#and then i started note taking and then after the rose garden scene i fully lost my mind

[pochapal]

tomorrow i will have been reading umineko for one whole year

[moonstrider9904]

Garden

Chapter 8 of The Hunt

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Wolffe x Fem!OC, some Comet x Fem!OC

Check out the amazing art by kaijurave that inspired this chapter and the way I picture Wolffe in this fic from here on out!

Series summary: The 104th battalion’s new medic Rose comes into the scene dazzling everyone, ready for anything life as a battalion medic will ofer to her after having spent much too long secluded in a medical station orbiting Rishi. While she forms close friendships with the troopers, she and commander Wolffe never seem to get along. As arguments between them heat up, Wolffe is challenged to make Rose fall in love with him, a game that by no means will end well for either of them.

Chapter summary: Wolffe and Rose enjoy each other's company during shore leave on Coruscant despite the problems that lurk beneath the surface within the squad.

Warnings/tags: SMUT. 18+, minors DNI. Alcohol and a very brief mention of puking because of it. Also includes some good ole Wolffe fluff because I was just so in the mood for the grumpy man being soft for his lover and also I want to include a carefree filler chapter before inevitable DOOM PiV unprotected sex, please do use protection in real life, clit play, shower sex, rough sex, semi-public sex, light anal play towards the end (fingering, mentions of anal sex), dirty talk and the most minimum of hints of degradation if you squint, language, banter. Please let me know if I forgot to tag something!

Word count: 6.2k

Note: Writer's block hit me just as I wanted to start writing this chapter. I've kissed my posting schedule goodbye since it didn't work for me, I'm pretty sure that the pressure I was putting on myself caused the writer's block, so now that I'm feeling better I'm confident that I can update more frequently.

It had been months since last anyone had heard from the spy.

It didn’t make sense. Balmorra was supposed to be an easy mission, and it had fully gone to hell because of that one mystery person.

Security recordings hadn’t helped the wolf pack get much intel. The spy had known what they were doing, and they’d covered up any possible feature that could get them recognized. No crests or signs of affiliation were visible either, it was simply an average sized humanoid life form, dressed in dark clothing, not letting any skin visible, with goggles and a mask to shield their face.

The dead end kept staring at them right in the face.

Rose had spent almost the entirety of that first day of shore leave cooped in her room, sitting in front of the desk. As soon as she got finished with medical files and reports, she moved back to searching for the spy, rinse and repeat. She hadn’t left the room; she knew it was bordering on obsessive, to insist on finding that spy when it was obvious she wouldn’t find a new lead by staring at papers on her desk.

But with shore leave still ongoing, no new missions planned, and the boys out having their well deserved fun, it was all she could do.

In the silence of her barracks, even despite them being at the edge of the building with a view of the city, Rose made out the sound of steps approaching. Whoever was taking them was being careful not to be heard, and hushed whispers traveled through her door until the steps stopped.

Rose was already expectant when a light knock came on her door, but she hadn’t expected it would be her commander back early from a boys’ night drinking he and the pack had been planning for weeks.

Her dark brown eyes sparkled with joy, even if not much more expression showed in her features at the sight of him.

Wolffe smiled faintly at her, and he quickly turned around to give a signal to someone else, whom Rose figured was Sinker due to the silver head of hair she saw walking away with his back already turned on them, a hand waving dismissively as he stumbled through his steps.

Rose laughed and looked at Wolffe. “Are you sure it’s safe to send Sinker back on his own?”

“He was the least drunk of them all,” Wolffe chuckled as he closed Rose’s door behind him to then let his hands find Rose’s elbows as he held her in front of her. His watchful eyes grazed over her features, noticing the darkness of her under-eyes, the way her gaze wasn’t always on him, the way her red lipstick had faded, not having been reapplied for hours.

“You’re tired,” Wolffe said, his lips curving into a little smile as he watched her.

Despite her sleep deprivation, Rose managed her distinctive, witty smile at him. “Thank you, Commander Obvious.”

With a scoff, Wolffe looked over at the desk Rose had been working on and he sighed, gently letting go of her to walk over to it and see for himself what she’d been so insistent to work on. The papers were scattered, mixed between medical reports and investigations, with at least three holopads powered up on different tabs.

“Oh, Rose,” Wolffe said softly as he looked at her. “What is all this?”

She sighed, her features dropping into a frown, her voice soft and thoughtful as it could be. “We could have died, Wolffe… I can’t… I can’t let that person loose.”

Wolffe sighed back, but he found himself smiling softly at the woman as he walked back up to her. “I know. I want to find out too, but details are already scarce.”

Rose’s gaze traveled down to the floor as she heard Wolffe confirming the same dead end she’d brushed countless times in her investigation.

“It’s not for you to figure out on your own,” Wolffe continued. “You have us for that.”

Rose’s spunk return as she directed Wolffe a sly little grin. “Is that why you’ve been downing shots of spotchka with Sinker?”

Playfully, Wolffe rolled his eyes at her. “You said you wouldn’t be mad if we didn’t take you.”

“That was a challenge,” Rose wiggled her eyebrows. “I’m afraid you’ve failed.”

“And you say women aren’t complicated,” Wolffe tapped Rose’s chin with his finger as he walked past her and headed over to the side of her bead, looking out the window.

Rose’s barracks on Coruscant had been placed at a good spot. Despite the whole city, her room was able to get a breeze of fresh air, at least, fresh by Coruscant standard. It was a little prize that came with having a room so high up on the skyscraper, along with the fantastic view.

Wolffe seldom got the chance to get views like that. He remembered having a nice view from Rose’s room on Theed as well, but during those days, the view from a balcony was the least he cared about. As the months had gone by, and he and Rose had settled into the way of things, the euphoria had gone down until he’d felt himself going back to his roots.

That included a lot of gazing out at the views of Coruscant. He felt it ground him, and he liked the lights in the distance. Returning to Coruscant had become more of a homecoming for Wolffe than going to Kamino, and he wasn’t the only one in the pack whom that was true for.

Wolffe then looked over at Rose. She’d been silently admiring him as he looked out the window, her eyes having to make a clear effort to keep themselves open. He chuckled at her and he walked up to Rose once more, his gloved hand cupping her cheek.

“I take it you’re too tired to do anything tonight,” he said.

Rose leaned into the warmth of Wolffe’s palm, her eyes finally closing as she placed her hand on top of his. “I just want to sleep.”

With a smile, Wolffe tenderly brushed his hand away from her and turned around to begin to remove the top part of his armor, leaving him only in his undersuit from the waist up.

“On one condition,” he began. “Tomorrow, you forget about everything that’s on your desk and you rest. You’re going to sleep in during the morning, and afterwards you’re going to go out with me, and at night we’ll go to 79’s.”

She laughed. “Just so long as you don’t get in any fights again. You wouldn’t want me filling you up with yarrow again, commander.”

Wolffe had removed his armor from the waist up and he was facing Rose again. “These shore leave days are given to you by the military to recover. Use them. That’s an order.”

Rose wiggled her body and cooed at him. “You’re really sexy when you do that.”

A deep, smooth laugh formed at Wolffe’s chest. “Save that for when you have more energy, bunny.”

He climbed into the bed, his back resting on the wall just below the window, and he beckoned for her to climb in with him. Rose smiled brightly, the apples of her cheeks turning a shade of scarlet as she took his hand and let him pull her into the bed.

She snuggled into the warmth of his chest; the fabric of his shirt and his broad muscles made the perfect pillow for her to finally find some rest in. She faced him, curled up against him with her arms pressed between their bodies, and Wolffe leaned his head on the top of hers, brushing against the softness of her hair.

He felt his heart aching as he held her, unable to fathom the very core of the woman in his arms. Wolffe had realized it many times before, but it always hit him like the first, amazing him to no end. She was so soft, so small in his arms, so utterly his.

To hold Rose in his arms like that, have her trusting him enough to sleep with him, to have her love him in return, it was nothing short of a privilege.

Rose opened her eyes briefly and looked up and out the window to see one of Coruscant’s moons shining above. Its light was hazy, with a few clouds stationed in front of it, but it shone nonetheless. Rose could look at it for hours if she wasn’t so tired, but her eyes begged her to let them rest.

But how could she, when this was all she wanted? To rest in Wolffe’s arms, to have him as her pillow and her blanket, to never be able to feel safer than she did at that moment. And then, when she felt him press a tender kiss to her forehead, she felt her senses give out, prompting her to a peaceful, deep sleep.

A rarity on Coruscant was for there to be birds singing in the morning light. Often, birds would be overshadowed by the engines of ships and speeders carrying people ready to start with their day, but that next morning, when Rose woke up in Wolffe’s arms, the first thing she heard besides her commander’s steady breath was the singing of a little bird perched outside of her window.

One of her hands rested just in front of her face, the only thing standing between her and Wolffe’s chest. She rubbed her eyes as she slipped further into consciousness, feeling the way Wolffe softly stirred awake with his arms still around her.

He groaned as he hid his face in the pillow, yawning as he emerged from his own dreams. The nights he spent with Rose were always calm, peaceful; since he’d started dating her, the nightmares had become less frequent, and Rose rarely had to sit with him in the middle of the night anymore, comforting him back to sleep.

It baffled Wolffe how wonderful a good night of sleep could feel.

His eyes strained as they attempted to get used to the morning light, and his arms tightened around the warm, curvy body of his lover, his hands settling at the curves of the back of her thighs, cradling her.

Softly, Wolffe angled his head to find her, not having to open his eyes to do so. He felt his lips brushing her forehead as he planted soft kisses on her skin, only to trail down her nose until finally he kissed Rose’s full lips, soft and devoid of any red tint.

“You’re heaven to wake up to,” Wolffe whispered as his eyes finally opened to look into her dark brown ones only to see her brightly grinning at him with an air of sleepiness.

She giggled softly, nuzzling further into his broad, strong figure.

“What?” He asked her.

“Nothing, I just… I really love what you said,” she whispered, letting one of her fingers gently curl some of the hair on his chest.

Wolffe smiled at her tenderly, his voice lowering into an airy hint of the authority it always carried. “Well, you are.”

Rose shifted her body and positioned herself on top of him, and Wolffe’s grip on her loosened just enough for her to perch herself properly as she straddled his waist.

“Now that we’re on that,” she said. “You’re way more comfortable than that mattress.”

As she spoke, Rose trailed her fingers over the lines of Wolffe’s muscles with a featherlight touch, biting her lower lip as she eyed him with a delicate flame in her eyes.

Wolffe gave a low, proud laugh as he placed his hand on top of hers, pressing her palm fully on his chest.

“What are you looking at with so much craving, bunny?” He challenged. “I thought we were having a calm morning.”

“Oh, we are,” Rose cooed, bending over slowly to give him a kiss on the lips, short and luscious and filled with all her hunger. “For now, at least.”

Wolffe grinned, and he groaned as he thought of all the things he’d do with Rose on that day.

“But it’s not because of what you’re thinking,” Rose continued, her voice edging out of the seductive tone it had carried.

“Oh?” Wolffe asked her as she got up from the bed and headed to grab a change of clothes.

“No,” she winked at him. “We have a date with Sinker and the others for brunch, and that was a plan I was planning on going through with even before you sentenced me to no more research.”

Wolffe easily stepped out of his seductive mood as well, only to give Rose an are you fucking kidding me look.

She laughed softly. “And yes, you’re coming too. Cheer up, it’ll be fun.”

Wolffe sighed and pressed himself back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Honestly, Rose, I was kind of just hoping we’d spend the day alone together.”

“Oh?” She mimicked him as she powered up the stream of the refresher. “To do what, exactly?”

Wolffe sat up and looked into the refresher, pleased by the fact that she was already halfway through taking her clothes off. He stood up from the bed and paced towards her with slow steps, his broad figure looming seductively over her small, soft, curvy body.

“You know what, bunny,” he purred at her.

Rose couldn’t help the way her eyes landed on his chest, nor could she keep the hungry look from manifesting itself in her features.

“I want you to say it,” she said as she took a step back and removed her shirt, letting her breasts fall freely.

She didn’t break eye contact with Wolffe as she pulled her panties down and stepped out of them, nor when she brushed her fingers through her hair to untangle it.

Wolffe continued to stare hungrily at her. “I just want to fuck you.”

Rose pouted at him, feigning innocence. “But, commander… We’re going to be late if we do that now!”

She stepped into the refresher and brushed her hands over her body as the water covered her, her gaze still firmly on Wolffe’s, rejoicing at how his eyes darkened with every second.

Finally, Wolffe slid his trousers off as quickly as he could. “The hell we are.”

Rose broke eye contact with Wolffe only to stare shamelessly at his length, already hard and throbbing merely at the sight of her. In no time, Wolffe’s body was in front of her, his strong arms caging her to the wall of the refresher as he became drenched as well. His lips crashed onto hers, kissing her with all the fire he could muster.

She moaned with delight at how good it felt simply to have him pressed to her; his lips, kissing her with that sensual fire he carried, his hands kneading at the flesh of her thighs, her ass, her waist. His voice, escaping him in low moans, groans, curses in his native language. Each time, Wolffe reminded Rose how irresistible he was to her.

Her hands went up to his head, and Rose entwined her fingers in his thick, black curls, though focusing on the few gray strands stemming from the crown of his head, falling to the sides of his temples.

As the kiss only grew in fire, Wolffe’s hands firmly held Rose’s behind and he picked her up for her to instantly wrap her legs around his torso. She grinned into the kiss as a playful, pleased coo left her, turning into a soft moan as Wolffe’s fingers found her clit and brushed it a few times, applying the perfect amount of pressure he knew always drove Rose wild.

“You’re so wet already, mesh’la,” he spoke into her ear. “I think you’re ready to take me. You said you didn’t want to be late, right?”

“That’s going to backfire on you, commander,” she teased back, her voice trembling as he kept playing with her clit. “I know you like to take your time, do things right.”

“I don’t mind getting gruff with you,” he smirked deviously at her. “And we both know you’re a dirty little girl who loves it when things get messy.”

Rose gasped, faking her indignation. “Me? But I’m so sweet and innocent—”

She was cut off when she felt Wolffe slipping his girth inside her, her statement, teasing as it was supposed to be, contradicted by the utterly obscene, luscious moan that dripped from her like honey.

Her moaning only continued as Wolffe quickened his pace, all the while looking into her eyes as though he were challenging her. His thumb remained pressed onto her clit, rubbing it while his cock did the rest of the work, slamming into her at a pace relentless even for her standards.

“Told you that you loved it,” Wolffe said between grunts. “You’ll love anything I do to you, won’t you, mesh’la?”

Her lips formed a pout, and all Rose could manage in return was a helpless little mewl that made Wolffe’s cock throb inside of her. It only made him go faster, hammer into her deepest corners as he chased his own release, and hers too when the rubbing on her clit got more insistent.

“Can I get you to come with me, bunny?” He groaned.

Rose was already so aroused, so entranced by Wolffe himself that his very words were enough to have her seeing stars. He looked unfathomably handsome at that moment, his strong body holding her, his skin against hers, decorated by drops of water sliding down him, as well as droplets at the edge of his beautiful curls, his eyes dark and dangerous and sexy, just the way she loved her commander.

Her fingertips clawed into his strong shoulders when she was on her very edge, and she let herself slip into ecstasy, her head falling back on the wall as her vision went white with pleasure, hearing her own blissful moans as well as Wolffe’s breathy groans of pleasure on top of the running water of the refresher, until she finally felt his hot seed spilling inside her.

With her chest heaving, trying to catch her breath, Rose felt Wolffe gently set her down, not letting her go until he was sure she could stand firmly on her feet. He then took some body wash into his palm and he began to gently brush it over her body, taking care of every corner, every curve, as though it were a rite of adoration.

Rose did the same in return, and she focused on cleaning his hair, until at last he too paid attention to her luscious black locks, both of them kissing lips with devotion as they let the water rinse them.

They helped each other dress; Wolffe carefully brushed Rose’s hair, and just before they stepped out the door, they shared one more tender kiss in her bedroom, their hands holding as they made their way down the corridors and headed to the restaurant Sinker had told Rose about early the day before.

The whole pack was already there, and they all looked at the couple with tiny grins as they took a seat at the table. Wolffe eyed the bright orange drinks set in fancy glasses in front of everyone, even in front of him and Rose, and for a moment it seemed alien to him, even ridiculous.

But beside him, Rose was delighted at the drinks, the bread, the fruit, the caf. Her eyes genuinely seemed to shine with joy, making Wolffe smile in silence as his hand gently squeezed hers under the table.

He was as lucky as a soldier like him could get.

“You two look very well-rested,” Sinker told Rose and Wolffe from across the table. “I take it you two slept together? I mean… you slept? Right?”

Rose chuckled, the opportunity never escaping through her fingertips. “Oh, we did. It was very good, if you’re wondering. And what did you do last night, Sinker?”

Proud as Sinker was of Rose’s wit, he stuck his middle finger up at her, not about to let her win the battle.

“He dropped Wolffe off at your barracks, came back to ours, cried because he’s still single, and puked,” Boost laughed.

Sinker redirected the middle finger over at Boost, earning a laugh from everyone at the table.

At the opposite end, Corvis tried his best to hold in laughter at the sight of Wolffe’s eyes hardening at the little orange drink in front of him.

“It’s a mimosa, Wolffe,” Corvis said. “Yes, it’s a girly drink, no, it won’t kill you to take it.”

“What is even in this thing?” Wolffe asked.

“Oh, just some citrus juice and champagne,” Rose shifted her weight closer to Wolffe, tilting her glass close to his and clinked them together. “Fancy, elegant, soft. Alcohol you can drink at breakfast without being a social pariah. What more do you want?”

Wolffe met eyes with Rose, as though to speak with his gaze the one word he was thinking, and Rose’s features softened, as if she’d understood. Her cheeks adopted a faint shade of pink, thinking back to the way she’d woken up in his arms, to the raw passion in the refresher, until she was brought back to the present by Wolffe’s hand squeezing hers again underneath the table.

“You will make me trash the place if you don’t stop being disgusting,” Sinker said as he reached out for a bun from the basket of bread in the middle of the table, handing it to Comet. “And what’s up with you? You haven’t spoken.”

“You didn’t exactly let me sleep last night,” Comet replied, evidently trying to avoid looking at Wolffe and Rose. “There’s only so much shut-eye you can get with all that constant whining.”

“Except, who did the whining?” Corvis said quietly, though loud enough for the others to hear.

Rose lowered her gaze, knowing it would do little to diffuse the awkwardness of the moment. She was fortunate to have been with Wolffe, who knew how to go by any possible mishaps with his squad better than anyone else, and he started handing out bread to everyone else at the table, leaving himself for last.

He knew the best way to get to these men’s good side was through their stomach.

“We’re on shore leave, boys,” Wolffe said, speaking in his usual commander voice. “What have you all got planned?”

“Nothing that concerns you much,” Sinker smirked.

“Care to run that by me again?” Wolffe challenged the sergeant.

“Well, we know you and Rose have probably set aside the day to do disgusting, unspeakable things to each other, so the boys and I are going to hit the penthouse to play some games,” Sinker explained. “We’ll be there all day in case you want to drop by even though you probably won’t, but at night we’re all going to 79’s. That’s a must.”

“We’ll be there,” Wolffe confirmed.

“Just be sure to clean up beforehand,” Boost teased.

“And to lock the bathrooms if you sneak away,” Corvis followed.

“Can we talk about something other than our sex life?” Rose teased back. “Why can’t you guys just stuff yourselves in bread and bacon like regular men do?”

“Because, Rose, brunch is a femenine tradition that requires talking and socializing,” Sinker replied. “But you’re right, I’ll drop the subject. I don’t want to upset anyone at this table.”

Rose knew Sinker wasn’t talking about her, nor was he talking about Wolffe. The two made vivid eye contact like the best friends they were, promising they would talk about it later without exception.

After that, Boost found himself tapping on Wolffe’s shoulder, his eyes bright as if they were those of a child.

“Is there really bacon here?” Boost asked, hopeful.

Wolffe rolled his eyes. “Order whatever you want, it’s on me.”

“Thanks, sir.”

Rose grabbed a bite of her muffin and ate it quietly as she observed the men around the table, each of them talking about something, just having a good time.

It seemed eerie to know of the gruesome battles they’d been through together, all of it seeming like a phantom when put into contrast with that moment, when the biggest concern seemed to be gossip.

But Rose would take it. She’d enjoy it, she’d enjoy Wolffe’s company. The charm of that morning hadn’t quite faded, and she frankly felt she’d burst.

There was nothing that could ruin it for them.

*

Wolffe and Rose had planned on doing several things with their day off, like visiting the roof gardens, dropping by the penthouse to challenge the others in whatever games they could find, eating someplace nice, just talking at a balcony with the view of the city, enjoying each other’s company like a couple, rather than just a commander and a medic who’d found love somehow.

They’d done the last part, but instead, they’d spent the entirety of the day in Rose’s room.

Make out session followed make out session. Their lips were sore and swollen from how much they had kissed. Declarations of love had been whispered countless times and in different languages, at different decibels. They’d had sex sweetly, passionately, it could go from rough to soft, tender to luscious, from the bed to the floor, the refresher, the wall, the desk, truly never being able to have enough of the other.

But when the sun had set, it was time for them to go back into the world once more, not wanting to break the promise they’d made to a squad who was counting on their presence that night.

The ambience of The 79’s was the same as it usually was, hitting Rose with that air of nostalgia and a sense of anticipation of a good night as she walked in with her arm linked with Wolffe’s.

The couple always stole glances from troopers and by-goers alike, all of them gawking at the sheer level of attractiveness that Wolffe and Rose oozed when they walked by, owning the place with every step they took. They made sense, they were hot, the concept of a relationship between them was promising.

People envied them, wanted them, wanted to be them.

Rose noticed Sinker’s waving hand and walked over to their booth. When they arrived, Corvis and Boost exchanged a couple credits, having bet whether or not the couple would deign to show up at the reunion, earning Boost a light punch in the arm from Wolffe as Rose took a seat in front of Sinker.

“I cannot help but notice you’re dressed better than the whole bar,” Sinker winked at her, his gaze shamelessly falling on Rose’s cleavage.

While Wolffe gave him a death glare, Rose charmingly laughed, inching her body a tad closer to Wolffe’s. She knew a night at 79’s called for a dress-to-impress mentality, and she’d nailed it with her tight black blouse and her brown, flowy mini-skirt with thigh-high boots.

She knew all the eyes were on her, including Wolffe’s. She’d seen him hungrily watching her before they left her room; she could have sworn Wolffe would skip on 79’s entirely just to have her in that outfit.

Rose did love to tease Wolffe so.

A waiter brought a round of light blue cocktails, handing one to each person at the table; Rose took a sip of it and enjoyed its delicate, fruity flavor topped by the intense sting of alcohol as she listened to the boys making conversation around her. They talked about the cutie waiting for drinks at the bar, except it turned out she was there with someone. They talked about wanting to take to the dance floor, but how none of them felt good enough at dancing, how they’d eventually do it when they’d drank enough.

Nothing spoke good times to Rose like a night out with her friends.

But as her gaze fell on Wolffe, she knew she wanted more. She wanted him.

Her drink was almost gone, and she felt the sweet waves of alcohol on her body. Rose had gone from mildly leaning on him to pressing her body on his, resting her head on his shoulder, tracing the outlines of his wolf tattoo with the tips of her fingers. She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling.

Wolffe smiled at her, barely noticeable to anyone else, before planting a soft kiss on her lips, proudly watching as she blushed. Rose’s hands traveled down Wolffe’s strong arm all the way to his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, grabbing his full attention.

“I think I need to go to the powder room,” she said.

Wolffe moved over to let her out of the booth and she casually made her way over to the entrance of the bar’s restrooms, but before going in, she turned around and signaled Wolffe.

She hadn’t thought of being there all by herself.

Rose walked in and noticed the place was empty, and it was decent—the 79’s excelled at keeping the place clean. It would be more than enough.

Wolffe walked into the bathroom shortly after she’d arrived, and he eyed her with hungry, yet loving eyes as the door closed behind him, the music muffled but still booming outside.

“Still not enough, huh?” He teased her.

Rose thought back to the day behind her, to how sore she was, to how much she ached between her legs, her folds tired, quite possibly overstimulated—and most definitely still wanting more.

It would never be enough.

“You know what I want, commander,” she raised a brow and pressed her behind on the sink counter behind her.

Wolffe’s gaze darkened, his trousers tightening instantly as Rose leaned forward slightly, enough to enhance the cleavage of her little blouse. His gaze fell on the perfect curves of her taut, perky breasts, watching closely as they moved up and down with her breathing.

“Fuck, you’re hot,” he walked toward her.

Rose felt her walls clenching around nothing, already anticipating one more pounding from Wolffe, her panties no doubt already getting drenched in arousal.

“Wolffe,” she whimpered. “Please…”

Gently, Wolffe set his hands on her waist, looking into her eyes and awaiting her words.

“I need to have you now,” her voice hushed, trembling in anticipation.

Painfully slowly, Wolffe leaned down and finally locked lips with Rose, kissing her for barely more than a second, but with an undeniable heat. His lustful eyes stared into her as his lips curved to form a seductive smirk.

“Turn around,” he said.

Biting her lip, Rose did as he said and turned to face the mirror, looking at her reflection as Wolffe bent her over the sinks. Her gaze fell on the way her own cleavage looked in the mirror until she became distracted by Wolffe running his hands up and down the back of her thighs, his gaze hungrily brushing over her body, a carnal desire visible in the darkness of his eyes.

“Fuckin’ ‘ell, Rose…” Wolffe groaned as he lifted her skirt above her waist and pulled her panties down to her ankles. He brushed his thumb over her clit, swollen and wet from a long day of making love, still anxious for him.

“Wolffe…” Rose cooed, wiggling her hips. “Please, Wolffe…”

“If I’d known it was that easy to make you beg,” he teased, letting his hands knead the flesh of her ass. “Fuck, look at you, bent over that sink.”

Wolffe bent over too, his body over hers, until his lips hovered above her ear. He breathed out onto her skin, making her shiver, and he chuckled proudly as he uncovered his cock from the confines of his trousers.

“Good girl, bunny,” he whispered into her ear, delighting in the choked moan she struggled to hold in as he pushed himself inside her.

He started rocking his hips into her, his pace slow and passionate, letting her feel every sensation of how he stretched her out and stroked her walls.

Rose was so sensitive from the whole day that it felt otherworldly to her. He was barely moving and she was already seeing stars, switching from looking at herself in the reflection to looking back at him.

“The music’s loud out there, mesh’la,” Wolffe whispered. “I think you can moan, don’t you?”

“Wolffe—”

“And just think, if anyone walks in, they’re going to see you here bent over for me,” Wolffe continued, quickening his pace gradually until they could hear the slapping of skin filling the room.

Rose’s moans got louder. Her hands tightly held the sink in front of her, prompting Wolffe to stand back up straight and hold her hips for leverage. He became faster after that, no longer delaying in pounding relentlessly into his beloved, he too rendered sensitive from a long day of fucking.

She was intoxicating to him. The sight of her bent over that sink, submitted to him, her lips pouting and breath gasping in the pure ecstasy that he made her feel. Wolffe slowly slipped further into that same realm of bliss where nothing else mattered, where his mind would wander to all the things he wanted to do to her, to share with her. Every curve in her body was perfect, every sound she made, from moan to whimper, was delicious. Every corner of her made him lose his mind just a little bit more, making him fuck her harder, faster.

His hands found the top of her back, brushing down the soft fabric of her blouse as he kept up his pace. Wolffe then rested his hands on her ass cheeks, looking down at her spread for him, enjoying the view, and his mind continued to wander. Slowly, as though tentatively, ready to stop at the first sign of protest, he spread Rose’s cheeks open just a bit, gazing into the little hole and slowly taking a finger to brush over it.

Rose gasped, looking up at him through the mirror, but she didn’t protest. She noticed Wolffe looking at her for confirmation, and between whimpers, she gave Wolffe a clear nod.

He teased her a bit, brushing softly over it as he continued to pound into her pussy, his cock throbbing inside her, aroused by the delightful new pleasure. Carefully, achingly slow, Wolffe slid a single finger down the hole, his hips never stopping.

Rose moaned sinfully at the sensation paired with her pussy being railed. Her vision blurred; she had to grasp tighter at the sink in front of her to keep herself from moaning any louder, but at that point it was futile to even pretend she still cared. Rose reached a point where she couldn’t even keep her eyes open, she felt too devastatingly close to climax, one that would feel new and different, raw and downright lewd.

“Who knew you’d love that, mesh’la?” Wolffe grinned. “You like it when I finger your ass?”

“Yeah,” Rose whimpered, struggling to talk as the liquid heat threatened to spill into every corner of her body.

“You want me to do more?” Wolffe huffed. “You want me to fuck your ass?”

Rose’s eyes opened, her gaze finding Wolffe once more through the mirror.

“Fuck, Wolffe, do everything to me.”

Her words were enough, and Wolffe felt his cock pulsating inside her already clenching walls. The two moaned in unison, drowning in the carnal thrill of each other. They moaned the other’s name out, cursed, swore their love, until they were no longer part of the bar, part of the world.

It was just them.

In a blur, Rose got down from her high and found herself sitting on the counter, her back turned to the mirror as Wolffe slid her panties back on. She sat, her head spinning as she vaguely heard Wolffe cleaning up, until at last his lips found hers and trapped her in the most gentle of kisses.

When Wolffe parted the kiss, Rose looked up at him, a gleam in her eyes.

“Wolffe?” She whispered.

“Yeah?”

Her hands slid up his abdomen, finding his chest, until finally she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“I love you,” she spoke, her voice carrying a subtle quiver in it, only making it more endearingly genuine.

Wolffe grinned softly at her. “I love you too, bunny.”

He planted a series of tender kisses on her lips, his hands cupping her neck and her jaw, holding her intimately close to him, once again rejoicing in her softness.

Wolffe met her eyes. “You want to go back out and dance?”

Rose smiled dreamily in return. “Only if it’s a slow dance.”

He tilted his head at her answer.

“And later I want to sleep in your arms again,” she continued, her head leaning on his shoulder.

Wolffe chuckled. “It’s a date.”

Rose felt she would fall asleep right there, and she knew she’d be safe if she did. It was of little concern what else happened that night. All she cared about was being with Wolffe.

The way Wolffe’s arms tightened around her, squeezing her more to him ever so delicately, let her know that the feeling was mutual, despite how much they seemed to hate each other the first night they’d been together at that very same bar.

Taglist: @zoeykallus @sageislostinspring @misogirl828 @dangerousstrawberrypie @salaminus @ladykatakuri @whore4rex @morganlefaye13 @seriowan @kimageddon @rain-on-kamino

Link to join my taglist at the top of the post :3 Thank you for reading!

[trashcanfanfics]

Hmm, Angel Dust with an S/o noble overlord who managed to break Angel's contract with Val and take him away from him. fluff mixed with a little nsfw :)

I'm gonna be honest, whenever I think about Angel, all I wanna do is get him tf out of Val's reach

Also, only slight nsfw because I'm not confident in my abilities to write a full on scene for that, I'm sorry :(

Angel had come home, covered in bite marks and his own blood again. You watched from the couch with your book in hand as he walked in through the front door. It worried you, that he would come home like this, broken and defeated.

"Welcome home, my love," you spoke softly as you rose up to go greet him, setting the book aside. He mumbled out a half assed greeting in response. As soon as you were close enough, you hugged him tightly. Angel wrapped both sets of arms around you and let out a shaky sigh. It sounded like he was ready to cry.

"Would you like a bath? I'll draw you one." You gently let go before you grabbed his lower left hand to lead him to the huge bathroom centered around a giant clawfooted tub. Refusing to let go of his hand, you turned the knob to start the water and waited for the right temperature before plugging the drain.

Once the tub was full, you stood, facing him and gently helped him take off his clothes. You barely grazed your hand across one of the marks, making him hiss in pain. This made your blood boil. You were sick of this. Angel coming home beaten, marked, and in despair. You won't stand for this anymore. He had begged you not to get involved, said that it'd be worse if you intervened. You helped him into the tub once he was fully undressed.

"Ya not gonna join me?" He asked in a small voice, he was tryng to sound playful but it came out sad, defeated. You smiled weakly and shook your head.

"No, I thought I'd just wash you tonight, if that's alright with you." You liked doing this after he came home like this, offering him a choice. Giving him the freedom to ask for what he wanted. There was a sneaking suspicion you had that said he just wanted to wash off and sleep. The bags under his eyes helped this theory.

"That sounds nice." He sank deeper into the tub as you turned the knob off and helped him clean the blood out of his fur. The gentle motions of running your hands in his soft hair was enough to let his shoulders droop in relaxation. Your mind drifted off while you cleaned him. You kissed his head, healing his wounds, a habit now.

Valentino will no longer hurt your beloved. You would not allow him to do this anymore. These past few weeks you've been researching and studying dealmaking. The processes, terms, and ways to look into loopholes. All you have to do is get your hands on the physical contract to see what you can find. If you couldn't find anything, you'd just set the contract on fire and hit Valentino before running away.

After Angel was fully clean, you grabbed his favorite embroidered towel and helped him out of the bath. Once again grabbing his hand, you lead him to your shared bedroom and helped him into the softest pajamas he owns. He laid down under the silky sheets on the plush mattress and snuggled into it. You changed into your own pajamas before snuggling in with him. Your fingers gently brushed through his hair as softly sang him to sleep. You ran your thumb across the slight purple under his eye, noting how exhausted he looked even in sleep.

~*~

You woke up to the early birdsong of the morning glory in your garden and gently disentangled yourself from Angel's many armsnd made your way over to the edge. There, you stood straight and rounded the bed quietly to place a soft kiss to his forehead. With one last glance, and a whispered "I love you", you turned off the light and left the room, down the hall, out the front door. You're going to pay that bastard a visit.

~*~

Angel woke up feeling better and less sore than he expected. He sat up and looked over to his loving partner's side of the bed only to frown. They weren't there. Getting up, he stretched and decided to look in the kitchen. Maybe they had gotten up already and were making breakfast, though they usually would have the staff take care of it. He didn't know why, they were an amazing cook and it was always a treat when you did make meals.

"S/o? Ya in here, babes?" He opened the door to see the cooks already making breakfast, one handed him a coffee when they passed by to get to some more ingredients, but you weren't there. They looked pretty busy, so he decided to take his cup and search elsewhere.

He checked the dining room, library, living room, their study, parlor, hell, even the garden (saying hi to Nuggets in his own little mansion on the way), but they weren't in any of those places! Where are they? He was getting worried now.

"Uh, excuse me, sire?" Angel looked to the speaker of the voice to see a small demon that reminded him slightly of Niffty. "My liege has left a note for you, sire." The demon handed him a small piece of paper, bowed, and then skittered off. Angel will never get used to the treatment here. He shook his head and focused on the paper.

"My dearest love, I will be out for a short while, but don't fret, I'll be home soon with a surprise and a gift. I love you very much, S/o." He read aloud. "Aren't gifts and surprises the same thing?" He decided to not worry about that and smiled as he imagined when you'd be back.

~*~

You entered your home tired and frazzled, but with a smile beaming with happiness. You had successfully gotten rid of the contract between Valentino and Angel. Now it was time to tell your lover and give him the gifts you bought him.

"My heart? I'm home!" You called into the foyer as you went deeper into the house. You checked the living room and parlor before you were wrapped up in an embrace of four arms.

"Babes! Where were ya? I woke up an' you were gone," he mumbled in your ear. You smiled and pat one of his arms to release you. He let go and you turned to face him, holding out all the gift bags you were carrying.

"S/o, what the fuck happened to you? You're bleeding!" At his exclaimation you look down to actually take yourself in and realize he's right. You were so caught up in finally setting him free and getting him gifts that you didn't notice the small cuts. Laughing, you wave your hand and fix yourself up with your abilities.

"So I was, thank you, lovely. Now, here!" You, once again, offer him the gift bags. He takes them in his lower set of hands and uses the upper set to hold your shoulders.

"We ain't gonna roll past that you were hurt, even if ya can heal them. Who did it?" There was murder in his eyes. Your gaze softened and you laughed softly.

"I was going to wait until you opened the gifts and ask 'what's the occasion?' But you seem so eager," you paused to reach up and hold his face in your hands, "Anthony Messina, you are no longer under contract with the overlord Valentino. You are a free man, my love." The expression on his face was nothing short of shock.

"What? Are you serious?" His eyes fill with tears as he breathes and realizes you're right. Angel wouldn't be able to feel Valentino's chains anymore. He was free. "I can't believe it." He lets out a laugh and the tears fall, ruining his make up. Angel lifts you up and kisses you hard.

"My star," you whispered when you parted. He kissed you again with more passion. Your hands travelled through his soft locks, relishing in the feeling.

"Caro mia." He kissed you again, longer this time. The bags fell from his lower arms which then made their way to your thighs, wrapping them around his waist.

"Shall we take this to the room, sweetling?" You asked when you separated again. Angel nodded vigorously and carried you, all the while kissing you.

In the room, you hear him kick the door closed and then lock the door with one of his arms. You continue to kiss and run your tongue along his bottom lip, asking for entrance, which he happily gives. Hands found their way to the other's clothes, ripping them off in urgency to feel each the naked bodies beneath.

You wiggled your half naked form from his arms and separated the kiss. Before he could complain, you grabbed his lower left hand and yanked him over to the bed, effortlessly throwing him onto it. You crawled on top of him and kissed him lovingly, caressing his face and then down his chest and finally resting on his hips, giving a small squeeze. Parting from his lips, you said a sentence that set his body on fire.

"I'm going to show you what a true claiming feels like."

[dimonds456]

*sees your tags about being salty about suf spinel*

YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT AND NOT SHARE YOUR SALT /LH

Okay, but I'm warning you, you asked for it.

LONG POST WARNING.

LIKE A REALLY, REALLY LONG POST WARNING.

Dimonds456 Presents: How They Did My Baby Dirty: An SUTM and SUF Analysis on Steven and Spinel (Told by a Progressively More and More Angry Narrator)

THE CONTEXT: There was a post talking about how you think a character will fix everything, but then they wind up making it works. My tags were "#*looks at suf spinel* #I am still salty about that like the bitch I am fghdjskgfa"

Grab some water, guys.

Let's start by talking about Steven for a moment. In the original show, when we were following him as a 12-14-year-old, we watched as he built up trauma and then learned how to hide it expertly well, to the point that most of the audience didn't even realize he was struggling.

You can actually pinpoint the seconds he makes those decisions, too. The best example is in "The Test," when he's storming up to the gems. He's pissed. His fists are clenched, he's got that anime eye shadow overlay on his face, he's frowning, all that. the Crystal Gems are clapping for him and lying to his face, and he KNOWS they are because he overheard them talking about how it was "impossible for him to fail" that test (- Garnet).

And yet... he also overheard them saying that they're just trying their best. They don't know what he needs. They never really have. No one is sure. So, Steven realizes that by picking a fight, he would just be making it worse for them because they would know they messed up, and nothing gets solved, and everyone gets more depressed and Amethyst and Pearl go back to fighting each other and- well, you get the picture. He doesn't have a full understanding of what's going on, so his kid brain went "so I can either be angry at them and cause problems, or I can tell them I did a good job to make them happy."

"I can lie to make them happy."

He storms down there angry, still mulling this decision over. He drops to the floor, frowning and pissed, and says "I can't believe you guys." He is so close to yelling at them, and yet, when he looks up at them...

"That was so... INSANE!"

You never would have been able to tell. It was right there. That moment. And then he never stops. For the ENTIRE REST of the series, he NEVER STOPS. He puts the Crystal Gems above himself every time. Think Rose's Scabbard, The Message, The Return/Jailbreak. The Cluster. Peridot. Dealing with Jasper. The zoo arc (ESPECIALLY the zoo arc). Aquamarine. Then pretty much the entirety of Season 5.

(NOTE: I went back and rewatched that scene for the screenshot. There is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it lip tremble in there too! D,: )

He lives for the people around him, and not for himself. Almost never for himself.

Put a pin in that.

Now, let's look at his maturity. People thought that was just him being mature, right? That he grew up. No. That was not it at all. He was learning from his own behaviors as well as the people around him, and building up this idea that he had to "fight to be everything that everyone wants [him] to be when [he's] grown" (- Steven, the extended intro).

Yes, he matured, but not because of that. He started making various decisions to benefit the group that oftentimes he wasn't fully comfortable with, but something he believed would be better for everyone.

Put a pin in that.

Then, later in Future, we see it all manifest. He is selfless to a fault, to the point that he can't think of himself in a positive light in the sense that he's good. We see it a couple of times, but especially in "Prickly Pair," when he vents to Cactus Steven about everything that happened. He feels useless, which is taking a toll on his mental health.

"Why do I need to be needed?" He needs to be needed because that's everything he was as a kid. His entire IDENTITY rests on his ability to help other people, no matter what happens to him. He literally sacrificed himself for them countless times (the big one of course being the Aquamarine incident), and now as a teenager, his whole sense of self is wrapped up in this need to get up and do something to make the world better.

And when he can't make the world better, his world falls apart.

Put a pin in that.

Now, let's talk about Spinel, the moment we've all been waiting for.

Spinel, as a gem, was made specifically to be a friend. That is her niche, and her purpose. Her reason for existing. At first, she and Pink Diamond got along very well, as shown in the flashbacks right before Drift Away plays (I headcanon she has illusion powers and was literally projecting her trauma, but that's a completely different post).

She and Pink vibed together for who knows how long, until one day, Pink started to not like being around Spinel anymore, finding her annoying and childish. We don't know what really caused the switch, just that it did happen (but of course, I have headcanons for that, too). Spinel never realized until it was FAR too late.

Steven actually describes his younger self as annoying at one point during the Diamond Days arc, when he decides to throw the ball, so I'm legally allowed to make this comparison.

Steven and Spinel were the SAME. They were both young and dumb, and something that at least a few people found annoying. People put up with their BS though, since they cared about them. But, while Steven realized this and matured because of it (or bottled up his emotions, to each their own), Spinel never did. She never matured. She was never given a chance.

In the movie, we saw her as a child, and watched as she played with Pink and never tried to be or do anything else, to the point that Pink Diamond thought to realize she might be struggling (and maybe Spinel didn't, either!).

She lives for the people around him, and not for herself. Almost never for herself.

And when she can't be friends with this one person, her world falls apart.

Sound familiar? It should. I literally pulled from things I said earlier lol.

Spinel and Steven are mirror reflections of each other. Reset!Spinel is 14-year-old Steven, completely devoting her entire self to one idea. Steven's was helping others no matter what, Spinel's was serving Pink no matter what. Spinel is like a combination of 14 and 12-year-old Steven in this sense, honestly. Goofy, without a care in the world, except one thing: the people around her. She would do anything for Pink, just as Steven would do anything for his family.

Now, Pink Diamond left Spinel. We all know this story. She left Spins there in the garden for 6,000 years because she grew more mature and started a rebellion, effectively forgetting about this one gem she kinda stopped caring about standing there.

Personally, I don't think Pink had any malicious or even intentional intent in that, but this ain't about her. This is about how Spinel continued to sacrifice herself for Pink, even when Pink didn't need her to anymore. She wanted to please Pink 24/7, all day every day, to the point she self-sacrificed and stood perfectly still for her for millenia.

Now, back to Steven. The gems don't need him anymore in Future, right? They've all grown up and matured and headed off towards their own futures, effectively stranding him alone in terms of self-identity and self-worth. But he stays there, ready to assist at the drop of a hat, or- in Future's case- the call of a phone.

Episode 6 anyone? The one everyone says shouldn't be in Future? That it should have been cut to allow more focus on Steven himself? The fusion episode? YEAH. THAT. He is running himself RAGGED to try and help others, to give himself a purpose. He is self-sacrificing. (He's a professional, don't worry. /j)

Steven metaphorically planted his feet down and decided that he was going to devote himself to the people around him.

Spinel's feet were literally tied down soon after she made that very same decision.

Okay, enough with the backstory. Time for the salt.

In Future, Steven is at his lowest low. He is running to the Diamonds for help, to see if there is SOMETHING they can do to help him. And we first see Spinel.

Spinel has been through the ringer on a lot of the same mental problems Steven himself is facing. She self-isolated, watched as everyone grew up and left her, and then began to lash out because of it. She understands what he's going through. We even see her concerned as Steven starts to tell her why he's there.

Spinel takes him from Diamond to Diamond, until he's running out of White's room in a blind panic. Spinel is able to catch up with him, and Steven realizes the same. SHE GETS IT. He turns around and says "Hey, you used to have vengeful thoughts!"

Spinel replies "Ohhhhh yeah, but I don't have 'em anymore."

"How did you make them stop?"

She then goes on to sing Change to him, effectively cutting that conversation short.

On paper, that sounds very in-character for her. She's goofy! And that is what worked for her! But the problem is that they had to dumb her down in order to make that character decision work. In the movie, she was shown to be observant and able to put two and two together, even if she often jumps to conclusions (see her being the one to figure out that the gems needed to remember their "pieces," as she remembers the Garden, her re-realizing what Pink did, and her meltdown later when she reactivates the injector).

Spinel is smart. It should have been in character for her to realize that Steven was panicking just as she had been, and needed to be talked to gently. But no. Instead, she starts belting out Change, which given Steven's situation, would not work for him.

At the very least, she would have started doing little tricks or started trying to get him to join a game, which would have taken his mind off of it (to her anyways, that wouldn't have worked either), which then could have prompted further discussion.

Then, once they finally start talking, Spinel could have been able to share some legitimate advise. She was hurt and lashed out. What worked for her was opening up to others and letting them in, learning to trust again (which Steven also has problems with- he can't trust that the Gems won't break down the second he turns his back. Trust does NOT equal love, there is no doubt he loves them to no end), and allowing other people in.

That is what Steven needed, too. He needed to let his guard down and just talk to someone. Sure, Spinel was not going to be a fix-all, but she could have at least offered some insight on what to do.

She UNDERSTANDS him. They are a reflection of each other.

But instead of offering help, Spinel made it worse. She was dumbed down to allow the rest of Future to happen, to make Steven feel even worse. Because- and here's the kicker- because the one person who MIGHT understand him doesn't, that means there's no hope for him.

At least, that's how he sees it. And so, the denial- and "Everything's Fine"- begins.

Here's the thing, though; they DIDN'T NEED to make that decision. If the Crew wanted to have Spinel not understand Steven, then draw the line of her being a Gem from Era 1, used to the Diamonds shattering people.

Steven has killed Jasper and revived her at this point, so maybe Spinel offers that at least he's trying to get better, just like the other Diamonds! See, they're doing so great now! And then that makes him feel worse since he IS trying to do better, but is only failing, while the Diamonds- who were MADE to be nasty dictators- are doing better than him.

The Diamonds shattered a lot of people, and they're doing better than Steven, who has only shattered one person, and not even on purpose. How horrible is that?

Then boom. THERE'S your angst, with a much smarter, more helpful Spinel.

Look, I knew going in that Spinel wasn't going to be able to help. The finale had to happen somehow, and we hadn't seen Wormy Boi yet. I have always been a storng believer of the corrupted Steven theory, so I knew it was bound to happen. But I was hoping that Spinel would at least try. But she really didn't. She just brushed him off, offering really loose advise that didn't even fit his situation and thinking that would be enough.

No. It's not.

I can see where the Crew was coming from. I still love that episode, and I love seeing Spins in it (until that exact moment). This is probably the only thing in SU that genuinely gets me mad. Or, well, maybe not mad, but definitely annoyed and- you guessed it- salty.

I have an unfinished fic where I kinda delve into Spinel's head for that episode called "A New Start". If you really want my thoughts on where Spinel's head was at, there's a bit in there that really explains it. In the fic, Steven decides to rejuvenate himself and brings Spinel along with him, and that's all the context you need for this.

I cannot explain that moment in the climax of the episode, though. Maybe she thought it would make him feel better, or that maybe he really did just need to open his eyes and see the error of his ways (which doesn't make sense, he KNOWS what he did). Maybe she thought that being silly would help somehow.

But you'd think she'd learn from her time with Pink as she grew more annoyed with her, but apparently not. Or maybe she would realize for a second that being loud and annoying was bad. Or maybe she doesn't learn.

Either way, it- and she- was dumb. And they did my baby dirty.

*drops mic and walks away*

[fandom-collective-writers]

Vampire in a Bottle (Le Comte de Saint-Germain x MC)

Fandom: Ikemen Vampire

Pairing: Le Comte de Saint-Germain x MC

Prompt: cursed object

Warning: Smut!!

Intended Audience: Female Audience

Word Count: 7,251

Requested by: anonymous

Written by: @lordsister​/@lordsisterxotome (Click here to support me on ko-fi!<3)

Disclaimer: I do not own Ikemen Vampire or any of its characters. All of that goodness is the property of Cybird. I do, however, own the plot of this fanfic. Please do not repost this on any other website.

Other notes: I legit expected this to be 5 maybe 6 pages long. Was not expecting it to end up being 15 whole ass pages long.

       She’d heard stories about creatures tied to objects, bound to them my wizards or witches or priests. Everyone had. The djinni of the lamp, silkies and their skin, even myths of demons lending their bloodlust to legendary swords. 

       The vampire stuck in the wine bottle though, now that was a first.

       It had come as a surprise when MC had first stumbled upon the mansion on one of her hikes outside the city. She must’ve hiked the same path a hundred times and never had she caught so much as a glimpse of the sprawling estate, even if it was only a shell of its obvious former glory now. Had she taken a wrong path somewhere? Drifted away in her thoughts too much and unintentionally wandered away into the bushes? Looking back the way she’d come, she realized that no, she hadn’t veered in any way from her usual path, which made the sudden appearance of the mansion especially strange. 

       It was quite the complex, all graceful arches and columns, reds and whites. A massive fountain topped with a headless statue centered an overgrown path, and even from her vantage point still a ways away from the building, she could tell that what was once a manicured garden lay behind the mansion. It was like something out of a fairy tail; she wondered about it’s story, who lived here and what events had taken place within its walls. Now, the place was positively decrepit, still somewhat majestic, but old and creepy nonetheless.

       So, doing what any normal person would do, MC thought, ‘Very old and creepy,’ and turned back the way she’d come. There was no way in hell she was going to wander in like some airheaded protagonist out of a horror movie and get pestered or possessed or who knows what else. Nope. She was going to choose life today.

       It seemed her fears about the place being somewhat supernatural were true though, because a few minutes later, when she was sure she was about to step back onto a more familiar leg of the path, she emerged right on the same cliff overlooking the estate as before. The mansion sat there expectantly and she almost imagined it was saying, “Oh, you’re back.”

       Blinking, she stared for a moment before scoffing and shaking her head, soft mutters of “no, no, no, no, no,” falling from her lips as she turned away and rubbed her eyes. Her heart was beating a little faster now, sweat forming on the back of her neck. This was too strange. She’d hiked this path a hundred times and there had never, ever been a mansion here before. Furthermore, there was no way she was going around in circles. She knew the area and its trails well enough to have been able to find her way even if she did get lost.

       Pulling out her phone, MC tried and failed to find her location on the google maps, cursing as the words ‘No Signal’ replaced the usual friendly bars in the left-hand corner. Shoving the device back into her pocket, she sighed and stomped back down the path. This time she paid attention to familiar landmarks, carefully retracing her steps. For a second, she thought for sure she was in the clear, that she would come out on the path and walk away to forget this ever happened as some strange hallucination.

       Apparently that was not to be the case today though as, lo and behold, when she ducked beneath a low-hanging branch, there she was again, the mansion laid out and waiting before her. She could practically feel it rolling its eyes at her this time. 

       Collapsing on the leaves and pine needles, she laughed breathlessly. No way was this happening. Why today of all days? Why couldn’t the universe just let her keep having her normal days without throwing in a mansion that appeared and disappeared like a ghost ship too? She felt like she was going crazy. 

       After a few minutes of deep breathing and burying her face in her knees, trying to rub the image of the mansion away, she rose to her feet. This place wanted her to...do something? Fine. She had a feeling it would just keep making her walk in circles until she came inside. Best case scenario it really was just an old mansion and she would find another way back to the trail after having searched the property. Worst case scenario? She was dragged to the underworld by whatever vengeful ghosts might inhabit the place. No problem, right?

       Her legs felt weak as she picked her way down the cliffside, slowly getting closer and closer to the hulking abode. The grass on the vast lawn was so overgrown she had a hard time making her way across it, nearly tripping a couple of times when it got caught around her calves and ankles. As she got closer, she started to realize just how massive the place really was. So similar to most of the castles and palaces and royal mansions she’d visited on trips, whoever had built this place and lived here had gone for extravagance, a show of wealth, but something about it was quiet in a way that made it seem like it was meant to be tucked away back here. It would have been beautiful if the situation were different and she wasn’t so freaked out.

       On the bright side, at least the weather wasn’t cloudy like these kinds of places usually were in books and movies, and she didn’t have the feeling anyone was watching her. It was a sunny day, the sky blue and dotted here and there with the occasional cloud. It was a small comfort, but comfort nonetheless as she faced the beast.

       Taking a minute, MC just stood there in front of the mansion, staring up at broken windows and ivy covered columns and weeds poking up through the stones. “What do you want from me?” she grumbled to herself before shaking her head and taking a deep breath.

       Heavy iron rings hung on the wooden doors, their white paint peeled away to reveal the brown wood beneath. Her hand looked tiny in comparison to the ring as she grasped it, cold and dark against her skin, and pulled the door open. It grated against the floor as it opened, and she paused, tensed and waiting for something to jump out at her, for a swarm of bats or something. But nothing came and after a minute, she peered inside. Part of the roof had fallen in, allowing shafts of daylight to pierce the gloom and illuminate the grand receiving hall. Her shoes padded softly against the marble floor as she took a few steps inside, careful of the debris. A grand staircase of white stone led up to a second story and as she turned in a circle to fully take in the room MC saw more signs of wealth: giant paintings, moth-eaten tapestries, silver candlesticks nearly too tarnished to recognize. 

       A gentle breeze blew in from the open door behind her, stirring leaves across the floor and up the stairs. After another quick glance around, she crept up the staircase, brushing her fingers across the cold, stone banister as she did. Choosing to turn to her left once she was at the top of the stairs, she followed a long hallway in what she guessed was the west wing. More paintings and golden sconces decorated the walls, curtains made of dusty velvet framing smashed windows. The mansion had yet to make its next move, to give her any indication of what it wanted her to do, where it wanted her to go. It was hard to tell because everything was so old and nature had long since started reclaiming the place, but she thought she saw signs of a struggle, irregularly torn canvases and tables knocked over, their vintage contents spilled all over the floor.

       She startled, gasping, when a door at the end of the hall creaked open, a strong breeze whistling down the corridor and urging her along. MC could feel the mansion’s impatience pushing in at her from all sides, tugging at her hair and pushing at her back. Balling her fists, she gulped and creeped towards the indicated entryway, trying to mentally prepare herself for whatever she might find. 

       Her breath stuck in her throat as she took a careful look inside, surprised at the luxury and opulence that met her gaze. The chamber was so large and gilded it had to be the master bedroom. The walls and ceiling were framed in gold, the ceiling painted with some scene that belonged in a cathedral. The canopied bed had long since succumbed to moths and the forces of nature, but the size of it could have rivaled any king size bed, and the rugs, once richly colored, still retained some of their ancient plushness as she stepped into the room. Reaching out, she ran her fingers along the carved edge of a table, tracing the intricate whorls and flowers. The same signs of a struggle were here too, a sharp gash taken out of the leg of the table and old books and shattered glass lying on the floor.

       A strong gust of wind blew in from the broken window, disturbing the heavy velvet curtains and knocking an old wine bottle off the small table in front of the broken pane. She winced as the bottle hit the floor, expecting it to shatter, but instead it bounced, rolling until it stopped against her foot.

       MC blinked and bent down to pick it up, noting the strange weight inside it. There wasn’t a label and she tipped it back and forth in her palm, weighing its contents. The red glass was too dark to see whatever was inside, but it didn’t feel like liquid sloshing around, that was for sure. Idly tapping a nail against the cool surface as she went to put it back on the table, she nearly screamed when something tapped back. 

       Letting go of the bottle and skittering back, she tripped over a chair, sending her falling on her ass. The bottle didn’t bounce this time, shattering instead with a sound like thunder that shook the mansion. A whirlwind filled the room, sending debris flying as it exploded outwards. Crouching and covering her head with her arms, MC waited, eyes squeezed shut and heart pounding, for whatever was happening to stop. It could’ve been seconds or minutes; she barely knew which as the gale settled, ending as quickly as it had begun. Uncovering her head, she peeked, shaking, around the room. Anything that had been in contact certainly wasn’t now, nothing but shafts of wood and scraps of fabric remaining. But the furniture held the least of her attention right now, not with the sudden appearance of the room’s other occupant.

       He was on his knees, heaving and gasping. She couldn’t see his face from her place behind the chair, only locks of yellow hair. His clothes - a long coat of burnished gold, brown trousers, and soft leather boots - were all embroidered in gold thread, rich and quietly vibrant. 

       She didn’t understand who he was or where he had come from. It refused to click in her mind that he had actually been stuck in that wine bottle, tapping back to her. People didn’t come from inside bottles. That kind of thing only happened in myths and fairy tales - things that were only stories.

       Rising to her feet on legs still shaky, she kept her gaze on the man as she slid a foot back, thinking to make a quiet exit, unnoticed. Of course, with so much debris scattered about the room, something like a quiet escape was absolutely impossible. Before the edge of her shoe had moved even a few inches, it disturbed a shard of wood with enough force to send it scittering a few inches over the stone floor, breaking the silence only broken by his heavy breathing.

       Piercing yellow eyes snapped to her and she gasped at the intensity within their depths, frozen, a deer in headlights. He turned, stumbling to his feet, eyes still locked with hers, and dear god, she believed in fairy tales looking at him. His face was unnaturally beautiful, something someone had dreamed up rather than someone born. It spoke of marble sculptures carved in his image, of candlelight on silk sheets, and there was a depth to his eyes, something she couldn’t fathom, something that marked him as...inhuman.

       MC hadn’t realized that her jaw had dropped and she swallowed, opening her mouth to say something and choking on air. Before she could manage her way through anything even vaguely coherent, he surged forward, barely a centimeter in front of her in the blink of an eye. Yelping, she tried to jump back, but his arms were already around her, dragging her against his chest. She struggled fruitlessly in his grip as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, lips and nose nuzzling against the soft skin as he breathed deep of her scent.

       “W-What are you-? S-Stop!” she demanded weakly, the panic rising in her chest choking her pleas. 

       “Smells so good,” the stranger breathed, his voice hoarse from disuse, and pulled back just enough that he could peer into her wide eyes. He looked absolutely wild now, ravenous and uncontrollable. “I’m sorry, but I need your help, mademoiselle.”

       The hand around her shoulders grabbed a handful of her hair, gently moving it away from her neck. Her fingers clawed into his lapels as she stared at him, fearful and confused, prey in the arms of a predator. His face lowered to her neck once again and she shivered as his breath fanned against her skin. What was he doing?

       “Try to relax, ma cherie.”

       The unexpected pain of two fangs sinking into her made her scream, bucking in his unyielding hold as he took long drawls of her blood. 

       It was physical pain as well as mental pain, the pain of confusion and everything she’d thought she’d known about the realistic world cracking. Pain. And then pleasure. Pleasure unlike any she had ever experienced before, setting her entire body alight and turning her mind white.

       And that was how she met him, Le Comte de Saint-Germain, a starving vampire trapped inside a wine bottle for 100 years.

       She’d woken later with her head in his lap, the ghost of his touch on her cheek stirring her. The ceiling spun above her and MC groaned, turning into him and covering her eyes with an arm.

       “Shh, you’re okay, ma cherie. It’ll pass soon.”

       Her eyes flew open, met with an abundance of gold and yellow, and she shot upwards, falling on her side as the world spun again. Hands reached to steady her out of the corner of her vision, but she flinched away from them, remembering the strange pain and pleasure his bite had brought. 

       “Stop!” she bit out, and he did, hovering a few feet away from her. “Who are you and what did you do to me?!”

       He blinked at her, seeming to think for a second before answering with a gentle smile, “I am Le Comte de Saint-Germain, and...moments ago I was starving for your blood.”

       “Starving for my-” She shook her head, still confused and afraid. “What?”

       “I’m not human, as you might have guessed.” His tone was polite, but warm, friendly as he spoke to her. “I’m a creature out of your myths and folklore, a vampire.”

       And her day officially couldn’t get any weirder!

       There, sitting on the cold, stone floor and shredded rugs, Le Comte had told her his story, that he was an immortal vampire trapped inside a wine bottle by another of his kind who he’d once considered a friend. He had been the one to build the mansion and live in it, assimilating into human high society and traveling between countries for centuries until the event of his capture.

       When MC had asked him about how the mansion had appeared and disappeared, he’d answered that it was part of the curse placed on him, that none should have been able to find and release him. Even he didn’t know how she had managed to stumble upon it.

       She believed him, choosing to trust the earnestness in his gaze when he’d apologized for biting her in a fit of starvation, but it was still a lot to take in, and they just sat there like that, blinking at each other, for a good minute or so. He seemed just as curious of her as she was of him, a little disoriented too, but she guessed that was to be expected after being trapped in a wine bottle for a hundred years. Finally, she said, “So what happens now? What are you going to do now that you’re free?” What was she going to do? She couldn’t just walk away from this place like it had never happened, right?

       He hummed, chuckling as he gazed around at the ruin of his home. “Rebuild, I suppose; catch up on what I’ve missed in the past hundred years.”

       MC blinked, biting her lip as she contemplated the impact of what she was about to say. An hour ago, all she had wanted to do was get away from this place, to forget it and never see it again, but now her heart felt strangely heavy at the thought. If she left this place behind now, she would regret it, she could feel it in her bones. Could she be blamed for wanting to live out whatever fairy tale this was, just for a little longer?

       “I…” Those yellow eyes met hers again, and her fate was sealed. “I might be able to help you with that.”

        Thus began her relationship with an immortal vampire, visiting him every day with new technology and books on the modern age for him to catch up with. More than once, he returned to the city with her, eager and capable of exploring for himself. He adjusted surprisingly easily to the new time period and all the technological advances that came with it, but she guessed that was part of being immortal, having to adapt quickly to the change of time. 

       She didn’t know what magic he possessed, but every day the mansion looked a little better, damaged furnishings either replaced or repaired, broken windows whole again, even the hole in the ceiling of the entry was miraculously fixed when she came one day. The lawn and garden still needed a great deal of attention, but those could definitely wait, especially since Le Comte was still weak after his long entrapment.

       “Le Comte?” MC called as she pushed the door open. The mansion welcomed her like an old friend now, warmth and the faint smell of sandalwood wrapping around her as she stepped into the entryway. She’d come to look forward to these daily meetings, noticeably out of it to her friends and colleagues when work or bad weather kept her from making the trip.

       “Here, ma cherie,” she heard him call from somewhere up the staircase. He could’ve been anywhere in this massive place and she still would have heard his call - another magical feature of the mansion and its connection with its owner. 

       It was weird. It had been months since she had found the mansion and Le Comte, but already she could barely remember what her life was like before. Her happiest moments were spent here, with him, her days filled with the smell of chamomile that she’d come to know as Le Comte’s, and easing the tension in her shoulders from the stress of modern life. 

       But it was more than that too, so much more. 

       She wasn’t dense. She knew what it meant for her heart to flutter the way it did at the mere thought of him. Truly, she’d had no intent of pursuing anything more than friendship when she started helping him. What more could there be between a human and a vampire? It had all seemed like a fairy tale, the beautiful mansion and the equally beautiful man in the bottle, waiting for her to find them, but this story would not end in romance, she was sure of it...or at least she had been. 

       She’d tried to reason with herself at first, that it was just the allure of something new and strange and magical in her ordinary life, that it was just the natural attraction of a vampiric predator to his human prey, but when had reason ever convinced a love-struck heart? He wasn’t going to hurt her, she was sure of that, and there were plenty of nice men in her normal life that she could have chosen from if she wanted a change of pace. No, she was in love with Le Comte and there was nothing she could do about it, no forwards or backwards, no place for her love to go, so it bloomed quietly in her chest, growing with each affectionate smile he sent her way. 

       MC found him hanging a painting in the hallway, a landscape she remembered him asking her opinion on last week when they went into town together. It made her cheeks warm a little, remembering his approving nod when she’d told him she liked it. The long, pale yellow coat he’d adopted lay across the back of a nearby chair, and the sleeves of his white button-up were rolled up, exposing pale forearms. It shouldn’t have made her blush, but to her shame it did, the sight of her crush’s bared skin making her feel like some pervert, excited by the least bit of exposed skin.

       “What do you think?” Stepping away from the painting, he dusted his hands off and she did her best to keep her eyes away from the elegant flex of his fingers. 

       “Looks nice,” she answered simply, turning her gaze to the painting and anywhere other than him. She could feel him looking at her, and she wondered what he was thinking, what was going on inside his head. 

       He hummed, pleased. “I bought it with you in mind.”

       “W-Why?” She didn’t know what to say. Lately, it was like each word he said to her was intended to make her heart pound.

       “I thought there should be something of you here.”

       Her cheeks were as good as on fire now, and she resisted the urge to reach up and press her cool palms against the heated skin. “I-I see.” She kept her gaze glued to the painting, staring but not seeing the whorls and colors that made up the bodies of two lovers entwined and hidden within the painting, not daring to look at him. “Thank you. It’s beautiful.”

       He didn’t respond, and the atmosphere suddenly felt too heavy, too many implications in his gaze, in buying this particular painting. Clearing her throat, she turned on her heel even as she spoke, “I’m going to go finish the cleaning I started in the kitchen yesterday.” MC cursed the way her voice swooped and dove, unwilling to settle on a tone and octave. 

       He chuckled and the sound warmed her to her bones. “Okay.”

       Her legs felt shaky as she made her way back down the steps and to the kitchen, blowing out a long breath as soon as she deemed herself far enough away from him. Mechanically, she pulled out the cutlery she’d been polishing the day before, her mind drifting as she did. Her heart felt shaky in her chest, fluttering and pounding and ready to run back up the stairs and throw itself into the hands of the vampire it belonged to. But she would do her best not to let it. 

       Falling in love with him was one thing. Starting a relationship with him was another. She couldn’t fully fathom what it would mean to be a vampire’s mate, what impact it would have on her human life, but she knew the cost would be immense. Besides, there was no telling if he even returned her feelings. He cared for her as any friend would - she knew that at least - and the affection he displayed was undeniable, but she refused to see it as anything more than platonic. Le Comte had already lived so much longer than her, and probably loved more than her too. Making assumptions would only lead to pain on both their parts.

       MC jumped, a noise of pain and surprise passing her lips, when her fingers slipped on the steak knife she’d been polishing, the sharp edge slicing the skin of her thumb. In seconds, a line of blood rose to the surface, gathering to drip down her skin in small drops. Hissing in pain, she turned to the sink, about to clean the wound, but she jumped when her attention caught on the sudden figure in the doorway. She hadn’t heard Le Comte approach, hadn’t even felt his presence, and how still he stood as he hovered in the doorway was immediately unsettling.

       “I wasn’t paying attention,” she tried to fill the silence, “I cut myself on one of the knives.”

       Still nothing from him, his gaze locked on her bleeding thumb.

       “Le Comte?”

       He seemed to startle out of whatever trance he’d fallen into, a shudder passing through him as he glanced up at her face before looking away entirely. His usual poise and grace was replaced by something hard, something sad. “You should leave,” he murmured, eyes shaded by his golden hair as he turned away from her, his movements stiff. 

       She blinked. “What? Why? I-”

       “Leave.” His voice was harder now, resonating with something that gripped her soul with icy claws. “Now.”

       So she did, helpless to disobey. Holding her bleeding hand, she ducked past him and hurried down the hall, through the door and down the path before her mind started to catch up. It hurt to be pushed away so cruelly by the one she loved, but she knew why he had done it, the memory of his fangs plunging into her neck months ago still a fresh reminder. He’d promised never to hurt her again, but he was still a vampire, surviving on blood. One slip up and...why didn’t the idea of him biting her bring her fear anymore?

       Her steps were small and slow as MC walked to the mansion the next day, tripping and stumbling more than once over roots and rocks she had always avoided easily before. She hadn’t slept well the night before, tossing and turning and staring at the ceiling. Every time she closed her eyes, those golden eyes were there, inviting her closer. She had considered not even coming today, but she’d eventually decided otherwise after spending all day unable to focus and watching the sun near the horizon from her bedroom window. Something restless in her heart wouldn’t let her avoid him.

       “Comte?” she called, too softly, when she opened the door. The newly polished wood and iron gave way easily under her touch. No answer, but she knew he could sense her, just as the mansion could. 

       The mansion at night made her want to curl up in front of a fire, preferably in the arms of her loved one. The candles in their newly restored candleholders cast warm, golden light on the richly colored walls and paintings, and she tried to ignore the burst of heat in her chest as she passed the painting Le Comte had gotten for her. The lovers within the frame became especially apparent in the romantic light, hands and lips on naked flesh. 

       She continued to Le Comte’s bedroom, taking a deep breath as she lifted a fist to knock. Still no answer, and her brow furrowed, but just as she was about to grasp the knob she heard something shatter from inside the room. 

       “Comte?” A pained moan and her heart jumped into her throat. “I’m sorry, but I’m coming in!”

       The glass shards lying across the floor were the least of her worries as she barged in, her attention falling on the man bent on the rug. A sense of deja vu settled over her, but before she’d taken even a few steps towards him one of his hands shot up, stopping her in place.

       “Why’d you come?” he grunted, his voice choked and dry. He didn’t give her any time to answer, continuing, “You shouldn’t be here.”

       “I came because I was worried,” she admitted softly, soothingly. “Comte, are you starving again?”

       “No!” The harsh edge to his tone made her jump, but she held her ground, digging her nails into her palm as she took another couple of steps towards him. He turned on her from his place on the floor, baring long, sharp fangs in a snarl. “Don’t come any closer!” 

       Maybe she should have, but MC felt no fear as she knelt in front of him, warm palm meeting his cool cheek. He stared at her, eyes shining with astonishment and hunger, sadness and longing. “Why didn’t you tell me you were starving?” she questioned, giving him a heartbroken smile. “Why didn’t you ask me for help? Do you not trust me enough for this?”

       Heartbeats passed as he stared at her, and for a second she wondered if he had heard her through his ravenous haze, if he was already too far gone in his bloodlust. Finally, his lips parted and he whispered, “It’s not that.” He closed his eyes, drooping into her touch. “It’s not that.”

       Without a word, she reached up, undoing a couple of buttons on her blouse. His eyes still closed, Le Comte let her guide him to the crook of her neck, but as soon as the warmth of her skin pressed against his cheek, he jolted, tearing out of her hold and dragging himself back along the rug, away from her.

       “You know nothing!” he hissed through clenched teeth. “You have no idea what I want to do to you!”

       “Then tell me!” she pleaded, hands fisting in her skirt. “Let me help you!”

       “I want to bite you!” he cried, anguished that she didn’t understand even as his eyes glinted with a feral light. “I want to sink my fangs into you and fuck you until all of you is mine! Until you’re filled with me!”

       MC stared, frozen at his omission. Maybe she hadn’t known the extent of his hunger for her, what it fully entailed, but she would happily let him have everything he wanted of her depending on his answer to her next question.

       “Is it just because you’re starving?” she asked quietly. “Could anyone satisfy you right now?”

       His gaze locked with hers, weighing the question. He knew exactly what she was asking. “No,” he admitted, his voice hushed, and the tension in the room reached a climax. “Only you. I starve for your blood, your body, and yours alone.”

       “Then I don’t care,” she laughed breathlessly. Her heart felt like it was ready to beat out of her chest, and she couldn’t restrain her relieved smile as she met his wide-eyed expression. “Bite me...fuck me...and I’ll still love you.”

       A heartbeat later, she was lifted off the floor, weightless, and tossed onto the bed. She bounced on the mattress, sinking into the luscious pillows and blankets, before a solid weight settled over her. Grabbing her hands, Le Comte pinned them above her head, hot tongue leaving a wet trail against her neck. His hips settled between her legs, pinning her to the mattress as he teased the sensitive spot on the side of her throat with the tips of his fangs. 

       “Oh…” She writhed under him, skirt slipping up her thighs as she wrapped a leg around his waist. Her body still remembered how it felt to be bitten by him, the overwhelming pleasure, the heat. “Please…!”

       “Abel,” he whispered in her ear, making her still for a moment. “I want you calling me by my real name as I claim you.” His fangs slipped so suddenly into her neck, she barely registered the pain before pleasure claimed her unprepared body, nerve endings set alight with sudden arousal. Her vision blurred and she might’ve screamed, but she didn’t know, too focused on the way his body was pressing into her suddenly oversensitive one as her blood flowed into his mouth. It was more powerful this time, whether made so by the sudden confession between them or his increased need for her, she didn’t know and didn’t care. All she could think of was the mournful emptiness in her core and the rush of release that ruined her panties as he continued to drink from her.

       When MC came to, she was naked, bare to him in the firelight. Her heart was pounding and her inner thighs were wet, slick with her cum. Le Comte...Abel...wasn’t on top of her anymore, his hands on her calves holding her legs apart as he knelt by her feet. She gasped silently, eyes widening, when she realized he was equally bare, every inch of him more gorgeous than she could have ever imagined as the firelight danced across his skin.

       “So beautiful,” he purred, kissing up the inside of her leg from her ankle to her thigh. “You were sent here just for me, weren’t you? Sent to free me, all for me to love.” She couldn’t answer, squeezing her eyes shut and digging her fingers into the sheets as he neared the apex of her thighs. “Mmm, you smell positively delectable, mon amour.”

       She yelped, fingers flying to his hair as his fangs burrowed into the soft skin of her thigh. It was more painful in a spot so vulnerable, but the pleasure after the pain was more intense too, making her writhe in his grip as another wave of release soaked her thighs. She mewled and panted as he took greedy gulps from her, laving his tongue lovingly across the bloodied skin when he’d had his fill. Her body shuddered with the aftershocks of a second orgasm, and she whimpered, too sensitive to his touch. Such rapture shouldn’t have been humanly possible, wasn’t humanly possible.

       “You’re the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted,” Abel moaned, eyes half-lidded as he peered up at her from between her legs. His hands ran up and down her legs, bending them at the knees as he crawled closer, hot breath fanning against her wet pussy. He took her in so greedily, so hungrily, she had to resist the urge to close her legs around him, to hide away from the intensity of his gaze. Never had anyone looked at her like that before, starving for her. 

       MC gasped his name breathlessly when his tongue licked a stripe along her slit, and he groaned at the taste of her arousal. “Absolutely soaked,” he purred, licking his lips. “I don’t believe I even need to prepare you for me.” 

       She trembled as he licked her again, yelping and bucking her hips into his face when his mouth wrapped around her clit. His grip on her hips held her still as his tongue delved inside of her, chin shining with her wetness as he slurped and moaned. Though she had never admitted it, this was what she had wanted for so long, her love reciprocated to the utmost. And as much as she wanted him to continue, she was already oversensitive from the intensity of her previous two climaxes. She wouldn’t be able to take much more without it becoming painful soon and she wanted him inside of her, filling and stretching and claiming her.

       “A-Abel,” she managed to say, her vision blurred with pleasured tears. “T-Too much. Too sensitive.”

       That’s what she said, but she still nearly cried when his tongue left her, biting her lip and squeezing her eyes shut to keep herself from shoving his head back between her legs. His warmth fell over her as he moved on top of her, soft lips kissing the corners of her eyes and trailing over her cheeks. She mewled when his hardened cock brushed her throbbing core, unintentionally teasing her. Even just brushing against her, she could tell he was huge, bigger than any human male could ever be.

       “Are you okay?” he murmured softly, and she nodded.

       Opening her eyes, MC cupped his cheek, leaning up to kiss him with as much love and need as she could muster. “Please,” she whispered against his lips, “Make me yours?”

       Even though she’d already confessed so much to him tonight, Abel still looked at her with such amazement in his eyes, as if he couldn’t believe she was actually real and here with him. Placing his hand over hers, he closed his eyes, smiling into her palm. “I don’t deserve to...but it would be my honor.” He didn’t say anything more, but he didn’t need to; the weight of mutual love and adoration that filled the space between them and his overjoyed smile against her skin said enough.

       Without wasting another moment, he reached between them and gently guided himself into her, hazy, lust-focused golden eyes peering into hers as a shudder wracked their joined forms. Her nails dug into his back, core squeezing around the pulsing length burrowing inside of her.

       “Relax, mon amour,” he whispered, nuzzling the soft spot below her ear. Taking a few deep, shuddering breaths, she tried to relax the clenching in her lower stomach, gradually adjusting to the stretch. 

       “Please,” she whined, planting kisses across his chin and jaw. “Move.”

       The world she knew fell away, nonexistent. All there was was him and her and this place, wrapped up with velvet and warm firelight as her vampire made love to her.

       His thrusts into her were slow and forceful, the pleasure it brought rolling over her in spine-tingling waves. Her back arched, head thrown back to expose her neck to his hungry lips, as he held her against him. 

       “Perfect,” he moaned against her skin, his breath raising goosebumps on her flesh. “Absolutely perfect.”

       Her toes curled as he lifted her hips, changing the angle and hitting spots deep inside of her that made her see stars. Her arms laced around him, vice-like as she held onto him desperately. Each powerful stroke into her teased the edge of her climax, igniting her nerves, and the feeling of his mouth closing around the nipple of one bouncing breast made her scream.

       She writhed, helplessly grinding her hips to meet his thrusts as he sucked the hardened bud, teasing it with his fangs. His other hand pinched and rolled its twin, his thrusts turning harder as he fucked her into the mattress. He let go of her breast with a wet pop, leaving a trail of wet kisses in his wake as he moved up her chest, nipping at her collarbone for good measure.

       “Does it feel good?” he purred in her ear, honeyed voice dripping with sin. “Do you like the way it feels, my fangs in your throat and my cock in your cunt?”

       “Yes!” she cried, desperate. She wanted so badly to cum again, to reach her climax for the third time tonight. It was already so, so close. “Please - anhg! - Don’t stop!”

       He chuckled, warm breath fanning against her skin. “I don’t intend to.” His cock slammed into the sensitive spot inside of her, his hand reaching between her legs to find her clit. “Not until your body knows me and me alone.”

       She could feel the coil deep in her stomach starting to tighten, signaling her impending climax. “Haa...A-Abel! I’m - I’m close! Ah...more! Feels...ha...so good! I need more!”

       Something changed in him at her words, whatever control he had recovered after drinking her blood vanishing. Grunting, he grabbed the backs of her knees and pushed them against her chest. “Cum around my cock,” he coaxed, face alight with feral desire. The expression was unfamiliar on his gentlemanly face, but it still shot a pulse of heat straight to her core, making her squeeze around him. “Make me cum inside of you.”

       MC screamed, coating him in her release as he rammed into her, the new position sending her over the edge and into her climax. She sobbed, fluttering around his piercing cock as the blunt head pummeled her cervix, the slight pain making her orgasm all the more ravaging. 

       He groaned, thrusts turning sloppy as her core milked him, and with another few deep thrusts inside of her, he came, growling into her neck as he pulsed. She trembled at the feeling of his cum filling her, hot and thick and pooling somewhere deep inside of her as her eyes closed and her body turned weightless.

       She didn’t realize she had fallen asleep until her eyes fluttered open, finding herself tucked under the covers and cuddled against a warm, bare chest. 

       “You’re awake,” Le Comte’s voice rumbled against her cheek, and she tilted her head to peer up at him as his fingers carded soothingly through her hair. “Are you okay?”

       “Yeah.” She blushed, noting the soreness and lingering warmth between her thighs. “It was just...intense.” The corner of his lips twitched in the beginnings of a smirk, and she kept talking before he could tease her. “Do you not sleep?” she said softly, reaching to tuck her arms around him in turn. 

       “I do,” he chuckled with a raised brow, relaxing into her embrace. 

       “Then why don’t you?”

       “...I’m almost afraid to sleep,” he admitted wryly. “Maybe this...meeting you...has all been a dream and I’m still stuck in that bottle.”

       Her grip on him tightened, snuggling him closer. She hadn’t known he’d felt this way, scarred by his time trapped and alone, but of course he would. He felt and processed experiences just as she did. Leaning up, she kissed him softly, feeling his arms pull her closer. “I’m real,” she murmured, holding his gaze, those brilliant golden eyes she had originally fallen so deeply in love with. “This is real, and I love you. I still don’t know how I was able to find this place, but I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.”

       “What did I do for God to send you to me?” His breathing stuttered and he said on a shaky exhale, “I’ve done things, things that pervert the rules of nature, things that I never want to tell you. How can I possibly deserve you?”

       “Hmm, do you love me?” She smiled, her heart feeling full enough to burst from her chest.

       “Madly,” he answered, without missing a beat.

       “Then we’ll work our way up from there. Just know that I can’t remember ever being happier than I have been here with you these past months.” Leaning up for a last kiss, she felt him smile against her lips. “We’ll figure it out, okay?”

       There was still much to discuss, a whole dynamic to work out between them, but it could wait until morning. For now, they could sleep in each other’s arms, blissfully in love and ready to face the challenges that would come with each tomorrow.

       They had all the time in the world, after all.

[deathbyjoong]

ATEEZ Wedding HCs

Each member x fem!reader

Genre: Fluff, some slight suggestiveness

Note: I hope you guys like these! Let me know what you think! Shoutout to @bfyunho for being an angel and beta-ing for me 💕

Yunho

Your wedding will take place in a protected forest area on the West Coast in early October, with a large number of attendees at the ceremony and an even larger number of people at the reception

Yunho wears a classy white tux with a yellow lily nestled atop the lapel

You knew he was gonna be a giggly, blushy mess when he first saw you during the ceremony

But nothing prepares you for when you meet eyes with Yunho from the middle of the aisle

It’s like the world stops around you

Yunho is the only person in the world in that moment, with his eyes shining and his grin so wide you wonder if it hurts

He tries to play it cool when you get to the altar, but he can’t stop smiling. And you don’t want him to

He giggles in the middle of his vows and the whole audience goes aww

Listen he’s just a stupidly cute groom okay

When the officiant pronounces you husband and wife, he grabs you by the face and kisses you sweetly

You can feel his smile in the kiss, and you swear you feel the slightest bit of wetness beneath his eyes

The two of you hug as everyone claps, and Yunho parts from you with a soft kiss to your forehead

As the two of you walk back down the aisle together, he tries to cover his giddy laughter with a hand over his face but it’s so obvious that you’re the happiest two people in the world

The reception will take place on a nearby ranch, with an awesome DJ, open bar, and massive dance floor

Multicolor lights and lots of energy, with a special table up top for you and the groom to watch everyone make toasts

Yunho has an arm around your shoulders and the two of you watch fondly and laugh while people give toasts

Everyone in the wedding party will have flower crowns of yellow and white with green leaves, and you bet your ass Mingi is given an extra one so he can put it on Yunho at some point during the reception

Mingi doing a flower crown drive by and Yunho blushes but he looks so happy and handsome in his flower crown uwu

Especially because it matches your bouquet :(

When it’s time to leave, Yunho scoops you into his arms and carries you bridal-style (how else?) as everyone cheers and throws flower petals over you

You wave to everyone out of the window as Yunho drives the two of you to the airport, ready to begin the first of many adventures with his favorite girl

Mingi

Mingi has always been your summer sun, so of course it’s a summer wedding

The ceremony and reception are at a beachfront hotel, and you carry a rainbow of bright colors in your mixed bouquet

The flower that Mingi wears on his white tux is your favorite kind of the bunch, a pink dahlia that you picked out for him specially <3

It’s a beautiful scene, with ribbons hanging off of chairs, blowing softly in the wind

The soundtrack to your walk down the aisle is a simple string quartet along with crashing waves on the beach behind you

When Mingi first sees you walking toward him, he can’t help but let out a loud noise that sounds like something between a laugh and the word “wow”

He puts his hands over his mouth in embarrassment at his outburst, as the audience laughs along with you

Mingi tries to compose himself but just giggles in wonder at how he managed to land this gorgeous woman

Like he just cannot believe it

He gets emotional during the vows, and you can tell he’s a bit nervous about speaking even though he wrote these lines weeks ago and has been turning them over in his head ever since

You smile at him, hoping he can feel your love and encouragement

Mingi takes a moment to focus on you, just you

You mouth the words, I love you to him and his resolve returns

He finishes his vows with such conviction that you forget anyone is even watching--because these words are truly for you and only you

After rings are exchanged, you throw your arms around his neck and bring him to you for a kiss

It’s not one big kiss as much as many short kisses, because both of you are breathless and giggling

You practically skip down the aisle hand-in-hand, and Mingi is high-fiving everyone on the way out

The reception is a blast, with way too many people giving speeches, and more than half of those speeches centering around roasting you

But it’s all in good fun, and it’s a night full of laughter and celebration with all of your friends

You and Mingi are at the center of the main table, but you eventually get up and walk around together, greeting all of your guests and accepting gifts

Mingi keeps a hand on the small of your waist, making sure no one steps on your dress or bumps into you

This is also to keep himself calm, since he can get a little overwhelmed with all the activity and people buzzing around you both

His favorite part of the whole day is your first dance as newlyweds

He holds you close, and you whisper back and forth to each other as you sway slowly across the dance floor

He already knows this is gonna be the favorite moment of his entire life

Jongho

Jongho lets you choose almost all of the details of your venue and season, because he admittedly doesn’t understand all the fuss and he just wants you to have the perfect day

So it’s a fall sunset at a winery, because that’s been your dream setting since you were a girl

The vineyard looks stunning against the backdrop of autumn foliage, and even Jongho is impressed

In keeping with the autumnal theme, your accent color is maroon

You know Jongho thinks he looks best in red-based colors, so you gifted him a maroon silk tie to wear with his suit. The bridesmaids’ dresses and groomsmen’s ties are the same shade, and everyone looks gorgeous

You fully expected Jongho to keep a completely straight face during your walk down the aisle--the man isn’t always forward with his emotions

You were wrong, however

Jongho can’t help the adorable, gummy smile on his face when he first sees you walking to him

As you get nearer, you can just make out the faintest tinge of pink in his cheeks

He’s trying so hard not to be shy, but you’re so beautiful in your dress that he can’t help but feel like he’s seeing you for the first time

He has to look briefly at the ground to compose himself when you finally stand in front of him, shining like the sun

He doesn’t take his eyes off you a single time after that, beaming at you the whole way through through the vows

One of your family members is audibly weeping in the front row at how in love you both look

Jongho wastes no time in kissing you after you’re pronounced married, and can’t help but throw his arms around your waist and pick you up

The reception is an absolute blast, taking place that evening in a clearing that’s been set up with tables and twinkle lights

The one set of details you did leave to Jongho was the food and drinks, because his taste is, objectively, just better than yours

Jongho chose filet mignon with vegetables (much to San’s dismay) and a wine menu full of exquisite pairings (much to Seonghwa’s delight)

You cut the wedding cake together, and you can’t resist smearing some icing across Jongho’s cheek

He responds by sticking some on your nose, and everyone laughs with you

Wooyoung gives a hilarious speech that turns out to be quite sentimental and lovely, making you blush and bury your face in Jongho’s shoulder

When it’s time to make your exit, Jongho scoops you up and sings to you, all while nearly skipping to the gravel driveway, where a car is waiting for you

His laughter is music in your ears, and you feel the strongest happiness you’ve ever known--safe in his arms, knowing he’ll never drop you

Yeosang

It’s a summer afternoon when you meet your man at the altar, although the altar isn’t quite that--

The ceremony takes place in the gardens of an upscale hotel, with beautiful flowers blooming all around you. The “altar” is actually an archway decorated in red and white blooms and ivy fronds

Yeosang is wearing a classy black suit with a red tie, the same red of the roses in your bouquet and flower crown

His hair is blonde (his summer look) and slicked back. He almost looks prettier than you, truly the statuesque Kang Yeosang that his brothers always gush about

It’s not a huge ceremony, with the audience numbering no more than about eighty people--just close friends and family members deemed worthy

You’re in a simple but elegant dress, and it almost knocks the wind out of poor Sangie when he sees you at the end of the aisle

At first, his mouth just hangs open as you glide towards him, accompanied by the lilting music of a string quartet

He manages to gather his jaw off the floor and grins at you when you stand in front of him, blushing furiously

The officiant gestures for the two of you to join hands right away, and Yeosang takes yours with a small “hi”, which you return with a giggle

He gets through the vows just fine, but when you say yours, he fails to suppress a smile. He tries so hard to keep a straight face but just can’t bc he’s so giddy

When you’re pronounced Mr. and Mrs., he leans in and kisses you softly, giving your hands a gentle squeeze

He doesn’t let go of you for a single moment, even when his friends slap him on the back during your walk back down the aisle, hollering loudly and making him laugh

In the interest of keeping things lowkey, the reception is a cocktail hour (or four) in an event hall inside the hotel

The first dance is beautiful-- no complicated steps, just the two of you embracing as everyone looks on fondly

The music is curated by Yeosang himself, with Hongjoong’s help, and the drinks are flowing freely

A couple of hours pass and everyone is good and tipsy--including yourselves

It’s a good thing the event hall is spacious, because at one point, almost everybody is dancing

Sang spins you around on the dancefloor when he’s feeling brave, and you’re having so much fun that you don’t realize the time is flying

When it’s time to leave, people start whistling, and Yeosang is nearly the same color as his tie

He hides his face in your shoulder, and you cover his face with kisses

After saying your goodbyes to everyone, you whisper something to Yeosang, and he nods with a giggle

As requested, he carries you piggy-back to the car, as everyone waves you off

Seonghwa

We know Seonghwa comes from wealth, and the man is extra af, so of course the wedding is extravagant

It’s a winter wedding that takes place at a mountain resort, and pretty much everyone you or Seonghwa have ever known is in attendance

Your groom is in a black tux with an silver tie, and the bridesmaids are wearing dresses of icy blue

You do a pre-ceremony reveal in a side hall, partly because you want a moment alone amidst the madness, and partly because the two of you can’t wait to see each other

Seonghwa almost cries when he turns around and sees you in your dress and the pearls that he gave you

You giggle, fighting back tears, and walk up to him slowly

Hwa’s got one hand over his mouth, and the other pressed over his heart, and only moves them when you’re close enough to touch

He just holds your face in his hands and presses your foreheads together

You’re both smiling and laughing, even through the tears that are now falling freely

You hang onto his shoulders for as long as you can before your maid of honor tells you it’s time to get moving

The ceremony takes place in the grand atrium, with massive windows revealing the soft snowfall and forests outside

You walk down the aisle confidently and quickly, ready to just marry this man already

When the officiant announces Mr. and Mrs. Park, you don’t hesitate to put your hands on his shoulders and kiss him

Seonghwa holds your waist and the back of your head, keeping you close. It’s a sweet, passionate kiss that’s over in a matter of seconds but leaves you dizzy nonetheless

The reception takes place immediately after, in a grand hall decorated with flowers and lights everywhere

You and your husband are seated at the head table in the reception hall, which is perfect because you’re in your own little world anyway

Hwa gets really excited about feeding you pieces of the wedding cake, gently wiping icing from your lips between bites

During the toasts and speeches, he keeps kissing your hand and smiling to himself

Of course, you have to end the night on a high note--the traditional bouquet toss!

All the bridesmaids and eligible ladies are gathered at the foot of the grand staircase, giggling with excitement and pushing a little here and there to get the clearest shot

But you toss the bouquet with a little more force than you meant to, and it goes over all of them

Yeosang happens to be walking along after just having gotten himself some more food, and catches the bouquet without meaning to

He looks at the flowers in his hand, bewildered, as you and Hwa cackle above, and the ladies in the crowd look more than a little disappointed

Seonghwa never lets him live it down, giggling every time he brings it up

It’s more joy than Hwa thinks he deserves, but he’s unbelievably grateful for each moment

Wooyoung

You and Wooyoung have a spring wedding in a botanical greenhouse with a moderate number of guests in attendance

The greenhouse is massive, and filled with every kind of orchid you could imagine from floor to ceiling

It’s a cool, cloudy day out, so the greenhouse isn’t too hot. But light still spills in and illuminates all the colorful flowers

Wooyoung is waiting for you at the altar of rich green leaves and soft pink orchids (one of which has been plucked and pinned to his lapel)

He’s wearing a bowtie, one that he proudly picked himself because he thought you would like it, and a snazzy pair of shoes that he’ll be able to dance in later

When you emerge during the ceremony, the sight of you in your dress immediately brings tears to his eyes

Wooyoung wipes his eyes, but still sniffles a bit through his vows. If you weren’t so giddy, you would probably be doing the same

The officiant finishes his part and begins to announce, “I now pronounce you--”

He doesn’t get to finish, because Woo gets too excited and launches himself at you, grabbing you by the face and kissing you as everyone breaks into laughter

You throw your arms around his shoulders, kissing him back as best you can while giggling

It’s not a wedding for Wooyoung if the reception isn’t LIT

It takes place under a large outdoor hall, with an open bar, disco lights, and so, so much dancing

The first dance is the only slow dance of the night, and the two of you spend the rest of the songs swinging around wildly on the dancefloor with all your closest friends

He does a choreographed dance with the boys to an upbeat song of his choice, making sure to be extra cheesy when pointing at you and lip-syncing to you

Cutting the cake is a hot mess, but in the best way

You and your new husband nearly end up starting a food fight, but let’s be honest, what did anyone expect from Wooyoung and his girl

You get a little bit of icing on his tux, and he gets a little bit on your shoulder (which he offers to remove with his mouth if the two of you can sneak off)

You playfully smack him on the arm, but the idea is lowkey tempting

You’re mildly nervous when Yeosang gets up to make his Best Man’s speech, but Wooyoung assures you that he’s not gonna say anything too embarrassing

He does roast the two of you a little for being so loudly in love with each other, but he also makes both you and your new mother-in-law cry when he recounts the moment Wooyoung first told him he wanted to marry you

You hadn’t heard that story before, so when you glance over at Woo with tears in your eyes, he wraps you in a big hug and kisses your cheeks

You cling to him like velcro after that, which is fine, because he loves every second of it and returns the affection without a second thought

Inwardly, he hopes you’ll hold each other like this every day for the rest of your lives

San

You and San share a taste for all things modern, sexy, and sleek, so nothing makes more sense than a spring wedding on a city rooftop

Lavender is the obvious accent color choice for both of you, as purple has long been San’s favorite, and you think it suits both of you well

San is waiting at the end of the aisle for you wearing a classy grey suit, lavender tie, and the widest smile you’ve ever seen on him

The sun is setting over the city skyline, but in San’s eyes, it rises and sets on you alone

You carry a bouquet of lavender flowers, and a few are tucked into your hair

Your heart is pounding in your chest, but the sight of San, handsome and grinning, gives you the boost you need to keep moving

San says his vows without a hitch, but you get nervous while reciting yours-- there are a lot of people staring at you, and the pressure gets to you a little

When you stutter over your words, you catch yourself and look up at San, eyes wide

But he’s your rock, your mountain-- steadfast and gentle with you even when you’re not gentle with yourself

“You’re doing amazing,” he whispers to you, quiet enough that no one else can hear

His kind eyes and easy smile comfort you immeasurably, and you finished your vows with a renewed confidence

Upon hearing “You may now kiss the bride”, San wraps one arm around your waist and holds one of your hands with the other, kissing you sweetly as your guests erupt into applause

The applause turns to cheers and whistles when San whirls you around and dips you low, holding you in the kiss while he adds the extra flourish

The reception is just as perfect as the ceremony. It’s a roaring party set against the glittering backdrop of city lights, and lit throughout with twinkling lanterns

There are games, trivia, good music, and plenty of lively conversations

You and San make the rounds, making sure to greet all of your guests and thank them for attending, giving gifts, etc.

At one point you get separated, but you meet his gaze through the crowd

San is looking at you with so much love that you have to excuse yourself from your conversation with a family member and stroll over to him

Throwing your arms around him, and feeling his go around you, you kiss him once more and nuzzle your face into his neck

He holds you there for a moment, smiling to himself and basking in the moment-- trying to memorize every detail of it

It seems San isn’t just the winner of the day for having married you--he manages to kick everyone’s ass at limbo even while being a little tipsy

Afterwards, he returns to you with puppy dog eyes, and demands his prize-- “a kiss from the most beautiful woman in the world”.

You’re more than happy to give it to him, continuing the kiss even as someone whoops

You smile against his lips knowing that, despite what San may think, the luckiest person in the world is actually you

Hongjoong

You’ve always wanted marry the love of your life in an art museum

Hongjoong’s appreciation and love of art runs deep, so he agrees right away

You book the venue for springtime, when it’s bright and golden and still a little bit cool outside--your favorite time of year

Joong is in a neat, grey suit with a patterned bow tie that you picked out-- it’s mostly green, but with a quirky pattern that he loves

He gave you something as well-- before you even picked out your dress, Hongjoong made you promise not to buy wedding shoes

You were confused, but trusted him

Two weeks before the wedding, he hands you a box. In it, are a pair of designer shoes that he drew on and painted, customizing them just for you

They’re beautiful--not too plain but not too much either, and you cry when you first open them. Hongjoong blushes, pleased that you love them so much

The ceremony is in the Grand Gallery, with a glass ceiling and high walls covered in priceless masterpieces

You glide down the aisle with confidence and ease--seeing Joong at the end of it makes you feel like you’re walking on air

He whispers, “You look beautiful” when you reach him, and you reply, “You too.”

You’re wearing the shoes that he reformed for you, and they peek out from the hem of your dress

He gets misty-eyed during his vows, pausing for a second to breathe because he’s so overwhelmed with love. You respond by reaching up and brushing his cheek

He smiles at you, pure and sweet, and continues. The vows are beautifully written, eloquent, and poignant

But then again, you already knew everything he touches turns to gold

You make him cry again when you read your vows, and you get emotional a bit yourself as well

His hands are shaking when he puts the ring on your finger because he’s so excited-- you’ve both looked forward to this day for so long, and you can’t believe it’s happening

You hear a loud sniffle and look over at the audience to see Seonghwa and San holding each other and weeping in the audience

You can only giggle for a second before you’re announced as husband and wife

It’s a sweet and simple kiss, just the two of you holding each other close

Joong has his hands on your cheeks, and yours are on his shoulders

He nuzzles your nose after the kiss, just an affectionate brush accompanied by the smile that you love more than anything

Your first dance is to an orchestral version of “Twilight”, which he helped to rearrange

You rest your head on Hongjoong’s shoulder, and just watch his face as the two of you sway to the lilting music

His eyes are closed, and he looks completely at peace. The corners of his mouth are turned up slightly, and his hand is splayed across your back, holding you close

You press a kiss to his neck, and he does the same to your forehead

It’s heaven on earth, and you pray to anyone who’s listening that it lasts forever

[subwalls]

Tales from the SMP Presents: The Pit

Another Tales, another Kingdom Hearts comparison post! “The Other Side” is a mix between the soundtrack The Other Promise and the cinematic “Another Side, Another Story” (both of which come from Kingdom Hearts, of course), which evokes a very specific KH character that... yeah. So let’s get into it.

Karl gets stabbed by the king’s new general and finds himself back in the Inbetween. A cool new logo pops up as we enter the Inbetween, which actually is a... very typical example of a Kingdom Hearts world logo / intro card / name card? I honestly don’t know what it’s called, it doesn’t have a name, it’s just a thing that happens every time the character enters a new world.

Castle Oblivion is just one (1) example, but if you just look up “Kingdom Hearts worlds” and scroll a bit, you’ll see what I’m talking about, haha. This doesn’t really change anything, it’s just another little wink and nod to the Kingdom Hearts series.

... Except, of course, the fact that there’s a title placard for this world implies the existence of other worlds. Which we eventually find out is, in fact, true. Fun! There’s a number of associations I could make based off the aesthetic of the logo (the castle reminds me of Radiant Garden, etc) but honestly they’re not worth much without more information.

So, the Inbetween is vividly aware of Karl’s straying from “the path”. It makes a huge attempt to still be pleasant and “nice” and whatever, but we can tell quite obviously that there’s an undercurrent of threat under all those pretty quartz blocks and smiles :]

Speaking of the :] smile, the reveal of Quackity’s previous lore stream actually doesn’t push me to think that it’s directly related to him in any way. It’s not impossible that c!Quackity achieved such heights as... becoming? The Inbetween? Because he’s got reason to be invested in Karl’s powers and keeping him in line. But it’s a reach or long-term thing at best, honestly, so I’m shelving the Quackity-smile association until further evidence appears.

(I could go bonkers and say that this is the culmination of c!Quackity’s ascension after ripping Information out of Dream or even XD, but that’s well into AU territory, so it’s all just shrug emojis for now.)

Which, of course, leads to the question of who that smile actually is associated with, and I think as clear an answer as we’re going to get is... The Inbetween itself. Clearly.

There’s a lot of meaning I could take from that; is it associated with Dream or XD then? Or maybe is it tapping into Karl’s memories of c!Dream doing the :) thing and it’s appropriating that for itself? Why? To intimidate Karl into obeying it?

Mayhaps. Mayhaps!

Anyway, Karl goes up to the tree, and as he approaches, the video feed distorts as the game abruptly switches to a higher-level shader like BSL or something.

Now, I haven’t confirmed it, but the way the audio shifts makes me think it suddenly started playing backwards, too. It’s just the way it sounds; it’s got that... sucking effect that’s pretty typical of musical tracks played backwards.

Karl swims down to the hidden room, which is very dark now. There is a book that tells him to go up the ladder for a surprise.

Also, by the way, I’m back on my wither rose pot association brainrot, because I can’t help but notice that there isn’t one here. There was one in the previous Inbetween segment, but it’s gone now. Now there’s a new book with the :] smiley, which of course should set the audience on edge, since we just saw the first book use it in a... mildly threatening manner.

We know that in Dream SMP it’s a pretty common thing to use redstone as blood. Other characters have used it in bits, some more seriously than others, and I think that’s what this room is trying to emulate.

If I had to guess, I’d... hm.

A part of me wants to say that the blood is probably from the different versions of Karl wandering around. Nobody’s going to notice if a few abruptly take a swerve to bleed themselves out in a room or something, right? But that carries a lot of implications, namely that of control so perfect it borders on possession. So either the Inbetween can control Karls, or it has some other agent capable of dragging something into this chamber to bleed it all over the room.

Neither of those options are particularly nice, I’ll admit!

There’s no Kingdom Hearts associations here, by the way. Due to being so closely tied with Disney, KH is deathly allergic to portraying blood in any way lmao. Not so many messages carved into the walls.

Or painted onto the walls with blood, if that’s what that is. Color correction gets a bit odd with shaders, so I’m not saying anything for certain; the closed books don’t look enchantment-purple, for example.

What does catch my eye are the torches, which will later be the flickering lights that guide Karl to the portal. The fact that they are here makes me think that this was definitely the scene of either a battle or some other conflict between the two sides to this story (haha, get it, Another Side, Another Story, because that’s a Thing in KH—), or at least proves that an influence from The Other Side was here at some point in time.

Karl quickly gets the fuck out of there, and when he swims back to the surface the shaders/music switch back to normal.

Oh, and for all you people who like to point fingers at anything vaguely false and scream “that’s gAsLiGhTiNg!!!1!!111″ about it, here’s an actual attempt at gaslighting. Note the language used here: “Your mind seems to be playing tricks on you :]”. It’s explicitly trying to convince him not to trust his own senses and mind. It’s saying, let me think for you. And that is a very dangerous thing.

Wither rose pot exists again, yay. Definitely a Inbetween voice, this book.

More wither rose book, this time in the, uh, grand entrance hall? The lobby? Yeah.

This book basically goes on a spiel about how the Inbetween is so great for Karl (a declaration, by the way, rather than a hope) and says that he is doubting himself or being less like himself, which is odd, because what he’s really doing is doubting the Inbetween and the path it has laid out for him. In a way, by questioning the Inbetween, Karl is being truer to himself than anything else.

The malicious way this place frames its words becomes more and more obvious with each passing page; it again reminds him that it’s a place to be “feel at ease”, which is super sketch that it has to tell him outright rather than actually being that place. It continues attempting to gaslight him, telling him that his imagination is getting away from him and that he can’t trust himself or anything else but this “path”.

I’ll get back to the “path” thing in a minute, but I really want to drive home that this is the truest instance of gaslighting we’ve ever had on the Dream SMP. Nothing has ever so clearly declared that it must be trusted over the victim’s own senses, practically infantilizing the victim’s concerns and trying to make them think that their worries are just flights of fancy. Please, please keep this in mind any time you want to accuse a character of gaslighting in the future; not all psychological abuse is a form of gaslighting. Sometimes it’s just... abuse. It’s not any more or less worse than gaslighting, it’s just different.

Anyway, about the “path” that the Inbetween is so obsessed with. No idea what the fuck that’s talking about.

In Kingdom Hearts, the only paths that are really of import are is a specific character’s “road to dawn” (redemption without fully yielding his edginess, essentially) or the “paths” that characters take to traverse between different worlds. I really don’t think the Inbetween has anything to do with either of them, but I’ll leave the options there if you want to peruse the possibilities.

What’s more likely, I think, is that this is a vaguely more subtle version of control/possession. The “path” is just “whatever the Inbetween wants you to do”.

Our next book is from the other side, and is plastered nonchalantly but boldly against the wall with no flower pot or anything.

Karl picks it up, puts it in his inventory (which probably indicates that he’s keeping this particular route close to his heart, rather than whatever the Inbetween is trying to make him do), and then the video stutters and he teleports back to the main entrance.

There’s a new book. It’s spooky as fuck, and hilariously hypocritical.

The tone shift is immediate, of course, aided by the abrupt change in background music since he got teleported back here. (I can’t quite nail it down; I assume it’s a slowed KH track like the others, but it doesn’t quite ring any bells for me.) The way the Inbetween speaks through these books has changed too, though; it addresses him by name without any attempt to cover up its intentions with flowery softness.

It does a cool fun thing where it says that it knows more than Karl, and knows what’s right, and then goes on to say that those visions shouldn’t dictate his opinion on the inbetween. (I’m keeping an eye on that lowercase, by the way. Not sure if it’s a typo or intentional, since it’s still one word, but.) As though he should trust the Inbetween’s opinions of itself rather than his own brain? A’ight. Sure, Jan.

Again it tries to tell him that it’s safe here. The lying is getting more transparent now.

He puts this book back, the previous book back, and runs after a double of himself until the shaders and music glitch again.

Fun thing about shaders is that they make dark areas... much, much darker. Especially since we saw that Karl’s got night vision (the effect, for cinematic purposes) on.

The music has a few notes that again sound as though they’re being played backwards.

The book on the tree in this courtyard does not come with its own little wither rose pot, and neither does it seem to come from the Inbetween, since it’s telling him some awful things about these other versions of himself.

It confirms a few things about the mystery other selves, namely that they’re definitely condemned to walk the castle forever, but it doesn’t really tell us why this happens or why the Inbetween (probably) wants this to happen. What’s the end goal?

We’re probably a bit early in the story to figure that out, but they’re questions worth keeping in mind as this storyline progresses.

Karl gets teleported back to the main lobby, which looks very dark and spooky, though in the transition we do see a glimpse of that portal. There are torches around the wither pot book pedestal, and the audio really kicks into high gear with the creepy notes and the visuals get stretched and glitch quite a bit as he opens the book.

Funnily enough, the audio kind of reminded me of some pokemon encounter music, but I think that’s just because I’ve got those notes wired into my brain from years of playing those games. Anyway! The book tells him this is not a warning, and that they’re gonna fucking come for him to make sure he sticks with their path.

“We”.

Who is “we”? Is the Inbetween a collective? Is the Inbetween just part of a different whole? Maybe it counts all the different Karls as a part of it.

Either way, it’s creepy and threatening. Karl starts running; the screen glitches and tells him to follow the torches, which at first I was kind of leery about trusting, but the next series of words helped clear up exactly what side those words are on.

Also, you’ll notice that some other text kinda skitters across the screen before the English, like it’s getting translated. I think it’s Galactic, which is something different from the thing that Ranboo uses for Ender? I think Ranboo uses the Alien language thing or something? I’m not 100% sure on that, feel free to correct me and I’ll fix this portion.

It certainly implies that the speaker isn’t communicating in the server equivalent of “common”, however. Not sure if they’re translating into English or if Karl inherently understands it and it’s translated into English for the audience’s convenience, but either way, the other speaker might be linked to something completely different.

Karl runs on with encouragement and creepy music until he finally arrives at the portal, which is not barred off like it was last time. Thanks, whoever’s responsible for that!

The music dies for this final book.

The Inbetween’s last-ditch attempt to make him stay. It calls him silly a couple of times, and smiles at the end with a :]

Problem is, we and Karl already know that staying with the Inbetween will keep him from his friends. And the voice tells him to leave for his friends.

Karl looks around at this place that calls itself his sanctuary, and makes his decision.

He arrives at The Other Side.

The music appears to be drawn from parts of either The Other Promise or Roxas’ Theme, both of which are heavily tied to the character known as Roxas. The version that Karl uses is slower and lower, the same as with the Dearly Beloved track he uses for his Inbetween segments.

Honestly, I’m not as certain on this as I could be, because I couldn’t find the exact variation on Youtube and there are parts that could just be Emotional rather than Roxas-related, I’m not sure. I’ll probably come back and fix this if it’s untrue.

EDIT: Yeah, uh, it’s Ven’s theme, not Roxas’, but the world itself is still heavily associated with Roxas in naming themes.

For now, I’m going off the assumption that the decision to make both the name and the theme of this world relevant to Roxas is purposeful, which means I’m... going to attempt to explain who Roxas is and what his story is.

Oh boy.

To grossly oversimplify the situation, Roxas is a “part” of Sora who develops his own sense of identity, is betrayed, gets coerced into murdering his best friend, gets kidnapped, gets memory wiped, and then—when he gets his memory back and realizes he super hates his captors—is convinced by those same captors to give up his existence because he “isn’t a real person” and if he lives then Sora will never wake up. So he “dies” and becomes a part of Sora again until later.

(Sora, by the way, is asleep due to the events in Castle Oblivion, which you might recognize as That Place I Keep Associating The Inbetween With.)

He’s also a fan favorite lmao. Take from that as you will, and, I don’t know, flip through his wiki page or something. Can’t guarantee it’s all understandable though.

My point to bringing Roxas up is that his arc... kind of parallels Karl’s. He did his job working for superiors he didn’t really understand in a white castle, with the higher-ups trying to control him, until he realized he was losing his friend/s to them. At that point, he defects. I think this is the point that Karl has reached, in his own storyline. He’s pulled away from the thing that’s made itself known to him, and now he’s wandering down something that hopefully isn’t as awful as the beast he’s just left behind.

Roxas also doesn’t get his happy ending for a long, long time.

Let’s hope Karl is different.

Off the top of my head, I can tell you that the mood this world creates is very reminiscent of some areas that the Kingdom Hearts games explore in 0.2 (yes, zero point two, that is the number of that game. This fucking series, man), specifically Castle Town, in which the player character has to smack a bunch of clock gears to make time go backwards in order to proceed, which is fun. But no exact inspirations come to mind the same way that Castle Oblivion did for the Inbetween.

Until we get a better look at the interiors, I’m going to gently claim that this build is more original and doesn’t take inspiration quite as directly from a Kingdom Hearts source, so there might not be an exact parallel. There isn’t a black castle in Kingdom Hearts that I can think of, honestly.

Also, I will say that I’m going to take this episode as confirmation that the wither roses are associated with the Inbetween and appear next to books that come from / are related to the Inbetween, especially since The Other Side associates itself with a completely different flower: the white tulip.

Anyway, The Other Side tells him he’s home, and that they’ll explore more soon.

This... eerily parallels the Inbetween, which told him that he’s safe, and has lots to explore.

I can’t say that I immediately trust The Other Side, but neither can I say that I inherently distrusted it the same way I did with the Inbetween. We’re going to have to wait and see how this place behaves in future episodes to get a good grasp of it. Who built these places? Are they alive, and writing the books, or is there a mastermind behind them? We still don’t have a lot of the answers, but that’s okay.

For now, I’m content to know that Karl is away from the more obvious perils of the Inbetween.

It could still be a trap, but for now, it’s a refuge.

[pkg4mumtown]

Consign Me Not to Darkness (Ch. 1)

Summary: Being trained by the maverick Jedi meant you had a looser view of the code than most Padawans did, but how well would that serve you when no Jedi were taught how to love?

Pairing: Qui-Gon/Reader (Gender Neutral)

Rating: M (to be safe)

Warnings: Age Gap, Angst, Fluff, Gender Neutral Reader

A/N: First Qui-Gon centered fic! It’s finally here and I hope you all enjoy. Thank you, Nura, for the request <3.

For some context, Reader is Qui-Gon’s Padawan before Obi-Wan, so Qui-Gon is about 45 in this chapter. Reader can be any 18+ age you want, just know that they’re still his Padawan, should you imagine them older.

Chapter 1

Qui-Gon's eyes fluttered open just before the sun fully rose, giving just enough light to illuminate the side of your face not pressed into his chest. He knew well that you wouldn’t wake until he forced you up, a bad habit you had yet to break but he knew that would right itself when you were on your own. You had already started rising earlier than you did as a teenager, especially now that Qui-Gon usually jostled you enough to wake you on accident as he prepared for the day.

While you slept blissfully, his eyes wandered over your face, the youthfulness replaced long ago with something more mature, but nowhere near as weathered as himself. The stark contrast plagued him daily, but he couldn’t help himself especially when he saw the way your face lit up at his presence. Of course, his doubtful self continued to tell him it was because he’d practically raised you and you admired him, at least in his eyes. He brushed his thumb over your cheek as your face nuzzled closer into the graying hair that tangled on his chest. He sighed softly and brushed his hair out of the way so he could see you better, not wanting to see the speckles of gray starting to come through, contrasting your own hair so full of life.

Qui-Gon flicked his eyes away from you and grumbled softly, focusing where your hand laid over his heart. He traced over your fingers, so calloused and strong at such a young age, but indicative of a life of training. He felt his jaw clenching as the emotions he buried deep down— away from you—began to surface, always when he let himself get too far into his head.

You’re so selfish.

Qui-Gon growled at himself and dropped his head back into the pillow, letting himself stare off into nothingness. He startled when he felt something brush his chin, before realizing it was your fingers threading through his beard.

“Your mind is being very loud, Qui,” you mumbled grumpily. Not that you could decipher anything, but his force being so active was enough to bring you into semi-consciousness.

“Sorry, dear one,” he closed his eyes and willed himself to calm the storm in his mind.

“Shall we go meditate in the gardens today? The council hasn’t called yet,” you offered, noticing a distinct lack of beeping from both of your comms.

“You know me too well,” Qui turned and gave you a half smirk, one you couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to.

“It doesn’t take knowing you well to know that’s your favorite place, love,” you shake your head and kiss him once more. “I think all of Coruscant knows.”

“You insolent—” he cut himself off with a low, playful growl and kissed you hard, despite his better judgement.

Your hands tangled in his locks, free of his usual hair tie, pulling him impossibly closer. He shifted onto his side so he could leverage his weight over you and take back control. You licked into his mouth, pulling a groan from his throat. Both of you froze, however, when you felt Qui's hips shift against you and his hard cock press against your stomach.

This was something off limits as soon as this affair had begun. Qui-Gon set the parameters for both of your safety. One, to eliminate the dynamic of him having a superior role over you while you were his apprentice. And two, to eliminate the risk of you both being distracted, or worse, caught. He’d wanted you to finish your apprenticeship before anything progressed further and you wholeheartedly agreed. Not that that prevented you both from getting carried away like this once in a while.

Qui-Gon took a deep breath and dropped a final kiss to your lips, “Meditation…”

“Agreed.”

After a quick morning tea and snack grab in the mess hall, you were both on your way to the gardens to escape into the living force for a while. You felt Qui-Gon settle almost immediately as you entered, his mind no longer swimming with thoughts like earlier. Having him as a Master meant you were used to obscenely long meditations here, though you never lasted as long as he could, despite your efforts. His connection to the living force was just that much stronger here and you swore he’d spent all of two days here once, before you dragged him out.

You both settled in his favorite place, a small clearing surrounded by plants on almost all sides except for the entrance, and even then, the entrance was quite small.

Only a few hours had passed, not nearly as long as Qui-Gon would have liked, before your name was being shouted from the garden entrance.

“I knew you’d be in here! Are we sparring or what?” another Padawan around your age shouted, peeking through the plants until he could see you clearly.

Your eyes flew open in excitement, turning to see your friend Byrn waving you over. You completely missed the way Qui’s eyebrow twitched at the other masculine voice.

“Can I go, Master?” You asked excitedly.

Qui-Gon sighed loudly, obviously not happy with being brought out of meditation or with the idea of you spending time with Byrn, “Fine,” he uttered, not bothering to open his eyes.

“You should come, Master Jinn, you’re going to need to see what your Padawan still needs to work on,” Byrn called out in a feeble attempt at trash talking.

You could sense Qui-Gon's growing annoyance through your bond, slightly deeper than a training bond but no more than that. Qui-Gon was adamant about that, too, until your apprenticeship was over.

You made haste and stood, bowing to him in respect, “I’ll see you after?”

Qui-Gon hummed back, seemingly slipping back into meditation. You felt a pang at his lack of a proper response but brushed it off as him wanting to relax today. It wasn’t until you left the gardens that he let his eyes open and his shoulders sag.

Why am I acting like this? He chastised himself.

Qui-Gon wrestled with himself on going to watch, knowing he’d just be glaring the whole time, but he knew you wanted him to watch you and be proud of you. Relenting, he stood and righted his robes before following your force signature to the training salles. As he neared, the hum of training sabers had already begun.

You felt Qui’s nearing presence before you saw him out of the corner of your eye, but pushed it away to focus on knocking Bryn down a peg or two. You recognized his stance immediately as Ataru, and having a Master who favored it, you smiled instantly. You knew how to counter it with practiced ease, now, especially since Byrn was nowhere near as precise and measured as Qui-Gon. The only thing he had a upper hand on over your master was the stamina to keep up the aggressive hits for a little longer.

Byrn had locked his saber with yours near the end, a clear sign that he was tiring out from the acrobatics, Qui-Gon no doubt counting all the mistakes Byrn was making. Still, your arms shook with the force to keep his saber at bay, not even paying attention to the way his legs were fitting in between yours or his flirtatious smirk. You were determined to win for Qui, and that was all you had on your mind.

Qui-Gon, on the other hand, couldn’t stop the bubbling jealousy as he watched Byrn tease you. You might have been oblivious to it all or actually enjoying it, he didn’t know, but he needed to leave to calm himself before he caused a scene. Or worse, before someone else sensed his feelings through the force.

You were able to shove Byrn back and stagger him long enough to parry his saber from his hand. You caught it before he could and held both sabers in an “X” aimed at his neck, a clear win. You both relaxed, your first instinct being to look over for Qui-Gon’s proud smirk, but with your focus back on your surroundings you realized you couldn’t feel him anymore.

Your shoulders sagged, he was here, you swore it. Did he not have faith that you’d be able to win in his presence?

With a passing, monotonous farewell to the other Padawans, you took off in the direction of your shared room. Qui-Gon rarely ever blocked his presence from you or closed off the bond, so this made you anxious. You stepped into your rooms, calling out to him but received no response.

So where was he?

You searched, hitting all of his known hiding spots for most of the afternoon and well into the evening. You didn’t have a comm from him, no note, just a distinct lack of presence. Maybe he had a meeting that you weren’t aware of? Surely, he would have mentioned it…

You couldn’t stay up all night and wait for him, you knew him well enough to know that he wouldn’t be pleased if you did that. You curled up on his bed that night, the bed you shared with him for a little over a year, too exhausted to wake when he arrived well after midnight. Too exhausted to wake as he packed a small bag and left with only a longing glance in your direction.

Thanks for reading!!

Chapter 2

[dopescotlandwarrior]

Sinners & Saints-Chapter 14

               A special thanks to @statell​ for all your help

Previous chapters at AO3

Chapter Fourteen

The tender ride to the island had Claire’s last nerve in shreds. She was very afraid of having her chip taken out today, even though Jamie already tested the safety of the procedure the day before. The four of them split up at the front of the clinic, Darius and Maia would hang out at the back door of the facility just in case the good doctor made a run for it.

Jamie held Claire’s hand and scowled at the nurse during check-in. The doctor saw them and abruptly turned around but was soon escorted back by Darius. The nurse was decidedly unfriendly today which added another layer of stress to the procedure. Jamie just wanted it over with and pulled Claire to the treatment room when they were called.

The doctor thankfully started with a shot of Valium that put Claire out completely. It was a little unnerving. Claire was not a rambunctious mover when she wasn’t sedated, but this complete stop even unnerved the doctor, so he put a monitor on her heart. Jamie held a glass jar out for the doctor to drop the bloody implant into before closing the incision. He knew women had a thing about their upper arms looking nice, so he watched every stitch closely.

Jamie handed the doctor ten one-hundred-dollar bills and they left as soon as Jamie could wake her up. Claire smiled continuously and said hello to everyone they passed. She stopped to pet a lady’s purse and asked what its name was. Jamie was struggling to keep her walking in a straight line and if he stopped she would go off in another direction, so it took multiple attempts to call Darius.

Once Claire was in the tender, he searched for Darius and Maia, hoping they would hurry. The inebriated Sassenach needed to be locked in her room until the Valium wore off. Everything almost went south getting her onto the aft deck when she fell backward. Jamie was able to catch her before she slipped into the ocean. He was so rattled, he put Claire to bed and watched her from a nearby chair. Maia came in with a tray of food and agreed to sit with her so Jamie could get his sketch pad. He was intrigued by the locals, the tone of their skin, their gestures, and facial expressions. While Claire slept, Jamie roughed in the scene he wanted to paint and the remainder of the day was uneventful.

Jamie had given up hope that Claire would wake up that day. He wanted to talk about Danny and the extraordinary things she said and knew about his paintings, even those not done yet. It would have to wait until tomorrow he decided and slid his sketchbook into his bed table.

Claire’s eyeballs peeked out from under their lids at first light. She could hear the rhythmic breathing of her husband next to her, so she knew it was very early and after almost twenty-four hours of sleeping, she needed to get up. Adso had other ideas and did nothing but purr when she stroked him.

Sipping delicious coffee on the foredeck, the sun energized her to feel more alive by the minute. There was movement on Danny’s yacht and she watched the peculiar crewman standing on the foredeck holding a flat of flowers like a statue. How odd, she thought, until she saw Danny’s head pop up and take a handful of young Petunias before dropping out of sight again. She forced herself to stop looking and jumped at the vibrating cell phone next to her. Javier was the only person who called so she picked it up and said his name.

“Javier!”

“No darling, it’s Danny, do you remember giving me this number? If not, I’m sorry to intrude. How are you on this beautiful morning?”

“I feel amazing today, and you?”

“Very well indeed, but I could use a hand with these young plants if you have a moment.” She chuckled, “I apologize for being unacceptably straight forward, dear, please forgive me.”

“No, no, I would love to help, plant flowers? On your boat? I love gardening but never considered doing on a boat. Yes! I would love to help you, Danny. I see your tender is out, can someone come and get me in ten minutes?”

Claire left a note for Jamie and got into the tender waiting for her at the aft deck. She was excited to see Danny again and planting small flowers, however weird that was on a boat, was the perfect activity for her energized morning.

Danny smiled brightly when Claire walked onto her deck, removing her gloves to shake her hand warmly. The tender engines screamed away until it was clear of the yacht, then the crewman pulled the steering wheel harshly for a nautical-donut that launched the young man sideways, splashing down about twenty-feet from the tender.

“Oh my God!”

Danny held her arm before she could jump overboard and rescue the man. “Don’t worry about the cub my dear, he has a racer’s heart and can’t help himself. I had the tender engine modified so when someone let’s go of the throttle it stops moving. He’s fine,” she giggled. “Let me show you our chore for this morning.”

Claire followed Danny along the side deck to the other end of the enormous yacht and stepped down to the foredeck. She watched her step descending the six steps and noticed greenery around her feet and heard the most amazing music. Once on the deck, she looked around at the beautiful garden Danny had created. There were large trees, many bushes, vines, trellis clinging roses, a proper rose garden, and planters overflowing with pansies in every color that lent their sweet smell to the air.

“This is amazing, Danny! It is the last thing I would expect on a boat. It is beautiful but what happens during a storm?”

“If we can’t outrun it the planters are wheeled into a garage beyond that door. You just lift a bit on the end of the planter and the wheels pop out.”

“Oh! That is so clever! Well, I’m ready, where do I start planting?”

Danny showed her an empty planter and they discussed what levels and colors should be included then Claire got to work. When Danny came to check on her a bit later, the planter was done. She and Danny took turns watering the expansive deck full of flowers and talked as they worked.

“Have you always loved to sale or yacht?”

“No, I bought this yacht to get away from my son who wants to put me in a home. Turns out I really like the freedom, the people, and my crew.” She regarded Claire for several minutes and finally spoke to her about the joys of being nosy.

“My dear, I was raised strictly, trained in social graces at the best boarding schools, I was a debutante, and my family is at the top of the social food chain so to speak. I caught a fever in my early thirties that killed my husband and put me into a coma for a month. I had a lot of time to think before I woke up and I was a changed woman from then on. The first change was I spoke my truth, whatever that was. Let me demonstrate.”

Claire was delighted with her perky and fun attitude and listened closely.

“You, my dear, might spend the entire time asking socially acceptable questions and never get an answer to the question that burns in your mind. Give it a try, what do you want to ask me?

Claire watched Danny encourage her to speak up and she finally blurted out “how can you afford this boat and live-in crew? Oh God, it’s none of my business Danny, please forgive me!”

Danny stood straight and held her head high, “nonsense! When I tell you the answer, we will be friends and I want to be your friend so come inside, out of the sun for some refreshment while I explain.”

Claire pulled off her deck shoes and looked up as a glass wall opened to the formal saloon. She was struck dumb as her eyes took in the exquisite furniture and art in the massive room. There was a double grand staircase that went up to the second floor of living space and the boat seemed to go on for a mile. She was barely aware of Danny talking to her until she felt her hand slip through her elbow, leading her through the saloon.

“I can see that you like my floating home, and now there are two burning questions, are there not?”

“What…what does the rest look like?”

Danny chuckled and led Claire on a tour of luxury and abundance she didn’t know existed. The artwork was exceptional and they chatted about several of the artists. The formal dining room could serve twenty-four people comfortably with another dining room for everyday use. The floor to ceiling windows provided a stunning view with glass doors spaced to provide fresh air and an exit to the side deck. Beyond the double staircase were Danny’s expansive office, sitting room, private atrium, and bathrooms as big as Claire’s bedroom. All the flooring was Italian marble that also lined the walls of the shower, which you could fit a basketball team in.

“I don’t stay in these rooms, too big. I live in one of the staterooms and it’s just right for me.”

“What? Why? My God Danny, this is so beautiful it’s making me emotional.”

Danny showed Claire the private deck with a hot tub, full bar, outdoor shower, and lounges big enough for two. They continued the tour to the upper decks, four of them, a large movie theater, an upper saloon that was a bit more casual with flatscreen televisions that appeared when a button was pushed, a bar that looked fully stocked, and a foredeck with formal dining. Another level was dedicated to a full-sized gym with all the equipment, free weights, benches, a huge screen for watching aerobic videos, two saunas, a huge hot jacuzzi, and a running track that circled the enormous room.

They stepped into an elevator made of glass and went down to the lower deck with a large swimming pool and waterfall. The glass wall in front of the pool opened completely to the aft deck that was set up like a beach party with two bars, outside showers, lounges, and a closet full of towels. Danny pulled Claire’s hand and they were somehow back on the main deck walking through the expansive galley that included four of every major appliance needed for entertaining, four commercial refrigerators, freezers, and dishwashers, a two-hundred bottle wine cellar, and huge tables for food preparation.

Claire was in luxury overload and felt sad she would forget half of what she had seen.

“I wonder if you would accompany me for lunch and the second question you asked?”

Claire was delighted to spend more time with a woman she was really starting to like. Danny led her out to yet another private deck off the galley that was smaller and more intimate with a small table for two already made up for lunch. She picked up the phone and spoke to someone about a sore ankle, asking questions that made Claire feel she was really concerned about the person on the other end. Then she ordered avocado toast and tuna stuffed tomatoes with several side dishes and iced tea. Claire was overwhelmed by the experience and the calming water around the deck, about thirty feet down she guessed. When the food came, a muscular young man brought the plates stacked carefully up and down his forearms which were transferred to the table with no apparent effort. He limped away.

“You are very quiet dear Claire. Oh, you’re starving, poor thing, I don’t imagine you had much to eat yesterday.”

Claire’s head jerked up to look at Danny, smiling at her cheeks stuffed with food. How would she know about no eating as she slept yesterday away?

“Well, you eat while I tell you who I am and maybe what I hope to be to you sweet girl.”

“My birth name is Sepora Cornelius Meyer. My grandfather immigrated to America from Poland and worked in a small grocery until he learned to speak English. He purchased the store eventually, but I digress. Everything my grandfather touched turned to gold and he reinvested every dime he made in oil, real estate, and steel. The short version is he became rich and celebrated before he died, leaving a son to take his place, my father.”

The young muscular man came out with plates of cheese and fresh vegetables that were bite-sized. While Claire crunched on carrots she looked to Danny with anticipation.

“Things were different then. The household adopted the opinions of the father and never questioned. They had more money than could ever be spent but an idle life was not allowed, so my father worked, starting at the bottom, learning the business of steel, oil, and real estate. He was quite a man, my hero, never to be replaced.”

Claire waited and crunched celery while Danny took several tiny bites of her avocado toast.

“Before my brother died, poor Alfred, my life was positively glorious! Boarding school in France and Sweden, summers in various countries with my friends, and beautiful parties during the social season where we could be in the same room with boys our age. It was such fun. When we buried Alfred, all that changed. No more school, no more summers away, and parties became a new kind of classroom where I would learn from watching the men. I didn’t like it one bit so I stuck my nose in the air through the first season and won myself a stiff neck and a cross father, more determined to ruin my life.”

“What took the place of school?”

“I spent dreadfully long hours reading communications from my father to other companies, banks, businessmen, and political people. When the steelworkers refused to let me take an active role on the production floor my father set up a small desk and chair and that is where I read stacks of documents. When I could finally wash at the end of the day, I pretended I couldn’t hear my mother saying I was now deaf from the ungodly noise of the production floor. She smiled and told me to set the table when my hearing came back or none of us would eat. I recovered quickly.”

“Did it ever get more tolerable for you?”

“Father planted fake letters, several of them during my second year leaning the business. Brazen mistakes in accounting, materials, even which political party he supported. I missed them all because I was daydreaming of lovely parties or who I would marry. Father became distant and terribly unhappy and one night I heard him talking to mother about his shame over not having a qualified heir to lead the business. He was so sad and it broke my heart hearing his defeated voice. It took about a minute to realize I was an utter failure to the most important man in my life.”

“Oh, Danny, how could you know how important it was for you to learn?”

“He and mother both told me and I didn’t listen, until that night. After that, he would hand me a stack of documents and I ran back to his office for more, asking questions about certain decisions and correcting the math where I found mistakes. It took several days to convince him, but soon I was waiting for him to come down the stairs for our walk to the office and I pumped him with questions along the way. It seemed like he grew three inches but it was the weight of defeat getting off of his back, allowing him to stand straight and proud, beaming his smile to the world. I was never so happy, or relieved, to know I wasn’t a failure in his eyes. And that’s all there is.”

“What? How old were you when you took over? Did your family keep all three businesses? How did you survive the depression? What was it like to be the leader of that kind of fortune? What …”

Danny smiled at Claire and her eyes twinkled. “I would love to tell you more after we discuss my coma.”

“What?”

“I had become my father when I fell ill. My loving husband had succumbed to the illness and I didn’t know it for over a month as I was deep inside myself. I could see how I distanced myself from real life to free my mind for running the business and such. When I woke up I had a new burden to suffer because I could see things in people. Their happiness, sorrow, who they loved, and who they were deceiving. It was like living in a nightmare that never ended. Young people from the best families would shake my hand and I would see their hands around someone’s throat, choking the life out of them. It felt like I had gone insane, especially when my mother had me committed and took over the raising of my son.”

“Good God.”

“You are feeling my pain at the moment because you are an empath, dear Claire, and those that confide in you feel they are truly understood for the first time. It is a rare quality.”

“I think everyone feels the way I do.”

“Wouldn’t that be lovely?”

Claire heard a loud whistle and looked across the water finding Jamie and Darius standing in the tender holding spears up with two large fish impaled. She smiled and clapped a bit in the air, suddenly wanting to wrap herself around her husband.

“Thank you for spending time with me today, Claire. I hope to see you again, but it is time for me to rest. The cub has a boat race later and I will need my strength to endure it.”

Danny walked Claire to the aft deck and was truly surprised when Claire hugged her, thanking her for everything. Jamie helped her into the tender and she waved to her new friend who watched them smiling, until she disappeared into her own boat.

Jamie, Darius, and Maia, were asking about Claire’s morning making her uncomfortable with keeping Danny’s confidence about all she told her. She finally went to her room and drew a bath with bubbles to idle away part of the day.

“Everything alright, love?”

“No.” She looked at Jamie’s handsome face, “I miss you, although I don’t know how that could be.”

“I do, because I miss you too Sassenach. I came to ask you to go to the island with me today. I want to take some pictures of the five lads that will be in the painting. After that, we can play, have dinner, or drinks. But it is a date so look your best, like you do right now, mo chridhe.”

“What, here in the bath?”

“No, that wouldn’t be right unless we stayed right here.”

Jamie smiled and tried to grab her getting a wet sponge in the face for his efforts. Claire pulled the plug and stepped into the shower so Jamie could wash her hair.

When he came back an hour later, Claire was sitting on the deck in a pretty yellow dress that reminded him of something. She had straightened her hair and wore makeup to add the exotic dimension to her eyes. He slid his arms around her waist and asked if she was ready to go.

Once on the island, it wasn’t hard to find the five boys that hung out together. Jamie explained he was painting a picture and they were in it which caused quite a ripple in the calm of the afternoon.

Jamie took several pictures of each of them, close up of the face, one showing some mannerism, the other a body shot. He showed them and they laughed. Once Jamie sat down to sketch, Claire called them to her and when they realized how friendly, and pretty she was, they showed off for her trying to outdo the others. The sun was shining off her hair and shoulders and her smile was like a beacon on her tanned face. Jamie laughed at the playfulness of the boys he guessed to be fourteen to eighteen. Gentle, beautiful boys who had taken over his creative mind. Jamie packed up his paper and tools and they bid the boys goodbye to wander around town.

Jamie could see Claire’s shoulders getting red in the sun and pulled her into a dress shop that had a large section of hats, which he brought to her, five at a time. He chose a wide-brimmed hat and the shop owner was happy to wrap a yellow ribbon around it, tied in the back with the extra length hanging off the brim. They laughed and stole kisses and wandered aimlessly until it was time to find a restaurant and gorge themselves on local cuisine and whisky. Jamie slipped an arm around Claire when they left. If they had been more aware of the people around them, they might have noticed the stares, but they were in their own world.

Claire pulled her shoes off when they reached the sand. Jamie waited to be alone with her on the beach because the full moon provided all the light he would need.

“Sassenach, I have something for you.” He pulled her hand and she turned around with her tipsy smile and sparkling eyes. “God, your beautiful.”

“Do I get some sort of prize for something awesome I did?”

“Something like that.” He pulled a tiny box from his pocket and handed it to her.

She looked excited until she pulled the box open and her eyes fell on the diamond inside. She could not pull her eyes away from it.

“We can take it back and get something you like better. Just put it on, one time, and then decide.”

She handed him the box and never took her eyes off the ring. Offering her outstretched hand she watched him push it onto her finger, and then he pulled her to his mouth for a sweet kiss.

“Thank you, Jamie,” she whispered.

“Your welcome, love.”

Once in the tender, they moved slowly to the yacht, careful to keep the engine quiet as they passed boats and yachts with people sleeping inside. Claire moved to the floor of the tender and leaned against the inflated side and dropped her head back. She was looking up at the moon, directly above her, feeling deliciously happy, slightly buzzed, and ran her hand down her burning nipple. Jamie watched her tipsy arousal and wanted her naked under the moonlight.

When the motor shut off, she looked at him like he was all she needed for the rest of her life. Jamie crept toward her and pulled off his shirt and shorts. He wanted her to remember this night. The dress came off, as did the tiny thong she wore and he pulled her leg up and over the inflated side of the tender. He pushed into her body placing greedy kisses on her face and neck. He wanted it to last but seeing his naked wife and the way her breasts bounced with every thrust was his undoing. He couldn’t help himself, he let it go when her orgasm started and pumped his warm love into her body while she clung to him.

They laid in each other's arms and talked quietly, about love and what was ahead.

“Jamie, I want to buy a new tender. This is like an inflatable raft, so I suppose the previous owner had little use for it. It doesn’t feel safe, but it was a marvelous bouncy thing to make love on.”

“Of course, Sassenach.”

Jamie raised up on an elbow and looked around the tender in all directions. He pulled Claire up with a worried look and helped her dress before getting them back to the yacht. He held Claire with one arm and drove the tender with the other.

“Did you just turn completely around?”

“That I did Sassenach. Lay against me and rest, we’re almost home.”

When Jamie turned again she started giggling. “Sweetheart, are we lost?”

The motor started to sputter and lurch as the last of the gas was consumed. Claire could not stop giggling which calmed Jamie more than she would ever know. Claire dropped to the soft bottom of the tender and held her arms out to him.

“Come here, my darling man, and rest under the stars with me.”

Once she had twisted her arms and legs with his and laid against his chest, Jamie smiled at the moon and decided to relax. When they were dropping into sleep a huge noise woke them up and they clung to each other.

“What the fuck was that, Jamie?”

“It’s gone love, whatever it was. Rest now.”

Claire wasn’t relaxed and buzzed anymore, she was panting with fright and suddenly felt something very large push against her from under the water. Before she could say anything the horrendously loud noise was back and slimy cold water rained down on them.

“Jesus Christ, Jamie, what is that?”

Jamie suspected it was a whale that surfaced near them but had not formed a word before he felt something bump the tender. Claire started screaming as the bump came again, harder this time. Jamie pulled out his cell phone and prayed Darius would answer.

“Darius, thank God. We have a bit of a problem here.”

Something under the surface pushed on the tender again and kept pushing it until they were spinning around clinging to each other. Claire was screaming for all she was worth, and Darius was trying to sound calm for both of them.

“Do you see any lights, anywhere?”

“No, Claire sweetheart please don’t scream.”

“Do you have a flashlight? If you point it at whatever is beneath…”

“No.”

They were spinning in the tender pushed by something massive under the surface. Darius was running down the stairs as fast as his legs could go, worried they had drifted into the shipping lanes where they would never be seen before a gigantic cargo ship plowed over them, dragging them underneath it.

“Darius searched the water and saw nothing. “Jamie look up and tell me if you can see…”

“The sky is full of clouds now Darius, I can see nothing, it’s pitch black out here and something under the water is pushing us in circles. We need help!”

Darius noticed the lights coming on all over Danny’s boat and two bright searchlights swept the water for as far as he could see. He heard a tender approach and jumped in pointing a direction for the crewman to go. He had his phone on speaker and the young man was getting rattled by Claire screaming. He moved away from the throttle and told Darius to drive.

Claire was screaming the boat was going to tip over and Darius did his best to calm them down.

“Jamie! Hold onto Claire really tight and ask her to stop screaming, I’m in Danny’s tender and I’m coming to get you!”

When it was quiet Darius took a deep breath and played the only card that might save them.

“Be calm and don’t blow this, my friend. There is a flare gun in the water-tight compartment under the steering whflareIt is the only chance I have of finding you so ask Claire to sit perfectly still, take aim at the sky directly above you, and fire.”

A minute later the crewman pointed to a brilliant purple streak climbing into the sky, in the other direction.

“Did you see the flair from the water level?” The boy shook his head no, which meant they were very far away and Darius had only seconds before the flair extinguished.

“Sit down!”

Darius pulled back on the throttle and the dual engine tender launched in the direction of the flair. He noticed both searchlights were now directed at the ocean under the flair and hoped they could see the lights and know help was on the way.

Talking at that speed was impossible because the wind snatched your words away. Darius dropped the speed enough to tell the crewman to keep sight of the flair and then watch the smoke if it went out, then tap his leg when they were close. The tender jerked alive again, like a bullet shooting across the water. Darius was feeling frantic when the boy tapped his leg and he pulled up on the throttle. It was black as pitch above and below them and he knew his friends must be terrified. The boy put something in his hand, it was a flare gun!

“Holy shit, you just saved the day my man!”

“Jamie, are you there?”

“Well, I was about to hang up but decided to stay on a little longer,” said sarcastically.

“We have flairs, shooting one now, watch it for my direction.”

The bright red flair went shooting to the heavens. “Starboard, maybe half a mile.”

The crewman found an emergency box stored inside the bench seat at the back of the tender. There was a light that plugged into the battery port and it almost blinded them both. He held it high above his head and Darius shot another flair.

“Talk to me brother!”

“Portside, same distance.”

“What?!”

“We aren’t spinning anymore, it’s pushing us, a bit rough I might add.”

Darius could not wait. They had to take a risk if they were going to find them before the boat sank from something underneath.

“Your name.”

“Ethan, sir.”

“I’m Darius. It’s only right I know your name before risking your life. How do you feel about that..Ethan?”

“It’s what I came for, sir.”

“Perfect.”

Darius aimed the light a foot above the water and about 500 yards ahead. Once Ethan took the light, Darius pulled back on the throttle and kept his eyes glued to the direct path ahead.

Claire was on the edge of sanity after being bumped, spun, and pushed, by something large underneath the little tender. She couldn’t see anything in the dark black night except maybe a two-foot space that was lit by Jamie’s phone. She watched that space while Jamie talked to Darius and when an unexpected shape came up out of the water, caught by the dim light, Claire’s scream shattered the night and she fainted.

Jamie looked up at a large head shaped like a torpedo with an eye that regarded him before slipping back under the water. He held Claire on his lap and patted her cheek, begging her to wake up. Jamie was aware of another flare shot into the sky and realized he heard the gun go off this time.

“Darius! You’re close! Starboard and close!”

“Can you see my light, Jamie?”

Suddenly, there it was, like a hand reaching through the dark night to save them. He watched it until the white teeth of Darius’s smile materialized. Claire was rubbing her eyes and crying, waving at Darius in her filthy yellow dress.

Jamie pulled her to him, “thank Christ.” He reached for the rope and tied it tightly to the tow ring at the front of the tender. Darius heard the song of the Humpback whales in the distance and smiled at Claire.

“There’s your tormentor. Probably a female with a calf who had a bit of fun playing with the tender.”

Her ghostly white face peeked out from Jamie’s chest and he could see her shaking and teeth chattering. Jamie asked if she wanted to ride back on Danny’s boat. She moved to the side of her boat and looked down at the water before launching back into Jamie’s arms.

Darius slowly turned Danny’s tender around and moved the boat forward very slowly until the rope was taught and they were pulling the other boat. He turned toward them and asked them to lay on the floor of the tender and hold onto something. They were right in the middle of a shipping lane and Darius wanted to get them out of there pronto. He told Ethan to watch for bodies flying out and picked up speed gradually keeping the tow rope taught. Soon they were flying across the water until he gradually slowed down when the yachts were in view. Darius circled the boats twice, letting his wake provide resistance to slow the towed tender. Danny was waiting on Claire’s boat with Maia and helped bring Claire on board with teeth chattering and pasty white skin. The women helped her into bed and covered her with a quilt.

Danny sat next to her and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I can’t imagine how terrifying that was for you. Luckily, your man is strong as an ox and would have beaten the sea thing off to save you.” Danny’s voice was soft and caring and Claire was so grateful for her help. Jamie is coming to warm you up and I hope you rest tonight dear. Goodnight.

Jamie and Darius thanked Danny repeatedly, not finding the right words to convey she had saved them tonight. Danny looked at Darius with a sleepy smile.

“You are rather good at what you do, don’t ever doubt that Darius. I saw your brave heart tonight and felt your relief when you found them. Quite extraordinary. Goodnight.

“Thank you for everything tonight ma’am.”

Darius helped Danny into her tender and watched until she was safely on board, the tender was resting in the garage, and the lights flicked off one section at a time. He knew the chance of finding them in time was zero without a fast boat and he felt the gratitude down to his toes.

Small arms circled his waist and he looked down at the incomparable Maia with her head tilted and her chin raised in a healthy come fuck me pose that threatened his very sanity. She would pull him back to earth and make him right again. He gave himself over to her.

[jumoonjae]

Kevin Moon

PAIRINGS: KEVIN MOON X READER

GENRE: ANGST

WORD COUNT: 2012 WORDS

WARNING: TERMINAL DISEASE, CHARACTER DEATH

Loosely inspired by Five Feet Apart& The Fault In Our Stars

Kevin Moon

The first time he heard his name came out from your lips was on the first night when he was admitted to the hospital after being diagnosed with heart valve disease, that he felt so ridiculous for suffering it at just the age of 22.

He feel dejected, his whole world came crushing down and all his dream shattered like a broken glass right in front of his eyes. For the first time he was lost, so lost that he couldn’t see anything aside from the newfound illness. So lost that his mind couldn’t think of anything, like it already give up on himself, his body, his future because he had no future. Well not anymore.

He told his nurse he wanted to stay at the garden but instead he went up to the rooftop just to try his luck for a place to be in peace, unbothered.

He was lucky that night.

But after a while, you came. He look back when he saw you in his peripheral view, rustling with your bag while looking at him with the biggest smile on your face that he ignored right away. You’re just a stranger anyway. Some stranger that he met during his stay at the hospital and strangers are temporary.

You have the name of my most favourite thing in this world.

You beamed walking to him, sitting down right next to him with a safe distance, but he ignored you still, looking ahead to the city lights pushing your voice away to the back of his mind. You’re kind of annoying, you talked too much for his liking and oddly cheerful for someone who wore hospital gown and had those breathing tube stuck on your nose with oxygen tank inside your bag.

But as time passed, he had grown used to your presence by his side at the rooftop every night. Looking at sky in silence.

Why are you here?

He asked one day after a full week not uttering a single word to you aside from telling you his name.

Oh, just because my lungs had no idea how to work properly. It keep malfunctioning and stuffs.

You shrugged like it was nothing to you while looking up to the stars and the full moon making his gut twisted in sympathy.

How long have you been here?

He asked again.

Three years and a half since the first diagnose.

He stayed silence because a ‘sorry' couldn’t fix any of it. He didn’t want to dig deeper because he’s afraid that his question could scare you off just like it did to him when people asked about his illness. He didn’t want to explain it to anyone anymore, he hate how serious his condition are when he said it out loud. But you never asked, maybe you understands how it feels. How he feels and he had found comfort in your presence since then.

I’m going to die you know.

He confessed one day, when his treatment doesn’t seems to fix what it supposed to. He had grown tired even if its just two week. But two week feels like forever to him. He missed his life outside the hospital, he missed his piano, he missed the feeling of playing again. He missed everything that the hospital couldn’t provide him.

He was expecting sympathy from you, or a ‘sorry’ but instead you just gave him a smile. A smile that he couldn’t decipher the meaning was. But your next words put a stop in his rustling mind that filled with worries, that could no longer see the future.

We are all dying Kevin Moon. That is not a new thing, but letting the fear of dying hinder you from living is a bad choice. What are the quote that said live like we’re dying are made for? And bla bla bla.

You chuckled, hugging your bag between your legs, looking up like you always do and he thought of nothing else but to think but how right you are.

We are special Kevin Moon you know that?

You look away from the moon to him with a smile, a smile of satisfaction, a smile full of proud.

Why?

Because god had given us advantage by telling us that we are dying soon. So all we gotta do is live fully at our last moment, stop taking advantage at anything or everything. Apologize to people who we had hurt and love while we can. We get a step ahead from everyone else by knowing how and when it will end so we can be prepare.

And that is the moment where he fall in love with you.

He look forward to see you every night at the rooftop, your word had given him strength to live every single day since that night. He started to fight again thanks to you and he even dare to dream again. You give him so much strength to fight that he finally feeling alive again.

He even started to open up to you, filling the once was silence with everything about him which you always listen to without interrupting.

He missed the session with you one night when he suffered a mild heart attack. But you came to his room on the next day, watching him from the outside through the square glass on the door. You were smiling at him showing your fist and mouthed ‘hwaiting’ before leaving without coming close to him.

Heart transplant.

It was a chance, a second chance for him. Even if it take forever for him to wait for a donor he would take it if its the only way he could be with you. Maybe to have a future with you.

He told you about the news without the mention of his plans about his future with you and you looked relieved. Your smile never seems to falter everytime he speaks about everything. Things between him and you had take a full turn where he talked a lot and you just listen to him in silence with a fond smile that really melts his heart.

You always came by during the day since his doctor had restricted his movement, you told him about the moon each time, never once you asked about his condition or how his illness are. You just listen. Listening and looking at him like he is your whole world. Hew saw that and he knew that look, but he keep it to him planning to confess to you only after he had his surgery.

A month had passed and he noticed your skin was getting paler and bone on your cheek seems more prominent each day.

Its just the medicine.

You shrugged him off when he asked, but your reason didn’t settled well in him. But he shrugged it off anyway.

We have a donor.

The words struck him like a rainbow with stars that lit his whole life in instant and the first thing he wanted to do is to share it with you. But you didn’t came that day, or the next day.

He waited for you to come before the surgery but you didn’t show up. He wanted to go to your ward room but his nurse told him to rest.

Few hours before the surgery another nurse came into his room handing him a piece of paper with a smile. A smile that didn’t seem to reach her eyes. She left before he could say anything.

Hwaiting Kevin Moon. Y/N ♥️

And that simple note from you washed away all of the worries he had for you. He fold the small paper and place it in one of the page of his sketchbook with a smile and let your image occupies his mind and thoughts.

He was out for a few days after the successful surgery. The sound of the machine inside the room stirred him from unconsciousness, as his eyes fluttered open, he saw you standing right next to his bed smiling down to him. You looked healthier, and your cheek that once pale looked like it had been kissed by the rose itself, you were shining so bright. You were beautiful, smiling like an angel. You caressed his forehead, stroking his hair back which he close his eyes to your gentle touch.

Live well Kevin Moon.

You said before taking your leave as he drift back to unconsciousness.

A lot of people came after the surgery. Congratulating him and all, some of his close friends and family, doctors and nurses, even the patient that he had made friend thanks to you.

But you weren’t there.

You didn’t come.

Kevin Moon,

The first time i saw you, you looked like an angel. I know I’m being exaggerated, but i swear, you shine brighter than the moon itself that night. You were cold to me and i am offended since that is my spot, but i let it slip because you’re the new kid.

He laughed at your word letting the scene settled inside his mind and a frown quick to take over, then his lips trembles at every words you had written.

You know how much I love the moon, but do you know why?

He smiled again, remembering how you used to describe the moon and the way you look up to it.

Because it bring peace to me in silence, it has the power to keep me sane, just like you did to me. I know its late but when I said i want to give my heart to you, i really mean it you know. I really like you Kevin Moon. I like you so much that for the first time I hope that i am not sick so i can be with you and plan our future just like healthy people did. For the first time i prayed so hard my lungs could be cured and for the first time i despised god for making me sick.

He shut his tightly that had been filled with his tears and let it fall down to his cheek.

But at least you have my heart now that it will put me to ease. And you have got your second chance now Kevin Moon, go live your life, go to Beyonce concert, let people listens to your music, paint everything that catches your eyes and love with all your hearts.

Our hearts.

Its our heart now Kevin Moon, it belongs to you forever at least. Its the piece of me that you can keep, its the piece of me that will always belongs to you. Live well Kevin Moon.

I love you.

Y/N.

He broke down at your last sentences, hunching his back burying his face on his palm with your letter still on his grip, crying out loud. How he had taken you for granted by not telling how much he like you too, no. How deep he had fallen in love with you. He thought that you were getting better, he thought you still have time.

Even how much you reminded him every single day to not take advantage on things, but he did it to you.

Live well Kevin Moon.

Your word keep repeating inside his head with the image of you. Only you. Your smile, giggles, laugh and all your bubbliness.

She told me a lot about you Kevin, thank you for making her feel how to fall in love.

He raise his head looking at your mother who was seated next to his bed. She smile fondly to him, caressing his shoulder which made him cry harder at her words.

How was her last moment?

He bravely asked in between his sniffles.

She was happy Kevin, knowing that she will give her heart to someone she knew could do so much greater things in the future. She was so brave, my child.

She force a smile, biting her own lips holding her tears.

And she told me to make you promise to take care of that heart. That big heart of her.

I promise.

A/N: Sorry i have been inactive lately, block sucks you know and i'm taking a break for a little while. But i'm still actively writing tho, experimenting with different kind of style, but i wont post everything until i feel like it. This one is one of my experiment. I hope it wreck your soul like it did to me. Thank you so much for taking your time to read this piece. It mean a lot to me. I love you.

[wullu]

I’m fairly certain I have said this before, but Imma say it once again.

One of the things that sets Flower of Evil apart from other dramas (in addition to exploring a romantic relationship thru the lense of serial killers and shadows of the past) is the way the drama is a culmination of many different stories and characters. 

In most kdramas, other than the leads (and sometimes not even the female lead) the remaining cast of characters do not get to be fully fleshed out people. They are often the salad dressing. If you took them out, the story wouldn’t suffer for the lack of them. I mean, even second leads so often are characterized as one-note characters! 

Flower of Evil subverts that by having everyone play an important role and fleshing them out as much as possible with the 16-episode format. Nobody here is salad dressing, tho I could do without Baek Hee Seong, but I suppose every garden of paradise has its serpent and in FOE it’s him and Yeom Sang Chul.

The plot is centered around Ji Won and Hyun Soo but so many other characters play a role in helping the story move forward. In short, I really love the focus this drama has on the little things. Stories are often made richer by focusing on the little things and allowing characters, be they lead or supporting, to be whole. My understanding of most of the main players in the plot and their fleshed out character profiles are under the cut. Please note, there will be spoilers!

I’m gonna list them out for clarity:

1. Jeong Mi Sook trying to prevent Hyun Soo from making an irreversible decision and trying to explain his side to Ji Won or even deciding, she’s the one who will break out of her cage. Hee Seong has been terrifying her from the start but she asked him to run, because he wasn’t worth being killed by Hyun Soo. He deserved to pay for his crimes instead.

2. Woo Chul deciding that his superiors need to only know this much and feeling terrified at what the new revelations imply for them, but even after he finds out, his priority is making sure his team members are safe. He may not always purchase coffee for everyone. But when push comes to shove, he’s shows what his priorities actually are. His team 😭

3. Eun Ha recognising the danger she is in and locking the door and only opening when her mom came. Eun Ha being a transparently affectionate child and when Hae Soo sees her photos and meets her, it’s like finding some lost vulnerable part of her self. Nothing like the unconditional acceptance of children that can undo you real quick.

4. The Baeks realising that in their quest to protect their son, they became people they never wanted to be. And that they were blinding themselves from the start. Mi Ja wondering if she’s doing the right thing all throughout, Man Woo losing more and more of his patience as he tries to clean up behind Hee Seong and both of them realizing, once you go down a dark path, it’s very hard to return. And also, that the outcome they were hoping to prevent was inevitable any way.

5. Jae Seob knowing something is off and following it up, and wanting to protect Ji Won at all costs. Also him and Woo Chul having an antagonistic but trustworthy relationship and him also mentoring Ho Joon and stating how people find him difficult to like, but that does not stop him from being himself. Jae Seob is a man committed to uncovering things, no matter how uncomfortable they feel or what secrets they reveal. That jokey personality is a layered over a determined and strongly principled character.

6. Ho Joon handling the more difficult aspects of being a cop by learning to take lives if need be, dealing with the aftermath of a crime scene and keeping his cool in the midst of chaos. I mean, at first he seems like such an innocent and well-meaning character who adores both of his Sunbaes and then as the story moves on, you see theres so much more to him than just being the maknae of the team. Whether it is calming down Ji Won after their fast and furious ride or having the foresight to turns on the camera monitor or even deciding to put out the news that Ji Won is dead, Joo Hwan shows himself as such a capable and conscientious person.

7. Hae Soo trying to amend wrongs and dealing with the guilt of her father’s crimes and realizing that it’s very hard to do things by yourself but also bravery is something that does not always happen in front of everyone, rather it’s that moment of iron clad surety you have when you know exact what you want to do, and to go ahead and do it.

8. Moo Jin making the choice to take off the rose tinted glasses and realizes he needs to see things for what they are. And realizing that you can’t just pick up things from where you left there. You have to realise how you behaved and own up to who you really are. Also, you really got to understand how to communicate with the girl you love, instead of just harping on asking her to ditch her brother, once more! 🙄

9. Hee Seong being a stuttering, scared mess once he realizes that he’s at the mercy of Hyun Soo and showing that under all his swagger and bravado, he’s just a cowardly man who enjoys exercising power over others and uses fear to control them, but cannot handle the heat when it is turned on them. He thinks he’s amazing because he’s so powerful and in charge, but all it is takes is one person to stand up to him and he loses composure so quick.

10. Yeom Sang Chul doing his best to save his own ass, and he’s so over taken by greed that it becomes his very undoing. He really has no redeeming qualities and without henchmen or money, he’s pretty much useless. Fitting that he dies without all the trappings of grandeur around him.

11. Even Park Kyung Choon, he’s so far gone with the desperation of looking for his wife but once he’s subdued, and in the hospital, he’s able to have a proper conversation with Hyun Soo. A remorseful, regretful one.

12. The housekeeper, Park Soon Young, she’s seen so much and she’s been thru so much and the Baeks have helped her, but at the same time, she realises she does not want to be a part of this household where so much evil is being perpetuated. She makes the decision to leave and she draws her own conclusions. Nothing is fed to her.

I mean, I could  go on a bit longer but yeah, I hope I made my point. In conclusion, FOE, you done did good. 

[shipaholic]

Omens Universe, Chapter 10

Another daytime update!

Warning: there’s a lot of gun in this chapter. Following (book) canon, and then... well you’ll see.

Link to next part at the end.

(From the beginning)

(last part)

(chrono)

---

Chapter 10

Crowley’s watch hit three o'clock. Not that he would have noticed, right at that moment, if it had exploded.

Miles under the Earth, past where the dimensions divided, the screams of the damned increased in terror as a snapping, snarling, clawing beast tore its way to the surface…

Crowley floated, as if magnetised, into the tent. His drifting footsteps carried him to the edge of the knot of children.

Most of them were on their smartphones. Some of them chatted over Aziraphale, with deliberate disdain. Adam looked half-comatose. He leaned backward on his elbows and looked over at Crowley upside-down.

Crowley didn’t notice. A dimmer switch had turned down on the rest of the world, while Aziraphale glowed across from him.

Aziraphale had just dropped three linked rings. The children tittered derisively.

“Whoops! Just a tick!”

Aziraphale fumbled for the rings. As he stood back up, his eyes flicked towards Crowley. He winked.

Crowley’s heart skipped as if Aziraphale had blown him a kiss. A few consonants slipped out under his breath.

“Now then. Do any of you young masters and mistresses have on your person such a thing as a pocket handkerchief?”

It was car-crash viewing, Crowley had to admit. Aziraphale actually looked surprised that none of the kids had a hankie. A rictus grin strained his face as he beckoned the closest secret service agent. The man looked understandably reluctant to join the proceedings.

“Oh go on, my dear chap, just check.” Aziraphale winked in desperation.

The agent patted his pocket. His face turned to surprise. He produced a well-made, duck-egg blue handkerchief with lace trim. Crowley felt a glow of gratification that Aziraphale had to resort to cheating.

At that point, everything went tits up.

The edge of the lace caught on the serviceman’s gun. It yanked out of its holster and whizzed through the air like an especially lethal frisbee. It landed with a splat in a bowl of jelly. The kids whooped and applauded.

There are some actions that an eleven-year-old boy will always take, no matter the circumstances.

Adam raced across the room, seized the gun and waved it gleefully in the air.

“Stick ‘em up, dogbreaths!”

The room slid into chaos. The children screamed with delight. The adults all tried to bestow calm while breaking out in terrified sweat. It was a scene that would normally cause Crowley to wonder how he got so lucky.

And then someone threw some jelly at Adam.

The boy yelped and pulled the trigger.

Crowley’s time-slowing powers kicked in. They were useless in this situation. He couldn’t outrun a bullet. In agonised slow-motion, he watched the preliminary puff of smoke from the muzzle of the gun, heralding the noise and carnage to follow.

Aziraphale blinked.

Crowley felt the air hum with ethereal magic.

Then, like a bum note before the music was meant to start, it cut out.

The unfortunate thing about trying to turn a gun into a water pistol is that the boy holding it currently had more sway over reality than any other being in the universe. Aziraphale’s polite hint that the gun might prefer to be a water pistol bounced harmlessly off Adam’s expectation that the gun would be a gun.

Time resumed.

There was an explosion. The gun kicked. Adam’s entire body jerked. The bullet fired over the other children’s heads and struck Aziraphale in the chest.

He poofed into a cloud of silver smoke.

There was an inappropriately cheery jingle as his ring hit the floor. A rumpled dove, surprised to be no longer stuffed up a sleeve, flapped free and flew away.

Adam dropped the gun. His eyes were wide with horror.

No-one screamed. Crowley got the impression this was only because shock had punched the breath from everyone. He closed his mouth and miracled the rest of the bullets out of the gun, just in case.

A couple of people finally got around to screaming, but felt embarrassed and stopped. Confused applause broke out. It built to appreciative applause. Whatever had just happened, it was the best magic trick they’d ever seen.   

Adam and Crowley were the only ones not clapping. Adam was white and trembling.

“He just - he just -”

Crowley used the distraction to creep towards the stage, hoping to scoop up Aziraphale’s gem.

A small pigtailed girl pounced on it. “I got a prize!”

Crowley flipped her off. She scowled at him.

Adam whirled around on the rest of the room.

“Stop. Clapping.”

Every pair of hands froze. In one choreographed move, everybody lowered their hands to their sides, their faces utterly blank.

Two armed security guards burst into the tent, followed by Harriet Dowling.

“Adam? Oh, thank god. Why was there a gunshot?” She looked wildly around.

Adam turned to her. His eyes were still huge, but the rest of his face was eerily calm.

“I shot the magician, mum.”

Harriet’s hand flew to her chest. She looked to the stage, presumably for a big pool of blood and a corpse she might have missed.

“He, uh. He shot a gentleman, ma’am.” One of the secret servicewomen shuffled forward. “But it was all part of the magic act.” She sounded uncertain. Her eyes darted to the stage, too, as if there might be a body just out of sight.

Harriet sagged. She pressed a hand to her forehead.

“I’m gonna kill Tad,” she muttered. “What is with these dangerous party games? There’s some wild animal outside, I swear to god. I didn’t ask for a petting zoo. It’s not even in a pen. Who’s encouraging my son to play with guns, huh? I don’t care if it’s pretend, it’s just irresponsible.”

Adam took a breath.

“It wasn’t a trick. I shot him. Look.”

He pointed to the baffled pigtailed girl. She still had Aziraphale’s gem clutched in her hand. She was probably getting jelly on it. Aziraphale would hate that, Crowley thought, a touch hysterically.

Harriet sighed. “Honey, obviously you didn’t really shoot him.”

“He turned into smoke!” another girl piped up.

“See? It’s not real.” Harriet’s smile was tight at the edges. “Scary trick to pull at a child’s birthday party…”

Adam stamped his foot. It made no noise on the grass, but a shock wave sounded in the minds of everyone present. They clammed up, disturbed. Then they all forgot it had happened.

“Just let him have the ring, Trixie,” someone said, rolling their eyes.

“Don’t want to, it’s mine,” Trixie snapped. Crowley flipped her off again.

“I killed him,” Adam roared.

People exchanged uncomfortable looks. Harriet stamped towards her son. The kids all recognised a parent who’d reached her limit and barrelled out of her way.

“Young man, do not throw a tantrum in front of everyone or I swear to God you can spend the rest of the day in your room,” she hissed.

Adam met her eyes. His gaze turned suddenly cold.

“It doesn’t matter what you think,” he said. “You won’t be here next week.”

His voice sent ice water flooding down Crowley’s spine.

For a second, Harriet looked frightened.

She grabbed Adam by the arm. “That’s it. You’re in timeout.”

She pasted a smile on her face and perp-walked her son to the exit. On the way, she passed the stage. Trixie reluctantly held out the ring upon some pointed prompting. Harriet stared blankly and took it.

Crowley followed her out of the tent, a string of curses running through his head.

~*~

A ring of secret service, all with their guns out, had a large black dog surrounded in the garden. Calling it a large black dog was like calling the Hadron Particle Collider a bumpy cylinder. It didn’t really capture the essence of what was being described.

The dog’s blood-red eyes rolled towards the figures crossing the lawn. It only cared about one of them. His master. The one who would give it a purpose, a definition. A name.

He sounded angry. The hellhound would rip whoever had angered him to pieces. That was what it was made for. Its hackles rose. The men surrounding it tightened their grip on their guns.

The hellhound prepared to spring to its master’s side.

To its surprise, it had a sudden feeling its master wouldn’t want that.

It growled to itself. Uncertainty was not a familiar sensation.

Its master… wasn’t ready for it yet. It wasn’t the hellhound’s business to understand why. All it existed for was to serve him. It would keep its distance. For now.

The dog stalked out of the circle of scared men, ignoring the weapons trained on it, and slunk away into the shrubbery.

~*~

The noise of parent-at-the-end-of-her-rope, combined with tantruming-child, were easy enough to follow through the house. Crowley didn’t even need to bother with stealth. He hung back behind a corner as Harriet frog-marched Adam to his bedroom and pushed him inside.

“You can stay in there until you’re ready to behave!”

“I don’t want to come out. This birthday was rubbish. I hated everything.”

Harriet gave a stifled scream. Crowley had heard line managers make noises like that. He flinched and ducked out of sight.

“If you hate everything, you can stay in there with all the toys we bought you, just like we bought you your cake and your presents. Here, you can have this too.” Harriet thrust Aziraphale’s gem towards Adam. He grabbed it and threw it on the floor behind him.

The door slammed. Harriet’s footsteps stomped up the corridor, away from Crowley.

Crowley slid down the wall. He might as well settle in until he could see a good way to get the ring back.

~*~

The kids on the lawn were being herded out, which meant someone might come to check on Adam after the last goodbyes had been said.

Crowley paced tight circles in the corridor. Adam had been quiet for a couple of hours now. It was early for him to go to sleep, but Crowley knew the appeal of a rage-nap. He pressed his ear to the door. Nothing.

He couldn’t leave it any longer. He quietly opened the door.

Adam was passed out fully clothed on top of the sheets. His face showed no anger in sleep. Occasionally, his cheek twitched. It was hard to imagine him ending the world, right now. Crowley’s imagination was more than up to the task, however.

Crowley looked around for Aziraphale. He was probably on the floor, unless Adam had picked him up. Which seemed unlikely, given the state of the rest of his room.

Finding him in here would be like locating shiny junk in a shiny junk pile. Crowley scanned the visible areas of carpet, which took about half a second, and then turned, heart sinking, to the rest of it.

Ten minutes later, he was on his knees silently swearing and trying to peer around stacks of precarious interlocking piles of toys and games, each of which would clearly come crashing down if he tried to move even one component. Crowley hated Jenga.

He happened to glance to his left. A glint of gold caught the corner of his eye under the bed. He crawled over, careful not to dislodge anything.

As he rooted around in the unbelievable mess, the Antichrist slumbering above him, it occurred to him that if he were profoundly unlucky - which most of the evidence of his life so far would seem to show - he would get up to find Adam awake and staring at him.

How long would it take for the secret service to crash in here? Or one of the Dowlings? They probably carried. Maybe he and Aziraphale could both get shot by an American on the same day.

His ungloved hand bumped against something ring-sized. He grabbed it and cupped it in his palms. It was Aziraphale.

Crowley crawled back out from under the bed, crossed his fingers, and raised his head.

Adam was still asleep. Crowley exhaled.

The ring glowed.

Crowley scrambled to his feet and bolted from the room. The feats of parkour he did to avoid kicking anything over were ones for the ages.

Aziraphale’s gem was singing. It glowed white hot and threw Heavenly light in Crowley’s face. Crowley booked it down the corridor, searching for an empty room half-blinded. The gem was becoming hard to hold. It tried to float into the air, warbling out a rising major chord.[1] Crowley kept his hands clamped firmly on it.

He threw open a door to an unused spare bedroom, barrelled in and released the gem, hissing as it burned his ungloved hand. He backed into a wardrobe and watched Aziraphale reform.

At first, he was only a voluminous ball of light. He shrunk inward, compressed and developed mass. His gem was at chest-height. The blobby shapes surrounding it turned into two plump hands, entwined over his heart, arms folded against his torso. His feet were pressed neatly together. A mop of curly hair appeared, and then a calm face, the familiar upturned nose and prim mouth, all those comfortable lines, the softness of the cheeks. He was still choosing to wear mostly beige, for whatever reason. No updates to the worn waistcoat or brown Oxford shoes. He was as Crowley remembered him.

The light flicked out. Aziraphale dropped to the ground with a small gasp. He opened his eyes.

“Crowley,” he breathed.

Crowley pressed his back against the wardrobe in a manly attempt not to slide to the floor.

They stared at each other, reunited for the first time in seventy-eight years.

---

[1] The closest approximation is the singing lift in London’s Royal Festival Hall.

(Link to next part)

[ninetalees]

Sufferance

(noun) the absence of objection rather than genuine approval; toleration.

7 years after the events of Sword/Shield, Gym Leader Bede comes to Postwick to conduct some research in the Slumbering Weald; Hop is his unwilling companion.

Warnings for: Eventual Hop x Bede (cheeryfairyshipping) and eventual M-rated content.

Chapter 1

Hop couldn't concentrate today.

It might have been the pleasant spring sun, filtering in through the window and bouncing off the laminated pages he was pursuing, compelling him to turn his attention to the window. The heat and the amusing scene of the frolicking Wooloo in the fields did a fine job of keeping his attention on anything but his work.

It also might have been the anticipation. Every now and then his gaze flickered to the clock on the wall. Gloria had a match today - only an exhibition one - but Hop always exulted in the prospect of watching her live. It was now 12:45 - the matches were due to start at 1 - he would take his lunch then and sit out in the grass in front of the lab to watch on his laptop.

He got up from his chair and shielded his eyes to peer at Sonia rifling through the shelves on the balcony above. Her back was to him and her humming as she concentrated was a soothing and familiar melody. It was hard to believe it had been 7 years since he had started working with her; they had fallen into a comfortable synchronicity so quickly there had barely been an adjustment period, and it was very early on in their professional relationship that Hop had felt he had been there forever.

"Sonia?" he called. Sonia's red ponytail bobbed as she snapped to attention, and she stood to come and peer over the railing at him.

"Hey Hop," she replied with a smile. "Everything alright?"

Hop grinned back. "Grand." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I was just letting you know I'm gonna take lunch in a few? Gloria has a tournament starting at 1 and I don't want to miss it - if I'm not there to take a call at the end and discuss every single detail she'll go spare." His grin widened at the memory of once having missed a tournament because himself and Sonia were out in the Wild Area on a work project. There was no signal out there, and Hop had forgotten to tell Gloria he would be away (of course he had the tournament recording for his return.) He had come back to Wedgehurst with 5 missed calls, several texts, and a disgruntled selfie asking whether he had died.

"Oh, wonderful! She has matches today?" Sonia threw up her hands in jubilation; to Hop's immense relief, she was not holding a book. "I would love to watch, too. It's been ages since I've settled in to watch a tournament and Nessa is always griping I never get round to watching any of her matches." Her smile became coy. "What do you say to taking an extended break and watching on a laptop in the garden? I can make some ice tea."

Hop nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds like a plan! I'll get the stream up and running." Sonia, to many people's surprise, had never had to be strict with Hop. Despite his reputation for impulsiveness and general air of chaos, he was focused and determined about things he had a passion for. Studiousness and discipline were two traits integral to a successful Pokémon Professor and not ones Hop was famed for, but he had proved himself with his diligence from the start. Hop did not always follow a straight line from A to B, but even with his many stops and detours along the way he almost always managed to produce work to a high standard. But Sonia had known this long before the day she had asked him to come on board as her assistant.

Hop grabbed his laptop from the gleaming countertop and made his way outside with a skip in his step, pausing only to pet Yamper who had weaved excitedly between his legs. It was difficult not to be in a good mood: the sun was shining, work was not too busy for him to steal some downtime, and he was about to settle in for an afternoon of quality battles. Even if he did not do so much of it himself anymore, his interest had not been quelled in the slightest. Watching Gloria on the field was poetry in motion, and a fantastic learning opportunity – watching her direct her partners was a fully immersive lesson in how to draw out Pokémon’s full potential via flawless strategy and iron-clad bonds of trust. Hop set the laptop down on the garden table out back and opened the umbrella before settling down to bring up the livestream of the tournament. Sonia emerged a couple of minutes later, balancing a tray carrying a jug of peach ice tea and two glasses. Yamper trotted after her obediently, careful to avoid getting in the way. Once she had set the tray down and taken her seat, Yamper leapt into her lap as Sonia laughingly scratched behind her ears. “Learned your lesson after years of close calls involving mugs of tea, eh?” she cooed, and Yamper barked happily while Hop chuckled. “You’re not the only one, Yamper. Only recently, despite years of having being told, have I discovered the true perils of running indoors, especially in a tea-laden Sonia’s vicinity.”

They both laughed, then, and Sonia poured the ice tea as Hop hit play. The announcer’s voice crackled and boomed over the laptop speakers, and Hop felt the familiar adrenalin rush course through him as the camera panned over the pitch. There were not many big names in the tournament today – just Gloria, Nessa and some random challengers. Gloria would make short work of them all, Hop had no doubt. Although he didn’t dare comment as such in front of Sonia.

First up were two of the random challengers – young woman and an older gentleman. Hop and Sonia mostly chatted among themselves for the span of that battle, Yamper interjecting occasionally to demand one of the treats hidden in Sonia’s pockets. Hop watched from the corner of his eye as the young woman’s Manectric decimated the opponent’s Blastoise with a wicked Thunderbolt. “Solid,” he remarked, and Sonia looked up from checking her phone. “Mhmm,” she replied, sipping some ice tea. “Who’s up next?”

“Gloria and a challenger.” As he spoke, Hop had gotten out his own phone to shoot Gloria a quick ‘good luck’ text – not that she would need it, or even see it until the tournament was over. But, still – he wanted her to know he was thinking of her.

Gloria strolled out on the pitch as her number, 37, flashed up on the huge monitor behind her. Despite an occasional wave and smile to the roaring crowd her gaze was set ahead, eyes gleaming with steely determination. It had been 7 years since she had taken Leon’s place as Champion, but Hop had never quite gotten over the scale of the difference between them as battlers, both in style and presence on the pitch. Leon had been so flashy, posing and swishing his cape and blowing kisses, hamming it to the max. Gloria, regardless of who her opponent was, always stepped up with an air of aloofness to the crowd, her attention solely on the match before her. Hop always wondered if Rose’s presence and lack thereof during Gloria's reign had anything to do with that, but Leon never brought him up. So Hop never asked.

He was pulled away from his thoughts by Sonia clapping excitedly as Gloria let out Saber, her Haxorus, to face her opponent’s Beartic. The camera panned over the man’s face for a moment and Hop noted the traces of a smug smile on his face. From the perspective of an untrained eye, it might look as though he had an advantage from a type matchup perspective. But Hop knew better – Gloria would make short work of him and not have to withdraw a single Pokémon.

Indeed, Saber demolished the Beartic with a single, well-aimed Close Combat move and the rest of the match flew by in a similar fashion. Hop couldn’t help but smile at Sonia’s rapt attention, her eyes fixed on the screen as she petted Yamper absentmindedly. It was easy to forget that Sonia had once been a fine battler, a rival even to Leon – Hop always meant to ask her if she ever missed it.

Gloria withdrew Saber and bowed with a flourish as the match ended. She crossed the field to shake her crestfallen opponent’s hand, and that was the last they saw before the pitch darkened again in preparation for the next battle. Sonia leaned back as the ad break started, her eyes shining. “My gosh, that was thrilling!” she remarked. “I really do need to try and watch these more often – that poor fellow couldn’t get a move in edgeways!”

“That’s Gloria,” replied Hop happily. He took a gulp of ice tea, as though it had just been him out working up a sweat. “She’s in a league of her own. The more I watch her, the more vindicated I feel in not being able to match her in battle – can definitely see her holding the title even longer than Leon did!” There was a smile on his face as he spoke, but Sonia’s gaze became slightly pitying. “Don’t say that.” She cast her eyes down to Yamper, who was now dozing. “About yourself, I mean. Being good with Pokémon isn’t all about battling.”

Hop fought the urge to scowl. “I know that.” Even after all this time, people seemed so delicate around in him relation to Gloria and her success. Gloria was his best friend, and he had let go the dream of defeating Leon and becoming Champion a long time ago. He knew Sonia didn’t appreciate when he was self-deprecating – because, she said, she valued his input and effort so much here with her. But it annoyed Hop that people seemed to think they would hurt his feelings if they joked about it with him: he wanted so badly to be rid of that legacy of being second-best to Gloria in the Gym Challenge. He walked a different path, now, one less glitzy but fulfilling and important all the same. They were silent as the show returned and the commentator announced Nessa and another challenger were up to bat. Hop’s temporary irritation dissipated as he watched Sonia zap to attention. Nessa was her best friend – Hop suspected she might be more. As he spent most of his days with Sonia, he was privy to details of her life that many others were not: even then, he wasn’t completely sure. But he knew what he saw. He observed them together whenever Nessa came to visit, or whenever Sonia returned from hanging out with her. She always spent the rest of the evening with cheeks flushed with happiness, texting constantly. It was nice to see.

Nessa defeated the challenger with ease, and before long it was the final.

Any air of disquiet that might have remained between them dissipated entirely when the commentator announced it would be Nessa and Gloria facing off in the final round. Hop leaned forward in his chair, near vibrating with excitement. Sonia, too, was tensed eagerly as both combatants waved to the camera with the assured ease of those used to the eyes of the world being upon them. They crossed to the centre of the pitch to shake hands, keeping in line with the finalists’ tradition, then turned to take their places as the commentator announced the match was about to begin.

As Hop had predicted, it didn’t take long. Nessa was a fine trainer indeed, but still, like all of them, was nowhere near Gloria’s level. Gloria was well-prepared with her Bolthund, Lassie, and took down Nessa’s team with one well-aimed electric attack after another. Lassie moved as though she were an extension of Gloria herself, striking with precision in time with each of Gloria’s commands. Sonia raised a hand to cover her mouth as Nessa’s dynamaxed Drednaw came down in an explosion of light, and Gloria and Lassie celebrated in its wake.

“Ohhh,” the sound escaped Sonia in a long exhale. “Poor Nessa.” She shook her head. “I suppose we can’t be surprised though really, can we?” She chuckled. “Wow. I really enjoyed that! Be sure to wrangle me in next time there’s another tournament on. Nessa would be incredibly chuffed if I got into watching her matches more.”

“Would be my pleasure,” Hop replied cheerily. It had been fun to watch with Sonia – perhaps a few more matches and she would open up about her past rivalry with Leon. He would have loved to see her measured, cerebral approach applied on the battlefield. He stood, fingering his phone in his pocket, and Sonia grinned at him. “Off to make a call?” she asked.

“If you don’t mind.” His eyes drifted to watch the screen go dark as the commentator was signing off. “Need to get to unpacking what we’ve just seen, the usual.”

Sonia nodded and stood with her slumbering Yamper clasped to her chest. “Of course.” She turned back towards the back door that was, thankfully, slightly ajar. “Send my best!”

“Always do,” Hop shot back, already turning to dial. He strolled over to the back wall and leaned over it, arm dangling over the side. Gloria answered on the second ring, breathless and slightly echoey in the changing room. “Hop!” she cried. “Thanks for the text!”

Hop laughed quietly. “You’re welcome. Not like you needed it.” He turned his eyes towards the sky. “Great match! The last one especially – Nessa’s going to have to employ more than a half-ground type as her wildcard to get anywhere near you.”

“Ah, she’s amazing.” Hop could picture clearly the self-effacing wave of her hand. “It’s always a pleasure to battle her. All the leaders have their own quirks and eccentricities – the fun is in figuring them out and how to get round them.”

Hop nodded. “Yeah,” he said, when he realised she couldn’t see that. “Like a puzzle. You’d think I’d have been better at it.” They both laughed, and Hop felt himself relax. It was so easy with her.

“Anyway,” she continued. “We’ll be getting in at around 8:30 – you’ll be there to meet us, won’t you?”

Hop froze. “Meet you? Where? Who’s we?” he asked.

There was a long pause at the other end of the line. “Um, myself and Bede? At the station?” She ventured at last. “We’ll be in Postwick tonight?”

“I’m sorry, what?” Hop took the phone away from his ear to speak directly into the microphone on the top. “What are you on about?”

“Oh wow.” Gloria cleared her throat. “Uh, okay – I figured you already knew, because Bede got onto Sonia first? But he’s coming to our neck of the woods to do some study about Fairy-types in the Slumbering Weald for a month or so, and he asked Sonia to help out with resources and stuff? He got in touch a couple of weeks ago.”

Hop was stunned into silence for a long moment, head spinning. Bede, here? In Postwick – in the Slumbering Weald himself and Gloria held so dear? His relationship with the fellow was complicated; they had managed to leave the past behind them to the extent that Hop didn’t pull a face at the mere sight of him anymore. Bede and Gloria were close friends – or as close as one could be to Bede – and so Hop often ended up spending more time with him than he ever would have of his own volition by association. Hop could manage that; could manage having a drink with him in a group of three or four and not going for the jugular when he said something arrogant or disparaging. He didn’t know if he could manage weeks with him one-on-one, watching him traipse around his hometown and poking into the secrets of the Slumbering Weald.

“Hop?” he was startled back to reality by Gloria, sounding a little concerned now. “I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you, like I said it’s something I assumed Sonia would have mentioned and it just never came up. He’s staying with my mum – we have a spare room and she’s always delighted to have company, so it’s not like he’ll be hanging around Wedgehurst in the evenings or anything.” Luckily, Hop no longer lived with his mother in Postwick; while he worked only just up the road from his childhood home, at 21 and with a full-time job it seemed about time he found a place of his own. He rented a one-bedroom apartment above the now-closed boutique in Wedgehurst. The previous owner had been the little old lady who had also run the shop; when she had grown too frail to live alone she had moved out to live with her daughter in Motostoke. The family had been happy to rent her previous lodgings to Hop at a reasonable price, him being a local they had known for years. The apartment was small, with only two rooms - a living room-cum-kitchen and a bedroom - and somewhat old-fashioned, with a deep red shag carpet and wooden panelling in the front room, but Hop loved the place. He had made it his own, with his faded Pokémon League posters on the walls and Wooloo-patterned bedding on the rickety single bed. It was home.

“Hop?” Gloria asked again, and Hop shook his head. He could be professional about this – if Bede was coming to study the Slumbering Weald, this was work for him. As long as they didn’t stray too far outside that scope they would be alright. He could do it, for Gloria and for Sonia.  

“Sorry, sorry Gloria,” he replied at last, pressing a hand to his forehead. “It’s fine. Was just a bit taken by surprise, that’s all.” He sighed. “Look, I can’t say I’m thrilled at the prospect but it’s my job to be civil and help him out, isn’t it? Would be a pretty pants professor if I refused to lend a hand to someone in furthering their knowledge just because they got on my tits a bit, wouldn’t I?” His smile returned as he spoke. Honestly, Bede’s topic of study sounded pretty interesting; he was sure they would have plenty to discuss around it and would have no reason resort to petty squabbling as long as they both remembered why they were there.

“Oh, Hop, thank you.” He could picture her shoulders sagging with relief. “You are the best professor ever.”

“Professor’s assistant, at least for now,” he corrected with a small laugh. “You don’t need to thank me, Gloria. I’ll behave myself provided Bede does too.”

“Oh, stop it. Of course he will. He’s a nice guy, you should give him more of a chance.” Hop opened his mouth, his lips forming the shape of a snarled retort, only to sigh instead. No point getting off on the wrong foot with this. “Sure,” he responded at last. “Anyway, what’s the plan tonight?”

“Well, we’ll be getting into Wedgehurst at around 8:30,” Gloria replied. “Then I said I would cook dinner at my place? Mum is away until tomorrow – using a package deal I got as a thank you for an endorsement from the Rose Hotel – so I’m going to crash at home with Bede and then head out early in the morning. He’s going to get up with me and head out to the lab to meet with you and Sonia to discuss what he wants to do.” She paused, allowing that to sink in. “Sorry I can’t stick around longer. Busy, busy.”

“Nah, sure what would you be doing? I get it.” He had to smile at her apologetic tone – he knew if she could stay and supervise to ensure they made an effort to get along, she absolutely would. Hop knew she would love if he and Bede were to become friends – perhaps this was fate.

“Anyway,” Gloria broke the silence, obviously aware Hop had drifted into his own thoughts again. “See you tonight?”

“Yeah,” Hop replied. “See you tonight.”

 ***

The sun was just beginning to set when Hop headed out to the station. It was always a breathtaking sight, the rolling hills of Wedgehurst and Postwick dark blotches against the majesty of the glowing pink-orange sky. Hop paused to observe it, hands jammed in his pockets. He shivered against the cool evening breeze, rocking back on his heels. Just down the hill he could see the neon lights of the station glowing ominously. He pulled out his phone to check the time – 20:24. No point being late, he would only be delaying the inevitable and invoking Gloria’s wrath; the station was literally a 3 minute walk from his home, he had no excuse. He had even gotten off from work early – he suspected Sonia felt guilty for forgetting that his former nemesis would be around town for a few weeks starting tomorrow. She had been so flustered when he had told her. She had been so busy when he had called, she’d said, and once the conversation had finished her promise had gone right out of head. Hop had been magnanimous: he had had time to accept that it was happening and there was nothing that could be done. He was determined to be mature about the whole thing; Sonia, he suspected, was far more grateful he hadn’t made a fuss than she had let on.

As he made his way down the cobblestone street, he could see the lights of the train approaching in the distance. He was struck with the picture of Gloria and Bede sitting opposite one another, chatting and showing each other stupid shite on their phones, the same way himself and Gloria had so very long ago on that first trip to Motostoke. He ground his teeth together, annoyed at the prick of jealousy that accompanied that image. Don’t be stupid. Bede’s friendship with Gloria would never be as deep as the bond Hop and her shared. Getting territorial would not prove a warm welcome.

He headed into the swinging gates at the entrance just at the train pulled up to the platform. The station was fairly empty, as always, save for the handful of people waiting in the reception area. Passengers trickled out, into the arms of loved ones or hurrying on their respective ways. Hop strained until he caught sight of a flash of white-blond. He barely had time to register it as Bede before Gloria was in his line of vision, waving wildly before careening into his arms.

“Hey Gloria,” he greeted, wrapping his arms around her. The moment was so supremely normal that for a second he forgot completely about the bizarre situation he was in and just enjoyed holding his best friend.

That couldn’t last, however, and eventually he had to release her and step back regard Bede lingering behind her. Even when not bound to his gym uniform, he tended towards pink – Opal’s legacy, Hop supposed. Tonight he donned a rose-coloured jumper and pale blue jeans, his long, white-blond hair brushed back into a loose ponytail. The single diamond earring he wore, dangling on a golden chain, glimmered in the fluorescent lighting of the station interior. Hop realised with a jolt he hadn’t even begun to consider how stark and strange Bede would appear against the pastel greens and greys of his hometown. He was surreal, like an accidental splotch of electric pink on a careless artist’s quaint countryside watercolour. 

“Hop.” Bede moved forward, his hand extended in greeting. Hop shook himself from his reverie to grasp it, careful to meet Bede’s eyes and ignore Gloria’s stern look.

“Hiya, Bede,” he replied, shaking his hand before returning his own to his pockets. “Good… good to see you.”

“Likewise.” Bede’s lip curled. Hop was sure he could see the insincerity behind that statement in his eyes and was highly amused by the prospect of annoying him for weeks on end. He had to bite back a snide retort. Give him a chance. Like he hadn’t given him ample chances already – it had been 7 years, and Hop was still unable to warm to him. That had to mean something. They stood for a moment, sizing each other up, before Gloria took Bede’s arm and gestured towards the doorway with her free hand.

“Come on you two,” she insisted, tugging on Bede’s sleeve. “I don’t know about you Bede, but I’m beat. Let’s get some food on and settle in.”

Bede smiled angelically back at her. “Sounds heavenly.” Hop supressed the urge to roll his eyes at that contrived posh accent and dug his hands deeper into his pockets to trail after them towards Postwick.

It was going to be a long month.

***

A/N: Still reeling I actually started this, so out of the game with fanfiction it’s unbelievable, haha. Last time I was posting it was on fanfiction.net and author’s notes were still a thing. Anyways – not sure how far into this I’ll get, but will do my best! Updates will be sporadic because I work full-time and am somewhat rusty with fanfiction and writing in general – but I do adore these characters. Will upload to AO3 (believe that’s where the cool kids hang out nowadays) once I am approved for an account.

And yes, the Poké-nicknames are the same ones I use in-game, hehe.

Enjoy! Feedback appreciated.

[wolfpawn]

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 122

Chapter Summary - Danielle is under considerable pressure with work and a small incident with the dogs causes her to react badly, much to Tom's concern.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long.  This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

All image rights belong to their owners

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog​ @jessibelle-nerdy-mum​ @nonsensicalobsessions​ @damalseer​ @hiddlesbitch1​ @winterisakiller @fairlightswiftly​ @salempoe​ @wolfsmom1

Danielle exhaled anxiously as she stared at the notes she had woken to that morning. It was clear that an insurance company as trying to weasel its way out of paying for something that had happened on one of the US sets and a “Blame Game” had commenced between the client and the insurance company, and both thought they could pin their issues on Safeguard and sue them for the damages, meaning their legal team were gearing up to fight back, but once again, the slack fell on Danielle to sort.

She groaned in frustration as she tried to make heads or tails of what Lucas had sent her. She was used to her own way of doing things, which, as she had learned from many of those that made up her team, was identical to how they did things, and even though his method differed from her own, she was used to how Lucas laid out his work, but what was in front of her made no rhyme or reason as far as she could see. She could see how errors could be made if this is how they organised things, not that she would ever acknowledge that publically.

After three hours of head-wrecking attempts to decode and decipher someone she did not even know to see’s shorthand, she rose from the kitchen table and went to make herself a cup of tea. As soon as she did that, Bobby and Mac began to watch her. ‘Bathroom for you boys, I left you too long as it is.’ She insisted as she ushered the two dogs to the back door. Both dogs walked into the back garden and had begun to consider where to alleviate their bladders when Danielle turned to turn on the kettle, only for her phone to begin to ring. Looking at the number, she swore and cursed the caller before answering. ‘Hello, Lucas.’

‘I see you are just as cheerful as myself regarding the whole situation.’

Danielle scowled at the phone. ‘It is one thing having to clean up mine and my crew’s mistakes, though to date, my worst mistakes have been not dressing as though there is a chance of a northerly wind, not dating paperwork as you want, month, then the day and forgetting my own fax number. This is tidying up the mess of someone I don’t know and who seems to write in a code that would take Alan Turing three years to decipher the work of and I am curious as to why something regarding the US office is once again finding its way to mine.’

‘We have double the workload over here, Danielle, you know that.’ Lucas stated defensively.

‘You also have almost double the staff.’ Danielle countered. ‘I have four guys, all of whom are on jobs at the moment, leaving me to deal with the office paperwork, the managerial work I have to do anyway, my own personal workload and this, Lucas. I cannot delay the paperwork or the Legendary project and I have the next part of the Branagh project due soon and in case it has slipped your mind, having a scene where they effectively bomb a city and shooting the chaos that ensues from such bombings, is not an easy thing to sign off on.’

‘Look, Danielle, I know you are incredibly busy, I do, and I cannot thank you enough for the immense volume of work you have put in over there, really. We never thought we would have a British office up and running this quickly, much less so considering having it as efficiently as you have it. There is a reason why you were able to name your price, you are able to see things that no one else can, you were able to tear apart my work so easily because you are brilliant at what you do. Unfortunately, that also makes you the best person for this job. Your abilities are both your greatest attribute and most cursable one.’

‘Except I don’t even know Matthew’s shorthand, so this is taking far longer than it should.’

‘Because of the legal aspect of things, this office was asked to keep away from it all, especially Matthew, he cannot be seen to be involved in this in any way and we, as his close teammates are deemed to be bias. We have proof via receipts, according to the legal team, that the company paid for low-quality equipment.’

‘It is all Safeguard though, why don’t they want an independent contractor to look through it.’

‘Yes, it is all Safeguard, but we have nothing to hide, so we are going to show them that and the legal team knew you were the best for the job. We also need to be ready to countersue for defamation for trying to ruin our name. That is part and parcel of this, and unfortunately, when the shit hits the fan over there, it will be us cleaning up your mess, myself or Zamir in their office, it is all fair exchange at the end of it all.’

Danielle wanted to snap that thus far, there was little work coming from her side and to not hold their breath on the British office giving them any major work anytime soon, but she knew if she started, she may not stop, and her work relationship with Lucas was tethering between cold and barely courteous at that best of times, so instead, she swallowed back her anger. ‘Have those receipts faxed to me, and I will look at them too.’ she ordered. Looking to the window, her eyes widened as she realised what she was seeing. ‘Shit, Lucas, I have to go.’ she did not wait for a response before hanging up the phone throwing it on the counter and rushing outside. ‘What are you two doing?’ she snapped. Immediately both dogs looked at her, Mac had his ears down, knowing that they were in some form of trouble, Bobby acted as though she was simply coming out to join them, and rushed over to her. Danielle was so busy looking at the destruction site her dogs had created in front of her, she did not realise that Bobby had forgotten his manners in the excitement of having her out with them and that he jumped up on her leg. When she looked down and saw what he was doing, her eyes widened more. ‘No.’ she snapped earning a confused look from Bobby. ‘Bold.’ Having never been chastised in such a manner by her before, Bobby whined, not understanding fully what was going on. ‘Bold dog.’ he lowered his head. When she turned and looked at Mac, he was looking at her guilty. ‘You actually know better.’ He too lowered his head. ‘Bad, bad dog.’

‘Elle?’ She turned to see a very concerned looking Tom behind her in the doorway. ‘What’s happened?’

‘What do you think just happened, these fucking dogs just wrecked the place and to add to that, I am trying to deal with complete and utter fuckwits that are trying to weasel out of acknowledging their own faults and are trying to sue the fucking company, I am taking the slack yet again because of Lucas’s fucking office and what does he say about it, that they’ll have to cover my ass someday like I am on some sort of borrowed fucking time before I fuck up, and while I am trying to deal with all of that shit, these two decided to re-enact the Great fucking Escape,’ She ranted.

Tom looked at her, paying attention to how she was speaking, the sheer number of times she swore and her general mannerisms. ‘Darling, have you eaten or drank anything today?’

Danielle gave a sarcastic laugh. ‘Tom, when the fuck in the whole of that do you think I have five minutes to eat? I left the bedroom and I heard the machine whirring to inform me of the sheer level of fuck ups I have to deal with today, I have not had five minutes.’

Tom went over to her and put his arms around her. ‘You need to take a small break, just an hour or so and get something to eat and a little headspace,’ he insisted, his voice low and his tone soft.

‘I have too much to do, Tom.’ She dismissed.

‘No, Elle, you are getting some food and you are taking a break, you’re incredibly stressed, you need to take a step back.’ He kissed her head.

‘Tom, I don’t have time for this bullshit.’ She growled.

‘Elle, you know I love you, I do, but you are being incredibly horrid and bitchy right now and we both know it is because you are terribly stressed and quite hungry.’

‘I am not….’

‘Elle, you just called Bobby and Mac “these fucking dogs” and you are ignoring the rules you set down for their training and shouting at them, you have Bobby looking as though he is scared of you. You are scaring them.’

Danielle turned and looked at Mac, who was looking at her as though he was expecting her to start giving out again and then she looked at Bobby, who had the appearance of an animal that had just been kicked. She said nothing and her throat began to feel tight and she felt the guilt begin to seep in. She inhaled and looked down at Bobby, who had been clearly happy by Tom’s return but was unsure as to whether he should move or not for fear that he would receive another telling off. Danielle knelt down and scooped the puppy into her arms, kissing his head, then she looked at Mac and called the dog over to her, he obeyed immediately and she hugged him against her too. Mac nudged her chin and wagged his tail slightly, smearing the mud that had been on his snout from his digging efforts onto her, while Bobby ensured no part of her clothes were left clean and he began to wriggle around as he licked her face. ‘You two need to be cleaned up.’

‘I’ll get changed and I will do that.’ Tom turned and went to walk into the house.

‘No, I’m destroyed as it is, I’ll do it. I need to step away from work, anyway.’

‘You need to eat.’

‘I will, in a minute.’ She insisted. ‘Keep Mac out while I do this guy, I will do them one at a time.’ She carried Bobby through the house to prevent him from wrecking the place.

She washed him quickly enough, talking to him as she did, apologising for how she acted, keeping her tone soft and rewarding his good behaviour with affection and attention. As she dried the excess water off him, she cuddled him to her. When that was done, she placed him on the dog bed and went and got Mac. Though he was significantly heavier than the other dog, she carried him through too to prevent too much cleaning, repeating the process with him, though taking longer due to his two layers of fur. When he was dried and she brought him back to the dog bed too and the pleased dog curled up with his smaller partner in crime as Danielle placed the dirty dog towels at the washing machine before stripping off her wet and muddy clothes and choosing to grab some clothes she had planned on washing but were not too bad and walked back into the kitchen, where Tom watched her pick up the paperwork again.

‘You still haven’t eaten.’

‘I’m not hungry.’ She dismissed.

‘Do you have a headache?’ Tom asked, already knowing the answer. She nodded. ‘Take a painkiller, get a wash and I will have some tea, soup and a nice sandwich waiting, no arguing.’ he insisted.

‘Work…’

‘Can wait. Elle, I know you’re busy, you made that very clear earlier, but you were the one that told me you never wanted me going too far for a role, especially if it was going to harm my health. When I am at my busiest, you always make sure that I am fed and watered and here you are, dealing with more than that and you need me to tell you, stop and take a step back, and that is what I am doing, like it or not.’ Tom walked over and kissed her head. ‘I am worried about you. I have never seen you act like that before.’

‘I…’

‘Talk to me, Elle.’ He pleased. ‘Take a few minutes in the shower, and when you come out, we will talk. I want to help, but you need to tell me how.’

‘Sure.’ She nodded, going over to the press and taking out a painkiller and taking it before she walked off.

When Danielle returned to the kitchen, Tom, she realised, had not simply cooked her own soup for her, but had run to the shop for her favourite wrap and a nice strong coffee. ‘Sit and eat.’ He ordered.

‘Yes, Sir.’ She joked.

Tom watched as she sat down and looked at the food. ‘Elle?’

Danielle looked at the counter she had thrown her phone onto unceremoniously and got to her feet and retrieved it before going to the call log and finding what she needed. As soon as she pressed the call button, Tom frowned in disapproval. ‘Hi Lucas, Danielle here, I’m sorry about earlier, the dogs decided we needed a make a pond feature in the garden. Have Matthew send on a key of his shorthand, that is not “assisting” in any way, but it will mean that I may actually decode that damn thing. Thank you, goodbye.’ she hung up the phone and placed it down before smiling at him. ‘Thank you.’ She smiled before taking some soup. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘What’s going on, Elle?’

‘I am so stressed with all of this, and then our dogs act like dogs and I...Jesus, I was so horrible to them, but with the Branagh job, all the office work and everything with….’ Tom walked over and put his arms around her. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘You need to step back.’

‘Tom, I can’t, you know that.’ She argued. ‘I cannot just pull out of this contract and I cannot just back off because it is shit for a few weeks, I worked my ass off to get here.’

‘I know, but you’re not you and you need to relax a bit. Elle, you have to look after you.’

‘I know.’ She leant in against him.

[necrokittytales]

Necrokitty Tales: Trouble in Inkwell Isle (Chapter 29)

Authors’ note: Necrida’s writing will be in italics and SPKC’s writing with be regular font. If you have no idea what this roleplaying thing is, you can start from the beginning here. NSFW here!

(A long time coming - sorry about this, totally on SPKC for this one - got nailed by life in general. An extra long, action packed chapter to make up for it!)

———————————————————————————

“What is taking him so long?!” Sullivan said, dress up in a blue Hawaiian shirt, a white cap and white shorts. “It’s only been like five minutes! Calm down already. You’re making me nervous,” Hilda snapped. She was similarly disguised, wearing a white cloth on her head, red sunglasses and a white dotted red dress. 

Carlos had told them he would get the tickets and asked them to wait for him near the bridge to the third isle. The waiting was starting to make both of them antsy but Sullivan’s whining was the straw to break Hilda’s back if he kept yapping. Thankfully, after a few more minutes, Carlos returned. He walked calmly towards them with a big smile on his face. 

"Finally!” Sullivan yelled, “What took you so long?” “You can’t rush love, mi amigo…” The cat said, holding two tickets. Sullivan and Hilda looked at each other, preferring not to ask any more questions and just took the tickets. “Two tickets…So you’re not coming?” the salamander asked. “I will accompany you, my friend, but I don’t need one to get in,” he assured with a wink. They arrived at the hive and got in the line for the visitors. When they arrived at the door, a very slim male bee asked to see their tickets. Sullivan and Hilda showed theirs. The bee turned to Carlos who smiled charmingly at the bee. “I’m here for Beatrice,” the cat informed him. The bee narrowed his eyes. “…There’s 235 Beatrice’s in this hive, sir…” “I’m here for THE Beatrice,” Carlos repeated. The bee opened his eyes wide. “THE Beatrice?” Carlos nodded, smiling even more. “…A moment, please.” He stepped behind the reception desk and made a phone call. The three saw the look of surprise in the receptionist’s face. He hung up the phone wordlessly before returning to the group. “..eh… Mr. Buenaventura?” “At your service.” The cat tipped his hat. “.. She’s asked for you to wait for her at the Main Hall,” he said, still looking at the cat, skeptical. “Muchas gracias!” Carlos waved and walked, whistling happily next to the other two, who were as surprised as the receptionist. They entered the hive and quickly followed the group of tourists before finally arriving in a circular hall as tall as several stories of the hive. There was buzzing sounds and movement everywhere they looked. The visitors group gathered in the center and four guards accompanied them. A very small female bee greeted the tourists and started explaining the history of the hive. Sullivan and Hilda tried to remain behind the group and be as discreet as possible as they tried to figure out where the prison was. After the speech was over, the guide asked the group to move forward to a corridor that would take them to the honey factory. “Vaya! That was surprisingly interesting,” Carlos said, happy to have learnt something new. “Say, how much do we owe you for the tickets?” Sullivan asked, grateful. “Your friendship!” Carlos replied patting him in the back. “I would do anything to help love soar. Now you two go ahead and save your loved ones, and live your happily ever after!” Sullivan’s eyes brightened. “Thank you, Carlos! I will never forget this!” He shook his hand. Hilda rolled her eyes. “Happily ever after…pff…” She mumbled, crossing her arms and blushing slightly. “Carlos!” A female voice called from behind the hispanic cat. The cat turned around to see an impressive bee fluttering toward him. “Oh! There you are my beautiful sunshine!” He greeted the large female bee guard wearing her uniform. “Sorry I made you wait.” “No need to apologize, it was actually very instructive,” he explained, gesturing to the tour group. The bee looked at her wrist watch. “I only have an hour before I need to go back to work…” “Then let us not waste time!” He offered her his arm and walked towards the mess hall. Carlos turned and shot a wink at Hilda and Sullivan before disappearing into the crowd. “Hey! Keep up or you’ll be kicked out” One of the guards flanking the tour group yelled at Sullivan and Hilda, forcing them to return back to the group.

____

Amber bounded through a beautiful field full of catnip. She wasn’t sure how she arrived here but it was a welcome respite from her ordeal in the hive. The wonderful sun felt warm on her fuzzy body and she couldn’t help but rejoice in this new experience. She pounced and leapt and napped. This was the best day ever! She thought it couldn’t get any better when a dark shadow rose over from behind. She turned around to see a very monstrous looking Cagney. “I’m gonna to eat you!” He roared. Her eyes went wide. “No! No! Don’t eat me!” She tried to run away but found she couldn’t move. She looked down to see the field was turning to mud under her feet. She tried to run faster only for his large gnarled hands to seize her. She waved her paws pathetically. “Wait, wait! I’m not very tasty! I’m all fur!” “You’ll be a delicious pussy!” He growled as he lifted her up in the air above his face. She almost groaned at the pun…until she realized it wasn’t a pun. The flicking of his tongue between her legs made her tail shoot straight up. “Wait, wait!” Amber shrieked, pushing down her suddenly way too short skirt.

He continued to lash at her entrance and she bucked and squirmed helplessly. “Ooh, uh wait? No, a little to the right. Yeah, ah!” Amber mewled starting to enjoy the attention. She threw her head back and felt something sharp poke her. Amber woke up with a startled gasp, looking around wildly. When she realized she wasn’t being stabbed, she sighed. “Just a dream. Just a really messed up dream!” She exhaled, trying to shift only to find herself unable to do so. She looked down to see a pair of green, leafy limbs wrapped around her body, holding her snuggly. She glanced behind her to see Cagney dead asleep to the world, snoring. Was he…cuddling her? That was kinda cute? He was mumbling something about a blimp and rubbing his petals into her back, every now and then poking her with a thorn. That thorn part was less cute. She remained where she, scrunching her nose as she couldn’t remember why they were here together. There was a knock at the door and Amber jerked fully awake as Cagney groaned. Holy crap, how could she forget? They were in the hive. Queen Rumor’s hive, to be precise. And it was quickly becoming a dangerous place to be for anything non-insect. 

Although Cagney would probably disagree with that statement, she remembered, spotting the bandanna around his neck. It was imbued with some form of magic curse that turned this flower into a mindless vegetable, subservient to the crazy Queen. The Queen would be most displeased to find the feline here within Cagney’s quarters and Amber did not want to stick around to find out what punishment would lie in store for her. “Gotta go, stay safe, Cagney,” Amber whispered, wriggling out of his grip as the door started to unlock. She climbed up the wall into the rafters just as the door opened. Cagney felt around and blinked unsuredly. “Amber?” He asked. The cat was gone.

Rumor opened the door slowly, holding the scepter tightly in her hand “..Sorry for waking you up,” she spoke coldly, glancing at the salted water and locking the door behind her. “Just came here to check on you.” She pointed her scepter at the water and turned it back to dirt.

Cagney brightened considerably at seeing the bee. “Good morning, Rumor…it’s morning, right?” He stood up, still hesitant eyeing what used to be the salt water. “Listen, I kinda want to apologize for what happened yesterday. When I’m in that form, I don’t have the best control and it just really wrecks my ability to think.”

Rumor’s heart melted at the carnation’s apology, but she kept her cool facade. “You’ve turned into that before?” She asked, a bit relieved that it wasn’t her bandanna's doing.

He nodded. “Yeah, one of the ‘perks’ when I traded my soul to look like this,” he gestured to his body. “It’s kind of my body’s way to defend myself if things get really bad…or if I get really angry.” He stretched. “Still wasn’t strong enough to stop Cuphead and Mugman when they collected our contracts,” he chuckled.

The Queen’s look softened. “Why where you angry before? Was it something I said?” She played the scene again in her head, blushing heavily.

He hesitated. “I don’t think it was anything you did. Maybe I was just anxious about becoming a royal gardener. I mean, do I have to make public appearances and stuff?” He asked.

“That’s what’s bugging you?” She smiled sweetly, getting close to him and taking his hands. “You just have to keep doing what you’ve been doing in your own garden. Except, in here… with me…” She got closer to his face, encouraging the plant to kiss her.

The carnation perked up at the touch of the bee and nuzzled her with his petals. “You’re a doll, Rumor,” he sighed happily. He eyed the spot on the bed that had been occupied just a few minutes before and brightened even more. “By the way, I really want to thank you for sending in your special service guard last night.”

Rumor’s soft look disappeared. “what are you talking about?”

Cagney nodded, not noticing the change. “Ya know, Amber. The cat I was fighting with? She came in and told me all about how you recruited her for the special guard thing ya had and how she was here to protect me.” “And I gotta admit, I never petted a cat before, but she was pretty soft. Definitely helped relieve some of my stress!” He exclaimed with a chuckle, “I don’t even know when we fell asleep but it was probably one of the best sleep I’ve had in a while! It was like holding a warm teddy bear. With teeth.” The carnation showed Rumor his hand where the cat had bit him. “She bites pretty hard if you touch the wrong spot. Gotta make sure to stroke correctly.” He pressed a kiss to Rumor’s cheek. “So, what’s the plan for today?” He asked cheerfully. He paused at the expression on her face. “Something I said?” 

____

The Queen Bee stormed out of the room. “Guards! GUARDS!” She screeched loudly and almost instantly a couple of guards, armed with spears, appeared on the corridor. “Yes, my Queen!?” They both answered. “Seal the hive. Nobody gets in or out! Look for the small cat we caught the other day at the docks with Cagney, and bring me the responsible bee of the prisoner transfer to the camp!” The guards nodded and immediately flew to carry her orders. An alarm blared and the hive became a buzz with commotion with windows and gates quickly being sealed. 

Cagney followed Rumor out, looking really confused. “But she was wearing one of these?” He pointed out, gesturing to his bandanna. He doubted Rumor could hear him.

Rumor turned to Cagney, even more confused and angry. “What? What did she tell you? What did you do in there?” Jealousy started to sting her heart. “My Q-queen!” Beatrice, the giant female bee guard, flew towards them, exhausted. “I-I’m sorry - I was-!” “Silence! Escort Cagney to my chambers. Nobody but me goes in or out!” Rumor yelled at the tired bee who nodded and made a sign for Cagney to follow her. “We’ll talk later” Rumor said to Cagney before flying down the corridor, leaving him alone with the bee.

____

“And that’s how we manufacture the delicious honey we all enjoy!” The small female guide announced, holding a jar of Rumor’s honey. “Are there any questions?”  

Hilda and Sullivan seemed a bit traumatized by what they had seen but at the question of the tour guide, they quickly snapped out of it. “This is a waste of time,” Sullivan loudly murmured to Hilda. “We got to find a way to get out of the group!” As if an answer to his prayers, an alarm suddenly blared loudly throughout the hive. “Attention please! A fugitive has escaped. For your safety, please remain indoors and cooperate with the guards!” The bees started to fly in an organised fashion to their homes and places to shelter themselves. The tourist group though, started screaming and running to the nearest exits. The guards were trying to keep them together but they were too many to control. Hilda smiled, grabbed Sullivan’s hand and ran away from the group, back towards the main hall.

____

Cagney allowed the large guard bee to lead him away as Rumor flew off. He couldn’t help but notice the fur on her uniform. “I think you got some fur on your pants…and your chest,” he pointed out, realizing midway through his observation that this was probably not the time to be pointing this out to the clearly stressed out but yet simultaneously relaxed looking bee. He cleared his throat and changed the topic. “So, eh, any chance I could go looking for the intruder too?” He asked hopefully. 

Beatrice immediately cleaned the fur from her uniform and cleared her throat, ignoring her red cheeks. “You heard the Queen. No one in, no one out” They reached Rumor’s office and the guard opened the door for Cagney, signaling him to enter. “I’ll be guarding the door." 

Cagney entered the room only to hear it lock behind him. He turned around and tugged on the door knob uselessly. "I’m getting really sick of being the damsel in distress around here,” he grumbled. He looked around his surroundings, trying to see if there were another exit. 

The big window that allowed the light to come in, was now sealed shut. The only light came from several small lamps hung around the room. The lamps illuminated the walls in Rumor’s chambers revealing them to be covered by books, perfectly arranged on the shelves. A few books were laid on the ground opened and stacked. 

With no easy exit, and nothing else better to do, Cagney flopped himself down on Rumor’s bed and began to play with his petals. “Ugh, hopefully Rumor fixes things up so I can get out of here.” He hummed to himself, “Maybe I could make friends with some friendly woodland creatures or sing a song or…” He jerked back up. “Oh my God, I AM turning into a damsel!” He spotted Rumor’s patch of garden and gave a slight smile. “Well, at least that’s something.” He rooted himself within the dirt and started to strengthen himself, especially since he was still feeling pretty sapped from the salt water. 

____

Having escaped the tour group, Hilda and Sullivan now looked around, trying to find a sign or some indication of where the prison cells were. Although there were thankfully no guards in sight, there was also nothing else but hundreds of bees flying in perfect lines to their shelters. “Arg! How can they live without any signs?!” Sullivan groaned in desperation. “Let’s just think for a second!” Hilda exclaimed. She paused and thought. “If you build a prison here, where would you put it?” Sullivan seemed to be thinking but before he could come up with an answer, Hilda spoke again. “Underground! No windows, only the doors you build, it’s perfect to lock up people!” She exclaimed. They found a set of stairs going down and they ran towards it. “I can’t help but be nervous that you were able to think of this so quickly!” Sullivan admitted as they descended, “and so enthusiastically…” he couldn’t help but add.

____

Amber ran like hell through the halls, using all four paws to propel her tiny furry body like a speeding bullet, whizzing past confused bees and tourists alike. Looks like Cagney had blabbed and very soon she wouldn’t have an exit. And without an exit, then it was only a matter of time before the guards found her. Then she might actually end up wearing a real piece of jewelry instead of the fake one she currently sported. One that turned her brain to mush. She scurried along the top part of the main hall but paused at the sound of a familiar voice.

Amber knew that voice. That was Sully! She saw him and an unfamiliar looking woman running toward the set of stairs leading into the dungeon and she nimbly leapt down behind them. “Hi, Sully! Looking for me?” She called out, striking a pretty pose.

Sullivan turned to the voice behind him and his eyes brightened at the sight of his beloved feline. “Amber!” He hugged her tightly. “I was SO worried about you! What did they do to you? Did they hurt you?” He asked, turning her around to look for wounds.

Amber allowed Sully to check her for wounds. “Aw, I’m okay! Nothing I can’t handle." 

Hilda looked around, hoping to see her friend any second now. "Where’s Cagney?” Amber looked at the woman and realized who she was. “Oh….you’re Hilda, aren’t you?”

Hilda lowered her sunglasses to have a better look at the cat. “Have we met?”

“Officially? No. From what Cagney told me or, uh tried to tell me when he could,” Amber admitted, “I figured you had to be her." 

She glanced aside and pulled them into a side hallway as a patrol buzzed by. She glanced at Sullivan. "This place is a looney bin, Sully. You shouldn’t have come, although it’s awfully romantic that you have,” she purred.

The salamander blushed. “Gee, well, of course I had to come. They took you without even hearing you out! It was all a misunderstanding.” He paused, looking at the patrol fly by. “Yeah, yeah, get a room!” Hilda snapped at them. “Where’s Cagney?” She hesitated. “…And what exactly did he say about me?” She asked, her curiosity stronger than her survival instinct.

Amber would have to break the news to Sully eventually. Especially considering there were nearly a 100 eye witnesses placing her at the scene of the crime, it was only a matter of time before he found out. But now was not the time. She turned to Hilda. “Well, last I saw, he was locked in his room. And do you wanna know what he said before or after he got brainwashed?” She asked, smoothing down her fur.

Hilda raised an eyebrow. “His room? Since when does he-brainwashed!? What are you talking about!?”

The cat groaned. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going on here. After we got arrested and tossed in jail, the Queen talked to Cagney and he must have pissed her off something royal-” she hated herself for the accidental pun- “Because the next morning, they came down to the prison talking about taking us to reprogramming camps or something like that.” She shuddered. “A lot of the bees are acting really weird, more weird than normal after they all went to this reprogramming thing so I busted us out. We were doing pretty well until we ended up in the Queen’s office and uh…Cagney couldn’t hide in time.”

Amber motioned for them to duck down with her behind a cleaning trolley. “It was the Queen and some scary ant lady. And guards. Lots of guards. She scampered down another hallway. "He and Rumor started yelling at each other until she made him put on this stupid cloth and the next thing I know he’s acting just as weird as those bees, going all gaga for the queen!”

Sullivan noticed the cloth on Amber’s neck. Before she could speak any further, he grabbed the feline and pinned her facing against the wall. Hilda nearly jumped in surprise. “What are you doing!? Has everyone gone insane today?!” She exclaimed, yanking off her glasses. “I’m so sorry!” The amphibian apologized profusely as he carefully removed the bandanna. “How do you feel now?” he asked once it was removed from Amber’s neck,  “Are you still mind controlled?” Hilda facepalmed herself.

Amber turned bright red, feeling the salamander press into her from behind. “Sully, trust me I’d love to but now is not the time-oh!” She chuckled. “Oh, that’s just a cleaning rag I swiped from one of the janitorial trolleys! Fooled old grumpy petals last night into letting me crash the night with him so I didn’t get caught.”

Sullivan released Amber. “Oh boy! I-I-I’m so sorry!” He blushed and felt horrible for being so bold with her. 

Amber’s face turned serious. “No, the real one doesn’t come off.  And that’s a big problem. It’s messing with his mind. Every minute he’s starting to forget stuff. He’s having trouble remembering why he came here! He can’t even say your name anymore!”

Hilda felt a slightly jealous at twinge the mention of the cat sleeping with Cagney, but the thought quickly stepped away at the idea of her dumb weed forgetting completely about  her. She shook away her thoughts, focusing on their situation and how dangerous it had quickly become. She paid more attention to the bees around them and noticed that the worker ones had a bracelet, while the higher ranking bees had bandannas around their necks. “The cloth must be more powerful than the bracelets,” Hilda concluded, talking more for herself than for them. She pulled off for her own cloth on her head and tied it around her neck. “Sullivan, wear the cat’s cloth! We’ll pretend we are brainwashed that we found the fugitive and we are on our way to deliver her to Rumor."  She turned to Amber. "You think you can take us to Cagney?”

Amber nodded. “Yeah, I last saw him locked into the room. But there’s a good chance Rumor moved him to hers when the alarm went off.” Amber scratched her ears. “Which one do you want me to take you to?”

Hilda sighed, starting to get anxious. “I guess the best option is going to Rumor’s directly. That way if he isn’t there she might tell us where he is.” Sullivan nodded as he tied the fabric around his neck.

Amber nodded once more. “Okay, then hold onto me like you’re taking me prisoner and I’ll whisper directions to you." 

Hilda, Sully and Amber traveled through the hive, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, which was rather hard to do when you were a human, a lizard and a cat in a hive full of bees. However, Hilda had that natural 'approach me and die’ look to her that deterred most bees from asking any questions and they were able to make it to Rumor’s door soon enough. As they neared the door - and the large bee guarding it - Amber’s fur suddenly went on end and she hissed.

"HALT!” The guard shouted. “ What’s going on here?” She demanded, extending her arm signaling them to stop. They obeyed but Sullivan couldn’t help but tremble, nervous at the sight of the imposing figure. 

“We are taking the fugitive to Rumor” Hilda said, keeping her cool. Beatrice eyed them skeptically before looking at their bandannas. “Rumor is not here. Who gave you the order?” She growled. Hilda gulped but remained still. “Beatrice,” she said, knowing that there where more than 200 Beatrices living in the hive. “Beatrice who?” The bee started to reach to her gun. Hilda was about to reply 'Smith’ when Carlos appeared from another hallway. “Ah! Ahí estás, my sunshine! You left me wanting more,” he smiled charmingly, leaning against the door and waving a pair of handcuffs, one side still attached to his wrist. The large bee looked at him, surprised, and then reddened. “H-how…?” “I told you I was full of surprises,” he purred. He noticed the group and gave them a smile. “Is this the fugitive I keep hearing about?” “Y-yeah,” Beatrice admitted, “But, uh, I’m not sure~” “Great! Then YOU can turn off the alarm and WE can finish what we started.” He shook the cuffs, smiling mischievously. Beatrice was really tired of guarding the door. She took one more look at the group, trying to figure out if they were really brainwashed. “Who did you say gave you the order?” “Uhh..” Hilda was caught by surprise, but Sullivan quickly intervened. “Beatrice! You know… the one with the…” He did a gesture with his opened hand circling his face. The guard opened her eyes widely. “Oh! Beatrice Smith?” Hilda grunted. “I thought she had to leave because of the wax incident.” The bee mimicked the same gesture around her face. “Y-yeah, uh… ” “The fugitive hid in her home,” Hilda intervened, noticing Sullivan was running out of material. Carlos signaled Beatrice to get lower and whispered something in her ear. The group saw the bee blushing and they both started giggling. It was comical to see the large, tall bee being all cute with the smaller skinny cat. “Fine! Fine. You can leave the prisoner here.” She unlocked the door. “I’ll go call Rumor."  Beatrice flew away through the corridor. When she was out of the way, Carlos applauded the trio. "Bravo! Bravísimo! Honestly, I never thought you were going to make it”

Amber cautiously watched Carlos. “What’s he doing here? Who is this?” She asked Sully as Hilda strode towards the door and fiddled with it

“He’s a friend, he helped us get in the hive,” Sullivan answered Amber, letting her go when the bee left. Carlos made a small bow and smiled charmingly.

Amber stuck close to Sully. “If you say so,” she acquiesced. Hilda opened the door with a shove, eager to see her friend again. “Cagney! Cagney?” She called out looking around the office and noticing the Queen’s chambers door open. Cagney’s head jerked toward the office at the familiar voice. “Hi-hello?” He tried, peeking out..

“Cagney!” Hilda smiled and ran towards him to give him a hug. “What are you doing in here?”

Cagney saw the slender woman running toward him and instinctively put out his hands to stop her from touching him. “Woah! Lady, ya can’t just run at a guy like that!” He cocked his head. “And how do you know my name? Have we met?”

Hilda stopped and looked at him, surprised, not really certain if he was joking or not. “How do I know your name? It’s me! Hilda!” She waited for his reaction. “Hilda Berg? The sky witch? Your best friend?”

Amber heard the shouting coming from the bed chambers and face palmed. “Oh shoot, it doesn’t sound like he remembers. Give me your bandanna, Sully.”

Sullivan gave Amber the fabric, wondering what she was planning to do. Cagney twitched at the name but he didn’t know why. His throat started to itch but he ignored it to keep looking at the woman. “Best friend?” He echoed before shaking his head. “Nah, Rumor and me are besties. You sure you don’t have your flowers messed up?” He asked, uprooting himself slightly.

“Wha…?” Hilda felt a knot starting to form in her throat. “I’M your bestie!” Tauros was starting to take room in the woman’s head. “You only like her because she’s a bee!”

Cagney scoffed. “Uh, no! She’s actually a very intelligent bee. And nice…when you know, she’s not turning dirt into salt water,” he admitted with a chuckle. Amber scampered in, wearing her bandanna. “Hi, Cagney!” Cagney looked past Hilda to see Amber. “Hey. Did you know Rumor’s looking for you?” His eyes hardened. “And did you also know she also says you’re lying about being a secret guard?” Amber pshawed. “Whhhattt? No way! If I was lying, why would I be here? Wouldn’t I be running away?” He raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you run away this morning?” Amber paused. Shoot. He had a point. She broke into a wide smile. “Seems like you’re having a really stressful day so far!” “You can say that again. Rumor’s furious, this broad says I’m her friend,” Cagney jutted a thumb at a disbelieving Hilda, “And no one’s explaining anything.” Amber crept a little closer. “Would you like to pet the kitty?” She offered. The carnation’s eyes lit up. “Really?” “You can even pet the belly!” Amber insisted. “That would be great!” “Excellent, just reach down, yes that’s it, rub the belly,” Amber coaxed as Cagney reached down to pet her. Just as he was about to touch her belly, she latched on, nails out and sank her teeth into his hand. He swore and ripped Amber off of his arm. “Goddammit, Amber! That fucking hurt!” He turned toward Hilda and demanded, “Hilda, what the hell?! Did you know she was going to do that?!”

Sullivan looked unbelieving what Amber was doing, and Carlos laughed at the trick, for it reminded him of the many times it helped him get out from a sticky situation. 

Hilda smiled at him. “You DO remember me, you dumb dandelion!” She couldn’t help but hug him tightly.

The carnation felt like a ton of bricks hit him as the memory of who Hilda was came back heavy and strong. “Hilda?!” He wrapped his leaves around her tightly and returned the hug. “Aw man, I’m so happy to see you!”

The cat and the amphibian looked surprised as the Carnation seemed to recover his memory.

“Cagney we gotta get out of here!” The witch grabbed his hand pulling him to the door. “And take that bandanna off!” She managed to keep her voice steady, terrified her friend would forget her again.

The carnation couldn’t help but snuggle her hand, blowing off the tightness in his throat. “You can say that again. All I did was come here to ask Rumor for help but… Rumor!” He suddenly remembered where they were and he stopped snuggling her. “Hilda, Rumor’s nuts!” He insisted.

“And you just noticed now?” Hilda chuckled. “You can tell me all about it later! C'mon!” She pressed on.

Cagney stopped following Hilda. “I’m serious. She’s never been acted like this before.” He pulled away from her and grimaced. “Something’s really wrong and I can’t figure out why because I can’t think straight! And every time I try to think about it, it just hurts more, Hilda!” He grabbed his head with both hands. “Why does it hurt so much to try to say your name!? Or even think about you?!”

“Cagney!” Hilda drew close to him, not sure what to do. It was painful to see him like this. It reminded of her when she found out about the constellations living in her head.

Amber hesitantly eyed Cagney as he looked almost frantic. She psst the other cat, trying to get his attention.

Carlos ear twitched and looked at Amber curious.

Amber pointed to her neck and made a pulling motion toward Cagney, hoping the other cat would get the hint as the carnation proceeded to become more panicked by the second.

Carlos nodded at Amber and discreetly came closer to the carnation as he struggled with his thoughts. He got in position and waited for Amber’s signal.

“Cagney,” Hilda said softly, noticing the cats moving closer. “I know what it is to have a mess in your head. Just, uh, think about something that made you very happy. Like, eh, the first day of spring? Or uh…” She was getting really nervous as he started gasping. “I don’t know! Mineral water? Focus on that!”

“Mineral water?? Are you kidding me right now?” He gaped at her, “What kind of stupid idea is that?” His eyes widened as the bandanna tightened and he fell to his knees, choking.  One of his arms reached back toward the soil in the room. “Now, now, now! Before he touches the dirt!” Amber yelled pouncing on the carnation with Carlos, trying to rip off his bandanna. The carnation plunged his hands in the soil and immediately started changing form with a snarl. He flung the cats off and turned on Hilda with a glare. “You’re just using me, just like she said you would. Just like you always do!” He sneered.

Hilda stepped back frightened. Her heart broke to see the hatred in his best friend’s eyes… again! “Cagney, what are you saying?” She felt Tauros wanting to take control in her mind. 

He tried to continue speaking but any further speech Cagney had been capable of vanished as he continued to warp into his monstrous form. Carlos shook his head and saw the flower growing bigger. “I think it’s time to leave now!” He suggested, hopping to his feet. Sullivan immediately came to aid Amber. “You ok? Where does it hurt? ” He worriedly asked.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Amber groaned. She unsteadily got to her feet with Sullivan’s help and turned to see the carnation approaching a scared Hilda, the bandanna still snugly around his neck. She looked around for something but saw nothing she could chuck at him. “Kick his ass!” She finally shouted at the woman. The carnation turned away from Hilda at the sound of her voice, sharp teeth exposed.

“You ALWAYS have to ruin EVERYTHING!” The group turned to see Rumor screaming as she barged through the door, glaring daggers at Hilda. Beatrice and a bunch of other guards accompanied the queen and took positions surrounding the intruders. 

Sullivan stood between the nearest guards and Amber, extending his arms to protect more with his body. Carlos, used to these kinds of situations, remained calm and discreetly tried to approach Beatrice. “Rumor! What did you do to him!?” Hilda shouted pointing at the monstrous carnation. “I opened his eyes, Hilda! You can no longer control him, you manipulative witch! He’s FREE!” Rumor shouted, waving her scepter and throwing a strange purple sphere towards her. Hilda dove behind Rumor’s desk, barely managing to dodge it in time. The sphere exploded just inches where she was standing before, leaving a burnt mark on the floor. She popped her head out from under the desk. “You fucking crazy BEEch!” She shouted, surprised that she would blast her without a second thought. She knew they weren’t good friends, but they never fought this serious before. “Seriously!? Bee puns? Now?” Rumor answered angrily and, very bothered by it, threw another sphere, destroying her own desk. “Jesus Christ, Rumor! Did you brainwash yourself too?!” Another blast from the queen’s scepter forced her to jump near Cagney. “Snap out of it, Cagney! Do something” The meteorologist pleaded with the huge flower. “Oh! Good idea!” Rumor chuckled maliciously, flying in the air and waving her scepter, pointing to the ground. "Do something, Cagney. Get rid of the intruders!” A bright blast turned the floor into dirt. All the bees started to fly in place, avoiding contact with the ground.

 "Oh shit.“ 

That was all Amber managed to get out before large green tendrils shot out from the newly formed ground and seized Hilda, Sully, Amber and Carlos, hoisting them into the air. The intruders struggled to free themselves, trying to unwrap the vines around them with minimal success. Cagney chuckled darkly and looked toward Rumor, as if waiting for her next order.

Hilda had a déjà vu feeling. She couldn’t hear the constellation’s voices but she could definitely feel their panic. All except Tauros. He filled the woman’s body with enough anger and adrenaline to keep struggling. "So we’re doing this again, you overgrown weed!?” Hilda was so scared that she allowed Tauros to take over. “Well, this time I’m not holding back!” But when she was about to turn she realized nothing was happening. She looked down at herself. “What the-?!” “Hahaha!” Rumor laughed. “What’s the matter, witch? No sky to drain power from?” She delighted herself to see the woman powerless between her lover’s grasp. She flew closer to Cagney and sweetly stroked his petals. “We do make a great team! Right, Cagney?” She gently kissed him making sure Hilda was watching. 

The witch’s heart broke into pieces and her eyes started to get glassy. “You… fucking… is all this just to get at me somehow!? IT’S NOT MY FAULT HE DOESN’T LOVE YOU! You-you-” “Oh! But he DOES love me, Hilda. He ALWAYS did. But you kept luring him away from me! For your own benefit! Always taking advantage of his kind heart” She turned to the flower. “But now he sees the truth, what you really are. And what I really am…” She almost whisper tenderly to the carnation, stroking gently his petals.

Cagney leaned into Rumor’s touches, the bee knowing exactly where to touch on the monstrous flower’s petals to entice him further. At the sound of Hilda shouting, he turned toward the distraught woman and paused briefly, something flickering in the back of his mind at how upset she was. His vines loosened ever so slightly on the prisoners. 

“Alright, screw this,” Amber finally growled, freeing her front paws. She grabbed the vine wrapped her chest and bit down on it as hard as she could, drawing sap. Cagney roared and smashed the cat through the honeycomb wall leading to the next room. He lurched himself blindly toward the new opening of the wall. Rumor attempted to hold him still but this only led to him shaking himself wildly, knocking the gloating Queen out of the air and into her flying soldiers. The scepter flew out of the bee’s hands and clattered to the floor, shooting out a stray purple laser. It narrowly missed Hilda’s head, instead searing and blasting a large portion of the ceiling clean off. Large chunks of roof like honeycomb crashed down on everyone in the room, pinning some of the vines down and scattering the soldiers. The carnation could see nothing but red even with the sun now shining down on them. He whirled on everyone else left and opened his mouth, revealing very large sharp teeth. More appendages sprouted up and restrained both bee and mammal alike now.

“Amber!” Sullivan shouted, struggling to get out of the flower’s tendrils. He bit and scratched, but his tiny fangs and claws barely sunk into the monstrous carnation’s skin, and only made him tighten his grip, making it more difficult for the amphibian to breath. Carlos, feeling the loosened grip and taking advantage of the chaos, decided to follow Amber’s way and bit the vine as hard as he could before being thrown against the wall near the entrance door. Hilda’s eyes widened at the view of the sky and felt the constellations getting stronger. Her eyes and bracelets shone brightly and a thick mist started to cover her body and the rest of the room. “Let’s put an end to this!” The witch’s voice resonated like a thunder within the walls of the hive.

The carnation heard the loud boom of a voice and shot spiked vines toward the cloud of mist that billowed from where Hilda had been, leaving the rest of his captives trapped on the ground. The vines grabbed nothing but air as they attempted to seize where Hilda had been.

From the thick fog, a bull charged forward,  avoiding the thorny vines, and headbutted the carnation. He recoiled after the impact, cackling, happy to finally be able to strike a blow. Rumor shook her head and looked at the transformed Hilda with horror. “Cagney! Stop her! Get her away from the sky!” She yelled, searching for her scepter.

Cagney reeled back from the impact, shaking his head as he saw stars. He looked around, slightly confused, but upon Rumor’s order, hardened his expression and attacked Hilda. He coughed and hacked up dandelions toward the rampaging bull, trying to knock her out of the air, flaring his petals angrily when he continued to miss.

Taurus kept avoiding the tumultuous dandelions with quick turns and swirls. “Hahaha! Looks like the bigger you are, the dumber you get! You’ll never hit me with those! But I bet I can hit YOU!” Taurus did a swirl, creating a strong draft that flipped the dandelions back toward Cagney. A few of the dandelions hit some of the guard bees as well as Sullivan, who started to feel dizzy and confused. Carlos withdrew a knife from his coat and started hacking his way toward the scepter, dipping and ducking under dandelions. Rumor buzzed her wings rapidly, creating a draft to shoo dandelions away but still found herself struggling to completely get out of the tendril’s grasp.

A couple dandelions hit Cagney right in the kisser and he grew very disoriented, inadvertently releasing whatever captives he had retained. “Stop moving!” He yelled, his voice strained, even as he rocked back and forth, trying to keep his balance. He winced as something cut him again and took a wild swing in the direction of the attack.

Carlos got hit by the swing of the vine, knocking him against Rumor making both to fall down.“Ouch! Perdone, señorita!” Carlos apologized only to be pushed by the angry Queen. Taurus groaned.“Oh! NOW you remember me!” Noticing the flower’s confusion, Hilda saw her chance to get the bandana and flew quickly around Cagney’s head. To make sure the flower would stay disoriented, she flew in circles several times to confuse him even more. With each turn she drew closer and closer. “Don’t worry, Cags! I’ll get you out of this!”. “What are you doing!?” The queen shouted at her guards. “Get her! Don’t let her get close to Cagney!” Most of the bees were still disoriented.  They tried, without success, to chase the fast cloud turning in circles, confusing them even more.

“Beat this!” Cagney snapped, plunging his hands back into the soil. Large vines shot up from all around, effectively surrounding and closing around him until it was almost a cactus like cocoon. He continued to cackle from inside his makeshift fort.

“Oh! You bastard,” Taurus groaned but his mouth turned into a twisted grin. “Let’s put you to the test. How much can you take?” The mist grew thicker again around Hilda’s body and turned into a giggling Gemini. “Fair warning!” They spoke in unison towards everybody. “Get out while you still can!” And with a sinister laughter, Gemini created a golden sphere that started shooting projectiles in all directions, most of them hitting Cagney’s cocoon, leaving some significant burnt marks.

Sullivan was still disoriented, but at the warning he started calling out for Amber. 

Amber stirred awake in the next room at the sound of her name. She limped back over to the hole she was flung through and peeked inside. Her eyes widened at the chaos as projectiles, vines and bees flew in all directions. 

She spotted a disoriented Sullivan and grabbed him by his shirt before dragging him back through the hole. She waved her paw in front of his face. “Hey? You okay? What’s wrong?” She worriedly asked, not liking how confused he look. She continued to snap fingers at Sullivan, growing increasingly worried when he didn’t respond. “Hey! You in there or not?!”

Sullivan started to recover. “A-Amber? You ok!?” He grabbed her by the shoulders. “You gotta get out of here!” He looked around trying to find a way out.

Amber nodded along with Sullivan. She looked around the room they had been launched into and scowled when she realized there were no other exits. That crazy bee really did have everything sealed off. 

“Ay! Otra vez no!” Carlos lamented, helping a confused Beatrice to dodge some projectiles. Rumor was livid, having been the painful recipient of quite a few golden shots. She clenched her fist, seeing red. “Kill her! KILL HER!” She ordered finally reaching for her scepter. “YOU WON’T TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME AGAIN!" 

The least disoriented bees started to wonder about their queen’s sanity. The way she was yelling orders, not caring for their safety was unlike the monarch. Even Beatrice, one of her most loyal bees was starting to have her doubts about whether or not she should follow the orders.

When the last of Hilda’s projectiles finished firing, the cactus cocoon crumbled, revealing a large hole. Before Gemini could react, Cagney emerged from the dirt behind them and seized the women with his hands. He was fairly beaten up, the fiery ball of death having done its job well and damaging everything - including all the plant material that was part of him. He stared at Gemini, a confused but still upset expression on his face. "Turn back into Hilda,” he finally panted.

Gemini struggled in the flower’s grip and the mist surrounded them. Cagney felt how the delicate figures merged into one and suddenly he had to tighten his grip to the feeling of something trying to burst out of his hands. The mist cleared and in front of the flower was Sagittarius trying to push the carnation’s hands apart with his powerful hooves. “Transform back to Hilda? So you can squish us again!?” The constellation glared at the flower, showing more fear than confidence. Sagittarius was still Hilda, and he didn’t want to hurt their dearest friend. Gemini had already done enough damage. “M-my queen… it’s dangerous here! We have to take you to safety!” Beatrice managed to say to Rumor, as Carlos held her up by her arm. Rumor didn’t listen to her guard, instead watching Cagney’s movements intently, waiting for the moment he would crush the witch and putting an end to all this. Beatrice and some other bees trembled noticing the craziness on their beloved queen’s eyes. Sagittarius was incredibly strong but Cagney was determined not to release his grip. “I don’t want to let go!” He growled, and he wasn’t talking about the constellation. Memories were starting to come back and it was a struggle to hold on to them. He wasn’t sure if he was going to pass out first. He looked desperately at Sagittarius. “Hilda! Please! I don’t want to let go of you again!” Sagittarius saw the despair in Cagney’s eyes and felt his heart quiver. The mist started to cover the constellation, revealing a very worried Hilda trapped in his monstrous hands. “Cagney?” She almost whispered, tired of the struggling and fighting. She looked deep into his eyes, hoping to find her best friend again. Her eyes were glassy and it was getting really hard to hold her tears.

Cagney looked at Hilda, immediate relief seizing him at seeing her alive and…uh, not exactly well, but in good enough condition. He saw how worried she was and he could only imagine what she had to get through to even get here. He clasped her to his chest and enveloped her in the biggest hug he could. “I am so happy to see you,” he exclaimed, trying not to crush her in his excitement. He nestled his petals against her even as the bandanna began to tighten. “Hilda, please don’t let me forget you,” he choked.

Hilda returned the hug as hard as she could, a couple of tears escaping through her cheeks, when she noticed the bandanna. She immediately grabbed it and looked for the knot. Rumor couldn’t believe her eyes. “What are you doing!? CRUSH HER!” “NO! Cagney, please!” The witch tried to whisper calmly but it was hard to talk with a knot in her own throat.

“CRUSH HER!” The queen repeated. “Cagney! Hold it! I almost… got… it… ” Hilda said going as fast as she could.

Cagney felt himself dipping back under Rumor’s influence and he panicked at the loss of control. Hilda was starting to fade into a target again and it was only another second or so before he made do on the order to crush her. He needed to get hurt again. He spotted one of his sharp spiky plants still erect, with a particularly long thorn protruding from the side. It was within reach. He winced preemptively as he seized it, continuing to hold Hilda to him with his other hand. “This is going to hurt,” he chuckled before he thrust the thorn sharply inwards, stabbing himself in the stem. His grip weakened on Hilda and he continued to chuckle, shooting Rumor a dirty look even as he felt himself bleed sap.

Hilda, noticing the loosen grip, saw her friend stabbing himself. “Shit, Cagney!” She finally untied the bandanna and she held it tightly in her hand. “I GOT IT!” She shouted, happily waving the fabric, victorious. “Cagney, I got it!” She hugged him again. “No…” Rumor whispered. Her eyes narrowed and her fingers tightened on the scepter within her grasp. “WHY DO YOU ALWAYS RUIN EVERYTHING!” She screeched, launching herself into the air. 

Rumor flew in dangerous zig zags before aiming the scepter at the embracing couple. A dark smile formed on her lips as she instead flipped the scepter downwards and blasted the ground, obliterating the entire floor of her office. With the exception of Carlos who held onto a levitating Beatrice for dear life, everything that had been on the office floor, furniture and folks alike, plummeted downwards into the depths of the hive.

The moment Hilda had pulled that bandanna off his neck, there was a second of clarity and nothing else. The next second, Cagney was hit with an intense pain from his self inflicted stab wound and a deluge of memories about Hilda, both good and bad. It was so staggering, he swore he was falling backwards into darkness just from the sensation of it all.

Well, until he realized they really WERE falling. Not that he could do much about it. Without the dirt around his roots, he had no powers to stop them from the fall. Seeing Hilda’s face near his and realizing that the memory of her wasn’t going away did make him smile. “Thank you, ya dumb blimp,” he chuckled, returning the hug once more. 

The action made him wince. The lack of dirt also meant he lacked any ability to heal. “Man, I really wish I hadn’t stabbed myself so hard,” he finally managed still laughing, even as he felt like passing out.

Hilda was still hugging the carnation. She was so happy to hear his insult she didn’t realize they were falling until they hit the bottom floor, Cagney’s body breaking their fall. The plant’s grip slackened on her with the impact and she was aware he wasn’t moving much. “Cagney! Shit! You ok!?” She reached down to check for wounds only to be stopped something violently yanked her off of him.

Hilda struggled to pull herself free and looked up to see Rumor had been the one to grab her, making sure to bruise her skin with tightness that the bee held her. Before the sky witch had a chance to fight back. Rumor flew up as fast as she could and threw Hilda against the wall with all her strength. Cagney definitely did not feel so good either. One minute, Hilda was holding onto him and the next he was hitting the ground and she was getting dragged off. “Ugh, wait come back…” He groaned quietly.

____

Amber walked back over to the hole in the wall and blinked in surprise. The floor was completely gone!! And everyone was in the process of tumbling down the new large hole. Which was probably the only way out. She grimaced and turned toward the salamander. 

“Hey, how good of a climber are you?”

Sullivan nodded and got to the door to climb down. His amphibious body was perfect for latching onto the sticky huge wall. He secured his grip before looking up at Amber. “You need help going down? You can hold onto my back.”

Amber nodded. “Yes please.” She carefully climbed onto Sullivan’s back and held on tightly as the salamander quickly scaled the wall. She glanced below to see the Queen bee tossing Hilda like a rag doll and winced. 

____

For a few seconds, Hilda saw more stars than what she was used to. When she recovered, she was on the floor next to a few drops of blood. She reached for her head with a shaky hand and realized that it was her blood when the crimson liquid decorated her fingers. 

Her eyes glinted with a combination of anger and pain. “Fuck is WRONG WITH YOU, RUMOR!?” She managed to stand up, her bracelets and eyes shining very brightly as Rumor descended upon her in her bomber jet form. “Since when do you want to kill me?!” She quickly turned into a blimp and rocketed up in the air just as Rumor launched towards her, missing her and hitting the wall with her face. “This!” Rumor spat, recovering from the hit. “This time, I WON’T LET YOU WIN!” She charged again against the confused blimp. The bees tried to recall their queen back to her senses, but the royal bee wouldn’t listen. Carlos had been watching the fight from the side but upon seeing Cagney on the ground barely moving, signaled Beatrice to take him down to the ground. “Petals! Petals, groan twice if you’re still conscious” He asked, surprisingly worried. He barely knew the guy, but seeing how he hugged the crazy moon lady, it melted his heart. Plus, he was losing a lot of sap at an alarming rate and that couldn’t be good for a plant. Sullivan and Amber arrived shortly afterwards to the ground floor. 

Amber spotted Cagney and bit her lip. “…uh, Sully. The flower doesn’t look so good.”

The amphibian carefully let Amber get down from his back and saw the flower’s bleeding wound. “Oh boy…”

Amber scampered over to the carnation. “Hey! Hey! Wake up!” She yelled but the carnation only groaned again and waved weakly at her. 

“Does anyone know any first aid?”

“I do!” Sullivan and Carlos answered at the same time as Beatrice left Carlos on the ground and looked at her queen, terribly worried. “We have to remove the thorn,” suggested Sullivan. “Not before making sure we have something to stop the bleeding,” Carlos added, looking closely at the stab wound.

Amber pulled off the yellow bandanna off her neck. “What about this? Can we use this?” She asked hopefully.

“That might work!” Carlos said to Amber with a smile.

“I’ll call for reinforcements!” Beatrice flew quickly out of the room and made a signal to the other confused bees to tend to the other wounded bees.

____

Hilda had never seen such a furious Rumor in her life. She kept avoiding the plane’s charges, hoping that Rumor would come to her senses once she figured out she was destroying her own hive, only to realise the queen didn’t care what she charged to. Everyone was in danger. Hilda looked to the hole in the roof and flew quickly in front of it. Perhaps, if she could lure Rumor out in the open, she would have a chance to knock her outside without hurting anyone. “Rumor! C'mon! I know we had our differences but brainwashing!? Aren’t you taking it a bit too far?” “Ha! You’re the one to talk!” Rumor yelled. “You’ve been controlling him ever since you met him!” “Stop saying that!” Hilda was getting tired of hearing that. Or maybe it was exhaustion from transforming so much. “Cags and I have been friends since before we met you! It’s not my fault you don’t have friends, only these-these brainwashed  zomBEES!” She chuckled. “DAMN YOU, HILDA!” Rumor shouted, charging towards her again, but this time, with saws on her wings.

Hilda waited until the last second to dive out of Rumor’s way, an error she paid dearly for by getting slashed on her leg, making it really painful to pedal. Rumor flew through the hole, making it bigger with her deadly wings. So manic was she that she acted in a bloodlust, hardly aware of the pieces of ceiling that tumbled down…nor the falling scepter that had slipped from her grasp during her transformation.

____

“Ok, then, listen up,” Sullivan signed Carlos and Amber to get closer as Beatrice left. “Carlos and I will take the thorn out. As soon as it’s out, Amber will tie the bandanna and put pressure on it."  

"C'mon Petals! Don’t fall asleep now!” Carlos said, getting ready to pull the thorn. “His name is Cagney,” Sullivan corrected him. “Petals is easier to remember”. Sullivan rolled his eyes. “Ready, Amber?”

Amber nodded. “Ready!” On that, Sully and Carlos pulled the thorn with a yell. She immediately dove on the wound, bandanna on hand and applied as much pressure as she could. She smiled but then looked at Sully. “Uh….now what?”

Cagney gasped in pain at the thorn’s removal. “Shit,” he muttered, “now I know how Hilda felt.” He listlessly looked around for the woman only not to find her. The sounds of explosions and destruction clued him into the fact that she was probably up in the air. He tried to focus on her but his vision was hazy. She looked like she was moving slower somehow. Which didn’t seem right. The crash of honeycombs smashing near him didn’t really get his attention until the clank of something metallic followed it. He looked over to see Rumor’s scepter sticking out of a honeycomb and his mind started racing. He remembered all this craziness started as soon as Rumor pulled out that dang scepter. Which didn’t make sense. She always had a scepter. But this one looked different from what he recalled. Almost dull and warped. Whatever the change, he had to get it. He reached pathetically for it, just out of his fingers’ reach.

“Now we should find a way to disinfect and stitch the site,” Sullivan explained, looking for something they could use, unaware of Cagney’s attempts.

“Say no more!” Carlos opened his jacket and pulled out a flask, a needle and a thread. Sullivan looked at him strangely. “You just walk around with that all day?” “Of course!” The Hispanic cat replied, gesturing for Amber to remove the bandanna and spilling the alcohol over the wound. 

The splash of alcohol on Cagney’s wound burned like hell, forcing him to jerk upwards with a girly scream before Amber could slam him back down with a surprising amount of strength from such a small feline. “Ow! What the hell?!”

Carlos continued. “Mi abuelita used to tell me: 'Carlitos, it’s a very big world out there, and you’re a very clumsy boy! Always take a first aid kit with you’ ” He spilled some on the needle and thread. “Ok Petals! Not gonna lie to you, this is going to hurt… I think. I’ve never had to stitch a tree before…" 

____

Hilda wasn’t sure how much blood she was losing from her leg wound but it had to be a lot. She knew she couldn’t keep up pedaling for long and she rested on the roof of the hive, turning back to herself. She struggled to stand, but she managed to stay still as Rumor did a U turn in the air and back headed towards her again. 

"CAGNEY IS MINE!!!” Rumor shouted, completely mad, her eyes full of hate, and her grin twisted with anger. Hilda was very angry herself, her bracelets and eyes glowing like a fire. “You’re gonna have to kill me to get to him!” Her voice was distorted with the voices of the twelve constellations. She lifted her arms and thick clouds covered her entirely in a magnificent spiral.

Rumor couldn’t see anymore and, although she was very angry, knew better than to fly through the sky witch’s cloud. She halted just outside of it as clicking and tinkling sounds emerged from within. The mist parted as Hilda emerged in crimson moon form, a malicious grin upon her lunar face. “Let’s put an end to this!” Rumor didn’t waste a second and fired missiles as Hilda did the same. The aftershocks of the projectiles exploding in the air produced some twisted fireworks visible from the other isles.

“Cagney would be so much happier if he never met you!” Rumor shouted as she sliced the moon’s cheek. “You keep using him to boost your weak, pathetic ego!” She jabbed again, inflicting another wound.  “What is wrong with you, Rumor?! You’ve never been this crazy for him! Or anybody!” Hilda argued, hoping an appeal to reason would slow her down. “I found a good friend, Hilda. She warned me about you. She showed me what you really are!” The plane charged again but this time Hilda was ready for her, deflecting the attack. The counterattack infuriated Rumor and she instinctively reached for her scepter only to realize she didn’t have it.  “W-what? W-where is it!?” She started to panic, a moment that Hilda took advantage of to launch one last attack: throwing missiles, stars, and even herself towards the confused plane.

____

“Can’t you let me just die or something?!” Cagney whined as Carlos haphazardly stabbed him against with the alcoholic needle.  “No! You need to stay alive, you petal for brains!” “The only one who’s allowed to call me that is…Hilda!” The carnation looked up to see Hilda in her moon phase. That was her last resort attack which meant she must be really faltering now. He looked around for and spotted the scepter again. It must be connected to all this. He had to get it. He tried to reach for it only to recoil in pain with another jab of the needle. 

“You call that stitching?” Sullivan shook his head seeing the poorly attended wound. “As long as it holds, mi amigo”. “It’s not going to hold! Argh! Gimme that!” The salamander took the needle from Carlos and begun stitching gently, doing a better job than the Hispanic cat. “Help Amber hold Cagney down,” Sullivan ordered. Carlos obeyed and held the flower’s stem down to the ground.

Cagney struggled against their help. “No, I gotta do somethin! Hilda ain’t gonna last much longer!” The flower reached for the fallen scepter one last time, this time grasping the base of it and dragging it to himself. He panted and collapsed again, holding the dumb metal rod to his chest.

“Hey!” Carlos exclaimed, noticing the scepter. “How did you get that?”

The whole world spun for the carnation but he finally managed to stand up, shoving off Carlos and Amber’s attempts to lay him back down. He waved the scepter. “Hey, Rumor!” He yelled, attempting to get the attention of the Queen Bee.

Hilda and Rumor looked fairly war torn, having taken some serious damage from their special attacks. Despite their exhaustion, they still glared at each other, neither women determined to give up the fight. They were about to charge into each other again when Cagney’s voice from below drew their attention and they looked down. “Cagney?” Rumor called back sweetly, glad to hear her beloved call out her name and not that of the witch’s.

Cagney smiled weakly. “I’ve been thinking about us and, ya know what?” He held out the scepter toward her. “I think we should take a break!” And with that, he slammed the scepter into the ground, shattering it into hundreds of pieces.

“NO!” Rumor screamed, transforming back into her royal self. She rapidly landed and attempted to scoop up the pieces of what remained of her scepter.  “What have you done!? What have… you…you…?"  

Her voice died in her throat. Her mind flooded with blocked and distorted memories that the scepter had prevented from her remembering. The queen felt like everything was swirling around her as flashes of memories kept popping in her mind confusing her. Hilda turned back into herself and cast a cloud with what little energy she had left. She slowly levitated back into the hive, putting pressure on her leg wound before she landed close to carnation. Sullivan, Carlos and Amber didn’t dare move a muscle, expecting the Queen bee to burst angrily any minute.

Finally, Rumor took a shaky breath and looked up to see the two island bosses. "Hilda? C-cagney…?” She asked softly, uncertain if she was hallucinating, looking more like herself again. 

“Hey, Rumor,” Cagney painfully managed, “Glad to see you being you.” He made a motion to step forward only to wince and clutch the side of his stem. Hilda approached him and he pulled away his leafy hand to reveal it was now coated in thick sap. Her eyes darted down to see the wound now free flowing, the sutures having popped during his exertion.

He looked down at himself before back up at Hilda with a strained pale smile “…I’m just gonna stop standing now, ok, Hilds?” And with that, his legs crumpled from underneath him, passing out without another word.

———————————————————————————

 CHAPTER 28 (nsfw) ; CHAPTER 29 (You’re here) ; Next (not ready yet)

[huarens]

moving on. | m.l

pairing : mark lee x reader

genre : angst, hanahaki!reader

word count: 1.2k

summary : mark’s name appeared in your collarbone during your first year of middle school. how stupid, you said, for mark had someone else’s name on his.

warnings : angst?? itty bitty blood mention, that’s it i think.

note : i really don’t know how to write omg

soulmates. in your society, by the time you reached middle school, someone's name would appear on your collarbone, marking you as theirs and them yours. all that was left was for you to find them.

mark's name appeared on your collarbone during your first year of middle school. how stupid, you said, for mark had someone else's name on his.

se-yeon, he had told you, as he dreamily stared at her from across the classroom. mark lee was your childhood friend, your neighbor who lived right next door, you two had gone through thick and thin, from the day you both met at the playground to sharing your first kiss together instead of losing it to another. perfect soulmate material, in fact, too perfect

you were confused, was it a malfunction? perhaps the universe messed up and would correct it soon. maybe you were destined to be with someone else, you hope it'd be na jaemin from class 1-B.

five years later and fate had yet to fix its mistake. you were now in your senior year of high school. mark had decided to confess to se-yeon in the ninth grade, both parties happy to have found their soulmate. you received dozens of messages from him soon after he confessed, mark told you all the exact details, how he styled his hair, how he tied his shoes, how a nice pink tint rose in her cheeks as soon as he uttered the word girlfriend. you'd be lying if you said you didn't feel a heavy weight in your heart reading his texts. 

you didn't tell him that though, instead you told him you were happy for him and you hope the best for the two. just as you always did.

there was the struggle of covering up your collarbone any time mark talked to you, controlling your erratic heartbeat whenever he came just a little too close, or when he’d stare at you a little longer than you’d like. it was tiring. 

he'd bring her along when it was supposed to be just the two of you hanging out, you would become the third wheel walking behind on the sidewalk as the two chatted away. movie nights for two soon became mark and se-yeon making out as you tried to watch that scene in ponyo again. friday ice cream nights were now friday ice cream nights ft. you on the side.

it was so, so tiring.

peony petals. what once used to be the prettiest flower you had set your eyes upon were now a cruel reminder of where you stood with mark. how ironic, you thought, peony flowers meant love and affection, yet that was the exact opposite of what mark thought of you.

doctor appointment after appointment, and finally, "hanahaki disease."  "unrequited love." "there's only one option." "i'm sorry."

you sat on your bathroom floor, bloody peonies surrounding you, trails of dry tears prominent on your face. a veritable garden was growing in your lungs, and you debated what would be the hardest choice you've made your entire life. wiping away the rest of your tears, you stand up and glance at your collarbone once more.

you've had enough. it was time.

mark found that you've been more and more distant as of lately. you were no longer laughing along with him at lunch, or walking home with him from the library, no sudden study sessions at your house, and you were never home for movie nights anymore.

he was on a date with se-yeon when he saw you outside the cafe window, laughing merrily with a group of people he had never seen before, well, except for jaemin. he knew him quite well.

jaemin was a bit more touchy than usual, and mark didn’t like that.

“excuse me, babe, i think i just saw y/n outside.” mark nudged towards the window and stood up, getting ready to give jaemin a piece of his mind.

a hand held his wrist, preventing him from walking any further.

“why are you always so worried about her? aren’t i the one you’re dating?”      se-yeon pulls him back into his seat, mark’s eyes are still watching you as you enter the cafe. 

“i’m sorry se-yeon, but i really need to talk to her. i’ll be back in just a minute.”

"y/n! long time no see!" mark waved to you as you walked inside.

"who's that y/n?" jeno nudges at your shoulder, and you shrug.

"beats me. c'mon, hurry up and order before my wallet changes its mind." jeno, jisung and chenle scurry to the front, leaving you and jaemin behind.

"y/n!" mark is now at your side pulling you into a hug, but before he could fully wrap his arms around you, you wriggle away from under. 

mark's now confused, never have you rejected one of his hugs before. 

"jaemin, you go ahead, i'll talk to him outside." jaemin nods before bounding up to the others ahead. 

fragments of memories, nervewracking moments, awkward eye contact, and fast, erratic heartbeats. gone. just like that. no more breaking out in cold sweats anytime mark glanced at you, or hands trembling in your pockets while you held a steady conversation with mark. 

you watched as mark's face contorted into sadness, tears dripping from the corners of his eyes as he watched his former best friend turn into a stranger. it was sadistic for you to say how much joy you felt from seeing mark in such a state, you almost grinned.

"so, you're . . just going to leave it like that? just going to leave me alone?" 

you shrug, "not like we're best of buddies mark, i have no business with you anymore." it was like a huge weight was lifted from your shoulders as soon as those words left your mouth. years of heartbreak and resentment, dissipated, now felt like a fond memory.

“you don't remember any of the stuff you felt for me? not even our friendship?"

you pause and think for a minute, 

"no, nothing. can i go back in now?" you step to the side in an attempt to walk in, but mark's arm stops you from taking a step further. you turn and face mark once more. you remember the times you couldn't even look him in his eye, yet here you are, staring him down, feeling nothing but emptiness in your chest. 

mark pulls you into a tight hug, wrapping his arms around you as he tries to breathe in your warmth. he didn't know how much he missed you hugs until now. 

"t-there's gotta be some way to undo this, please y/n you can't just disappear from my life like this." the look mark sees on your face terrifies him. back then, he could read right through you, anything you felt mark knew it all. but now, he can't help but feel lost as he scans your features. blank, nothing.

"mark," you place a hand on his shoulder, patting it lightly before removing his arms, "you've got a girlfriend inside, don't give her the wrong idea that you like me now." 

jeno and the others walk out, hot chocolate in their hands as jaemin calls out to you, "y/n, love, me and the others will wait for you down the street, alright?"

"no need, i'm coming now." you start to walk away and catch up with the others, taking a cup from jaemin's hands. 

"and what if i do? what if i do like you?" 

mark's words made you halt in your steps. glancing over your shoulder, you smiled.

"then you're too late."

 finally, you had done it, you had moved on.