#and the idle ass expression as an extra i guess

[frootloopsl]

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers DARK FATE ー Sakamaki Prologue

← RETURN TO GENERAL PROLOGUE

ー The scene starts in the classroom

Yui: ...I’m going home by car today.

Female student C: I see. Well, we might be getting some bad weather, so that is probably a wise choice.

Yui: Eh? Really?

Female student C: Yeah. They said so on the weather forecast. I’ll be heading home then. Bye bye!

Yui: See you tomorrow! Bye bye!

ー The scene shifts to the outside of Ryoutei Academy

Yui: ( Speaking of which, Ayato-kun didn’t attend classes today. )

( We both went to school together, so I wonder if he was skipping class somewhere? )

( He should know he’ll be in big trouble if Reiji-san finds out though... )

Driver: ーー My apologies for the wait.

Yui: Thank you very much.

ー She gets inside the car

*Thud*

Yui: I’m the first one here. That’s neーー

Ayato: Yo, Chichinashi!

Yui: Ayato-kun! I haven’t seen you around all day, where have you been?

Ayato: Aah? That’s none of your business, is it?

Yui: That’s true but...

Laito: ーー If you’re curious about Ayato-kun’s whereabouts, I spotted him over at the infirmary...Sleeping soundly with a cute expression on his face. Nfu~

Ayato: Wha...!? Cute!? Stop spoutin’ disgustin’ crap!

Laito: Eeh~? I’m complimenting you, so you should just honestly thank me.

Yui: And where did you hang out instead of attending class, Laito-kun?

Laito: Bitch-chan, you want to know my secrets? If you insist, I suppose I could tell you...

Every・single・one, okay~? (1)

Yui: No, I’ll pass.

Laito: Geez! I wish you wouldn’t turn down my offer so quickly?

Kanato: What made you think she would be curious about your secrets? I wouldn’t want to hear about those even if I was forced to.

Yui: Kanato-kun!

Laito: Kanato-kun, how cruel! You don’t have to be so mean, do you?

Kanato: Being forced to listen to something you don’t want to hear is pure torture after all...

That being said, Laito. The space next to her. That’s my seat so could you make some room?

You move away a little further too, Ayato.

Ayato: In your dreams! (2) The seat next to Chichinashi is obviously mine!

Kanato: Haah?

Shuu: ...Noisy as always. I could hear you guys’ voices all the way from outside the car...

Yui: Shuu-san...!

Laito: Oh geez~ You’re acting as if you’re the only outsider.

Shuu: I’m not picky about which seat I take after all.

I understand why you’d want to sit close to her, but making too much of a fuss proves that you’re all still kids.

Ayato: Aah!? Who are ya callin’ a kid!?

Reiji: ...Good grief. You lot are at it again?

Laito: Nfu~ Nice observation, Reiji. I can’t believe you’d guess we’re quarreling.

Reiji: This happens every day after all. How ridiculous. Do you not think it is about time you fight over a different topic for once?

Furthermore...Shuu. Could you not hog the seats all for yourself? You are in the way.

Shuu: There’s plenty to pick from right? Just take one of the other ones.

Reiji: If I sit on the opposite side, I will have no choice but to pain my eyes with the sight of you, no? Come on, make way.

Shuu: Haah, annoying...

Reiji: I am not being ‘annoying’. As the first heir to this family...

Subaru: Can’t you guys pipe the fuck down?...Geez...

*Thud*

Yui: Welcome back, Subaru-kun.

Subaru: Y-Yeah...

Oi, you shitheads. Move out of the way. I’m sittin’ next to her.

Kanato: Hah? You want to sit next to her as well?

Subaru: I never...! It’s not like I want to sit next to her...

I just like the way that seat feels.

Laito: Nfu~ Dare I say that’s a rather cringy excuse? Kukuku~

Subaru: Aah!?

Yui: ( Somehow seeing the guys are still the same as always makes me feel relieved. )

ー The car starts driving

Yui: ( Quite a lot has happened since I came to this house, but I’ve sort of gotten used to it over time... )

( I might just be imagining things, but I feel like the guys have become a lot kinder compared to when I first met them as well. )

( I guess feelings really do change... )

Reiji: ーー Speaking of which, did you all hear?

Ayato: What?

Reiji: Apparently there will be two transfer students coming from the campus in Great Britain.

Yui: Yes, now that you mention it, our teacher said something about that.

Subaru: Props to those guys for goin’ through the extra trouble.

Laito: Do you know something about them?

Reiji: No, not really.

Laito: Then why would you bring that up?

Reiji: It’s simple idle talk. The silence was getting on my nerves.

*CRASH*

Yui: ...!

Kanato: That was the thunder.

Ayato: It started pourin’ as well. What a dragー

Yui: ...The sky is pitch black as well...

Shuu: I mean, it’s night-time after all, so obviously it’d be? What are you saying?

Yui: That’s true but the moon was out earlier so...

Ah, speaking of which, the lunar eclipse will be happening soon, right?

Subaru: The eclipse?

Yui: Yeah.

Reiji: Exactly. I actually wanted to give you all a warning regarding said topic.

Laito: Eh~? What is it~?

Reiji: As you should be well aware, we are not unaffected by the lunar eclipse.

Yui: Eh? Is that so?

Reiji: Well, I doubt there will be any large changes.

We might say or do some things which are out of the ordinary...As well as grow somewhat unstable.

Yui: I see...

Ayato: Oh? Are you worried, Chichinashi?

Yui: Just a little.

Shuu: ーー During last time’s lunar eclipse, the Old Man was so fussy about it, I thought I was gonna go crazy.

Laito: ...Ahー ...I just remembered. We were still living in the Demon World back then, weren’t we?

Kanato: The night is much longer over there, so it was the worst...

Ayato: I remembered. He locked us up inside the castle, didn’t he?

I wonder why that old fart was so wary of it?

Kanato: I picked up some things about that. Apparently...There is a possibility some evildoers could come and attack us...

Yui: Evildoers...?

Ayato: Yeah! You know! He means the bad guys!

Laito: Do you want us to applaud you for that answer? (3)

Reiji: Either way, please be even more cautious than usual, understood? 

Unlike the one in the Demon World, the eclipse will be over in just a few hours this time. I am sure you can at least endure it for that long?

Yui: ( Out of the ordinary...Will everything be okay? I’ve gotten a little worried. )

Laito: Nfufu...

Subaru: The fuck you chucklin’ for, Laito...? It gives me the creeps.

Laito: I figured out what’s on Bitch-chan’s mind~

Yui: Eh...?

Laito: You were wondering just now...What exactly he meant with ‘saying or doing things out of the ordinary’, no?

Yui: ...!

Laito: I figured it out by looking at your expression. You really are such a lewd girl~

Yui: Wha...!? Why does it translate to that!?

Laito: You want to experiment, don’t you? Doing all sorts of things...While we’re being toyed around with by the moon...~

I mean, it would be different from usual, right? I totally relate to you wanting to switch things up every once in a while, nfu~ 

Reiji: ...Laito. I think you’ve said enough. You are corrupting my ears.

Yui: ( The lunar eclipse, huh...? I hope it passes without anything happening. )

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to the living room

Yui: It’s this late already...? I suppose I should hit the hay soon.

Reiji: Oh dear? Going to bed already?

Yui: Yes. It is starting to become a little light outside as well.

Reiji: How about a cup of tea before bed? I got my hands on this new brand of herbal tea.

I would not mind treating you to some?

Yui: Ah, I’ll gladly have some!

Reiji: Very well. Then please wait a few.

ー Reiji walks away as Ayato enters the living room

Ayato: Oh, who do we have here! Not goin’ to bed yet?

Yui: Reiji-san offered me some tea, so I’ll get some rest after I’ve finished my drink.

Ayato: Che...What’s so good ‘bout that crap which tastes of grass?

Yui: Grass...? No way, it’s delicious. 

Ayato: That’s what it tastes like to me. I’m a carnivore (4) rather than a herbivore after all! ...This stuff’s more my ‘cup of tea’. 

ー Ayato moves closer and pins her down

*Thud*

Yui: W-Wait, Ayato-kun! What are you...!? 

Ayato: Lemme suck you. I’m thirsty for blood right now...

*Rustle rustle*

Yui: ( ...At this rate, he’ll take my blood...! )

R-Right! Ayato-kun, did you know?

*Rustle*

Ayato: Aah!? 

Yui: ーー S-Speaking of carnivores, I heard this rumor about a wolf being spotted in the city...

Ayato: A wolf!?

Yui: Y-Yeah. Apparently tons of people witnessed it, so the rumors are spreading like wildfire...

Ayato: Che. What bullshit are you spoutin’? You actually believe there was a wolf!?

Yui: But you know, at school...I alsoーー

Laito: Spotted~ (5)

Yui: L-Laito-kun!

Ayato: ...Laito, don’t get in my way.

Laito: Oh no no. If you want to suck Bitch-chan’s blood, you have to get my permission first.

Ayato: Why do I have to get your permission for everythin’, huh!?

Laito: Ehー? Why, you ask? Well...

*Rustle*

Yui: Kyah!?

Laito: Because Bitch-chan belongs to me~ Right?

Say, Bitch-chan? Wasn’t this ‘wolf’ you saw wearing a hat?

Yui: Eh!? 

Laito: The Big Bad Wolf wearing a hat always has his vision locked on the cute Little Red Riding Hood, you know~?

Ayato: Keh. ‘Big Bad Wolf’, my ass! Anyway, Chichinashi. Did you seriously see a wolf?

Yui: Y-Yeah...Probably...

Laito: When? Where?

Yui: After classes today. On the rooftop at school...

Ayato: Aah? The rooftop? Hah, ridiculous. I bet you just mistook some shadow for a wolf.

Laito: Besides, that’s exactly where I was after classes today.

Reiji: ーー Why were you there after school?

Laito: ...! R-Reiji. Didn’t see you there.

Reiji: Yes. I sure am. Is that a problem for you?

Laito: Not really~?

Reiji: Good grief. With you guys, I never know what to expect the second I take my eyes off you.

You’re either trying to suck her blood, or skipping class...

Ayato: ...! H-How do you know I tried to bite her just now!? You weren’t around earlier, were you!?

Reiji: ーー It became clear as day to me the second I saw her disheveled clothes.

Yui: Eh...! Ah...

*Rustle rustle*

Reiji: You lot truly are beyond hopeless.

ーー Here you go, Yui. I’ve prepared your tea.

Yui: T-Thank you very much!

*Cling*

Reiji: ...Well then, regarding what you said just now...

Yui: Eh?

Reiji: Could you fill me in on the details?

Yui: You mean about the wolf?

Laito: It was just Bitch-chan’s eyes playing tricks on her, no?

Isn’t it like those people who say they can ‘sense’ ghosts after they’ve been told a place is haunted? 

Reiji: I am talking to her.

Yui: U-Uhm...

ー Yui tells him the full story

Reiji: I see.

Yui: However, I’m pretty sure I just saw a wild dog or something along those lines...

Subaru: ...What would a wild dog be doin’ up on the roof? That was a wolf.

Yui: Subaru-kun...?

Subaru: You probably don’t know, but in the Demon World, there are other demonic species who can alter their appearance into those of a snake, eagle or wolf.

We’re livin’ here too, so it wouldn’t be that far-fetched for some wolf to show up.

Yui: T-Then, a resident of the Demon World has changed into a wolf and come to this city?

Subaru: Guess so? There aren’t any wild wolves livin’ ‘round these parts, right?

Reiji: I considered that possibility for a second too, however...

Ayato: What?

Reiji: The Wolf clan living in the Demon World is extremely territorial. Well, the same could be said about the snakes too...

I simply cannot fathom they would come to the human world.

Laito: Ahー ...Now that you mention it, they really are.

I went through hell and back once after messing around with a girl on Wolf territory...

Subaru: ...Then how do you explain the wolf wanderin’ ‘round this city!?

*Thud*

Yui: S-Subaru-kun, calm down.

Reiji: Exactly. Do you really need to lose your temper over everything?

Ayato: Can’t we look at it this way? It’s probably not that concerned ‘bout us.

Vampires aren’t territorial after all.

Reiji: That might be the case for us, but I doubt the same can be said about them.

It is part of their natural instinct after all...

Laito: Nfu~ Then, basically you want to say that the wolf which has been sighted in the city is just a regular one?

Reiji: Or rather, there is one other possibility I can think of.

Yui: Another possibility...?

Reiji: In the Demon World, one more species going by the name of the ‘First Bloods’ exists.

They are said to be the ancestors of every species living in the Demon World.

Ayato: The fuck? That’s a first to me. Besides, I’ve never run into one of those over at the Demon World either.

Reiji: Of course not. They suffered defeat in a war against our Father and Demon Lord Burai, before being banished to a castle.

They are forbidden from leaving.

Laito: Then wouldn’t it be impossible for them to show up here in the first place?

Reiji: You are indeed right. But well, they possess the abilities of the wolf, eagle, snake and bat all at once. 

Therefore, it would be possible for them to transform into wolves as well. I simply wanted to bring it up as one possible explanation.

Subaru: Well, I don’t give a damn. Whether it’s a Wolf or a First Blood.

If they get in the way, I’m gonna crush them!

Reiji: Well, a wolf is hardly a threat to us, but I suppose it would be dangerous for a human such as yourself.

Please be careful, okay? If things take a turn for the worse, do avoid being eaten. Understood?

Yui: Y-Yes...

( Seems like there’s still many things about the Demon World I don’t know. )

( Also the rumored wolf in town...I wonder if he actually exists? Then what I saw might just be... )

( ...I don’t really know yet, but I should definitely be careful for now. )

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to the classroom

Yui: ( Today’s first period is English, huh...? I should take out my textbook and notes...My homework sheet isーー )

*Rattle*

Homeroom teacher: Oiー. Everyone, sit down. I’m going to introduce the new transfer student.

He won’t be transferring into this classroom, but I’ll at least let him introduce himself.

Shin: ...I’m Tsukinami Shin. Nice to meet y’all.

Ayato: ...That guy...

Yui: ( Ayato-kun...? )

Homeroom teacher: He only recently returned to the country after living in Great Britain, so he’ll be taking class in a special classroom for quite some time.

That being said, you’re all students of the same academy, so treat him well, okay?

Homeroom teacher: Ahー Also...If possible, I’d like for someone to show him around the campus.

Shin: Sensei, may I?

Homeroom teacher: Yes, what is it?

Shin: I would like to ask the young lady over there to give me a tour of the school.

Yui: Eh? M-Me?

Shin: Exactly. Can I count on you?

Yui: ...I don’t mind but...

Shin: We’ll see each other during the break then?

ー He leaves the classroom

Yui: ( ...Why me? )

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to the hallway at school

Ayato: Oi, Chichinashi.

Yui: Ayato-kun? And Kanato-kun as well? ...What’s wrong?

Kanato: No, I simply had...somewhat of a weird hunch...

Yui: A weird hunch...?

( Could they be talking about Shin-kun? )

Ayato: You’re gonna show that dude ‘round the place now?

Yui: Yeah, that’s the plan.

Kanato: Do you truly believe you have the right to decide that?

Yui: ( I-I should have figured they’d be upset about that. )

B-But he asked me out of the blue...and the teacher also told us to be nice to him...

Ayato: ...I know that, but still.

Listen up. Be careful of that dude. ...I can’t really put it into words, but he’s givin’ me bad vibes.

Yui: Eh?

Kanato: ...I shall warn you as well. Although I believe it would be best for me to tag along.

For some reason, I feel like I want to keep my distance from him...

Yui: You too, Kanato-kun...?

( I wonder why the two of them are so wary? )

Ayato: Well, we’re ‘round as long as you stay on campus, so it should be fine.

Don’t let your guard down, ‘kay? Understood?

Yui: Y-Yeah.

Kanato: Ah...He has arrived. Well then...

ー Ayato and Kanato leave

Yui: ( ...I wonder what he meant with ‘bad vibes’? )

Shin: Hey, thanks for earlier.

Yui: Yeah. Well then, let me show you around right away...

Shin: I don’t need to see the campus. Instead, why don’t we drop by the rooftop?

Yui: Eh? The roof...? I don’t mind but...Why...?

Shin: ...I figured you might want to witness the lunar eclipse.

Yui: Aah, now that you mention it...

Shin: Also, the inside of this school really reeks (6) for some reason...

Yui: Eh?

Shin: Nothing. Let’s hurry up and go.

Yui: Yeah...

ー The two of them walk away

Shuu: ...

ー The scene shifts to the rooftop

Shin: Aah, the eclipse has begun.

Yui: You’re right...!

( The moon’s colored a bright crimson...slowly becoming chipped, amazing! )

Shin: Is this your first time witnessing one?

Yui: Yeah. It’s a first for me...How beautiful, don’t you think?

Shin: Beautiful, huh?

ー Somebody walks up to them

???: ...Shin.

Shin: Hey, Nii-san.

Yui: Eh?

Shin: Let me introduce him. This is my Nii-san, his name’s...

Carla: I’m Tsukinami Carla.

Yui: N-Nice to meet you...! My name’s Komori Yui.

( I see. Now that you mention it, when the teacher said two transfer students...He must have been talking about Shin-kun and his older brother. )

Carla: ...

Yui: ( ...That being said, he is somewhat of an intimidating individual... )

Shin: Neither of us are used to living here, so we’ll be counting on your help, okay?

Yui: Yeah...If you’re fine with me...

Carla: Shin.

Shin: Yes, Nii-san?

Carla: Take a look.

Shin: Eh?

Yui: ...Ah...!

Shuu: ...

Yui: Shuu-san?

What’s the matter? Are you perhaps here to watch the Lunar Eclipse as we...

Shuu: Haah? Does it look like that to you?

Yui: ...Right.

ー Shuu walks up to Yui

Shuu: ーー Let’s go.

Yui: Eh? M-Me?

Shuu: Yeah. Hurry up.

Yui: B-But...

Carla: I don’t mind. Go if you must.

Shin: Nii-san, are you sure?

Carla: Yes.

Yui: T-Then...See you later. Please tell me if you need anything. Now if you’d excuse me.

ー Yui leaves with Shuu

Shin: Nii-san, do you think we’ll be able to use her?

Carla: No chance.

Shin: Eh? For real? Geez. I was kind to her for nothing then...

If she won’t be of any use to us, why don’t we take her down alongside this school which stinks of Vampires...

Burning everything to the ground...Kukuku. What do you say?

Carla: While it would be impossible in her current state, if we cleanse her, she might just...

Shin: Cleansing, huh? What a drag. For one, I doubt I’ll be able to stand the stench of those Vampires.

But, if we have no other choice, guess it can’t be helped.

Carla: Get everything in order by the end of tonight. Understood?

Shin: Roger. Well, I could probably win against those Vampires while they’re weakened by the lunar eclipse using just one arm.

Carla: Do not let down your guard. That man from just now...He seemed to have caught on somewhat.

Shin: I know.

ー The scene shifts to the hallway

Yui: Wait, Shuu-san!

Shuu: ...Did those guys from earlier tell you anything?

Yui: Eh? No...nothing...

Shuu: I see.

Yui: ...What’s gotten into all of you? I feel as if you’ve been very wary of those two this whole time...

Shuu: You saw it too, right? The lunar eclipse has started.

Because of that, our intuition is off compared to usual. Reiji mentioned it yesterday as well, remember?

We may act or say things out of ordinary...And at the same time, our five senses don’t quite work as well.

Yui: ( Right...That’s why everyone is even more on guard than usual. )

I understand. I’ll be careful.

( I wonder if everything will be okay...While they’re under the eclipse’s effects? )

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to inside the limousine

Yui: ( Phew, I’m glad the day passed without anything happening in the end. )

ー Ayato boards the vehicle

Ayato: Hm? It’s just you today?

Yui: Yup. Where’s everyone else?

Ayato: How should I know? Since they’re not here, I guess they’re not going home by car today?

Yui: ...

Ayato: What are you making that face for?

Yui: No. I’m just a little worried, considering the lunar eclipse has begun as well.

Ayato: Keh. I’m the only one you should be concerned about.

Driver: ーー May I start the vehicle?

Ayato: I don’t mind.

ー The car starts driving

Yui: Will everything be okay...?

Ayato: Are you that worried? You piss me off. You’re just a Chichinashi too!

Yui: I mean, you were all acting kind of off today as well...

Ayato: Che. They’re no kids, I’m sure it’ll be fiーー

ー The car suddenly comes to a halt

Yui: Kyaaah...!!

Ayato: Woah...!?

Driver: A-Ayato-sama...!!

Ayato: ...The fuck was that...!?

Driver: W...Wolves are...!!

Ayato: Aah!?

*HOOOOOOOOWL*

Yui: ...!

Ayato: Oi, Chichinashi...! Move closer!

*Rustle*

Yui: Ayato-kun, what on earth is...?

Ayato: I don’t know...

Either way, don’t leave my side...!!

Yui: Y-Yeah...

*HOOOOOOOOOWL*

Yui: ...!

Ayato: Rest assured...Chichinashi, you belong to me. No way in hell I’m handin’ you over to some wolf!

Yui: Ayato-kun...!!

ー One of the wolves breaks through the window

*SHATTER*

Ayato: Che!!

ー Ayato is attacked by the wolf while protecting Yui

Yui: Ayato-kun!!!!

Ayato: Fuck...That hurt! The fuck’s your problem!!? 

ー The wolf continues its assault

Ayato: Guh...Chichinashi, don’t you dare move from underneath me...!!

Yui: B-But...!

Ayato: Shut up...Guah...!!

*RIIIIIIP*

Ayato: ...Guh...Uu...!!

Yui: ( Oh no, at this rate, Ayato-kun will...!! )

???: Tsk...Where did you all come from...!? Fuck off...!

*THUD*

ー Subaru enters the car

Subaru: What are you doin’!?

*THUD*

ー The wolf backs off

Yui: ...Subaru-kun...!

Subaru: Che...Things are this bad even tho Ayato was ‘round? ...Take that!!

*THUD*

Ayato: Che...

Yui: Ayato-kun...! Things will be okay now...! Hang in there!

Subaru: Oi. Which one of you bastards is next, huh!!?

*Whistle*

*HOOOOOOWL*

Subaru: ...!? Makin’ a run for it...!? Wait...!!

Yui: Subaru-kun...! Wait! Please...Don’t go...!!

Subaru: Che...Fuck...

Yui: Ayato-kun is...!

Ayato: Ugh...

Subaru: He’s out cold...Did he protect you?

Yui: Yeah...!

Subaru: Che...He’s got bite wounds all over...Fuck...They were Wolves from the Demon World after all.

Oi, you. Lend me a hand for a sec. Support this shoulder...

Yui: Okay...!

*Rustle*

Subaru: There we go. I’ll handle the rest. Let’s go. We gotta head back home asap.

Yui: ...Is Ayato-kun okay?

Subaru: Dunno. I’m not a doctor. We gotta show him to Reiji first.

ーー Oi, driver! Che...Our Familiar was beaten as well...

*Whistle*

Yui: What are we gonna do?

Subaru: I called over my Familiar for now. We can leave things be here. Let’s go!

Yui: Okay...!

( Why were we suddenly attacked...? )

( Also, those Wolves from earlier...Where did they...? )

*TIMESKIP*

Yui: Ayato-kun, stay strong...!

Reiji: ...His wounds are rather severe. We will have to make a visit to the Demon World to receive help from a clinic.

Kanato: Is it that bad?

Reiji: If he had been a human, this number of wounds would have resulted in an instant death. 

Yui: ...!

Laito: Ayato-kun tried to play the hero all by himself...

Reiji: We were fortunate Subaru rushed to the scene at once, if he had been even a second delayed...

His throat might have been ripped up to shreds.

Subaru: ...The fuck did those wolves want...? Is the Wolf clan trying to declare war on us!?

Shuu: ...How did you feel about the situation? You’re the only one who actually went head to head with them.

Subaru: I don’t know...I just felt like they were kinda different from the Wolves I would often spot ‘round in the Demon World...

Reiji: If I recall correctly, our Father and the King of the Wolf clan have always been been on good terms.

I find it hard to believe that they - who are so loyal to their own leader - would come and assault us.

Subaru: Then what are they!?

Shuu: First Bloods...

Laito: ...Aren’t those guys locked up in a castle at the Demon World?

Shuu: They should be. However, there’s a possibility they have managed to find an opening to leave the castle.

Reiji: Either way, let us return to the Demon World at once, Shuu.

Shuu: Yeah. Let’s go back. We need to report this to the Old Man too.

Laito: Good grief. We have to return to the Demon World during the eclipse again, huh...?

Kanato: ...We have no other choice...

Yui: Uhm, I...

Shuu: You will stay behind here.

Yui: Eh!? But...

Shuu: The Wolves attacked Ayato. Which means you aren’t their target.

Reiji: That sounds like a good idea. Furthermore, the eclipse is ongoing over at the Demon World as well.

We do not know what may happen. You are a human as well.

Yui: ( Good point...If a human such as myself goes to the Demon World, I’ll only end up slowing them down. )

( I’m worried about Ayato-kun and the others but... )

You’ll be able to come back once the lunar eclipse has ended here, right?

Laito: I’d love to, but I’m not sure?

Reiji: Depending on the wolves’ identity, we might have to end up staying at the Demon World for a while.

Yui: But, there’s an eclipse going on over at the Demon World as well, right? Isn’t it dangerous since you don’t know what may happen...?

Subaru: That’s true but the castle’s bein’ protected by our shitty father’s magic, so don’t worry.

Yui: ...

Subaru: Oh come on, don’t look so anxious. I’m hesitant to leave you all by yourself as well...

Shuu: Haah...It’s a pain but we have no other choice. Oi, let’s get going guys.

ー They start walking away

Shuu: I’m leaving the house in your care.

Yui: Yes...

Laito: It saddens me to have to leave your side...But we can’t leave Ayato-kun like this either.

Kanato: I’ll let you have my pudding, so please wait here like you’ve been told to, okay?

Reiji: Well then...Subaru, please carry Ayato.

Subaru: Haah!? Me again!? Don’t be shittin’ me!!

Yui: ( You guys... )

( Please don’t let anything happen... )

*TIMESKIP*

Yui: Haah...

( Everyone left for the Demon World so I’m all by myself...Somehow the manor feels even more spacious than usual... )

*Rumble*

Yui: ...!!

( I’m a little lonely. Actually, now that I think of it, since I’m alone here now... )

( I could just run away, right? It’s not like anyone’s keeping an eye on me... )

( But...It’s not like I have anywhere to go still...Besides, is there still even a point in running still...? )

I wonder since when I’ve gotten this used to my life here...? 

( At first, I was so terribly scared. It still hurts to have my blood sucked even now...But. )

( Through getting to know everyone, it’s only still a little but...I... )

*HOOOOOWL*

Yui: !!!

( Oh no, the wolves again...? They didn’t target me last time though... )

( Don’t tell me, they think everyone’s still here...? )

...Uu...

ー The scene shifts to the underground waterway

Yui: Haah...haah...!

( In this case, I should try going to the Demon World, even if I end up being a burden. )

( Who knows what will happen to me if I remain here... )

( I’m sure...He will for sure save me... )

[ Choose Shuu ] [ Choose Reiji ] [ Choose Ayato ]

[ Choose Kanato ] [ Choose Laito ] [ Choose Subaru ]

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) He literally just says ‘my secrets’ and pauses between each syllable of secret (ひ・め・ご・と). However, in English ‘se・crets’ doesn’t have the same effect since it’s only 2 syllables, so I changed it a little. He already mentions ‘secret’ in the previous sentence, so it doesn’t change much about the meaning of this interaction.

(2) やーなこった or ‘yaanakotta’ is a very childish and playful way to say ‘no’ or ‘don’t want to’ in Japanese. 

(3) Literally Laito asks if that is the answer they get after he puts on airs while proudly proclaiming his words. Laito often makes these low key sarcastic or snarky comments at Ayato, so I wanted the English translation to have that same feel to it. 

(4) The term 肉食 or ‘nikushoku’ may mean ‘carnivore’, in recent youth culture, it is also used as a synonym for man or woman who are very assertive when it comes to relationship and sex. Meanwhile 草食 or ‘soushoku’ is used for the exact opposite, referring to those who are hesitant to interact with the opposite sex. I don’t know if Rejet intended for it to have this hidden meaning, but I found it an interesting theory nevertheless!

(5) When Laito says ‘見ちゃった’ or ‘micchatta’ here, it can be taken two ways. Either he refers to him walking in on Ayato trying to suck Bitch-chan’s blood, or he actually finished Yui’s sentence, referring that she saw a wolf at school. 

(6) While におう or ‘niou’ could mean ‘to smell’ in general, when it is written as 臭う, it refers to a bad smell. 

[well-its-not-human-anymore]

Lol hi im back, alright this is based off another thung i read by milky theholy1 and its like donatello uses this time machine etc etc. Well what if di. Had one of his brothers (preferabley raph) and the reader go forward 10 years and see they have a family of their own? Idl just thought itd be a fun oneshot :)

Oohhhh I've actually read that fic and I absolutely loved it. Hope I do it justice for ya 🧡

TMNT Oneshot's

Yeah you guessed it- time travel

This was not, under any sort of circumstance, how you thought you were going to spend your Thursday evening. You did get a waffle out of it, so that took some of the edge off but with the boys just waking up they had way too much energy for you to deal with. Excluding Donnie of course, the turtle had been awake for longer than 36 hours and it definitely showed.

Cue you going into a total mom-friend moment (you didn't care if he could technically bench press you he was going to drink his water dammit) and yanking the bottle of melatonin gummies out of your bag to throw at him. No shock was felt when he caught them and raised an eyebrow ridge, you opted to simply flip him off.

Over coffee the two of you sat at his desk and discussed his latest plan, you really shouldn't have been surprised that it was a time machine. You knew Donnie well, of course he'd be the one to think of something like this.

"Okay good, I see your point there- no I'm still not happy that you're making me your test dummy but it is a time machine," You pointed out with an exhausted tone.

The genius seemed to perk up at this and your heart plummeted towards the ground.

"Oh right! I forgot to mention it, you're not going alone. Raph's going with you!"

With that statement now out in the open you took the liberty of pushing your mug to the side to avoid any damage before letting your head slam into the desktop. Donnie, still finding this amusing, poked at your shoulder with a smile. His optimism made you fight against your instinct to groan like a toddler.

"Donnie why t'hell are ya waking me up so damn early?" The very antagonizing, very familiar voice drawled from behind you.

Raphael looked asleep, scratch that, he looked like a whole corpse and a half. Standing in the doorway of his brothers lab and glancing between the two of you like you'd grown extra heads. Which you figured was fair, but the fact that he was perceiving you made you want to light him on fire.

"Shut the fuck up."

"Wha- I didn't say anything! Donnie, don't make me go with him. Literally anyone else. I am legitimately begging you.

"Yeah, what they said, lemme go back to sleep," The terrapin yawned mid sentence and stumbled over his own feet, nearly resulting in him landing on his own face and seriously disappointing you when he didn't. He was too tired to shoot you the normal withering glare and instead opted to shove you off of your chair when he stood up, Donnie did nothing to discourage this.

You gave Raphael a single enraged look and turned your gaze to his brother.

"I'm not going with him."

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

"I can't believe I'm stuck in this fucking box with you."

The turtle scoffed in mild offense and rolled his eyes, attempting to turn around again and in doing so shoved you into the wall with a pathetic groan of annoyance. He was completely ignoring you and while you were fine with that it also made you want to vomit.

"Raphael I swear to god if you crush me one more time I'm gonna French fry your green ass," Your voice may as well have been a growl, that's what it sounded like anyways.

Your companion had the nerve to laugh at you but at least he stopped his movement, you looked the other way, your stare boring into the wall to avoid his questioning stare.

"You good shorty?"

"I'm five eight you fuck-"

The machine rattled around them in protest and the sheet metal looked like it was about to catch fire, you and Raph made hesitant eye contact.

"How likely did Donnie say that this thing was to catch on fire?"

You shrugged helplessly and shuffled your feet as a nervous habit, your shoulder bumped his side as you pushed your way to the door.

"We should check it out, right?"

He didn't get the chance to nod because you'd already stepped out of the machine and back into the room you started in. You gave a sigh of displeasure and glanced around the room. Raph followed behind you and kept his eyes narrowed for threat. You were definitely in the lab, there was no doubt about that. But this lab was cleaner than you'd ever seen in your life and you knew that there was no way that Donnie had cleaned all of this in under five minutes.

You didn't have to be psychic to know that your turtle escort was staring at you, not that you cared, you were far to interested in the photo frame on Donnie's much newer desk. It appeared to be a family picture. Sporting a much older looking Splinter, a more mature Casey and April with their arms around each other, and an even more shocking looking Leo, Mikey, and Donnie, who for some reason all hand someone under their arm who looked shockingly human.

But what really took the air out of your lungs were the four at the side of the picture. A person who you assumed was you, but somewhere in their early thirties, tucked under Raph's arm. That wasn't inherently shocking, but the young boy standing in front of you with your hand on his shoulder and the little girl hanging from the turtle's other arm was.

"Raph?"

He was still clueless.

"Huh?"

"C'mere."

His eyes bulged out of his skull the second they landed on the picture frame in your hand, you gave him a calm raised eyebrow that was concealing your bubbling anxiety within. He took an extra moment to look between you and the picture several times before awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck and watching you set the frame back on the desk.

"I uh- I think this might be a good time to tell ya that I like ya?" At your confused expression he sighed in defeat, "I'm mean to ya because I don't like the feelings you give me..."

You snorted out a laugh and rolled your eyes, "Dude, I'm just mean to you because you act like an ass."

You both took a second to laugh at that, then you heard voices approaching and made a quick scramble back to the machine.

Donnie was eagerly awaiting your feedback and met you with a nervous smile when you both stepped out the smoking door.

"Well? How'd it go? What'd you see? Are you hurt?"

You and Raph shared a glance, hiding the underlying hilarity of the situation at hand. You were the one to respond first.

"Not much. But your lab's clean in the future."

[soukokuwu]

what if chu's s/o escapes port mafia, leaving chuuya to think she left him like dazai did (but in reality, she was pregnant & didn't want the child to grow up in PM. though she has taken extra measures so her son will not be endangered, PM still managed to kidnap him and hold him hostage in exchange for her to come back to their ranks. it is when she comes to save their son that chu discovers that the child is his. you do your own take if you want, your writing, your choice! 💓💓

HIGH RISK, HIGH REWARDS.      genre. hmmm,, i guess it’s fluffy      synopsis. you reveal a secret you’ve kept to yourself for so long, it’s time you finally come clean.      word count. 2,680      author notes. hi, thank you this was an interesting request, i tried not to make it too long. & i usually don’t put so much dialogue (if at all XD) so i hope you can still enjoy this <33

PRESENT.

“Boss, the VIPs are here to see you, they’re being held down at the lobby. Do you want to send them up here?”

The chair swirls around, revealing the man behind the table, a picture of perfect composure. A curt nod is all it takes for the goon to leave the room, ready to escort the guests up.

Once the doors are closed again, he puts the cigarette out on his ashtray, exhaling that last puff of smoke. Gloved fingers intertwine together as he ponders long and hard about how he should greet them later.

The man eyes the drawer under his table, the bottom leftmost one — the special drawer. He opens it languidly to unveil a stash of letters, too many to count at one glance. That’s not surprising though. After all, it’s twelve years’ worth of letters. He grabs the top one, beady eyes glossing over its contents. He folds it back along the same lines.

They all look the same. Made out to him, but with no return address.

TWELVE YEARS AGO.

“They found someone at the house. We have him right now.”

The man on the other line seems to still have something to say, but the redhead doesn’t allow him. It’s a matter that can’t wait.

“Keep him there, make sure he doesn’t leave.”

Chuuya leaves the rest of the torturing to his colleagues as he exits the premises. He recalls what his subordinate reported earlier. ‘Him’? He scoffs. It’s been six years since you left the mafia and basically vanished into thin air. Which is a considerably long time, but Chuuya still can’t wrap the possibility around there being a new guy in your life.

Besides, the redhead didn’t do anything wrong. Why did you have to leave without a word? Why did you feel the need to leave at all, even? It couldn’t be stress. No way. You worked at the Port Mafia casino, yes. You were in charge of it all, and it did anything but stress you out. You loved working there. You loved the gamble. You absolutely revelled in the risk.

They put you in charge of the casino for more reasons than one. You were very calculative, very meticulous. You always had your moves planned out beforehand and you were always able to tell your opponents’ hand without even having to cheat. The gambling was definitely one of the reasons why you were so good at manipulating people. It was also one of the reasons why even Mori asked for your help in some cases.

But your best quality as a mafioso?

Your unpredictability. Or, as Mori dubbed it, your insanity. In both gambling and in general. You had helped the mafia win favours over more than just a few officials by winning against them — be it in poker or any other games. You weren’t even below playing russian roulette. Sure, Chuuya had been worried at first, but after a while it was pretty clear you’d always make it out of it safe — was it luck or was it pure calculation, or a mixture of both perhaps? Chuuya doesn’t really question it. And when it came to planning missions, your unconventional methods always helped, because no one would ever see it coming.

That blew up in his face though. You left him without any clues pertaining to your whereabouts or why you left in the first place. He thought you left along with his ex-partner, that maybe it had something to do with him. But it was apparent that wasn’t the case. Not when you didn’t surface at all even when Dazai did. He couldn’t help but keep thinking of potential things that happened to you. Did you leave because you met someone else? Doubtful. But given how long it’s been, it’s certainly not out of the question that you already did meet someone else by now.

You’re beautiful, smart, fun. You’re everything anyone could wish for. You’re so understanding that sometimes Chuuya questions where you get your patience from. You were just perfect, in every sense of the word.

Chuuya groans just thinking of everything. Even after being kicked to the curb, why is it that now he is still attracted to you? Lucky he was, though. Because that’s the only reason he agreed with Mori’s plan to put all efforts into seeking you out. You were incredibly elusive, and a pain in the ass because of that. And had it not been for a certain intense war against an enemy organisation, they would’ve let you go on with your life, wherever you ended up. You’ve been very quiet, not spreading anything about the mafia, or else Mori would’ve picked up on it. Very well-behaved, and a pardon would’ve been your reward.

But even the best needs help sometimes. And Mori specifically wants yours. He probably figured Chuuya was the biggest factor that would tilt things in their favour, and he agrees. Which is why he heads this mission in the first place. Not only is he the biggest shot at getting you back, but he wants to see you. Wants to know exactly why you left him the way you did.

Closure. He wants closure.

Life is funny though. Because he ends up with more questions than answers when he opens the door to his office.

Suddenly all the idle chatter he passes by in the hallway makes sense. The ones that just skip past his ears because he’s too deep in thought about you. He remembers the gist of them though. Things like “he’s so cute, like a model,” and “right? I think he looks handsome” (to which Chuuya was slightly annoyed by because he thought it was referring to your new beau).

But no, he wasn’t greeted with a man. He opened his doors to find a boy with eyes as blue as the ocean sitting on his desk, fiddling with his pens. Eyes that remind him of the exact shade he looks at in the mirror everyday. Chuuya hurriedly shuts the door, locks it, and steps hesitantly toward the boy.

This boy… looks roughly about six years old. And Chuuya feels his breath hitching in his throat. That’s around the time you went missing. He feels everything closing in around him, the fear of why you left him finally being made clear to him.

Weirdly enough, the boy isn’t the tiniest bit scared. His head is tilted, fingers still fiddling with Chuuya’s fountain pen, and waiting for Chuuya to reach him. He blinks his little eyes, before finally smiling up at him after a while. He opens his mouth, a simple word leaving his delicate lips.

“Daddy!”

Chuuya isn’t even allowed a further minute to process it before he hears knocking on the ceiling and someone falls through the vent onto the floor; one with an all-too-familiar figure. And who flashes an all-too-familiar grin.

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Half an hour later Chuuya finds himself struggling to process all the information you’ve unloaded on him. He observes as his son draws on a random piece of paper he’s found lying around, in the other side of the room.

“You let them think they’ve captured our son, when in reality you were waiting for them to?”

You nod. Chuuya internally facepalms himself. How is it that you’re able to gamble with this, too? With your — and his — son’s life on the line? You basically left him there to be abducted, knowing that they won’t do anything without Chuuya’s permission (who’s to say he wouldn’t have allowed them to torture the kid? Well, he wouldn’t, but still…) and then sneak yourself past security and into his office, all in the hopes of letting him know he has a son?

Then again, you wouldn’t bet something like that if you didn’t believe that things would absolutely go your way. He’s been with you for so long before, he’s familiar with your moves and the way you think. Not completely, but good enough.

It was so brilliantly simple. (Also, you used to sneak into his office through the vents when your relationship was still under wraps, so it really wasn’t a surprise to him that you chose to sneak in through there now.)

“Why now, after all this time? Why tell me now?”

For a moment he catches a brief look of guilt wash over your face. You lie back on the couch on your spot next to him, and close your eyes, as though bracing for an outburst as his response.

“I didn’t want to tell you at all, at first…” you trail off, the guilt completely taking over you now. “I only came now because… I want you to get Mori off my back.”

Now Chuuya understands why.

So, you didn’t even intend to give him a chance to meet his son, let alone let him be involved in any part of your life. But you only appeared because you knew Mori would come after you, demand for your help. The only reason you showed yourself today… was to convince Chuuya to help you. Because if there’s anyone who could convince Mori to back off, Chuuya could. And you understood that all too well.

Chuuya can just laugh at himself right now. How foolish is he, to think that you came back because you still harboured feelings for him. How pathetic of him.

He can sense his expression growing grim. Not that he’ll make any attempts to conceal it. His cerulean eyes travel from his son to you. You seem a little less guilty now, though. You look… at peace, somehow.

“What makes you think I’ll do what you want?”

“Because you want to prove me wrong.”

Your answer catches him off guard, and his anger is replaced by utter confusion. You take his silence as your cue to explain.

“I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t think you’d make a good father and do what’s right for our son. Prove me wrong. Keep our son away from this. Do what a good father would and give him a chance to grow up normal.”

Chuuya scoffs. So that’s why you didn’t tell him anything. Never told him you were pregnant. Never hinted at a goodbye. You’d rather be branded a traitor like Dazai instead of having to make Chuuya choose between you and the mafia. He knows; if you set your mind on something, it’s hard to change it. And in other situations it might’ve been negotiable, but not with your baby.

You know Chuuya would never betray the mafia. That’s why you think he’d never make a good father. Because he can’t put you or the baby first. And now… Now you come with good faith. You’re trying to believe that he can learn to be a good father.

Starting with this choice.

This impossible choice.

Except not really. He knows what he’ll end up choosing anyway. You were right. If he knew you were pregnant he’d have convinced you to stay with the mafia, convinced you that he’d make sure the baby is well-protected. But then he’d be missing the point of your whole argument. You grew up in the mafia, and technically, so did he. You knew how it didn’t allow a chance at normalcy, and you didn’t want to strip your baby of that choice. You wanted your child to at least have a taste of what being normal is like, before you ultimately let them choose what they want.

Now, even if he gives an unfavourable reply, he knows you’d do anything to keep his son away from the mafia. It’s only a question of whether or not you’d have to struggle against Chuuya for it.

Silently, he stretches a hand out to you as he gets up from the couch. He can see the subtle surprise on your face. You’re impressed, aren’t you? He has on the best poker face since you’ve met him. You can’t guess what he’s thinking, this being the first of such instance since you’ve met him. He doesn’t say a thing when you ask him what he’s up to, only continuing to offer his hand to you, keeping mum.

A gamble, a risk you’d have to take. You can either take his hand and see where he leads you, which could lead to you getting your way or it could just lead to total destruction. Or, you can refuse, and then you’d have to figure a way out on your own. Which Chuuya doesn’t doubt you’d already have ingrained in your head.

But he knows you’ll choose the former. Why? It’s the only one where an inherent risk is present. Because you’d be totally in his mercy.

And that’s why you find yourself flown out of the headquarters, onto some random building’s rooftop. A perfect view of the setting sun and an even more perfect view of your old lover, striking crimson locks imitating the beauty of the orange sunset.

Looks like it paid off.

“Will you let me know where you’re staying? A child needs his father,” Chuuya asks you, your fingers intertwined in his, and you forgot just how much you missed this; him.

“And the mafia needs you.”

A swift rejection, but he’s not going to give up so easily.

“I have a right to know. He’s my son too.”

You inch closer to him and he feels like his heart is going to leap out of his chest. It’s been six years since he’s been this close to you, and he can’t believe he has to let you go again. With your son in tow, too. Without so much as a clue as to where you’re going to move to. No way to find out. Given that they only managed to find you in the first place because you wanted to be found.

“Maybe if you’re the boss or something.”

PRESENT.

Now here he is, sitting in the office, new king of the Port Mafia. And his two very important guests are making their way up here. Chuuya hurriedly puts the letters back away. They were how you communicated with him, updated him on you and your son. Though you never put any return address, so Chuuya couldn’t send one back even if he wanted to. Also, you didn’t include any photos, so Chuuya is curious how his son has turned out.

Your timing is impeccable, to choose to visit him just as he’s taken over the office. He suspects maybe you have your ways, what with the vast amount of officials you have wrapped around your finger.

But as the doors open, every other thought he has is thrown out the window. You enter first, and his face lights up, seeing those familiar pair of eyes, so warm, so inviting now. And behind you, your son, now slightly taller than you (and probably Chuuya but he refuses to think of that), greeting him with a polite nod and a smirk on his face.

A wave of understanding washes across his child’s face when he spots something hanging on the wall behind his father.

“Hey! You kept the drawing I did when I first came here!”

He had drawn the three of you together, with himself in the middle, his parents on either side of him, holding his hands and walking in a park.

Chuuya chuckles. “Of course, it was the only thing your mom let me remember you by.” He shifts his gaze over to you as your son gets the hint, moving to admire another far corner of the room.

You let yourself fall into his arms, and Chuuya hugs you tight. Because it’s taken eighteen years. A long, torturous eighteen years apart, which honestly was a run in circles, though it was a necessary one. But now finally, he can be together with you, and his son. Chuuya looks down at you with the warmest gaze you’ve ever seen, wet eyes threatening to spill with tears any moment now.

“Welcome home, my love.”

tags. @yokelish @gogolparadise @fyowyn-writes @animatedarchives

[volexis]

⤷ december 14 ▸ don’t leaf me hanging ft. bakugou

summary: holiday parties aren’t the best way to spend a pleasant, snowy evening, especially when you bump into your frenemy practically everywhere you go. your evening takes a turn for the worse when you’re stuck together beneath the most odious sprig of the season: mistletoe. how will you get out of this one?

warnings: slight hint of college au, some cursing, mentions of drinking, unwanted advances

wc: 1.9k

a/n: this was horrible but terribly gratifying to write at the same time,,, low key my first time writing for both bakugou and bnha and high key v nervous about posting this since its like a billion years late but i guess its a christmas present?

note: find the rest of the advent calendar here!

Idle chatter rings in your ears as you cradle a mug of now cooled hot chocolate. The room was pleasantly warm, but the onset of partygoers stifled you. Everything was swelteringly suffocating and you gave Mina a sheepish smile. “I’m gonna go refill my drink, I’ll be right back.”

“(Y/N), you haven’t even touched—”

You paid her no heed and all but bolted towards the kitchen. Immediately the atmosphere quieted, the living room’s noise dulling to an easily ignored thrum. You leaned against the marbled counter, fingers skimming the slight pores of the mineral. 

“What’re you doing here?” You heard a growl from the other side of the table, the tenacity of its timbre almost making you drop your cup. You spun to meet scarlet eyes that practically burned into you. Immediately, a scowl pulled at your lips. Of course, it was none other than the resident pain in your ass, nuisance extraordinaire: Bakugou Katsuki. 

He had it in for you the day you’d met, that much you knew. It was as if he took one look at you and dismissed you as what he generously liked to call ‘an extra’. As if he couldn’t be bothered to dignify you with his presence, let alone a conversation. Normally, you’d brush it off but something about it all irked you to no end. You made it your mission to be around him as much as possible, learn what makes him tick as well as what made him hate you so. Initially, he reacted as predicted. He practically leveled the building that first day in his booming voice and irate fury, to which you responded with nothing but a laugh. As enigmatic as he may seem, Bakugou was surprisingly predictable. 

The weeks passed by and you’d come to notice his yelling had toned down, not significant enough to be perceptible by the rest, but his words no longer held the same sharp edge as before though his aggressivity was as boisterous as ever. Soon enough you began to feel more at ease in his presence, even going as far as looking forward to the next time you’d see him at your lectures, in the halls, out at lunch. Catching yourself scanning the area for his presence every time you’d enter a room. In short, you had fallen for him. Hard.

Together you fell into a steady rhythm. He allowed you to remain in his vicinity unscathed and you didn’t have to tiptoe around his easily detonated temper. 

You quickly learned his moods were more fluctuant than you ever could’ve guessed. The days leading to the small holiday party you found yourself in were riddled with the same explosive disposition from when you’d first met. Every stinging barb and taunt wounded you a little more than you’d like to admit. And then, radio silence. You no longer studied together, he no longer met your eyes when you had made a particularly interesting comment. Back to the very beginning when he didn’t even know you existed. You didn’t know what hurt more. 

You forced yourself to take a deep breath and smooth your words into a clipped, polite speech.

“I’m in the kitchen, same as you. Do you have a problem with that?”

The blonde balked, opening his mouth to spew a retort, when Mina stumbled into the kitchen, bright smiles and full of boundless cheer. “(Y/N) since you’re in here would you mind getting me and—” 

Her words died on her lips, tripping over each other as he planted her hands on your shoulders and tugged you away from the blonde, an uneasy grin on her face. “We’ll be going now.”

You gave him what you hoped looked like a sincere smile; one that hid the painfully evident panic that shot through your limbs. You knew well enough not to provoke him nor did you have the energy to do so. 

Mina stopped pulling once you were safely outside in the hallway. Silence followed as her hands slipped from their perch on your shoulders to your own, shaking them lightly to force you to look at her.

“What was that?” The incredulity that filled her words matched her bug-eyed expression, swerving as she alternated from staring at you and the room you’d just exited. 

“Actually, I don’t know.” You were equally as shocked and stumped as the poor girl. 

“Well, in any case, I don’t think it’s worth ruining Kirishima’s party over whatever it is that’s been going on between you two lately. Just in case, it’ll be safer to avoid him for the rest of the evening, yeah?”

You nodded numbly and allowed her to take you back to the living room now outfitted with a hastily put together dance floor. Mina was right, anyhow. From just one quick look towards the rest of the room, you could tell everyone was enjoying their evening, basking in the warmth coming from the central heating as well as the close proximity. There’s no need to need to spoil the festivities with a silly quarrel you could fix any other day. However, there was one slight issue with your plan. Out of the corner of your eye, you’d catch a glimpse of spiky blonde hair. No matter where you’d go, he’d still be there, somewhere. Every move you made seemed to draw him closer. With a huff, you maneuvered around the throng of dancers to make your way back to the kitchen. There’s still a chance he’d follow you, but at least you’d be further away from the vigilant stares of the crowd. 

As you thought, Bakugou was already leaning against the marbled counter once you stepped in. 

“Mind telling me why you’re avoiding me?”

Before you could answer him, someone else stumbled into the kitchen seemingly towards you, all wobbling steps and inebriated smiles. His drink sloshed in the dented plastic cup he held onto so tightly, rivulets of it spilling down the side and splashing onto his clothes. “You’re really pretty, would you give me your number?”

You scoffed at his sudden forwardness, a scowl pulling at your lips once you had fully registered his words. “Why should I?”

The man, startled at your response, was silent for a beat. Seemingly regaining his composure, he pressed closer into you, backing you further into the counter. “Well,” he leaned towards your ear as if his next words were to be shared only with you. “If you do give me your number, maybe I can call you up and I could show you a good time. Whaddaya say, pretty thing?”

Words failed to form, tripping over each other as you stumbled away from him, away from whatever he thought he was doing. You bumped into something solid as you backtracked, turning around to see that it had been the fiery blonde himself. 

“That’s not happening, asshole, we’ll be going now.” absolute venom dripped from his words as he smiled cruelly, his lips contorting into something akin to a sneer as he takes your hand in his, tugging you away. 

Despite the constant abrasiveness in his everyday mannerisms,  you couldn’t help but marvel at the gentle manner he used to intertwine his fingers with yours. He wasn’t rough in pulling you from the kitchen, he didn’t crush your hand in his grasp or practically pull your arm out of its socket. He was almost sweet, coaxing you away from the situation. 

He only stopped once you were a safe distance away, turned in the direction you’d come from, to presumably make sure the offender hadn’t followed. You’d been too preoccupied with the softness of his touch to notice him watching the kitchen doorway and then the rest of the crowd once he noticed the other student sift in, glaring sharply every time their eyes met. Suffice to say, you were probably not going to hear from him in a long time. 

“Bakugou?” He let out a noise of acknowledgment, eyes still trained on something across the room. 

“You can let go of my hand now.” 

He blinked owlishly, looking down at your fingers as if he now just realized what he had been doing. “You never answered my question.”

“And you haven’t let go of my hand.”

His next words were drowned out by tumultuous cheers and wild shouts of the other students. They’d formed a crowd behind the two of you. Why?

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” You looked to Bakugou in confusion, who responded by pointing up to the top of the doorway to spot a small tangle of mistletoe lies poorly taped to the wood. 

Realization dawned on you and frustration ebbed into your rapidly spiraling thoughts. Of all people to be stuck under that odious herb, it just had to be the one who sent your poor heart into overdrive every time you’d catch one of the softer, more peaceful looks he’d sport around you. Part of you wanted to grab him and plant your lips on his, that part of you had longed for such an opportunity for a while now, longed for him. The other part of you was caught up in trying to process Bakugou’s radical change in behavior. From one minute to the next he had gone from his usual brutally harsh demeanor to holding your hand so tenderly as if he was scared to hurt you.

“We don’t really have to do this if you don’t want to,” You were unsure of what you wanted, what you thought of him. He said nothing as he gently placed his hands on your cheeks, drawing closer till his lips met yours. The world drowned out around you. Electricity surged through your every nerve and you shivered as you felt him nip at your bottom lip. You drown in the taste of spiced cinnamon and his tongue swiping along the roof of your mouth. It’s dizzying and you almost couldn’t believe it had happened once he pulls away. 

Once you look into his eyes you’re suddenly aware of the crowd’s roar behind you. The full weight of the past few moments settle in and you don’t know if you want to slap him or kiss him again. 

“You never answered my question, but I have been treating you like shit all week. You don’t deserve it. You really don’t,” he repeated, tapering off as he fumbled for the right words to say.

“I got scared of my feelings, of what they meant, and I pushed you away because of it.”

“That’s putting it lightly, Bakugou,” You let the ghost of a smile pull at your lips. After all, that’s probably the closest he’d get to an apology.

“Dumbass, don’t interrupt me while I’m trying to tell you that I like you—” His cheeks burned once he realized what he’d said. You mirrored his reaction, eyes widening at his words.

“You like me?” Your smile quirked into a full grin as you pulled him back towards you in another kiss. Immediately his hands shot to your waist, pressing you closer to him as you lost yourself in the way his lips melded against yours. He’s everywhere, up the curve of your spine and down your arms, kissing you with a fervent urgency you’d never known before. The feeling of melting so deliciously against him made your nerves sing. A sudden giddiness spun through you as you pulled away and mirrored Bakugou’s radiant smile. 

“Luckily, I just so happen to like you too.”

taglist: @tsumuseum @amoroushero @mrslordexplosionmurder @ssat0ris​ @osamusriceballs @seraphgabrielle​ @1642lux

strike through means I wasn’t able to tag you

additional note: event taglist is open! send an ask if you’d like to be added <3

[kozisjournal]

𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆- 𝑘𝑎𝑡𝑠𝑢𝑘𝑖 𝑏𝑎𝑘𝑢𝑔𝑜𝑢

round two, let's go !

warnings: blood mentions, and cursing, but that's about it.

notes: this katsuki bakugou is the king of dragons, i've had the absoulte worst brainrot for this over the past couple days so, wrote this and prayed it would help... it didn't but, it was worth a shot. words: 1.5k

enjoy !

battle was always… tricky for katsuki. on one hand, he loved it. he was well trained by both parents. yet on the other, there was this feeling. he couldn’t even begin to explain it. but there it sat in the pit of his stomach once again, like an itch he couldn’t scratch. everyone told him to ignore it, push it down, use it as fuel for the fire that burned in his deep ruby eyes. he couldn’t stop the grimace that steadily built its way across his face as his falcata plunged into another torso.

he’d never get used to the sound of destruction he left in his wake, his army crying out with each savage movement. they wanted him to keep going, so he must. reclaim the lands that were once theirs, and kill anyone that stood his way. his leg raised to kick the poor bastard off his sword, the urge to gag settling on the back of his tongue. the scent of blood hung over his head as it trailed down his arm, sticky and dark, yet his eyes still moved to find the next extra to drive his sword through.

an unfamiliar wail rang in his ears. it sounded inhuman, and so angry. defeated almost. he couldn’t get distracted now, taking a few steps through the blood soaked grass under his boots, then he heard it again… what the fuck?

“this is what your king wants, isn’t it? for your useless race to die along with the rest of your villages.”

how had that elf gotten past him? his body tensed, feet stabling under him, sword raised and ready for impact. without so much as another breath, he darted through the crowd, threading between other pairs fighting, until he felt a crack. katsuki looked through his lashes, evil smirk plastered across his lips while a disheartened chuckle passed them.

“the last thing i want is for my people to die by the hands of you scum.”

by its own will, his wrist twisted, a nasty sound coming from the man he’d just impaled on his blade. a calloused hand pushed him away, then without looking, the same hand extended out to who he’d just saved. they pushed it away, and that caught his attention. his gaze moved to meet theirs, one brow raising while he looked over their smaller figure.

“i didn’t need your help. i had it under control.”

“alright, whatever. next time i won’t save your ass then.”

within a blink of bright red eyes, he was the one looking up, cold metal pressed across his neck.

“good, last thing i need is your help.”

his hands came to rest on either side of his head, palms up in surrender while he studied their face. he’d never seen them within the kingdom. maybe they were a villager? it didn’t really matter… they were beautiful. the king, of course, couldn’t believe in love at first sight. after he took home this win, he was to be married to a fae princess. everyone knew that, so why did it feel like his heart had completely stopped? clean air scrubbed away at his lungs as they drew in a deep breath.wait, did they say something…?

“ya gonna get up, king? or are you gonna keep giving me that weird look?”

shit! they were already on their feet, now extending out a hand of their own, much smaller than his. it was kinda cute… no! no, no, no. not cute.. um.. so what was it then? he brushed himself off once he was standing, his fingers twitching. is he nervous? no, he couldn’t be. the king of dragons doesn’t get nervous from a simple glance. they cleared their throat, pulling him from his internal monologue of confusion. within that moment, y/n’s own face began to heat at the feeling of king katsuki’s hand still wrapped around theirs. the skin felt soft against his own, dried blood and a lifetime of training coated his hand like a blanket. y/n could almost feel the weight of an entire kingdom within it, a sense of pride filling their chest as they examined the king again.

“thanks for saving me… i guess. don’t let that go to your already inflated ego though.”

katsuki could only laugh, shaking his head and, regretfully, pulling his hand from their grasp.

“yeah, yeah. maybe watch yourself and i won’t have to come rescue you again.”

“you make it sound like i was a damsel in distress.”

“well… ow-!”

They landed a swift hit to the crown of his head, looking up at him with a confusing expression. katsuki couldn’t read it at first, there was a mix of both anger and half of a smile written across their face.

“didn’t i tell you to not let that go to your head, you oaf.”

“yeah, you did. but last time i checked. i’m the king, and you’re the smallest warrior in this battle.”

a pair of arms moved to cross over their chest, while a pout, clear as day, sat across their lips. that was it. katsuki could feel a smile tug at the corners of his own lips, attempting to stifle a laugh, but failing miserably. they wanted to land another smack, however, if they did, that would only give the king another reason to laugh.

“what's so funny, your highness?”

the title brought him back down to earth, the light hearted expression now becoming no more than a dream to the pair.

“we gotta war to win… i’ll see you out there.”

their head turned, eyes narrowing as they scanned across the horizon, katsuki’s hand extending out to rest against their exposed shoulder.

“fight with me.”

“what?!”

with the most dumbfounded expression they could muster, their eyes moved to look over the king in front of them, instead of the dwindling battle.

“what? want me to repeat it? i don’t want anymore of my people to get hurt, and it looks like you’ve fought hard already.”

“so you want me, a complete stranger, to fight by your side?”

he only nodded, his own gaze now moving to examine the ongoing fight. maybe this was a terrible idea. the worst he’d ever come up with. but right now the only thing that mattered to him was keeping his people safe, and y/n was one of them. instead of disregarding his request, they stood beside him, readying their own weapon.

“i don’t think i ever got your name.”

“yeah, you can get it after we win. sound fair?”

he looked over them again, a sly smile sitting across his face while he gave a short nod.

“better make sure we win then. let’s go.”

he sped off without a second thought, roaring with nothing but excitement now. the itch had been scratched. he wouldn’t have to explain why battle was so tough for him anymore. he’d found his reason for fighting. a partner. y/n watched him run off with a sort of amazement coursing through them. maybe the king wasn’t as bad as everyone said he was. sure, he seemed kinda dumb but it was almost endearing.

the pair fought seamlessly, covering for each other when needed, taking turns on ending strikes. they stayed side by side until the end, and katsuki caught himself staring in awe more than once. there was something soothing about having a partner out there. someone to share a win with, someone to trust. by the gods, it’s been so long since he’s found someone he could trust in a fight. this was something he could get used to it. now. the king wasn't supposed to get attached to someone he just met, much less someone he’d most likely never see again. but they did meet again. plenty of times after that.

after a month of what seemed like endless fighting, the elfan people finally gave up, pathetically waving a white flag in figure eights. katsuki’s army stood behind him, raising their weapons in victory, jumping and dancing like the barbarians they truly were, and one again caught his attention. his shorter battle partner sprinted towards him, wrapping him in a tight hug, weapon now lying idle on the ground beside them. the two stayed like that for what seemed like years, holding each other and basking in the glory of the sucess they’ll be taking home. he felt something whispered into his skin, eyebrows knitting a story of confusion, slowly pulling away from the smaller figure in his hold.

“sorry.. what was that?”

“y/n. that’s my name.”

he stood completely dumbfounded, all this time, they’d been joined at the hip. throughout long grueling days and cold nights, they’d been at each other’s sides. and yet, king katsuki was just getting their name.

“you always have this dumb look on your face. you understand how introductions work, right?”

“yeah.. of course i do. ours was just different, that's all.”

“just don’t forget who covered you out there. i’m going back home.”

his head nodded slowly, offering them a smile in return. and that was it, they turned on their heel and walked in the opposite direction while hoards of warriors within the dragon kingdom celebrated around him. it only took a moment for that devilish smirk to spread across his lips, following behind them, and leaving his more than tired army behind...and he never met that fae princes, either, for the record.

[kyuuppi]

(Un)planned (requested)

Pairing: Orihara Izaya x Pregnant!Reader

Genre: fluff, a lil crack-y

Word Count: 4.9k

As you walk out of the hospital you can’t help but to feel as if you’re in a dream, as if nothing is real. The only thing tying you to reality are the freshly printed documents verifying your pregnancy that feel unnaturally heavy in your purse. The reality of the situation was easier to accept than you expected, really. You have been married for a while and you can recall several instances in which you two hadn’t been exactly safe with your escapades. Being pregnant is not something that bothers you either—you have always wanted to have children at some point in your life. The only problem, the only thing keeping you from feeling properly excited by the news is the father of the child itself—Orihara Izaya. It is not something the two of you had ever discussed and, knowing first hand just how dangerous his field of work as one of Japan’s best information brokers...well, you aren’t sure if you two could create a healthy environment for a child to grow up in. Providing love and food on the table was one thing, providing safety and security was another.

At the thought of food your stomach involuntarily grumbles. You didn’t realize just how hungry you are until now. You hadn’t eaten all day, the nervousness about the doctor’s visit having ruined your appetite. It is by sheer coincidence that you notice a familiar face only a few meters ahead entering the infamous sushi bar. You follow after him without hesitation.

“Welcome to Russia Sushi,” Simon greets with a grin.

You smile in return before sidling into the booth next to the blond man you had followed in.

“Hi, Shizuo,” you greet shyly. The man nods in acknowledgement, already looking over the menu.“Y/n,” he returns coolly, “how have you been?” His gaze suddenly darkens as his grip on the laminated menu tightens and you can already tell what he’s about to ask next.

“Has...the flea been treating you well?”

You have no doubt one word of complaint about Izaya would have Shizuo tearing the city apart to kill him. Shizuo was one of the first people in Ikebukuro you had met who you could call a “friend.” Although he wasn’t the type to frequent brunch dates and sleepovers to watch anime and gossip, he always made sure to greet you with a small smile, regardless of how his day was going, and had promised to protect you if you ever needed it.

It was already several months into your friendship when you had started dating Izaya and at first Shizuo had...not been happy, to say the least. To the blond, Izaya was incapable of genuinely caring about anyone but himself. There was always an interior motive and the people around him would always be in danger. After several long, long months of persuasive speaking on your part (naturally Izaya just got a kick out of teasing the man about your relationship rather than seeking approval), an official marriage to the man, and Shizuo seeing you still remaining unharmed through it all, Shizuo finally seems to accept your relationship—or at least tolerate it. However, you know one bad word about Izaya and Shizuo would be ready to kick his ass to Hong Kong on your behalf.

‘I wonder what he’d think about me not telling Izaya about the pregnancy.’ You mentally sour at the thought and physically shake your head to get rid of it.

“He’s been an angel,” you joke. Shizuo scoffs and you end up giggling as well. Regardless of disagreeing on just how bad Izaya is, you both know he’s far from an angel.

He had always been more curved horns and pointy tail than halo and wings...but you love him all the same.

Before Shizuo can verbally respond (likely with an insult about ‘the flea’), Simon appears behind the bar before you two, ready to take your orders. As usual, Shizuo places his order first so that you have a little longer to decide.

“I’ll take the natto sushi—” you can’t help but to shiver in disgust at the sound. “—and today’s special.”

You perk up at that.

“Special?”

Simon grins at your interest.

“Yes, today’s special is yummy drink, tastes just like Russian seaweed farms! Special is very good.”

The idea of a Rusian seaweed farm drink is moderately concerning but between Simon’s excitement and Shizuo’s unbothered look you decide to order it against your better judgement, along with some fatty tuna.

Izaya must really be rubbing off on you.

You and Shizuo share a few minutes of idle talk while you wait for your orders. He tells you of the most ridiculous people he has had to collect debts or protect Tom Tanaka from this month and your laughter has you forgetting about all of your pregnancy worries. You’ve completely relaxed by the time drinks arrive and you take a sip without hesitation.

“Mmm,” your eyes widen as you regard Shizuo, “this is actually really good!”

Shizuo offers a rare boyish grin before he sips his own pale green drink, watching you go in for more.

“Right? You can hardly even tell there’s any vodka in it.”

 ‘Vodka!?’

You gasp, accidentally inhaling extra liquid before you begin spluttering in panic. Shizuo quickly jumps into action, harshly patting your back but careful not to use too much strength. Half of the restaurant is looking your way in concern and even Simon looks like he’s just about to catapult himself over the bar to help you when you finally calm down and your choking is reduced to harsh pants while you try to catch your breath. You think most of the drink had been expelled in your coughing fit but you still feel queasy and anxious. What if it hurts the baby?

“Y/n, are you okay?’ Shizuo asks, hand awkwardly rubbing your back in an attempt to be comforting. “Are you allergic or something.”

“N-no, it’s not that I’m allergic but...I can’t have alcohol for a while.”

Shizuo raises a brow at that and you feel grateful that everyone seems to have returned to their own work by now, no longer staring at you. Simon has left the bar to attend to a customer in one of the private dining rooms, leaving you and Shizuo essentially alone in your corner of the sushi restaurant.

“Why can’t you have alcohol for a while? You used to love sake.”

He sends a teasing smirk with the last part, referring to an embarrassingly drunken moment you’d had a few weeks into living in the city. Shizuo had sworn to never bring it up again but clearly he paid that particular oath no mind.

“Well, um…”

You begin to fidget nervously. Originally you had no intentions of telling anyone about the baby but...Shizuo was a good friend, maybe your closest friend in Ikebukuro aside from Celty. You have no doubts he would be nothing but supportive and kind to you in a time when you need it most—that is, after he gets over the idea of another person sharing Izaya’s DNA being brought into the world, of course.

“Promise me you won’t tell anyone—not even Izaya. Especially not Izaya.”

Shizuo perks up at that, seeming interested in the prospect of you having something not even Izaya, your husband and the greatest information broker in all of Japan, knows about. Perhaps a small part of him would even relish in having something to keep from Izaya, some sort of “one-up” on the man.

“Of course,” he replies immediately, nodding.

You take a deep breath, bracing yourself.

“I’m pregnant.”

Everything seems to pause at your confession. Shizuo sits stock still and as the silence stretches on you begin to fear he didn’t hear and you’ll have to repeat it. However, before you can open your mouth to repeat those incriminating words, you’re startled by a sharp snap and look down to find the wooden chopsticks in Shizuo’s right hand broken in half. You trust him and know he would never hurt you but your heart rate still spikes and you tense in your seat, hand subconsciously resting over your stomach protectively. Shizuo's wide eyes follow the movement.

“Y-you're…" He finally stutters out. "...whose is it?"

You gawk, suddenly offended.

"Wh-who!? It’s Izaya's, you dumbass, who else!"

"I didn't want to make any assumptions!"

Your anger quickly dissolves into giggles at Shizuo's panicked expression and he visibly relaxes at the sound. There are a few moments of moderately comfortable silence between the two of you before Shizuo sighs and speaks again.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised, you've been married for a while now." His expression sours once he mentions marriage and you can tell he's internally reliving some of his worst encounters with your husband.

"I just can't believe there's going to be two of them now," he pouts. "That annoying piece of—"

"Hey," you interrupt, a teasing smirk on your face. "That's my baby daddy you're talking about."

Shizuo’s pales, looking like he'll throw up in disgust at any moment and you can't help but to laugh.

Maybe this whole pregnancy thing isn’t so bad.

. . .

You had been wrong—very wrong.

After your impromptu lunch with Shizuo, as you were walking out with your extra bag of fatty tuna to-go, it suddenly hit that you were about to go to the home you shared with Orihara Izaya pregnant with the unplanned child he knows nothing about. You nearly had a panic attack several times on the walk there as you mentally played through a multitude of scenarios of how to tell him and what his reaction might be. Izaya is involved in dangerous, illegal work—you can’t imagine a family and kids fits anywhere in that. You were lucky enough to have been asked to marry the man—there’s no way he would be ready for children as well.

‘Would he tell me to get rid of it?’

You had worked yourself so much on the way that by the time you arrived to the apartment you were mentally exhausted and barely managed to place the sushi in the fridge before you collapsed on the couch and turned on the television to zone out until Izaya came home.

A few hours later a sound at the front door jolted you to attention.

“I’m home~!” a man’s voice cheerfully booms from the entrance.

You silently pray to every god in existence that you can pull an Oscar-worthy act before plastering a smile on your face and standing to greet your husband.

“Welcome home, Izaya! I bought fatty tuna, it’s in the fridge.”

Izaya’s vermillion eyes seem to sparkle at that and he immediately makes his way to the kitchen after shedding his trademark faux fur-trimmed coat. That buys you enough time to contemplate your next course of action and how you will break the news to him. You know that, despite the fact he enjoys games and toying with others for as long as he deems entertaining, he expects direct answers from the people who work for him like Namie or Celty. But how could you possibly just outright say you’re pregnant right now? The man is humming to himself while stuffing his face with sushi right now for god’s sake—the mood is totally off!

“—Y/n?”

Your own name startles you out of your thoughts and as you blink to tune back into the outside world you find Izaya learning against the counter directly across from you, eying you with mirth as he holds the plastic container of sushi, nearly half empty by now.

“My, my. Someone seems a bit distracted today,” he taunts lowly. You tense at that, fearing he’s about to ask you what you’re thinking about.

Luckily, he seems to be feeling merciful today as he simply repeats what he was saying while you were zoned out, his tone back to almost childish glee.

“I was saying I met with Goto-chan today—y’know the one who was on ‘vacation’ for while—” he uses air quotes with the free hand not holding up the sushi and you can’t help but to smile at that, unhealthily endeared by this odd, dangerous man.

“—well turns out he has a kid now. He even brought her to our meeting with his gang; what terrible parenting~! Right, Y/n-chan?”

You gulp before barely managing a nod of agreement, suddenly extremely uncomfortable with the topic of conversation.

“I would never take my own young offspring to a place like that. Sometimes meetings end very badly, y’know~,” he continues on. You’re suddenly aware of the sweat collecting at your brow despite the moderate temperature in the apartment and you wonder if the panic is showing on your face.

 ‘He...he doesn’t know anything yet...right?’

There’s a beat of silence in which you two just stare at each other. Your face feels clammy and hot but you try your best to maintain a neutral expression while Izaya’s lips are curved into their usual smirk with a playful glint in his deep red eyes—along with something else you can’t quite read but somehow evokes a ball of dread to form deep within your gut.

A few seconds later and the moment is gone as Izaya turns away to dispose of the empty sushi contained and is rambling on about something else you don’t have the energy to even pretend to listen to as relief washes over your body.

The rest of the night is spent curled up on the couch watching cartoons while Izaya works, not bringing up the topic of children again for the rest of the night. You decide waiting a little longer to tell him wouldn’t hurt—you just need some time to gather your thoughts and plan exactly how to tell him.

. . .

Somehow “a little longer” becomes “a lot longer” as every time you approach Izaya with a speech already planned, you look into his eyes and immediately chicken out. To make matters worse, you aren’t sure if you’re just being hyper-aware of all things related to children now or if the whole world is really out to get you but it seems babies are everywhere. A few days after that night you turned on the TV to watch something with Izaya only to find a pregnancy documentary of all things on which Izaya insisted you two watch because he wanted to “learn more about the development of his precious humans.” Another few days after that the two of you were on a rare evening walk together when a small, crying child approached the two of you claiming to have lost his mother while chasing a dog. Izaya unexpectedly took over the situation and handled it exceptionally well, diligently looking for the boy’s mother with you while keeping him entertained to the point he didn’t even want to say goodbye to Izaya when you two finally found his mother.

External factors like that made things a little more difficult for you as you attempted not to let your secret slip out but other factors were a lot more difficult to hide—such as your slowly but steadily growing belly and strange new mood swings. The former was easily remedied by electing to wear your looser more comfortable clothing. Izaya had never been a physically affectionate partner so you didn’t have to worry about him noticing your stomach in a hug or anything like that and he never pushed when you turned down his occasional sexual advances at night citing that you were too tired or had a stomach ache. Your mood swings and other hormonal changes, however, were not so avoidable.

The first time you had raised your voice at him—and over something so small as coming home half an hour later than he said he would—came as a surprise to both of you. After a moment of wide eyed staring from both sides he seemed to recover quickly though and teased you about missing him too much. A few times you had also spontaneously burst into tears for no apparent reason, to which he simply pulled you into his side and started telling you a random funny story about his adventures at work until your tears stopped.

But even with Izaya being so unintentionally helpful in keeping your secret, the pressure and guilt of constantly lying to your own husband and the man famed for knowing everything gradually eats at you day-by-day, hour-by-hour, and minute-by-minute until you are constantly seeking a relief from the stress. Sometimes that comes in form of finishing a whole box of chocolates, sometimes via napping for six hours straight, and sometimes through social media and chatrooms.

One Thursday afternoon you log in to the chat for the first time since finding out you’re pregnant, pleasantly surprised to see your two favorite members already online.

▶▶ [USER01] has entered the chat.

[Tarō Tanaka] Hello, User-san. Long time no see.

[Setton] we missed u User-chan.

You smile, instantly feeling better with the online presence of your friends.

[USER01] hey, guys. whats up?

[Setton] Tanaka-san was just talking about volunteering at the daycare.

[Tarō Tanaka] Ah, I just had some freetime…

[Setton] don’t be modest. ur really amazing Tanaka-san.

[Tarō Tanaka] Ahaha, really it’s nothing! I just played with some babies for a few hours...

[Setton] nonsense. don’t u think Tanaka-san is cool, User-chan?

You take a second too long to answer, suddenly feeling anxious by the reminder of daycares and babies. You wonder if you and Izaya will leave your own child at a daycare some day...if he even accepts the child.

[USER01] ah, yeah..very cool

[Tarō Tanaka] User-san are you alright? You seem a little off today, you’re usually more talkative...

[Setton] u know u can tell us anything. we’re friends.

You hesitate to type, your trembling hands hovering over the keyboard as you consider your options. On one hand, you feel guilty at the prospect of telling more people who are not your husband before actually telling Izaya himself. As the father, regardless of his reaction, he deserved to be the first to know. On the other hand, keeping these overwhelming feelings to yourself makes you feel as if you’ll burst at the seams. So much stress can’t be good for the baby.

  [USER01] well, to be honest I’m….

▶▶ [Kanra] has entered the chat.

[Kanra] Yahoo~! (≧∇≦)/

[Kanra] What is everyone talking about today?? owo

[USER01] nothing much!! just the weather..it has been so hot lately!

[Tarō Tanaka] But it’s September…

[Setton] ???

[Setton] ah yeah, nothing much i guess...how are u Kanra?

[Kanra] Ehh~ What’s with this weird atmosphere!? I feel like everyone is keeping secrets from Kanra-chan! (●´^｀●)

[USER01] no way!! not at all! ah, its already this late? I have to get dinner soon, bye-bye!!

[Tarō Tanaka] It’s only 2 o’clock though...

▶▶ [USER01] has left the chat.

Your laptop closes with a resounding tap and you release the breath you didn’t realize you were holding. Izaya seems to have impeccably awful timing. You hate to think you were moments away from confessing your secret right in front of him and two mutual friends in a public chat room. You’re fairly certain that must be among the top ten worst ways to announce a pregnancy.

Frazzled, you head to the kitchen to make a snack.

After shuffling through the refrigerator for a few minutes, pushing aside suddenly unappetizing leftovers of Chinese take-out and pizza, you settle on sliced pineapple, kimchi, and a pack of microwaveable rice from the cabinet. Even you knew the combination was abhorrent in normal circumstances, but for the past few weeks you found yourself craving obscure combinations of food from ice cream drizzled with honey mustard to canned tuna and chocolate.

You are only a few bites in when you hear the familiar sounds of the front door opening and your husband announcing his arrival. The lanky man immediately slips into the kitchen to greet you with a small peck on the top of your head.

“I see my favorite little human is enjoying one of her...creations again,” Izaya comments.

When you look up you catch the split second of disgust on his features as he eyes your bowl before he quickly schools his expression back into something more neutral. You almost laugh.

“Do you want me to make you some?” You can’t help but to tease, trying your best to feign a serious expression as you ask.

Izaya looks mildly horrified before playing it off with a dismissive laugh.

“No thanks, I already ate.”

He gracefully breezes past you to make his way through the living room and to his personal office in the back where he make quick work of logging into his desktop. It is a usual occurrence—despite being home his work is never truly finished. He has to be flexible in his field, ready to gather new intel the moment it becomes available. It is strange to compare Izaya to anyone with a regular job but you often find yourself thinking he must really love his career if he invests so much of himself into it. You’re sure that by now he has done enough odd jobs to no longer need the money to live the rest of his life worry-free and yet he continues to work relentlessly, never taking a vacation day once in the years you’ve known him.

“By the way,” Izaya calls out, interrupting your thoughts.

“I have some things to take care of in Ōsaka this weekend. I’ll be back Sunday night.”

He glances up from his computer to send you a teasing smirk.

“Try not to get too lonely without me~”

You nearly choke on a piece of pineapple as you fluster, immediately denying his claim despite his obnoxious laughter drowning out your protests.

It is not until you lie in bed that night, trying to fall asleep, that you recognize this could be the moment you’ve been waiting for.

. . .

The next morning, after seeing Izaya off for the weekend, you grab your laptop and log into your nearly forgotten Pinterest account to look for cute pregnancy announcement ideas. With Izaya physically out of the house for more than 24 hours you feel the pressure of constantly hiding all clues lifted off your shoulders and you feel free to properly put something together that you hope will result in a more positive reaction from him than just blurting it out of the blue. You have to periodically remind yourself that this is his child as much as it is yours and he is just as responsible for creating it so that you don’t psych yourself out imagining him blaming you for potentially ruining his life.

A majority of the pins you scroll through are immediate no’s. They’re either way too corny or tacky and you highly doubt Izaya would appreciate the humor in a “thx for knocking me up!” sticker.

...Okay well maybe he would but you certainly wouldn’t.

By the twelfth page you feel exasperated. You’re almost tempted to just send him an “I’m pregnant” text right now to get it over with—at least you won’t be there to see his expression in realtime. That’s when you stumble upon the pin. You immediately click the little square before it loads into an image that takes up your full screen. On the image is a white marble background, likely a kitchen countertop, with a round white cake in the center with the words “we’re having a baby!” sprawled on top in purple icing.

It is simple, to the point, cute, and most importantly—cake.

Who doesn’t love cake?

 ‘Well, Izaya doesn’t really like sweet things that much…’

You mentally tell your self-conscious to shut up. A cake would be perfect.

With your mind made up, slam your laptop shut and get dressed to go to your nearest bakery and place your order.

. . .

On Sunday afternoon you pick up your cake from the bakery, only mildly embarrassed by the amount of times the owner bids you a “congratulations” and “your husband is lucky man!” When you make it back to the apartment and open up the blue pastry box on the counter everything suddenly feels very real. The cake itself is perfect—exactly like the picture you saw that day on Pinterest. A white buttercream base with beautiful purple letters spelling out “we’re having a baby!” in cursive. There are even small yellow flowers surrounding the edges, as suggested by the shop owner.

It looks absolutely delicious but you feel like you’re going to throw up.

According to Izaya’s text that morning he’ll be back within three hours from now and that’s when you’ll have to wordlessly hand him this cake and watch as his expression morphs into something you’ve likely never seen before.

‘What if he just abandons us?’

Your right hand unconsciously wraps over the now noticeable little bulge on your stomach. It’s too late to have second-thoughts, you reason with yourself, the longer you draw this out the worse it will be. You decide a quick nap would do some good to ease your nerves. You’ll set your alarm for half an hour from now then clean the apartment and put on some soothing cartoons until Izaya gets home. After gingerly placing the cake box in the refrigerator you shuffle up the stairs to the bedroom. You’re unconscious almost as soon as your head hits the pillow.

. . .

When you peel your eyelids open you find yourself feeling more calm than you remember feeling after a nap. You stretch each of your limbs and wriggle your toes as you allow your foggy brain to properly wake up.The rays of light streaming through the blinds seem to radiate a comforting warmth to fight of the chill of the bedroom.

 ‘Wait...light!?’

A rush of panic overtakes your system and you scramble to find your phone on the bedside table, nearly screaming when you read the blaring white digits on the screen.

 9:07AM

You didn’t just take a nap, you slept through the night.

Your head whips around to find the other side of the bed neatly made, just as it was when you climbed in bed yesterday. Maybe you still had a chance—maybe some unforeseen thing happened and Izaya had to spend an extra night in Ōsaka. You nearly trip and faceplant several times in your haste to rush downstairs and into the kitchen where you’d hid the cake.

Placing the cold box on the counter, your hands tremble lightly as they slowly lift the lid.

You heart skips a beat.

One perfectly sized slice was missing, leaving only a few crumbs in its wake.

You don’t even have time to have a proper mental breakdown before a door slams shut. “Ah, I see you’re finally awake~!”

Almost in slow motion your eyes slide from the cake to the tall black haired man holding a bag of what some distant part of your brain recognizes as breakfast from your favorite café. Izaya looks unbothered, irritatingly so, as if he had no idea of the inner turmoil you are currently experiencing.

“You must have been exhausted—you didn’t even stir when I came in last night.”

He has the audacity to exaggerate a pout as he whines, “it made me feel unwelcome, y’know~”

“Th-the...cake...” you barely manage to stutter out, struggling to make sense of the current situation.

“Hmm?” he hums, the smirk of his lips making it apparent he knows exactly what you’re thinking.

“Ah, yes, thank you for the treat~ I don't usually like sweets but this one was surprisingly delicious~!”

He begins to casually place his bags on the counter across from you and pull out the breakfast items, explaining nothing more and even humming a bit to himself as he works to sort the food.

God you want to punch him.

You swallow thickly to steady yourself before trying again.

“S-so what do you think about...it” you ask, awkwardly gesturing to your stomach..

"Hmm? Ah, the vanilla was good but there was a little too much icing—"

"NO DUMBASS, I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE BABY!” You finally snap, face bright red in anger.

Izaya only guffaws, laughing as if you had just cracked the joke of the century. You’re only split seconds from throwing the whole cake at him when his laughter finally dies down and he slides around the counter and to your side. He wraps his arms around your waist, hands gently resting on either side of your belly and you feel your heart flutter unexpectedly at the tenderness of the action.

“You’re so cute when you think you’re hiding something from me.”

Your breath hitches.

“Wh-what? What do you mean by that—” you desperately attempt to turn to face him but his hold keeps you firmly in place.

“I’ve known since day one~” he sing-songs, sounding annoyingly proud of himself. “I’m surprised you finally decided to tell me though. I was starting to think you’d wait until you went into labor and needed a ride to the hospital,” Izaya jokes. “No way,” you protest, “that’s literally impossible—there’s no way you could have known already.”

He moves one arm from your body to swipe at some frosting on the forgotten cake, bringing it over to your lips in an offering you accept without thinking, taste buds tingling at the sweetness.

“Silly Y/n—I’m an expert at planning, y’know? All those times we ‘forgot’ to use protection weren’t an accident~”

Your whole body seems to erupt in flames as a blush takes over your face. This time, you really do hit him.

“I-idiot!!”

[bound-up-feelings]

Ali G x fem reader

You Is My Bitch

Requested: @333fairies

Warning: Smut, Smut, and more Smut (I will have you know I am so damn proud of this, you don’t understand!)

(Heyo! So this took me longer than excepted, I am very sorry! I have had a busy week so I will be trying to get the rest of my requests out. I hope you like this and if you do please remember to leave feedback, it helps a lot!)

Now you had been living in the area for a good while now and though you didn't have very many friends you still somehow managed to create two good friendships. One was with a guy named Ricky, his friend called him Ricky c. And that friend, also one of yours was named Ali g. He was a very interesting person. He was always talking to you about anything and everything. He would visit you at work with Ricky and it was always the same routine. "Ay y/n! How is your day?" He says everyday when he stops by. Sometimes though he'll say "You talk about how much you hate it here, why don't you leave and come hang with me?" And every time you’d give the same answer. You need this job it was literally the only thing you had that kept you from losing it mentally. Yes Ali was right, you did hate it but it had good pay and nothing really happens. You wanted to go with Ali and Ricky but you had responsibilities. 

But today Ali seemed to be really persistent. "Come on! You is the only friend I got that hasn't taken a ride in my car. You have to." He says as he leans forward and puts his ring clattered hand on top of yours. You sigh out and look around, no client in sight and your boss was most likely passed out in his office. "Well, he's probably drunk off his ass, I guess it will be alright." "Wicked!" He says as he runs outside to wait for you. Grabbing your jacket and other things you walk out. When you get outside you see his yellow car and him inside bouncing around to whatever song he was playing. You walk to the passenger side and open the door. Music blaring you slide into the seat. He turns it down and smiles toward you. "Ready for the best ride ever?" He says giving you a funky smile. You laugh and nod your head. Not that far into the ride, the music was turned up a bit and you both were laughing and having a great time. Until his "rivals" showed up. They wanted to race but he wasn't sure if he should with you in the car. You looked over at him "Well are you gonna race them or what?" He smirks and the race begins. When I say the race was intense but so slow, I mean it was really hilarious. After the "race" you both sat idling at a stop sign. "What we do now? I is bored." He says sighing out loud. "I don't know." "Want to go to me house and listen to my other music?" "Sure." He nods his head and quite literally high tales it to his house. When you both get there you walk in and he is instantly at the stereo system. After the song starts to play he turns to you. "This is my crib, make ya self at home." He says as he goes to sit on his dresser. You sit on his bed. You scoot over and lay back while patting the space next to you. "You want me sit there?" He says as he literally point to himself as if you were talking to someone else. You mutter a short yes and he walks over to you. He sits down and lays back. You both sit in silence as the music plays, neither of you moving or making a sound. He looks over at you, not realizing this you start bobbing your head to the beat of the song. Lip syncing to it as well he starts to look at your lips. Not sure if the moment is right or not he gets up a bit and starts to lean over you. You open your eyes after feeling the bed dip and see him above you. He staring at you, looking at your lips, eyes, neck, and then back at your eyes. No words are spoken, the music is drowning out and the only thing you can hear is his rapid breathing. You open your mouth to say something but nothing comes out. He leans down and places his lips on yours, at first its soft and gentle but then when he gets use to the feeling he starts to put more effort into it. Biting your lip and slipping his tongue into your mouth, You moan in response and wrap your arms around his neck. After doing that he fully seats himself between your legs. Beside the feeling of his joggers against you you can feel his hard on. Rubbing against your clothed area. You bite your lip to suppress the sounds that threaten to escape you. He leans up and starts to take off his jacket and reveals his red shirt underneath, which he also removed. You decided to mimic him and take your shirt off as well, which left you in your bra. He groans as he looks at your chest, getting slightly self-conscious you bring your arms to cover yourself but he grabs them and places them down at your side before leaning down and placing a gentle, sweet kiss to the top of your breasts. "You is beautiful love. Remember that next time yeah?" Next time? There was gonna be a next time. You remember what he said and nod your head to answer his question "Good girl. Now lift that ass up for me." He says as he unbuttons and grabs the side of your pants. You do as your told and he pulls them off in one swift move. Leaning down once again he kisses at your stomach and moves ever so slowly down your body. Reaching the hem of your panties. Instead of doing what he really wants he decides to tease instead. He goes straight to your hip and bites there, definitely leaving a mark in its wake. He smiles and goes to the other side and gives it the same treatment before making his way back. He gets to your neck and kisses all up and down the column of your throat. He even sucks a nice sized mark into your neck that would soon be purple. He slides his hands under you and unclips your bra, pulling it away from your body. You shiver at the sudden air that hits you. He smirks and takes one of your nipples into his mouth. You gasp and grab a hand full of the sheet under you. He swirls his tongue and pulls away and gives the same treatment to the other one. When he pulls away he kisses your lips before scooting off the bed. When he does this he pulls down his pants along with his underwear. You moan at the sight of him. He chuckles at your shocked expression "Don't worry love, I be extra gentle." He says as he grabs your legs and pulls you to the edge of the bed. He smiles down at you as you begin to shake slightly. He cursed under his breath as he walks over to his dresser and begins to search through it. Finally coming back up with a condom and lube. "Almost forgot." He says as he tears open the package before rolling it onto himself. He pours some of the lube onto his fingers before gently running them up and through your lips. You shudder at the feeling and he begins to dip his finger in a bit, stretching you out to help better accommodate to his size. When he feels you've been prepped enough he squirts more lube onto his hand and begins to coat himself. After doing so he runs the tip of his member up and down your lips and pushes into you slightly. You moan at the feeling, you look up at him and see his face. Mouth open wide as he watches himself push further and further into you until he reaches the base. He stays there to let you get use to his size. He leans down and takes your lips with his. You moan as he moves slightly and you wrap your legs lazily around his hips. He places a hand on your stomach and the other moves to hold one of your legs. Slowly he pulls out of you and quickly thrust back in. Doing this quite a few times before he leans up and begins to pick up a pace that was quick, rough, and wanting. This wasn't like all the other times he fucked, this was you, your were special and he wanted this to be special and wanted it to go on as long as he could make it. As he fucked you you could hear the bed making creaking noises and silently hoped that no one would walk in on what was happening. Ali seemed to read your mind "Don't you worry, no one is here, so make all the pretty noises you want!" He says as he punctuates it with a particularly hard thrust that hit you just right. You let out a whimper and a moan follows after. He tilts his head back and lets out a few groans of his own "Fuck...your so fucking tight! You just right for me ain't you." He says as he continues his assault on your g-spot. You cry out as a few of his thrusts hit you in the right places. He takes his hands away from your stomach and leg and places both of them on your breasts. He massages them as he lets out a low moan that makes you let one out as well. The smile that was plastered on his face soon falters as he feels the knot in his stomach tightening "Oh shit...I think I'm gonna cum soon." "Me too...Please don't stop Ali!" He doesn't, yet he speeds his pace up and leans down so he's face to face with you. Kissing you with so much want you can practically taste it. He then starts to repeat the words "Fuck" over and over again. You can feel him throbbing inside of you. He can feel you tightening around him, when your orgasm washes over you, you tighten around him even more, which causes him to let out a strangled moan and then he releases into the condom. He jerks and shudders as he gives a few more sloppy thrust. Then he stills. His face was buried in your neck. He kisses up it and pecks you on the lips before pulling out and with the little bit of strength he has he scoots you up the bed. Walking back over to his dresser he grabs a few tissues and wipe himself off before doing the same for you. After throwing them away he walk back over and pulls a blanket from the ground and over both of you as he lays down next you. Smiling he wraps an arm around you as you snuggle closer into his warm body. The feeling alone makes you sleepy and you close your eyes, while listening to his heartbeat. He kisses the top of your head. "I hope we is gonna do this again. I had fun and I don't want this to change anything between us?" "Why would it change anything. This was amazing." You say as run a hand over his ribs. He smiles and lays his head against yours "Does this mean you is my bitch now?" You lazily look up at him with a 'Are you serious look' He shrugs "I is just wondering, I did just fuck you, so it is now confirmed that you is now my bitch." He says with a serious look. Shaking your head you lay back down. Closing your eyes, he does the same and you both fall asleep.

(Hello again, so like I said before I hope you liked this and if you did please leave feedback it help a lot! Anyways have an amazing dat and stay strong!)

[prouvaireafterdark]

Yours to Keep

After LITERAL MONTHS she's finally done: the smutty morning after sequel to Just A Nightmare, Baby that you've all been waiting for! And she’s got a name now!

This fic was a labor of love, both for Alex Manes, who deserves all the happiness in the world, and for all his fans who were left hurt and betrayed after 2x06. It’s hands down the sappiest thing I’ve ever written and I hope it’s exactly what you all need right now. 

It’s also very, very filthy, so, like, probably don’t read this at work lol

And shout out to @queersirius for giving me the coffee inspiration!

Also on AO3! 💜

***

When Alex wakes slowly from a blissfully dreamless sleep, he opens his eyes to see the bare skin of Michael’s hip a few inches from his face, peeking out between the hem of a white t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. His gaze shifts upward to see Michael tapping away on his tablet, looking soft and comfortable, his curls still damp from a recent shower.

Alex leans forward and presses his lips to that warm strip of skin. He hears a startled noise above him, but it’s quickly followed by the feeling of Michael’s left hand gently cradling the back of his head, his fingers sliding through his hair.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Michael says as he lowers his tablet into his lap. “Well, afternoon technically, but time’s a social construct.”

“Shit, what time is it?” Alex mumbles against his skin, eyes closed.

“A little after noon.”

“Fuck.” Alex hasn’t slept in this late in… God, it must be over ten years. Good thing it’s a Saturday, he thinks, which, now that he thinks about it… “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“Not today,” he says as he continues to pet Alex’s hair.

Alex thinks that over, wondering if he’s mistaken, but he’s positive that’s not true. He usually takes the weekend off, but he distinctly remembers Sanders calling him the other night to ask him if he could work Saturday morning.

“You had a shift though,” Alex insists.

Michael doesn’t say anything right away. Instead, Alex feels him start to lean away from him, and the movement pulls a soft noise of complaint from the back of his throat. Michael keeps his left hand on the back of Alex’s head, and as soon as his tablet is safely on the bedside table, Michael slides down the mattress so they can lie face to face.

“I took a personal day,” Michael explains, his right hand slipping under the blanket to lay on Alex’s bare side, his thumb tracing idle patterns on his skin.

“Why?” Alex says.

“I wanted to,” Michael insists, sliding closer to Alex until their noses brush. “You had a rough night last night. I didn’t want you to wake up alone.”

As those words sink in, Alex can feel fresh tears pricking at his eyes. It overwhelms him sometimes that this is real, that he can look into Michael’s eyes and see how fiercely, how unconditionally he loves him. There are days where Alex doesn’t feel worthy of it, but knowing that Michael will always be there for him, even when he doesn’t know how to ask him to be, it… it means a lot. It means everything.

“Hey,” Michael says softly, leaning back to get a better look at Alex’s face. His hand moves from Alex’s side to cup his cheek, his thumb resting lightly by the corner of Alex’s eye. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” says Alex, giving Michael a watery, but hopefully reassuring smile. “I just really, really love you.”

“I love you too,” Michael whispers back, expression impossibly fond.

Alex leans in to kiss him, and Michael returns it easily. Heat ignites low in his belly as Michael deepens the kiss, licking into his mouth, and Alex can’t help but tangle his fingers in those damp curls, blunt finger nails scraping oh-so-gently against his scalp.

Michael pulls back much too soon for Alex’s liking, but he’s back a second later, pressing soft kisses against the side of Alex’s neck, the hand on Alex’s cheek moving back down to grip at his waist again—harder this time, needier. Alex’s eyes slide closed in contentment.

“So, do I have you all to myself today?” he asks.

Michael hums in confirmation, and then slowly drags his tongue along the column of Alex’s throat. Alex can feel Michael smile against his skin as he moans, his cock stirring in his sweatpants.

“What should I do with you, huh?” Alex wonders aloud, fingers tightening in Michael’s curls.

“Well,” Michael starts, leaning back so Alex can see the suggestive look on his face. “I was planning to start with breakfast in bed, but now I’m thinking it might be nice to skip to dessert.”

Alex is about to call him out on how cheesy that line is when his stomach rumbles loudly at the mention of food.

Michael sighs dramatically.

“Okay,” he relents, “I guess I should feed you first.”

“Sorry,” Alex laughs.

“Don’t be,” Michael says easily, kissing him swiftly on the mouth before throwing the covers off himself and climbing out of bed. “How does blueberry pancakes sound?”

It sounds perfect, if he’s honest, but Alex feels a little bad. Michael’s already put himself out by taking off work to spend time with him today, he really shouldn’t have to bother with all that.

“Cereal’s fine, you don’t have to—“

“Too late,” he says, smiling cheekily. “I already made the batter while you were sleeping.”

“Michael—”

“Don’t get out of bed!” Michael calls behind him as he disappears out of their bedroom.

Alex would be tempted to listen to him if he didn’t need to use the bathroom and also brush his teeth, so he reaches for his crutch and makes his way to their ensuite. Before he leaves, he makes sure to rinse his mouth well so the taste of toothpaste won’t ruin his morning coffee.

Michael hasn’t returned by the time he gets back into bed, so Alex checks his email until he hears footsteps coming from down the hall. He looks up, expecting to see Michael, but the first thing that catches his eye is the various pieces of kitchenware that are floating into their bedroom.

“Show off,” Alex teases when he sees Michael following close behind, a mug in each hand.

“Hey, I didn’t wanna spill the coffee, okay?” Michael smiles. “Can you get your little laptop table thing?”

“Yeah.” Alex reaches into the space between his side of the bed and his nightstand to pull out the wooden tray table he uses when he still wants to work on bad pain days.

He sets up the tray on the bed and Michael uses his TK to place everything on top of it. When he’s done, there’s one plate stacked high with golden, fluffy pancakes, a bowl of fresh strawberries, a tiny little jug of hot maple syrup Michael must have dug around in the cupboard to find, and two forks sitting in front of him.

Michael hands him a mug topped with whipped cream and cinnamon as he climbs onto the bed, careful not to spill any.

“I thought you said you brought coffee,” Alex asks, tilting his head questioningly at the cup of what appears to be hot chocolate he’s holding.

“I did,” he smiles.

Alex takes another look at the whipped cream on top. “Did you make me a Vienna?” He’s usually a straight espresso guy, hence the fairly expensive machine sitting on their kitchen counter, but, when he’s at a coffee shop that’ll do it right, a Vienna coffee is one of his guilty pleasures.

“Mhmm,” Michael smiles wider.

A complicated series of emotions grabs hold of Alex. He knows how much of a pain in the ass this thing is to make, and the fact that Michael put in that extra effort, especially after making him pancakes and losing money to be with him today, rather than just brewing some dark roast for the two of them… it’s incredibly sweet and Alex loves him so much for it, but it’s—it’s not necessary. Michael doesn’t need to go so far out of his way for him, and Alex certainly doesn’t want Michael to feel like he does.

“Uh oh,” Michael says, catching the look on Alex’s face. “Here it comes.”

That throws Alex for a second. “Here what comes?”

“You’re gonna tell me this is too much, right?” he says, as if plucking the words from Alex’s brain.

“It is,” Alex sighs. “I appreciate it, I do, but—you really don’t have to do all this.”

“Maybe,” Michael shrugs. “But did it occur to you that maybe I need to feel like I’m taking care of you as much as you need to feel taken care of right now?”

At Alex’s stunned silence, Michael puts his own coffee onto the crowded tray table and reaches for Alex’s free hand that’s resting in his lap, holding it in both of his.

“I love you,” he says, brow creased. “And last night… kinda freaked me out, honestly.” Michael looks down at their hands when he confesses, “I was up for a while after you went back to sleep trying to figure out what I did to make you feel like that.”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Alex insists, hating the way the furrow in Michael’s brow deepens when he looks up at him again. “It was just a stupid dream.”

“Yeah, but dreams come from somewhere, right? On some level, I made you feel like I don’t want you, and I just—I hate that. You’re my person, Alex. There’s literally no one on this Earth—or any other fucking planet—that’s more important to me than you,” he says, leaning forward in his desperation to make Alex understand. “I need you to know that.”

Alex sets his own coffee down on the tray table and tugs Michael into his arms, careful not to let anything spill. He leans back against the pillows and Michael settles willingly against his chest, his arm tight across his waist.

“I know,” Alex reassures him, holding him close. “You’re my person too.”

Michael sags against him in relief and Alex’s heart breaks a little.

“I think I just missed you,” Alex admits after a second’s pause, running his palm over Michael’s back. On the way back up he slips his fingers under the hem of his shirt, seeking out his bare skin. “We’ve both been so busy with wedding plans and working overtime so we can pay for everything, it feels like we haven’t really had the time to just be together in a while.”

“So let me make it up to you,” Michael says, lifting his head off his chest to look at him.

Alex opens his mouth to tell him he doesn’t have to, that this miscommunication was just as much his fault as it was Michael’s, but Michael doesn’t let him get the words out.

“Please, Alex,” he insists with a pout. “Let me feed you pancakes and ridiculous coffee and just spend the whole day making you smile, okay? That’s all I want to do right now.”

Alex’s resolve flags in the face of Michael’s pout. He draws Michael up, closer, and Michael sighs happily into the soft kiss he presses to his lips.

“You’re a good man, Michael,” he says when they part, “and I can’t wait to marry you.”

Michael’s responding smile is soft and breathtaking, and Alex thinks, not for the first time, that he never wants to look at anything else for as long as he lives. He leans in for another kiss, intending it to be short and sweet, but Michael doesn’t let him go for at least another minute, all but climbing into his lap as he presses needy kisses against his lips. Alex is happy to let him.

“So is that a yes?” Michael asks when he pulls back for air. “You’ll let me spoil you today?”

The look on Michael’s face is impossible to turn down.

“Yes, I’ll let you spoil me today,” Alex relents, and Michael smiles wider, “as long as you let me return the favor.”

“Fuck me through the mattress later and we’ll call it even,” Michael says, too happy to achieve the deadpan expression Alex knows he’s going for.

“Deal,” Alex laughs. “Now, come on, let’s eat before the pancakes get cold.”

Michael puts on an old episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Netflix for them to watch as they eat off the same plate. The pancakes are a little cold, but they’re helped by the hot maple syrup Michael brought to go with them, and his Vienna coffee is delicious even though the whipped cream has entirely melted by the time he takes a sip.

“That was so good, Michael, thank you,” Alex tells him when they’re done eating, both because he deserves to hear it and because he loves to watch the way Michael melts under a compliment.

The smile Michael gives him is soft and pleased.

“Anything for you,” he says, pressing a kiss to his cheek before he takes the dishes to the kitchen.

Alex folds up the tray table and puts it back where he found it before he relaxes against the pillows. Michael’s back a moment later, climbing into bed alongside him and settling against his chest. They manage to make it to the end of the episode before Michael loses interest in the show and starts kissing Alex’s neck, his fingers tracing idle patterns over Alex’s skin wherever he can reach.

Alex lets him, without comment or much reaction besides the slow, encouraging caress of his palm up and down Michael’s spine, until he feels the tease of Michael’s tongue at the hollow of his throat. He curls the fingers of his left hand under Michael’s jaw and draws him into a kiss that tastes like blueberries and maple syrup.

Michael throws his leg over Alex’s thigh, moving in so close he can feel him starting to get hard against his hip. Alex deepens the kiss, chasing that sweetness inside Michael’s mouth with his tongue. Michael indulges him for a moment before he pulls back, a slightly mischievous glint in his eye.

“What?” Alex pants.

Michael leans down to press a kiss to the corner of Alex’s mouth.

“There’s something I wanna try,” Michael murmurs against his lips.

“Oh yeah?”

“Mhmm,” he says. “I think you’re gonna like it. Do you trust me?”

“Of course,” Alex answers instantly.

“Can you turn over for me then, darlin’?” Michael whispers.

Alex raises an eyebrow, but does as he’s asked, using the space Michael gives him to roll over onto his stomach. His confusion grows when Michael gathers the comforter and shoves it to the bottom of the bed.

“I’ll be right back,” Michael tells him, pressing a kiss to his shoulder before disappearing from the bed to rifle through their closet. When he returns, it’s with a small wicker basket and a large, fluffy towel.

“What’s that?” Alex asks, rolling onto his side to get a better look. Inside the basket he can see a few bottles of massage oil. His eyes spark with interest. “Ooh, you’re gonna give me a massage?”

“Mhmm,” Michael nods with a smile, spreading the fresh towel on an empty space on the bed to save their sheets. “I was gonna save it for our honeymoon, but now’s as good a time as any. Would you like coconut, jojoba, or sweet almond?”

“Mmm, coconut,” Alex decides, moving closer so he can lie down on his stomach on top of the towel.

“Good choice,” he says, selecting the bottle and placing the basket on the floor by the bed. “This one doubles as lube.”

Alex hums interestedly. “And what exactly are you planning on doing with it?”

“I’m sure you’ll tell me,” Michael says easily.

Alex huffs a laugh and feels the bed dip under Michael’s weight as he kneels beside him. He feels Michael’s fingers at the waistband of his sweatpants, dipping just under the fabric.

“Can I?” he asks.

Alex nods his permission, and Michael slides his underwear along with his sweatpants down his thighs and then off entirely, tossing them somewhere on the floor.

“Mm,” Michael hums. Alex turns his head over his shoulder to see Michael appreciating the view with his bottom lip caught between his teeth.  

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Alex teases, resting his head back on the mattress.

“Don’t tempt me,” Michael says as he straddles Alex’s hips and pops the cap on the massage oil. Alex braces for the feeling of cold liquid on his back, but by the time Michael is smoothing it over his skin his hands have warmed it right up.

Michael works the oil into his skin, rubbing the tension out of his neck and shoulders with a firm but gentle touch. It’s not long before Alex feels like he’s melting into the mattress.

“God, Michael, how’d you get so good at this?” Alex moans. Upon reflection, he adds, “Actually, don’t tell me, I don’t wanna know.”

He hears Michael snicker behind him. “Relax, I took some classes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Michael says, running his thumbs up along Alex’s spine. “You work too hard, Alex. You should probably be seeing a professional regularly, but I know you don’t really like it when other people touch you so I thought maybe I could learn,” he explains, and there’s the briefest pause before he adds, smile audible in his voice, “Plus, it gives me a great excuse to get you naked. I mean, admit it, this is pretty sexy, right?”

Alex barely hears the second part, his brain stuck on the fact that Michael really spent time, money, and effort so he could give him some relief on bad days. The constant confirmation of how much Michael loves him is really starting to overwhelm him, and his eyes get a little misty just thinking about it.

“You’ve really gotta ease up with these romantic gestures, Michael. I’m starting to feel like a leaky faucet over here,” Alex says, wiping at his eyes.

“Me too,” Michael says, and grinds his erection into Alex’s lower back, effectively ruining the moment.

“Oh my god,” Alex laughs, burying his face in his pillow. “You’re such an ass.”

“I know,” Michael says, sounding far too pleased with himself, and then he’s leaning down until his chest is resting on Alex’s back, head to the side so Alex can see his face. His eyes are bright and mischievous as he adds, “Made you laugh though, didn’t I?”

Alex bites his lip in contemplation before he raises his head off the pillow. Michael meets him halfway, bringing their lips together in a sweet, teasing kiss. The angle is awkward, but Alex hardly notices.

“Can I get back to work now?” Michael asks when the kiss ends.

“Mhmm,” Alex smiles, content.

Michael leans in to peck him once more, on the nose this time, before sitting back up.

Alex misses his warmth immediately, but the steady pressure of Michael’s hands on his back is a pleasure all its own. He loses himself to the sensation, lets himself float a little at a time until all he’s really aware of is how good he feels. His cock begins to ache the longer Michael touches him, growing thick where it’s trapped against his belly, but there’s no urgency, no desperation to come spoiling his enjoyment of the moment. His world narrows to the warm weight of Michael above him and the bone deep satisfaction of knowing that, no matter what, he will take care of him.

He must fall asleep because when his eyes flutter open again Michael is kneeling over his calf and he can feel his hands, slick with fresh oil, working slowly over his right thigh, creeping higher and higher. His whole lower body feels relaxed, like Michael’s already worked his magic there, and Alex wonders how long he’s been out.

Alex moans softly as Michael’s fingers brush his inner thigh, the arousal that’s been simmering just below the surface beginning to make itself known again.

“How was your nap?” Michael asks, sweeping his hands back down all the way to the sensitive spot just behind his knee.

“Amazing,” Alex sighs, somehow feeling even more well-rested than he did when he woke up this morning. Maybe Michael’s right—he really should be getting more sleep during the week. “Sorry for falling asleep on you though.”

“I’m choosing to take it as a compliment,” Michael says, sliding his hands slowly back up towards Alex’s ass.

“You should,” Alex insists. “Doing such a good job, baby.”

“Yeah?” Michael asks, sounding pleased.

“‘Course you are,” Alex assures him.

“Good,” Michael says, and even though he can’t see him, Alex just knows Michael’s preening silently behind him.

Michael then crosses his right hand to Alex’s right thigh. Starting at the knee, he presses the heels of his palms into his muscle on the way back up, and Alex’s cock aches as Michael’s thumbs edge dangerously close to the apex of his thighs. When Michael finally reaches his ass, he palms both cheeks and squeezes.

“God, Alex,” Michael marvels, smoothing his hands over the swell of it. “Your ass is amazing, I should really play with it more.”

Alex snorts into his pillow, but it turns into a gasp as Michael slips his oil-slick thumb between his cheeks, heat flaring up inside him at the intimate touch.

“Fuck,” Alex murmurs as Michael rubs his thumb around his hole. “They teach you that in massage school too?”

Michael chuckles. “I think we both know I don’t need a licensed professional to tell me how to touch you here.”

Alex moans again as Michael slides his fingers down to press into his perineum, his thumb still working in slow, steady circles.

“Feels good, huh?” he asks rhetorically, like he can’t see the way Alex’s hips twitch forward to grind his cock against the mattress.

“Mhmm,” Alex hums, spreading his legs a little wider. Michael takes it for the message it is.

“You want my fingers in you?” he asks, and Alex can just imagine the hungry look on Michael’s face.

“Please,” Alex answers breathlessly, biting his lip in anticipation. They don’t usually do it this way, but Alex is so relaxed and turned on that it sounds like the best idea he’s ever had.

Alex hears the sheets rustle as Michael reaches for the coconut massage oil again. He can’t help but tense up a little as Michael rubs a lubed finger against his hole.

“Just relax,” Michael says softly, kissing his lower back, “and tell me if you want me to stop, okay?”

“Okay,” Alex agrees with a small nod.

Alex takes a deep breath and releases it as Michael slides his finger inside him, his body opening up for him. It’s a little uncomfortable at first as Michael stays mostly still, just getting him used to the feeling before he starts to move. His finger barely grazes his prostate, giving him nothing but a taste of what he needs.

“More,” he gasps after a minute, digging his fingers into the mattress. “Please.”

Alex feels another finger teasing at his hole before it breaches him. Michael gives him a second to adjust before he starts to fuck him, spreading his fingers on every other thrust to open him up even more. He feels it when Michael finds his prostate, blunt fingers crooking downward against it, and Alex cries out as he jerks in Michael’s hold.

“You like that?” Michael asks, pressing an openmouthed kiss to his tailbone. “You want more?”

Alex gasps, spreading his thighs wider. Michael makes him wait for it, rubbing his fingers over that spot inside him that drives Alex fucking crazy for what feels like an hour before he pulls out. When his fingers return there are three pressing into him, splitting him open and filling him up more than he has been in a good long while. Michael peppers kisses along his back, his ass, anywhere he can reach as Alex gets used to the stretch, his rim taught over Michael’s fingers.

Soft gasps and moans tumble from Alex’s lips, unable to be contained once Michael starts to fuck him again, nailing his prostate on every other thrust. His breath hitches in his chest as frissons of pleasure snake through him, driving him closer and closer to the edge.

“Fucking hell, Alex,” Michael murmurs, something like awe in his voice. “You gonna come for me like this?”

“Fuck, I think I am,” Alex moans in response, just as surprised.

Michael curses and redoubles his efforts, curling his fingers more firmly into Alex’s prostate as he fucks them in and out of him. Alex moans, grinding his cock harder against the mattress, desperately seeking that extra bit of stimulation he needs to get off.

“Don’t stop,” he begs, so close his thighs are shaking with it.

“So fucking hot, Alex, love you so much,” Michael groans against the small of his back. “Come on, come for me, know you wanna, baby.”

Michael’s encouragement and a particularly well-timed twist of his fingers sets off Alex’s orgasm, his whole body going hot all over as he clenches down on Michael’s fingers and comes onto the towel below him.

Michael keeps pressing kisses to his skin, teasing his prostate until his touch crosses that line between just right and too much and Alex whines, grabbing blindly for Michael’s wrist to stop him. Alex’s hand falls boneless back at his side when Michael gently withdraws his fingers, murmuring an apology as he does.

Michael cleans the lube from his hands and Alex’s hole with the towel before he gently rolls Alex over onto his back, pulling the dirty towel out from under him and shoving it to the floor. Alex is so blissed out, he doesn’t even think to complain about the oil seeping into their sheets.

Out of nowhere, he feels the wet heat of Michael’s tongue on his lower belly, and his eyes fly open to watch him lick the come off his skin. As Michael’s mouth envelops the head of his softening cock, Alex’s eyes slip closed again with a soft moan, his head falling back against the bed.

A moment later, once Michael’s cleaned him up, Alex feels him straddle his waist. Alex’s hands come to hold his hips instinctively as he opens his eyes to see Michael looking down at him, curls brightened by the afternoon sun filtering through the window.

He’s so beautiful, Alex thinks, and Michael smiles like he’s said it aloud.

Michael leans down for a kiss, fingers threading through his hair as he coaxes his tongue into Alex’s mouth so he can taste himself. Alex moans, chasing the bitterness on Michael’s tongue with his own. It could be seconds, minutes, or hours later when Michael tugs his bottom lip between his teeth, rough enough that it pulls a soft, hurt sound from the back of Alex’s throat. Michael releases him, soothing the bite with his tongue.

“Ready for more?” Michael asks.

Alex opens his eyes to see Michael looking at him, eyes dark and hooded.

“There’s more?” he asks, still dazed from his orgasm.

“I’m only halfway done,” Michael answers, his smile sinful when he leans back to look down at him. He lets his fingers skim down Alex’s broad chest, catching on a light dusting of chest hair and brushing against his nipples. “Still got so many kinks to work out.”

Alex very pointedly does not take the bait by asking what kind of kinks Michael has in mind.

Instead, he lets his gaze wander over the length of Michael’s body, from his wild curls to his rumpled t-shirt, and lower still. It’s then that Alex notices how hard Michael is, the outline of his cock clearly visible through his grey sweatpants, a wet spot of considerable size darkening the fabric. Alex is struck by the image of Michael tugging down the waistband and shuffling closer to feed his cock into his mouth. It makes his mouth water just thinking about it, and he finds himself sliding his right hand from Michael’s hip to the front of his pants. He bites his lip as he feels Michael’s cock jump against his palm.

Michael catches his wrist and takes both of his hands in his, interlocking their fingers as he presses them gently back into Alex’s pillow.

“Later,” he promises, capturing Alex’s lips with his once more. “Told you, I’m not done with you yet.”

Alex relents, content for the moment to let Michael continue while he lies back and thinks about all the ways he can thank him for it later.

Michael gets back to work, starting at Alex’s shoulders and working his way down to his collarbone before moving on to his arms. When he’s done with his right hand, Alex expects him to gently lower it back down to rest beside him like he did with the other one, but this time he presses a soft kiss to the center of his palm. The tenderness of Michael’s touch takes his breath away just like always, but when Michael starts to kiss each of his fingertips, Alex can’t help what he does next.

Alex taps Michael’s full bottom lip with the tip of his finger and Michael opens right up for him. Two of his fingers disappear into the warmth of Michael’s mouth, and Alex is hit by a sharp surge of arousal at the sight of his lips stretched over him, the soft heat of his tongue between his fingers. He presses them in deeper and Michael moans softly, his hips twitching fruitlessly forward, eyes boring into Alex’s as he sucks.

Alex rises up to meet him, desperate to kiss him again, but Michael plants his hands on Alex’s shoulders and shoves him back onto the bed, his fingers slipping from Michael’s mouth with the movement.

“Nice try,” Michael grins. “But I’m still not done with you.”

“Sorry,” Alex says, with a smile that shows just how sorry he isn’t. “Got carried away.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Michael laughs, shaking his head. He leans in close again so Alex almost has to close his eyes to see Michael’s lips. “But come on. Be good for me now and I’ll be so good for you later.”

There’s a part of Alex that still wants to flip Michael over and absolutely wreck him, but he can see how badly Michael wants to play this thing out, and Alex is powerless to refuse him. Besides, it’s not like he isn’t enjoying himself.

Alex steals a kiss before he nods. “Okay,” he agrees. “I’ll be good.”

“Promise?” Michael asks, and Alex can see the mischievous glint in his eye, but he agrees anyway.

“Promise.”

True to form, Michael plays dirty as he moves on to massage Alex’s chest, teasing his nipples with his lips, tongue, and fingers until Alex is squirming. From there he works his way down his stomach, kissing along the hard plane of his abdomen. He looks up at Alex as he nibbles on the protrusion of his hip bone, just inches away from his cock, which has slowly started to stiffen once again, and it’s no small miracle that Alex manages to keep his fingers out of Michael’s curls.

“Michael,” Alex whimpers as Michael sucks a maddening bruise into the crease of his thigh a few inches lower, as if he’s testing Alex’s self control.

“Shh,” he soothes, pressing a close-mouthed kiss against the darkened patch of skin. “Just a little longer.”

He leans back up to sit on his knees between Alex’s thighs before he starts to massage them, taking special care with his right one. Alex moans as the tension he always carries in his right hip and thigh releases under Michael’s attentive fingers.

Michael waits until he’s explored just about every other part of Alex’s body before he finally, finally, slides between Alex’s thighs to give his cock some attention. He wraps his hand around it, gently stroking it to full hardness as the other plays with his balls.

Alex struggles to keep his hips still when Michael leans down to take the head into his mouth, the velvety softness of his tongue like heaven as it teases his slit. He brings his hands toward Michael’s head, itching to bury themselves in his curls, but he stops just short of doing it, letting his hands fall back to the mattress with a barely audible whine as he catches himself.

Michael reaches for Alex’s left hand and threads their fingers together as he pulls off his cock.

“It’s okay,” Michael tells him, pressing open-mouthed kisses along his shaft. “You can touch me now.”

Alex weaves the fingers of his free hand into Michael’s curls instantly and delights in watching Michael’s eyes flutter closed as he goes back to sucking lightly on the head. He can feel more than hear the content little moan Michael makes around him at his touch. Alex’s eyes drift closed, just enjoying the tease of Michael’s mouth, the way Michael’s thumb caresses the soft skin of his palm.

He opens his eyes when Michael extricates his fingers from Alex’s grip just in time to see him slicking them with the coconut massage oil.

“Wait,” Alex says, and Michael pauses with his fingers halfway to his own ass. “Get up here.”

Alex half expects Michael to remind him he agreed to take the backseat this time, but instead Michael releases his cock from his mouth and rises up onto his knees, going in to kiss him.

“Not like that,” Alex corrects him with a shake of his head.

Michael’s head tilts in confusion, but he gets what he’s asking for a second later, a filthy grin breaking out onto his face as understanding dawns on him. He tugs off his shirt and strips his sweatpants off eagerly before straddling Alex’s chest, facing away from him. Alex grabs him by the hips and drags him closer until his ass is directly over his face. He locks his arms around Michael’s thighs to keep him exactly where he wants him before he licks right over his hole with the flat of his tongue.

Michael’s hips jerk at the sudden sensation, a moan slipping from his lips. The sounds Michael makes as he continues to flick his tongue over his hole are high and needy, spurring Alex on to narrow it to a point and slip the tip of it inside him.

“Fuck, Alex,” Michael moans, shoving his hips back further against Alex’s face before he warns, a little breathlessly, “Don’t let me come. Wanna come with you in me,” before he feels the wet heat of Michael’s mouth around his cock once again.

Alex groans and works his tongue deeper inside Michael’s ass, fucking it in and out of him a few times before letting his head fall back against his pillow—as much as Alex would love to keep giving Michael’s ass the attention it deserves, there’s no way he’s going to last if Alex keeps eating him out like this.

Instead, he spreads Michael’s cheeks wider with his palms and smoothes his thumb around the pink furl of his hole. It’s loose and slick enough now for him to slip the tip inside. Michael whimpers as Alex tugs his thumb to the side just a little to watch it stretch.

“Pass me the lube,” Alex says, voice rough with arousal, and Michael tosses it vaguely in his direction, too overwhelmed to be precise about it.

It lands on the bed nearby and Alex reaches for it, gently removing his thumb. He slicks his fingers and slides two of them inside Michael at the same time. Alex’s cock slips out of Michael’s mouth as he cries out and drops his forehead to Alex’s thigh, fingers digging into the mattress. Alex can feel pre dripping from the head of Michael’s cock onto his chest as he fingers him open, careful to avoid his prostate as much as he can.

He’s three fingers deep with a fourth teasing at his rim before Michael gasps, “Enough, I’m ready.”

Alex withdraws his fingers and waits as Michael turns himself around on shaky knees to straddle Alex’s hips. Michael’s eyes are dark and unfocused as he looks at him, his lips red, wet, and a little swollen from use.

I did that, Alex thinks with no small amount of pride.

Alex slicks his own cock as Michael settles above him, knees on either side of him. He holds himself steady as Michael sinks down onto his cock in one smooth movement, moaning at the scorching, tight heat of him, and it’s only Michael’s hands planted on his chest that remind him to stay still. To distract himself from the need building inside him to fuck his cock deeper into him, Alex runs his hands along Michael’s flank, focusing on the softness of his skin beneath his fingertips until Michael’s caught his breath.

Michael starts to roll his hips into Alex’s in a slow, dirty grind, eyes pinning him against the mattress like a stuck butterfly. Alex reaches up to roll his thumb over Michael’s nipple, pinching it just hard enough to make him gasp and tighten up on him. His hips start working harder, and by the time Michael is bouncing on his cock, Alex can’t look away from him, enraptured by the flush high on Michael’s cheeks and the little moans that get forced out of his open mouth every time his ass hits the cradle of Alex’s hips. He’s the most beautiful thing Alex has ever seen, and his heart swells with so much love and gratitude for him that he has to sit up and pull him down for a kiss.

Michael wraps his arms around Alex’s shoulders and kisses him back, licking into his mouth as he squirms desperately in his lap.  

“Is it my turn yet?” Alex asks against his lips when a particularly well-aimed grind of his hips makes Michael’s mouth drop open in a gasp.

“What?” Michael pants, a little deliriously.

“To spoil you,” Alex reminds him, kissing his way down to his jaw, then his throat. He sucks lightly at his skin before he adds, “We had a deal.”

“Do I not look—mm, fuck—spoiled right now?” Michael asks, tugging Alex up by his hair to look at him in the eye.

“Not yet,” Alex answers, reaching up to run his thumb against Michael’s full bottom lip, “but you will.”

Michael visibly shudders in anticipation. “Fuck, yeah, okay,” he answers. “Do whatever you want to me.”

Alex leans in to steal another kiss before he flips Michael onto his back with surprising grace, keeping himself seated in the process.

“Where’d you even learn how to do that?” Michael asks when his back hits the mattress.

“Basic,” Alex answers, a smug smile on his face.

“Jesus,” Michael says, wrapping his legs higher around Alex’s waist. “Send Uncle Sam my regards.”

Alex laughs and leans in to kiss him again, a light press of lips that quickly turns filthy as Michael teases his tongue into Alex’s mouth. Alex grabs hold of the backs of Michael’s thighs and pushes them further toward his chest, folding Michael nearly in half as he starts to fuck him again, the room filling with the sound of skin slapping on skin.

It’s not long before Alex feels Michael start to tighten around him, hears the pitch of the little “uh, uh, uh’s” he’s making turn a little sharper, and he angles his hips so his cock brushes his prostate that much firmer. Michael keens, and a heady mix of pleasure and pain breaks out over Alex’s skin as Michael digs his blunt nails into his shoulders.

Alex reaches between them to get a hand on Michael’s dick to push him over the edge and all it takes is another few thrusts before he’s is coming on Alex’s cock, so hot and tight around him it makes them both cry out.

He fucks Michael through it, but he doesn’t let himself succumb to his own impending orgasm, determined to make Michael come one more time before he does—Michael’s been so good to him, it’s the least he deserves. He waits for Michael to stop trembling beneath him before he pulls out and sits back on his knees. Michael whimpers unhappily at the loss.

“You didn’t come,” Michael frowns, looking down through the V of his thighs at Alex’s cock, still flushed and hard between his legs.

“Turn over,” Alex pants.

Michael obeys him instantly, propping himself up on shaky knees and spreading his thighs wide enough that Alex can see his hole between his cheeks, slick and open for him. It’s a beautiful sight, but Alex doesn’t take advantage, not yet. Instead he grabs Michael’s legs and tugs him further down the bed. Michael yelps in surprise, but otherwise stays where Alex puts him.

Alex slicks himself with a little more lube before he leans over Michael again, nudging his legs closer together with his knees on the outside of Michael’s thighs. He slips the head of his cock between Michael’s cheeks and lets it tease against his rim.

“Is this okay?” he asks, giving Michael the opportunity to deny him if he’s too sensitive for this.

Michael nods. “Shit, yeah, come on.”

This time, when the thick head of his cock breaches Michael, he’s so much tighter.

“Oh fuck,” Michael groans, head tossed back so his curls tickle Alex’s shoulder. “Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, Alex.”

Alex can’t help but share that sentiment, Michael so tight around him he feels like he’s going to burst any second, but he pushes that down and focuses on giving Michael what he needs.

“Mmm, I know,” Alex coos in his ear, sliding one hand in Michael’s curls and the other under his arm to brace against his chest as he presses deeper inside him. “Bet you feel so full right now.”

Michael nods, gasping desperately.

“You like it?” Alex asks, rolling his hips slowly into Michael’s until he’s as deep as he can get. “That feel good?”

“Yeah,” Michael moans, “fuck, yeah.”

“Good boy,” Alex says, dropping kisses to Michael’s shoulder before starts to fuck him in earnest.

In this position, Michael can’t do much more than bury his face in his pillow and take it, but that doesn’t stop him from trying, high, thready moans clawing at his throat as he shoves his hips back to meet Alex’s thrusts as much as he can. Alex groans into Michael’s neck as he spears him open on his cock, the tight, clutching heat of him almost unbearable.

“Michael,” Alex groans against his skin. “So good for me, always so good for me.”

“Only—fuck—only for you,” Michael gasps.

“That’s right, baby,” Alex says, grinding his hips harder against him. “All mine, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Tell me.”

“M’yours,” Michael moans.

“Show me,” Alex orders. “Come for me again.”

Alex changes the angle of his thrusts until Michael shouts and he knows he’s found it. He keeps driving his cock right up on his prostate and, sure enough, moments later Alex feels Michael’s walls clench down on him again as he starts to come.

“That’s my boy, come on, let me hear it,” Alex all but growls in his ear, and Michael practically sobs as his second orgasm of the day rocks through him.

Alex doesn’t let up after he’s finished, just keeps thrusting his cock in and out of him until Michael’s a squirming mess beneath him.

“Alex,” Michael begs, “please come, god, please, I can’t—“

“Where do you want it?” Alex grunts, seconds away from the finish line.

“In me,” he answers, dissolving what’s left of Alex’s self control. “Want it in me.”

Alex groans, arousal sharp in his gut at Michael’s words. He tumbles over the edge moments later, snapping his hips forward one last time before he comes, filling Michael up just like he wanted. Judging by the way Michael whimpers and shudders beneath him, he can feel the warm rush of it inside him.

They lie there, gasping and spent, until Alex has the presence of mind to lift his weight from Michael’s back. Alex pulls out of him as softly as he can, one hand spreading open Michael’s cheeks so he can watch his come leak out of his hole, something possessive deep inside him satisfied by the sight.

“‘Lex,” Michael pants tiredly, his hand reaching back to land on Alex’s thigh. “C’mere.”

“I know,” Alex answers, “just a second.”

He leans over the side of the bed for the towel they cast off the bed earlier and cleans up the mess between Michael’s thighs before he lets himself fall back on the mattress beside him. Michael wriggles over to him and Alex opens his arms, bringing Michael close to rest against his chest. He presses his face into his curls, breathing in the soothing scent of the expensive conditioner Isobel bought him for Christmas. They’re both sticky with sweat, come, and massage oil, and in desperate need of a shower, but for the moment Alex is content to soak up every bit of contact he can get right now.

Alex is on the edge of sleep when the sudden peal of giddy laughter Michael buries into his chest draws his attention.

“What?” Alex asks, smiling down at Michael.

“I need another shower,” he explains, laughing again.

Alex huffs a laugh into Michael’s hair as he drops a kiss to his head. “I’d apologize, but I’m not sorry.”

“Eh, whatever,” Michael says, looking up at him with a sated smile. “Totally fucking worth it.”

“Yeah?” he asks, even though he knows the answer. “I give you what you needed?”

“You always do,” Michael sighs happily. A subtle wince passes over his face as he shifts further up the bed to kiss Alex, soft and sweet. “Fuck,” he whispers against his lips. “I’m gonna be feeling you for fucking days, Alex.”

“Good,” Alex grins, kissing him again as pride swells in his chest.

“What about you?” Michael asks when the kiss ends. “I spoil you enough?”

“More than enough,” Alex laughs. “You were perfect. You are perfect.”

Michael bites his lip as a pleased grin blossoms on his face. Alex runs his fingers through Michael’s curls and smiles fondly when Michael’s eyes drift closed as his nails graze his scalp. Michael nudges further into Alex’s touch and practically purrs like a cat.

“I love you,” Alex sighs, the affection he feels carrying through in his tone.

Michael opens his eyes to look at him, expression soft.

“I love you too,” Michael replies. He settles back against Alex’s chest, pressing a gentle kiss right over his heart. It’s the simplest touch, over before it’s even really begun, but it makes Alex ache with all the love he has for him.

Michael just fits in Alex’s life, like a missing puzzle piece or the other half of a friendship bracelet. He always has, filling in all of Alex’s edges and making him complete, whole in a way he’s never been without him. Having Michael in his arms—feeling the unnatural warmth of him against his skin, hearing the soothing cadence of his breathing—is a balm on Alex’s soul.

Alex knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he belongs to Michael and Michael belongs to him, and there isn’t a single goddamn thing in the universe that will ever, ever change that.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: The Rose and the Thorn: Chapter 7 (Mafia AU)

Summary: Rus is getting to wake up and face a new day. A shame that staying in bed and hiding sounds like a better option.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Mafia AU, Flower Shop AU, Violence, First Meetings

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

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It felt like he’d hardly slept at all when Blue shook him awake. Rus floundered in the tangled sheets, struggling to sit up as he blinked in confusion at the unfamiliar room. Then everything came back in a rush and Rus very nearly dove back beneath the blankets, the better to hide from his own stupidity. Might have even made it if Blue hadn’t exclaimed in surprise, catching him up in his short, sturdy arms.

“Easy, little brother,” Blue crooned. He petted Rus’s skull, fingers moving in soothing, gentle pats. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“it’s okay,” Rus croaked out and he gave in to the childish urge to lean into his brother’s embrace, taking the comfort he freely offered. “just a little jumpy, i guess.”

Blue held on a few moments longer before easing away, “I should have let you sleep,” he fretted. “after everything that happened, you need your rest, you didn’t even stir when the butler knocked on the door, I should have—”

“bro, i’m fine,” Rus interrupted, “you just startled me.” He proved it by squirming free of the blankets and climbing out of the bed to his feet, and if he was a little wobbly, eh, he caught his balance quickly enough. He was about to escape to the bathroom to shower, a combo guaranteed to put off conversation and let him wake up a little more, when he saw the new addition to their room of a neatly folded stack of clothes on the little coffee table by the sofa. A look at his brother confirmed he was already dressed in a pair of trousers and a fine shirt, the lovely floral pattern shades of blue and yellow to match his starry eye lights.

He looked charmingly handsome and that was not an outfit that had ever been in his brother’s closet.

“that’s a different look for you, bro,” Rus said warily.

“Yes, well.” Blue smoothed a hand down the front of his shirt, fingering the pearl buttons. “We’ve been invited to breakfast with our hosts,” Blue said brightly. “That’s the only reason I wanted to wake you up. They’re expecting us in a half an hour, and I wanted to give you time to get ready.”

Time to get ready? An entire half an hour to prepare himself to see Edge after last night’s catastrophe. Something of his dismay must’ve shown on his face and Blue’s overbright cheer faltered, his expression torn. Probably caught between the worry of insulting their ‘hosts’ and Rus’s state of mind.

Yeah, right now his state of mind was up for reelection. A hysterical laugh tried to bubble out of his throat as Rus backed away, feebly disguised as a cough. “no prob, bro, i’ll be fast in the shower.”

He didn’t give Blue a chance to say anything else, like maybe try to send him back to bed with an offer to make excuses for Rus’s absence. Didn’t he have enough to worry about right now without fretting that his little bro was going to embarrass him in front of their new…what? Business partner? Seemed like a good a title as any and Rus snatched up the pile of clothes without even looking at it and darted into the shower, closing and locking the door behind him.

The bathroom gave him a pause, jarring him from his creeping panic. All gleaming fixtures and shining porcelain tiles, with a row of soaps and gels sitting invitingly on the back of the counter. A peek in one of the drawers revealed plenty of other toiletries, including several unopened toothbrushes. The shower cubical was even better, instead of one shower head, the massive stall was lined with several coming from all angles, ready to hose down whoever dared step inside. The walls were beaded with water, probably from Blue using it and Rus stifled a giggle to think of his rather petite brother using it, trying not to get washed away like a paper boat in a hurricane.

Was there anything in this place that wasn’t turned up to eleven?

Rus set down the stack of clothes on the counter and snagged a toothbrush along with the shower gel that smelled the least offensive. The nightshirt he stripped off and tossed into a handy hamper, he’d sleep bare ass tonight if he had to, rather than wear that piece of failure again. He fiddled with the knobs until he figured out how to get to the hot water, then stepped in, letting the liquid bliss pour down on him and guiltily basking in the seemingly endless fall of hot water that their rickety old water heater couldn’t have come close to.

He probably could’ve stayed an hour without the chill chasing him out, but he’d promised his brother to be quick. So he stripped the plastic off the toothbrush, scrubbing at his pearly whites and using the shower as an impromptu water pick, then switching over to the bath poof and shower gel, determinedly scrubbing every nook and cranny, all the way down to his toe joints. It was just a shame that getting clean didn’t take up nearly as much of his thought process as he needed to keep his mind blank and memories of last night crept in, jabbing gleefully at him.

What had he even been thinking? The stress of everything that happened yesterday must’ve torpedoed his common sense, because seriously, trying to seduce Edge in the hopes it would get them, what, a little security and an extra promise to help, on top of what he’d already done? Trust was a hard-earned commodity, Above or Belowground, but if he stirred a little critical thinking into his thought process, there was proof that Edge wasn’t exactly untrustworthy. Not yet, anyway.

The whole shooting up their shop and Rus getting kidnapped off the street was Edge’s fault, sure, he’d admitted that much, but, honestly, Edge could’ve walked away at anytime already. He’d saved Rus at the shop, sure, but he could’ve let his brother get away with his little threat session without trying to intercede, could’ve let his old buddy Blaze keep Rus and not endangered himself at all getting him out of there.

Edge said he wasn’t a good guy and maybe, okay, probably that was true, but that wasn’t exactly the side he’d been showing Rus, not quite. He’d been trying to clean up the mess he’d accidentally made and here was Rus, trying to barter for a little extra on the side. The more he thought about it, the more humiliating it was; he’d actually tried to…to sell himself to Edge, a guy who could obviously get sex anytime he wanted, just because he’d confessed to having a bit of a fantasy going about him, like Rus wasn’t guilty of the same sort of idle daydream.

A very bad person, he’d said, but he’d still sent Rus away rather than taking what he was offering, and maybe the whys of that weren’t completely clear, but that didn’t seem like something a bad guy would do. It just didn’t.

Which meant that Rus was the asshole for this round and what he wouldn’t give for a damn cigarette right about now. Nicotine cravings were already making him jittery, but his smokes were in his lost bag. That reminder gave him a pang; he was going to miss all those anime pins, he’d been collecting them since before they got to the surface. Kidnapping was one thing, stealing his hard-found collectibles was another level of jerk.

Well, no matter what Edge’s reasons were for turning him down, all Rus could hope was that he had the decency not to bring it up in front of Blue.

Rus shut the water off, snagging a large, fluffy towel to wipe off. His bones were barely dry as he stepped out onto the bathmat, careful not to slip. A concussion on top of everything was all he needed.

He hung the damp towel up next to his brother’s and inspected the clothes in the stack. As suspected, they were new, every item of it down to the undershorts and socks. Not his normal choice of wardrobe; when he wasn’t at the shop Rus normally preferred T-shirts and shorts, and there was a plentiful cheap supply at the local thrift shop. He wasn’t really used to anyone else picking out his underwear and he debated on whether to leave them off before sighing and skimming on the soft cotton shorts. At least it wasn’t a red satin thong or something, he wasn’t sure he could stand sitting in the same room with that Red guy with something like that trying to saw his pelvis in half.

The dark trousers fitted perfectly and so did the soft linen pullover, not the wine color of last night’s borrowed pajamas, but a deep sage green that contrasted nicely with his magic. Everything was exactly the right size and as odd as that was, Rus supposed it was still better than them raiding their house and going through their drawers. But he did wonder glumly how much this might add to their growing tab.

There was a full-length mirror on one wall and Rus looked into it, studying his reflection. He didn’t look like himself, which was fine, because he damn well didn’t feel like himself, either. Probably hadn’t since Edge jumped the counter at the shop and pulled him down to the floor.

His half-hour was about up, there was no putting it off any longer. Blue looked up anxiously when he came out and Rus summoned up his best cheesy grin and struck a pose, “ta-da, how do i look?”

“Very nice,” Blue told him, even as he gestured at Rus to lean down so he could fuss over his collar, smoothing it. “try not to spill anything down the front of it in the first five minutes?”

“do my best, food and gravity don’t always mix well around me.”

He followed his brother to the door where a comfortable pair of house shoes in his size were lined up neatly to the side waiting for him. Not, Rus noted, the kind meant to be worn outside. His own sneakers were nowhere to be seen and yeah, he could take a hint. ‘Stay put’ was the word, for now.

A Dog was standing guard outside the door and Rus was shamefully relieved that it wasn’t the same guy as last night. He led them on another winding path and seriously, did the guy who designed this place go on to find fame and fortune making labyrinths for other Goblin Kings?

The door he led them to opened into a surprisingly airy room, with windowed French doors letting in the morning sunshine. Red was already seated at the head of a table and the cigar in his hand was thankfully unlit. His gold tooth glinted as he grinned, “mornin’, hope ya slept well.”

“We did, thank you,” Blue said. Rus only nodded along with him. He still wasn’t very interested in getting chatty with Mister ‘make it a double’ over there. If Edge really was as bad as he claimed to be, Rus could sure see where he picked it up from.

The table was long, topped in covered trays and platters, and the second Blue and Rus were seated, the lids were whisked away by the Dogs. Rus kinda thought he was getting to his limits of surprise, but it seemed like he still had some stashed away for a special occasion.

The amount of food laid out was staggering; surrounding the crystal goblets of water and orange juice were bowls of prettily cut fruit, a platter of sticky pastries alongside crusty croissants. More plates that held richly browned sausages and crispy bacon, and there was an entire tray pancakes and waffles snuggled next to each other with a steaming pitcher of syrup beside them. Pan-grilled tomatoes, poached eggs nestled into their cups, this was more food than they saw in a week. Every dish held something delectable and Rus wasn’t sure his roiling magic would let him eat a single bite.

Looked like the dial on this place actually went all the way up to twelve.

“Goodness,” Blue said, a little helplessly, “it certainly looks delicious.”

There was an air of something like smugness around Red, as if their obvious surprise pleased him, “eh, wasn’t sure what you liked, so i had ‘em bring in a lil’ of everythin’.”

A little of everything was one way to put it. Normally, a good breakfast in Rus’s opinion was when Blue splurged on the oatmeal with the dinosaur eggs.

Red picked up his fork and gestured at the table. “go ahead, dig in while it’s hot.”

Blue tucked his napkin into his lap first in that exaggerated way he did things that he expected Rus to mimic. “Shouldn’t we wait for your brother?”

“nah,” And Rus wasn’t sure why he was bothering with a napkin when it was clear their host didn’t mind talking around a mouthful of sausage. He at least swallowed before he added, “i shook him outta bed a bit ago, he’ll be down.”

That seemed to be enough to satisfy Blue’s sense of propriety. He began to fill his plate, taking a small portion from each tray. Rus only chose one of the pastries that had a quivering dollop of jam on top so that he had something to pick at, hyperaware of the way Red was watching them.

It made Rus think of a horror movie he’d seen, where a pale man hung around waiting for anyone who dared eat from his banquet and those that did paid the price for it with their lives.

Yeah, whatever, Red was no pale man, no eldritch horror. He was a thug playing dress up to impress them for some damn reason, trying to show off how much better he was. Wasn’t gonna work on Rus, thanks, Blue had twice the manners of this asshole, and when Red’s supposedly well-paid servants were scraping all this into the trash, Blue would still be the one who spent hours making cookies for the neighborhood kids in his rare time off.

Defiantly, Rus took a huge bite of pastry, cheekbones puffing out and Blue didn’t even have a chance to kick him in the knee for his manners when the door was flung open and Edge stalked inside.

“morning, bro,” Red said easily. Edge only gave a surly grunt in return, heading right to the sidebar where a gleaming machine with too many dials and knobs sat. A few twists and clicks, and it started gurgling, filling the air with the gorgeous aroma of coffee and if it weren’t for the awkward ending to how Rus tried to get into Edge’s pants last night, he would have crawled over the table with a cup held out in a modern take on ‘please sir can I have some more’.

Look, he couldn’t be bought with fancy clothes or food, but coffee was on a different playing field.

Since that wasn’t on the table, (heh), instead Rus chewed frantically, still trying to gulp down his overflowing mouthful of dry pastry when Edge turned around with a freshly filled cup in hand. He nearly choked on his first sip as he caught sight of the table, swinging around to give his brother a positively scathing glare.

Ah. Looked like maybe Red neglected to mention they’d be here. Great.

“Good morning,” Edge said, scowling into his cup. He was already impeccably dressed in one of those suits of his, but the normal rasp in his voice was downright hoarse and beneath his sockets were rusty stains of exhaustion. He didn’t look like he’d slept two winks after Rus left him last night.

“are you—” okay, Rus didn’t say, looked back down at his plate. Like he had any right to ask Edge anything after what he did.

Turned out, he wasn’t the only one concerned. Blue never ignored a chance to play caretaker and he was all but standing in his chair, leaning across the table anxiously. “I hope you don’t mind me saying so, Edge, but you look a touch under the weather, are you feeling all right?”

“I’m afraid it’s self-inflicted,” Edge said. He took another long sip from his mug, clearing his throat before adding smoothly, “My apologies, I had a little too much to drink last night.”

That only seemed to up Blue’s concern, probably worrying it was their fault Edge was spending his night drinking, which, well, it sort of was. At least half their fault, anyway, and Rus stared hard at his plate where the bitten pastry was oozing jam like a wound.

“But self-inflicted doesn’t mean you need to suffer,” Blue objected. “I know how to heal, I could—”

“Thank you,” Edge interrupted firmly, “but no.”

“It’s no trouble at all!”

“I’m sure it’s not. I appreciate the offer, but it won’t be necessary.”

“But—"

Rus kept his head down, picking flecks of sugar glaze off his wounded pastry as he waited for Edge’s immovable object to stop butting against Blue’s unstoppable force. A wary glance at Red showed him leaning back in his seat with his hands woven together over his belly, watching the show.

Yeah, he seemed like the kind of guy to think this was hilarious and considering that their height difference made Blue the metaphorical dachshund barking at the great dane’s ankles, Rus had to admit, Red sort of had a point. This time.

Blue looked as if he were chewing on his own tongue instead of a pancake, complaining, “If I could get to my garden, I’d at least make you some tea. It’s my own blend!”

Tea wasn’t a bad idea, really, not nearly as invasive as letting someone use their own magic directly on you. Golden flower tea, infused with the magic Blue used to tend to their gardens and like all Monster food, it had healing qualities. Rus knew from personal experience it tended to be quite potent.

“Coffee will suffice,” Edge said decisively and that seemed to be the end of it.

“Well, at least sit down and get some food in you. It’s been a while since my brother and I had a chance to share breakfast,” Blue said brightly. “He’s usually off to open the shop while I tend to the garden, it’s been mostly cold cereal for us, I’m afraid.”

“All I want is coffee, I need to get downtown.”

Red spoke up at then, “that ain’t no way to treat your guests.”

“We don’t have guests,” Edge snapped.

“no?” Red let out a short, abrupt laugh, though his glittering eye lights held no humor. “you got a better name, bro?”

Rus had a few. Prisoners, kidnappees, captives? Hostages? None of those seemed to quite fit the bill and maybe Edge was thinking the same thing. “I brought one guest. The other is here entirely because of you, so I believe entertainment is your purview.”

“only fair for me to have a pal if you do.”

“Yes, fair,” Edge said dryly. “Fairness is always a concern of yours.”

“hey.” That tone made Rus want to sit up straight and cringe at the same time, iron-hard. “have a seat, boss.”

Boss? Rus gave up on his attempt to blend into the furniture and looked up, reluctantly curious. Red caught him out almost instantly and his cool glare shifted to an easy, lazy grin.

“don’t need to be so surprised, sweetheart, edge is the one who runs things ‘round here,” Red said lazily. “i do this and that, let him handle th’ important shit. always was fuckin’ terrible at paperwork.”

Next to him, Blue was chewing determinedly, stabbing at his sausages with his fork. It was probably killing him not to chide Red about his language, but he was also their host. Torn between one set of manners and another left him at a silent impasse.

Edge gave his brother another scathing glare but didn’t argue. “I need to get to work.”

He set his coffee cup down on the side of the table with a solid thunk, turning towards the door, and he was going to leave, heading out when he wasn’t at his best where there were people trying to kill him and Rus wouldn’t even have a chance to say anything, to explain, he couldn’t—

“i’m sorry!” Rus blurted out as he shot to his feet, knocking against the table hard enough to rattle the glasses and flatware. “i’m so sorry, for last night. i didn’t mean for that to happen.”

Edge froze. Slowly, he turned back to face Rus, looking down at him and Rus met that unwavering crimson gaze without flinching, despite the frantic pounding in his soul. He wasn’t good at this, not with apologies or confrontation; he’d rather go hide and smoke through a pack of cheap Marlboros until he was sick while wishing for this to all go away. But he couldn’t let Edge go out there thinking…well, thinking whatever he did about Rus. By now he had to be catching on to the fact that his fantasies weren’t anything close to Rus’s reality and that was what it was, but at least Rus wanted that reality to be the truth and not tainted by one thoughtless act.

Edge looked away first, flicking a glance at Blue and Red, both who were watching with varying levels of narrow confusion.

“Forthright,” Edge murmured. His tight, cold expression eased, softening, “I’m sorry, too, flower shop. I was a little drunk, and I shouldn’t have,” his gaze flicked again to Red, who was watching with brow bones climbing ever higher on his forehead, and Blue, who was full out gaping, mouth open. Whatever he’d been about to say was amended smoothly to, “Shouldn’t have said what I did.”

“okay, so we’re both sorry. that’s…that’s good.” Rus smiled a little, stupidly. It wasn’t like this solved anything or changed it. It still made that hard ache behind his breastbone loosen, gave him some measure of ease.

That faint, lopsided smile curving Edge’s mouth was even better. Rus braced himself when Edge reached out, then he watched in confusion as Edge plucked up a napkin, dabbing lightly at the side of Rus’s mouth. “Jam,” he said, as if in explanation. As though anything could explain the way he paused with his knuckles lightly resting against Rus’s chin, his gloved thumb following along the same path as the napkin, “Behave while I’m gone. I’m running low on rescues.”

It took a second for that to get through the warm, fuzzy haze settling over Rus, brought on by the gentle touch against his mouth. When it did, he stood up straighter in pure indignation, protesting, “i wasn’t misbehaving before!”

“No, you weren’t,” Edge agreed. “But somehow, you’ve already figured out how to cause me plenty of trouble, I’d hate to see what you manage if you actually tried.”

Rus swore he could feel the husky rumble of that voice through Edge’s touch, but it was another voice that broke the spell, this one as jagged as broken glass.

“thought you were leavin', boss,” Red sounded perturbed and he seemed to have forgotten his quest to get Edge to sit down to breakfast with them.

Edge said nothing. There was only a last brush of his gloved fingers across Rus’s cheekbone, satin-soft over the lingering bruise. Then he turned on his heel and walked out, leaving Rus alone with an outraged Red and his own suspicious brother.

Rude. Guess rescues didn’t include from family.

Welp, Edge might like to play the knight in tarnished armor, but for Rus, he was going with abject cowardice. He started filling his plate with food, ignoring the way Edge’s cologne seemed to cling to where he’d touched and replaced that aroma with tasty bacon.

“this’s really good,” Rus said around a mouthful, risking his brother’s wrath as he shoveled in another bite. If he kept eating, he couldn’t say anything stupid.

It was worth a shot.

Edge’s half-filled coffee cup was still sitting on the table and with a mental shrug Rus stole it, downing the bitter blackness in a shuddering gulp. Waste not the caffeine. He had a feeling from the way Red and Blue were still staring at him that he was probably gonna need all the help he could get.

tbc

Read Next Chapter

[bakugoukatsuki-rising]

"...And this is how Ejiro Kirishima became Katsuki Bakugo's best-man at his wedding with Izuku Midoriya."

I’m just gonna get straight into this one!

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It had been a little while since they had last spoken, maybe about a month. There was an increase in villain activity, meaning all highly rated heroes needed to be on call and ready for action at any time.

It was after the Number 1 and 2 heroes finished off a set a villains that the announcement was made to the world. Something Izuku and Katsuki had been planning for a little while now. 

“HEY, ALL YOU EXTRAS! I GOT A FUCKING ANNOUNCEMENT!” 

Katsuki eagerly took the microphone the interviewer was holding, Izuku bowing in apology while the blond stomped his way toward the camera man. “You know that wonder duo bullshit you all like to go on about? It’s fucking official, cause we’re getting married!” He quickly shoved the mic back to the interviewer, who was left with a ton more questions than answers at that point. 

Izuku had never made much progress with the press, but he knew Katsuki had no problem with it, so they agreed to let the explosive man take the lead for this one; though Izuku couldn’t help but wonder if it was the right after the shocked expressions from all of the staff around them in the parking lot they ended up in at the climax of their battle. 

Despite the shock, the interviewer seemed to get themselves together quickly, moving to Izuku with haste. “Deku, could you elaborate? Ground Zero stated you’re getting married, what does that mean?”

Izuku glanced at Katsuki who was snarling at the individual conducting the interview, but he sighed and let out a gentle chuckle. Lifting an idle hand, he rubbed at the back of his neck to calm some of his nerves.  “Well, it means...that we’re getting married. I don’t know if the news ever caught on, but Kacchan and I have been dating for a few years now, and we’ve decided to get married.” 

The announcement had been public for about two weeks when Katsuki finally decided to make the call. The rise in villain activity had died down, and there was finally a small gap they could consider a break. Izuku had taken to visiting his mother and All Might, while Katsuki angrily debated on calling Kirishima for at least a few hours. 

They decided to meet up at a local cafe not far from his place, as Kirishima hadn’t traveled far in his hero work, choosing to stay in the areas he was most familiar with.  The crimson haired hero was ecstatic to see his friend, even bold enough to wrap his strong, solid arms around him before being promptly smacked off with a small explosion to the gut. It did no damage, as expected, and Kirishima laughed it off with ease. 

Katsuki let the other hero ramble on and on for a little while, talking about the work he had been doing and the villains he had caught. Though, Katsuki knew the majority of it, as he’d frequently tuned into the news to check the areas Kirishima was watching over to ensure all was well. However, that would be some information he’d take to the grave with him. When it seemed the overly excited man began to relax, wanting Katsuki to talk up more about his own life, he decided to contribute to the conversation. 

“So dipstick, did you watch the news recently? I made a pretty important announcement, and I ain’t repeatin’ it so you better have seen it.” 

There had been no mention of the marriage announcement throughout Kirishima’s rambling, so Katsuki was curious if he had even known about it in the first place. He watched carefully as the man before him seemed to grow a bit somber, his normally eager and anxious gaze becoming more gentle and mellow.  “Of course I saw, Bakugo. You think I’d miss that kind of announcement when just before that you kicked some serious villain ass? I guess I was a little sad about it, I would have wanted you to tell me personally.” 

Clicking his tongue and scoffing at the other’s sappy comment, he shifted his own gaze to the window, watching as the people outside went about their own lives. There was no stopping the bit of heat that flushed his cheeks, his gaze becoming hard as he struggled to articulate himself without becoming overly angry or eccentric. Without notice he snapped his head back toward Kirishima, slamming a fist down on the table and causing a few customers around them to jump in surprise. 

“Listen!” He snapped louder than anticipated, but caught himself and leaned a bit forward into the table separating them. Kirishima blinked in confusion as he watched Katsuki, he followed his example and leaned his body in as well. 

“You’re gonna be the best man at the wedding, ya got that? I’m ain’t takin’ no for an answer.” There were small pops on each of his fingers as he held his hand up, and he watched closely as Kirishima’s facial expression transformed from confusion into pure joy. 

“Bakugo!!” The large rock of a man threw himself over the table, wrapping his arms around Katsuki’s neck and holding tightly onto him as the blonde growled and thrashed, not caring much for the mess he was making and the chaos he was causing. 

“You fucker! Get off! I take it back, you better not show up or I’ll fuckin’ kill ya!” 

But even with all the chaos erupting from the excitement of his friend, and his inability to properly comprehend the emotions he was feeling, he found himself content with the invitation. Kirishima knew him nearly as well as Izuku, and he couldn’t think of a better person he’d want standing next to him when he finally got married. 

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bruh thIS HAS ME SO IN MY FEELINGS ABOUT KIRISHIMA’S AND BAKUGO’S FRIENDSHIP OMG

Thank you so much for this, I love it!!

[sad-sweet-cowboah]

My Little Secret part 6

Summary: You’re excited about your first date with Arthur, so excited that you find yourself nearly stressing over it. When you finally get there, some unexpected events happen.

Warnings: Blood mention

The rest of the weekend could not go by any slower.

You’d returned to work that Saturday, expectedly hounded by your boss and coworkers after the news had spread about Tom’s attempt. You kept yourself vague, reiterating that you didn’t want to take matters to the police and that a simple ban should suffice. You finally managed to get away from the prying questions once you were slammed with the expected weekend crowd.

Arthur hadn’t stopped in that night. Your own disappointment did not dampen your excitement for Monday night however. Sunday flew by in a breeze after you spent the day diving into your schoolwork, having been more eager to finish it now.

Monday morning though was dreary. You’d woken up to iron clouds and the taste of rain in the air. It began to storm once your classes were over, and you were nearly soaked from the short distance from the building to your car. Once settling into the warm and dry interior, your phone chimed.

Sam had invited you out for a late lunch, which you responded. You hadn’t eaten since 7 am and your stomach rumbled loudly at the mere thought of food. You met her at a small café on campus, which was fuller than usual due to students trying to stay out of the rain.

Sam managed to find a corner table, and waved you over once you stepped inside. You squeezed past the others and managed to sit down.

“Hey girl!” she greeted.

“Hey,” you huffed, shaking your head slightly to rid of the rain droplets. “Damn, it’s packed in here.”

“You’re telling me,” Sam sighed. “Feels like a can of sardines.”

With a few minutes of idle chatter and ordering your food, you two quieted down to enjoy your meals. After a few short moments of silence, Sam spoke again.

“Anything new with you?”

You paused, wondering if you should tell her what happened the other night with Tom. You decided against it, especially when in a crowded place such as this. The last thing you needed was Sam grilling you after your coworkers and boss, in a public place of all things. Instead your mind returning to your ever building excitement for tonight. “I have a date tonight.”

Sam’s eyes widened. “What? I thought you were gonna focus on school first!”

You gave a nonchalant shrug. “Yeah well…I couldn’t resist.”

“Who is it?” Sam pressed. “Is he cute?”

You smiled shyly, eyes casting down at your soup bowl. “It’s, uh, Arthur. That guy that bought me the drink in Saint Denis.”

Sam’s face twisted in thought for a moment before she blinked with realization. “That older guy? You’re into him?”

“He’s…really charming and sweet. Very gentlemanly too. And you said it yourself, you thought he looked good.” You responded, quirking an eyebrow at her.

 Sam tilted her head in agreement. “Yeah, you’re right. Just be careful, okay? He might just try to get into your pants.”

“He’s not like that,” you answered immediately. “Believe me, things got…a little heated between him and I the other night-“

“Oh?”

“He stopped it before anything big happened, though. Said he didn’t want to do something he’d regret.” You continued.

Sam’s eyebrows raised at that. “Wow, you don’t hear that often from a guy at any age. Guess you nabbed yourself a good one.”

You rolled your eyes. “I haven’t nabbed anything, Sam. It’s just a casual date.”

Sam raised her drink to her lips, muttering, “A casual date after almost having sex.”

“Oh, shut up!” you hissed, your voice shuddering with a laugh, throwing a small napkin at her face.

---

You’d gone home after your lunch with Sam, though having a good few hours before your date with Arthur. Your excitement was at its peak, making you feel restless. You could not stay still, bouncing back and forth between this and that and everything else. You tried to study, only having gotten through a few pages of notes before your mind jumped elsewhere. You cleaned, only finding minimal things to actually clean. You eventually turned on your TV, though it was just background noise at this point as your thoughts were abuzz with how the evening would play out.

The burger joint wasn’t anything too fancy; just a small restaurant with some good cheap food and a couple of good cheap beers to boot. Dressing up would be inappropriate in this scenario, although you were tempted to wear one of your nicer pieces just to show off for him.

How would he dress himself? Probably the same way he usually does, which you wouldn’t mind at all.

Should you order your usual food or go with something light as to not appear like a slob? Wait, why were you even considering your food choices? He probably would not care, he didn’t seem like the type that would.

With nearly two hours left to kill, you managed to calm down enough to settle on your couch. The TV was still on, and you began to flip through the channels for something interesting to watch. You eventually lost interest, landing on a news channel before turning your attention to social media.

“…Citizens of Saint Denis say they came across a dead body in an alley…”

Somehow, that sentence diverted you back to the TV. The news anchor was standing on the side of a busy street in Saint Denis.

“Coroner’s report that the victim was drained of his blood from multiple puncture wounds on various places of the body. Some say that they may resemble vampire bites.”

You stared at the TV in confusion.

“Farfetched as this seems, this is not the first body to be found like this. Other reports from New York and Los Angeles have found victims of similar fates. Are there killers who are mimicking the actions of fictional monsters?”

Who the fuck would try to pull themselves off as vampires? And why? The mere thought of it seemed farfetched that you wondered if you turned to some sort of channel of satire. Not that it was amusing, you felt bad for the victims and their families. Dying of blood loss must be a terrible way to die.

You turned the TV off then, shrouded in complete silence before the chime of your phone made you jump.

Sam had texted you again, asking about what you planned to wear.

Oh shoot, in your distraction you hadn’t exactly picked anything out!

After sorting through what you had your closet, you eventually picked out a nice blue button-up blouse and some black skinny jeans, laying them out on your bed and snapping a photo. Within a few minutes Sam sent you a thumbs up emoji.

You hopped in the shower, spending a little extra time to make sure you’d washed yourself thoroughly. You got out, brushing your teeth and drying your hair simultaneously before getting dressed. You plucked your eyebrows, inspected your face for any incoming zits, and finally added a light touch of eyeliner and lip gloss for some extra flair.

You observed yourself in the mirror, admiring yourself of having done such a great job on yourself. It’d been a while since you’ve been able to doll yourself up, having confined to the usual work clothes or your usual hoodie, T-shirt, and jeans or sweatpants when in class. You snapped a picture of yourself, posing cutely. You sent it to Sam, and a moment later you got a response.

Babe you’re so hot!! You’ll knock him on his ass for sure!

You giggled to yourself. Having dressed up like this gave you a confidence boost, enough that all prior nerves had drained away. When you finally glanced at the time, you’d realized your preparation took more time you thought. It was 7:45, and the burger joint was a ten minute drive away.

You threw on a light sweater on top of your outfit, slid into a pair of your favorite shoes and hurried out of your apartment, stepping into the cool and humid air left behind by the storm. You drove off, your heart beginning to pound from your excitement.

Sally’s Place, it was called, a quaint little building placed just on the outskirts of the university on the corner of a street. It had a gravel parking lot on the empty side, which was only half filled with cars. The outside tables were still soaked from today’s rain, so that meant inside for you.

As you parked and got out, you gazed around, hoping to see the motorcycle. No such luck yet. You took a deep breath and began to cross the parking lot when the familiar roar of an engine ripped through the night air.

As if on cue, you spotted him riding down the street, the slick black body glowing underneath the golden streetlights. You smiled widely as he slowed down and pulled into the parking lot. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, you noted, when he came to a full stop at a spot just a few yards away. Once he killed the engine and stood up, his eyes immediately met yours, a smile crossing his face.

He closed the space between you two with a casual walk, his hands resting in his pockets as he crossed the gravel. He was wearing a leather jacket, a different one that his normal attire, that shone underneath the fluorescent lighting of the entrance. Colors of the neon signs bouncing off the wrinkled black surface. Underneath he wore a simple white V-neck shirt tucked into crisp blue jeans, held up by a leather belt with a Western style buckle. His hair was slicked back as it normally was, but it appeared he had it trimmed neatly. He’d shaved as well, his cheeks and jawline smooth but with the faintest hints of stubble reappearing.

God, he was gorgeous.

“Hello, darlin’.” He greeted with a warm smile, stepping forward to give you a kiss. You’d almost stumbled forward, catching yourself at the very last second to awkwardly meet his lips briefly.

“H-hi.” You said, keeping your breathing even. Why were you this awkward around him again?

He chuckled slightly, clearly amused by your fumble. Instead of commenting on it, his eyes searched your features, traveling up and down your body with an expression of content. “Y’got all dressed up for me? Didn’t have to go n’ do that.”

You blushed heavily, turning your gaze away slightly. “Well…you didn’t have to look so damn handsome yourself.” You countered with a giggle.

He let out a huff. “Jus’ wanna make sure my ugly mug ain’t too hideous to look at for ya.”

You blinked, your shyness disappearing as you met his eyes. “You’re not hideous, Arthur. Hell, you’re one of the best looking men I’ve met.” You said seriously.

He shook his head slightly as if in disbelief. “Ready to go in?” he asked, holding his arm out to you.

Deciding not to continue to conversation, you nodded and took his arm with a smile. He led you closer to the door which he opened for you, allowing you to step in before walking in himself. You were greeted by the hostess, who brought you over to a booth.

As you walked, you noted the amount of people inside certainly reflected the amount of cars outside. Most were students from the school with a few older people here and there. The bar was half full with already tipsy middle-aged men watching a football game on the flatscreen on the wall. Soft country music played overhead.

The booth was illuminated by a soft red light. Once the menus were placed in front, you opened yours. “You ever been here, Arthur?” you asked.

“Nah, can’t say I have.” He replied, idly playing with the pages of his menu.

“Oh, then let me recommend some things. Their burgers are bangin’ obviously. But they also make good steaks and quesadillas. Oh, and their fried chicken is truly southern style!” you giggled.

He gave you a slight smile, then sighed and pushed his menu away. “They all sound great, darlin’. But I’m gonna pass on eatin’.”

You frowned and tilted your head in confusion. “Um…why?”

“Food intolerances,” he responded. “Can only eat…certain things.”

“Oh…well, they have gluten free options, and they don’t cook anything with nuts if that’s what you mean.” You pointed out.

He shook his head. “Appreciate the thought, but it’s more complex than that. S’okay though, I’ll pay for your meal and whatever else ya get. All you gotta do is provide me with some good company.”

How unorthodox. You supposed you couldn’t feel upset over this, if he had a legitimate intolerance, who were you to judge or say otherwise? Hell, you were still happy to just be here with him. “Alright, we’ll do that then.”

Arthur smiled at you. “So go on ‘head n’ order what ya want.”

It took you a while to really decide, given you were concerned about ordering something that may be too expensive for him. He assured you it would be fine, which only made you more awkwardly aware of the pricing. You eventually settled on a quesadilla and a beer. Once the waitress walked away after taking your order, it’d fallen silent between the two of you.

You took a swig of your beer, the bitter taste a welcoming sensation. You weren’t sure what to talk about at the moment.

“How was school today?” he asked you.

You blinked. “Oh, uh…same old, I guess. Boring and a lot of information to unpack,” You sighed. “How was your day?”

“Uh…borin’, same as yours. Spent a lot of it inside.” He said, clearing his throat.

“As part of your job?” you asked curiously.

He gave a slight shrug. “Eh...not really. I work durin’ the night actually.”

“So you’re not working tonight.” You said as a statement.

“I asked off just for this,” he said, giving you a small smile. “Can’t say my boss was very happy with me, but he’ll get over it.”

You smiled as well, feeling once again shy underneath his gaze. You took another swig of your beer. “So…now that we’re actually here, what is it that you do exactly? I know you’re definitely not an outlaw.”

He chuckled, leaning back in the seat. “Let’s just say my job requires me to travel.”

You tilted your head, curious as to why he was reluctant to share details. “Where have you gone in your travels?”

“Everywhere, feels like it anyway,” he let out a slight sigh. “All around the states, different countries.”

“That’s pretty cool. I’m kinda jealous actually,” you mused. “Never been outside of America.”

Arthur shook his head. “It gets tedious after a while, miss home n’ all. But it’s somethin’, keeps me busy and puts money in my pocket.”

You nodded in understanding. That’s what your job was right now. “I feel that, bartending isn’t the most glamorous of jobs but it’s something to get me by until I finish school.” You sighed.

“Brings you some interestin’ people, don’t it?” he said with a slight smirk. “Even if it’s just some ol’ fool who don’t drink no more.”

You snorted into a small laugh. “That’s one way to put it.”

It’d gone quiet between the two of you once again. You cradled your beer in your hands, thinking of other things to talk about. You’d noticed Arthur’s gaze seemed to have traveled elsewhere, watching as another couple entered the restaurant. An odd little quirk about him. Perhaps he just liked to people watch.

The waitress soon returned with a full plate of cheesy quesadillas, placing it in front of you. The steaming food appeared so delicious, the savory scent wafted into your nostrils. You took a deep breath, feeling your stomach growling with each passing second. “God, this looks so good.”

“Good choice, darlin’. If I could eat it, I would,” He commented. “Enjoy it.”

You looked up at him and smiled. “Thanks, Arthur.” And with that, you began to dig in. You’d had their quesadillas before, and each and every time was more delicious than the last. The conversation had died down a little while you ate, occasionally speaking up about something or another before turning back to your food. You’d learned he was 36 years old and had a love for horses. He also liked to draw in his spare time, which prompted you to ask him if he’d show you some of his work. He had a photo on his phone, a sketched out drawing of a woman staring out the window. Despite how rough the lines were, it was beautiful.

You were nearly finished with your food when he suddenly stood up.

“S’cuse me, Y/N. Be back in a few minutes.”

You nodded and reabsorbed back to your food, paying no attention to where he wandered off to, assuming he was just going to the bathroom.

However, you’d finished your food and he still hadn’t returned. Another five minutes had passed and still no sign of him. You craned your neck around, hoping to see his figure elsewhere in the bar. No such luck. You decided to wait a few minutes longer, though couldn’t wait as you became increasingly fidgety and worried over time. You stood up and headed toward the bathrooms. Of course you couldn’t go into the men’s room, so you awkwardly waited outside.

A man walked up and you asked him to check and see if Arthur was okay in there. He gave you a weird look, but shrugged and nodded, pushing the door open and heading inside. After a short moment, the man came back out.

“Sorry ma’am, your friend ain’t in there.”

A spike of anxiety shot through your heart. If he wasn’t in the bathroom, did he somehow leave without you seeing? You thanked the man and headed back to your booth in hopes that he made his way back to wherever he was, only to still find it empty.

Was he outside, maybe? Unless he decided to up and ditch you entirely. You shook your head. Arthur didn’t seem like the type to pull off something that immature, at least you hoped he wasn’t. You headed toward the door, hoping he was outside and smoking a cigarette or something. As you pushed the door open, the damp air greeted you like a heavy blanket. You didn’t see anyone in your immediate vision aside from a couple of people clear across the parking lot who were loading into their cars. Your eyes scanned the rest of the lot quickly, and your mind flooded in relief to see the motorcycle still in its spot.

But where was Arthur?

The relief did not last long as it was quickly overcome with concern. Did he get hurt somehow? Should you look for him just in case he was hurt? You couldn’t fathom any other reason why he’d disappear on you while still remaining in the vicinity. A myriad of different thoughts tornadoed through your head, and you shook it. Maybe he genuinely needed help.

You began to walk the perimeter of the restaurant, though it was becoming harder to see the further you ventured from the entrance. You were careful with your steps, and your ears strained for any sounds of struggle. Aside from the melody of nature’s nightly ballad around you, it was quiet.

A thump of somewhat close proximity made you jump, originating from the very back of the building. Through the chirping of the crickets, you detected a soft, low moan. Both curiosity and anxiety overcame the better of you as you headed toward the noise, the moaning growing steadily louder the closer you got.

You rounded the corner, and through the dim you immediately spotted two silhouettes rammed up against the wall. Or, at least one was. The other had the first pressed against it in an odd embrace. Your first thought was that it was some couple attempting to get freaky in public, until your eyes adjusted and you recognized the second silhouette as-

“Arthur?”

He immediately pulled back upon hearing your voice, a popping sound resonating from the other one. Alarm coursed through you. Was he kissing the other person?

“Arthur, what’re you doing?!” you demanded. “Are you making out with someone? Because if you are-”

A loud and disoriented moan cut you off, resonating from the figure on the wall. You squinted your eyes toward them, making their features out in the dim. It was man, couldn’t be much older than you. His face held a look of distant serenity, as if he were high. His mouth hung slightly open. The next thing you noticed were two dark streaks painted down his neck.

“Y/N.” Arthur’s voice rumbled. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Why?!” You exasperated. “So I wouldn’t see you making out with this guy?!”

“No!” he shot back, holding up his hands. “You just…you shouldn’t see this, you can’t.”

“I already just saw you mouth to mouth with this guy, Arthur.” You hissed.

He stepped closer to you slowly. “I ain’t makin’ out with him. Hell, I ain’t even into men. But you need to listen-“

“For what reason could you possibly have to-”

When he stepped even closer to you, his features became more prominent in the dark. Two identical streaks ran down his chin from his lips. You frowned in confusion.

“Look, ya need to relax.” He said calmly, reaching out to you with a hesitation as if you were a scared animal. He was close enough for the wisps of his breath to skim across your face, bringing forth the coppery scent of-

Blood.

Your eyes widened and you immediately stepped back. “What…” you choked out, unable to form any coherent words. You finally spluttered, “What have you done?!”

His hands dropped to his sides, his entire figure hunched over as if in defeat. He however kept his eyes on you. “Y/N-”

You didn’t wait for him to finish. Every instinct screamed at you to turn and run, and you did. You spun on your heel and launched forward, your muscles straining as you sprinted away.

Unfortunately, you didn’t make it further than a few steps.

Strong arms wrapped around you, pinning your body to his. You gasped and wriggled in his grip in any attempt to pull yourself free. He was not budging, and you dig that back of your heel into his shin. “Let me go!” You yowled, only uttering the first two words before a cold hand clamped across your mouth.

“Y/N, stop!” He hissed under his breath, completely unphased by your attempts of defense. When you didn’t listen and continued to fight him, he held you to him with a vice like grip. “You need to listen to me!”

Despite every effort you’d tried to escape, nothing seemed to make him budge. Your legs flailed uselessly against his body, and wiggling proved fruitless from how tight he held you. Every part of your brain told at you to keep trying, but you knew this struggle wouldn’t end with you winning. He was too strong and you were no match for him. You reluctantly sighed in defeat and halted your struggling.

“Fine.” You grumbled. As soon as you’d submitted, his grip on you loosened.

He placed you carefully back on your feet, a notion you weren’t expecting. It’s caught you off guard given the circumstances. His hand lingered briefly on your arm before removing it. His head tilted down, hiding his eyes while he stared at the ground.

“I ain’t sure how to say this, Y/N.” he mumbled to you, the tone in his voice absolutely hesitant and resigned. He wiped the blood from his chin. “Never did want ya to find out, least not this way.”

“Find out what exactly, Arthur?” you asked him as your voice wavered.

His head shot straight up, his blue eyes staring right into you with burning intensity. “I’m…” he took a deep breath. “I’m a vampire.”

[canumoveurseatup-no]

humanity

summary: you’ve flipped the switch to your humanity and there’s only one person who can bring you back 18+

word count: 3.5k

pairings: natasha romanoff x black!vampire!reader; ex!steve x black!vampire!reader

warnings: slight EG spoilers (for those who still haven’t seen it i guess), angst, murder, mentions of blood

—————

You weren’t the same after the final battle.

You were surrounded by death, lived through it too many times. But something about this round flicked a switch in you... especially when Steve left you. He told you what he planned on doing, he was a man of his word.

You didn’t think it’d have you feeling this empty, didn’t think it’d have you feeling this dead inside since you were literally already dead, too many times over.

You’ve been poisoned with vervain, you survived a wolf’s bite. Your ex lover stabbed you with a stake to keep you asleep for centuries and his father almost stabbed you with a stake to keep you dead for good.

None of that hurt as bad as this.

You made a family here. You made plans with this man, he made you feel human, made you feel like you weren’t a monster and he just through it away.

It wasn’t supposed to hurt this bad.

—————

That’s how you found yourself here. Blood dripping down your chin as another heavy body dropped from your arms. Eyes pure black and heavily lidded.

Any ounce of humanity you did have was drained from your body and long gone. No one knew it was you, they figured it was the others that had wreaked havoc years ago. But you were bitter and wanted everyone to feel pain. You were killing relentlessly and didn’t give a damn.

You should find his old ass and drain him dry. 

It doesn’t help that he shows up, young as ever. Skin like porcelain, so fresh and supple, if you saw him you’d want to suck him dry, and not in the way that you were willing to do so before. You wanted his blood on your hands. 

The others knew to keep him from you.

“How is she doing?,” Steve question Nat. She knew you the best, she was beyond defensive when he came back.

“Why are you here, Steve? What happened?,” She wasn’t too fond of seeing him either. Not only because he left everyone during a hard, dark, grieving fucking time but because she knew he was back for you.

Him leaving finally gave her the chance to buck up and admit her feelings to you. She realized, during all of this, that she’s spent too much of her life closed off, doing nothing but living the life of a bitter woman. 

She never realized how much she’s loved these people until they were gone. She didn’t want to take that chance with you. But here Steve was expecting you to forgive and run back to him. She feared you would. She was there when you’d clench your chest and sob for him. When you made yourself sick from crying and not getting the amount of blood you needed, you didn’t feed, on humans, animals, blood bags from the hospital, nothing. 

You were on the verge of death for this man and no one else saw that but her. The love she had for Steve had run bitter, simply for hurting you. Simply because she loved you from afar for so long, she downplayed her feelings for you for so long, only for him to fucking hurt you.

“I was wrong to go back. It was a fairy tale not meant for me. I was meant to live the life of dysfunction. Sitting idle and and living the white picket fence life wasn’t for me and it was wrong to even think so,”

“She almost fucking died,” Natasha’s words were venomous and like daggers, “She wouldn’t feed. Her throat was raw from screaming for you after her nightmares. When you left she lost her sense of humanity and began feeling like a monster that only you could convince her that she wasn’t,” 

She couldn’t bear to look at Steve anymore. He made her sick. Steve felt like shit, as he should. There was no fixing this. 

“I don’t know what to do,”

“I don’t think there’s anything you can do, Steve,”

---------

You returned late, you shed your blood soaked clothes in an alleyway dumpster. Luckily being smart enough to pack extra. Natasha was worried when you came back late. Each night is later than the last and you looked rougher each time, more lifeless than the last, which says a lot because you’re already dead. But you were full of life for a woman who died centuries ago, you were full of life for a woman who’s been through shit but it took one stupid soldier to break you. You felt pathetic but you felt that he was everything you spent an eternity looking for. He was your humanity... until he left and took it with him.

Natasha sat at the foot of your bed when you walked in your room. You weren’t expecting her to stay up let along be in here. 

“Steve is back... young Steve that is,”

“Not in the mood for jokes,” Your voice didn’t tremble. It was hard like a rock, your emotions were impenetrable like bulletproof glass.

“He wants you back,”

You could tell there was no hint of humor in her voice. It was almost as if she was terrified to tell you, for whatever reason why? you weren’t sure because it’s not like she knew of your late night binging and murder spree.

“Well you better keep him away from me or things are gonna get real ugly,” you finally face to look at her and it doesn’t go unnoticed how she flinches at the whites of your eyes now being black. You didn’t care who feared you anymore. The world saw you as a monster anyway.

“He made me this way,” your expression was plain and stoic. Veins under your eyes dark and poisonous, fangs seemingly sharper and more deadly, “So unless anyone wants the precious blood of Captain America to be shed, keep him away from me,”

Natasha obviously relaxes at hearing you say that. But she hates to see you so vicious. 

“Come back to me,” Natasha whispers. 

It was so easy for you to relax. Like she was your new voice of reason. She was faced with you pretty brown eyes and plump brown skin under your eyes that crinkled adorably when you smiled. 

“Come here,” she held her hand out and you took it. Her touch felt so familiar but otherworldly at the same time. Like it was meant for you but wrong.

She moved you into her lap and neither of you even flinched at the close proximity. She could have sat you beside her, you could have moved yourself opposite if the way she was pulling you, but here you were sitting in her lap like it was normal.

Natasha wanted it to be normal.

“You’re not going to back to him?,”

“I want him dead,” that edge of bitterness was back, she just wanted the gentle side of you, she didn’t want you to be filled with poison because he was the serpent to hypnotize you with his beautiful dance only for him to stick his fangs in you. 

“He’s not worth it,”

“He deserves it!,”

“That would be the easy way out for him though, wouldn’t it?,”

She had a point, but her logic was soon forgotten when you felt the way her hands caressed your thighs.

“He doesn’t deserve your emotions,” 

You could tell she was leaving words unspoken. She was biting the tip of her tongue to refrain but the way you were looking at her had her ready to risk it all.

“I do,” she felt the bitter burn of bile come up her esophagus as she watched you process what she meant.

“I don’t think you’re ready for that,” 

It wasn’t quite a rejection but it was all at the same time.

“I’ve been ready before all of this mess even happened. I’ve been ready since you came into the picture... I just wasn’t ready to admit it,”

Her voice could lull you to a peaceful sleep. 

“I hate that I can hear your love for me in your voice. It’s disgusting,” 

Natasha’s stomach dropped at your words. She hated what heartbreak has done to you, it’s made you ruthless.

“How dare you confess such a thing after being there for everything I’ve been through. It’s vile!,”

She immediately missed your warmth when you stood up and created space between you two.

“You can call it what you will but how I feel for you is everything but disgusting. I stayed up all hours of the night crying with you because I hated to see you hurt, I stayed up and wiped your tears instead of my own. I fed you blood bags that I had to steal from hospitals so you could eat because I couldn’t bear to see your skin lose it’s color from malnutrition... and I’d do it all again because I... I love you and I-,”

She was so defeated that she didn’t know how to form her words, other than to just flat out say it.

You stared at her like she had three heads, “You can’t love me,” you frowned, “He couldn’t, how can you?!,”

“Because I’m not him,”

In the blink of an eye, she had her hands on each side of your face and was staring at you like a deer in headlights afraid to make the next move.

“I’m gonna kiss you, now,”

“Do it,”

It was hungry and sloppy. Teeth clashing, complete saliva swapping, lip biting, tongue swirling. Her hands never stopped roaming your body. It was all a blur how you two ended up naked in your bed, her leg between your legs, making love to you with her mouth. It was sloppy yet calculated, like it’s a piece of art she always wanted to create but didn’t want to ruin it.

You had your knees pulled into your chest and your hand in her hair, she felt so good, her fingers obscenely soaking wet, your clit was overly sensitive because she was spending so much tine there. She just wanted to focus on your and let you know how bad she was longing for you.

“Natasha,” needy and wanton, you’ve never felt this good before. She had you ready to push her head away because you were so overstimulated. She had you quivering, the soles of your feet aching from arching them so hard. She was having ball down there and you just let her. 

She came back up to settle beside you and kiss your lips while her fingers were still buried deep. 

“I’m not him,” she whispered along your neck, “I’m fucking better than that,”

Something about her words pushed you over the edge and had you crying out for her. Feeling her hands on you had your skin on fire. Igniting a flame that was long gone and it terrified you.

With each kiss from her, you felt your humanity coming back. But you weren’t ready to turn it off. You were still bitter and hurt.

It wasn’t that easy.

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

You used her as a crutch and she knew. But she’d rather have you this way where she can be intimate and touch you in such a way than not have you at all.

You were fine with either. She still didn’t know about the ruthless slaughters and it’s best she didn’t. She’d definitely leave you just like Steve.

Steve was still trying to get the others to tell you he was wanting another chance, and it didn’t help when you finally bumped into him while with the others and everything went down from there. 

You were a filled with poison again and there was seemingly no antidote. They all tried to run Steve out of there but you weren’t having it. You had no better judgment, no conscience, no humanity. All of it that you gained back while with Natasha had gone down the drain when you saw him. You wanted to rip his throat out just to feed it back to him.

“Y/N you’re gonna hurt him!,” Sam shouted at you.

“So be it,” 

You whipped around everyone in a flash with your vampiric speed, grabbing them by the collar of their attire to throw them across the room and through glass walls 

“Y/N, baby, it’s me,” Steve tried to reason.

“I got heartbroken not amnesia, asshole,” you bared your teeth at him and noticed the way he audibly swallowed. You could hear the decadent pounding of his pulse and how it bounded in absolute terror.

“You don’t have to do this,”

“You didn’t have to leave!,” with each step you could see tears well in his eyes.

“It was a mistake! I regret it so much”

You didn’t have time to go back and forth. You sped to his place and grabbed a hand full of hair to pull him back, “I regret not killing you right then and there,”

He screamed when he felt the searing burn of your teeth puncturing his flesh. His blood was tainted. Full of regrets and lies... laced with narcissism and self righteousness. It tasted spoiled. You hated it, but you kept drinking anyway.

“Y/N!,” Natasha pulled you away. You looked terrifying with your eyes pitch black and dark blood staining your mouth.

“Come back to me,” she whispered. She’d figured it would bring you back like it did a week ago, but being around Steve wasn’t helping. Nothing was helping. You were gone, too far gone for her to try and bring you back this easily.

“Natasha, get the fuck out of the way. I’m not done with him,”

“You are! He’s not worth it!,”

You weren’t listening though. It wasn’t even you she was talking to, it was a dark doppelgänger that had a devil on her shoulder, fueling the anger and the decisions you were making. You had no better judgment, just a mind set on vengeance. You just wanted him to feel the physical affects of the emotions you were feeling. You were homicidal and you didn’t want to be stopped.

“Move!,” you weren’t gonna ask again. You sped around her to Steve but she pushed him out of the way and instead of sinking your teeth into him, it was her. There was no screaming from her. She let out a painful whimper, trying to tough it out. She couldn’t bear seeing you hurt him, no matter how much she hated him for hurting you.

You hated the taste of her blood, not because there was anything wrong but because everything was right. She was sweet, filled with redemption and effort, it was full of love. You could feel her emotions, see her regrets, see her past and her wants to change and be better. You saw yourself, she loved you, she put herself in the line of fire for you.

“Come back to me,” she grunted as she felt you suck harder, she could tell you were fighting yourself, but your carnal instincts won, “I’m not mad,”

You felt her body become heavy in your arms and that’s what made you pull away. She’d gone pale and you finally snapped out of it. A loud gasp sounded around the room and you called out for her.

“No, no, stay the hell awake!,” you smacked her cheek but she was snatched away from you to rush her to the infirmary. You looked at Steve who was looking down at you terrified, “It should have been you!,” 

You didn’t give him time to say anything before you zipped off and away from the compound. You stopped in the middle of the woods, punching the bark off the trees and screaming out into the air like a wounded wolf calling for her pack. You weren’t sure what you were feeling but your veins felt like they were on fire, a fire you never felt before. Maybe because you had Natasha’s blood in your system and it was trying to burn the tainted blood of Steve out. It was making itself at home in your body and it hurt. It was burning the pain away, creating a new being and a new beginning.

Creating a new humanity.

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

You stayed hidden for days, afraid to go back and face everyone after what you’d done. You didn’t know that Natasha was better and looking for you day and night. 

“Stop being a coward,” you’d tell yourself. 

New clothes hugged your body in comfort as you walk back up the steps to the compound. Friday recognized your fingerprint and let you in, so maybe they hadn’t shunned you. You figured they’d find out it was you killing all those people across town.

At least they were bad people.

“She’s in her room,” 

You whisked around to see Steve trying to make himself look small. He wasn’t sure if there’d be a repeat of what had happened nights prior.

“I’m not going to try and kill you. So you can stand like a man owning up to his wrongs rather than a punished puppy who has no idea of what he’s done,” you were still vicious but at least you weren’t murderous.

“I know I made a mistake,”

You could have thrown your head back and laughed. But you wanted to see what excuse he’d try to pull to try and get out of this. He was good with excuses.

“I don’t have any excuse other than I fucked up,”

Surprising.

“I don’t know what I was thinking. I know back then was my time... but I guess just seeing her during the time heist reignited old feelings in me. I thought going back would help but it didn’t fix anything. I realized my time was here and with you..,”

“The me you had before all of this is gone,” It was plain and simple what you meant. He could tell it wasn’t you. You wore hurt like a scarlet letter... this was you burning that scarlet letter to start over.

“I know and I’m sorry I hurt you,”

“Don’t be sorry. Be better,”

You turned your back to him to walk away and look for Natasha. A single knock on her door was all that was needed before she swung it open. She knew your knock, it was gentle but loud enough to let whomever was inside know that they had company.

She pulled you into her room and wrapped you in an embrace you had tried to push away. After Steve left, you told yourself you wouldn’t accept affection.

Natasha made that hard.

“I’ve been looking all over for you,”

“How’s your neck? Your vitals?,” you ignored her declaration, wanting to know if she was truly okay.

“Like it never happened,” She shrugged, “I was so hurt when I woke up and you weren’t there,”

“Because I was the reason you were there in the first place,”

“And I love you anyway,”

“There’s no way you still can after everything,” it was unbelievable.

“Pushing me away won’t work,”

“I know,” you didn’t want to fight it, especially after feeling the way her essence quite literally surged through your veins. Literally burning you from the inside.

That’s how hot her love burned for you.

You knew it was real.

And it sucks that you hurt her.

“I shouldn’t have gotten in the way but... I didn’t want you to regret hurting him in case you ever changed your mind and wanted to go back.

“Going back to him was never in my cards,”

“I couldn’t be too sure,”

“I’m here with you though,” 

That’s all she could hope for. She wanted you in her arms, your lips on hers, your head resting on her chest. Everything that came with you, she wanted it all. She knew it’d take time and you two had all the time in the world.

“Your love for me burns hot,”

She smirked and nodded, of course it did. She’s been feeling the angst of unrequited love for years, far too long. She was too hard to go after you. She can’t possibly blame Steve for making the first move toward you when he had no idea about Natasha’s feelings towards you, she couldn’t possibly blame him for doing what she was too cowardly to do.

But now was her time. She hated the circumstances of you being hurt... but it was now or never.

She’d be better.

“Like the sun’s core,”

“I can’t love right away,”

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” she didn’t want you to try and rush this only for it to end messy. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if it ended badly because they didn’t made the right decisions. It’s funny she thinks this way when her face was buried in your sin night after night. Lapping up all you had to offer her. 

She didn’t want the rebound, angry fuck anymore... she wanted the real deal with you. The needy sex and then some, the love, the anger, the tears. Everything real love entailed.

“I’m still finding my humanity,”

“I’m right here,”

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

was feeling angsty and poetic.

comments and reblogs are always appreciated!

@blackreaders-assemble @retroxvailles @yournonlocalpoc @warmchick @here-for-your-bullshit @persephones24 @dumbchick @veryhellshdia @vozit @mbaku-babygirl @disaster-rose @valentinevirgo @valkyriesnymph @spideys-wife @hisxblackxqueen @chonisberonica @xye-weirdo @crawlingnightmares @kamahriii @alyssaj23 @never-enough-time-for-sleep @uhh-yess-its-a-fucking-bove-me @mokacoconut @ilovefanfic86 @micki-smiles @fromlia-withlove @poisonloki

[orionares]

Drabble, Part 17

A/N: Change of plans- adding one more chapter…or so before the epilogue.

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“Ok, so I’m not going into the field unless absolutely necessary-“

“Kens.”

“And if I get pulled into an interview and you need me, call Nell and she’ll come and get me-“

“Kens.”

“But the temp boss they sent from Washington should be reasonable. I guess he seemed reasonable when I met him for coffee and explained-“

Kensi’s stopped mid sentence when Deeks grabs her shoulders and grins widely at her long-winded reminders. They are standing in the bedroom, Deeks donning sweatpants and a light blue tank top while watching Kensi pack her wallet, Sig and phone for her first day back to work. Only two weeks after returning home from the hospital, Kensi is readying herself for a hopefully quiet, short day.

“I’m fine. I’ll be fine,” Deeks states. His eyes flicker over to the door before adding, “ I’ll be lounging about with Monty for a bit before our moms get here. And then I’ll never have peace and quiet ever again.”

Kensi lets her mind wander back to a week prior when she had to meet with the team’s temporary leader, Special Agent Elliot Hartfield, an ex- Navy SEAL with experience in the CIA. Hartfield reminds her of a combination of Sam and Callen with the faintest hint of Hetty.

Hetty. I’m beginning to doubt we’ll ever see you again.

Deeks sits on his knees on the very edge of the bed, giving his innocent version of a puppy dog face. “Kensalina,” he pleads, “I can sit in the office-“

Kensi slides her Sig into her waist, chuckling at the image of Deeks finding ways of entertaining himself in the office. “Nope.”

“I can even sit in the car with Monty with the window cracked-“

“No, my love,” She leans towards him and cups his face with her hands. “Stay here and enjoy the day. If I can survive the attack of the ‘Moms’ , so can you.”

“That was beautiful, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to be three hundred pounds full of lasagna by the time you get home,” Deeks whispers. Kensi rolls her eyes and gently pushes him back onto the bed. He falls back overdramatically onto the bed and cries out, “The wedding will be planned, our future eighteen children will already be enrolled in school and both will have moved in!”

“Goodbye, Deeks,” Kensi calls out over her shoulder. As she moves down the stairs and towards the front door, she can feel a heaviness in her chest rising the further she’s away from him. His soft laughter echoes through the hall and even with the joy in his voice doesn’t push away from the worrisome thoughts- I can do this. Everything can go back to normal. It can.

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

“So I’m guessing you plan on wishing the paperwork away?”

Callen’s comment earns a scoff from Kensi as she sits back at her chair at her desk with a cup of coffee in hand. She takes a sip of her coffee and then glances down at the cup in confusion at its cold taste.

“You’ve been staring at the paperwork for about 30 minutes, Kens,” Callen reminds her. “Something wrong with the coffee?”

Her eyes shoot up to the kitchenette and shakes her head at a realization. “I think I just poured a cold cup of coffee without realizing it. Thirty minutes, you said?”

Sam, who’s sitting across at his desk with his focus on the laptop, calls out, “How is he?”

“Texting me every ten minutes or so, depending on if he can get his hands on his phone,” Kensi says with exacerbation. She pulls up the text on her cellphone and reads out, “ First one- Monty found a coin in the yard. Maybe it’s worth something? Second one- Mom’s here and doesn’t want me to leave the couch unless to use the bathroom. S.O.S. Third one- Breaking news. Two characters I don’t care about on some soap opera did something I don’t care about while arguing about something useless.”

“Think he’s handling being home, alright?” Callen asks, scratching his chin with mild interest.

“My money’s on him being bored,” Sam suggests, “A bored and idle Deeks is not a good thing.”

“Yeah…” Kensi trails off, smiling at the last text message on the screen. Her mind wanders back to the day before where she had woken peacefully next to a sleeping Deeks and had watched his chest rise and fall with every breath. She doesn’t realize how long she’s staring until Sam places a hand on her shoulder and suggest, “Let’s go for a walk.”

His eyes are warm, seeming to break through her usual defenses. Kensi hears the buzz of her cellphone, more than likely a text from Deeks. Instead of answering, she pushes herself away from the desk and follows Sam through the bullpen and into the empty sparring gym. The peering eyes from fellow agents seem to follow her and Sam as they pass and it does nothing but adding the aching unrecognizable feeling in her gut.

“Give it a week or so for the staring,” Sam calls over his shoulder as he steps onto the large red sparring mat. He unexpectedly begins undoing his shoes as he adds, “When Deeks comes back, it’ll be another week of staring and sympathetic nods and May, that tech from San Diego- she made sure to give Callen and me dirty looks every chance she got.”

“That’s usually how she likes to act like that every time she sees me….why are you taking off your shoes? Are we sparring?”

“Humor me.” Sam reaches under the bench and tosses her two sparring gloves. “Nothing heavy, nothing crazy, alright?”

Kensi shrugs, “Alright.” She quickly kicks off her shoes and slides on her gloves. Sam smirks at her hesitancy and begins shuffling around the mat’s ring. He beckons her towards him before reminding, “Come on, Kens. Humor me.”

“So me kicking your ass is humoring you?” Kensi jokes. She sends a quick jab to Sam’s shoulder, which he blocks quite easily with a counter that leaves her behind him on her back in a blink of an eye.

“You’re distracted,” Sam comments. He holds out a hand and pulls Kensi up onto her feet. “You always ride Deeks about leaving an opening.”

Kensi jumps back to the outline of the ring and begins moving carefully towards Sam, hands raised. “Well, Deeks is usually rambling about Mercury being in retrograde or how he’s almost positive the two surfers who beat him to the waves on Sundays either camp out on the beach all night or stalk him.”

“Or Monty being a what he call it?”

“A Best Pooch.” Once again, Sam is on top of her as she speaks, flipping her onto her back on the map. Kensi groans and rolls over onto her stomach and growls, “Did you come out here to just kick my ass?”

“No- I wanted to point out something to you,” Sam states. He begins to undo one of his gloves, “After Michelle died, I was going to come back about two and a half weeks earlier than I did but G, being G, talked me into waiting a little longer. Said I was distracted and wasn’t ready.”

“And you punched him in the jaw?”

“Ha, ha.” He drops the glove onto the mat and holds out a hand to hoist Kensi onto her feet. She eyes his hand suspiciously before gripping it and letting him pull her to her feet. “G actually,” Sam continues, “ took me to a range and challenged me to a little bit of a competition. He won.”

“And?”

“He hadn’t beaten me in shooting in years. He pointed out that my heart wasn’t in it and that I was distracted. Not distracted in a bad way but that I needed to be home with my kids. I wasn’t meant to be with the team at the time I thought I was ready. I thought I needed to save the world. Kens, where’s your mind and your heart right now?”

“On planning to talk to Callen about his methods of pep talks,” Kensi jokes. She drops her shoulders at the worry in Sam’s eyes. “It’s- it’s at home. It’s with him.”

“And that’s ok, you know.” Sam walks over to the edge of the mat and drops his other glove. “Go home, Kens. Take another day or another week.”

“I can do my job, Sam.”

“And I never said that you couldn’t. I’m saying to go home, rescue Deeks from the in-laws and take everyday little by little, alright? Promise me that. We’ll call you if we need you.”

“Ok, I promise.”

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

She’s home in half an hour but takes fifteen extra minutes to will herself to leave the car.

Somehow, Kensi makes it through the door and nods along with her mother and Roberta’s myriad of questions and suggestions and up the stairs to their bedroom. Deeks lays on his stomach, half buried under their blankets. Kensi lets out a sigh and she watches his ankle twitch as if a response.

“How was work?” He mutters under the two pillows. Kensi exhales slowly, taking in the golden locks sticking out between the pillows and her fiancé’s form sprawled across their bed. She doesn’t reply to his question and focuses on what she had nearly run red lights to see.

The rise and fall of his chest. Good, he’s here. He’s….here.

Deeks lets out a sigh and slides his head out from one of the pillows. He pushes the scattered blonde locks from covering his eyes and looks up to Kensi. His goofy smirks immediately disappears at her expression and he pushes himself into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. “What happened- what’s wrong?”

She tosses her wallet and keys onto the bedside table and begins to walk to his side. “I, um-“ she stammers. She ignores the sweating palms and the sudden warmth she feels on her face. “Nothing happened at work- I was only there for an hour and a half.”

Deeks narrows his eyes and glances to the clock. “Two hours? My God, it’s only been two hours….I mean- it’s not that I didn’t enjoy eating pasta, lasagna, tamales and a peach cobbler all in one meal- your mom makes a mean cobbler, by the way-“

“I’m taking a leave of absence.”

Deeks sits up and then takes a minute to reorient himself. “What? Wait, Kens-“

She pulls him into her arms. “There is nothing that you can say or do that’ll change my mind. I couldn’t think straight without you being by my side at work. This whole thing was too close and I’m not ready to try and go back to work like everything isn’t different. Mosley’s gone, Hetty’s MIA- everything’s changed.”

“This epiphany came in two hours?”

“Sam, in an unconventional way, talked me through it.”

“So…what’s next then?”

Kensi shrugs. “I don’t know. You tell me- I’m new to this not knowing the next game plan. I do know that I want to marry you.”

“So we start with that,” His turns his head towards the door with the same witty glint in his eye but she gently brings his face back to her. “I want to marry you too.”

Everything has changed.

Her next words spill out faster than she can catch herself. It’s impulsive, it’s uncharacteristic but right now, everything’s changed.

“Then let’s do it today. Let’s get married today.”

[fathertaurus]

Hometown Hookup (Part ½) 🍃

so i wrote this whole thing that i really liked but it got accidentally deleted. so here’s this mess instead. i lowkey hate this piece of writing. rough sex, threesome, etc. anyway, enjoy:

“Did you ask yet?” you whispered in Ilya’s ear.

“No,” he hissed back, peering over his shoulder to make sure no one had heard you. You were in the kitchen of his house. A couple of his friends were there to hang out, but the group had been dwindling as the hours creeped by. The only person you were concerned about staying was David, who was currently alone on the couch with his laptop propped on his legs.

“Later baby,” Ilya whispered into your ear, biting lightly at the helix. “You need to relax.”

“You know that’s not possible,” you laughed, placing your hands against his broad chest. You slid them up to his neck and leaned in to kiss him gently for a moment.

“He’ll be here for a while, just chill. He’s editing right now. I gotta wait until we’re alone to ask anyway. Okay?”

You nodded, reclined against the counter, and returned your beer to your lips. You sipped it while you tried to engage in idle small talk with Ilya’s other friends. Every so often, your stomach muscles clenched in anticipation of what might be coming later that night. You tried to ignore the potential. Shifting your hips uncomfortably at the warmth that pooled below you.

You’d been hooking up with Ilya for a while now, but you were both too busy and too emotionally unavailable to be exclusive. Friends with benefits —that seemed to describe you best. You didn’t mind the arrangement. He could make you laugh and fuck you like no one else. It was ideal. You two were complimentary. He needed someone chill, with a little free time after the work day was through, who was down to drink and talk and mess around. You were there to deliver.

You were compatible in bed too. He had come to know what you liked. The crack of aggression in his voice. The tension in his biceps and chest. The hard smack of his skin against yours. You preferred a little dominance. He was happy to provide.

It was all in good fun, and the whole situation kept you satisfied. Mostly… Lately, you’d been looking for more.

You’d found your plausible fix in the form of his friend. Ilya had introduced you to David last time he was visiting Chicago and you were instantly smitten.

He was cute, in a boy-next-door kind of way. But it was really his charm that was so alluring. He radiated confidence. He was cocky in every word he spoke, every gesture he made, every lilt of his breath seethed with arrogance. You wanted to see what was below the surface of his candor and magnetism. You wanted to push him. To see what he’d do to you when you brought him to the breaking point.

So you’d asked Ilya if he’d be interested in a threesome. It took some convincing, but you weren’t the first girl he’d taken to bed with one of his boys. And David was no stranger to the scenario either. Ilya eventually agreed that next time Dave was in town, he’d see if he was interested.

Which was what led to tonight. You’d been trying to keep a level head. Maintain casual conversation with everyone. Drop a few flirtatious lines to David here and there. Just to test the waters. The only thing you could do now was wait until everyone else left, Ilya’s roommate fucked off, and Ilya could talk to David about your request.

The time felt like it dragged forever, but eventually you found yourself alone with Ilya in the kitchen. His roommate was in the shower. You could hear the steady flow of water echo through the thin walls. It was the perfect time for Ilya to make a move, allowing them a private conversation without any chance of interruption. You pushed him out of the room, toward where David was still stuck editing on the couch.

“Go go go,” you whispered, as you shoved him by the small of his back.

“I got it. Damn, relax.” He shook you off and went to speak with David.

You stayed behind and eavesdropped from the safety of the other room. You could only make out fragments of their conversation. Ilya was asking something about how long it’d been since David got laid. There was a low reply. They both laughed. Ilya said something about stress and his friend overworking himself.

“Bro, all you need is some good pussy. Believe me.” You heard that line loud and clear. A hot blush rose in your cheeks and your stomach burned with nerves. You couldn’t hear most of the conversation now over the blood buzzing in your ears.

“Trust me, she likes it.” Was the only other thing you picked up before their chatter died away. You wondered what agreement they’d come to, but you didn’t have to guess for long before Ilya rounded the corner again. You jumped as he caught you craning to listen.

“So you must’ve heard,” he chuckled at you in a quiet voice, “he’s in.”

You sighed, excited and anxious all at once.

“What now?” you stuttered, your nerves choking you up.

“Meet you in my room,” he murmured, kissing your cheek and grabbing your hips to spin you in the right direction. He smacked your ass lightly as you left him behind.

You had no idea what the fuck you were supposed to do once you were inside Ilya’s bedroom. You sat awkwardly on the edge of his bed and waited for a cue, picking at the nail polish on your fingers. You could hear the sound of beer cans shifting, the shower shutting off, dishes being dropped in the sink, David laughing, footsteps.

Finally, Ilya entered the room alone. You shot up off the bed, confused why he was by himself. But before you could speak he crossed the distance between you and his mouth was on yours. His beard was rough against your cheek as he kissed you deeply, tongue already parting your lips. His hands wrapped around your waist, holding you tightly. He had a strong grip, knowing you liked when he was rough with you.

The tension exhaled from your chest as you indulged in him, skirting a hand up his thigh and over his dick. He was stiff, but not completely. You moaned into his mouth, which incidentally muffled the sound of the door clicking open and closed again.

Ilya bit your lip to break the kiss and suddenly you became aware of David’s entrance. He looked shy, not the egotistical guy you’d come to expect. You hardly had time to take in his expression though, before Ilya was grabbing you by your hips.

He pushed you back on the bed, your hair fanning out as your head hit the soft sheets. Ilya’s scent encircled you as you sunk into his mattress. It smelled like him. Like soap and musk and sleep and cologne.

“Let’s get rid of these clothes,” he jerked his head at David, implying those were his instructions. His voice was calm and steady, broad shoulders rolled back in confidence.

David, on the other hand, was hesitant. He leaned down and gently pulled your shirt up your torso and over your head. You could smell strawberry shampoo on him as he leaned again to unzip your pants, pulling them off your ankles. He tossed them to the floor where he’d discarded your shirt. At last he reached for your bra, but his hand flinched. He pulled away.

“Dude, relax,” Ilya drawled. “I know it’s been a while but you don’t have to be so careful.”

Just to prove his point he reached down and grabbed your arm, pulling you off the bed. He turned you around to face David, holding both your arms behind your back. Ilya traced his lips along your neck, finding your ear and speaking to you in a low growl.

“I think he needs a little guidance. Can you help him baby?” Ilya released you from his grip, the kinetic energy making you tilt forward into David. You wrapped your arms around David’s shoulders as you two collided, planting your lips along his jaw. You could feel the tension in him dissolving as you kissed down his neck, humming a little into his skin.

“I like you a lot David,” you whispered against his throat. You felt him shudder in your arms. “Can I show you how much?”

His Adam’s apple dipped as he swallowed and nodded. You reached for his hand and pulled him to your underwear by his wrist. You brought him past the clothing hem and guided his fingers to your pussy. His long fingers were cold against your burning skin.

“Feel how wet I am?” you smiled. “That’s how much I like you.”

David bit his lip and blushed, an extra coat of pink painting his already flushed face. He still hadn’t spoken a word. You understood his nerves, but this was your arena and all you wanted now was to help him relax too.

You removed his hand from your body and brought your lips to his. You planted soft kisses at first, letting him adjust, and wondering how long it’d been since the last time someone did this for him. You parted your lips, asking for more. One of his hands found your throat and he tiltled his head as he deepened the contact.

You felt Ilya tracing a finger down the curve of your back, as your hand navigated into David’s boxers. He was getting hard in your palm as you began to stroke him slowly. You tried to pace him, knowing he wouldn’t last very long if he was too desperate for it. He bucked up into your grip as you felt Ilya unclip your bra.

You stroked David to the base of his cock and paused, feeling it jerk in your hand. He cried into your kiss, pulling away so he could breath. You returned your lips to the hallow of his jaw while you removed your hand from his pants. Ilya yanked your underwear down at that moment, pulled you away from David by your waist, and tossed you back on the bed. Completely naked now.

David’s eyes were shut tight, his hard cock straining in his pants. His eyelids fluttered open and he glanced around to see why he couldn’t feel your warm body on his anymore. He watched Ilya lean down, part your thighs, and kiss your wet clit. You shifted under his lips while he moved away from your desperate cunt, kissing a pattern from the crook of your hip down your leg.

Then Ilya bit your thigh so hard it left a ring of teeth marks. You yelped in pain, but warm pleasure crept up your leg a second later. He soothed his hand over the indentations.

“Oh shut the fuck up. You’re fine,” he cooed and kissed the marks. His facial hair was rough against the tender skin, but his lips were soft and warm. “I’m just messing with you.”

You both laughed, but your eyes crested over David’s unsteady expression. Ilya, ever sure of himself, dropped his pants and joined you on the bed. He leaned against his pillow, propped up on his elbows, dick tenting his boxers. You didn’t need instruction, simply getting to your knees in front of him, reaching out, and pulling the fabric away to free his dick. It sprung forward, but you shook your head at the temptation.

You didn’t want to take him in your mouth yet. It didn’t feel right. You felt like David needed a little help first. He seemed to be waiting for instructions as he stood aroused and uncomfortable behind you.

“David, would you hold my hair back?” you asked, throwing him a comforting smile.

“Sure,” his voice cracked a bit, but you were happy to finally hear something from him.

Ilya looked confused. He’d probably been expecting his friend to take you from the back while you went down on him —not understanding this hesitation. He didn’t put up a protest though as David entangled his hand in your hair. You could feel the hard metal of his rings against your scalp. Ilya’s cock was level with your lips, but you kept your mouth shut. It was their job to open it if they wanted.

David was the one to do it. You could tell he was starting to enjoy the control over you now. You could feel his dick, stiff in his sweatpants, resting against your arm as he grabbed your jaw. He leaned down to whisper in your ear.

“Open your fucking mouth,” David growled. You’d underestimated him. Your mouth popped open, half in compliance and half in shock.

David left your ear and leaned over Ilya. You could barely comprehend what you were watching as a trail of spit left David’s mouth and landed on Ilya’s cock. Ilya twitched. It seemed like David has broken a layer of intimacy he wasn’t supposed to. He let it drip down the tip toward the base, before finally shoving your mouth down on Ilya. You tried to breath through your nose as David pushed the back of your head.

Ilya groaned as you took him in, David forcing your head all the way down. You gagged as he pulled you back up for air. David leaned down and kissed your temple.

“Good girl,” he purred. “Now clean him up.”

You looked at Ilya’s cock, which was covered with your spit now too. David held your hair back as you leaned down to lick around the shaft. David tilted your head to the base, where you kissed Ilya and hummed against him, making his cock jerk. Then he brought you back to the head of Ilya’s cock. He let you lick around the tip, suck on it a bit before pulling you back so only the tip of your tongue could reach the head.

“Stop fucking teasing me,” Ilya whined, leaning back against the pillow with his eyes shut. “Dude just let her suck my cock.”

You and David shared a laugh this time, as you repositioned over Ilya. David let you adjust before pushing your head down again, pulling you up in rhythm this time as you sucked his friend off. You did your best to take him in, and David had enough mercy not to make you deepthroat Ilya the whole time.

“That’s a good girl,” David cooed to you. He was watching you in awe. “I can’t wait to feel your mouth on me.”

You moaned at his words and Ilya groaned at the vibration on his skin.

“I’m so fucking close,” he breathed out. At that David pushed your head all the way down again, choking you. He pulled you away and kissed your cheek.

“That’s it. You can do it pretty girl. One more,” he whispered to you as he pushed you down again. You felt Ilya twitch against your tongue, orgasm apparoaching, and breath heaving in his chest.

A moment later he cried out, hot cum flooding your mouth and dripping onto your cheek. You lifted anything that missed your tongue to your lips, licking it off your fingers. Ilya laid back, cursing as his dick softened. You smiled and turned to look at David, who was watching you with a feverish look in his eyes.

“Your turn,” you told him.

“Bring it,” he smirked, cocking an eyebrow at you.

[themutantunderground]

Let Your Heart Be Light Ch. 8

John is home on leave from the Marines and Clarice is home on winter break from grad school. While they used to date in high school, Clarice and John haven't been together in a long time... But it's Christmas time, and it seems like everything and everyone in their small, holiday-obsessed hometown is trying to get them back together. Modern Thunderblink AU!

FF.net | Ao3

"You've got a coffee problem."

"No. I don't."

"Do toooooo," Norah said, letting her voice travel up the scale and down as she leaned against the doorway of the kitchen. "Clarice, come on. That's your second cup of coffee, and you're going to get another one. You've got a problem."

"Hush, you'll wake up Mama D and Karl. Besides, I'm prepping. I'm not falling asleep in the truck," she mumbled into the travel mug, both her hands wrapped around it like it was a lifeline. Not again, she wasn't going to nap during the ride up to the tree farm. She shouldn't have fallen asleep last night, but she had been super tired. Even if she had to drink enough coffee to give herself a heart attack, she wasn't going to conk out in John's truck again.

Clarice shuffled over to the coffee pot and dumped the rest of it into the travel mug. It still dark outside the kitchen window. When she had said the butt crack of dawn, she had hoped that, you know, it would actually be dawn. Instead the sun hadn't even started to peek over the horizon yet.

"Damn John's early mornings," Clarice grumbled to herself, rubbing the corner of her eye. Even with all the coffee and extreme determination, she was worried she would be asleep before they got out of Westchester. She wasn't running on much sleep.

When she turned back toward Norah, her little sister pointed at a glass jar on top of the fridge. "I heard that."

Clarice narrowed her eyes at Norah and dipped a hand into her pocketbook. She scrambled around in the abyss that was her bag until she found a quarter. Holding it up to prove that it was, in fact, a quarter, she headed over and went up on her tiptoes to get the swear jar down. She plunked the coin in and set the jar on the counter for easier access. She was home and Remy and some of her other foster siblings might be home within a few days, so it was a good idea to keep the jar in reach.

Lights flashed through the living room windows as someone pulled up to the house, and Norah jumped toward the door. "They're here!"

"Yeah, I see that," Clarice said. She turned off the lights and grabbed her bag and a jacket before following Norah out the front door. John's truck wasn't the only vehicle at the house. There were two more, a small hybrid car and a Jeep Wrangler, both of them idling in the quiet street. Clarice held up a hand against the headlight glare as she and Norah headed over to get into the truck.

"It really is a party," she said as she climbed into the passenger's street, automatically putting her travel mug in the cup holder. There was already a mug there, a dark blue one with a Marines symbol on it.

John gave a half-smile. "You could call it that."

In the backseat, Norah was buckling herself in while Riley jabbered at her, the two of them excited about going to the Christmas tree farm. Riley was already talking about getting a giant tree, which made Clarice wonder how they were going to convince her that an eight foot tree was just as good as a monstrous twenty-footer.

"Are we going or what?" a voice crackled, "I saw Clarice get in, let's go. Damn, you're slow."

Clarice looked down at the handheld radio that was laying on the console, recognizing the cranky voice. Also, she recognized the radio. "Oh my god, these still work?"

"They're well-made," John said as he picked it up. "We're going in just a minute. Seatbelts are important."

Clarice reached over and plucked the radio out of his hand. "That's right, Lorna, don't you care about safety?"

"Hey, wandering traveler," Marcos' voice responded. She could hear Lorna cussing her out in a friendly, warm tone in the background. "How's it going?"

"Fine, just wondering why we're going old school with communication today," she said. She turned the radio over in her hands, running her thumb along a series of scratches in the hard plastic surface. That was from when it had accidentally fallen out the window one summer when they had been going to the lake. Luckily it had only hit the road and gotten scratched instead of falling under the tire. Even though these were hardy, there was no way it could've survived getting run over. John had gotten them for his birthday when they were sophomores back in high school. They were…ancient.

"Because old school works where phone signals don't," John said, taking the radio back from her. He pressed the speaker button. "Is everyone ready?"

"Obviously," Lorna replied.

The other response was a garbled mess of static and arguing. Clarice could pick out James' voice along with a few others, so she guessed it was the Jeep Wrangler crew. Most likely to not know how to work a handheld.

"James," John said, "You there? Or do I have to text you…"

"Here," James finally said, sounding exasperated. "This is dumb, over."

"You don't have to say over," John said as he put the truck into reverse.

"We're using radios, so we're using radio lingo," James said, "Over."

"That's stupid," Lorna put in, "Don't be a brat."

James' tone became lazy. "Are you done talking? You didn't say over so I can't tell. Over."

Clarice smothered a smile at John's longsuffering look as Lorna and James started bickering over the radio. Lorna and Marcos had always liked to tease James mercilessly when they were younger, and it seemed like things hadn't changed. James, for his part, always gave as good as he got.

"John, can we listen to Christmas songs?" Riley asked, "Maybe for part of the way there? Or all the way? We've got lots of hours."

"You would think it was Christmas or something," Clarice said, giving the little girl a grin. Riley beamed back, all bright-eyed and excited. She still had that little-kid love for the holidays, and it was sort of infectious.

John changed the radio station, switching it around until 'Frosty the Snowman' started playing. "Is this okay?"

"Yep, thanks!" Riley said, kicking up feet up onto the console. She had gotten her shoes off already and her little socks had reindeer all over them. Norah's feet joined hers a couple moments later, though she had normal purple socks.

"Five bucks they'll be asleep in thirty minutes," Clarice said.

"That's a bad bet," he replied with a small smile, "You're almost entirely guaranteed to win."

"We won't fall asleep," Riley protested, "We're awake."

"We could drink their coffee," Norah said with a laugh, "Then we'd be super awake."

"Can we have your coffee?" Riley asked, tapping her foot against John's arm. He reached over and squeezed her toes, getting a laugh out of her. She tried to pull her foot back, but he grabbed her foot and kept it in place.

"You don't need coffee, you've got enough energy for all of us," John said, shaking her foot, "You're the last person on this planet who needs coffee."

"But you just said I'd go to sleep!" Riley protested. She leaned forward and pulled at his arm, trying to get him to release her foot. "I need it."

"You need a nap? I wholeheartedly agree."

"I'm so confused," Norah said, "Are we sleeping or not sleeping?"

"Sleeping," John said.

"Not sleeping," Riley said at exactly the same time.

Clarice leaned back in her seat as the girls argued with John and he fought back with a playfully stoic expression, his eyes bright with amusement. He liked teasing his baby sister, and it was easy to see that she loved it too. There was something extra cute, she supposed, about seeing big, tough Marine John playing with his little sister. She had always thought that was sort of adorable how much he cared about his younger siblings and didn't care who knew how much he loved them.

They stopped briefly at a gas station on the outskirts of town to fill up and get snacks for the long ride. Clarice was immediately side-tackled by Lorna the moment she got out of the car and she flailed a little, caught off-guard by Lorna's baby belly.

"Wow, swallow a basketball, buddy?" she asked as she hugged Lorna back. Lorna wasn't terribly affection, but it had been a long time since they had seen each other. A somewhat violent hug was only natural.

Lorna socked her in the shoulder. "A beach ball, you ass," she said with a grin.

It was definitely weird seeing Lorna pregnant. If Clarice had chosen any of her friends to be the literal Mom Friend, it wouldn't have been Lorna, but she knew Lorna would be an awesome mom, complete with ripped jeans and combat boots. "Is Marcos completely smothering you?" Clarice asked, looking over at her childhood BFF. He was busy fending off Riley and Norah, who had gotten out of the truck and wanted to help gas up the vehicles. He gave Clarice an absent wave and went back to trying to keep the kids away from the pump.

"Pretty much," Lorna said, "But he means well."

"Always does," Clarice said. Marcos was a complete teddy bear, but she could see how he might turn into a worry wart when it came to Lorna's pregnancy.

"He hasn't wrapped me up in bubble wrap yet, which I'm thinking is a good sign," Lorna said with a smirk.

"Give it time," Clarice said.

Lorna laughed. "Hey, brats, let's go get candy!" she yelled. Norah and Riley looked at each other and then headed over toward Lorna.

Riley slipped her hand into Lorna's as they headed toward the convenience store. "Can we have coffee?"

"Heck no," Lorna said, "But you can help me find some salt and vinegar chips and peanut butter."

"That's an awful combo," Clarice said, and beside her, Norah wrinkled her nose.

"It's not my weirdest craving," Lorna said, "Have you ever tried those pizza-flavored Combos dipped in tartar sauce? It's amazing."

"That's…beyond disgusting," Clarice said.

In the store, James and his friends were stocking up on candy and snacks like they were going camping for a week in the wilderness instead of a day trip to a tree farm. There were four of them besides James, and Clarice recognized the little blonde that James liked so much.

"Hey!" Ali called to Clarice and Lorna as James held a packet of M&Ms out of her reach, "Morning!"

"Hey, Ali," Clarice said. She had babysat Ali some back when they were much younger; her dad had been overprotective and hadn't let Ali stay home alone until she was at least fourteen.

Riley and Norah disappeared into the shelves, probably looking for something extremely sugary. While the others picked out snacks, Clarice went to the refrigerated section. Absently, she grabbed a couple drinks and then rushed through the snacks section, collecting the girls as she went. Outside, Marcos was pushing the horn on the hybrid, so it was making plaintive little beeps to encourage everyone to hurry. The teens jostled each other as they bought way too much food and then hurried out the door, heading back to the Jeep.

"Riley, Norah, let's go," Clarice called as she headed to the check-out, stepping up behind Lorna. The dark-haired woman had an armful's worth of snacks spread out on the counter. Clarice raised an eyebrow and Lorna frowned at her.

"Don't comment on a pregnant woman's snack choices."

"I wasn't going to," Clarice said, allowing herself a grin. "I didn't say a word."

"You had a look."

"What, now I'm not allowed to have a look?"

Lorna jostled her with her elbow. "You know what I mean."

"I'm just saying, you have Ho-Hos and vinegar chips." Clarice reached over to touch the items she had mentioned, which made Lorna brush her hand away.

"It's a surprisingly good combination," Lorna said. She paid for her food and headed outside, two plastic bags hanging from her elbow.

The two girls raced up to the counter, both of them carrying more candy than Clarice was willing to buy. "We're not…is that an entire container of Reeses?"

"It's important," Norah said, "We need protein."

"Then get some jerky," Clarice said, taking the little carton from Norah. She set it on the counter, a little embarrassed by the exasperated look the sales clerk gave her. "Sorry." Neither of the girls looked very apologetic.

The bell over the door dinged as Clarice finished paying for the snacks that she was actually going to buy, and Riley shot over to John as he stepped into the store. "Clarice won't feed us."

"She's not obligated to feed you, squirt," he said as he reached down and ruffled her hair. He looked up at Clarice. "But it looks like she bought you stuff. Unless you're eating all of that on your own?" He smiled at Clarice, and she couldn't help but smile right back. An actual, true smile from John was something of a rarity.

"Yeah, this is all mine," she said, holding the bag close, "You guys can get your own."

Automatically the kids started complaining about how that wasn't fair and how they were going to starve and how it was too early to be mean to them. John laughed and hushed Riley before glancing around the store.

Clarice headed for the door, pausing beside him. "It's okay, I got yours, too. Coke, pork rinds, and sunflower seeds, right?" His tastes couldn't have changed that much, right? "Oh, and a reheated sausage biscuit."

John stared at her, and Clarice shifted from foot to foot, suddenly rethinking her actions. "I can put it back…"

"No, sorry, that's great," he said, shaking his head as if clearing it. "Thank you."

"No problem," Clarice said, wondering if she had made things weird. Luckily, John broke up any awkwardness by grabbing Riley and tossing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before taking the plastic bag from Clarice. Marcos was beeping the little hybrid's horn again, and John smirked as they all headed out.

"That is the sorriest excuse for a horn I've ever heard."

"Right?" Clarice said, grinning, "It sounds like its crying every time he hits it."

"I think it's sort of cute," Norah said, "Like it's saying 'eh,' 'eh,' 'eh.'"

"Or meh, meh, meh," Riley said, and both the girls giggled.

Once everyone got back on the road, it was about an hour down the road before the girls fell asleep in the backseat. John turned down the Christmas music as he glanced up at the mirror, making sure they were both out.

"Took longer than expected," Clarice said. She took off her coat and tossed it over Norah before snagging John's coat from behind his seat and draping it over Riley. The seven-year-old snagged the coat and snuggled up to it, halfway hiding under it.

"I'm surprised you're still awake," John said, glancing over at her.

"Eyes on the road," she said, making a face at him. "I drank coffee. I'm prepared."

"Must've been a lot of coffee," John teased.

She reached over and gently socked him on the shoulder. "It's none of your business."

John smiled and turned his attention back to the road. Behind them, the teenagers were following along in the Jeep and right behind them was Lorna and Marcos' hybrid. They were a little troupe heading down the road, enjoying the crisp morning now that the sun was officially out. However, some clouds in the distance made it look like the sunshine might not last.

"Is it supposed to snow today?" Clarice asked, briefly pressing her nose against the window. Fog clouded the window and she rubbed it away with her sleeve, pulling the end up over the palm of her hand.

"There's a chance," John said, "But it could happen."

"That'd be nice and cliché," she said, "Cutting down Christmas trees in the snow."

"Hey, I like this particular cliché," John said with a small smile, "Don't insult it."

"I didn't say I didn't like it," she replied. She reached for her bag and fished around for her phone, eventually finding it. After taking a short vid of the sky and blasting it out on Instagram, she set the phone on the dash.

The two of them settled into a comfortable silence, and Clarice reached over to turn the channel. While she loved Christmas music, it was tiresome after a while. Besides, the kids were asleep. She flipped through a few channels and finally found a rock station, one that John would like and she wouldn't mind. Outside, the woods were flashing by, bare-limbed tree after tree, as they made their way to the Christmas tree farm.