#and watching him swim in a tank by himself made me sad

[simple-persica]

Okay…I swear I was gonna finish day five for the challenge…but I promise you I got side tracked for a very valid reason…

Fishe

[jazzfromthevoid]

Huh been thinking about when I lived back in my old town, and about the made-up ghost stories I'd tell my school friends. My town was pretty old, and it had some local legends, even to the point where my school was built next to the cemetery where said local legend was burred, though for the most part it was just a place for teens to skip school and drink.

But me being the very creative and original story teller, my story was a little bit closer to home. My house was built on one of the tallest points in my town, and at the foot of a place called Mount mutton. Mount mutton was in my humble opinion, one of best places to walk, it had a main walking trail that went all around spat you out at the other side. There was also a trail that went up to a lookout and a huge water tank, that also had a few local legends tied to it. But I'd say it's most interesting part was deeper into its forest. You see, if you went off trail, deeper into the brush, you could find a small structure, I would struggle to even call a cabin. It was a small crudely make stone cabin that was completely overgrown. I can't remember it super vividly, I don't even think you could go inside. But that thing completely enwrapped my imagination, and me being the hell spawn of a child I loved to scare my friends with stories of that place.

One such tail was about the supposed owner of the cabin, an old man who built it himself. He was a recluse, not dangerous by any means, but someone who you would steer clear of. But the few times anyone saw him, he was always accompanied by a large greyhound. The greyhound and the man were never seen without each other, the two of them were more than dog and man, they were family, in every sense of the word. But unfortunately as time went on the man became older, he couldn't get into town for basic supplies, he begin relying on the greyhound to find the both of them food. It was on one of these days the greyhound disappeared, it wasn't uncommon for the dog to leave for a day or two, but three days had passed with no sign of her. It was winter at the time, but despite that the man went out to look for his companion. He surched restlessly for days, with no sign of her. He was weak, tired, and cold, but he still didn't give up.

Eventually he did find her. But it was too late, the greyhound had slipped off a cliff and fell into a blackberry bush, where she was unable to escape. The man was heartbroken, he couldn't bare to go on without his loyal friend. So, he lay down to rest one last time, with his friend at his side he slept, letting the cold take him. Unfortunately for the old man, he couldn't quite yet join his friend. His still broken heart kept a part of him in the forest, and in that old stone cabin he built with his own two hands.

Of course that story wasn't true, it also kinda spiralled into me pointing to random unrelated structures and telling my friends he also haunted them too. And something about the number 17?? I can't remember exactly, I'd also tell my friends that if you were mean to dogs the old man would dump you in a blackberry bush and watch you very slowly die, but I mean who's mean to dogs anyway?

And that wasn't the only story me and my friends came up with, we'd always tell stories like that whenever we had to walk anywhere for school excursions. There was also one about the abandoned swimming pool also near the school, were people would say they heard screaming from, (Wow there were alot of creepy things near my school). But the old man and the greyhound was always my story and I really loved it for that.

Anyway it's pretty fun to reminisce about stuff like this, and it's kinda sad the place I'm at now doesn't have any thing like it. Or at least that I know about now. I really wish I could go back and visit the stone cabin but I'm decently sure it was nocked down when they started to build there. But if I can find it I will definitely take a picture of it, I really just need to make sure it actually existed lol.

[henry-and-the-seven-lords]

Hello @gluttonousfruit you are in fact my first request. (I did not forget about you in moving my blog.) I am super excited to have anyone ask me to write something! Also I would love to be friends! Feel free to message me through asks or in private DMs! I hope you enjoy the imagine!

Warnings: Fluff with a small amount of angst because Levi doubts himself 😞

Brothers Masterlist | Dateables Masterlist

Levi with an Animator S/O

"Okay MC, I know we just finished 'Swimming Only Leads to Hot Mermaids,' but I was thinking since we are already watching otomes, we should watch another series that everyone is recommending online!" Levi says this as he begins to pull out one DVD and place in another while bouncing on the balls of his feet like an excited puppy.

"I guess I could watch one more series, but it better be a good one. Sure the mermaids were attractive, but there wasn't much of a plot." MC says with a yawn. A quick look over to the clock, and it reads 11:48 PM in a blinding blue light. Not too late for one of Levi's normal bingefests, but a little too late for MC when they have classes tomorrow.

"No, I promise this one is good. Everyone is talking about the art style. They say it is so original that it's captivating." Levi walks to the small futon briskly and plops himself down next to MC as he continues to ramble about the art. His voice slowly trails off as the opening begins to play.

As the music fills MC's ears, they perk up and a small smile appears on their face. "Levi, could this perhaps be, 'I Went to Hell For a Weekend and Got Stuck in a Love Heptagon with Seven Incubi'?"

Levi faces MC in shock. The look on their face is quite smug. (In all seriousness, it reminds Levi of Mammon when he wins poker, but he doesn't want to be think about his brother while looking at MC. So he pushes that thought away.) This anime came out only the day before their bingefest. And even then, Levi had this copy pre-ordered for this very occasion and it arrived before any stores were selling physical copies. There is no way a normie like MC could have heard about its release. Does this mean MC isn't such a normie after all?

"You heard of this show already?" The surprise in his voice was impossible to hide.

"Yeah, I have heard of it." MC smiles and chuckles quietly, "I have never actually seen it, but I have heard the opening quite a few times."

"Oh..." Levi sighs. He was so stupid. Of course MC had heard the opening. It is all over his Devilgram and they were on their phone for part of the last show, so they obviously just heard it on there. Levi deflates looking solemn. It was just a pipe dream that MC would ever be interested in his yucky otaku interests.

"Hey! There is no reason to be all sad just because I know the name of the show. I still haven't seen the whole thing. My first time watching will still be with you Levi, isn't that special enough?" The smile on MC's face seemed sincere enough, but the words that came out of their mouth made blood rush up to Levi's cheeks. Their first... did they really mean to say it like that?...

As thoughts begin to flood Leviathan's head the show began. It was true the art style was captivating. So captivating in fact, that he forgot about his embarrassment. But MC's words still lingered in his mind as he watched the show.

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

"Well, I am dead tired." MC stands cracking their aching joints as they look at the clock. 2:37 AM. It was that late already? "I think I need to head to bed Levi. I have classes in the morning and I need at least a few hours of sleep."

"Are you sure?" Levi was just starting to enjoy MC's presence. At the beginning of the night, he was on edge trying to make everything perfect. Levi did want to mess up by being a yucky Otaku and give them a reason to leave him all alone. But as the night progressed, (and more snacks were consumed) he felt increasingly more comfortable with sharing his favorite shows with MC. "I have other shows we could watch to pass the time, or we could play this new game I got-"

MC walks over to Levi and gently sets their hands on his shoulders, "Games and anime are great, but what I need right now is sleep." MC watched as Levi's face filled with a blush and his eyes flashed with hurt. "I am not leaving because I am mad... or sad... or anything really. I just need to sleep, Leviathan." Their voice was barely above a whisper as they said his name. How could he disagree with them when they said his name like that; all the while, looking deep into his eyes. He felt like he could explode.

As MC turns away, the demon in question then sighs mutters a quiet "okay" under his breath. "Don't worry, Levi. This isn't the last time I will watch anime with you. I promise we can do another one of these when another new anime comes out." MC begins to pick up their things. A blanket they brought with them to keep warm in Levi's cold room and the rest of their human snacks. "Besides, I really liked that one, and I have heard they are already making season two." As they speak, MC makes their way across the room to the gigantic tank.

"Wait. How do you-"

"Good night Henry. Good night Levi." And with that, MC leaves. Closing the door behind them.

How did MC know about a second season? Even he, the Great Otaku Levi, has not heard about a season two on any forums or on any other website... After thinking about it, Levi suspects it's probably on Devilgram like the opening was. To prove his theory, he pulls out his D.D.D. and opens up Devilgram to the 'I Went to Hell For a Weekend and Got Stuck in a Love Heptagon with Seven Incubi' page. He scrolls through their posts and finds the opening, like he predicted, but what he didn't predict was their most recent post.

"This show would not have been possible without MC. Thank you for making such a great story and great art to go along with it!"

Levi reads the caption once, twice, thrice and is speechless. The photo for this post is none other than his MC standing with a hand drawn piece of the protagonist. He can even see their signature in the corner when he zooms in! He knew that they liked to draw, but he never thought they would make an anime.

Without thinking, Levi gets up and begins to run to MC's room. He needs to know that this isn't some sort of elaborate prank that MC and Satan brewed up to make him like a normie more.

The door to MC's room busts open, "MC!" The room is completely dark except for the light shining in through the doorway.

"Levi...? Is that you? Is something wrong?" MC's voice is soft and laced with sleep. If this were any other time, Levi would have screamed over their cuteness, but today he had a mission. He immediately marches up to the half asleep MC and promptly shoves his phone in their face.

"Did you make 'I Went to Hell For a Weekend and Got Stuck in a Love Heptagon with Seven Incubi'?" MC sits up and squints as their eyes adjust to the blinding screen and look at the post.

"Um... yeah. That's me isn't it?" Silence takes over the room, before Levi begins to scream.

"WAHHHHH! MC, why didn't you tell me!" Thankfully with the phone only being pointed at MC, they can't see the blush spreading across his face.

"Well, I didn't want you to treat me differently because I make anime." Laying back down as they speak, MC tucks a pillow under their head and looks up to where they guess Leviathan's face is. "Besides, I thought it was really cute how you were fanboying, and I didn't want you to stop because you knew you were in the presence of the creator." A small smile makes it's way on to MC's face as Levi feels his own get hotter.

Now covering his face, Levi quickly makes his way to the door while muttering, "You can't just say things like that..." As he begins to close the door, he pauses and opens it up again while looking back, "Can you tell me more about your show tomorrow, MC?" His voice sounds small compared to his previous scream.

"Of course Levi. We can talk for as long as you like."

[orangepanic]

Hiiiii okay I've never written Sukka but here *lobs ficlet over the fence at @sukkameetcute and runs away*

For the prompt "had an overlapping appointment/reservation" "at the library."

"I hate this," Sokka grumbled. "In the history of unfair things in the world this has got to be the most epically unfair."

"Aren't you being a tad dramatic?" ventured Katara.

"I am most definitely not." Sokka stuffed his hands in his pockets and cast a dark glance at the library doors. "What's the point of studying fish in biology if we don't get to see them swim?"

"They swim in the tank."

"The tank is small."

"So you can see them swim."

"They looked sad, okay!" Sokka snapped. "And anyway I'm repopulating the river. We learned about ecosystems last week and fish were on the chart right at the bottom. Don't teach me about rivers and then make us watch sad fish in a tank."

Katara sighed. "You know, you're a really good guy when you try."

Sokka punched her in the shoulder and stalked off towards detention. He was nearly there when he heard a shout.

"This is so unfair!" a girl shouted. "He deserved that!"

Mr. Piandao continued to herd her towards the library door, silent and stern.

"Come on!" the girl continued. "She was clearly out and he threw the ball right at her face."

"Be that as it may, fighting means detention, Suki," he said. "Don't make me make it a week instead of just today. You can take the late bus home at 4:30."

The girl, Suki, glowered at him, but seemed smart enough to shut her mouth. She let Mr. Piandao lead her over to where Sokka was standing.

"Hey, Coach," he muttered.

Mr. Piandao raised an eyebrow. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not."

He pressed his lips together into a thin line, then nodded. "Don't do it again." Then he walked away.

Sokka turned to the girl. Up close she was... really cute. Like really, really cute. The fact that she was absolutely pissed only added to the appeal. Compact and toned beneath her shorts and tank top, an obvious athlete. Wide, storm-colored eyes. The kind of nose that made him want to tap it and say "boop." Sokka's hand actually twitched at that and he fought back a blush. Had he really been about to boop her nose? There was no question in his mind that Suki could, if not completely kick his ass, at least give him a run for his money. A crazy part of him wanted to find out.

"What are you in for?" she grumbled.

"Freed the guppies in bio," he said. "You?"

Suki snorted. She had an adorable snort. "Fish rights, I like it. I punched some asshole who threw a dodgeball at a little girl in gym."

"Rad."

She smiled at that. Then Suki nodded to the doors. "Shall we go face our punishment?"

Sokka shrugged. "May as well get started." He swallowed hard, then added, "and let me know if you need a ride later. I heard Coach Piandao say something about a bus."

Her eyes flashed with amusement. "I don't accept rides from strangers."

"Oh." Sokka felt himself deflate. At least he'd tried.

"So maybe don't be a stranger?" With that Suki winked and opened the library doors.

[chrisevansjellybeans]

Love You Goodbye

*not my gif*

This is loosely based on "Love You Goodbye" by the lovely boys of One Direction

Warnings: swearing, smut, pure and utter angst and sadness

18+ MINORS DNI

The end was inevitable. You were over 15 years younger than him. He was ready to settle down and start a family and you still wanted to wait a couple more years. He was set on living in Boston and you wanted to explore your options. For three years you guys ignored these things, sweeping them under the rug. But now they had caught up to you. They had reared their ugly head in an argument that ended with tears shed and suitcases packed.

You straightened your shoulders as you took a step into Chris’s house for the last time. You had come over to grab the last of your things; everything else had been either placed in storage or was now sitting in the basement of your sister’s house with the rest of your hopes and dreams. You sucked in a breath as you spotted Chris sitting on one of the barstools, his thumb tracing over your favorite picture of the two of you. It was taken last winter when the two of you had gone ice skating. The picture just exuded pure love and every time you had looked at it, you couldn’t help but smile.

“Hey.” Your voice caused Chris to look up and straighten up in his seat as he sniffed, quickly running his hands under his eyes.

“Hey. Your things are in the bedroom.” He was short, but you expected nothing less. You didn’t answer, just made the familiar trek to the master bedroom.

He had neatly folded all of your clothes and all of your bathroom supplies were labeled and put into bags or boxes. You looked down at the pile of clothes and your throat tightened as your fingers brushed over the familiar fabric of your favorite of Chris’s shirts. Neatly tucked with the rest of your shirts.

“It seemed only right that you have it. I don’t wear it anymore.” You turned around to see Chris leaning against the door frame. His voice was hard but his eyes were soft as he took inventory of the stuff on the bed.

“Thank you.” You whispered. He gave you a firm nod. You set the suitcase that you had brought with you on the bed and started putting the clothes in. Your vision blurred as you placed the last shirt in. You closed the top and reached for the zipper but were stopped by Chris’s hand. You froze as his body leaned into yours and your body reacted almost instantaneously.

“I don’t want you to go.” He muttered, his voice cracking. “Not like this.”

“I know, but…” you trailed off. You looked up at him, his blue eyes swimming with tears. You wanted to laugh at the fact that even in this heartbreaking moment, he was still the most beautiful man you had ever seen.

“Don’t leave. Not tonight.” He pleaded. He moved down and attached his lips to your neck and you let out a breathy moan. “Stay with me one more night. Let me love you goodbye.”

His kisses were like fire against your skin as he continued his assault on your neck, nipping and biting at the spot that he knew would garner a reaction from you. Your hands wound around his waist as he cupped your face. You both peered at each other, breathing hard.

“Please.”

You responded by smashing your lips to his. He let out a growl deep in his throat as he pushed your stuff off the bed and laid you down. Hovering over you, his eyes never left yours as he peeled off his shirt. You bit your lip and dragged your fingers across the tattoos that graced his front. His nipples hardened as you scraped your nail over the tightening bud before tracing over his Dodger tattoo.

You diverted your gaze from his chest up to his eyes that were hooded, watching you closely. You leaned up and reconnected your lips. The kiss was slow. Passionate. Savory. It was like you both were taking extra careful notes to remember it forever.

Chris reached and pulled your tank top over your head, a groan escaping as he took notice of the deep red lingerie you had on underneath. You quickly slipped off your shorts as well to show him the whole deal. Red lace panties with tastefully cut out spots to match the poor excuse of a lace bra.

“You’re killing me, baby girl. How are you gonna wear that when you’re leaving me?” Chris moaned as he kissed down your chest. Taking his time and appreciating each of your tender nipples. Sucking them over the lace and twisting them with his fingers. His hands wandered down your body and started toying with the hem of your panties, his mouth still giving attention to your aching buds.

“Chris,” You moaned out as his fingers danced lightly over your covered mound.

“What do you need, baby? Use your words.”

“I need your talented mouth a little lower, please.” You bit your lip as you moaned out the words.

Chris chuckled and shook his head. “Always Miss Manners.”

But he did what you asked. He kissed his way from your breasts, down your stomach and peppered kisses across the waistline of your underwear. You sucked in a breath as his nose bumped over your clit as he pressed a gentle kiss against your panties.

“You always get so fucking wet for me.” Chris growled as he lowered your panties and you quickly kicked them off. His fingers sliding down your folds and gathering your wetness on them. “Your pussy knows who it belongs to.”

You let out a loud moan as his lips attached your clit and he inserted two fingers right away. Your hands gripped his hair as he laid his tongue flat against you before lapping you up and sucking in a sinful way. His fingers inside of you curling at just the right angle to hit that spongy spot inside of you.

“That feels so good, baby.”

Chris just hummed against your clit and you shuttered, your fingers tightening in his hair. Your hips bucked as you felt your orgasm approaching. You arched your back and let out a loud moan as your orgasm crashed over you.

“Fuck, I love how you taste.” Chris growled as he kissed back up your body before crashing his lips to yours. You bucked your hips to meet his.

“I need you.” You begged. Flipping the two of you over so you were on top, you fiddled with his belt before successfully pulling it off and undoing his jeans. You licked your lips as you took in the hard outline of his dick through his briefs.

“It’s yours, honey, take it.” Chris mumbled. He ran his fingers through your hair as you lowered his underwear and took his aching member into your mouth.

“Oh fuck.” Chris moaned, his mouth agape. He watched you through hooded eyes as you expertly swallowed his cock down your throat. Your tongue sinfully teasing the head while your hand stroked the base. He almost lost it when you looked up at him as you gagged around his cock, hot tears streaming down your face.

“Shit, come here.” He pulled you off of him and brought you back up to him so he could kiss you fiercely. Your lips stayed connected as Chris lined himself up with your entrance and entered you slowly. You pulled away slightly as you gasped at the feeling of him fully seated inside of you. For a moment neither of you moved. You could feel your tears once again as you lowered your head into the crook of his neck, your emotions all over the place. How could you feel so good and yet feel like your heart was shattering all at once.

You let out a tiny whine and Chris took that as his cue to start moving. You sucked in a breath as he lowered his hips before snapping them back up against you. Your body started moving on its own accord, grinding against him as your bodies moved in perfect sync.

“I love you.” Chris said through gritted teeth and you could hear the emotion in his voice. His arms wrapped tightly around your center as he fucked up into you. “I love you so fucking much.”

“Chris!” You didn’t know if you were moaning in pleasure or if you were crying out in sadness. Before you could really process your thoughts, Chris flipped the two of you over again. You looked at him with tearful eyes and you felt your heart finally break as his own held their own tears. Leaning over, Chris captured your mouth in a heated kiss. Your lips moved over his, tongues dancing together as your orgasm teetered on the edge.

“I love you.” You whimpered against his mouth. His hips stuttered as his release approached. “Cum for me, baby. Please.” That was enough for him. He let out a loud curse, your name falling from his lips like a prayer. You felt your orgasm crash over you, your head thrown back as Chris continued to pound into you; his lips attached to the side of your neck and kissing that spot that had you cumming again.

Slowly Chris rolled off of you, his chest heaving as he laid next to you. You couldn’t look at him. You knew that if you did the dam that you had been building would inevitably break. You laid in silence for a few moments before you finally made the move to stand up from the bed. As you rolled over you paused as Chris’s hand reached out and gripped your wrist.

“Don’t.” His voice was weak and you finally looked at him. Your bottom lip wavered at the sight of the man that you loved. Chris was always beautiful to you, but something about him after the two of you made love had your heart soaring higher. The way his cheeks were flushed and his eyes still slightly blown, his hair disheveled and his lips red, swollen and begging to be kissed again. But now with that beauty was heartache. His lust blown eyes were now a deep blue shade of sadness as they silently begged you not to leave the bed.

“I have to go.” You whispered, looking away once again. “If I stay, I won’t leave.”

“Then don’t leave.” You felt him sit up and gently tug on your wrist. “Don’t leave me.”

You shook your head, pulling your wrist free from his burning grip. You gathered your clothes and started pulling them on. Maybe in another lifetime the two of you would work out.

“I can’t give you what you want, Chris.” You finally said as you looked at him again. “And I would hate myself if I made you give up on what you want. On what you deserve.”

“I can wait, Y/N. I’ll wait until you're ready. I don’t want these things if they aren’t with you.” He stood up, his voice full of conviction. But you knew him. You could see the turmoil behind his eyes. You knew him, sometimes better than he knew himself and vice versa, and you knew that he wanted to start a family sooner rather than later.

Walking over to him, you pressed your hands against the hard muscles of his chest. You could feel his heartbeat increase as you stood there, staring at the light fluttering of chest hair. Tentatively, you moved your hands from his chest to around his neck and brought his mouth down to yours. The kiss was salty as both of your tears mixed between your lips.

“Please.” His final attempt at getting you to stay as you pulled away.

“Promise me that you will find someone.” You laid your head against his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around you. “Promise me, Chris.”

“Don’t make me do that.” He rested his cheek on the top of your head.

“Promise me.” You repeated, tilting your head up to look at him.

His jaw clenched as he looked down at you. “I promise.”

You nodded once before stepping out of his arms and going back over to grab your stuff. You paused at the threshold of his bedroom door, your eyes meeting again. “Goodbye, Chris.”

And before he could say anything else, anything else that would make you stay you walked out of his room and out of his life.

[ffeynn]

How- how did I just discover your blog? I really like the pale blue aesthetic! Anyways, if it's okay, can I ask for the marine bio club taking their shy fem s/o out on an aquarium date please? Thank u! (and mayhaps a first kiss too pls)

「 aquarium date + first kiss with a shy!s/o: marine bio club 」

a/n: ahh thank you for liking the pale blue and also requesting!! and ofc ofc i love them, i hope i at least can make you smile with this! and the words are around 1.8k if im not wrong but still! im sorry that it gets shorter toward the end anonn

pairings: shinkai kanata, hakaze kaoru, kanzaki souma x shy!reader (seperate)

↬ there wasn’t much of a crowd the day you and kanata went to your aquarium date. maybe even the universe wanted for you two to be off in your own little world, not like the both of you haven’t done so. shinkai was the one who asked you out on a date shortly after you were officially announced as a couple.

☆ walking along the entrance of the aquarium, your eyes immediately brightened up in amusement. it’s been a long time since you visited an aquarium so to have kanata bring you here is perfect. “the aquarium looks nice right? looking at the fish heals me.” he said. you nodded in response, excitement awaits you the more you stepped into the place. all of a sudden, a hand holds out toward your direction.

“h-huh?” by his sudden gesture, you find yourself quite flustered. but not wanting to let kanata wait, you timidly placed your hand over him. he intertwined it with a smile flashed at you. “hehe, now we won’t lose each other.” with that said, you walked to your first exhibition, holding hands with your blue haired boyfriend.

↬ watching how his eyes lit up, the way his mouth curved upward by bits, how he interacts with the marine life inside the humongous tank and how they responded to him so naturally, having your first date at an aquarium truly is the perfect way to start off your relationship.

☆ although that doesn’t mean you’re the only one who feels this. kanata loves how amazed you’re at each marine life you saw, how intently you listened to his words about some fishes and also the way you giggle happily because a guppy swimmed to you from your calls. it would be nice if he can take a picture of you right now, sadly his phone is now being repaired.

well it’s alright then, kanata will just save this sight of you in his mind, he’ll make sure he keeps it well. the sight of you waving at his sea friends with a warm smile on your face, blue shades of lighting surrounding you was more than enough for him to never let himself forget this moment.

↬ it’s a shame that you were already nearing the end of the aquarium, your pace had gotten slower as you lightly swinged your hand which was intertwined with kanata’s. the blue haired stopped on his track, pointing to a flapjack octopus, “that’s flapjack octopus, cute right?” he remembered some days before that you wanted to see said octopus in real life. kanata is glad you seemed to forget that their sweet first date is coming to an end, he doesn’t want to see you sad anymore.

☆ your eyes widened slightly at the rare sight of the octopus, you were so excited to be able to see it for the first time. he lets go of your hand and told you to go up closer, you were such a mysterious being, in a lovely way. for him now, seeing you happy is the best view than seeing any other sea friends of his happy!

while kanata too, doesn’t know where his impulse came from but he took a glance at you. without any warnings, he leaned in straight without hesitation until his lips met yours. you frozened up at your place, obviously startled by it. remember how earlier you said you were quite flustered? now you’re beyond flustered.

“ka- kanata.. you..” poor you, too surprised to even say a coherent sentence. you didn’t make an effort to hide the growing shades of roses on your cheek.

“did you.. not like it? maybe that was too sudden.. I’m sorry.” if it wasn’t for the fact that you can easily notice changes on his expression, no one would know that he feels guilty and gloomy for his love gesture just now.

you panicked at your sad lover and his misunderstanding, “wait kanata no! I, I like it very much!” the moment you realized what you just blurted out, you were sure your face was akin to a tomato.

kanata cracked a smile on his face as he replied to your words of assurement, “ehe, I like it very much too.” oh dear, he’s too dangerous for your poor and timid heart. except you won’t mind him making your heart palpitates out of love.

↬ when he heard that you’ve been wanting to go to aquarium, kaoru was quick to plan a perfect aquarium date in his mind. he was so eager to make you think this was one of the best date you’ve ever gone to but at the same time he’s panicking. sure, kaoru has gone on a few dates at the aquarium but this is you! he’s going on an aquarium date with you! he wants to make it more special!

☆ you looked at your watch and wondered if ever your lover will come to the date. did he suddenly have work to do? just when you were about to call him, a rushed footsteps could be heard from afar.

“soー sorry.. I was too caught upー” he stopped his words the moment you caressed his back as a way to tell him to calm down. before he explains whatever reason it was for his late arrival, you told him to catch his breath first. besides, the mini bouquet he’s gripping seems to give out the answer.

↬ you took out your phone to take a selfie of you and the scenery of the marine life swimming around. despite being shy to ask kaoru to be in the selfie along with you, you asked him, “hey kaoru, do you want to take a selfie together?”

☆ without any thinking made, kaoru took your request positively. happily if I must point it out. he bent himself down to fit into your camera, the close proximity maybe did make your ears red. it’ll be nice if kaoru didn’t see your reddening ears. “one.. two..” and on the count of three, you clicked the button.

you thought the picture would probably look nice if it weren't for the fact that kaoru suddenly kissed your cheek when your finger clicked the button. now the only thing you’re thinking of is how red you must be from the abrupt kiss. in some way, kaoru is thankful that you’re hiding your face from him or you would’ve seen just how he’s more flustered even if he’s the one who initiates it.

↬ around the exit for the aquarium, there was a souvenirs shop. kaoru took a plushie of a sea animal that he remembered you saying is your favorite and rushed to you who’s waiting outside the shop after he paid for it.

☆ he took a few seconds before calling out to you, let the guy soften down when he saw you pat the small bouquet he bought for you. if you’re going to smile that way whenever he gives you a small bouquet then kaoru is willing to do it everyday.

and if your smile gets as cheerful and happy as this, if your eyes will brighten up more than ever akin to a star, then he will buy you lots and lots of plushies. a gift from kaoru to you; so that he’ll always be in your mind. just like you never leaving his. so out of the spur of the moment, he asked if he can kiss you. you looked up to meet his eyes and before kaoru could say anything about his question to not let you feel uncomfortable, you answered with a yes. take the lead kaoru, your s/o is letting you kiss him.

kaoru probably had created many different scenarios of your first kiss but outside of an aquarium souvenir shop is not one of them. vacant of people around them, you took this rare chance to put away your things, hold kaoru’s forearms, tiptoe on your feet and left a 5 seconds kiss on his lips. after constantly being on the teased side, seeing your boyfriend so flustered with love was fun. the kiss felt sweet too. not like you were any better. this was the first time you’ve ever done that.

↬ how do you go to an aquarium date? usually in an aquarium, souma will just walk around, admiring and studying the marine life inside the tank. but what if you thought that was boring? this is a date, while he’s content with just walking around with you beside him, talking about all the sea lifes.. what about you? and despite him being embarrassed, he lowered his pride and asked for help from the people around him. (his akatsuki senpais gives really good advice! as expected of them!)

☆ at the first place, when you caught hints of souma worrying over if you’ll feel content with just walking around with him, you almost snorted. really, what was he mulling about, just knowing that you’re going to be with him is enough to make a bashful smile up your face. now that you and him are dating, you really wish he would know that and you’ll tell him that during your awaited aquarium date.

fast-forward to when the two of you were already inside the date location. just before you and souma started venturing into the place full of sea lifes, you found yourself holding your breath when you asked the purple haired, “do you.. want to hold hands?” souma wants to hold hands with you too! he wants even if he was inexperienced with affections. and he would never wish to see you disappointed.

for the greater, we’ll just feign ignorance to the growing blush on the both of you.

↬ you were doing exactly what he thought would make you feel bored but the joyous expression you have says otherwise. souma glanced at his hand which hasn’t left yours since then, your hand in his was perfect. like it was meant to be holding one another. the nervousness he felt while starting his day today was subdued by the time you’ve spent with him.

☆ “um.. souma?” he responded to your call almost immediately with a voice that seemed more warm than before. you turned your head toward him and looked straight in his light purple eyes, “you see, it doesn’t matter where or how, as long as I’m with you, I’ll always be happy with that.”

ending your words, you instantly looked elsewhere. souma never expected you to mutter those words to him, he appreciates you for that. you were right and that fact goes the same way with him. souma also loves how shy you become after saying those kinds of things, it makes his heart swell with adoration. the hand holding yours was tightening his hold yet it feels more calm.

↬ somewhere in the aquarium, tucked from public’s eyes, souma with his face covered in pretty red was still in disbelief. your lover being in such a situation, it helps soothe your own bashfulness too.

☆ with souma, he always makes sure to have your consent first before doing anything. that goes the same with kisses, more precisely a first kiss. he was surprised with himself too from his own little selfish request but there was this urge to lay a kiss on your lips. “may.. I kiss you?” he said, requested, asked, whatever it is, the only answer you’ll give will never change.

and again, somewhere in the aquarium, tucked from public’s eyes, souma cupped your cheek with one hand and leaned in. the process was slow, he looked into your eyes with his face dusted of rose shades. the kiss also felt long despite lasting for a quick 3 seconds.

[gaycrouton]

Ray of Light

For the first time since being back, he felt the heaviness weighing him down start to fade away. The fog had lifted and he could see the life he’d actually come back to — one where the love of his life was carrying his child. Not a life that had gone on without him, but one that desperately needed him there.

Alternatively; Mulder and Scully's first time after he's returned.

angst and pregnancy smut | discussions of trauma | msr | 7k | ao3 | dedicated to the wonderful @sclly​

Before Mulder had been abducted, he was finally in a relationship with Scully, or at least that's what he thought of it as. They didn't use the words dating or boyfriend and girlfriend, but they spent every night together, they were intimate in every possible sense of the word, and he'd never felt more loved in his entire life.

When he returned, she was pregnant, had a new partner at work, and on his first night back she drove back to her apartment and left him alone.

Looking back, he knew she was respecting the fact he said he needed time to process everything, but she had no idea how much it added to his confusion. He was uncertain of where he stood with Scully, so he buried himself in his work since it's where he felt most secure, despite her protests. Mulder knew people thought he was being rude, hell even he did at times, but every time he looked into Scully's eyes, he saw nothing but worry and sympathy.

Yesterday he'd broken into the census bureau with Agent Doggett, only for it to be a bust. They'd been laying low at Scully's apartment ever since, and the awkward tension between them just kept mounting. He tried to think of what to say, only to end up feeling like anything he said would come across as curt, and he wanted to avoid saying something else that might hurt her. The last thing he ever wanted was him coming back from the dead just to continue making her sad.

The first thing he noticed about his apartment was that it didn't look like the apartment of a man who'd been missing for months. It was spotless. Cleaner than he'd ever seen it. It made his heart ache thinking of the Scully who was so firm in her convictions he'd come back that she had clearly spent a lot of time making the apartment look great for his return. It made him feel even worse thinking of what response she'd imagined he'd have upon seeing it, only to be met with pure apathy.

As soon as he realized the molly was dead it just felt like a cosmic kick while he was already down. It might've just been one fish that could easily be replaced for $2, but that particular fish was part of a pair Scully had given him early in their partnership when she wasn't sure what he'd like as a gift. She'd been shy and sweet when she presented the black and white duo swimming together in a bag. "These were the only two left and I didn't want to split them up." He'd put them in the tank and, while the black one blended in with the others he had, the white one always swam around and reminded him of her. Now he couldn't even have that.

Despite the lack of communication happening right now, and how much work had been put into making him feel like his space was ready for him to come back, he still found himself staying at her apartment most nights. That first night he spent alone in his place was filled with dream after dream getting tortured — saws going into his chest, his skin being pulled from his body, the pain he could still feel resonating in his bones like a phantom limb. He'd wake up every few hours to the sounds of his own screams resonating off the empty apartment walls. There was always a pause where he waited for her to roll over or for the sounds of her footsteps to rush down the hallway, but it never came. The only thing that brought him comfort was that the bed smelled like her.

It didn't matter how clean his apartment was because that was never what he was coming back to. Scully was his home, and without her, he felt lost. Yesterday he never made a move to leave and she never asked him to. He wasn't sure if he was welcome in her bed, so he purposefully stayed up later than her and passed out on her couch. As had been their rapport as of late, she didn't say anything, but he could tell from her hurt expression that he'd made the wrong decision.

Luckily he could always trust Scully to know how to be his ray of light whenever he managed to lose his footing in the darkness.

"I know how you feel," she murmured lightly while sitting next to him on the couch.

It was so out of the blue he wasn't sure what to respond. The show they'd been watching had gone to commercial break and, apparently, so had them pretending everything was normal. He turned to her, wanting her to know he was giving her his full attention.

"When I came back, I um," she paused, her fingers starting to play with the silken edge of a maternity pajama top. "I felt so out of place within my own life. I felt like I didn't know how to be myself in a world that had gone on without me."

The irony was not lost on him that what he remembered most of those few months after she came back was how frustrated he'd been with her pushing herself. She'd taken a mere week off to recover from they didn't even know what injuries, and she was demanding to work as if all was fine. Mulder recognized it as a diversion tactic, it was more comfortable to focus on work than to process trauma, but he'd gotten frustrated with her, and here he was doing the same thing. The only difference seemed to be she knew from experience it didn't help.

"It took me years to feel like I'd caught up. I still have a hard time grappling with those months I was gone, and that I'll never get that time back. All the things I might've done in that time that were robbed from me. I remember when three months passed since I'd been returned, when I'd been back as long as I'd been missing, I still didn't feel fully like myself. Every external factor was the same, it was just me having a hard time adapting."

He listened to her, entranced by her admission. When he asked how she was doing back then, he'd gotten a lot of 'fines,' and he ended up not asking anymore in fear he was prying and annoying her. To hear her speak so candidly about her experience made him want to go back in time and hug the young woman who felt like he did now. He knew he was empathizing as best he could back then, but now having experienced what it's like, he realized there was no way he could have fully understood the depth and complexity of her emotions.

Scully turned to him with a deep breath and took his hand in her own. "I couldn't imagine coming back to every aspect of my life being different. I at least had the comfort of familiarity when I returned, and I could assimilate back into my old life while trying to process my trauma. I'm sorry if I was rushing you earlier when you said you were having problems processing and figuring out how you fit in."

Her ability to articulate what he was feeling was a relief, and almost eerie. Mulder knew he should say something so she didn't feel like she was talking to a brick wall, but she was saying it better than he ever could and he had missed the sound of her voice.

"I guess what got me through your absence was imagining your return," she admitted, confirming his earlier belief about her being at his apartment which now felt like a diorama of her grief. "I hate it when you're sad, so I didn't want to imagine you that way. It was wrong of me to cling to an image of you who'd come back and react like everything is fine when I know firsthand how unrealistic of an expectation that is to meet."

Mulder knew it was a sensitive question to ask, but he wanted to know. "How did you get through it when you thought I was dead? When it didn't seem like there was a possibility of me coming back?"

Scully's hold on his hand tightened as her face crumpled slightly. He squeezed her hand and stroked the skin on the back of her hand encouragingly. "I tried not to think of how you looked laying in that field," she stated, her voice quivering before a sharp staccato inhalation.

Shit. He hadn't even thought of the fact Scully might have seen his body like that. It made sense she'd want to see it and confirm for herself, Scully was a scientist who needed proof above all else, but he'd imagined her mourning his body on an autopsy table in the comfort of her own domain. Not that she'd seen him in whatever state he was crudely discarded in.

Mulder didn't think he could ever voice to her what he would have done if the situation was reversed and he had found her body dead in a field.

He could tell from her response that it was an image that had traumatized her, something that would no doubt haunt her for the rest of her life; but she managed to close her eyes, take a deep breath, and turn to him to continue.

There would never be a moment in his life where he wasn't astounded by her strength.

"I spent a lot of time in Karen Kosseff's office, and I just tried to focus on staying alive for the baby," she said, putting her other hand on her stomach.

His attention was drawn to the hand rubbing her stomach and that familiar knot of jealousy formed in his throat, threatening to choke him. Someone else had granted her the miracle he wanted to give her and there was nothing he could do about it. He didn't even know if it was his place to be upset about it or if he was overstepping. The first time she'd done IVF, when she'd asked him, he felt included — like no matter what, he'd be a part of her and the baby's life. But clearly, she did it again and it made him feel like he hadn't actually needed to be a part of the process. That his involvement wasn't expected or, even worse, truly wanted.

While their conversation had made him feel better, it was that bump underneath her clothes that made him feel like he wasn't invited to a part of her life he wanted to be in more than she knew. Mulder wanted to tell her he'd raise the baby like his own if she'd let him, but the thought of her saying no felt like the last thing he could take right now.

"You can always touch me. You know that, right?" she asked softly off his look.

His hand itched to reach out, but it stayed in his lap. "I'm glad the IVF finally worked for you," he replied, putting all his effort into smiling to show he meant it.

Smiling looked like the furthest thing from her mind. "What?" Scully replied, her brows furrowed in confusion.

"What?" he repeated, confused by her confusion.

Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth as she bit it in concentration, a look of pain passing her face. "Mulder," she stated hesitantly. "Do you really believe this baby isn't yours?" she asked, hurt she was trying to hide leaking through her words.

Mulder shook his head, dumbstruck. "How could it be?"

"You were right," she shrugged. "I just couldn't give up on a miracle."

"I thought the in-vitro didn't work?" he replied.

"You do remember all the sex we were having before you were taken, right?" she deadpanned. "I trust you got the birds and the bees talk?"

"It's mine," he whispered in shock.

"It's yours," she confirmed with so much conviction his knees would have given out if he was standing. Then, with a layer of vulnerability, she added softly, "You didn't really think…"

Mulder's mind was reeling, but he could still tell she was hurt by his unspoken implication that she'd move on so quickly after how long it had taken them to get together, but he just hadn't known.

"I thought you tried in-vitro again. I thought maybe you asked someone else," he answered weakly, the statement out loud sounding ridiculous to his own ears.

"Who else do you think I'd ask? Skinner?" she asked.

He wasn't going to admit it, but he'd considered it. When he was in the hospital he saw how protective Skinner was of her, how close they seemed to have gotten since he'd been gone. Retrospectively he could see that they likely didn't have many people they could turn to when they were looking for him, so it made sense they would have gotten closer.

"I thought maybe an anonymous donor," he answered with a grimace.

"I could barely get out of bed when you were taken, let alone decide it would be a great time to have a baby," she replied. "Though I will say, I'm glad I had a part of you with me to get me through this. I'm not sure how I would have handled it if I wasn't so concerned with keeping myself healthy for the baby. If I even could have."

Mulder couldn't handle thinking about that, so he focused on her delicate hand resting in his own, the hands that had healed him in more ways than he could count. He pulled it up to his lips and kissed her fingers, inhaling the smell of her lotion as he reveled in the feeling of her skin on his lips once more. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I-I just thought since it didn't work that time and then I saw you pregnant that maybe it was my fault it failed in the first place. I didn't mean to make you feel like I resented you. I never did for a second. I was just depressed that the life I'd been wanting for you and I was happening without me."

Her fingers tightened around his as he pressed their joined hands to his heart. "You're here now," she replied with an encouraging smile.

For the first time since being back, he felt the heaviness weighing him down start to fade away. The fog had lifted and he could see the life he'd actually come back to — one where the love of his life was carrying his child. Not a life that had gone on without him, but one that desperately needed him there.

He looked down at her swollen stomach and felt a smile break out on his face. Scully was pregnant with their baby. The words didn't even feel real. It felt too good to be true. She tugged his hand towards her and brought it to her stomach, pressing it against her bulge while splaying out his fingers. When Mulder looked up, she was smiling back at him and he realized how much he'd missed seeing that. He had never touched a pregnant woman's stomach before, and he was shocked at how firm it was. "What does it feel like?" he asked, astonished.

"At times, lovely, but most of the time I'm exhausted, feel disgusting, and look like an elephant," she chuckled.

He looked up at her and took note of how long and shiny her hair looked and how she truly exemplified that pregnancy 'glow' he always heard people talk about. She was absolutely radiant.

"You're beautiful, Scully," he murmured firmly. "Always."

He watched as tears immediately pooled in her eyes and her lip quiver. "Hey, hey, hey," he replied, scooting over and wrapping an arm around her to pull her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into the crook of his neck, pressing kisses to his skin after littering it with her tears. She smelled like cocoa butter and her skin felt unimaginably smooth. "Are you okay?" he murmured into her shoulder.

Scully pulled away slightly with a chuckle and shook her head. "Yeah, I've just been so emotional because of the hormones and I've hated how things were between us and I'm just so happy you're here," she explained, her voice quivering near the end. Without a moment's hesitation, he closed the gap between them, pressing his mouth to hers as if the mere act could be his benediction — a plea for an absolution only she could give.

She met him with equal fervor and for the first time in days, he was home, he finally felt alive.

It was different, kissing her while she was pregnant. It took more maneuvering than he was used to, but he liked it. Every time her stomach grazed his, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and overwhelming affection for her. "I missed you," she whispered against his lips between kisses. "So much."

He let his hands roam through her hair as they kissed, amazed at how thick it was and how the longer strands felt weaving like water in and out of his fingers. Mulder was surprised at the tonal change, but he figured it made sense. They deserved this little piece of heaven after the hell they'd just been through. Being in her arms was exactly where he wanted to be.

Somewhere between Scully pulling on his shirt and their legs shifting against each other, they ended up with Scully laying on her back on the couch while Mulder hovered above her. He was being mindful of not putting any weight on her stomach as he began kissing one of the tendons of her neck, smiling as he felt her pulse thrum under his tongue. A shiver went down his spine as he felt her rake her long fingernails sensually down his back. He moved to the other side of her neck and kissed the vibrations of her moan.

The moment he registered something tickle his inner thigh, she already began palming him through the front of his grey sweatpants, eliciting a hearty groan. He felt his eyes flutter shut in ecstasy as she deftly moved her wrist, stroking him firmly through the fabric. "Scully," he rasped between clenched teeth, burrowing his face into her neck while pumping against her hand.

"Mulder," she rasped.

He pulled away to look at her and watched as she turned away and coughed. Realizing her rasp was out of a lack of breath and not lust, he sat back on his legs out of concern he'd been pressing on her. "Are you okay?" he panted.

She reached out for his arm and he pulled her up into a sitting position. "Yeah," she nodded with a smile. "The baby just smashes my lungs if I'm on my back for too long."

"Do you want to stop?' he asked, rubbing her arms.

"Absolutely not," she replied firmly before she all but pulled him off his feet and led him by the hand to the bedroom.

"What they say about pregnant women's sex drives must be true then, huh?" he teased, following behind her with his own bounding footsteps.

Upon entering her room she turned to him with a mock-severe look, "You have no idea."

Her intensity and the hunger in her eyes made his cock twitch. Mulder pulled her to him, pressing his arousal to her stomach. "I think I can help with that," he murmured.

He brought his hands up in between them and started undoing the buttons of her nightshirt, noting how her nipples were protruding against the fabric. When he'd done research after she initially brought up in-vitro and having a baby, he learned about how much more sensitive women's bodies became. Out of curiosity, he let one finger stray from his mission to flick one nipple teasingly.

His eyes widened with the intensity of her gasp. "Sorry, my breasts are sensitive," she chuckled breathily, confirming his suspicions.

"I didn't even know that was a possibility for you," he teased, knowing he'd made her come from breast play alone before. Not wanting to neglect the other side, he let the back of his index finger graze over the other pebbled nipple and watched as it seemed to become impossibly harder, her breath almost becoming labored from just that.

This was going to be fun.

When the last button was undone, he raked his fingers up her body in between the flaps of fabric. He gently touched the darker line that was running up the middle of her stomach, only pausing to lightly touch her now protruding belly button.

She laughed huskily and did a little pivot sway away from him. "That tickles," she chastised playfully.

He chuckled along with her as he went to her shoulders, sliding his hands under the fabric so that it slid down her arms behind her, fluttering down in a heap at her feet. The sight of her standing shirtless while pregnant in front of him was enough to take his breath away.

It was initially almost imperceivable, but he saw her hands instinctively go to cover herself, only to hesitate and join self-consciously in front of her stomach. At that moment it struck him that it hadn't been a one-off comment in the living room: she really felt insecure about herself. She was trying to hide it, her trust for him feeling like the greatest honor, but he could still see it in her demeanor change. "You have no idea how sexy you are," he praised when he caught her eye.

"Mulder, you don't ha-" she began with a slight shake of her head.

"Don't," he whispered. Mulder raised his hands and cupped her jaw in his palms, coaxing her to look at him fully and see his sincerity. "I love your body. You're carrying our baby, and I'm in awe of you. Scully, you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my entire life, and that most certainly hasn't changed. I don't want to see you doubt yourself."

He was glad to see he hadn't lost the ability to make her blush since he'd been gone. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were misty again. "Thank you," she mouthed, her voice a ghost of a whisper. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, each cheek, and the tip of her nose before finally resting on her lips, hoping to convey his earnest adoration.

Scully's tongue slid into his mouth to deepen the kiss as her hands wrapped around him, sliding up under his shirt to play with the skin of his lower back. His hands slid away from her jaw and one entangled itself in her hair while the other reached around to cup the back of her neck.

However, where he anticipated meeting the slightly raised line of where he knew her little implant scar was, he felt something that felt significantly more raised. His eyes shot open as he pulled away, all other thoughts temporarily forgotten. Scully had a slightly chagrined expression on her face as her eyes tentatively peeked open.

He didn't wait before walking around her, gently moving her hair aside so he could have a better look at the back of her neck. The ghost of the white little scar he was anticipating had suddenly become paired with a raised, red, and angry scar next to her old one, only this one was far newer and deeper.

This was one of his favorite spots on her body. The tiny little scar was a reminder of her strength. He liked to kiss and touch the spot he knew held the miracle that helped keep her alive. Seeing this new wound right next to it made his heart race and his body go numb. "D-did someone cut out your chip?" he asked. Immeasurable guilt started to fill him at the knowledge that someone hurt her while he wasn't there. That someone tried to take something so important. Would her cancer come back?

She turned around quickly and reached up to mirror the centering touch he'd just given her as she cupped his face with her hands, her fingers gently scratching the fine hairs near his ears.

"No. No one tried to cut out my chip," she replied firmly.

"But did they inadvertently do so? What happened?" he asked, falling into his reflexive habit of becoming one-track-minded where Scully's safety was concerned.

"It's still there. I had them x-ray me when I got to the hospital. I promise, I'm okay," she pressed. "I can fill you in on all the cases you missed later, okay?"

There must've been something on his face that made her realize he'd be focused on it until he got a little more assurance than that. With a sigh, she stroked the skin of his cheeks and stated, "I initially had a hard time letting myself trust Doggett so I went on a case alone and some cultists tried to make me a host for their God. I'm not going to go into details right now because it's gross and I'm trying to have sex right now, but Doggett found me and I had to have him cut something out of me because we were running out of time. I promise it's not as bad as it looks."

"Doggett did that to you?" he repeated, the image of the man cutting her burning into his mind.

She rolled her eyes and looked at him pointedly. "I think you missed the part where I said I told him to. He saved my life, Mulder." She moved her hands down to rest on his chest, roaming his muscles with clear appreciation. Then she looked up at him with big eyes while teasingly pouting her lip. "I don't want to talk about Doggett or cases right now. I've missed you so much and I thought about this for months. Please don't make me wait anymore. I promise I'm okay and I'll fill you in on everything later. Just be here with me," she pleaded.

Mulder could never say no to her when she asked like that, so despite his curiosity, he smiled and nodded. They were in no rush, they had plenty of time. He'd ask questions tomorrow.

Tonight was for her.

"Okay," he replied, tucking an errant hair behind her ear.

"Good," she smirked triumphantly, a devilish gleam twinkling in her eye. "I don't want to be the only one half-naked anymore," she demanded.

His hands slid down her body and he smirked when he felt goosebumps arise in their wake. "You're right, you should be fully naked," he replied, tugging on the elastic waistband of her pajama pants. She let him slide the silk shorts down her legs, no underwear much to his delight, and she was visibly shivering in excitement as he palmed her bare hips in his hands as he stood back up.

Not wanting to dismiss her wishes though, he quickly rid himself of his shirt and his sweatpants so they were both standing nude. "Get on the bed," he commanded lowly.

She hummed in appreciation and crawled onto the bed, the roundness of her stomach visible between her thighs as she made her way up to the headboard and her arousal glistening prominently. She was so wet it was already leaking onto her inner thighs and he felt proud to have been the cause. His erection that had weaned when they were talking about her injury had sprung back in full force upon seeing her fully naked again. God, he missed her.

Despite his arousal and excitement, he couldn't help but feel robbed of the opportunity to see these developments occur over time. Mulder wished he could have seen her body slowly change and develop as new life grew inside her. Suddenly he painfully related to her earlier sentiment regarding feeling indignant about the time that had been taken and all the moments he was robbed of. He wanted to hold her hair back when she had morning sickness, he wanted her to jump his bones anytime she wanted because of her hormones, and he wanted to be there every time she had a moment of doubt that told her she was anything other than beautiful so he could tell her how wrong she was.

They'd made love quite a lot in their short time together between her coming to his bed that night he got back from England and his being abducted, but as far as intimate relationships went, it was all still relatively new. He had only just started feeling confident he was proficient in the body and pleasure of Dana Scully. He'd been cataloging every freckle, memorizing every moan and gasp in the hopes of recreating them, and now he felt out of practice. Her body had changed and he was determined tonight to worship her and become reacquainted with her. He wanted to know the intricacies of Dana Scully both inside and out.

Mulder wanted to take his time. Crawling onto the bed after her, he approached her sitting form and kissed her while on his hands and knees. He knew there were going to be many new pregnancy-related changes, but now he was going to look out for any new scars or injuries that happened since they were last together. He just wanted to know so he could start to create a new future. Her skin was pale and delicate, her veins pale and blue underneath her skin like the blue lines on pulpy parchment. He wanted to use his tongue to write odes on her skin, he wanted to fill the spaces between the lines with 'I love you's, pink scrapes of his stubble, hickies left in his mouth's wake — he wanted her body to be a diary of his love. It was his goal to replace the memory of harsh, cruel hands and evil intentions and leave behind nothing but reassurances of his love and affection for her.

He pulled back, enjoying the way her body leaned forward instinctively to keep them connected, and watched as a content expression crossed her face. Her eyes fluttered open and she grinned impishly at him.

"What positions work best for you?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied in amusement. "I've never had pregnancy sex before."

"We're like virgins," he joked.

"Oh absolutely," she deadpanned, placing a hand on her severely pregnant stomach for emphasis.

Mulder snickered before he maneuvered onto his back, his cock bobbing in the air emphatically. He was adjusting himself when he felt Scully's knee come to nestle against his hip, her other going over him so she was sitting on his lap. Pausing his movements, he watched as she grabbed his erection and brought it closer to herself. However, instead of easing up on her knees and guiding him inside of her like he thought she was doing, she rocked back and forth while pressing his cock against her folds, rubbing his head against her clit with each movement.

"Fuck," he moaned, his hips inadvertently snapping up from pleasure and causing her to moan at the unexpected contact.

She continued her ministrations until her knees had his hips in a death grip and her movements were becoming erratic as her orgasm built. Mulder watched as she lifted herself up, but he pivoted his hips before she could sink onto him.

"Wait," he rasped.

"Mulder," she whined, dragging out his name as she pouted.

The sight amused him, and he nearly gave in. "There's something I need to do first," he explained.

"Do you have to do it right no-"

"Scoot up here and grab the headboard," he instructed.

Her pout quickly turned into a smile and an enthusiastic, "Oh!"

Doing as he instructed, she made her way up his body until she was straddling his face. "It's weird not being able to look down and watch you," she remarked once she braced her hands against the headboard.

Utilizing the way her stomach eclipsed his head underneath her to his advantage, he latched his mouth onto her clit without warning and added suction. "Shit!" she gasped, her body jerking in surprise. He reached his arms around her thighs so she was locked in place as he ran his tongue along her seam. She was so wet the mere contact had already drenched the lower half of his face. Her labia was swollen red from arousal and if her movements a moment ago were any indication, she was close to coming already.

He plunged his tongue inside of her and curved it so he was pressing against her inner wall, alternating between the pointed tip of his tongue and the flat of it when it was relaxed. He licked his lips and savored the taste of her. It was distinguishably Scully, but slightly different, sweeter, than he remembered. Even though his arms were around her thighs, she was still squirming as best she could. Knowing going back to her clit was what was going to send her over the edge, he swirled around it teasingly. Once, twice, then he latched on with suction while flicking the pointed edge of his tongue mercilessly against her clit.

A gasp tore from her lungs and was immediately followed by her panting his name with so much reverence it sounded like a prayer. Mulder felt her thighs start shaking and quivering against him with the power of her orgasm, and he didn't stop until she jerked away from him and placed a hand on his shoulder to signal she was too sensitive.

Scully adjusted herself so she was back in her original position, only stopping once to give him a deep kiss on the mouth. Mulder was too focused on what she was going earlier to notice much more, but now that she was sitting on his lap in the glow of the lamp, he realized her breasts were fuller now. Sitting up without dislodging her, he brought his hands up to cup them, playing with their weight in his hands. Scully's eyes shut in pleasure as her head rolled to her shoulder, leaning forward into his touch.

Mulder bent his head down and flicked his tongue over a pebbled nipple before taking the darkened areola into his mouth and sucking. "Mmm," she moaned, squirming against him in desperation for any contact. His cock was grinding into the flesh of her ass as she ground her clit desperately into his pubic bone.

He let go of one nipple to take a few deep breaths before moving onto the other one to give it the same attention. One hand was resting on the curve of her hip, stabilizing Scully, while the other rubbed her other breast and sternum. Mulder was so focused on playing with her, that he didn't fully register her grab his forearm so she could bring his hand to her face until he felt her lips clamp around his thumb. He felt his cock throb at the feeling of her hot, wet mouth sucking on his thumb.

Mulder released her breast with an audible suction as he looked up at her. If he let himself, he could have come from the look in her eyes alone. Scully kept her gaze even as she swirled her tongue around his thumb lewdly. He playfully bent it in her mouth and watched as her lips opened into a breathy chuckle. Pulling his hand away, he lowered it so he could spread her saliva around both her nipples, blowing a stream of cool air on them to make her shiver. He watched her nipples tighten in front of him before resting his hand on her inner thigh so he could swirl his thumb around her swollen clit.

"I want you," she gasped as she swiveled her hips to compliment his ministrations.

"Like this?" he asked.

"No," she mused. Then with displeasure added, "My knees are starting to hurt."

"Try laying on your side," he suggested, easing himself up as she got off him.

She laid down and faced the wall, presuming he was going to spoon up behind her. "What're you doing?" she asked when she saw him at her knees.

"Face the other way," he replied, straddling her bottom leg while bringing the other to rest against his hip. This way she could lay down on her side and wouldn't have to exert herself as much.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked.

While she was still laying on her side, she was pivoting slightly so she could face him. "Yeah," she replied while rubbing her top leg against his encouragingly.

He reached down and grabbed his shaft, rubbing the tip tauntingly between her folds before slowly easing himself into her. He watched her face to make sure he wasn't hurting her, but all he saw was an expression of content bliss. "You feel so good," she sighed, tilting her hips to give him room to go deeper.

"Jesus, Scully," he groaned in ecstasy as her walls clamped down around him like a vice.

One of her hands went to one of his legs and she began grasping at him, seemingly just wanting to touch him in any way she could. "More," she demanded.

As much as he wanted this to last for as long as possible, he was in no condition to deny her. He began pumping his hips against her, feeling her walls stretch to accommodate him as he slid in and out of her. Her breasts were bouncing tantalizingly and he watched as she brought her other hand up and began cupping herself, moving from one breast to the other haphazardly.

Leaning forward slightly, Mulder let his hand roam across her stomach, feeling the way it moved with each thrust. It was an odd experience, but insanely erotic at the same time. He repositioned his knees a little bit so he could angle his hips to try to hit her g-spot. Mulder had been pretty proficient at finding it before, but he felt his spongy head rubbing against the grooves of her front walls and he hadn't heard her telltale gasp yet.

He rocked his hips a little differently, trying a little farther back, and he saw her body tense as her breathing hitched. There it is. "Please don't stop," she begged breathlessly, her hands moving to grab fistfuls of the bedspread. He picked up the pace, hitting the same area repeatedly with the tip of his cock while sounds of pleasure flew out of her mouth mindlessly. "Yes. Need. Please. So good. More. Mulder," variants of those words at different volumes and tones with intermittent moans.

He felt a coil start to tighten in his abdomen and he knew he was close. Scully was too as she reached around her stomach to rub her clit with her middle and ring fingers. "That's it, Scully," he praised, locking eyes with her while their mutual bliss grew.

With one quick snap of his hips, he watched as her eyes widened and her jaw dropped open as her body trembled with her orgasm. It was clearly taking a conscious amount of effort to keep her eyes open, and he was grateful for it because seeing her come undone was the single most beautiful and erotic thing he'd ever seen. The visual combined with the feeling of her spasming around him caused him to come right after her.

Scully stroked his hair as he caught his breath. "You mean so much to me," she mused out loud, her hand moving to cup his jaw while her thumbs carefully brushed over the scars on his face.

He still felt self-conscious about them, even though he knew it was silly and Scully herself said they'd heal soon. Trying to ignore his insecurities, he bent down to kiss her before he moved so that he was spooning her from behind, pulling a light blanket over them as he put his arm around her.

"Thank you, Scully," he murmured into her hair.

"I think you're the one who deserves the thank you. My knees would have given out a long time ago," she replied, placing her hand on top of the hand he'd placed on her stomach.

He chuckled lightly before shaking his head. "I wasn't talking about that, though I think you deserve some appreciation anyway," he remarked, kissing the crown of her head.

"Then what for?" she yawned.

"Everything," he stated simply.

He felt her about to say something but he interrupted her with a gasp when he felt something press against his palm. "Did you feel that?" she replied excitedly, her hand pressing into his and moving it slightly.

"Was that-"

"The baby kicked," she replied, the smile audible in her tone.

"Did it hurt?" he asked, it felt pretty strong against his hand, he couldn't imagine the internal version of that.

"Not really. It's oddly comforting unless it's on my bladder," she replied. "It's probably going to happen again."

They both laid in silence together for a moment in anticipation, only to simultaneously disrupt it with excited laughs when the baby kicked again. "That's amazing," he replied in awe.

"It really is," she mused in kind.

"Do you know what it reminds me of?" he asked.

"You better not say-"

"- the movie Alien," he replied, smiling when he heard her amused sigh.

He rubbed her stomach gently, both to touch Scully and to start trying to connect with the kid. "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" he asked.

"Maybe, but I won't tell," she lilted cheekily.

"That's evil, Scully," he tsked, nudging her lightly with his knee. "I guess it doesn't matter. No matter what, the minute their little arms can hold up a bat I'm going to teach them how to play ball. You can help me since you've received top-notch training from the best," he declared.

Instead of responding, she turned so that she could look at him, and he realized she was crying. "Hey, hey. It's okay," he stammered, moving to stroke her hair and wipe away her tears.

"I'm so relieved you're here. I missed you so much and I was so scared I was going to have to do this alone," she sobbed, clutching his hand like he was going to disappear again if she let go.

Mulder felt his throat start to tighten in sympathy and he held her tighter while kissing her temple. He'd suffered so much when he was taken, but so had she. They were only ever going to get through the emotional scars if they were together. "I'm here, Scully, I promise. I'm yours forever."

[aceoftrashies]

Levi’s Suicide

[This is an OM! angst story, and this will cover some sensitive topics and thoughts. I just want to mention that with any angst content I write, I do not condone. It is fiction and fiction only, and should not be applied to real-life and/or real-life situations. If you or anyone you know is suicidal, or has plans to commit suicide, please consider using the suicide hotline. Just know you are not alone, and there are people to help. Here is the link for the national suicide hotline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/]

[tw: depression, gorey details, not eating-eating too little, descriptions of previous suicide attempts, commiting suicide, grief, and overall sad contents, please read at your own risk. This may be triggering for some. ] 

Leviathan was once again, isolated in his room, curled up in his bed. He had been crying for god-knows-how-long. His eyes were red-rimmed as he hiccuped a sob into himself, his Ruri-Chan body pillow discarded to the side. He didn’t feel worthy enough to have comfort. 

He had always struggled with his self-worth, but tonight was the worst it’s ever been. He refused to eat because he just didn’t feel like he should have food, his number going down on the scale. When he did eat, it was very little. 

He drained himself nightly with video games to distract his brain for long hours, knowing deep down that it was only temporary relief, if any. He would sometimes play shooting games when his depression has been particularly difficult to handle, wishing the people’s who heads were blown off with giant bloody explosions, or the people who screamed as their entrails were ripped out was him. 

But no matter what distraction he had, it never truly worked. His brothers were too caught up in their own things to acknowledge his true feelings, and often passed it off and/or told him to just get himself together and to “quit acting like such a bummer”. 

His eyes opened as tears flowed down his cheeks, his brain non-audibly whispering thoughts of self-doubt and bad messages that he couldn’t drown out. 

He’s had nightmares of his brothers leaving him, degrading him and attacking him until he died in a pool of blood as the brothers laughed and walked away, and he would wake up slightly sweaty and his heart racing a mile a minute. 

But his depression got to a point where he just couldn’t take much more. All the people he had around him to support him weren’t even real. They couldn’t tell him how much they appreciate him, or lend an ear for him to vent to, or a shoulder to cry on. He just wanted an end. An end to the constant pain. 

He’s attempted to kill himself a few times, but it was many years ago. He attempted to drown himself, but it didn’t work. He attempted to stab himself while he was alone in the kitchen, which also didn’t work. But he didn’t want to just try today, he wanted to succeed.

Because, for the first time, he’ll succeed in something, he thought.

He sighed and sat up, wiping his eyes with his fingers as he walked over to Henry 2.0′s tank, resting a hand gently on the glass and observing every movement Henry 2.0 made and knelt down, tears welling and shiny in his eyes. He began to speak as Henry 2.0 mindlessly swam around in his tank.

“Well, Henry.... this is it. I’m going to end it all. You won’t being seeing me again, but I’ll have someone to look after you. I’ll truly never leave your side, Henry, I’ll always be there..” 

His lips trembled as he watched Henry swim for the last time, sobbing into one of the sleeves of his hoodie. He reflected on memories as an angel, laughing and smiling with his brothers, and thought back to him now as a sobbing mess. 

What went wrong...? He went wrong. 

He walked away after whispering a final goodbye, preparing himself. He grabbed a rope that was nearby from a cosplay he did, and a step-stool he had, to reach figurines on a higher shelf. 

He hiccuped sobs as he tied the rope to the ceiling and stood on the step-stool. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he tied one end of the rope around his neck. The rope was somewhat tight around his neck, slightly affecting his oxygen intake, but not enough for death... yet. 

He had nothing in real life to live for. Reality was a waste. He was a waste.

He looked up at the ceiling as tears fell down from his cheeks to the floor. And he sobbed again and said his final words. 

“I’ve wasted millennia down here.... farewell, my brothers... keep a figurine to remember me... I am not truly gone, the memory of me will still be here as your brother... but there’s no place here for an unworthy otaku like me... so... this is it... goodbye..” 

He sobbed a little more and swallowed against the rope as he took his last breath and stepped off the stool. The rope quickly tightened around his neck and his breath came in sharp quick gasps, but he didn’t fight it. He wanted this, and death arrived to him at last. His face went pale and eyes went dull as he died there, hands at his sides, his lips slightly purple and neck slightly tilted.

Asmo was passing by and faintly heard the sound of Levi gasping for air, and he got worried. But he knocked a few times. 

“Levi? Are you okay?” He called, but no reply. He must have his volume up pretty high, he thought. 

“I’m gonna come in, okay? I just want to see if you’re--” 

Asmo stopped when he opened the door and saw his younger brother hanging there in front of him. He cupped his mouth as tears quickly fell down his face, turning black from the eyeliner. 

“LEVI!” He screamed as he ran to his brother, examining him up close and touching him. He was cold to the touch, and lifeless. Lucifer quickly ran in after hearing Asmo scream, quickly becoming panicked at Levi’s hung corpse. 

The rest of the brothers quickly followed, all stunned and upset at seeing and processing Levi’s death. 

Lucifer untied Levi and held him in his arms, looking into Levi’s eyes. The life was literally sucked out of them. 

“W-We could’ve stopped this..” Belphegor said as tears fell quickly down his face. 

“We were all so caught up, we d-didn’t realize our poor Levi needed us!” Asmo cried and hugged Beel for comfort, but Beel accepted it, hugging Asmo somewhat tightly and crying as well, as if he was scared to let go. 

“We could have walked in and asked him to talk to us...” Satan stated as he looked away, drying tears away. 

“We... we can’t blame ourselves for this. I know we feel guilty, but...” Lucifer stated as tears welled up in his ruby-red eyes. 

“No, Lucifer! This was our fault! We NEGLECTED HIM! WE IGNORED HIM!! AND NOW HE’S DEAD!!” Satan began to yell as he went into his demon form, anger and grief fueling him. 

“Satan, this is not the time to have a fit...” Asmo stated, glancing at the Avatar of Wrath from his peripheral vision. 

Satan crumpled apart as his demon form went away and bursted into sobs. Belphegor hugged Satan and they both cried into each other, much like with Asmo and Beel. 

Mammon, not wanting to feel alone, stood next to Lucifer as he prepared to bury Levi’s body. Lucifer sniffled as a tear fell onto Levi’s white shirt from Lucifer’s face. He hiccuped back a sob and took a shaky breath. 

“L-Let’s give him a proper burial. I-It’s the least we can do.” Lucifer stated, and his brothers agreed and followed Lucifer out after un-huddling. 

Lucifer carried Leviathan and went into his demon form, feeling like it was right for him to do. He dug a large hole in the back of the House of Lamentation and gently placed Levi down. He could’ve thrown Levi down there, but he didn’t. He was his brother.

Lucifer was about to cover the hole before he spoke and turned to his brothers. 

“Would any of you like to say your final goodbyes before we bury him...? Because we won’t be seeing him again.” Lucifer stated. 

Asmo was the first to step up, and he knelt on the ground, not caring about his ruining his outfit in the slightest. 

“Levi... w-we miss you so much... we wish you didn’t leave.. you were nerdy and awkward, but that’s what I loved about you! Your sense of humor was something a lot of people enjoyed! And now you’re gone... I miss you so much Levi... more than you will ever know..” Asmo got up and cupped his face and started sobbing again, Beel immediately hugging Asmo once again. 

The rest of the brothers said their goodbyes and Levi was buried, with some of his favorite Ruri-Chan figures and pictures of the brothers surrounding his grave. 

News quickly spread about Levi’s death across RAD. At the end of one meeting, Lord Diavolo stopped Lucifer from leaving for a moment to speak to him. 

“Lucifer, I heard the news about Levi... I’m terribly sorry for your loss. He was an amazing student, and amazing brother to you as well.” Lord Diavolo placed a hand gently on Lucifer’s right shoulder. 

Lucifer swallowed and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. 

Barbatos came up from behind and placed a hand on Lucifer’s left shoulder. “I have heard of the unfortunate news as well. You and your brothers have my deepest condolences.” 

Lucifer could usually keep himself together in really difficult situations, but this time was different. He burst out crying in the room, not caring if anyone saw or heard right now. If he ever felt an appropriate need to cry, this would be it. Lord Diavolo and Barbatos supported and comforted him the whole time. 

One night at the House Of Lamentation, Lucifer was doing paperwork as usual, but got up and walked to the backyard area of the House Of Lamentation, kneeling down and talking to Levi’s grave. 

“Levi.... this is Lucifer, I just wanted you to know that you were an amazing brother, and I truly always cherished you. No amount of apologizing can fix this, but I wanted to let you know that I’m sorry that we didn’t focus on you... you know I’m always up a lot of nights, and... you are too, so you could always come in to vent to me if you ever needed to. I would have supported you to the best of my ability and make sure you’re okay. We miss you, Levi. You meant the world to us.” Lucifer placed a blue rose on Levi’s grave before walking back inside the house. 

[Whooo, man! I cried so much while writing this! A lot of the feelings in this were once my own at one point, which may explain why I cried so much. This is also inspired by some of my... let’s just say, “past attempts”. If you made it this far, you’re one tough cookie and you are amazing. <3]

[animemangasoul]

You Are Wanted Obi-Wan Kenobi

Summery: Qui-Gon lives and Mace gets a new Padawan.

In which Qui-Gon repudiates Obi-Wan and Mace isn't about to let the kid leave the order without a fight.

Chapter: 1/10

"No luck?"

Mace sighed.

Walking through the door only to come face to face with his former Padawan sprawled across his couch especially after the trying day he's had only served to make his shoulders tighten further. "What are you doing here Depa?" he asked doing his best to keep the exhaustion out of his voice.

His fellow council member raised a single eyebrow in reply.

Mace sighed again, hand running over his face and pulling at his chin. "No," he finally answered. "No luck." And if voicing his failings didn't already sour his mood, seeing the flash of disappointment in Depa's eyes drove it home.

"There is nothing wrong with Obi-Wan," she huffed. Her annoyance bleeding into the force as she observed him go about preparing his own afternoon meal along with hers now that she'd decided to make herself at home in his apartment.

"I know," he said, bringing out cups and plates while he waited for their dinner to heat up; not even contemplating asking Depa for assistance as he well knew by this point he could never make her set a foot inside the kitchen after that 'incident'. "But with his prior records and Qui-Gon,"--the Chalactan woman snorted in disgust and Mace paused to send her a warning glare. "having repudiated him," he continued doing his best to clam down on his own anger when the words leave his mouth. "Not many are willing to take a second look."

Walking over to sit by the dinner table Depa sighed; the force muted with her sadness. "It's a cruel faith being stripped of your future because one man has decided to upend all traditions because he thinks himself some kind of force whisperer," she dragged the last words out rather mockingly inciting a snort from Mace which then resulted in him trying and failing to give her another stern glare.

Annoyed as he was with the other man, insulting him was not a productive endeavor. Still, he couldn't fault his former Padawan for her bitterness towards his old friend. Qui-Gon certainly did parade around as if he was the only man blessed with the true gift of the force. "Hopefully young Kenobi still has a future as a Jedi," he said, setting down their plates. "I just need to find one Master who is willing to take him on. He only needs a year or two before he is ready for his Trials."

Depa hummed in agreement but the force swivelling around her was still leaking uncertainty if only a little. Clapping his former student on the shoulder, Mace let encouragement wash over her as he sat down. "Do not worry yourself," he said letting go when he the tension finally eased out of her body.

Companiable silence falls between them after that, the worry for Obi-Wan still lingering in the air but for now, both willing to put it aside to share the little time they rarely get to spend together to its fullest. It's only after the table is cleared and Depa has found her way back to his couch that she speaks on the topic again.

"How is he by the way?"

Staring forlorn at the dirty dishes and missing the good old days when he could make little Depa wash up as part of her training while he excused himself for a short nap, Mace shook his head and made his way over to the opposite coach, leaving the dishes for tomorrow. "He's doing well," he said, folding his legs under him. "All things considered. He's healing."

Depa pursed her mouth. "He's the Sith-killer and we can't even give him an automatic knighting because--" She bit her tongue before the words slipped out, but Mace knew very well what she was going to say.

'Because Qui-Gon is still alive.'

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had both survived the battle of Naboo. Survived the Sith. And while Obi-Wan had accomplished a feat no other, saved his master and come out alive; baring the heavy injuries sustained both men, by saving Qui-Gon Jinn the young man had unknowingly sealed his own faith.

Not that Mace wasn't immensely grateful his old friend had gotten away with his life. But--

With Qui-Gon alive, Obi-Wan could not be Knighted without taking the Trials and to everyone's horror the boy's Master was not willing to wait for him to be ready for them.

No, Qui-Gon had made it quite clear how little he thought of his student's well being when he so cruelly disregarded him in front of the Council, repudiated him and thrown him away in hopes of training young Anakin Skywalker. Mace stomach coiled in disgust just thinking of that day. That moment….. With Qui-Gon standing in the middle of the room, an uncertain Anakin next to him and a distinct lack of Obi-Wan by his side. Qui-Gon had declared for all to hear that he would be training Skywalker and if that could only come to be with Kenobi out of the way, so be it.

Obi-Wan hadn't even been there to defend himself. Submerged in a bacta tank as he was, fighting for his very life and---

Clenching his fists, it's all Mace can do to carefully release his anger into the force and close his eyes against the onslaught of memories. Obi-Wan's clear eyes staring up at him from a hospital bed in abject disbelief, having woken up to a broken bond and a hair distinctly lacking a familiar braid.

The fact Qui-Gon hadn't even had the respect, the heart to tell the poor boy face to face. That he had unbraided his hair while Obi-Wan was still….. That he hadn't explained anything. He…. Mace was a Jedi,

"He…. repudiated….me?”

Mace hadn't known what to say. Standing there in the Halls of Healing, staring down at the too sickly, too skinny, too haunted man in the hospital bed. Mace hadn't known what to say.

What could one say in the face of absolute devastation?

So he had just stood there, seconds ticking by, eyes unable to break away from the dull blue-gray ones of young Obi-Wan Kenobi. Unable to speak, unable to console, unable to utter the words he knew would shatter whatever remained of the fragile sense of self-worth the kid had left.

Finally, as the auburn haired man swallowed thickly, looking away, Mace regained his speech.

Sitting down heavily in the chair stationed by the bed, he'd folded his hands under his chin and lowered his voice into an almost gentle hum. "Yes, he did. In front of the council, a couple of weeks ago."

"Oh."

That single word crumbled something in Mace he hadn't known he ever had.

Kenobi looked so small. Thin fingers clutching at the white covers, bottom lip red from being gnawed bloody, hair damp from recently having been brought out of the bacta tank and eyes swimming with such hopelessness it left the Korun man's heart with dull sense of ache he didn't quite know how to deal with.

Mace Windu was a Jedi. Controlling and releasing his emotions into the force was by now a habit as easy to him as breathing.

Nothing got under his skin, nothing pained him for long. He was focused, he was disciplined and by all accounts he was never brought to the edge of absolute fury. But looking into those gray-blue eyes. Seeing young Kenobi trying so hard to keep himself from crying. Watching the young man chest heave in futile attempt not to collapse in on himself. The destruction of a bright light, of a hopeful child ruthlessly turned into a broken young man at the hands of someone who should have known better---

Mace was a Jedi and his emotions did not rule him.

They did not. And yet, and yet….

So he pressed his fingers against his knees, nails biting into the skin beneath his clothes and he looked Obi-Wan Kenobi dead in the eyes and firmly; without pity, laid out the decree of the council. Explained what precarious position the kid found himself in; all the while being oh so careful not to let his voice catch on the lump choking him from within.

Now that Kenobi had been repudiated he was no longer a Padawan and if the council had followed the Jedi Code to the letter, he should have been expelled or relocated to the ServiceCop or the AgroCorp the minute Qui-Gon had disowned him, but this wasn't an ordinary situation and Kenobi, well, Kenobi was anything but an ordinary Jedi.

So, "with your unique circumstances," Mace had said, hand resting by the kid's knee just in case the proximity dispelled the harshness of Obi-Wan's new reality or even brought the kid some semblance of comfort. "the council has concluded that you will be given six weeks to find a new Master to complete your training and 'if' that Master is deemed acceptable by the council." Mace did his best to emphasize the 'if' for it meant any young Knight trying to do Obi-Wan a favor while having nothing of their own to actually teach him were automatically ruled out; force knew the kid had plenty of friends who would step up to the task (just the thought of recently Knighted Quinlan Vos boldly declaring himself Obi-Wan's new Master gave Mace a headache. If the sheer embarrassment didn't kill Kenobi, Quinlan's teachings surely would.) "Then your apprenticeship will be transferred to them until you're deemed ready for your Trails."

Obi-Wan had nodded, fingers tracing unknown patters on the cover. "I assume you have already spoken to a fair number of potential Masters?"

There is a certain ease to his voice, the raspiness behind it the only thing giving away how hard the kid was trying to cover up the burnt edges of his anguish. Even after Mace had seen with his own two eyes how Kenobi; as soon as the visible grief of his former Master's betrayal had run its course, gathered himself up. Taking a deep breath and then as if it was an artform storing away his emotions, carefully and meticulously behind unreadable eyes until a hurt child once again transformed back into a composed young man.

It was…… concerning the ease with which Kenobi could look as if his entire world hadn't just been shattered into pieces.

"I have." he had said in answer; swallowing down the bitterness of his own failure and watching as Obi-Wan's fingers darted across the knuckles of his outstretched hand (that Mace had yet to move) almost as if unconsciously seeking out comfort; only for the young man to then realize what he'd done making him flinch away. Mace nearly scowled in distress 'What had Qui-Gon done to this child?!'. "Unfortunately I have yet to find a Master willing to take on a Padawan your age," he managed to finish.

"Ironic isn't it?" Obi-Wan muttered, self deprecating amusement dancing in his eyes. It took Mace a second to grasp the context behind the words but when he did, a sardonic smirk pulled at his lips.

"Yes," he said. "It is."

For it was. To be rejected for a child too old to become a Padawan, only to turn around and find yourself the one who is now too old to be anyone's Padawan. Ironic indeed.

And so very awful.

They had talked about nothing of note after that. Obi-Wan content in pretending nothing outside the four walls of his room existed and Mace wanting to indulge him, just this once.

Still, even though he regaled the kid with stories, particularly of that one time Master Yoda had kidnapped him to lure five other Masters away from a council meeting, his brain was still running through potentially willing Masters for the child he was so unwilling to give up on just yet.

"I would take him if I could."

Depa's words managed to bring him back to the present with an abruptness he wasn't ready for.

He blinked, once, twice. Then sighed deeply as he closed his eyes. "I know."

Depa shifted across from him. "His time is nearly up."

Mace tensed. "He still has two more weeks left."

Now it's her who uttered "I know."

A suffocating silence once again wrapped itself around them. This one hinging on uncertainty, worry and concern. Emotions that swiftly were released into the force and yet lingered in the room like an unspoken blemish. Finally Depa spoke. Her words nothing but a whisper but holding all the strength of an ocean slamming against the shores of Mace's stability.

"You could take him."

It's not a question, not quite a suggestion either. It's more like…… a promise.

Mace startled, eyes flying open. "What?" He had expected much from her, maybe a suggestion of one of Kenobi's little Knight friends taking him on, which he would have soundly rejected but not this. This was unexpected to say the least.

Depa only shrugged away his incredulity. "You could take him as your Padawan learner. He would only need a year or two at most like you said and Kenobi is mild tempered, level-headed and a quick study, you would get along great." She said it all with such casualness and certainty Mace couldn't help but stare.

Crossing her arms and folding her knees under her in a mirror image of him, Depa lifted a single eyebrow. "You cannot tell me you have not considered this?"

Mace bit back a wince. "Of course I have. Unfortunately that doesn't."

Depa cut him off. "Why not?"

If there was anyone who feared him less than Depa; excluding their green troll of a Grandmaster, Mace had yet to meet them. And now watching as she stared him down, Mace was torn between pride and indignity. "You know why." He gritted out, mindful to keep his voice even. "I'm Master of the Order. I will not have the time to train him properly. My duties are on Coruscant. Young Obi-Wan will need someone to go on missions with him, look out for him and I'm afraid I cannot do that."

If he'd thought his words would discourage his former student, he was wrong. Now she looked even more resolute than before he'd made his argument.

"May I remind you Obi-Wan is Senior Padawan. He does not require someone to hold his hand every step of the way." Here a ghost of a smile grace her lips. "He is only a year or so away from his Trials, Mace. He is supposed to take solo missions by now. You just need to oversee the remaining of his training, help him polish a couple of things and he'll be ready." Her eyes flickered with something too fast to detect. "Please Mace, at least think about it."

He swallowed, throat suddenly dry. "Obi-Wan deserves someone who can devote their time on him," he said yet the idea running through his mind with possibilities.

Kenobi deserved better than what Mace could provide. Especially after Qui-Gon. Especially after the countless setbacks, traumas and horrors the kid had been through. He didn't deserve a Master who wouldn't always be there even if the kid only needed minimal help at this point. "I may not be what he needs?"

Now Depa was glaring at him. "Maybe it's about time people stopped assuming what is best for Obi-Wan and started giving him the chance to choose what he thinks is best for him? And maybe it's about time he received the knowledge that he is actually wanted for once in his life?!" The last words are said with such vehemence Mace is momentarily stunned.

Quickly as the anger came it vanished, leaving behind a sheepish smile and mildly apologetic eyes. But Depa did not take her words back.

Mace couldn't find it in himself to scold her. After all, wasn't that the root of Obi-Wan's issues? How everyone kept assuming what was best for him, never once listening to what he wanted?

Would it be wrong for Mace then to lay his cards on the table. To ask? The kid did not have to accept; although Mace would be disappointed if he didn't. But to ask, he could do that, couldn't he? Let the kid know that he wished to train him, had always seen the potential in him. Might have taken him on from the very beginning if Depa hadn't still been his Padawan. That he would see him to Knighthood if Kenobi let him. What would be the harm in that?

"When he's released from the Halls of Healing where will he go?"

The abrupt change in topic makes the Korun man blink up at his for Padawan in confusion.

"Without a Master," she continued eyes glinting with something. "He will be relocated to the Initiate dorms will he not?"

Mace was already shaking his head before the question had fully left her lips. "No."

"No?"

He nodded. "He will move in with me until a Master chooses to claimed him as a Padawan."

Now the glint in Depa's eyes are all but twinkling like stars but why…..

Mace own eyes widen in realization.

Oh

He hadn't thought much of it. Having just assumed Obi-Wan would stay with him until a Master stepped forward to accept him. Hadn't even contemplated putting the traumatized young man with the Initiates. In a way, he had already made his choice days ago, hadn't he? And of course Depa had see right through him to a part he hadn't even been aware off.

If he was a lesser man, Mace might have flushed red with embarrassment having essentially claimed Kenobi as his own Padawan without knowing. But he was Mace Windu, Master of the Order, so all he let himself get away with was a huff and a slight twitch of his mouth. "Looks like my mind has already decided what my head has yet to conclude."

Depa answering smile is teasing. "Seems so."

The relief that hits him at those words is almost staggering. Knocking into his chest and nearly toppling him back against the headrest.

He'd been worried, angry, concerned and at his wits end these past couple of weeks. Knowing he was letting Obi-Wan down every day he was politely rejected by another Master who'd seen Obi-Wan's records, heard of his repudiation and refused to take a chance on him. Knowing Qui-Gon repudiating him had essentially sealed the young man's faith. Feeling disgusted by the false rumours of Kenobi's insubordination, and having to go see him every evening watching the light flicker out of his eyes as each shred of hope he had of being a Knight was torn away from him.

In the end it was all so very simple wasn't it.

The minute the kid had looked at him with those eyes, Mace had known.

He would never let him go without a fight. Not Kenobi. Never Kenobi.

It didn't matter how busy his schedule was he would make time for Obi-Wan if he accepted him. No longer would he stand by and watch those hunched shoulders trailing after the rigged figure of one Qui-Gon Jinn. No longer would he stand by and let the kid be used to wash away someone else's darkness.

Obi-Wan Kenobi would be his Padawan.

Overwhelmed by the sheer sense of calmness that washed over him, Mace momentarily closed his eyes and breathed. Releasing all the emotions clinging to him into the force. Worry, anger, fear, concern, care and most of all pure, unwavering protectiveness.

If he had something to say about it, and he did. Qui-Gon would never step a foot near the kid ever again.

"Do you think he will take to Vaapad as quickly as you did?" He asked as his composure fell into place and his eyes sought out his former student.

The startled laugh that burst out of Depa made a sharp smile twist at the corner of his mouth.

"Maybe Soresu is more is speed," she lightly jabbed back.

Tilting his head; playful for those who knew to spot the miniscule changes in his expression, Mace glared. "Don't you even think about interfering Kenobi's lightsaber studies behind my back."

Depa looked amused. "Wouldn't dream of it."  But then the mirth vanished and gave way to contentment. "It would be nice," she said. "Finally having a Padawan sibling."

Mace found himself smiling, gentler this time. "It would."

They share a smile before Depa is on her feet, making her way to the door. "Best to inform Obi-Wan of your decision as soon as possible," she called over her shoulder. "He'll be out of the Halls in three days time."

Mace stared and stared. And then, stared some more.

"This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" he said out loud, not quite believing she managed to manipulate him so thoroughly . "You came here today to coax me into accepting Kenobi as my apprentice."

Depa doesn't look back at him, but she doesn't have to. The Force danced around her with mirth and shades of guilt for having deceived him. The Korun man could only let himself shake his head, heart tugging with pride at how much his little spitfire had grown while also frowning in realization. "Depa." he said firmly, but his former Padawan was already palming open the door.

"Don't be like that Master," she said turning back to give him a final look, the familiar title she only used sparingly coming out of her mouth with overflowing warmth and fondness. "We both know I only guided you to the decision you wanted to make all along."

She was right. Still,

"I don't like to be manipulated Padawan mine."

She only smiled. Mischief in her eyes and a single dimple creasing her left cheek before she was gone, vanishing out the door.

Mace was left sitting alone in his living room. A mirroring smile painting his lips and chest for the first time since Naboo filled with nothing but anticipated flicker of hope.

To go from being repudiated one day to being the Padawan of Mace Windu, Master of the Order few weeks later….. Kenobi would have hell of a time trying to compute the insanity of the news coming his way tomorrow.

Mace hoped Obi-Wan Kenobi he slept well tonight for both their sakes.

The next couple of weeks would be….. Hectic to say the least.

The end

Believe it or not the idea that Depa's preferred form is Soresu is half the reason why I wrote this fic. Just her taking Obi as her unofficial baby brother and helping him on his path to becoming a Master at Soresu makes me all giddy, so here you have it.

Chapter: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

[d1nob0nes]

i’ve spent like 5 minutes doing homework and need a break so uh. c!foolish and c!jack manifold friendship idea that was brought up in twitter groupchat that i also want to share and develop on here. it’s long so uh. under the cut ig. might turn this into an entire fic at some point

starting with the deep sea afterlife idea from @the-king-of-lemons , jack comes back and he’s got all these “friends” that he made in the ocean, all these funny looking and colorful and beautiful fish and squid and creatures. he misses them. he wants to go back to that peacefulness, the momentary calm from the constant war and conflict, the gentle lull between the pain of dying and the pain of being revived. so he figures some shit out. does some math. 

one day foolish is out late. it’s getting dark, he doesn’t want to go through the nether to get back home, so he strolls down to the hotel to stay in the room jack has rented to him. jack greets him and walks him into the lobby, and foolish notices a new door off in a corner. it’s metal, almost like a vault door, with a keycode and spinning wheel. he points it out. “hey, jack, what is that?”

“oh, that’s a project i’ve been working on,” jack replies with a grin. “you wanna see it?”

“sure,” foolish says, shrugging, because it shouldn’t take long. but when jack leads him over to the door, unlocks it with his body hunched over the keypad, it swings open to reveal a long, dark, sloping hallway that descends into darkness. there’s a minecart off to the side, perched on rickety-looking rails, and jack gestures to it. “after you.”

the trip downward is terrifying. there’s no lighting, the rails are shoddily-made and crooked, and foolish swears that a few arrows are shot their way when they fly past cave entrances. the worst part is coming to a stop--jack sticks out his arm, a flash of silver in the darkness, and grabs onto the stone walls, making a horrible screeching noise that echoes through the passage as the minecart slows. they slam to a stop in a small room, lit by a singular torch, and jack’s already out and walking around before foolish realizes the minecart is still.

“here, put one of these on,” jack says, and a heavy bundle of metal and plastic hits foolish’s chest. “you’ll need it. otherwise, your head will explode.” he grins cheerfully at foolish and starts dressing himself.

the diving suits (at least that’s what foolish thinks they are--they’re held together by willpower and hope, as well as a bit of tape and some sort of glue) are heavy, clunky, and huge. jack stumps over to a little doorway, one that opens into a rickety elevator, and says, “you’ll have to turn sideways to get in,” before shuffling inside. the elevator car dips when foolish steps in, and he has to bite back a curse.

the second descent of the night is equally as terrifying as the first. the elevator car struggles downward, dropping several feet at points and halting at others. jack just stands casually, tapping his feet, humming some song. when the elevator finally stops, hundreds and hundreds of feet down, it’s with a grinding, screeching thud.

“we’re here!” jack declares, his voice muffled by the helmet. “hold on, lemme open the door--”

he yanks and pulls at the metal door, heaving until it jerks open. foolish steps out onto a rough, uneven stone floor, turns to his left, and stops.

there’s a massive, massive glass wall, stretching up into shadows. behind it is dark, barely lit water, strands of strange looking plants, and fish. tons of fish, of all shapes and sizes and colors, darting around each other and dancing behind the glass. some glow, some flash strange colors, and foolish swears he sees the tail of a shark whip by before disappearing into darkness.

“cool, innit?” jack declares. there’s a weak strain of pride in his voice, a subtle shake, but he stands straight and tall with his hands on his hips. “took me a while. i didn’t sleep much, but i got it done.”

“what--” foolish starts, but then jack is running up to the glass (running as best as he can in the massive pressure suits, at least) and pointing. “look, look,” he calls. “this is my buddy, this is long lad. i couldn’t think of a name for him, being the stringy fuck that he is, but look. he’s a bigfin squid.”

foolish can’t see much, other than several long, ghostly pale tentacles drifting through the water. jack is beaming inside his helmet, and he darts across the tank to point at another creature. “this, this is bella. she’s a giant isopod. i read up on these things, y’know, when i came back, to figure out what all my buddies were.” jack watches the pale, bug-like thing tumble off a rock and land gently on the muddy floor. “isn’t she pretty?”

“jack,” foolish finally spits out, “how--what--why did you make this? where the hell did you get all these animals?”

jack’s smile fades a bit. “well, i died, right?” he glances at foolish, almost shamefully, then turns back to the glass. “and wilbur, wil had his train station purgatory. tommy was in a void of some sort. me, well--i actually died. i didn’t have a ghost hanging around, or some sadistic fuck with a book ready to pull me back. i actually died then.

“everyone has a different afterlife, apparently,” jack continues. “my headset says some weird shit, and that’s something i’ve heard from it, and i believe it. my afterlife,” he says, turning to look foolish in the eyes, “was the deep sea. i was laying in the silt, in the dark, for a while.”

“oh,” foolish says. 

“i missed them, a lot,” jack adds on. his voice is rough, cracking, angry. “i had nobody to welcome me back to the living. nobody noticed, or cared, that i had died, and they were my companionship. they kept me company, and it was nice, and it was peaceful.” he gestures weakly to the glass wall, to the swarms of fish and shadows that shift through the water. “i wanted to replicate it, i guess. hence the big jack manifold aquarium.” he laughs, and it’s so full of hurt and pain that foolish grimaces.

there’s a moment of silence between them, as they stand in the weak blue light watching the sea creatures swim. something with a long neck, bioluminescent and flashing, moves slowly between the seagrass. a sperm whale covered in barnacles drifts out of the shadows, then retreats.

“i think it’s pretty awesome,” foolish finally says. “this is really cool.”

“you think?” jack laughs, and the tension and sadness lifts slightly. “hey, look at this one. i call him big bastard, because he tried to take a bite out of me a few times.”

there’s a massive shark swimming by, slow and steady, and foolish squints at it. jack’s going on about it, talking about how it dive bombed him in the afterlife, how it’s such a bastard motherfucker and jack hates it but in an endearing way, and then something sparks.

“jack,” foolish says, “that’s my great grandma. that shark.”

“what?”

---

yo if you made it this far thank you for reading :3 the deep sea creatures coexisting in a tank, as well as the descent and pressure stuff, are very scientifically inaccurate so apologies !! uh yeah lol haha whip nae nae i hope you liked it. anyway back to my homework and twitter i go bye

[bunnyywritings]

unexpected

tenya iida x fem!reader

[a/n: he’s so cute hehehe 🥺 here’s my first Iida fic, it’s your basic summer trope but...I simp for this man on the daily, I was a little sad to see that there aren’t many Tenya fics out there so I took it into my own hands, this is slightly self-indulgent but other than that, he deserves some love so uh yeah, enjoy! -yours truly, bunnyy -`ღ´-]

Class 1-A just couldn’t take the heat anymore so they begged and begged and begged until Aizawa finally gave in and planned a class trip to the beach.

Today, the girls decided to head to the mall and buy some new swimsuits since wearing the very non-flattering school issued swimsuits would be absolutely terrible. You had gone along since you didn’t really have a swimsuit, you had one from back in middle school but it hadn’t fit you anymore. So far, they had all been able to find one they liked except you. You had been to countless stores but hadn’t really found one that caught your eye but the girls insisted on going to one more store so you could look around. As you looked around, you had started to doubt that you’d actually find one. That doubt was realized when all the ones you had tried on were the wrong size.

Once back in the dorms, Momo had offered to make you one. An offer that you gratefully accepted. You had searched online and showed her what type of bathing suit would be ideal. After thanking her 100 times or so, you had gone down to the kitchen.

“Oh (y/n), You’re back. How was the mall?” I don’t think Todoroki realized how loaded that question actually was. He and Midoriya seemed to have been just chatting, eating snacks. Iida had been making some tea.

“Uhh well it was great, the girls were able to find some bathing suits.” You sat down across from your two friends.

“Is someone wrong? It doesn’t sound like you had a good time?” The freckled boy asked carefully

“I had a good time. It was nice to hang out with the girls but I’m just a little tired.” He nodded understandingly, Shoto had grabbed the packet of pocky and held it out to you in a silent offering. You giggled and accepted the offering, he nodded in approval when you took two of the strawberry flavored biscuits. You had joined their conversation about which pro hero had the best costume, a cup of tea was placed in front of you. Looking up, Iida offered you a small smile before sitting besides you and contributing to the discussion about All Might’s costume. You blew at the surface of the drink before taking a sip. It was black tea sweetened with just the right amount of honey and a bit of milk. You blushed at the fact that he remembered how you liked your tea. Too distracted in your thoughts, you nearly jumped out of your seat when Midoriya called you out.

“You agree with me (y/n), right?” Your eyes widened before you cleared your throat. Iida’s heart started to pound when he could see the mischief in your eyes.

“Well why are we even bothering to discuss All Might’s costume when Endeavor’s is clearly the best. Todoroki. Thoughts?” He had been friends with you long enough to know that you were just pulling his leg.

“Well, as much as I see your point. Why don’t we talk about how Kamui Woods has the worst costume.” Your jaw dropped.

“Okay now wait a second.” He knew that he was your favorite pro. “That’s a little much when someone like...”

Iida gave his 2 cents here and there but he enjoyed seeing you giggle and smile while joking with the other two. He couldn’t really explain why but his heart would pound harder any time you asked for his opinion or the butterflies in his stomach would go wild when you smiled.

Finally, the beach day came. Everyone had woken up bright and early to make sure everything was ready and loading everything onto the bus when it had arrived.

“IF YOU AREN’T IN THE BUS BY 9AM, WE WILL LEAVE YOU HERE! OH YEAH!” Aizawa cringed from beside Present Mic as he made that announcement. That meant that there was half an hour before you guys would leave. You nodded, amazed at the fact that you could hear your teacher while he was still outside. You finished packing your bag before getting changed into your swimsuit, standing in front of your mirror and scrutinizing your reflection. It was nothing to do with the swimsuit itself, Momo had done an amazing job. You were just...insecure. It was a one-piece with an opening at the stomach. It looked cute when you had seen it on the model online but on you, it seemed wrong. It made your thighs look like they were bulging out of the material and the pudgyness of your stomach seemed to be accentuated. Sighing, you pulled on your shorts and tank top before making your way out to the bus. Aizawa crossed your name off the list before you boarded and took a seat beside Ochako. Midoriya and Iida in the seats behind the two of you and Shoto and Tokoyami in the row in front.

Thankfully, the ride to the beach was only about an hour and a half long. Everyone unloaded the bus, as instructed by Iida. The beach was relatively empty so it gave you guys the abilities to claim a huge spot for the entire class. 1/3 of the class had instantly stripped down to their swimsuits and ran to the water. While the rest had set up the tent, some chairs, the volleyball net, or their personal umbrellas. You had offered to share yours with Tokoyami since it was big enough and he didnt seem too keen for on being in the sun too much. Even then, he had still peeled off his shirt and was sat on his towel in nothing but swim trunks as Dark Shadow had made an appearance and started to play with the sand.

You had sat down criss cross on your towel, book in hand. You had put it down from time to time to watch your classmates laughing and having fun. Midoriya had approached the two of you and asked if you guys had wanted to join their volleyball game. You had accepted the invitation but Tokoyami had politely declined. You were on a team whith Shoji, Shoto, Denki, and Shinso. Ochako, Midoriya, Iida, and Sero were on the other team. Mina, Tsuyu, Aoyama, and Momo were watching on the sidelines, cheering for both teams of course.

Halfway through the game and you all took a hydration break but you were starting to feel the heat. Quirks were allowed so with that and the fact that your quirk had to do with fire meant that your body ran warm.

“Are you okay (y/n)?” Shoji asked as he handed you a bottle of water. His question caught the attention of the others as they noticed that your cheeks were a bit more flushed than normal.

“Yeah, why don’t you change into your swimsuit?” Ochako asked, head tilted to the side.

“I-I have it on but well...” you sighed, deciding to be honest. “I’m just a little s-self conscious.” You looked away, slightly embarrassed as the words left your lips.

“Aww (y/n), no!! You’re super cute! Come one, I bet you look great!” Mina grinned encouragingly. “Plus, the girls have seen you pretty much naked before so there’s no need to be shy.”

“Mina!” There were calls of embarrassment from both the boys and the girls.

“You do have a point...” you mumbled to yourself. You walked off to the side and started to unbutton your shorts. All the boys had looked away to give you your privacy. (because they drink their respect women juice every morning)

“O-okay. D-done.” You nervously announced as you handed your clothes to Mina.

“See! I was right!”

“W-whoah! (Y/n), no disrespect but you look hot!” Denki smirked, nodding appreciatively. As the others had started to compliment you, no matter how hard Iida tried to restrain himself, he couldn’t stop his eyes running over your body. More specifically, your thighs. The way they slightly strained against the material of your bottoms made him blush. He couldn’t help but glance at them once the game had started. The way they flexed when you had gone to bump the ball or the slight jiggle they had when you ran for the ball. Don’t get me wrong, Iida likes you for you. Your personality, your kindness, and your intellect were very attractive to him but your body was a definite plus.

Your team had won the game and while Mina, Momo, and Tsu were congratulating you, Mina caught a glance at Iida. He had looked at you, eyes softened, and a blush on his cheeks before looking away.

“Ooh it looks like you’ve caught the eye of mister class rep.” She teased.

“W-what? Mina stop m-messing around like that.” You stuttered, her previous statement was making your heart want to burst.

“It’s true though! Don’t you have a thing for him too?”

“Well yeah but-“ you were cut off by her calling him over.

“Hey Iida! What do you think of (y/n)’s swimsuit? It’s nice right?” Oh how you wished the earth would split open and swallow you whole.

“Y-yes, I do. It’s very flattering (y/n).” His answer made your heart do somersaults. “May I o-offer some advice?”

“Oh uh yeah, sure.” You were a bit confused but wanted to see what we had to say.

“As a young hero, you work hard every day to get stronger and make sure you can be the best hero possible. You should be proud of your body because it’s the fruit of that hard work and well...because you look r-really beautiful. Regardless of what other people may say.” His sudden confession made your eyes widen but before you could respond, he had run off while shouting at Bakugo about the dangers of grilling without proper supervision.

Throughout the day, the girls teased you about your crush on the class rep. Currently, you were drying yourself off after having been in the ocean for a bit. You had wanted to confess to Iida. You had been slowly gathering the courage to do so, the other also helping hype you up.

“Hey uhm Iida. Would you maybe want to get a smoothie with me? From that place up the cove?” You were fiddling with your fingers.

“I would be glad to accompany you (y/n).”

So the two of you had gone off to get some smoothies. Chatting about trivial things as you waited. He had opted for an orange and carrot smoothie while you went for the simple mango smoothie.

“So uhm, before we go back. I h-have something to tell you...” he motioned for you to continue as he sipped at his smoothie. “Right. Well I just-well I...” you sighed, taking a calming deep breath before continuing. “I like you Iida, like uhm r-romantically. I have for a while now and I just thought I’d let you know.” He was silent, still sipping at his drink while processing your words.

“Well that’s a relief. I’ve been figuring it out over the passed couple of days but I have romantic feelings for you as well, (y/n). And seeing as the both of us seem to do relatively well in our normal studies and our hero studies, I could see that balancing a relationship with schoolwork should be relatively doable.” His words stunned you.

“Wait so does that mean-“ You really we’re at a loss for words.

“Yes. It means that I would like to pursue a relationship with you. As boyfriend and girlfriend.” The turn of events made you very giddy with happiness.

“C-could I hold your hand, Iida?” You asked nervously as the two of you walked back. He chuckled and nodded, taking your hand in his.

“I can do you one better.” He had leaned down, noses inches away. “If you’ll allow me to?” You nodded, closing your eyes and leaning forward to close the distance. Lips moving together, it was inexperienced but sweet and soft nonetheless. Both of you a blushing mess as you pulled away. The rest of the class cheering from a distance as they watched the exchange.

Later on that night, during the bonfire, the both of you sat next to each other. Having already changed into some sweats to protect yourself from the cold, he had let you wear his navy blue hoodie since you were still shivering. He hesitantly wrapped an arm around your waist, relaxing when you had moved closer and snuggled up to him. He watched with a soft gaze as you joked around with Shoto and the others and partaking in eating some s’mores. The way your cheeks puffed up as you gave him a tight lipped smile, mouth full of the concoction of gooey marshmallows and chopped made his chest feel fuzzy and warm.

Even as he held you close, as you nuzzled into his chest because the ghost story Tokoyami was telling was a little too scary for you, he still couldn’t believe that you had reciprocated his feelings. The girl that he had his heart set on since the second week of school was now his girlfriend. It was times like these that made him expect the unexpected.

gєиєяαℓ тαgℓιѕт (open): @ohbois-biggay-bnha​

[futurebicon]

Carolina

Marine Biologist AU that no one asked for but I wrote because I miss my second home. Probably two parts.

Very brief mention of a family members death

"Hi welcome to-" Leo stopped his normal speech when he was met with the two most gorgeous men he had ever laid eyes on. "Welcome to the Fort Fisher aquarium. I'm your tour guide Leo and this is Regulus." He somehow managed to snap out of his shock even though the greeting was all muscle memory.

“Two guides. Must be special." The red haired one laughed a laugh that made doves fly. "I'm Finn." He shook their hands.

"That and both of us wanted a break from sticky children trying to swim with the sharks and gators." Reg smiled.

"Sharks? Like ocean sharks? And ocean alligators?" The shorter one asked in shock and a lot more than a sprinkle of fear.

'Fuck he's adorable' Leo swore internally. "Alligators are typically fresh water reptiles but if you are asking if they are real sharks and alligators, than no. They're they’re hyperealalistic mechanical sculptures." He kept a straight face.

"Cute and funny." Finn flashed him a smile after another angelic laugh.

Leo had to remind himself to not die right then and there.

“Don't worry, Logan" Finn told the other one. "I'll protect you from the scary teeth, baby."

Now Leo was sad.

“Oh yeah, right after you stop ogling over our hot tour guide."

Now Leo was slightly less sad and confused.

“Actually." Regulus pulled out his phone. "Our manager just texted and said he needs someone in the gift shop. Have fun." He left with a pat on Leos back.

Leo glared as he walked away, they didn't get texts from anyone for any assignment. Hence the walkie talkies on their belt loops.

“So, follow me and we can start the tour." +++

“This is our 235,000 gallon tank." Leo stood over top of the two story tall tank. In here we have our eagle rays, round stingrays, whiptail stingrays, hammerhead sharks, sandbar sharks, sand tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks. We also have two moray eels and an abundance of fish including shanks and groupers. And a personal favorite, Sheldon the green sea turtle.” Leo stood on the rusted grate with ease as if he didn’t care about the hammerhead only a few feet away from his toes.

“Um, this is great and all but can we not stand on the edge without a railing?” Logan stayed as far away as he could an the 2 feet wide walkway.

“You’re completely safe don’t worry.” Leo flashed a reassuring smile.

“Okay yeah but-”

“Stop being a baby, Lo.” Finn poked his side.

“I’m sorry I’m scared of falling into a 23 foot deep death cylinder filled with sharks.” Logan defended himself.

“Alright we can go officially start the tour.” Leo laughed. “But we do have to walk across the tank.”

“We what?” Logan asked.

“It’s okay. Just don’t look down.” He decided to risk a wink.

“Listen to the hot guide, babe.” Finn kissed Logan’s cheek. “I’ll hold your hand.”

“I love you, Harzy. But I do not trust you enough to not try and scare me.”

“I promi- no I don’t. Fine.” Finn whined when his plans were spoiled.

“Alright, let’s go.” Leo laughed.

They got across the walkway with only a few exaggerated wobbles to scare Logan. And a very grumpy Logan when Leo told him there was another way around the tank.

+++

“So here we have our bald eagle Maverick.” Leo walked up to the opened enclosure. “He’s five years old and has been here since he was two. He was found on the side of the road nearly starved after being hit by a car. If you look at his left wing you can see it juts out a little. That is due to the bones fusing together incorrectly and it makes him unable to ever fly again.” He recited the well known script.

“Poor baby” Finn stuck his bottom lip out.

Leo blinked away the urge to kiss the sad look off his face.

“If we walk up here you can see the aquariums prized possession.” Leo smiled. “Luna the albino Alligator.”

“Oh my god.” Finn hurried over to the glass.

“She looks like you, lover. Pale as fuck.” Logan teased.

“Luna is one of just 100 recorded albino alligators world wide.”

“World wide?” Logan asked in shock.

“Yeah. It’s an extremely rare genetic mutation and due to the inability to hide from predators they’re numbers are next to zero. Very soon they’ll be no more albino gators.”

“What happened to that alligators toes?” Logan pointed at the dark green alligator.

“That’s Gantur. He still hasn’t learn that Luna’s the leader.”

“She bit them off?” Logan’s eyes went wide.

“Don’t underestimate her. Ready to continue?”

+++

“This is my favorite exhibit.” Leo’s face lit up as they walked up to the touch pool.

“Touch anything as long as you use two fingers and don’t pick anything up.”

“Are those stingrays?” Finn pointed towards the end of the touch pool.

“Yeah. They’re still babies and their stingers have been trimmed. Their barbs are like thumbnails and can be clipped monthly without any harm.”

“What are those?”

Leo’s face lit up impossibly more.

“These are horseshoe crabs.” He held onto one of the dark greenish brown banjo shaped creature.

“They are also called living fossils due to the fact that they haven’t evolved at all since the dinosaurs, around 450 million years. It’s mostly due to the fact that they didn’t need anything added or taken away for survival. They were made perfectly. Now their tails.” He pointed to the long stick like end as it moved around with the help of what looked like scaley gills. “Most people look at it and think it will hurt. But it won’t hurt at all. They are extremely, extremely clumsy and use the long tail to flip themselves back over.”

“Sounds like you.” Finn kissed Logan.

“Rude.” Logan scoffed.

“Horseshoe crabs aren’t actually crabs at all. They’re actually more closely related to scorpions and spiders. Watch.” Leo smirked and flipped it over.

There were five pairs of claws moving around as the gills moved up and down like abs, causing the tail to move with it.

“Here-” Leo grabbed Logan’s hand, he tried hard to ignore the way his skin burned. “Touch it.”

“Oh no I’m okay to just look.”

“Come on, just touch it.” Leo begged. “Please just touch it.” He pouted.

“Oh my fuck you’re adorable.” Logan voiced Leo’s exact same thoughts from before.

“Here” he blushed and bit his lib to contain the smile. “Touch it.” He guided Logan’s hand down to the center of the legs, desperately trying to not think about how close they were. Logan’s t-shirt touching his blue polo shirt with his name stitched in the side. The way he could feel Logan’s breathing against his side, the way his leg was pressed between Logans le- stop it.

“Eww that feels weird” Logan’s laughed raised goosebumps on his arm.

“You’re touch his mouth.”

“Ew ew ew ew” Logan pulled his hand away quickly as Finn cackled.

“You asshole” Logan laughed as he pushed Leo lightly.

“Sorry, but it’s funny.” Leo laughed.

“You are now my second favorite person on earth.” Finn put a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “Oh my god I’m crying.” He wiped his eyes.

“Wouldn’t mind if he stayed our favorite.” Logan smiled.

Leo blushed and moved onto the regular view of the huge tank.

+++

“So how’d you get a job here?” Logan asked Leo as they walked around.

“I’ve lived on the island my whole life and started volunteering here when I was 13.” He explained. “I’m going to UNCW for marine biology. Are you two just here for vacation? Even though it’s April.”

“No. We’re actually moving down here. My grandparents owned the arcade on the boardwalk and left it to me once they passed.” Finn told him.

“Oh. I’m sorry about their passing.”

“It’s okay. Didn’t really know them at all.”

“Well I’ll hopefully see you around.”

“Maybe you don’t have to hope.”

Leo tilted his head in confusion.

“We were just wondering if you would want to show us around the island.” Logan told him. “We’ve only been here for a few days and this is the first place we’ve been to. Not even the beach.”

“Oh that’s nearly a sin.” Leo teased. “I’d love to show you guys around. I get off in an hour.”

“Perfect.” Finn said happily. “Do you want to drive over to our house and then switch cars or do you need to change?”

“That’ll work. There’s a locker room and since there’s next to no one here considering the time of year Evan will probably let me leave early.” Leo couldn’t hide his smile as they walked into the brightly lit gift shop.

Logan let out a loud gasp and ran over to the 6 foot long jellyfish stuffie. “I want it.”

“It’s tentacles are going to strangle you, love.” Finn shook his head.

“Kinky” Logan wiggled his eyebrows.

Finn scoffed as three other people in the quiet store laughed.

“Oh hi again Regulus.” Logan smiled at the black haired man who was sitting on the countertop beside the register tossing a brightly colored foam ball with turtles on it between his hands.

“Hey” He smiled back.

“What’d they need help with down here?” Finn looked around the empty room cluelessly.

“He didn’t help me?” The girl beside him raised an eyebrow. “Hi, Rue by the way.” She waved before going back to glaring at Regulus. “Did Evan tell you to help me?”

“No.” Reg smirked. “Just wanted to leave Leo alone with his crushes.”

“Reg” Leo pushed him.

“It’s mutual.” Finn said and Logan nodded.

“Okay. I’m gonna go ask Evan if I can get off early so I can show you a tour of the island and then get changed and I’ll be back down.” Leo changed the subject quickly.

“They’ll show you a tour of their bedroom and then get you off early.” Rue said quietly but not quiet enough. Leo shoved her hard as Logan, Finn, and Reg cackled.

+++

“So are we ready?” Leo walked back down in shorts and a UNCW t-shirt.

A cropped UNCW t-shirt.

“Uh- yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah.” Finn stuttered failing to make it look like he wasn’t staring at Leo’s tan abs.

Finn on the other hand had no shame. His eyes raked his entire body as his mouth went dry.

“Alright. I’ll follow you guys?”

“Huh? Oh yeah.” Logan nodded.

“Get it Knut.” Reg cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted as they left the gift shop and headed outside to the 100 degree weather.

@lumosinlove

[aceofspadegrass]

Can you write a fic about the AIB cast having a sleepover in the mansion that they all bought so that they could all live in there like a family...yes the dog trio will be in here too thank you very much.

Like one faithful day,Kento decided that everyone needs a break from their career...so? Why not a sleep over he says?. There will be board games (specifically family board games,Uno and Manolo-) and chaos!

Nijiro will constantly sometimes get scolded by Aoyagu sho(aguni) because he what been playing PUBG too much on his phone.

The mother of this family?: Nobuaki of course!

How about the father?: Aoyagi!

And now it's all up to you on what's gonna happen next :3!!

Cast Sleep

Characters: Yamazaki Kento, Sakurada Dori, Murakami Nijiro, Aoyagi Sho, Kaneko Nobuaki, Miyoshi Ayaka, Tsuchiya Tao, and Asahina Aya

Genre: Fluff. Just a section of the cast vibing in a brief sleepover. :D

1.3k words

Here it is! A sleepover without the sleep? So scandalous, I know, but a dash of marshmallows and UNO should do the trick. :D They're just vibing. :3

The idea came to their director one day, after the success of Alice in Borderland, and how well everyone was interacting with each other. In a moments time, they were all ushered to take their cars to drive to a mansion that they all chose together, some carpooling to save gas.

The first group contained the girls, Asahina and Miyoshi climbing out the front while Tsuchiya came out the back, her dog hopping out with her with a happy bark to be let out of the car. They settled in first, Asahina and Tsuchiya marveling at how huge and pretty everything was, Miyoshi dragging in their luggage and bringing them up to their rooms. Apparently she didn’t take that long, as when Miyoshi came back the other girls were still talking about the decorative fish tank with fake fishes swimming about, Tsuchiya pointing out how cute the little robots were. Misao trots up to Miyoshi wanting pats, Miyoshi smiling at the poodle and petting Misao as much as the little pooch wanted.

Not much later, came Sakurada with his group, consisting of Yamazaki and Murakami, the latter playing games on his phone while listening to music. Tsuchiya opens the door to greet them, Yamazaki leaving the car and running up to greet her. Sakurada pokes his head to look at Murakami, the younger of the two humming quietly to himself. Fanta, Sakurada’s dog, was napping peacefully on his lap, apparently freed by either of the two men at some point. Sakurada chuckles and taps Murakami on the leg, Murakami looking up with wide eyes, pulling the earphones from his ears. “ Hm? Are we there yet?

“ Mmhmm! Let’s go!” Sakurada opens his door and gets out, Murakami (and a freshly awoken Fanta) following behind him and entering the house. They too greet the girls, Yamazaki heading outside with Tsuchiya to grab the trio’s luggage. By the time they get it in, another car pulls up, and out came the rest of the group, Kaneko excitedly waving at everyone with Aoyagi not that far behind.

“ Hello everybody!” Kaneko greets as he comes up to the mansion with his luggage, and besides him was Merry, who was casually trotting besides him. Sakurada kneels down to greet the dog, Merry coming up and getting her daily pats with a happy tail wag.

“ Why do you have Yanagi’s dog?” Asahina asks, watching Misao bound up to Merry and give a doggy greeting, Fanta busy playing with Murakami.

Kaneko just smiles, and points back out the door, Yanagi coming out from the backseat with a whole load of bags. “ We buried him in stuff by accident, so Merry was sitting up front with us!” “ We’re coming in-“ Aoyagi’s voice appears from behind Kaneko, Kaneko quick to move out of the way as the guy came in, followed shortly by Yanagi carrying as much bags as he could, only tilting his head in greeting as he walked by to drop the bags down somewhere. The others move out to help bring the rest, which all seemed to just hold foodstuffs. It made sense, of course, they needed food after all.

The group all eventually settle, dispersing within the house to get comfortable with the new living situation, Murakami sticking himself in the living area with all three dogs happily settling themselves around him. Sakurada found it rather sweet, even if Murakami himself didn’t seem to want to pay them much attention at the moment. His attention was instead watching penguins, a perfectly valid reason to be engrossed.

Months pass, and they have been busy, doing their work and being the absolute stars that they were. Not a moment where they could get together and relax like the family they ended up making within this circle.

So Yamazaki comes up with a plan.

“ How about we all have a sleepover? It’ll be fun!” Yamazaki chirps as they all had dinner around the table, Asahina gasping a little, a smile slowly forming on her face.

“ That sounds really fun, actually! Oooh, can we roast marshmallows?” “ Isn’t that for camping?” Yanagi questions with a confused look, Asahina shrugging.

“ Marshmallows can be for any occasion if you try hard enough! It’s only this one time after all!”

Kaneko hums, drumming his fingers on the table. “ You’re not wrong! Okay! Let’s do it!” Yamazaki cheers a little, along with Asahina, Tsuchiya, and even Fanta, who seemed to have picked up the excited energy and gave a little bark in response.

After dinner they all go to grab their pyjamas, Aoyagi grabbing basic family games for them to play whenever they felt like it, setting them up in the living room as the others start to come in, apparently very excited about hanging out in a much more loose way and relaxing.

But apparently relaxing and this group never mixed long, as not long after, Aoyagi was practically watching the most intense game of UNO, Kaneko, Yanagi, and Miyoshi all staring each other down with cards in hand, all of them putting down Draw 2 cards one after another, Yamazaki just watching them go at it for a good while before Kaneko lightly threw his hand up when he ran out, Yamazaki giving him a look of pity as Kaneko was given 24 new cards to deal with. Not that far away, Sakurada was focused on a game of Jenga with Asahina, the two joking all the while as they tried to not topple the tower.

Tsuchiya was currently playing with the dogs, the three running after a ball she threw with excited barks and paws padding along the ground. Murakami was just sitting on the couch playing a game on his phone, Aoyagi occasionally giving him looks as he pretty much didn’t join in on the festivities of family sleepover night. At the very least he seemed to be okay with being there, the man fully free to have left to go to bed at any time.

The sweet sound of blocks hitting table and Asahina letting out a sound of surprise and disappointment catches a few of the other’s attention, Sakurada getting excited and shouting, Yamazaki clapping for his friend while Asahina dramatically flops over in defeat. Misao comes over to her and barks, tail wagging curiously and getting faster when Asahina pets the dog.

“ Thank you Misao, at least someone here supports me in my loss.” Asahina mumbles, picking up the dog and plopping Misao on her chest, Misao yipping.

“ Aww, no doggy love for me?” Sakurada places a hand on his heart, pouting in jest. Fanta appears from nowhere upon seeing Sakurada look sad, clamoring onto his lap and barking. Sakurada gasps with a dramatic air, smiling and happily petting his dog. “ Never mind! I got Fanta!”

Yamazaki chuckles, only to pause as suddenly a card flies down in front of him, Yamazaki looking over to where the UNO players where, Aoyagi meeting eyes with him as Kaneko continuing to fling cards into the sky.

“ Oh hey, this is actually pretty fun! You must’ve had fun doing this, huh Murakami?” Murakami looks up from his game upon his name being called, trying to see what was going on. “ Wh- Hm? Oh, uh…. yeah! It was pretty fun holding that flame-thrower too! Fwoosh~”

“ Playing with fire is very dangerous, you’re lucky a stunt double took in for that scene!” Sakurada says, Murakami humming and going back to his game.

“ Tell Yanagi that too, he set the Beach on fire.” Murakami comments offhandedly, Sakurada looking at the taller male “ For good reason. Very hot. Good for warming up cold, cold hearts.” Yanagi picks up the closest UNO cards around him, Miyoshi helping him pick up the scattered cards. The others pick up whatever landed closest to them to hand off to the two. Asahina leaves a bit later, coming back with marshmallows and a portable cooker to roast marshmallows over the gas fire. Mmmmmm marshmallows. So a successful sleepover, even though nothing caught on fire-

“ Aoyagi your marshmallow is on fire-“

“ Oh-“

[fanimesenseiwrites]

Kidnapped to Hell (pt. 13)

CW: brief nudity

Levi woke up when his alarm went off in the morning, and was very tempted to hit the snooze button until he realized that Hoshiko wasn't laying with him anymore.

He whined quietly. "Hoshiko?" He climbed out of the bathtub and looked around.

It appeared that Hoshiko was no longer in the room and Levi nearly gave up looking until he noticed some movement out of the corner of his eye.

He turned to see what had moved and saw Hoshiko swimming around in his wall of a tank.

He was mesmerized by their movements; amazed by the way they seemed to dance through the water, and entranced by the way their hair and night gown moved around them.

Hoshiko blushed when they noticed Levi watching them.

Levi blushed as well once he realized he had been caught.

Hoshiko waved, then swam up to the top of the tank.

Levi climbed up to meet Hoshiko at the top of the tank.

Hoshiko smiled at him when they saw him and swam to the edge.

"How long have you been in there?" Levi asked as he offered his hands to Hoshiko in order to help them out.

"I'm not entirely sure..." Hoshiko looked at their hands before grabbing Levi's. "But my hands are pruney."

Levi shook his head and pulled Hoshiko out of the water.

"Thank you," Hoshiko thanked as they wrapped their arms around his neck, then they kissed his cheek.

Levi blushed. "You're welcome." He climbed down and set Hoshiko on their feet once they were both on the ground.

Hoshiko took a step back and looked at Levi. "I got you all wet, sorry."

Levi shrugged. "I don't have a problem with being wet."

"Well I do. Can I borrow some of your clothes?" They asked as they picked at their clinging gown.

"You were the one swimming and you don't like being wet?" Levi asked as he walked over to a basket full of clean clothes and grabbed a hoodie and sweatpants.

"I like being submerged in water, I don't like being on dry land and wearing wet clothes," Hoshiko clarified.

Levi thought about it then nodded. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense." He handed Hoshiko the hoodie and sweatpants.

Hoshiko took them and was careful to not let them touch their wet gown. "Thank you."

Levi smiled slightly. "No problem."

"You should get ready for school," Hoshiko suggested.

Levi grimaced. "Yeah, I know..." he started to look for and gather all his uniform items.

Hoshiko chuckled and started to undress.

Levi avoided looking at Hoshiko while he started to change as well.

Hoshiko watched Levi get dressed once they were dressed in their dry and borrowed clothes.

Levi looked back at Hoshiko once he was dressed in his school uniform and blushed when he saw Hoshiko watching him. "Did you watch me change?"

"Is that a problem?" Hoshiko asked sincerely.

"N-no! I just don't know why you'd wanna watch someone like me change..." he avoided eye contact with Hoshiko.

"Someone like you?" Hoshiko questioned, only vaguely understanding what he was implying.

"I-I'm not super muscular like Beel or especially beautiful like Asmo..." he explained while he fidgeted with his hands.

Hoshiko frowned and walked over to him. "It makes me sad that you don't realize how hot you are."

Levi's face turned an even deeper shade of red. "You think that... I- I'm hot?!"

"Well yeah. You've got that swimmer's body going on and these beautiful, amazingly unique orange eyes. Looking into your eyes is like looking into the sunset."

Levi covered his face out of embarrassment. "Stop, stop stop! I can't take the compliments!" He whined.

Hoshiko couldn't help but grin. "But you've got such a cute face," they teased.

"Nope! I'm leaving!" He moved his hands away from his face and walked out of his room.

Hoshiko quickly followed him. "You can't escape my love, Leviathan! I'm going to tell you all the things I like about you!"

Levi covered his ears with his hands. "I can't hear you!" He headed downstairs.

Hoshiko laughed. "I love how playful you are, kinda like right now!"

"La la la! I can't hear you!" Levi yelled back to them, trying to drown out Hoshiko's compliments.

"Yes you can! You've got great hearing abilities! You can hear super clearly, even underwater and I think that's so cool about you!"

Levi whined as he walked into the dining room.

The table was already set for breakfast and Beel and Belphie were already in there, they both looked at Levi when he entered.

Hoshiko giggled as they followed Levi. "I love how passionate you are, Levi!"

Levi groaned. "Please stop!"

"You two are already way too obnoxious," Belphie practically growled at them.

Hoshiko and Levi both immediately stopped and looked at Belphie.

Levi removed his hands from his ears. "I'm surprised you're already down here, Belphie."

Belphie huffed and looked away from him. "I couldn't sleep."

Hoshiko frowned. "Did you sleep at all?"

Belphie wouldn't look at Hoshiko. "... not hardly."

Hoshiko walked over and sat next to Belphie. "Was it because of me?" They asked quietly.

Belphie glanced at Hoshiko but didn't say anything.

Hoshiko moved their chair as close as possible to Belphie's and placed a hand on his thigh. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't..." Belphie sighed and turned his head to look at Hoshiko. "You don't need to be sorry."

Hoshiko touched his cheek with their other hand. "I still feel bad that you didn't sleep."

Then Lucifer walked in from the kitchen with some of the food for breakfast.

He stopped when he noticed Hoshiko and Belphie having their tender moment and looked at Levi with a raised eyebrow.

Levi shrugged, just as lost as Lucifer was.

Lucifer sighed and set the food on the table before going back to the kitchen get some more.

"... you're not mad at me, are you?" Belphie asked Hoshiko quietly, almost desperately.

"No, I know that wasn't you... it wasn't on purpose."

"Good." Belphie wrapped his arms around Hoshiko's waist and pulled himself close to them, nestling his face into their neck as he did.

Hoshiko wrapped their arms around Belphie and held him comfortingly.

Lucifer walked back in and set more food on the table then headed upstairs to check on his other brothers.

Beel put food onto Hoshiko and Belphie's plates before making his own plate.

Hoshiko looked at him and smiled slightly. "Thank you, Beelzebub."

Beel just smiled back at them.

Levi made his plate then started eating.

Then Satan walked in and sat in his usual spot. He looked at Hoshiko and Belphie curiously.

"Is everything okay...?" He asked Hoshiko gently.

Hoshiko looked at him. "Yeah, it'll be fine."

Satan nodded and made his plate.

Hoshiko picked at their food while still holding Belphie.

Mammon walked into the dining room next. "Mornin' guys, wh-?" He stopped talking when he noticed Belphie and Hoshiko pretty much snuggling at the table. "Belphie, why're ya hangin' onto Hoshiko like that?" He asked, though his tone was very accusatory.

Belphie growled at the same time Hoshiko told Mammon, "Shut up and sit down and eat."

Mammon was stunned silent and did as he was told, albeit with a pout on his face.

Levi snickered. "They shut you down!"

Mammon glared at Levi and kicked his leg.

"Ow!" Levi pouted but got the hint and didn't bother Mammon anymore.

Hoshiko rolled their eyes at the two older brothers but otherwise ignored them and ran their fingers through Belphie's hair.

Belphie made an almost purring sound and closed his eyes.

Lucifer walked back into the dining room with Asmo following right behind him.

"Good morning!" Asmo greeted everyone cheerfully. He frowned when he noticed how quiet everyone was. "Why's everyone so dour...?" Then he noticed Hoshiko and Belphie. "Hoshiko, is something wrong?" He asked sweetly.

Hoshiko looked up at Asmo. "Not exactly. Don't worry about it, just have some breakfast, beautiful."

Asmo smiled softly and sat down. "Okay."

Hoshiko looked at Lucifer who had already sat down and started eating.

"Hey Lucifer?" Hoshiko asked gently.

Lucifer looked at Hoshiko. "Yes?"

"Do you think Belphie could stay home from school today?"

Belphie looked up at Hoshiko.

Lucifer seemed immediately annoyed by the question. "Hoshiko, we already talked about this."

"No, no. I don't mean instead of you, I mean in addition to. He didn't get any sleep last night, he's almost definitely going to fall asleep in class if he goes to school."

"He'll probably fall asleep anyways," Levi interjected without skipping a beat.

Hoshiko glared at him.

Levi looked down at his plate without another word.

Lucifer glanced at Levi briefly, then sighed. "No, everyone needs to go back to school today."

"You're not going back to school today," Hoshiko argued.

Belphie pulled away from Hoshiko and turned so that he could see Lucifer, suddenly interested in how he was going to react.

"Hoshiko, we've already discussed this," Lucifer started. "Your safety is-"

"Paramount," Hoshiko finished for him. "Yeah, yeah." They stood up. "The only thing paramount here is how heartless you are."

Then they stormed out of the dining room.

Lucifer was taken aback by the accusation. He stood up from the table as well, ready to go after Hoshiko but decided against it and retreated into the kitchen instead.

The brothers all winced when they heard a plate smash and break in the kitchen, obviously with some force behind it.

"Hm, I think I do want to go to school today," Belphie commented.

"LOL, same!" Levi agreed.

"... Do you think its okay to leave them here alone with each other?" Asmo asked the table quietly.

Everyone looked at Asmo.

"I'm sure they'll be fine. I mean, Lucifer would never hurt Hoshiko," Beel spoke certainly.

"I'm less concerned about them hurting each other than I am them destroying the house," Satan spoke just loud enough for only everyone at the table to hear.

"Well Lucifer ain't gonna let us stay home to try and stop it," Mammon pointed out.

Satan sighed. "Yes, I'm aware."

"... maybe we just ask Diavolo to check on them later. Lucifer wouldn't get mad if Diavolo checked on them," Levi suggested.

"That's as good a plan as any. I'll talk to Diavolo when we get to school," Satan told them.

Mammon stood up. "Well... let's get out of here before we get bitched at."

There was no argument from any of the brothers as they all got up and headed out.

Hoshiko was waiting for them at the front door. They held out their arms for hugs.

Asmo was the first to hug them.

"Y'all be good today. Don't get detention or anything stupid like that," Hoshiko told all of them.

"Of course not, my love," Asmo told them as they pulled away.

They each hugged Hoshiko before leaving for school.

Hoshiko watched them leave from the front door, then went to their room to wait out the day.

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

[meloncholy-words]

A Snake’s Skin

Based on the idea that Deceit, in all his old-timey, fancy nature, can make the other sides do A Fluster™ by showing even the slightest bit of skin. I don’t remember who had the original idea, but I’m turning it into a fic. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and am finally doing it, especially now because I need my comfort. I’m ditching all new information because I don’t wAnNa ThInK aBoUt It.

Ship: DLAMP

Warnings: Other than Dee and Remus, none, I need CoMfOrT

Deceit yawned. He was bored. The others weren’t giving him enough attention. Patton and Virgil were baking in the kitchen, Roman and Remus were doing God knows what in their room, and Logan was reading, right next to him, and not giving him any attention. Which was, by the way, illegal! But then, Deceit had an idea…

He made a few glances towards Logan, before shifting around slightly, before he struck. He let out a loud, exaggerated yawn, lifting his arms up as high as he could, letting his shirt lift up ever so slightly. He took a small little peak at his boyfriend, and inwardly smiled to himself.

Logan’s face was a bright red, his eyes were wide open, and his jaw had dropped. He stuttered a little, before he let out a squeak and lunged forward, pulling Deceit’s shirt down.

“D-Dee,” he stuttered out, voice unusually high, “I get that we’re alone, but now isn’t the time for that.”

“Oh, my apologies,” he said smoothly, a small smirk on his face as he spoke,” I was just yawning. See, I’m just so bored here, with nothing to do and no one to do anything with.”

“I see,” Logan said, adjusting his glasses. His face had gone down in hue, but his cheeks were still fairly dusted in a vibrant red, and his voice had lowered back down to normal. “If that’s the case, perhaps we could watch a documentary and cuddle?”

“That sounds excellent!” he said, clapping his hands together and smiling a wide, happy smile.

Logan pulled up Netflix and threw on a documentary about the earth and its shape. They fell asleep in each other’s arms before it reached halfway through.

~~~~~

It was an unusually hot day in the Mind Palace today. Not unbearable, but definitely noticable. While the others went outside to play in the pool, Deceit had stayed back to stay in his room instead. However, that decision was made after breakfast, and he was hungry. He left his room in favour of heading to the kitchen, an “evil” smile gracing his lips when he peeked into it. For you see, there was Patton, making lunch for everyone. He wasn’t dripping wet, but he was certainly not dry. He was also there, standing so innocently, in nothing but some swim trunks, flip flops, and a thin, wet tank top. This was a big contrast to Deceit, who was covered in layers upon layers of clothing. This wasn’t uncommon in their household, though.

‘Hm, it has been a while since someone’s paid attention to me..’ the sly snake thought. He hid himself back back around the wall, before adjusting his hat slightly, and then striking.

Deceit made his way around the corner, dramatically sighing as he removed the hat he’d just readjusted.

“My my, it’s so hot. Oh, hello there, Patton.” He started lightly fanning himself with his hat.

“Oh, hi Dee!” Patton said in his normal giddy tone. “Yeah, it is. But we have some lemonade and iced tea, if you need any!” He let out a soft giggle, before returning to making the sandwiches.

“That sounds like a good idea, but-” he had unclasped his cape at this point, and had it folded as he placed it down onto one of the dining chairs, “-I don’t think that’ll be too helpful.”

Patton let a glance towards his direction, before slightly tensing and looking back away, a light red tint on his freckles cheeks at the sight of some of Dee’s neck. This caused Deceit to smile again, like the evil child he is. He reached towards the top button on his shirt and popped it off.

Walking up to Patton, as he began pulling his shirt collar more outwards, he leaned over his shoulder, and asked, “Oh, what kind of sandwiches are you making?”

“Oh, you, know just some simple ham sandwiches, maybe some apple sli-” Patton let out a loud squeal, nudging deceit away as he looked in the opposite direction. “D-Deceit, that-that’s highly in-inappropriate!”

“Oh, I’m sorry Puffball,” he said softly, “it’s just sooooo hot, I couldn’t help myself.” He shuffled himself a little closer, and whispered lightly, “You wouldn’t want me to overheat, would you?”

Patton made a strangled sound before pushing past Deceit grabbing the sandwiches, yelling out, “ITWASNICESEEINGYOUBUTIGOTTAGONOWBYEHUN-” and fleeing the scene, leaving Deceit to cackle by himself.

This really was just too fun.

~~~~~

Deceit sighed to himself. Roman had invited him to join him in the imagination for a fancy ball. Of course, he blended right in, using his lawyer suit because it made him feel special. What didn’t make him feel special was how Roman had decided that his kingdom was more important than him. Now, that was fair, it was very understandable. But that didn’t mean that he was happy with it.

He glanced towards Roman, and felt a twinge of sadness. He felt lonely. He took a sip of wine as the gears in his head began turning. Finally, they clicked, and he felt his evil smile return. Right next to Roman was a long food table. That’s where he’d gotten the wine. There were some pastries stacked up neatly just beside him. He knew what to do.

Deceit, very gracefully, made his way over to the pastry rack. He made it clear that he had no intention of acknowledging Roman, at least, not yet. He gathered up two pastries, and made a, not big, but eye-catching, act of spilling some wine onto his gloves. Not too much, but a reasonable amount.

This certainly caught the eye of Roman, who was still giving the rest of his attention elsewhere. However, what really caught his attention was when Deceit, very slowly, removed his stained glove. This lit up Roman’s face a noticeable amount, not the colour of his sash, but enough. He quickly excused himself from his company, and grabbed Deceit by the arm, leading him out to the balcony.

“Deceit, we are in public!” he hissed into his ear. “You’re already wearing less than usual, was that really necessary?!”

“But Roman,” Deceit exclaimed, feigning innocence, “my glove! It got dirty! What did you expect?”

The prince, whose face had somehow become closer to his sash, pulled out a single extra glove.

“Stay here, put this on, and I’ll be back with another pair for you.”

“You’re gonna leave me out here.. Alone?” Deceit let his lip slip out slightly, and his eyes grew bigger. Yes, he was absolutely resorting to puppy dog eyes.

Guilt gently washed over his face, and he softly said, “I’ll be back fast, I promise.” He gave Deceit a light kiss on his forehead and disappeared back inside.

A pair of thick, orange gloves were the ones that Roman decided would best for his King Snake. However, when he exited back out to the balcony, he blue screened. Not only was Deceit’s hat off, but both of his gloves were off, too!

Noticing the prince, Dee opened his mouth to say something, only to be cut off by gloves smacking into his face. Roman had also returned back inside in a flustered fit, which made him giggle. His boyfriend was just too cute sometimes.

~~~~~

Virgil and Deceit were cuddling on the bed together, even though they should have been sleeping. They’d both had a hard day, and had taken to each other’s embrace. However, instead of sleeping at normal times, they’d stayed up well past 2 am to discuss conspiracy theories, and how believable they were. It was a fun game they’d like to play. One would say a theory they’d heard and start giving off some details about it, and then they’d both announce if they thought it was believable or not. If they both agreed that it was either believable or too crazy, they’d continue. If not, they would try convincing the other onto their side. They would carry on when they had both ended up on the same side.

Now, they’d both intended to sleep, as this game always started. This meant that they were both in pajamas, which is a significant decrease in the amount of clothing Dee would normally wear, though he was still quite covered. He had loose, baggy sweats on, thick, fluffy socks, and a long sleeved shirt. This contrasted with Virgil, who had on boxers and his (unzipped)jacket. And nothing else. Deciding he wanted to continue his game of flustering, he started hatching a plan. Virgil was used to seeing Dee like this, so him being less layered than normal didn’t make him red. However, this was the least amount of coverage that he’s seen him in. Which means…

“Ok, ok, fine, it’s believable, jeez!” Virgil exclaimed. At this point, they’d given up on being quiet. “Ok, now, you’re turn.”

“Hmmm… What about… me showing skin.”

Virgil looked into Dee’s eyes like he had gone mad.

“Least believable one yet. Next!”

“Oh, is that so?” Dee said, a smile in his voice. He snapped his fingers, which turned his long sleeved shirt into a short sleeved one, and his baggy sweats into baggy sweats, but with the ends rolled up, exposing his ankles and a little bit of his calves to the world. This made Virgil begin to turn red.

“DECEIT!” he screeched, hiding his face. “I know it’s late and you may be a little bored, but SERIOUSLY?! Nowisntthetime!!!!” This got Deceit laughing, and he snapped his original clothes back, cuddling right back into Virgil.

“I know, I know, sorry hun. I just had to prove you wrong.” Virgil huffed at this, lightly smacking the smaller man’s chest.

“That was mean!”

That got him laughing again.

~~~~~

The sides had cuddled up on the couch, watching Disney movies together. Remus had passed on the offer to join them, pretending to gag as he threw himself onto the floor to watch by himself. Virgil had fallen asleep after the first few movies, leaning onto Patton, who cuddled Deceit up into his lap immediately. Logan held Roman in his arms, and they were both also leaning on Patton, with Roman beginning to drift off but being determined to stay awake.

Deceit looked around at his boyfriends and smiled. Seeing them go into a gay panic was nice, but this was even better. He was content with them being like this instead. It made them all happy.

And that was all that he wanted, really.

[wolveria]

Unable to perceive the shape of you - Ch. 1

Pairing: Connor x f!Reader x Nines

Summary: After breaking the RK twins out of the MarineLife facility, you were determined to return them to the ocean before getting caught by your employer.

What you hadn't counted on were the brothers deciding you belonged to them.

Prompt: Mermay!

Word Count: 2.3k

AO3

The lab was empty and the only noise that filled the space was the gentle sound of lapping water. After a quick glance to make sure the techs had left for the day, you sat at the edge of the tank and pulled off your shoes and socks, dipping your toes into the chilly water. A sigh escaped you, the cold a balm against your aching feet, and the pain in your legs receded to a manageable level.

As if on cue, two fins broke the surface of the water, one stout and grey while the other was dark, elegant, but curled over as if it had lost its rigidness. They headed in your direction, causing ripples from the speed of their passing. Just as the disturbances reached you, they broke the surface, revealing twin faces with very different expressions.

The one with the grey dorsal fin chirped in greeting, brown eyes wide as he rubbed the side of his face against your shin like a cat. You smiled, just as you did every time Connor greeted you that way, and reached down to run your hand through his slicked brown hair. And like every other time, his eyes became half-lidded and a soft rumble came from his chest.

The other Ceta sapien with the dark, limp dorsal fin, his twin brother, kept at a tentative distance. Icy grey eyes, the color of stone in the dim light, watched with an unreadable expression. That was to be expected from Nines, but you knew him long enough to know that he was pleased to see you.

“Sorry I’m late,” you said as you rolled up your pant leg, attempting to keep it dry and away from Connor’s affectionate rubbing. “Had a lot of work to finish up.”

Your smile faded as you took in the sight of the contraption around his head; a metal cage that acted as a muzzle, forced onto him earlier that day by the technicians. Nines must have done something to piss them off again.

“I hope you didn’t bite anyone this time,” you said gently, fishing a ring of keys out of your pocket. “Not that they don’t deserve it. I just don’t want them to put you in isolation again.”

You held out your hand to show him the keys. “Come here, I’ll take it off.”

You’d probably get in trouble for it, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care. The only reason you were still at this shitty job was because of the RK twins. Everyone else treated them like curiosities at best, lab rats at worst. You were genuinely afraid what would happen to them if you left.

Connor rested his chin on your bare knee as he watched his brother cautiously swim toward you. His face normally didn’t have a huge range of expression, but you could have sworn the area around his eyes was tight with fear. That wasn’t like him at all.

Making sure your movements were slow and unthreatening, you reached down to the small padlock keeping the strap in place. The techs had put it there because Nines had figured out how to undo the straps and remove the muzzle himself, leaving it at the bottom of the massive tank so the divers would have to get it. Probably on purpose, knowing him.

Your fingers were careful as you removed the lock and pulled open the straps, lifting the cruel device from around his face.

“There,” you said, tossing the muzzle away, glad to be rid of it. “That’s better, isn’t it?”

Nines remained silent as he usually did, nowhere near as vocal as his brother, but he brushed the edge of one broad shoulder against your calf, leaving you warm with surprise as he retreated a safe distance. You could count on one hand the times he’d made physical contact, and as far as you knew, you were the only person he’d ever touched willingly.

Connor, on the other hand, was an insatiable cuddle-bug, and even now he was nudging his nose against your leg, and then actually licked it, making you jump.

“You’re especially clingy today.” You ran your fingers through his hair, eliciting another happy thrill. “Is it because of what they did to Nines?”

The smaller ceta was normally much more friendly with humans, but when they handled Nines roughly, he could become a vicious storm of teeth and claws. The techs never worked on them both at the same time for that reason, separating them into different pools and causing them both more stress than necessary.

You hated it. Hated everything about this place, from the rough techs to the cruel doctors. Dr. Stern made your blood run cold, but Dr. Kamski made the flesh on the back of your neck prickle. You hated them both, and you were human. You couldn’t imagine what it was like for the twins.

“It’s okay,” you said, rubbing Connor’s cheek now and letting him lean into your palm. “You’re both okay now.”

A lie you had to tell but hated telling. More than you hated your heartless bosses who only saw the cetas as a source of grant money and academic prestige.

As if they could sense your mood, which you were half-convinced they could, Connor wrapped his fingers around your ankle and gently tugged. He was always gentle with your legs, especially on bad pain days. That’s just how Connor was, in tune with your moods in a way that was almost unsettling.

Even Nines swam closer, brows perked with interest as he hovered a couple feet away.

“I don’t know if I have time for that tonight, guys,” you said, shoulders hunched. “It’s late and I have to be in early tomorrow—“

Connor interrupted you with a pitiful noise very close to a whine and his brother frowned up at you, lips pursed into an expression that was almost, and hilariously, bitchy. Sometimes, you really thought they understood what you were saying. You wished more than anything they could talk, but they couldn’t. They weren’t human, no matter how you wished otherwise.

Connor gave up on pulling you into the water, and instead propped his chin on your knee, staring up at you with big brown eyes that could put an actual puppy to shame.

“I can’t,” you insisted, the sternness of your voice sabotaged by the smile creeping on your lips. “Not tonight.”

The larger ceta snorted through his nostrils and turned away. You thought he was going to ignore you and pout, but instead he dived beneath the surface and—

You yelped and covered your head with your hands as his large black and white tail slapped against the surface, covering you in an impressive wave of cold water.

“Oh, you asshole!” you choked out as you wiped the water from your eyes. Connor was making a rapid-fire clicking noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter. You sent him a narrowed glare and his lips widened into a toothy grin.

“Don’t encourage him,” you said, pointing a figure at Connor. The smaller ceta simply tilted his head as if he had no idea what on earth you were talking about and he’d never done anything wrong in his life.

You really were spending too much time with them. It was a bad habit of yours, seeing things that couldn’t possibly be there. Little looks and gestures that seemed to mean something more, and you constantly had to remind yourself it was all wishful thinking and loneliness.

Huffing and rolling your eyes, you pulled your legs out of the water and rose to your feet. You needed to put a stop to this and start spending time with other people, even if you would rather be here than anywhere else in the world.

Connor made a small, pathetic chirp as he swam to the edge of the water. He grabbed the ledge and stared up at you, and you could have sworn there was sadness there. Even the armband around his right bicep, normally glowing blue, brightened to a bright yellow, reflecting his increase in heart rate and blood pressure.

Goddammit.

“Okay. Okay. You two are gonna get me fired, you know that?” Your protested sounded weak to your own ears, but it was all worth it to see Connor’s ears perk up and his armband return to a soothing blue.

Even Nines had come back, waiting along the edge of the research pool with Connor, staring up at you expectantly. His armband had never changed from its blue color, but that was just how he was. Somehow, he’d learned how to keep his vital signs calm and cool, even when he was seconds away from trying to take off someone’s fingers.

The techs blamed faulty equipment even though they’d never found anything wrong with the armband. You knew better; Nines had learned the humans used the armbands as a gauge to predict their moods, and Nines had outsmarted them. And would continue to outsmart them, because you seemed to be the only person who realized what he was up to.

Sometimes, like right now, as he was leveling his unblinking, heavy gaze at you while you got undressed, made you wonder just how smart he was. Even now, his grey eyes were too aware, and you had to turn away as you tugged off your clothing.

You wore a bathing suit underneath, a two-piece consisting of boy shorts and a halter top. It was convenient in that it acted like underwear under your clothing, and let you slip into the pool at the end of your shift to swim with the twin brothers.

The swimsuit also had the benefit of being kind of sexy. Not that you were trying to impress anyone. It was sad enough the brothers were the closest things you had to friends.

You sat down at the edge of the water and turned around, resting the ledge against your stomach so you could slip down into the water more easily.

A pair of arms grabbed you from behind immediately, pulling you down into the water.

You gave a startled yelp, sputtered as salt water entered your mouth, and spit it out with an annoyed growl. The arms didn’t let you go, and instead pull you back against a warm chest as he swam backwards along the surface of the water.

Usually Connor gave you a little more time to adjust before grabbing you and swimming around like a seal with its favorite toy.

Normally you tolerated it, but you couldn’t stay as long as you usually did, and you wanted to actually get some swimming done to try and ease the pain in your leg joints and soothe the rigid calf muscles.

“Okay, Connor, that’s enough.”

A frantic chirp came from the left from a few feet away. You opened your eyes, startled to find Connor following after you.

You tensed, heart hammering as your limbs went rigid, and the ceta carrying you along slowed to a stop. He didn’t release his hold and you looked down to see the arms were slightly bigger than they should have been.

Oh, fuck, was your first thought.

He’s going to eat me, was your second.

You took a breath and tried to hold your voice steady. “Nines. I need you to let me go.”

You remained firmly within his embrace. If anything, he slightly tightened his grip.

He’s is definitely going to fucking eat me.

“Nines, let me go.”

The fear was definitely clear in your voice now. He must have heard it. You were so screwed. It was the only thing your brain would repeat, even though human deaths by cetas were rare these days. They still happened, though, and the corded muscles holding you still could easily tear you limb from limb.

Connor moved closer, head tilted in curiosity, but worse, his armband was glowing yellow again.

Blue, go through.

Yellow, not mellow.

Red, you’re dead.

The motto the technicians lived by. You were pretty sure you were dead anyway, even without the color codes. You glanced down at Nines’ armband and it was yellow too.

Not good.

Connor chirped sharply at his brother. Nines returned the sound with a lower, deeper growl. The monkey part of your brain told you a shark was about to sink its rows of teeth around your neck.

Connor released another series of noises, complex chirps and clicks you’d never heard before, and could have sworn… they were talking. Sure, cetas communicated with each other, but they didn’t have a language. They didn’t—

Connor moved forward and Nines moved back in equal measure. You could feel the bend of his tail against your legs, long and powerful, and the monkey part of your brain shrieked in fear again.

It was nothing compared to the terror when Nines took you away from Connor and picked up speed. You knew he was going to pull you under the water, drown you, probably not even doing it on purpose.

Tears pricked your eyes as your heart thudded in your chest. This was it. They were going to find you at the bottom of the pool the next morning, drowned and partially eaten.

Would anyone even care?

“Nines, stop!”

Your mouth hung open, your brain unable to process. You hadn’t shouted the words.

Nines came to an immediate standstill. Connor swam forward, brows furrowed sharply as his eyes darted between you and his brother.

“You’re scaring her.”

The words were soft, gentle, and impossibly coming from Connor’s mouth.

“Unfortunate,” a voice said, directly next to your ear. A voice that sounded almost identical to Connor’s. “But unavoidable.”

A hand clamped down over your mouth when you tried to scream, but the fight was already going out of you as an intense dizziness hit, leaving you woozy and weak. This couldn’t be happening.

They were talking.

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