't altered over the past fifteen minutes, but he moved silently just in case.

After letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, Kakashi slipped into the bedroom. It was brighter there, pale moonlight streaming through the open curtains. The scene was nearly identical to the one that Kakashi had expected. Tenzo lay on his right side, on the far side of the bed. If Kakashi had been there, an arm would have rested across his hip or shoulder. Tenzo always seemed to want to be touching Kakashi when they slept, maybe to convince himself that he was really there.

Kakashi crept closer, curious to see what Tenzo did with his hands when Kakashi's body wasn't available. He paused a couple of feet away, frowning at the bed. Tenzo had his arms curled comfortably around . . . something. The shadows were deeper with the blankets and sheets, so it took Kakashi a couple of moments to recognize the shape of his replacement. The lumpy form looked almost like a teddy bear, but the proportions were wrong. Then, Kakashi saw the flash of silver against Tenzo's cheek.

"What the hell," Kakashi huffed without thinking. He followed the pale hair of the plushie down to a partially covered face that could only be meant to mimic his own.

Tenzo's entire body tensed at the sound. His eyes flashed open, found Kakashi, then he relaxed with a sleepy half smile. "I didn't expect you home for a few more days."

"Obviously," Kakashi grumbled, gesturing at the atrocity locked in Tenzo's arms.

Pushing into a sitting position, Tenzo flipped on the bedside lamp. Kakashi blinked against the invasion of light, staring hard at the plush that had fallen near Tenzo's hip. The man followed Kakashi's gaze, a blush appearing high on his cheek.

Kakashi stalked toward the foot of the bed, staring at his image in miniature. Whomever made it clearly had no idea what he looked like. The far too spiky hair was the wrong shade of grey, closer to white than Kakashi's silver. And his headband hadn't slanted at that ridiculous angle, it had been adjusted slightly to cover the sharingan. That much of his face wasn't hidden by the mask either, and the eyes were entirely wrong.

"It doesn't even look like me," Kakashi growled.

"Oh really?" Tenzo's laugh made Kakashi's cheeks flush with embarrassment. "Who said anything about it looking like you?"

Realizing he'd been caught by his own words, Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. I guess there's a passing resemblance."

Tenzo's smile widened into a playful grin as he plopped the plush into a sitting position beside him. "He's actually pretty cute." He brushed through the hair with familiar ease, rearranging the way the strands poked up, then tugged at the mask. "They stitched it in place, so your secret is still safe with me."

The warmth in Kakashi's face grew. This wasn't how he anticipated his night going. He thought that he would come home and wake Tenzo with a sleepy kiss. They'd been apart long enough that his body had intentions past that, but he hadn't allowed his fantasy to go any further. Now, the entire scenario fled his mind. He couldn't think of a single word to say as he looked dumbly at the pair on the bed.

After a moment, Tenzo lifted the plush and held it near his face, stitched eyes challenging Kakashi with their very existence. "That doesn't look anything like me," Tenzo growled in a mockery of Kakashi's voice, making the plushie's head bob angrily. "I'm much more serious in real life."

Kakashi's right eye twitched when Tenzo answered in his normal voice. "I know, but they probably thought your normal expression would be too scary for a toy."

The whimpery, whiny noise that Tenzo made definitely didn't sound anything like Kakashi's manipulative prodding to get his way. His mind rejected the possibility that anything older than a ten year old girl could make those sounds naturally.

"Aw, don't pout. I still love you," Tenzo murmured in a sing-songy voice that Kakashi had heard only a few times before. It took him a startled moment to realize that the man wasn't talking to him. Rather, he spoke to the plush that he hugged tight to his chest.

Kakashi didn't have to fake the growl that rose in his throat at the sight. He knew the jealousy surging through his veins was irrational, but he couldn't stop it. Tenzo's arms were supposed to be around him, not some stuffed imitation. He leaped toward the bed, landing beside Tenzo on his knees. The man cringed away in an attempt to pull the plush out of Kakashi's grasp. Having none of it, Kakashi made a swipe at the offending object, clamoring half on top of Tenzo to reach it.

"Hey! That's mine," Tenzo complained as Kakashi plucked the doll from his hand. His lower lip stuck out in an overdone pout.

Ignoring the look, Kakashi tossed the plush over his shoulder. His gaze met Tenzo's as he leaned in closer. "And you're mine."

Their lips met in a rush of longing that Kakashi hadn't even been conscious of until it melted away. Tenzo's hands stopped trying to push Kakashi off and came to rest on his chest instead. When they pulled apart to breath, Tenzo chuckled. "You can't seriously be jealous of something that looks like you, can you?"

"Yes," Kakashi answered matter-of-factly, nipping at Tenzo's throat. "Besides, you've got the real thing right here in front of you. Why waste time with a cheap imitation?"

Tenzo licked his lips, brown eyes smoldering under the intensity of Kakashi's gaze. "I guess that's true." He trailed a finger along Kakashi's shoulder, leaving chillbumps in its wake. "You're home early."

"I missed you," Kakashi answered, kissing one corner of Tenzo's mouth. He savored the curve of the man's smile, then brushed his lips against the other side "I wanted to surprise you, not find you happily in bed with someone else."

Tenzo's laughter filled the room as his fingers traced down Kakashi's spine. "You know, you're kind of cute when you're jealous. I think I'll keep little Kakashi around for a while."

"Little-" Kakashi spluttered, trying to pull away to find the plushie. He'd just tear the thing to bits, or crisp it with fire jutsu so Tenzo couldn't-

Kakashi lost his train of thought and forward momentum when Tenzo wrapped tight arms around him. Warm lips brushed along his throat, then kissed over his collar bone. He groaned, forgetting everything but the torture of two weeks without Tenzo's touch.

"Why don't we talk about it later," Tenzo suggested, voice lowering with desire in a way that set Kakashi's blood to racing. "I have an idea on how to make it up to you."

Grinning, Kakashi nuzzled against Tenzo's neck to nip lightly at his ear. "You have a lot to make up for."

[why-do-i-like-you-ya-dumb-bean]

Prompt time!!!

Here is a Rejanis prompt that my friend @elphabuddy sent me! I loved writing it. Hopefully it’s turned out well! 

Regina does something that strains her back and turns into an absolute bitch because she’s too proud to admit that she’s in agony (or that her back even gives her issues anymore). Janis connects the dots and takes care of her.

From upstairs Janis heard a loud thud from the George’s basement and then a tone of voice she hadn’t heard in over two years but had been hearing since she had gotten to Regina’s. This though was the harshest it had gotten.

“Jesus fucking christ Gretchen can’t you do anything right?!” Regina yelled.

By the time she made it downstairs, everyone had frozen and there was ear crushing silence. Janis being on the stairs was able to take in the whole sense. The gang had been rearranging Regina’s basement since getting back from their first year at college. All of them surprisingly had chosen to work at the same local grocery store. They figured once they finished post secondary things that they might drift apart and wanted to have this time before full adulthood would likely pull them apart.

“Regina I-I’m sorry I really thought I had a grip on it.” Gretchen frightfully stammered out. 

“Don’t say sorry to me! Say sorry to Janis! It was her TV that you dropped!” Regina said, throwing an arm towards the punk. Janis watched with slight surprise as a twinge of pain crossed the blonde face. Well that’s interesting. Janis thought. 

“Hey guys why don’t you all head home for the day? Regina and I can take over. We’ve pretty much reached my stage of the design anyway.” Janis said casually. There was a moment of pause before five bodies started moving. Gretchen, still looking frightened, tried to stammer out an apology. Janis wrapped her in a bear hug and whispered in the brunette’s ear. “I know that wasn’t your fault. If you could before you go, find her rice heating pad and put it in the microwave for two minutes that would be awesome. Then just toss it down the stairs. No reason to come back into fire before I calm her down. Okay?” Janis waited to feel Gretchen nod before releasing her to go upstairs.

As soon as the basement door shut she turned her attention to Hurricane Regina. “I’m fucking fine thank you very much. Everyone’s just been showing their ineptitude today and it’s pissing me off!” Regina bitched.

“Oh of course.” Janis said finally walking over to Regina, her arm crossed tightly. “It wouldn’t have anything to with the fact that you’re in pain right? That hasn’t turned you into a raging bitch before.”

“I’m fin-” Regina tried to say. But when she swung her up to point in Janis’s face she gasped in pain.

Janis rolled her eyes and stepped into Regina’s space. The punk had noticed during their senior year that Regina couldn’t really handle Janis in her space. It made her all flustered and would cause her to just start rambling. It confused the hell out of her for a bit, but while on their first college winter break Janis’s suspicions were confirmed when the blonde came out as pansexual. From there Janis tested the boundaries to see if it was just girls in general or just her that could cause nervous Regina. Through some “research” she found it was really just her and the slightly emo drive thru girl at Taco Bell that got the blonde all riled up.

“What did you do to your back?” Janis asked pointedly, putting her hands on her hips giving the blonde a once over.

“I didn’t do anything. I-I’m fine.” Regina huffed. That ever familiar pink tone was on her cheeks. 

Janis smirked. “Oh cool then let’s try and lift the TV and take it upstairs since it’s probably broken. We can put it back in my truck.” Regina’s eyes trailed to Janis’s and glared. “What’s wrong? If Gretchen was really the one that caused it to fall, then with me helping you it should be fine.” Janis watched the fire fade from Regina’s eyes and saw a glass come over them.

“Jan… I’m sorry.” Regina said with a hitch in her voice. “I didn’t mean to, I swear. I-I-I…” 

Before Regina could flounder more Janis wrapped the girl in her arms. “It’s okay you stubborn idiot.” 

“But it’s broken. It was expensive.” Regina mumbled into Janis’s shoulder.

“I won it at a school raffle. We can paint the wall white and all pitch in to get a projecter for like a hundred bucks. It’s gonna be fine Reggie.” Janis said softly while rubbing her friend’s back. “Now will you please tell me what’s wrong with your back. Remember I’m going to school to be a physical therapist now.”

“I still can’t believe you’re giving up art.”

“I’m not?” Janis said, pulling away from Regina a bit but still keeping a hand on her shoulder. There was a silence. “Did I not tell you my plan?”

“No? Did you tell everyone else?” Regina asked, looking hurt.

“I thought I told you at Hecki- Oh shit you were sick that day. Reggie I’m going to school to be a PT and will be incorporating art into it. There’s been a surge in the desire to incorporate art into PT because it can really motivate people that are struggling. I can have my cake and eat too, don’t worry.”

“Jan that’s so cool I’m so proud of you.” Regina said, seemingly in aw. Janis watched Regina carefully. The blonde’s bottom lip was being captured by her teeth and was definitely giving her a very slow once over. “Can you really help me?” Her tone was quiet but somehow dangerous. 

It made heat flow through Janis. “I can try. This past semester was all about muscles.”

“Well that’s good because I fucked up some muscle in my upper back this morning trying to move the couch by myself.” Regina said rubbing the back of her neck while wincing.

Janis gaped. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I’m a strong independent woman who wants to impress girls by saying I move huge objects by myself.” The former queen bee said, quirking an eyebrow at Janis.

Before Janis could answer the basement door opened and down flew the heating pad. “Oh goody.” Janis said excitedly. She grabbed and brought it over to a shocked looking Regina. “You hate asking for help but if it’s offered you typically say yes… especially if I offer it. So I had Gretchen find this.” 

Regina rolled her eyes but there was a very present blush on her cheeks. “You lowkey know me the best so whatever. Why that?”

“Lay face down and just relax.” Janis commanded pointing to the couch. There was a pause and a defiant look in Regina’s eyes. “Now.” Janis said, cocking an eyebrow and tilting her head. Janis watched in satisfaction as Regina huffed but heeded Janis’s words and laid down, her face turned out to the punk. “Now where does it hurt princess?” 

“The upper right kind of by my shoulder blade and close to my spine.” Regina whined. 

Janis poked around the area until Regina took in a sharp breath. The punk felt around a bit more and realized there was a huge knot. “Jesus. Did you really just do this today or have you been doing dumb shit for the last week?” Janis asked peering down at Regina who had a guilty look on her face.

“I may have taken a few extra shifts at Barts. And those shifts might have involved stocking.” Regina mumbled. Janis placed the heating pad on Regina’s shoulder and the blonde let out a satisfied groan.

“Regina Blaire.” Janis said, shaking her head. “You need to be more careful. I don’t want to be getting phone consultations when we’re older because you decided to be reckless.” Janis flopped onto the ground facing Regina. 

“Who said I’d be calling you for help?” The blonde sassed.

“Well you called me this past semester for your boyfriend’s knee so I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting more calls.” Janis said, the slightest bite in her phrasing of ‘boyfriend.’ She looked away from Regina. She hated that she felt a little jealous of that boy. It fell silent for several minutes.

“Henry isn’t my boyfriend you idiot.” Regina smirked, breaking the silence.

“Oh sorry fuckbuddy.” Janis said, rolling her eyes.

“Ugh grow up Jan. He’s not that either, he gay dumbass.” Regina laughed.

“He’s- oh… well that’s cool information.”

“You really thought he was my boyfriend?”

“Well yeah you were calling each other babe so I just figured…”

“Well you figured wrong. And even if he was straight he’s not my type. I’m more into brooding artsy idiots who think they know everything.” Regina said cockily, giving Janis an obvious once over. 

Janis let out a nervous laugh and stood up. “Okay I think that’s enough heat for now. Let’s see if things have loosened up.” Janis pressed around the area and things had gotten less tense, but it wasn’t necessarily going to be fun for Regina. “This isn’t going to be like a spa. You’re going to be in some pain while I release the muscle.”

“Honestly you could saw off my arm and I’d be fine with it so long as the pain will go away. I haven’t been able to sleep for a couple of days.” Regina said bluntly.

“Why haven’t you gone to the chiro yet? They’d be able to fix this in like one section.” Janis asked.

“Well as you know my dad is trash and left us and mom doesn’t get her insurance until two months into working for some dumb reason. We still have two weeks to go.” Regina said casually.

“Oh right.” Janis said pushing into the knot. Regina let out a hiss quickly followed by a groan. “Too much?” Janis asked nervously. She knew what she was doing but still this was Regina. She didn’t want to cause more harm.

“N-no it’s fine. Do whatever you need to do. If it gets too bad I’ll tap out.” Regina said, hissing out the last bit of the sentence as Janis pressed in a little harder than the last time.

“Okay. Well I’m going to warm up the whole area a little bit before I really dig into the knot. So just breathe evenly and relax.” The artist said gently.

“I thought this wasn’t like a spa.” Regina teased.

“Yeah well I changed my mind. Plus my professors would kill me if I just tried to yeet this knot out of you without a little bit of a warm up.” Janis laughed as she ran a hand up to the back of Regina’s neck and slowly kneaded the muscles while resting the other hand on her lower back and pushed ever so slightly to stretch. The other areas were nearly as tense as the blonde’s shoulder blades. She applied more pressure to Regina’s neck and circled the tense muscles until they relaxed. Regina let out a gentle hum and Janis smiled. The punk moved both hands to either shoulder and began loosening the muscles there as well. Everything was so tense. “Jesus Reggie you need to get a professional massage. You’re as stiff as a board.”

“Why waste my money when I have you?” Regina said in a dreamy tone.

Janis felt blush creep into her face. Before she could stop her brain she spoke. “Who said this was free?” She managed in a smooth tone while pulling a soft sigh from the blonde.

“How much should I venmo you Jan?” Regina asked sarcastically.

Janis let out another nervous laugh. Jesus christ what was wrong with her? “A dollar is fine. It’s a flash sale today.” She said far less smoothly. She looked down at Regina and caught a smirk on her lips. 

“That’s reasonable.“ She sighed.

Janis rolled her eyes at herself. Smooth, very smooth Sarkisian. She let out a huff and tried to center herself. She spent a few more minutes loosening the muscles around the knot until she felt confident that it would detangle with the least amount of pain possible.

“Okay Reggie the not fun part is about to begin.” Janis started circling the knot gently. “You ready?” Janis looked down and caught Regina nodding her head. “Okay to start I’m going to hold my thumb in the center of the knot and push for a bit and all I need you to do is take deep breaths for me.”

“Okay.” Regina hissed out as Janis’s thumb began to sink further into the stubborn muscle. 

“Reggie, take five deep breaths for me.” Janis said. She watched the blonde back’s heave and hitch with each breath as she applied slightly more pressure with each hissing exhale. On the fifth breath Janis added her other thumb and slightly jostled them. She felt the muscle starting to release and pressed down harder knowing it needed just a little bit more. Regina let out a pained whine and whimper. “I’m almost done Reggie I promise. Just take as big a breath as you can and exhale slowly. I’ve got you.”

Regina whined again but complied. As the breath came up Janis pressed down harder than ever. Her heart skipped a bit hearing Regina’s muffled cry as she exhaled. Halfway through Janis felt the stubborn knot release and heard some strangled satisfied noise come from the blonde who had buried her face in the cushion. Janis very slowly started to circle out and away from the where the knot and been and gave Regina’s back a once over to make sure nothing else was messed up. A non-muffled sigh caught Janis’s ear and she looked down to see a blissed out Regina.

“Wow that was amazing. Thank you Jan.” Regina sighed while sitting up on the couch.

“It’s no problem I got some practice this past semester.” Janis said plopping down next to the blonde.

“Ohhh those girls must have been lucky.” Regina said with a smirk, turning so she was facing Janis better.

“What-oh geez-no no that’s not-it was for the muscle class. People paid like ten bucks to come be live practice dummies.” Janis said frantically. 

“Speaking of money…” Regina said while taking her phone out of her pocket. “I need to send you that dollar.” The blonde giggled.

Janis immediately tried to grab the phone. The blonde moved her arm away. “Regina Blaire you’re not sending me money.”

“But you provided a service. I need to repay you somehow.” Regina said with a pout, still holding the phone out of reach and placing a hand on Janis’s sternum trying to keep her just far enough away.

“No you don’t. Put the phone away!” Janis demanded, still reaching. But she stopped when she felt a grip on her shirt. She looked down and found Regina’s hand. When she looked at Regina there was a very mischievous look in her eyes. Janis was trying to speak but Regina was leaning very close to her and her brain and mouth had decided to take a vacation. 

The blonde was only a few inches away from her and still had a grip on her shirt when she spoke in a warm low tone. “Really? There’s nothing I could do to say thank you?”

Janis couldn’t believe what was happening. Where’d useless pansexual Regina go? Janis was supposed to be the slick one. She had a whole plan! The punk’s brain wasn’t firing so the plastic spoke again. “I have an idea that I think you’d like but it does also benefit me so I don’t know…” Regina pulled her bottom lip between her teeth ever so slightly, leaning even closer. “What do you say Jan? Will you accept my form of payment?” 

Janis was starting to wonder if maybe she tripped down the stairs. But against her doubts she just nodded her head. Regina giggled excitedly and pulled Janis into a kiss. The punk immediately melted and placed a hand on the blonde’s hip. It wasn’t too long before Regina pulled back. The pair locked eyes and Janis couldn’t help but pull the blonde back to her for just a second longer. 

“Am I going to have to fix your back every time I want one of those?” Janis asked dopily, finally able to find words.

Regina giggled and rubbed her chin thinking. “Hm I think if you say yes to a date tomorrow night at Ula’s, all requests for kisses can be free of charge.”

“I think that’s a pretty good deal.” Janis snickered before pulling Regina in for another kiss. She knew changing majors had been a good idea.

[mikauzoran]

Marichat: Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses: Kiss Nine

Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses: ...in public.

They were lounging on the floor of her bedroom one night, putting together a puzzle, when Chat Noir suddenly remarked, “Adrien said I needed to talk to you.”

Marinette gave a start, fumbling the puzzle piece that had been in her hand as she looked up in horror at her boyfriend.

All she could think was that Adrien had finally felt enough remorse to come clean, and now Marinette was about to lose one of the most important people in her life due to her indecisiveness and infidelity.

“Wh-What about?” she tried to ask casually, as if she were innocent.

He sighed heavily, slotting the piece he’d been holding into its spot in the puzzle. “Needs.”

Marinette blinked, attempting to keep up, but she was feeling a little thrown. “Needs,” she echoed uncomprehendingly, unnerved by the similarity to a conversation she had had with Adrien in a janitor’s closet the week before.

He nodded, looking up at her bashfully. “Yeah. I’m really, really happy with you, Marinette, so don’t think I’m not. I love spending time with you like this. It’s not that I’m bored or unsatisfied or anything. Our relationship is perfectly fine the way it is, so it’s not like I’m unhappy with anything, okay?”

Marinette took a deep breath. “I sense a ‘but’ coming.” She braced for impact.

He shook his head, reaching out and taking her hand.

He’d taken his gloves off to be able to better handle the puzzle pieces, so the feeling of his bare skin on hers was warm and comforting.

“Not a ‘but’,” he assured. “An ‘and’. I’m happy with everything we do, everything we are to one another…and I want more.”

Marinette’s face lit up like a firecracker on the fourteenth of July. She gulped. “More.”

She was ready for more. She’d been itching to take her physical relationship with Chat Noir to the next level for over a month now. If he was finally ready for that too, she was one hundred percent on board.

He nodded, smiling shyly. “Yeah. Like…you know how when we had our first kiss and you were okay with just kissing without it having to be romantic because it was enough for you just to be together?”

Marinette blinked, slightly caught off guard once more. “Yeah?”

“But it was really important for me to have a romantic atmosphere to make things special?” he went on.

She nodded slowly, waiting for the tangents to come together. Was he trying to tell her that he needed their first time to be some romantic production and that he couldn’t just make love with her in her room?

“Well…maybe for you it’s enough to just be together in the evenings hanging out at your house, but, while I enjoy spending time with you like this a lot, I’m feeling really frustrated because I want to take you out on a date. A real date, Marinette,” he stressed, “with handholding and sharing an ice cream at André’s and going for a carriage ride and”

It was then that Marinette realized that this was not about sex. Chat Noir was not ready to take their relationship further physically, and that was fine, and she would not show her disappointment because that might feel like she was pressuring him, and she was not going to pressure him because she had seriously screwed him up as Ladybug, so it was her fault that he needed to take things slowly, and she wasn’t going to hold that against him. She could be patient. She loved this guy, and it was bad enough that she was going behind his back with his friend. She could be patient and at least get this one thing right when it came to him.

“…Ferris Wheel so we can watch the fireworks, and…Marinette, are you listening to me?” He was staring at her with a mildly hurt expression, pouting lip, and drooping ears.

“Yes!” she squeaked, tuning back in. “You were saying you wanted to go on a date. Out in public.”

His lips curled up slightly at the corners, relieved that she had been listening after all. He nodded. “Right.”

She frowned. “But, Minou…we can’t do that. It’s too dangerous for us to be seen together. You’re a celebrity. People will take pictures, and then Papillon will see and start targeting me and my family and friends. We can’t officially date while Papillon is still at large.”

“I know,” he assured, gingerly taking both of her hands in his. “That’s why I think it’s time you learned my identity. Then we can go out, and it won’t matter so much if we’re seen together.”

She pulled back with a jerk. “What?! No!” she yelped, waving her arms wildly. “No, no, no! You can’t tell me, Chat Noir. We’ve been over this. No one can know your identity. It’s not safe. What if I get caught up in a mindreading akuma attack? What if there’s some truth serum akuma?” she demanded.

“Marinette,” he groaned. “Come on. I’ve been mind-controlled by at least two dozen akuma, and I’ve never revealed my secret identity before. It’s fine, so please, please, please don’t be stubborn on this,” he begged, giving her desperate puppy dog eyes. “I need to tell you who I am.”

“No!” she insisted, a little more frustration than she had intended leaking into her voice. “Chat Noir, no. I’m not willing to risk your safety. Or mine or my parents’ or my friends’, for that matter. No. I’m sorry, but no.”

All he could do was stare at her, too stunned to reply.

“I’m sorry, Minou,” she repeated more gently with penitent eyes. “I really, really am.”

He shook his head. “So, what are we going to do? We’re just not going to be able to go out until Papillon is defeated?”

Her gaze dropped back down to the puzzle. She didn’t answer.

“Marinette, I’ve been fighting Papillon for three years now, and I don’t feel like I’m any closer to defeating him than when I started. I don’t know how much longer this is going to go on. It could be another decade, for all I know,” he groaned in exasperation.

“I know,” she muttered sullenly, picking up a puzzle piece and searching unseeingly for its place in the spring garden scene. “I don’t like this any more than you do, Minou, but this is just the way it has to be. We have to think of the bigger picture. It’s not just about us.”

With a heavy sigh, his gaze slid down to her hands, watching them, disheartened.

A minute passed, then two, and then three.

He inhaled slowly. “…I could give up my Miraculous.”

“Don’t you dare,” Marinette snapped, an odd touch of hurt and betrayal to her voice.

“I can’t imagine life without Plagg…” he continued morosely, “…not being able to run away when my everyday life got to be too much…but…”

“Chat Noir,” she scolded. “Stop it. Ladybug needs you. She’d never let you quit.”

“If I explained how my secret identity was getting in the way of being with you,” he suggested, “maybe she’d—”

“—Stop,” Marinette groaned. “I don’t want to fight with you, so just stop. Please.”

He gaped at her for a good minute, lost in hurt and confusion.

She focused her gaze downward at the puzzle, not wanting to see the look on his face.

Eventually, he sighed, giving up and going back to the disjointed fragments of flowers, trees, grass, and sky spread out before him. The various shades all blurred together, devoid of any kind of sense he could grasp.

All kinds of excuses and arguments floated through his head, half-formed retorts and rebuttals.

Marinette, I can’t do this anymore.

You’d like civilian me. You already like civilian me.

Plagg, detransformation.

I’m breaking up with you.

Screw this. I don’t care about the safety of Paris. All I need is you.

Why don’t you understand how important this is to me?

With a sigh, Marinette got up and carefully stepped over the scattered pieces so that she was on his side of the puzzle. She motioned for him to stand up, and when he did, she pulled him into a tight hug.

“Oh, Minou. I do understand. I get that this is important to you,” she whispered fiercely into his neck. “And I’m so, so sorry that I can’t make this perfect for you. I wish I could, and it kills me to see you looking so dejected. I’m sorry, mon cher et tendre.”

He melted into her embrace, gently nuzzling her ear.

“I’d rearrange the universe for you,” Marinette promised, trailing her fingers up and down his spine until he began to purr.

Marinette’s mind started whirring as she held him, flipping through and rejecting idea after idea of how she could make this work. Short of hunting down Papillon and bringing him to justice, she didn’t see how—

“—I just thought of something,” she gasped, cutting herself off.

Chat Noir raised his head to blink down at her. “What?”

She pulled away, nearly tripping in her attempt to avoid stepping on puzzle pieces as she dashed over to her closet. She came out half a minute later wearing a plain, black domino mask.

He blinked at her. “You’re…wearing a mask.”

She nodded enthusiastically. “We could go out if I wear a disguise! Then, no one would know who I was, and we’d be safe from Papillon.”

Chat grimaced. “Princess, I hate to break it to you, but that little mask around your eyes isn’t going to fool people.”

Though…come to think of it, Adrien Agreste was one hundred times more recognizable than Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and he did just fine with a little mask, messy hair, and cat eyes.

Marinette rolled her eyes at him, waving him off. “No, but if I change my hairstyle and put on some makeup to change the contours of my face a little…wear clothes I wouldn’t normally wear…it could work.” She ended on a pouty note.

He hummed thoughtfully, taking a good look at her in the mask, imagining her hair and clothes different. “Maybe…. Do you want to try?”

She nodded rapidly. “How about this Saturday? That’ll give me a few days to practice and try things out.”

“Really?” he replied breathlessly, unable to believe that this was actually happening. “For real?”

She smiled, coming back over to give his hand a squeeze. “Yeah. Let’s try.”

 Saturday night when Chat Noir arrived to pick up his girlfriend, he was completely blown away.

She was definitely still Marinette, but with a full face of glamour makeup, she was a much more mature, elegant Marinette. As she’d said, she’d played with the contours of her face, thinning it out a bit, making it less round and highlighting her cheekbones, making them sharper. She’d somehow gotten her lips to look bigger, fuller, and her eyelashes were long and luscious.

She was wearing a poison green babydoll top made of lace with black leggings and a cute pair of black leather ankle boots with two buckles on the side.

Her hair was up in a messy bun, and a small golden bell—the one she’d been wearing the night of their first kiss—rested at the base of her throat.

“Well?” she chuckled nervously when he’d been staring at her for well over a full minute. “Say something.”

“You look amazing,” he quickly spit out. “Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Like…wow,” he breathed, shaking his head. “How did you…?” He leaned in closer to inspect the line of her jaw and the way she’d blended the makeup down her neck. “I mean, you’re still you close up, but… You look really different. How’d you make your cheekbones look like that?” he demanded, completely in awe.

She burst out laughing, delighted with his reaction. “It’s just makeup.” She shrugged. “Just using different shades and blending. I mean, it’s an involved process. It’s not easy, but…it’s just makeup.”

He shook his head, smiling goofily, still astounded. “Where did you learn how to do that?”

She started to bite her lip but then remembered the makeup and stopped herself. “About two years ago, Adrien showed me a video of Yuya Mika. She’s a young Chinese woman who uses makeup to make herself look like movie stars and singers and even famous paintings. I was kind of obsessed for, like, six months, so I started trying to do what she does. Obviously, I’m nowhere near her level, but…I did learn some basic tricks. I’ve gotten rusty, but…I’ve been practicing all week, so…what do you think?”

She smiled sheepishly, grabbing her domino mask and carefully slipping it on. “Think anyone will recognize me?”

He shook his head, unable to wipe the dreamy look off his face. “No, but after tonight, all of Paris is going to want to know your name and not just because you’re my girlfriend.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, slapping his arm playfully. “Flatterer. Enough of that. Let’s go on our date, shall we?”

They made their way up to her balcony and took off across the rooftops, dropping down a few blocks over by the Place Saint-Michel so that they could walk along the Seine.

Marinette held out her hand, and Chat happily took it, deliriously happy to finally be getting what he’d been craving.

Of course they drew attention as they made their way to the Pont des Arts, but most people respected their privacy. People pointed and whispered or pointed and shouted, and Marinette inched in closer to Chat, obviously uneasy at the attention.

Chat let go of her hand so that he could slide a protective arm around her waist, resting a possessive hand on her hip. “Don’t worry, Princess. I’ve got you. If they get too close, it’s only a matter of launching us up with my staff to escape.”

She nodded, taking a deep breath and snuggling in closer at his side. “Thanks, Minou. Just feeling a little nervous.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got you,” he repeated, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to her temple.

Within minutes, the internet was blowing up with news of Chat Noir’s girlfriend.

André and his ice cream cart were stationed at the Pont des Arts, so they were able to check another item off of Adrien’s “real date” bucket list.

When André asked who the lovely lady who had caught the eye of half of Paris’s dynamic duo might be, the couple froze for a moment before Chat smoothly supplied, “Princess. She’s my princess”.

The crowd at the bridge was a little too large for comfort, so Chat propelled them up to a nearby rooftop where they could eat their ice cream in peace.

Afterwards, they continued south across the rooftops to the Jardin du Luxembourg for a starlit stroll complete with more handholding and idle talk of dreams of the future.

Eventually, they ended up at La Méditerranée, a quirky restaurant just off the Place de l’Odéon, across the street from the theatre.

Chat taught Marinette how to eat oysters (which she discovered she hated).

“It’s just the consistency,” she explained, wiping the corners of her mouth. “And the fact that they taste like gooey seawater…. Actually, it’s everything. I hate everything about oysters. Except the shells. The shells are pretty.”

Chat secreted one of the empty shells away to present to her before they parted that evening as a memento of their first date. Upon further reflection, he stashed a second shell for himself.

“I feel bad, though, wasting food,” Marinette sighed guiltily. “I know this place is super expensive.”

With a roll of his eyes, he waved away her concern. “At this very moment, my investment portfolio is generating more than enough to cover tonight’s meal, so don’t even worry about it. Want to try the bouillabaisse? It’s to die for.”

The bouillabaisse, Marinette found, was much more to her taste. So was the crème brûlée they had for dessert, for that matter.

And as they sat there at the comfy corner table, in the soft, orange glow of the lights, Marinette thought that it had been a while since she had last seen her boyfriend that content and at ease. She realized that the tension had been building for a while now. She was grateful they’d found a solution before it had broken them.

She loved him too much to lose him.

Marinette stood, putting her palms down on the table and leaning forward.

Chat Noir’s eyes widened in a mix of surprise and confusion for a second before he realized what she was doing, but as soon as recognition set in, his eyes brightened, and he smiled widely into her kiss.

It was over almost before it began, and she was sitting back down in her chair, looking bashful. “Sorry.”

“Princess, there’s no need to apologize,” he assured with a chuckle. “I am more than happy to have you kissing me whenever you feel like it.”

She smiled tenderly and shook her head. “No, Minou. I meant…I’m sorry I didn’t realize how much we needed to do this before now. I promise I’ll try to be more attentive to your needs from now on.”

“Princess,” he whispered, his voice nearly overcome with emotion, he was so touched by her words. He reached across the table and took her hand. “You’re too wonderful. What did I do to deserve you?”

She squeezed his hand, assuring, “It’s the other way around.”

[ourownsideimagines]

Doomsday (Crowley x Fem!Reader)

Characters: Reader (Female), Crowley, Adam, Aziraphale, War

Requested: Yes

Requested by: @rh-girlonfire​

Point of View: Second Person Reader

Warnings: Angst

Words:  1181

A/N: I got a bit carried away but I hope you like this! Also, it’s supposed to be fem!reader but it could be taken as any because second person POV doesn’t always use gendered pronouns.

---

The apocalypse was coming. You knew that. You knew that your significant other, Crowley, had a hand in bringing it about. You also knew he had a hand in attempting to stop it, along with his angelic partner Aziraphale, whom you’d only met on a handful of occasions.

Here you stood, at an army base miles, and miles away from home, face to face with the four horsemen. When you were a kid, you thought them a story. Some sort of dark fairy tale, a myth. There were nothing like you imagined them to be -- except for death, who’s skeletal structure sent shivers down your spine. You wondered how he was even standing.

There were four kids, too. One of them, who stood between Az and Crowley, was Adam. The Antichrist. He didn’t look like much of an Antichrist though. He just looked… normal.

A bit farther away were a woman and a man, neither of which you’d met before, but whom had greeted yourself and Crowley at the gate when you’d quickly thrown yourself from the demon’s burning Bentley.

You’d situated yourself closer to the kids, the instinct to protect others overwhelming your want to be beside Crowley. You watched as War smiled, approaching Adam. But she stopped short, turning her head to Crowley. Your blood ran cold when he smiled back at her. Crowley turned his head, eyes locking onto Az, and suddenly the angel was knocked backwards. You gasped, almost daring to take a step towards Az when Crowley looked at you, a smile unlike any other on his face.

“You know,” He started. “It has been fun.” He took off his sunglasses, eyes falling on Adam. But he hadn’t... He hadn’t been wearing those when you got out of the car, had he? “But it’s really about time you took your place.”

“Crowley, you snake.” Az all but spat as he attempted to stand. Crowley walked to him, pressing the heel of his boot harshly into the Angel’s chest.

“How kind of you,” He hissed. “I’m quite proud of myself.”

“Crowley,” You stopped, word caught in your throat when he jerked his head in your direction, like a predator who’d finally found his prey. You took a small step backwards, closer to Adam’s friends, who’d gathered behind you after Crowley’s display.

“What?” He laughed. “Did you really think there was any ounce of good in me?” Without looking away, he stomped down on Az’s chest, and the angel began to cough profusely. “I’m a demon.” He spat. Crowley walked back to Adam, whom had been watching with curiosity. “There’s nothing good about me.”

“Don’t do this.” Az choked, unable to move from his spot on the ground.

“This is what I was made for.” Crowley growled at him. “This is what he was made for. It’s the great plan, angel.” He chuckled to himself. “Let’s make it fantastic.” He held his hand out to Adam, who took it without hesitation, and led him to the four horsemen.

You didn’t know what to expect next. The ground began to shake, but you didn’t know if it was the demons crawling up from hell, or the angels descending from the heavens.

You woke up with heaving breaths, a scream caught in your throat when you jerked up into a sitting position. It was dark in yours and Crowley’s shared bedroom, the only source of light being from the analog clock on the bedside table, that told you it was only two am.

Your tears had already begun to fall by the time Crowley had pulled himself up into a sitting position.

“Love, what-” He stopped short when he saw you were crying. Crowley had seen you cry on a handful of occasions, but never like this. The sight of you broke his heart, and he was fast to rearrange the both of you so he could cradle you in his lap, arms wrapped tightly around you, hushing you gently.

You two sat like that for hours it seemed, but when you’d stopped long enough to see the clock it was only two fifteen. Crowley rubbed gently against your back, pressing a kiss to your temple.

“What’s wrong, darling? Talk to me.” His voice was surprisingly soft, a drastic change from the harsh way he’d spoken in your dream. As your breathing evened out, you pressed your cheek against his chest, hugging yourself tightly.

“Just a bad dream…” You whispered.

“About?” He pried. You took in a deep breath, knowing it was better to get it out of the way rather than keep it in.

“About armageddon.”  You told him. He squeezed you protectively. “About you.” He went stiff at that. “You told me you weren’t a good person. That the apocalypse was what you were made for.” You shifted in his arms, moving so that you could see his face. He refused to meet your gaze, instead focusing on something over your shoulder. Carefully you moved, so you were straddling him, but he still refused to look at you. “Crowley, love.” You murmured. He closed his eyes, letting his head fall on your shoulder.

He had told you on a few occasions how he didn’t deserve you. That he was trying to be a good person, for you. And he was.

“Crowley, look at me love.” You cup his cheeks, and he allows you to lift his head. His gaze is sorrowful, and it breaks your heart. You press a soft kiss to his forehead, then to the tip of his nose, and finally to his lips. “It wasn’t you. It was a dream.”

“I know. I know.” He closes his eyes again, taking in a deep breath. “It’s just… I’m just scared… that one day you’ll  wake up from a dream like… like that. And Run.” He takes his time getting it out, and you knew that it wasn’t usually like him to admit to being scared. “I don’t want to lose you because I’m not… good.”

“But you are good, Crowley.” You tell him, and his eyes snap open, watching you closely. “And no one, in Heaven or in Hell, is going to change that.”

“But-”

“Do I need to call Aziraphale?” You threatened playfully. You gently ran your hands through his hair, and Crowley practically purred at the contact. “You, Crowley, are a good person.”

“I’m a good person.” He repeated softly, placing his head against your chest. There was a few moments of silence. “I thought I was supposed to be comforting you.” He said, giving you a slight squeeze.

“Mmm, I thought so too.” You wiped away what was left of your tears from your cheeks. Crowley grabbed your hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a light kiss to your palm before kissing you on the lips.

“Let’s go back to sleep.” He offered, and you nodded gently in agreement. Crowley gave you one last tight squeeze before the two of you moved, laying back down in the bed, tossing the blanket comfortably over the both of you. Crowley pulled you close, spooning you with his nose pressed into your neck. Together you drifted off into a comfortable, dreamless sleep.

[monstersandmaw]

Male reptilian fae (Adan) x female reader (nsfw)

This was a commission from a lovely patron, who wanted something from my Fae Realm, with a male reptilian monster and a female reader. In addition to that, they wanted there to be an older female relative of the reader who has a past with a fae that has made her somewhat jaded towards their kind... I picture Adan like an Argonian from the Elder Scrolls, but with features like a marine iguana.

Ok, without further ado, here’s 8000+ words for you.

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The moment you stepped down at the quaint little coaching station, with its white awnings and dangling baskets full of colourful geraniums, you had to smile. From year to year, it never changed. The horses’ hooves clattered on the flagstones as the stagecoach rattled off to the next little town on its route, and you moved briefly into the shade of the stone coach house for a moment to escape the searing heat of summer. Carriages were never exactly your favourite way to travel, but it was really the only feasible way to visit your mother’s older sister all the way out here.

The coast road lay like a dusty white ribbon at your feet as you wound your way through the buzzing meadows on either side. After perhaps three miles, you took a sharp fork right, through a copse of oaks and beech which offered some blessed relief from the baking sun. A flash of rich, sapphire blue up ahead and the tang of salt in the air, along with the wheeling, calling gulls, announced that you were almost there. Aunt Ellen lived alone, her humble cottage sitting within a stone’s throw of the sea, right atop gleaming limestone cliffs. It must be bleak in winter, with storms thrashing the coastline, but in summer it was a haven, with the clifftop breezes cooling the air just enough to make it pleasant.  

After perhaps another ten minutes of walking, pausing only to rearrange your grip on the handle of your weighty bag to stop it bashing you on the back of the legs as you walked, you rounded an old standing stone and glimpsed the old cottage. Everything was unchanged from your last visit, with the herb and vegetable garden at the back, a beehive not far off, and heard the dull bleating of Annabel the nanny goat a moment later. Chickens scratched and bathed in the dust not far from the vegetable garden, and a few of them looked up as you approached the house.

Aunt Ellen stepped out of the front door and shook out crumbs from her apron onto the stone path, but when she looked up and saw you, she gave a cry and clapped her hands in delight. “Oh my sweet niece,” she giggled as you dropped your bag and scuttled up to her, laughing and hugging her. You had always thought that she was a beautiful woman, with steel grey hair swept back into a plait, and laughing green eyes, just the same as your mother’s.  

It didn’t take you long to unpack and settle into the tiny spare room of the cottage, and once the two of you had caught up over tea and freshly made hearthcakes, she suggested that the you take a walk together along the beach since it would be low tide. 

The cliff path was somewhat treacherous, but once you’d wound down the narrow, switchback path, the pale golden sands of the beach stretched along the coast for miles. Ellen had brought a basket and began gathering seaweed while you took yourself off down to the very shoreline, where the waves lapped peacefully at the ridged sand as they retreated. Little shells were left behind in their retreating wake, and you stooped to examine one or two of the more interesting ones. Your room at home had slowly filled up with shells and other treasures from your younger days, but now you had a little more restraint, tossing most things back to the sea where they belonged.  

You soon fell into your regular pattern. You would help Ellen with the animals and her household chores during the day, and in the evenings, you would walk along the beach, seeing how far you got before you had to turn back.  

It was an average kind of evening, the weather being just on the cusp of a change for the worse with a stiff breeze blowing in off the sea, when you headed down to the shore for your usual walk. The previous day had been blustery and cloudy, whipping the sea up into a foaming frenzy, but it had quietened down again for now. The sand was littered with debris - driftwood and seaweed, and the even the occasional lobster-pot from further up the coast - but in the shushing waves themselves, something was moving.  

You froze as you watched whatever it was roll over onto its back, its skin shiny and glistening, its chest heaving. Your first thought was that it was a beached dolphin or something, and you kicked your feet into action, but you skidded to a horrified halt when the figure lurched suddenly upright and staggered sideways. It seemed at first as though the creature had three legs, but you realised almost immediately that it was bipedal with a tail. And then you clasped your hand over your mouth to stifle a scream.  

The figure was utterly inhuman.  

For one thing, he was completely bare of clothing, which revealed a muscular, tall, reptilian body, with a thick, crocodile-like tail which was now trailing in the surf behind him, and clawed feet that dug into the wet sand as he swayed and staggered out of the water. His hard-looking skin was a greyish green with darker green patches over his shoulders, and he had a paler, almost creamy coloured belly. Round, jade eyes blinked in surprise when he saw you standing there, mute with horror at the sight of something so incomprehensibly unusual.  

“Hi,” he said in a calm, rasping, husky voice, revealing a row of sharp teeth, nostrils flaring. His pink, forked tongue darted out to taste the air, and then it was his turn to act surprised. “Oh shit,” he said in a rush. “You’re human.”

“What are you?” you blurted. You had honestly never seen anything like him before. You’d heard merchants’ tales of lizards and crocodiles in distant lands, but none of them said that they could walk on their hind legs and talk.  

“Now, that’s a little forward of you,” he grinned playfully, “Don’t you think? I mean, considering we just met and all.”

“What are you?” you demanded more firmly.  

He sighed as though heavily put upon, muscular shoulders slumping melodramatically. “I am a kind of fae,” he said. “Pretty rare, I’ll grant you, but honestly I'm rather disappointed that you didn’t work that out, but still. Never mind.”

A thrill of fear spasmed through you and you backed off, eyes wide, heart racing.  

“Now, now,” he said, raising clawed hands. His fingers were knuckly and strong looking, with pale palms, the backs dark. “I give you my word that I won’t hurt you, unless you try to hurt me of course. Not that you could. Gods, I’ve never met a human before - you’re so… tiny and fragile looking!”

You snarled at him, and he responded in kind, baring his teeth and making the thick spines down his back and over the crest of his head rise up like the hackles on a dog.  

You swallowed, closed your eyes and inhaled, and then said, “What are you doing here? What do you want?”

“You ask a lot of questions, little human,” he grinned, even having the audacity to add a dry little chuckle at the end. “But, since I am in your realm now, I will answer them. I think I swam through a tear in the veil between the realms,” he said, but he broke off with a hacking cough, and swayed rather dramatically. “But I fear I might have to find somewhere to sit down and warm up a little. I am cold blooded after all, and I’ve been in the water rather a long time.”

With another breath for courage, you asked, “Would you like to come up to my aunt’s house? You could rest there for the night I’m sure, and you could try and find your way back home in the morning.”

His round, pale green eyes narrowed, and you realised his pupils were slits, narrowed against the slanting light of the setting sun. “Alright,” he said cautiously. “But while my promise not to harm you and yours still stands, I will defend myself if you try anything. I know what you lot do with folk like me.”

“What? I thought your kind were mostly a legend. I didn’t know you could even get through the veil between the worlds…”  

He snorted and began to walk towards you. He was tall, at perhaps six and a half feet, and with his impressive musculature which was not exactly bulky but which still spoke of raw power with his broad chest and strong, stocky legs, he looked more than a little intimidating. “You keep us as exotic pets,” he purred in your ear as he drew level with you.  

He carried on walking towards the cliff path, leaving you stunned and, perhaps most surprisingly of all, with a distinct tingle between your legs at the way his voice had dipped and his breath had fanned across your ear. Had he cast some kind of spell on you already? Could all fae do that?  

Over his shoulder, he called, “I must insist on offering you a payment though.” He waited for you to catch up, and then waved you ahead of him like a gentleman ushering a lady inside at the door of a ballroom; a rather cocky gesture for someone who had just hauled himself out of the sea, you thought.  

“Well, it’s my aunt’s house, so she can set the price,” you said, to which he nodded.  

He moved slowly behind you, and as you glanced back halfway up the path, you caught sight of him with his taloned hand over his ribs, leaning with his other braced against a boulder. When he saw you staring, he winked at you and said, “You try climbing a cliff when your muscles are as cold as mine, and when your lungs are still half full of seawater.”

“No, I’m alright thanks,” you said dryly. “Take your time.”

His toothy grin widened and he chuckled softly. He was oddly handsome, for a reptile. Grunting, he straightened and continued to slog up the path behind you. When he reached the top, he swayed again like a little yacht at anchor, but he kept his feet and followed you up to the door of the house. He hung back politely as you opened it and called out to your aunt. “Ellen! There’s… um… Can you come here a moment?”  

The lithe little woman appeared a second later, drawn at a worried trot by the tone of your voice. The moment she saw the creature behind you, she shrieked and grabbed you, yanking you inside and slamming the door in his face. “How dare you bring a fae to the house!” she yelled. “Oh gods,” she went on, wringing and flapping her hands. “Oh gods. Where’s that iron poker?” she added, scuttling off to the hearth and grabbing the wrought iron fire poker from its stand beside the fire. “Perhaps he can be persuaded to leave with a gift?”

“Aunt Ellen, wait,” you said, trying to halt her frenzied panic in its tracks. “Wait! He washed up on the beach and needs somewhere to warm up and rest. He said he came through a tear in the veil between worlds or something. He just wants to go home, but he’s not strong enough.”

Ellen’s green eyes narrowed. “He’s not coming in this house,” she said. “And that’s final.” She turned around and grabbed a blanket off the old sofa and marched straight past you like a charging warhorse, making for the kitchen and grabbing a freshly baked bread roll. She stormed back to the front door, opened it, and flung the blanket and the roll at him. He barely managed to catch both of them, and before you could say anything to him, she had rammed the door shut again, bolting it and even dropping the bar down which she only did when there was a heavy storm expected.  

“You,” she said, pointing a finger at you with eyes flashing, “Will not go anywhere near him. You will not open this door, do I make myself understood?”

“But -”

“No! Absolutely not. Promise me, child,” she said. “Fae are dangerous and tricksy with their honeyed words, but they will break your heart, I promise you, my girl.”

A frown tugged at your brows, but before you could glimpse any more of her strange expression than the glistening in her eyes, she had dumped the iron poker beside the door, spun away, and headed for her bedroom, closing the door behind her with a firm snap.  

Hours later, you lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. In the end, you had promised Ellen that you would not open the front door, and as much as you wanted to learn more about the fae, you were not one to break your word. The wind had died down and the moon had come out, painting the simple lines of the rustic furniture in your bedroom with a silvery light. Ever fond of the way the moon danced on the waves, you headed to your window and gazed out at the view beyond.  

A movement in the shadows drew your eyes away from the sea, and you saw the reptilian fae sitting with his back against the apple tree in the little yard, one knee up, gazing at the moon as well. You heard his voice in your mind once more, and bit your lip. Curiosity burned inside you more brightly than the moon itself that night, and, without breaking your promise to your aunt, you lifted the latch on your window and clambered out into the night. Reaching back inside, you picked up the cup of water you’d been cradling in your hands and brought that with you.  

At the sound of your footsteps on the dirt of the yard, the fae turned his head, eyes shining eerily in the shadows. He tilted his head and you held out the full cup. “Thought you might be thirsty,” you said by way of introduction.  

“Thank you,” he said, bowing his head a little. Huddled in the blanket, he did not get up, so you approached him and let him take it from you with a surprisingly gentle motion.  

His lips peeled back into a smile that showed his teeth but was somehow not unfriendly, and he drank deeply before returning the empty cup to you.  

“Can I ask you something?”

“You just did,” he chuckled, resting the back of his head on the rough bark of the apple tree. You wondered if he had to be careful of his iguana-like spines; they looked surprisingly delicate. You rolled your eyes at his answer and he laughed again. “Of course. It’s not as if I’m trying to rest or sleep or anything…” he added playfully.  

“I can go if you’d rather,” you said. “You just have to say so…”

“I’m sorry,” he said, turning to face you properly. His gaze darted to the house behind you, and he added, “Your aunt doesn’t seem to fond of fae…”  

You raised your eyebrows and sucked in a breath. “I have no idea why,” she said. “She’s never mentioned the fae to me before at all.”

He shrugged. “Sounds like she got screwed over by a fae in her past if you ask me…”

“Something you know a lot about?” you asked archly.  

A soft bark of laughter was his only reply as he stared out at the open ocean again for a while, but then he looked askance at you and said, “I’ve never met a human in my life,” he said. “I’ve seen your kind of course, chained up in the marketplace, waiting to be sold as slaves, but I’ve never spoken to one. You’ve got more spirit than any of them did though.”

Horror plunged through you and you took a step back from him, recoiling. “Slaves?”

He sighed. “Yeah. Look, sweetheart, your kind keeps fae as pets as well, and we think you’re pretty exotic too, I suppose.”

“I’ve never heard of fae being kept as pets,” you retorted.  

He looked you slowly up and down and then snorted. “It’s only the nobles who do that. No offence, but you don’t look like you’ve got a lot of spare cash floating around…”

“I don’t,” you said flatly. “So you don’t have any slaves then?”

Another short laugh, this time more of a snort through his flaring nostrils than an actual laugh, shot out of him, and he rested his thick forearm casually on his bent knee. “Like we could afford the luxury of a pleasure slave,” he said. “But no. I can’t say I’m particularly comfortable with the idea of collaring sapient beings, and you, at least, appear to have the capacity for fairly intelligent conversation…”  

“You’re an arse, you know that? And who’s ‘we’?”

“My sister and I,” he said, eyes twinkling at your comment. “She’s a jeweller - hell of a talented one if you ask me - but we can’t afford the finest materials, so she makes what she can out of what I can bring her. The fire pearls fetch the best price.”

“Fire pearls?”

“They’re a fae realm thing, I think,” he said, inspecting his claws briefly. “They’re these iridescent, glowing pearls produced by clams that live pretty deep. Took me years of diving to be able to hold my breath and withstand the pressure for long enough to reach them. The only others who could go so deep are tritons and merfolk, and maybe the selkies too, but they all tend to keep to themselves.”  

You blinked. “I thought merfolk were just tales that sailors told to gullible land-dwellers…”

He shot you another wry grin. “Maybe they swam through portals like the one I found? Maybe they know about them and pass between the worlds all the time?” The lizard-like fae yawned and stretched, drawing the blanket up around his neck like a cloak.  

“I should let you sleep,” you murmured.  

He tilted his face up to look at you, and cocked his head to one side. “My name is Adan, by the way,” he said softly with a little smile before curling up inside the blanket and wishing you a rather more perfunctory goodnight.  

You stood there a moment longer, stunned that he’d reveal his name to you so easily. You knew three things about the fae: they couldn’t lie, they hated iron, and they never revealed their names.  

The next morning you and Ellen stepped outside together, but when your eyes went to the old, gnarled apple tree, you saw that Adan was gone, and in his place he had folded the blanket neatly into a pile, and on top of it he had placed a stone to weigh it down and stop the wind tugging at it.  

As you approached, Ellen gasped and stooped to snatch up the stone and the blanket. She stared at the stone in her hand and whispered, “This is an adder stone…”

“A what?”

“An adder stone,” she said, eyes still locked on the large pebble that filled her palm. It had a sizable hole through the centre. “They are supposed to offer protection from fae magic,” she said, voice quavering, “And if you look through the centre, it is said you can see the true nature of a fae. This is no meagre gift…”

“How do you know all this?” you asked carefully.  

Ellen sighed, seeming to age ten years in the space of that single breath. She shook her head, a wispy section of her grey hair falling forwards into eyes that seemed suddenly immeasurably sad. “Come,” she said, taking your arm. “It’s time I told you.”

The two of you walked along the upper cliff path and she told you her remarkable story. “When I was not much older than you,” she said, drawing her woollen shawl more tightly around her shoulders, “I fell in love with a fae.”

Your eyebrows sailed towards your hairline and you gasped in surprise. “You did what?”

She nodded. “He was a triton, but he had the rare ability to shift easily and exchange his beautiful green tail for human legs. We were very deeply in love. He used to visit me here, coming through the same portal that I assume your ‘friend’ found his way through last night. We were so close that I was… I was the next thing to leaving the Mortal Realm forever to be with him. He had a little cabin on a remote island, right on the edge of the Court of Water’s territory.” She looked down at her feet, stalling and biting her lip to keep from crying. “He took me there few times. It… It was so wonderful…”  

Instinctively you reached out for her and squeezed her arm. Her eyes met yours and she offered you a watery smile. “What happened?” you asked gingerly.  

“One day when he came to visit me he was agitated, and he tried to call it all off, to convince me that I shouldn’t come. I was heartbroken. He said he didn’t have long this time, and that I would be in danger if he came to see me again.” She shook her head. “He didn’t come back for months. I thought he’d just got cold feet, so to speak, but when he appeared again in the spring, he was thinner, harder looking, and he had new scars on him.”  

Once again, she paused and steadied herself. The wind hissed through the lush grasses behind you and whistled in the branches of the sparse trees that studded the edge of the pale, limestone cliffs.  

“Did he give you an explanation?” you asked in a hushed voice.  

Ellen smiled sadly and nodded. “I asked him what he was doing here again, what had kept him away… I’d thought he had died or that something awful had happened to him. He told me he hadn’t even meant for me to see him, that he’d only meant to check on me and make sure I was alright. I lost my temper and shouted at him. His only answer was that it wasn’t safe for our plans any more, and that I would be better off without him. He broke my heart,” she choked.  

From around the trunk of a twisted tree not three yards away, a figure stepped out into the sun, and the pair of you shrieked in shock as Adan moved into the light. “Apologies, ladies,” he grinned. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Only… I heard your story…”

“That was not for your filthy ears, you vile creature,” Ellen snarled, trying to put herself between you and him.  

“Easy,” he said. “I swore not to hurt you. In fact, I thought I might be able to shed a little light on why your triton might have been so cold towards you, that’s all. It’s really quite chivalrous when you think about it.”

“You’ll twist the truth for your own enjoyment,” she hissed. “I won’t hear it.”

“Wait,” you interjected. “Surely it’s worth hearing him out? Surely it’s worth finding out the truth?”

“What would he know of it?” she growled. “Besides, we’re just playthings to their kind… Didn’t my story show you anything?”

Adan’s shoulders dropped and he lowered his head. His voice was hoarse as he spoke, turning his head away from you and gazing out to sea again. For all his blustering assuredness, he suddenly seemed disheartened, saddened.  

“There’s a war going on in the shadows,” he murmured, voice barely louder than the wind. “There’s been a darkness growing in the realm for a long time. The Seelie and Unseelie Royals haven’t told us anything much about it - maybe they’ve told the Court Royals, but certainly not us low-borns.” He snickered and shot you a look before going on. “It affected those with weak wills first - wraiths and sprites with no real physical form - but it has spread to others. Whatever it is, it turns them rabid and savage, tainting their minds. We’ve been fighting it for a long time, fearing it the way you humans fear the bogeyman, but about forty years ago there was a surge. Waves of tainted creatures flooded across a number of the courts, including the Court of Water, the Court of Fire, Air, and even the courts of Summer and Day where the light is strongest and the taint weakest.”  

He broke off and began to pace along the cliff edge, to and fro. Ellen went still beside you, and you watched them both intently.  

“Many of us were drafted in to reserve forces to combat it. I assume that’s what happened to your triton. He wouldn’t have wanted you anywhere near the Fae Realm if there was even a chance you could be infected. Humans who are bitten or turned become…” he shuddered violently. “Something else; ghouls without souls… But it’s been better since we fought back. The Unseelie Royals were in power at the time, and they used their magic to contain it, at least for now. He should have come for you though,” he added. “He should have explained it all to you.”

Adan stretched and you watched the muscles of his broad shoulders and lean back bunch and flex, feeling your cheeks heat, and he released the tension in a rush and shook himself out. “Well, I think I’m back to normal now,” he grunted. “I should go home. That portal is deep, but I should be able to get through alright, now that I know where it is. Listen,” he said, turning to face the pair of you. “I could offer you two things in payment for your hospitality.”

“I don’t want anything at all from you,” Ellen snapped, and turned on her heel and heading back to her house.  

Adan sighed and watched her go. “He lost a good woman when he tried to keep her safe…” he muttered. His jade green eyes slid back to your face and he smiled. “I was going to offer you a fire pearl, the only one I managed to find before I got sucked through that portal… or… I could offer to look for your aunt’s triton and try and convince him to come back here and talk to her.” He held out his hand towards you, and lying in the centre of his pale, creamy coloured palm, was a gorgeous, opalescent pearl the size of a peach stone. It gleamed a fierce gold, like the setting sun over the water, and seemed to move and shift even as it sat still in his hand.  

You reached for it, but something made you pause. “Find him,” you said. “She deserves closure.”

Adan’s grin was broad as the horizon, and he bowed his head, closing his palm and making the pearl vanish with the magic of the fae. He moved slowly, taking a tentative step towards you, and scooped up your hand. His skin was cool and hard as polished leather as he raised your hand towards his face, and he nuzzled his hard, reptilian lips gently against your knuckles, letting his tongue flick out to give you a little kiss. “There,” he murmured in that harsh, rasping voice of his, “Our bargain is sealed. I promise to return if I find the triton who loved your aunt.”

Something in your chest sank at his words. He would only return because of the bargain. As cocky and flamboyant as he was, you had glimpsed a sweet side to him. After all, he could simply have offered you the pearl as payment. “Thank you,” you said, voice cracking a little. “You didn’t have to offer that.”

He turned away from you and stalked gracefully towards the cliff path. Just before he vanished out of sight, he paused and looked back at you. With one rather courtly bow, he bid you farewell. You waited there until he reemerged at the bottom of the cliff path and walked across the short stretch of exposed sand. He didn’t hesitate as he strode straight into the sea, the waves smacking against his sturdy body as though trying to buffet him off his feet and drag him down. He swam with the elegant side-to-side motion of a reptile, using his powerful tail to propel him forwards as much as his arms, and, hanging back just once, bobbing in the ocean like a piece of flotsam, he looked for you.  

When he found that you were still standing atop the cliffs, he raised an arm and waved before diving down into the water and vanishing with a flick of his long tail.  

“Be safe,” you whispered to the wind before turning and heading back to the cottage.  

You never forgot your encounter with Adan, and by the time the wheel of the year had come round again, you had heard nothing from Ellen in her letters that spoke of either his return or the reappearance of her triton, and you didn’t like to bring it up. As you sat with her at the dinner table on the first evening of your summer vacation with her, she turned her green eyes to you and chuckled. “Oh child,” she smiled ruefully. “I see the same light in you that I remember from my youth. Whether he did it deliberately or not, you’re under that fae’s spell, aren’t you?”

“I…” you faltered. “I mean… I… I just want to know if…”  

She laughed. “It’s alright. But here, take this,” she said, reaching into the pocket of her dress and bringing out an iron pendant on a leather cord. It was a simple hoop of iron, forge-welded to form a seamless circle, and through it was looped the string. “It will keep you safe. Now, off to the beach and see if he’s there. I should warn you though,” she said as you pushed back your chair, wooden legs scraping hideously on the scrubbed wooden floors of her cottage, “I haven’t seen scale nor claw of him in a year. Don’t get your hopes up.”

You nodded, and practically fled.  

The beach was deserted, and you waited until the moon had sailed high in the sky before returning. Ellen said nothing as you latched the door quietly behind you, but simply offered you some herbal tea and combed her arthritic fingers through your hair.  

Three more nights passed with no sign of him. Those three nights became a month, and you had only a few weeks left before you returned to the city after the summer. Eventually you gave up hope of seeing him again, and tried to convince yourself to enjoy the walks for what they were - a lonely stroll along the beach.  

The gentle breathing of the sea was something you missed in the clangour of the city, with carts rumbling, traders and vendors yelling, and the constant racket of the crowds in tiny, ancient streets, but out here it was peaceful and quiet, with nothing but you and the endless water, and -  

A voice yelled at you from along the beach, and you froze. It was a male voice.  

“Oi! Human! Huuuuumaaaaan!” and then he laughed.  

You whipped around and squinted through the darkness along the beach. Your footprints disappeared into the night, the lacy froth of the waves just kissing their imprint in the dark sand, and perhaps a hundred yards behind you, a tall figure was standing, his body gleaming in the moonlight.  

It was Adan, you were sure of it.  

Your heart leapt and you ran towards him.  

He was laughing by the time you reached him, and he flung his arms wide and, before you could slam to a halt, he had stepped forwards and picked you up, swinging you easily around in a wide arc, all the while clutching you to his wet, cold chest.  

“Oof, put me down!” you wheezed, and, still chuckling, he obliged.  

“I didn’t think you’d remember me,” he said.  

Easing the crick out of your neck, you stared up at him. “Honestly, I thought you’d forgotten about me too.”

“Never,” he said, his voice suddenly serious. “I could never forget you,” he said, bringing his fingertips to your chin and carefully tilting your face up so that it caught the moonlight behind him. “Besides, I made you a promise, and a fae never breaks a promise.”

You smiled. “Did you find the triton then?”

He nodded, blinking the salt water from his eyes.  

“You must be getting cold,” you said quietly, trying not to stare at his naked body. He was even more beautiful than you remembered. “Don’t you folk ever wear any clothes?”

He barked a loud, happy laugh at that, head thrown back, teeth on show. “Yes,” he said. “Yes, we do, but we’re not shy like you lot. And in the water it’s impractical. Clothing could get caught on the coral, and it’s heavy - it could drag you down. Why?” he added, leaning down and purring in your ear, “Am I making you blush, human?”

The next word to come out of your mouth was your name, and Adan drew back sharply in surprise, staring at you.  

“What?” you asked, now really blushing. “I know yours. It’s only fair.”

He tilted his head slightly and smiled. “It’s lovely,” he said. “Thank you. I shall treasure it.”

“Come on,” you grumbled, turning away. “Let’s go and find Ellen.”

The two of you chatted as you made your way up the beach and then up the cliff path towards the house. He told you of the Court of Water where he lived in a small fishing village on the coast. It was an inconsequential place, far from the grand palace of the royal court, but it was everything he needed. You asked after his sister, and his eyes glistened, grateful that you had remembered her. “She’s well, thank you,” he said. “Actually, a noble visited and saw her work, and she might end up with a patron and a steady income.”

“You sound very proud of her,” you commented, pausing at the top of the path to catch your breath. He, this time, was barely winded.  

Adan leaned his lithe body against a rock and nodded. “Yes,” he said. “We were hatchlings from the same brood, and we’re all that’s left. We’re all the other has. Well, actually no, that’s not true,” he growled.  

“Oh?”

“Magda has herself a sweetheart now,” he snarled, and you had to laugh.  

“Protective or envious?”  

He fixed you with that eerie, intense stare. “Bit of both,” he said. “But,” he went on with a sigh, shoving himself off the boulder and continuing up the path ahead of you, “I’m happy for her. Come, let’s make your aunt happy as well.”

Ellen was not at all, in fact, happy to see Adan.  

But she tolerated him enough to let him inside, and he, to your surprise, made no comments about the simple furnishings or the humble life she led. He was actually the perfect house guest.  

“I take it the reason you’re back is that you found him,” she said flatly after offering him a small glass of elderberry wine.  

He took it gratefully and sipped, humming in delight as he tasted it. “This is beautiful, thank you,” he said, nodding. “And yes. I did find him.”

Ellen poured herself a slightly larger glass and sank down into her chair by the fire. Adan simply plonked himself down cross-legged beside the fire, as close as he could get without cooking his scales, and you took the only other chair in the modest little living room, opposite your aunt’s.  

“I tracked him down, at last, only a week ago. He’s well, but he’s been living alone for a long time. Perhaps that’s a good thing though,” he added dryly. “Anyway, once I’d convinced him not to kill me - bloody hell, I’d forgotten how fierce a triton can be!” he added with a laugh, taking a gulp of the wine before continuing, “I told him my story, and how I had met you both, and eventually I managed to talk him round. He said he’d like to come here and see you again, but only if you want it.”

Ellen sat there looking positively thunderstruck, but after a long drink and a deep sigh, she nodded. “Yes,” she said, eyes shining with tears. “Yes, I… I think I would like that.”

You and Adan both grinned, and he glanced up at you. When your eyes met, something leapt in your chest. He was beautiful, with the firelight glinting on his hard skin, the curves of his muscles accentuated by the low, flickering light that seemed to delight in the shape of his unusual body. He cocked his head again, the very tip of his tongue flickering out, and you shook head subtly, not wanting to ruin the moment for Ellen. Not now.

“When… When can I see him?” Ellen asked hesitantly.  

“He asked me to come and fetch him if you accepted. I can go now if you’d like?”

“No,” she said. “No, stay here for the night and go tomorrow.”

He nodded, and shimmied a little bit, shuffling around in front of the fire.  

“You like the warmth, don’t you?” Ellen laughed and he nodded.  

“It’s glorious,” he said. “I spend half my life in the water, freezing my bollocks off, so it’s always a treat to come in and warm up.”

You all laughed, and Ellen even offered him some of the fish she’d prepared earlier.  

Your aunt excused herself later, with a final warning look at Adan to behave himself, and the two of you were left alone.  

He stared up at you for a moment, leaning confidently back on his hands, legs crossed, tail curled neatly around them. “I missed you,” he said. “I know we didn’t know each other for very long, but I thought about you a lot.”

“You did?”  

Adan nodded. “You don’t live here, do you? Where do you go when you’re not staying here?”

“I live in the city,” you said, and on a whim you joined him on the floor beside the fire.  

The two of you shared the remnants of the elderberry wine, and you told him everything about your life in the bustling, noisy, dirty city. He was fascinated, asking about every little detail until your voice was hoarse and you began to yawn. At one point, whether from tiredness or from the wine you weren’t sure, you had leaned your head against his solid shoulder. He hadn’t objected or moved you, and the two of you sat like that, staring into the fire and talking.  

“I’m sorry,” he said eventually. “It’s getting very late; I should let you sleep. Thank you though.”

“You’re welcome,” you murmured sleepily. “It was nice. I don’t think I’ve ever just… chatted with anyone like that before?”

He chuckled and impulsively ran his clawed fingers through your hair. The delicious scrape of the sharp tips of his talons against your scalp drew a deep groan from you, and you had closed your eyes and leaned into the gesture before you’d even realised what you were doing. When you snapped them open again, he was looking down at you with a very different expression on his reptilian face. His tongue darted out briefly, and his own eyes rolled closed.  

“I should stop,” he said. “And you should go to sleep.”

Reluctantly, you pried yourself from his arms and took his glass over to the sink. “Goodnight,” you murmured at the door, and he nodded, curling up on the hearthrug like the strangest dog in the universe.  

In the morning he was still there, curled up in a tight ball, the ashes of the fire cold behind him. You knelt beside his head and ran your fingertips up his muzzle and over his head, eliciting a deep shudder from him before he blinked groggily and smiled.  

“Morning,” you whispered.  

“Warm,” he mumbled, leaning into your touch. “You’re so warm.”

Ellen marched in a moment later and tutted at what she saw. “Stoke the fire up and heat that lizard up so that he stops spouting nonsense, and then go and check the chicken coop for eggs, will you?” she snapped at you.  

Laughing as you extricated yourself from a grumbling Adan, you did as she asked, returning ten minutes later to find him sitting beside a now blazing fire and looking rather sheepish as he meekly shelled peas into a bowl with a deft flick of his dark claw.  

“Don’t tell me Aunt Ellen has bullied you into submission already?” you laughed.  

He flashed you a toothy grin and said, “Just being polite.”

Adan left not long after breakfast and you remained up at the cottage. Before he left, he had promised to return that evening, and this time, he would not be alone.

“Are you alright?” you asked Ellen once the two of you had watched Adan leave from the front door.  

She closed it and sighed. “No,” she said. “It’s been forty or so years since I last saw Kaerio…”

You read your aunt instantly, and smiled. “He’ll still love you,” you said. “And if he doesn't, he doesn’t deserve your love in return.”

Her smile was watery, but she kissed you gratefully on the cheek and set about clearing the remnants of breakfast away, bustling around and keeping herself busy. In order to distract yourself, given that you could barely contain your excitement and anticipation either, you took yourself off for a long walk along the cliff tops, heading inland slightly, past the cattle farm about five miles away where Ellen traded eggs and handmade preserves for milk and cheese.  

By the time the sun was setting, you were sure you were almost as nervous as Aunt Ellen was. The two of you made your way down the cliff path in silence, Ellen occasionally fussing with her grey hair, keeping her back straight and her jaw set all the way.  

When you arrived, you saw two figures already waiting for you. Adan was standing not far from the reach of the surf, with another figure on his arm. He had just arranged a cloak around the figure when you and Ellen stepped down off the rocky path onto the hard sand, and the figure, who must have been Kaerio, brought a hand to cover his mouth at the sight of the pair of you.  

Ellen ground to a halt, and it took a gentle shove from you in the small of the back to get her going again, but as the two of you approached, you saw that Adan was grinning. The triton was a handsome man, looking in this form like a human in his early sixties. He had long grey hair that fell down his back, and tanned, muscular shoulders. He had a scar on his cheek and a few claw marks on his neck that disappeared out of sight beneath the cloak.  

Tears streamed silently down Ellen’s face as she stared at the triton, who was still holding onto Adan’s arm. Eventually Kaerio broke the silence by laughing, “I’m a bit shaky on my legs. It’s been decades since I’ve used them. Forgive me… Ellen…”

At the sound of his voice, she flung herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck, burying her face there and sobbing uncontrollably.  

Adan cast you a look over her shoulder and twitched his chin at you. You read his meaning, and left Ellen with Kaerio to reunite.  

Once the two of you had walked a fair way along the beach, you looked back at them and saw that she was leading him towards some low rocks at the foot of the cliff. “You think they’ll be alright?” you asked.  

“Yes,” he said. “He wouldn’t like me telling you this, but he was afraid to face her again after all this time.”

“I don’t blame him,” you muttered darkly.  

Adan snorted. “Your Aunt Ellen is a formidable creature, for sure.”

You punched him on the bicep. “That’s not what I meant. He hurt her…”

“He made a mistake,” Adan conceded, rubbing at the spot where your blow had connected. “He thought he was keeping her safe.”

“He should have talked to her,” you said, exasperated. “It never works out well when one party just acts. It’s not fair.”

Adan took a deep breath and looked down at you, pale green eyes gleaming. “You’re a remarkable woman, you know that?” he said.  

“Oh come off it,” you said, waving a hand.  

He caught your fingers up in his and kissed them gently, making you shiver. “I mean it,” he said. “And I have a gift for you. No strings attached either,” he added with a laugh at your wary expression. “I promise.”

He pressed another kiss into your fingers and turned your hand palm-up. As he trailed his claws lightly across it, a pearl appeared in the centre. It wasn’t particularly large, perhaps the size of a pea, but it glowed faintly with a light of its own, and it swirled constantly as if it contained some opalescent liquid. The sight of it took your breath away.

“I found this six months ago,” he said without taking his eyes off your face. “I kept it for you.”

“But what about your sister? She could use it to make something…”

“Maybe one day she will,” he said cryptically. “But regardless, it’s yours.”

Your eyes met his, and he let out a shuddering breath. He took your cheek in his other hand and bowed down, bringing his face close.  

“May I kiss you?” he asked breathlessly.  

You nodded, and he smiled. Mindful of his sharp teeth, he pressed his firm lips against yours, and perhaps a heartbeat later, his tongue darted out, tasting your lips. A deep, rumbling groan sounded from him, and he tugged you closer to him with a hand around your waist. You slid your palms up his firm chest, feeling the ridges of his armoured skin. He drew back for a moment, breathing heavily, nostrils flaring wide.  

“Just how sensitive are you?” you asked, watching your fingertips trace over his skin.  

He trembled and whispered, “Very.”

You smiled and said, “Follow me.”

You took him by the hand up a winding path that led up the cliff, and though you paused several times on the way up so that he could back you against the rock and kiss you senseless again, you finally made it to where you had in mind. A small grove of twisted, stunted, wind-blasted trees offered a little privacy from the night, and the moment he saw what you had in mind, he moaned and smiled. “Are you sure?”  

You nodded and lay down, drawing him down beside you.  

“I want to taste you,” he hissed, tongue flickering out again. It was forked and thick, and suddenly you could think of nothing more that you wanted than to experience that tongue on your body.  

He undressed you carefully, kissing along your body as he revealed your bare skin, and when he finally had you naked, he pulled back and stared at you. “I had no idea humans were so beautiful,” he said hoarsely.  

“Don’t stare at me,” you blushed. “It’s rude…”

He laughed and slid his hands over your thighs. “My apologies,” he said. “Let me make amends for my rudeness. Now, tell me what you like.”

His talons pricked at your skin and you gasped, but allowed him to part your thighs. He groaned when he saw you and his tongue slid out again, tasting the air as you felt heat throbbing between your legs.  

“Please…” you hissed.  

“Don’t rush me,” he complained, circling your hipbones with his palms and leaning over you as he took your breasts in his hands and kneaded them gently. His tongue coiled around your hardening nipples before he brought his sharp teeth to them and pinched you hard enough to make your back arch but not quite hard enough to hurt. “You make such beautiful sounds for me,” he added as he straightened and moved back down your body.  

As he did, you saw that the slight mound between his legs had swollen, a slit beginning to appear, and in the bright moonlight, you could see that it was glistening softly. Your smile drew a low-frequency rumble from him that was halfway between a growl and a moan, and he dipped his head between your legs and laved his hot tongue over your sex in one slow, deliberate stripe.  

A broken cry left your lips and you forgot about everything as he began to pleasure you. He circled you and sucked at your clit before driving his long, thick tongue inside you, his maw almost covering you as he stretched to reach as deep as he could. The sight of him between your legs, the feel of him inside you, the tension he built up until you thought you were going to burst, were too much, and after his tender, eager ministrations reached a crescendo, you came with a yell.  

He held you while your back arched and your hips twisted, his tongue pressed against you, drinking down the taste of you, until you finally slumped back against the cool grass, oversensitive and still twitching.  

“You are so beautiful,” he rasped. “Gods above, but you’re beautiful.”

Dazed, you stared up at him.  

He was kneeling between your legs, and as he shifted, he moaned, eyes screwing shut for a moment.  

“You alright?” you asked, and he laughed ruefully.  

“That’s caused a little trouble…” he said, glancing down his body. The slit at the top of his legs was definitely swollen now, and it leaked freely between his thighs. You pushed yourself up and guided him to lie beside you.  

“It’s my turn now,” you smiled. You trailed your fingers down his body, starting at his throat which bobbed beneath your touch, and then as you neared his slit, you parted your fingers and traced the edges of the sheath, one on either side.  

Adan’s spine lurched and he pushed himself up into your hand with a broken, pleading cry. Smiling, you slid a finger into his sheath and he began to shake. “Oh gods,” he whimpered. “Oh gods, oh gods, that’s so good, oh…”  

As his clawed hands dug into the turf beneath him, you realised that only with a tongue could his kind elicit this kind of pleasure from one another, but you weren’t able to think about much else for very long, as his cock began to unsheathe itself. With a pale, spear-shaped tip, his cock was ridged and thick, and apparently prehensile, because the moment it had slithered free of the sheath, it twisted and tried to coil around your hand like a tentacle.  

Adan was lost in his pleasure as you gripped him and began to work his length.  

He writhed and moaned beneath you, chanting endless rubbish about how good it felt and how he adored your touch and how beautiful you were.  

Tentatively some time later, you lowered your lips and let your tongue just graze over the the pale tip. Without warning, and with a bellow to match, Adan came, covering his clenching torso in his own release, and barely missing you. His orgasm ripped through him so powerfully that he spasmed and grunted, his cock twisting in your grip as he spilled over his pale belly until he was utterly spent.  

His head hit the ground beneath him and he lay there, breathing hard and occasionally whimpering while you stroked him through the end of his peak. Releasing his cock, you watched as it lay across his thigh for a moment before his sheath began to pulse a little, and it started to retreat back inside him.  

Adan cracked an eye open and saw you watching him. “Enjoy the show?” he hissed.  

“Very much,” you laughed, looking at the mess he’d made of himself. “Did you?”

“Do you even need to ask that?” he snarled, though there was no malice in it, only fondness and a hint of exhaustion. “That was intense. I don’t think I’ve ever come like that.”

It took him a while to recover, but when he did, he sat up and looked down at himself. “Now what?” he asked.  

“I suppose you’ll have to go and clean up…” you giggled.  

“You stay here and get dressed, and I’ll go for a swim then,” he said, standing up a little shakily a few minutes later.

Throwing your clothes over your arm, you stood, naked too, and said, “Or I could come for a swim with you.”

Hunger flashed in his eyes and he grinned. He scooped you up into his arms and purred in your ear, “Now, there’s an idea.”

Laughing, he carried you all the way back down the cliff path towards the now empty beach. He strode into the water after you’d dumped your clothes on a rock well out of the reach of the sea, and you gasped as the water hit your bare back.  

“Not too late to turn round,” he grinned. “It’s alright, my fragile little human,” he added.  

With a disgruntled and mock-offended little yip, you rolled out of his arms and slipped into the sea. It was freezing, but as you disappeared beneath the surface, you swam round behind him and grabbed hold of his tail. Trying not to laugh, you yanked it as hard as you could, and he staggered and fell over in the water, landing with an ungainly splash beside you.  

He surged to the surface, bringing you with him, and laughed, “Oh, you’re in trouble now, little one.” His tongue laved across your neck, teeth scraping, and you moaned, turning soft and pliant in his grasp as it quickly turned into a very different kind of playfulness.

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