#and we did this for weeks too before attempting any direct contact

[yukipri]

The First Visual Contact

Cats tag: #YukiPriASLKittens

[fear-is-truth]

༉‧₊˚. j’s note. for @redskies-7. turned out a bit longer than i expected but only because i adored your request … warnings: mature content. 18+. mastūrbation. fingēring

peter had been on high alert ever since the mission that left you with nasty gashes across your abdomen. the memory of you collapsing, blood soaking through your suit, haunted him, and he’d been an absolute wreck ever since. even now, with bandages wrapped snug around your waist and most of the pain fading to a dull ache, he still treated you like you were on death’s doorstep. “okay, careful, careful,” he’d mutter every time you so much as shifted on the bed. peter would zip over in a blur, fluffing pillows and checking the bandages even when you insisted you were fine.

you had tried to hint that you wanted his attention for something other than fussing over you. but to your disappointment, he’d just shake his head, “uh, no can do, babe,” he’d say, practically vibrating with nervous energy. “you need rest, and i’m, like, a terrible influence when it comes to resting. last thing i wanna do is, y’know, make things worse.”

but you were feeling better. really. and you were tired of the distance he was forcing between you, however well-intentioned it was. late one night, you woke up feeling restless, perhaps a little too desperate. the ache of your injuries having dulled considerably, transferring to a different kind of ache, slow and burning between your thighs. peter was sprawled next to you, completely conked out and snoring softly. wincing, you adjusted yourself into a more comfortable position before slipping your fingers under the waistline of your panties.

you squirmed at the much-needed contact, hoping it would be enough to take the edge off. you bit your lip, trying to stifle any moans… but your small fingers were far from enough to ease some of the pent-up frustration from two long weeks of forced rest. but then, just as you finally felt the tickle of a weak orgasm, you heard your boyfriend let out a low, sleepy groan.

“hey… what’s goin’ on?” you turned your head to see him blinking himself awake, silver hair sticking up in all directions. as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, they landed on the guilty look on your face, how your hands were conveniently under the covers. a slow, lazy grin spread across his face as he put two and two together.

“wait a sec…” he raised an eyebrow, looking far too pleased with himself. “are you…?” heat flooded your cheeks, and you froze, pulling the blanket up over your face in embarrassment. “peter, it’s nothing. just… go back to sleep,” you mumbled, but he only chuckled, clearly enjoying this far too much.

“wait, are you…?” he asked, a hint of poorly concealed amusement in his voice. “no way.” he stretched out his arms and looked at you, that amused smirk making your face go even hotter. “you couldn’t just ask me for help?”“peter,” you whispered, mortified, pulling the blanket up in an attempt to hide your face.

“just—g-go back to sleep.”

“nah, can’t do that now,” he gently tugged the blanket back down to see your face. his smile turned downright devious. “you’re over here trying to go solo when i’m literally right here?” he scoffed, shaking his head. “babe, i’m almost offended. i thought we were supposed to be a team.”

you buried your face in your hands, utterly embarrassed. but, to your surprise, the teasing stopped immediately; off like a switch. peter nudged your hands away gently, looking at you with earnest concern.

“look,” he began, softer this time, “i know you’re still healing, but—i’ll get back in the groove real quick. don’t want you wearing yourself out, right?” peter flexed his fingers, stretching them out with a flourish, and then, his whole hand started to tremble, no that wasn’t the right word — his hand was vibrating. there was a slight blur to it, as his fingers quivered like a hummingbird’s wings, the movement almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

“…or did you forget my specialty?” he wiggled his eyebrows. you giggled despite yourself, embarrassment starting to melt away as peter braced himself with one forearm planted carefully by your side, making sure not to press into your bandaged torso. “so… what do you say?” he whispered into your ear, “let me take care of you?”

and just like that, you were granted something you’d been denied for weeks. peter had always prided himself on his unique style of “multitasking”. thanks to his ADHD, focusing on one thing wasn’t exactly his strong suit, but with you, he was hell-bent on trying. besides, he was pretty sure he could handle it—especially since you’d made it clear you really needed him right now.

“mghm ohmygod yes, right there, right there–”

he let out a little chuckle at your enthusiasm, lips brushing along your jawline as his vibrating fingers plunged in and out of you. “you know i kept telling myself, ‘peter, you gotta be responsible, let her heal,’” his voice dropped, almost like he was letting you in on some big secret.

“but… c’mon, you’re you. how was i supposed to stay away?” he moved to press a kiss just below your ear, letting out a little dramatic sigh. normally, you would’ve been slightly annoyed with peter’s chattiness, but his voice now possessed a soothing quality that served the purpose to ground you… and distract you from the lewd squelches that reached your ears.

“fuck, you’re, like, my kryptonite. i missed you like this,” your fingers were tangled in his hair, threading through the soft, messy silver strands, and as you gave a gentle tug, peter let out a low hum of contentment. his eyelids fluttered for a second, the corners of his mouth tugging up into a lazy grin as his lips continued their slow, lazy journey from your collarbone down to the soft curve of your breast.

“mhm, keep doin’ that baby. you’re so good fer me.”

he mumbled against your skin, swirling his tongue around your rock-hard nipple while sinking in knuckle-deep. reduced to nothing but a writhing mess in the sheets, the only response that sounded from you was a strained whimper, the moment you felt his fingers curl against your sweet spot. the glorious stretch made you realise just how much you were missing out in this two weeks of abstinence, and how hard it must’ve been for peter as well—judging by the way his hips were rocking against the mattress.

“should’ve woken me up sooner—would’ve saved you a whole lotta trouble.” another moan slipped past your lips as peter began to thrust his fingers with more vigour, reaching deeper than you never thought possible while simultaneously maintaining that delicious vibration in his fingertips. the heat that had been building in the pit of your stomach was fuelled with each stroke of his thumb on your on your clit, and within seconds, a mind-numbing pleasure set your entire bloodstream ablaze. as you rode out your orgasm, peter’s other hand slid over yours, lacing your fingers together.

as your breathing finally started to even out, you glanced over at your boyfriend, who was watching you with that soft, starry-eyed look, his teeth catching on his bottom lip. he caught you staring and gave you a small, lopsided smile, reaching over to brush a few stray hairs from your face. “feelin’ better?” you nodded yes, still catching your breath, and leaned forward to press a slow, lingering kiss to his lips, feeling the heat of his erection poke against your abdomen.

when you pulled back, you whispered, “i wanna do something for you, too. with you, to be exact.”

his eyes widened, that hint of pink deepening in his cheeks. for a second, he just stared, looking torn, like he was debating with himself. you could practically see the gears turning in his head, weighing his worry against his own need for you. then peter sighed deeply, running a hand through his messy hair, trying to muster his usual bravado.“okay, fine,” he finally relented, shifting to move on top of you carefully, his hand bracing by your side to avoid putting any pressure on your bandaged torso. “but if i hurt you—or if you start bleeding again—i’m… i’m wrapping you up in so much gauze you won’t be able to move,”

a/n: sorry if this sounded ooc… it’s been a while since i’ve written for peter </3

 fear-is-truth

[benedictscanvas]

could you possibly do a benedict bridgerton friends to lovers fic with maybe some jealousy thrown in there? i adore your writing 🫶🏻

this request could not have come at a better time! i finally started my bridgerton rewatch recently and i can feel myself sparking with ideas yet again :) || 2k words, tw benedict is PINING & this is much more suggestive than my usual content, so 18+ please!

can't bear it - benedict bridgerton x reader

He looked bored. It was the first thing you noticed upon entering the ballroom and, in truth, it was often the first thing you noticed upon entering any ballroom. Over your years of friendship, it seemed you had a highly trained eye to seek him out amongst any crowd.

Just as your eyes strayed to him, as if he had similar training, his found you. What had been a dull stare at the ground to avoid any accidental eye contact with the Mamas scattered about the room quickly became a bright and excitable gaze locked to yours and you returned his slow-spreading smile with a rather unladylike grin.

"Hi," he mouthed, a grin of his own now twisting his features. You shook your head at him fondly, biting the inside of your cheek in a foolish attempt to stop your grin from growing any wider.

You were lucky to have a sister with whom your mother was preoccupied. It made it easy to hurry along the sides of the ballroom, exchanging nods with those you passed without stopping to greet them properly, to end up next to Benedict in record time.

You stood side by side, your usual routine, the backs of your hands inches apart but both facing outwards, as if surveying the rest of the room. Each one of your senses was entirely tuned into him as soon as you entered his presence, but it would not look as such to any onlookers.

"You'll start more rumours if you keep trying to communicate across such wide distances, Lord Bridgerton," you began, eyes fixed on the twirling couples so you didn't sneak a glance in his direction, "I thought we were attempting to rid ourselves of the clamours for our engagement."

"They can hardly read into a mere greeting," he responded easily, the words a mere murmur from the corner of his mouth, "I am a gentleman, as you know, and it would be impolite to simply ignore you."

"It would. You couldn't ignore me if you tried, anyway," you mused, "You'd get ever so bored."

"Always so self-important."

His mutter makes you bite back a smirk. Perhaps facing away from each other did nothing to hide your obvious conversation after all. Violet would be sure to notice, you knew, and may once again force Benedict into explaining the lack of proposal between the two of you.

In recent weeks, however, you had been struggling to explain it to yourself. Benedict was so dear to you, so utterly different to the men that regularly bored you, that once you had struck up such unlikely friendship, it seemed you valued it far too much to take it any further.

That, and there had never been any indication that Benedict himself saw marital potential within you. He was by no means a shy man. If he wanted you, you were quite sure he would have swept you off your feet by now.

And what a sweeping it would be, in those strong arms barely concealed by the crisp white shirt, billowing fabric...

"Good evening, Miss Y/L/N," a voice broke you from your spell, and your gaze accidentally drifted to Benedict in surprise before landing on the man interrupting you, "I believe I was promised a dance last we met, and I have heard you are a lady of your word."

You had to fight to keep yourself from frowning as you wracked your brains for his name. Unfortunately, you came up entirely empty and had no choice but to respond vaguely.

"I certainly would not like to gain a reputation for breaking promises," you smiled as taught, taking in handsome features and arms that didn't fill in a shirt nearly as well as Benedict's. You shook that thought from your head as you placed your hand in the unnamed stranger's own, "It would be an honour."

There was a splutter to your left, no doubt Benedict struggling to conceal his amusement at the sudden change in your tone. You allowed the man to lead you to the dance floor, turning subtly to send Benedict a wry smile but finding him staring right through you, expression anything but amused.

It wiped the smile clean off your own face.

His face was thunder throughout your dance, you noticed, however much you tried to focus on the pleasantly mundane conversation provided by your new partner. He really was quite good looking, if only you could appreciate it, but you were entirely preoccupied by Benedict's new foul mood and what could have caused it.

As the dance ended, you bowed politely to your captor, which was the only word that came to mind for him, and hurried in the direction of your favourite friend only to find him gone. This time you did frown, despite your mother's warnings of wrinkles, and picked up your skirt lightly as you slipped out of the ballroom.

Searching side room after side room proved useful. You soon found what could be described as a studio, with large windows to let the light in but currently only cast moonlight across the canvases spread around the room. The moon also lit up half of Benedict, who was stood at the window, staring out into the gardens.

"Be prepared to hide under that desk if anyone should come knocking," you said, startling him as you clicked the door shut behind you, "I shan't let you compromise my honour just because I have to chase after you when you're having a tantrum."

He glowered at you at the mention of a tantrum, the kind of look he usually levelled his brothers with rather than you. It was new territory and you found yourself quickly floundering.

"I did not bid you to follow me."

"And yet here I am," you reminded, taking a tentative step, "So why don't you put a stop to this strange mood and tell me what's wrong?"

"I'd rather not," he said curtly, his voice a little wrong as he turned to face you at last. Were those tears? "Please return to the festivities and I will join you momentarily."

You'd never seen Benedict cry before. In fact, you weren't sure you'd ever seen a man cry in your life, and the sight was terrifying. You wanted nothing more than to wrap him up in a long overdue embrace, but you kept yourself stock still in the middle of the room.

"Benedict..." you began, not sure where you were going despite the plea in your voice, "Please. I have never seen you like this."

He laughs, but its harsh.

"You must not be very observant then, Y/N."

"I beg your pardon?"

"In fact, you must be positively blind. Maddeningly so. How do you ever get anything done?"

You could feel tears of your own welling up in your eyes and blinked them away furiously. It was a great effort to keep your voice level when you spoke.

"I have known you to be many things, Bridgerton, but you are not cruel. I am sure I have done nothing to deserve such vehement insult, so-"

"I quite disagree," he interrupted, face fierce as he stalked over to you until he was right in front of you. Your chest heaved as you looked up at him, eyes wide, and felt the rise of his chest almost against your own, "You are observant, Y/N, and far from blind. It is your cruelty at fault here, not mine. It is yours."

He hissed the last word, pointing a finger at you so close to your chest that your head was spinning. His closeness was intoxicating, his scent crowding you out of enough oxygen and his words were making you lightheaded with panic.

"You're not making any sense," you murmured. His fingertips ghosted across the fabric of your dress near your hips, barely there, and nowhere near the skin underneath.

"You must see it," he mutters back, all gritted teeth and barely concealed restraint, "You must see that I worship you. That I always have."

Your inhale sounded more like a gasp. He shook his head above you, moving closer until his chin was pressed hard into your temple and you keened into the touch.

"I know you do not feel the same. And you are not obligated to, I swear it. But taunting me as you do. Playing with me only to dance with another..." he trails off, breath shuddering, and you can hear those tears in his voice again, "I can't bear it. Please, Y/N, I cannot bear it."

Neither can you.

You reach up and take his face in both hands, finding chiseled cheekbones and jawline, thumbs either side of his lips as you pull him until you can look up into his face again. Your gaze flickers across his face, and you wipe the tears from his face with shaking fingers.

"You're blind, Benedict," you say, leaning up on your tiptoes until your lips brush his, soft, like the ghost of his fingertips against fabric. You know what you want him to do and you need him to do it first, need him to take your lead and run away with it.

When he fists his hands in your dress at your hips and drags you into him, your prayers are answered.

He opens your mouth to his, still gentle but insistent, demanding more, more, more of you. You'd give him everything, right here, mainly because you know he'd never take it. He seems more than content with the here and now as it is, especially when your hands slip into his hair and he lets out a low grumble of a moan that you feel everywhere.

He's trying to pull you closer still when you break for air, gasping it in as the two of you pant into each other's mouths. He runs a hand down your hair, your neck, your arm, until he intertwines his fingers with yours, chases your lips for a peck, then another, then another. You meet him with a lazy grin.

"I dance with the Lords of the ton every ball," you breathe out, "I'd have noticed if you reacted like this every time."

Benedict was grinning too. He looked far more like himself when he did.

"They are usually old, ugly fools," he said, wrinkling his nose in distaste at the thought, "I always hate them having their hands all over you, but watching a young charming bastard who may just have a chance with you hold you as I have always dreamed of doing? It was enough."

"He never had a chance, my Lord," you assured, tracing his hairline, his earlobe just to see him shiver, "You are, as already accused, blissfully blind. Blind as a bat, I should think."

"Recent developments would suggest that to be true," he mused, glowing in a way he wouldn't usually when wrong. Then, all too quickly, his face briefly fell, "I truly apologise for all that I said to you, Y/N. There is no excuse, it was cruel."

"Hm," you agreed, "It was. Although, I can think of a multitude of ways you can make it up to me. Would you care to hear them?"

His eyes lit up at the realisation of your teasing. It was familiar, exactly what had drawn you both to each other time and time again. It was likely what would keep you together for eternity.

"I would like nothing more."

"How about I sit right up here..." you began lowly, moving to take a seat on the desk, "-you sit yourself underneath this desk, and we can have a conversation about compromising my honour."

You grinned at him wolfishly. It looked almost as if his eyes rolled back into his head already, but it wasn't long until he was kneeling in front of you, hands on the hem of your dress.

"And what would you know about compromising your honour, Miss Y/L/N?"

You ran a hand through his hair and used it to roughly yank him forward, until his nose was pressed to the fabric of your dress, exactly where you wanted him. It was easy to see it now, as he stared up at you in total awe: the way he worshipped you.

"Let's find out, shall we?"

if you’d like to request something, please do so here! i’d love to hear from you, sunflower <3

[anemonelovesfiction]

Colors of Pandora 7: Pink

Jake x Fem! Omatikaya Reader

Emotion: Romance

Warnings ⚠️: none SAFE FOR WORK

Essentially a part two to this work

Last day of Colors of Pandora and I’m sad but also happy?!

A huge thank you to @xylianasblog for having come up with this event in the first place, thank you for your hard work darling❤️

Translation Station

Ikran: Warriors Mount

Olo’eyktan: Male Clan Leader

Kelku: Home

Word count: 1.4k

“Why do you feel the need to take care of others?” His voice was a soft timber breaking through the silence of the early morning.

I’d managed to wake up and just as he promised the night before we had to talk, but we’d decided on taking our ikran out toward the forest to speak privately, climbing the tree we were currently on being careful with my arm to ensure I didn’t damage it any further. The view we were seeing involved a lot of the forest, but it was too vast for us to be able to see a majority of it, but the bits we could see were beautiful.

The sun was rising from between the mountains and sky, the orange, red, and pink hues capturing its essence in a wonderful way. My heart beating slightly faster after having processed his question as I realized I’d have to finally open up about my past to the leader of our clan.

“It helps me forget about the war,” I answered honestly, attempting to take in a breath to explain further if needed, knowing I would have to as my answer was somewhat vague.

“Who did you lose?” It was a simple question really, but it was one that brought slight pain, the pain of having to remember the reason I often buried myself in my work.

“Both my parents.” I answered as I lowered my head to view my fingers starting to pick at one another, something I often did when I was growing nervous.

“I’m sorry for the pain I have caused you.” He apologizes but it doesn’t change the past. We knew what he had done after he had explained once he came back from mating with Neytiri, a lot of us were upset with him, but I always kind of knew he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Having to follow orders just to keep his place here, it wasn’t hard to read him, and I could tell he was honest with his apology, but our people were quick to anger and it didn’t matter to them how sorry he was. And now he was our leader, how strange, the great mother must have plans for him if he was still alive, and holding a place of importance within us.

“I have forgiven you a long time ago.” I answered honestly, letting my shoulders fall as I pick my head back up to stare at the beautiful view before me, the sun still rising slowly above the sky.

“I guess your compassion runs deep,” He jokes with a smile and his comment makes me smile as well.

_________

That had been weeks ago, my arm had healed and had been allowed out of the cast, which I had been thankful for. My friendship with my Olo’eyktan had grown into something wonderful and I could finally say I had made my first friend.

“I have a question for you,” He walks up towards me right as I began to walk the opposite direction.

“You always have questions for me, Jake.” I stated as I continued walking, he’d asked me to instruct him as such and I was always one to follow orders, he followed behind me as I continued walking to grab my bow and arrow, ready to head out to hunt for Sepwa and Antuk once more. Sepwa had fallen ill and needed help with taking care of her children while Antuk had gotten injured while hunting and managed to injure his leg.

“I want to show you something.” He stated as his hand reaches out toward my arm, stopping me in my tracks as I felt the warmth leaving his palm and encasing my entire body, I fight a blush as I turn to face him with a serious look.

“That is not a question.” I stated and he rolls his eyes playfully, a smile tugging at his lips as he fights a laugh before straightening himself up, taking his hand off my arm, and I honestly missed the contact.

“Will you come with me?” He asks.

“I need to hunt for Sepwa and Antuk-“ I began to shoot his invitation down, knowing I didn’t want to, but knowing I had a sense of responsibility for my people.

“I’ve taken care of them already, I knew you were going out of your way again, so I was one step ahead of you the entire time,” He crosses his arms in a cocky manner, but all I could focus on were his bulging biceps, I only look up at his face with a blank expression to attempt to hide my own feelings as my heart rate quickens.

“And you have taken care of who will watch their children this morning before they go learn?” I raised a brow while crossing my own arms.

“Of course I did. Do you honestly think so little of me?” He asks with a palm on his chest while feigning hurt.

“Yes I do,” I teases with a smile on my lips before breaking out into a small laugh with his chuckle following soon after.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked after our laughter was out of the way, wondering where he planned to take me now, he had taken the last couple of weeks to show me the forest through his eyes, often choosing good places to calm down after a long and hard day of work, but surely he had to run out of places by now, the forest was only so big.

“Just wait and see,” He offers his hand out to me with a slight nod of his head and I take it without hesitation.

_________

I had been nervous to say the least, I hadn’t expected to have grown feelings for someone so quickly after meeting them, but there was something about her that made my heart flutter alive after a while of it being in a dormant state. I couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was about her, but she made me feel alive again, made me feel as though I could start living once more.

“What is this place?” She asks in awe as she hops off of my Ikran, taking a careful glance around the cave that glowed with bioluminescent plants, the opening of the cave having a waterfall covering half of it, keeping this place well hidden from anyone.

“This is the place I come to when I have a tough decision to make.” I answered honestly only to have her turn with a confused look on her face.

“And what tough decision has this Olo’eyktan had to make recently?” She raises a hairless brow and I had to admit my heart was beating faster than it ever has within the last couple of years.

“You,” I stated honestly before clearing my throat and looking away quickly before looking back at her.

“What do you mean, me?” She asks as she tilts her head sideways and her ears flick over to place her full attention on me.

“I have grown to have feelings for you, and I wish to court you, but I only want to do that if you return my feelings. I don’t want you to agree to doing it if you don’t see a future with me.” I stated sternly, expecting her to have weighed her options before answering, I was about to tell her she could have some time to think about it before she gleefully runs up to me and embraces me in a hug, a squeal leaving her lips as she jumps up and down excitedly.

“Yes, the answer is yes, I don’t need time to think, I feel the same.” She answered quickly and I could feel my heart ready to burst at her reaction.

“Honest?” I asked as if I were about to wake up in my kelku to realize that it had only been a dream.

“I promise,” She smiles as her tail wriggles from side to side in an excited fashion.

“Good, because I’ve been waiting long enough to do this,”

I place my hand onto the side of her face to hold it gently, her eyes widening slightly as she stares at me, ears having gone down to show submission and I smile before leaning my face down to meet our lips in the middle, having closed my eyes to enjoy our kiss, and feeling her arms wrap around my neck loosely as she kisses me back.

[drhu0806]

22. "Why are we doing this again?"

Fandom - Seven Kingdoms: The Princess Problem/7KPP Content warnings - none Pairing - Clarmont x MC Summary - In the wake a dangerous attempt on someone's life, Clarmont reflects and receives a letter. Other notes - contains spoilers for week 5 [A/N - For day 3 of 7KPP Week 2024: Letters as well]

For the umpteenth time that night, Clarmont runs a hair through his tousled hair.

Why is he doing this again? He came here with a goal, a singular, clear goal. Gathering information, forging alliances, all in the name of peace. For the sake of all the innocents who were caught in these deadly games, for the sake of those they’d already lost. How much time had he spent preparing for this? How many times had he repeated this to himself?

And yet, in the end, he’d somehow forgotten it all so easily. All over a single woman.

A woman who somehow met and then exceeded any expectations he had. An intelligent, driven woman who stood firm in the face of adversity and challenge. A beautiful, insightful woman who somehow made him forget himself, the first person in his life who tempted him over the edge of selfishness. All he had to do was jump.

No, not again. He rubs his face with his hands; combined with his lack of rest, he knows he’ll have dark circles under his eyes come morning. No matter how hard he fights, Clarmont finds himself coming back to her, again and again, like a creature underwater drawn to a light on the surface before diving back below, afraid of what it might find when it breaks through.

He can’t do this to her. He knows this, he’s told it to himself over and over. He can’t do this to himself, to the cause he’s utterly devoted himself to for years, completely unwavering, until now.

She might die, he reminds himself, and his heart would likely never recover. He could die, leaving her behind in the most unfair way possible. And given the enormity of the task, the latter seems far more likely. Better to end it now, before they’re too entangled. Better for her to be angry at him, to hate him, than to break her through grief and loss.

He believes in his cause, but Clarmont has long given up on himself. And she deserves more than a man who has nothing left to give.

It isn’t until he hears a knock on his door that he notices the slivers of light dripping in from the gap between the curtains, signaling the onset of morning. In the end, those long late hours did little for him; his resolve is no stronger than before.

The Revaire lord nods absently to his servants when they come in to help him prepare for the day; the gaunt look in his eyes is evident enough, but they know him well enough to not press. He’s handed a small bundle of letters before they bow and leave. Collapsing into a chair, he absentmindedly peruses through his correspondence. There’s a letter from Lyall; he’ll read that one later since he already has an idea of what it might say, and for once he’s not in the state of mind to entertain his friend’s fanciful notions about his bachelorhood.

And mysteriously, a letter hailing from Jiyel in handwriting he doesn’t recognize. The addressee is what surprises him; he doesn’t have any notable contacts from that particular kingdom, aside from one, and she’s here. He looks it over—it doesn’t appear trapped or dangerous in any way. Preliminary checks done, Clarmont gingerly unfurls the parchment.

[ To the esteemed Lord Clarmont of Revaire,

You do not know me, but I write on behalf of my granddaughter, Lady Octavia of House Leigong. My name is Sarantuya, and I have raised and watched Octavia grow since birth. As such, while I know she is perfectly capable of handling her own affairs most of the time, I feel obligated to speak in her favor when it comes to matters of marriage, and of the heart.

She does not speak of you often in a direct way in her letters home, but I know my granddaughter well enough to read between the lines. For a long time, Octavia has always been content in solitary endeavors; there was little that she wanted aside from the pursuit of her own goals. Her heart is not one that is easily stirred. I’m sure you can imagine how surprised I was that she spoke so highly of someone she met during her time at the summit, someone she had intentions to marry, no less.

Truthfully, I worry about my granddaughter. I worry that she will not surround herself with those that care about her. I worry that she will devote so much of herself to her ambitions that she will lose sight of other important things in life. I know as I grow older, I grow closer to a day when I cannot watch over her as I once have.

Lord Clarmont, during your time with her, I am sure you have already gleaned some things about her nature. Octavia can be arrogant and overly reliant on her intelligence. She can pour every ounce of her energy to a task to the point of obsession. She can be cold and indifferent, and care little for strangers, a byproduct of the circumstances in which she was born. My granddaughter has experienced little of the world outside her homeland through no fault of her own. It is my wish that through this summit, she will learn to look beyond the pages of her books and the walls of our small family estate.

In spite of all these things, you will find no one more capable and more devoted. Whatever your dreams are, they will become her dreams, and she will give everything she has to fulfilling them. Whatever challenge you may face, whatever obstacles you must cross, she will stand by you through it all, on her own two feet, strong and proud.

My lord, I can only hope you believe my word when I say my granddaughter is not a weak woman. She has the capacity to reach heights she herself is not aware of yet; the only thing she needs is a supportive hand. The blood of a people who have braved harsh winters, who have survived war, who wander and ride freely through endless, vast plains, courses through her veins. The same blood that runs through my veins. She is not meant to remain in a small cage of her own choosing. It is my wish that she will find the opportunity to fly, and it is my belief that you may be the one who can help her.

I cannot see the future and I will not compel you to a decision. But from what I know, I hope one day to have the pleasure of calling you my grandson. Please watch over Octavia in the meantime.

Safe journeys,

Qiyan Sarantuya of House Leigong ]

Clarmont leans back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling as his sleep-deprived mind struggles to process everything.

My granddaughter is not a weak woman.

He knows that. He knows that so painfully well. Because in the end, he knows that he’s the weak one, and he’s never been more frustrated over it.

Maybe…

He shakes his head, painfully aware of the bright sunshine breaking through to dispel the shadows of the night. Time is not a luxury he has, and eventually he has to face his demons. He folds the letter and sets it aside for safekeeping, praying from the depths of his heart that he can live up to whatever expectations people may have of him.

[cheshirewriter01]

Happy penguin huntings

Law x reader

Summary: you demand your first kiss with your grumpy boyfriend.

Down the halls of a quaint little submarine, a huffy woman stomps her way through.

'Three weeks, three weeks me and law have been dating and I haven't gotten a kiss yet... I don't think I approve... So then... where is he?' she thought with a frustrated eye twitch.

Patience was never y/n's virtue, especially when it came to having an ungodly sexy boyfriend with the most kissable lips... Or at least she thinks they are, she's about to find out because his ass is being too slow.

And law? Well, he's just a shy inexperienced bean, he doesn't mean any harm, but sometimes even beans need a little push.

Three mildly vicious knocks startled the captain from his load of paperwork he was absorbed in whilst he was settled in his desk located in the medical bay.

He quickly returned to his work after muttering a quick 'come in,' only mildly hearing the door open and shut.

Y/n wasn't having it though, she wanted his full attention, and she was going to get it.

Sauntering herself next to his old leather chair she lightly kicked the wheels of it to gain his attention. "Law, get your nose out of your work for five seconds and acknowledge me!" She finished with a huff to show her exasperation.

He slowly set down his pen, releasing an irritated huff himself as he turned his chair to look in her direction, an unamused expression adoring his handsome face.

"I'm clearly busy y/n-ya, unless it's important, then it can wait until later." he went to reposition his chair towards his desk again when her hand shot out and grabbed the arm rest of it, forcing him to continue looking at her. He now noticed her irritated face, although he found it more adorable than anything, like an angry chipmunk.

"This is important, and it can't wait til later, absolutely not!" her voice increased at the end, growing even more agitated with his uninterested behavior.

A glare was passed her way, both for interrupting his work this long and for raising her voice at her captain, 'only she could get away with such a thing' he mused.

"Is someone on the crew injured?" he asked.

"well no"

"dying?"

"also no!" her eyes were growing wider with frustration.

"Are we being attacked?"

"Seriously you jerk, does it sound like we're being attacked!?"

"Exactly so what the hell is so important then hmm?" he asked with a raised brow as he settled back in his chair, a stupid smirk on his face, suddenly enjoying this short game of pushing her buttons after working on papers for so long.

He can't be a romantic, but he sure knows all the right ways to piss someone off, then again she was quite short tempered.

"No one's hurt, no one's dying, we're not being attacked, everything's fine, I just need you to fricking kiss me already!"

And as quick as his smirk came, it also left, leaving him with a blank face and he processed what exactly she just said..

.

.

".. w-what did you just?!" a fervent blush came across the captain's gave that he attempted to hide to no avail, due to the sudden shock of what she just said to him.

"y/n-ya you can't just spout random shit like that out of nowhere, you damn brat!" he glared at her from underneath his hat, still not quite making eye contact with her anymore.

A poor attempt to cover embarrassment with anger really. The only time his personality does a 180 like this is when she's so bold towards him.

Ignoring what he said, she carried on, determined to get way. "Are you gonna do it or not, I want a kissss, lawww, kiss meee!"

"would you keep it down before someone hears you dammit! " he yelled in a hushed whisper, a crimson color quickly returning back to his cheeks.

This only egged her on more continuing to whine even louder.

"Okay! Okay, I'll k-kiss you, just shut the hell up!" he quickly stood up attempting to cover her mouth with his hand, which only resorted in it being licked, a cold glare was thrown her way for that, one which could cut down enemies itself, yet, she only giggled in response.

"Why do I date you again?" he mused in playful confusion.

Pretending to be hard in thought, she responded shortly after.

"Hmmmm, because I'm cute and I make your life interesting?" she spoke with a coy smile on her rosy lips, lips he suddenly couldn't look away from after she brought the topic up...he won't lie, he has thought about kissing her before, multiple times, he just hasn't figured out how to go about it...until now.

"you make my life something alright." he scoffed

"Ohhhh but you didn't deny thinking I was cute, oooh captain thinks I'm cuteee!" She tattled the confession to the almost empty room like a middle school girl teasing her crush.

He simply rolled his eyes in return, determined to make her shut up, which he succeeded in seconds later after he quickly took a large step towards her, bodies becoming mere inches apart.

She immediately shot her eyes up to his once again smirking face, words suddenly lost in her throat at the sudden close proximity.

A more shy smile crossed upon her face, regardless of all her teasing, he does still make her nervous, can you blame her?

"You finally gonna give me what I want cap?" She spoke in a whisper as his large tattooed hand slowly rose up to cup her delicate face, bodies once again moving closer, she could feel the heat from his chest radiating onto hers.

"I know it's a hard task but if you stop talking I will" his other hand grazed the middle of her back, pushing her completely into him now as his face grew ever closer, she wanted to be mad at his response, but how could she when the only thing she could focus on right now was his devilish lips mere millimeters apart from her own now?

'where the hell did all his shyness suddenly go?' she still managed half a thought, pouting slightly, only tempting him further more as her plump bottom lip stuck itself out slightly more.

He was definitely still nervous, never having been so close to someone to even consider having a romantic relationship... and he just had to find someone even more blunt then himself.. but right now, the opportunity to finally feel her lips against him, was making his head so fuzzy with desire that he couldn't think about much else, working completely on instinct at the moment.

Lips slowly and cautiously brushed against one another to test out the waters, breathes hitching at the first contact, before law delicately placed his lips upon her closed ones, letting out a soft sigh of success.

His lips were definitely kissable and much softer than she had ever thought, and she was loving it, never wanting this moment to end between them.

Her hands gripped onto the front of his yellow hoodie to keep herself grounded, as she carefully pressed her lips more firmly to his, wishing for deeper contact. He happily obliged and returned the favor, slowly deepening the kiss to both of their pleasure.

Time and time again they separated and repeated the action, soft sighs and grins coming from the both of them as they enjoyed this tender moment between them. The kisses stayed pure and sweet, simply enjoying the feel of the other so closely. More passionate kisses can come at a later time, for now this was more than enough for them.

Once they separated for the last time, they layed their foreheads upon one another, slight catching their breath. She could feel his increased heart rate under her palm located on his chest, making her smile softly.

Once they lifted their heads to look at one another, it was clear you could see the adoration they had for each other in their eyes, no matter how much they love to bicker, they loved the other more.

And of course her being the playful brat she is, she had to have the final say, so with a happy grin on her face, she patted him on the chest and gave him her best smile.

"Thanks for the kiss cap, you can get back to work now."

And she turned around and happily waddled out of the room, like a penguin who just succeeded in her hunt, a soft click of the door was left in her absense.

And an exasperated captain.

A small grin rose to his face as he plopped back in his chair, staring at the door she just left from.

"What am I going to do with you.. Y/n-ya."

[oswald-can-draw]

About your mlp infection au!! I love this one so much I'm so interested!! Maybe give us a rundown of a couple of the survivors and how equestrias chances are looking? How did the ponies infected by black magic change and mutate? Can spike or other species like dragons, griffins and zebras get infected since they dont have cutiemarks? Are foals who dont have cutiemarks yet immune until they get their cutiemark? How does that play in? Im so sorry if this is too many questions, I really love this au and I think its really cool!!! Its a really well thought out idea and I think its awesome!!! :D I hope you have a nice day! ❤️

Someone being an autistic beast about my work is the highest compliment, so never apologize for that!

But, boy howdy, have we got a lot of ground to cover!

Let’s take it step by step:

1. FOALS

Foals (or those without their cutie mark), are a very complex cog in this AU. On one hand, they don’t have their cutie mark, so they can’t be infected, as there is no magic to corrupt. Great!

The bad news? Getting one’s cutie mark is often an unplanned thing, which means any foal can become susceptible to the Meanie Mark Virus at any time. There are many ways to deal with this.

One common one is to wrap the foal’s flank with compression gauze. Half a desperate idea, and half a way to forget their child’s vulnerability (or to hide when they DO get a cutie mark). Somepony suggested that it could “keep back” a cutie mark, and the rest of the populace decided to go with it.

Another way is to just try and keep the foal from anything that interests them. This works to a point, but the stress from their friends and family on the brink of death every day, and now any sliver of joy that they can find in this hellscape is strictly forbidden. This can cause a once rare, but quickly becoming more common developmental condition known as “Muted Cutie”. This causes a cutie mark to appear, but it’s based off of an outside tension, such as familial pressure, cutie conditions, and lack of input. It’s like a magical wisdom tooth — keeping the actual cutie mark from developing and causing pain and stress to the pony.

The third option is a last resort: quietly “taking care” of foals that were of cutie mark age or freshly marked.

Having a foal of a certain age can bar you from going into certain populated areas, getting ample supplies, and even contact with other ponies.

Of course, this is EXTREMELY traumatizing for the foal. Feeling like they aren’t wanted and that they aren’t allowed even the smallest of joys can make life miserable.

2. OTHER SPECIES

* Zecora’s redesign is based off of the Karo tribe, a small tribe famous for body painting and self expression. Though I have done as much research as I can, there is still room for error. If there is something inaccurate, please let me know so I can fix the redesign accordingly.

Other species may not get the Meanie Mark illness, per se, but they do have reactions to parts of the evil clones that seep into the soil or the corpses of already infected ponies.

Griffins, for example, get something similar to food poisoning, with nausea, vomiting, and unseasonal molting. This is their body attempting to purge the toxins. Their flying also becomes affected, with severe bouts of vertigo and lost sense of direction. For the average, healthy griffin, this usually only lasts a week or so. However, if a griffin is elderly, injured, or any sort of health condition, this infection could be fatal. Fortunately, since griffins are so far from the Everfree Forest and spend so little time on the ground, this sickness is very rare, especially with certain security measures set in place.

Dragons are even luckier. Their stomachs are able to digest any trace of the infection, neutralizing it before it can cause any real damage. However, there is a phenomenon that has been unearthed due to dragons. The gems found near their volcano-filled home can actually be infused with the disease. The only sign of this having occurred is a slightly darker hue and a “rotten” taste, according to the dragons. A few dragons have been enlisted to dispose of infected material, as them consuming it is the only way it can be disposed of without putting more ponies at risk. Not many are up for the task.

Zebras, on the other hoof, have quite the reaction to infected material. While they aren’t infected with the true disease, the special, magical markings and body paint can give the bacteria something to feed on. This can cause weakness, confusion, gastrointestinal distress, rashes, burns, irritability, and even aggression. Zebras often have to be quarantined from the rest of their tribe in order to keep the disease from spreading and the victim from hurting anyone or anything. Removal of paint and markings can help, and are often reapplied after recovery, with additional markings showing their bravery, strength, and health. Unfortunately, some of them do not survive.

Any other living thing, including birds, mammals, plant life, and insects all have generally poor reactions upon exposure. Common themes in symptoms include weakness, vomiting, and confusion. Plants will turn away from the sun. Dogs will whine and curl into a ball. Birds will run into things and screech. Survival depends on the age, health, size, and care plan of a creature. Among them, usually about 73% survive.

Though no other species has the guaranteed death from the disease that ponies do, it can still cause some nasty, or even deadly, side effects.

3. BLACK MAGIC

Since the Meanie Mark Illness is already a form of black magic, just more widespread and deadly, the disease has horrendous effects on those who have already succumbed to dark magic.

Though it’s a rare instance, the phenomenon has been observed. Whether the black magic or the illness comes first, it always begins and ends the same way:

First, a pony becomes much, MUCH more powerful. Instead of gradually gaining this talent through the virus, their black magic reaches a feverish pitch. The pony begins to have uncontrollable displays of magic, usually of the destructive kind. Explosions, rays, death, and evil spells emanate from them without stopping. This has caused many hasty villains to try and catch the famous Meanie Mark Illness — with this power, they think, taking over the world would be easy.

Second, the two opposing powers battling for control inside the pony begin to destroy the victim from the inside. See, the reason why ponies become a husk-like corpse and turn to dust at the end of the Meanie Mark’s cycle is because of the Tree of Harmony’s magic fighting the dark magic of the virus, which ends up destroying the pony in the process. But with the black magic far overpowering the Tree of Harmony, the pony has a different problem — their body can’t handle such raw power.

The pony’s hair begins to fall out, their veins swell, their skin begins to blacken with gangrene as less and less blood goes to extremities. The pony ends up rotting from the inside out, black sludge oozing from their mouth and eyes, magic still pouring out of them. Their cutie mark, both subdued from the virus and given immense power from the black magic, sputters and shines and pulses.

Finally, a pony will die within a few days, their corpse zombified and rotting. However, those who do survive the ordeal have poor quality of life, as their joints, brains, and some of their organs hardly work anymore. They will live either as a wandering corpse or a patient for their friends and family to take care of until their demise in the near future.

In other words, this is a quicker but much more painful death!

4. CHANCES FOR EQUESTRIA?

This disease can be spread very easily, especially among unicorns. If an infected unicorn casts a spell on another pony, they too will catch Meanie Mark. Other than that, a pony either has to come in contact with infected soil/plant life, an animal that has eaten said infected material, or a corpse. This means that, though the illness will be slow to spread at first, it will pick up speed as time goes on.

With the emphasis on foals and the amount that are being killed for mercy or safety’s sake, repopulating is going to be difficult.

As for a cure…perhaps the dragons can help, since they are the only one’s completely immune? Or maybe they could at least offer hints about how to stop this horrible disease?

All this to say — there is a chance of survival. But is Equestria quick enough to find a cure? Or at least keep the disease at bay?

BONUS - SURVIVORS (NOT COMPLETE):

1. Spike: Being a dragon has its perks. But being surrounded by ponies does not.

2. Big Mac: The pony you would want in an apocalypse. Still mourning the infection of his sisters.

3. Discord: Could he even…get sick? Isn’t he part pony? But he doesn’t have a cutie mark…

4. Rainbow Dash: Cloudsdale is on lockdown, and isn’t allowing anypony in or out. But it’s like herding winged cats.

5. Winona: Aids Big Mac. Since eating an infected piece of flesh, she avoids the infected like the plague.

6. Sweetie Belle: Was staying with Scootaloo right before Rarity got infected. Apple Bloom would have come, but she didn’t feel well…

7. Scootaloo: Her inventions are invaluable. But her lack of a quick way to escape could be the death of her one day.

[imaginefan]

The User

Damon Salvatore X Fem!REader

Word Count: 1064

Requested: Anon

Request: Damon is using you to make Elena jealous. You don't believe it at first until you overhear an argument between Elena and Damon. (Elena is still confused between Stefan and Damon) but knows she has feelings for both of them. Reader is cold toward Damon he doesn't care at first but wanted to know why she's being distant, the two argue he doesn't bother but then weeks go by Damon realizes he misses reader and how he messed up cause she really did care for him. One shot gf

You had been with Damon for a couple of months when people started to warn you that he might be using you but you had been together 7 months when he finally gave you the evidence you were so severely hoping didn't exist. The truth was you loved Damon and you wanted to believe that he was in love with you but truth be told you knew that it was unlikely after everything that he said to and about Elena it was clear that he was using you to make her jealous and persuade her to choose him. The evidence however came from you walking into the boat house when they were arguing.

"Damon you can't do that! I'm with Stefan and you are with (Y/N)." Elena said you couldn't see them but was sure that they were probably standing too close for comfort and you couldn't bring yourself to actually look at them. "She won't know, I mean it's not like it's actually serious." He answered, you could hear the smirk in his voice, you almost thought he knew that you were there because surely he could hear your heartbeat. "Damon, stop!" Elena ordered. "I'm not going to kiss you and everything that you are doing is not making me want to be with you," Elena argued, you heard the sound of stumbling and you were sure that she had pushed him away. "You can't tell me that Stefan is better than me," Damon said, you blinked as you tried to stop yourself from crying. Why did you love him so much if he couldn't love you? "Damon no," Elena said firmly, she continued talking but someone touched your shoulder gently, you jumped before looking over at them to see Stefan was standing there, he took your hand pulling you out of the house, and you looked back at the door for a second before following him willingly. "What about Elena?" You asked and he looked at the house for a second before shaking his head. "She doesn't need saving." He said, stopping you from looking through the window behind you and instead directing you back home.

Over the next couple of days, Damon attempted to get in contact with you, you assumed to end the relationship but you never picked up the phone or showed up for meetings. He had no idea that you had heard the argument that day, he hadn't bothered to check his surroundings when he saw Elena he focused solely on her. That was why he was so confused when he walked into your room. You were on your bed reading, your phone was placed face down on your bed, and you'd been ignoring him. "What the hell is your problem?" Damon asked. "Do you really care?" You asked. "What?" He asked. "It's not like it's actually serious or anything." You quoted his words back at him and he frowned. "You were there?" He asked, realising that this had all started after his argument with Elena. "Do you think this was going to make me stay, make me realise that I loved you?" "No this was going to make you realise that we aren't together anymore and you are not a part of your life." You answered. "I'm not wasting any more time on you." "Don't be-" "Petty? I wasted a lot of time on you, wasted a lot of love, I'll admit that I love you and it's worth nothing to you and a burden to me." You explained as you looked at the man and rolled your eyes looking back at your book, in record time he was across the room, he grabbed you by the chin and threw your book across the room in the process and made you look at him. "You expect me to be afraid of you but you broke me and honestly anything you do now validates my choice to walk away from you." "I don't need you." He growled out and you rolled your eyes. "I know, that's why you're here." You pulled yourself away from him, he looked at you for a second before leaving and you walked over to the other side of the room getting your book and continuing with your quiet day as if nothing had happened.

It was over the next couple of days that Damon realised just what he was missing with you not around, he missed when he'd come back from a fight of any kind and you clean the wounds even though you knew that they were going to heal, how you'd cook him food even if he didn't have to eat, you'd never complain when he got clingy, you accepted everything that he said to you and knew when he was joking vs when he was being an asshole. There was something missing from his life and he was starting to see how you were probably the first and last chance he had at fixing it.

Damon watched as you looked over Jeremy's injuries and helped him wrap his arms, you were laughing at something he said before standing up and walking over to Bonnie to help her "you're an idiot for messing that up." Stefan said as he stood next to his brother. "I didn't mess anything up, there was nothing there in the first place," Damon answered, Stefan looked at you as you gently cleaned Bonnie's head and put a dressing over the small cut. "You keep telling yourself that but the longer you wait the harder it'll be to fix it." Stefan answered, "you have to figure out who you really want and what it means to have them." "Yeah yeah, baby brother, ever the romantic," Damon muttered, “what about you and Elena then?” “You're right you ruined that too,” Stefan answered sarcasm coating his tone as he tapped him on the shoulder and walked away, Damon glared as he walked over to get a drink but he did find himself looking at you again. "Anyone need medical attention?" You asked, everyone else gave you some kind of verbal decline but he wanted to pull you away from everyone else and have you look him over like you had many times before but instead, you didn't spare him a glance in favour of leaving for the night saying you had a shift to cover at The Grill.

*Part 2*

Requests and general question!

[writereleaserepeat]

Hear No Evil - Chapter 5

Previous // Next

CW: bbu, bbu-adjacent, pet whump, institutionalized slavery, dehumanization, dehumanizing intent by using it/its pronouns, ableism, blood mention, scar mention, non-sexual nudity

It felt wrong to touch the boy’s face. It felt wrong to touch a person who had been endlessly abused into mindless submission, someone who had been trained through pain and suffering that they had to exist at the will and command of another. It felt wrong that the boy was still sitting naked, all but skin and bones, entirely unmoving on Rowan’s floor. 

What other choice did Rowan have? Was there another way to communicate with this boy, one  that wasn’t as direct as physical contact? Necessity, Rowan reminded himself as the boy’s face turned upward in his palm. I’m doing this out of necessity.

Even as he gently guided the boy’s face to look upwards, he refused to meet Rowan’s eyes, his gaze directed towards the floor. That was alright. It was going to have to be alright for a while, Rowan suspected. 

After a moment he let his fingers fall away from the boy’s chin. He wouldn’t have admitted it, but he was relieved when his new houseguest held the position rather than dropping back to the ground. 

“Hey there,” Rowan greeted. He did his best to smile. “I don’t know if you remember, but my name’s Rowan. I know this is new for you, but it’s new for me too. It’s new for both of us. I’m sure you’re probably scared, but we’re going to get through this. We’re going to have to learn together, alright?” 

The boy didn’t even blink. 

---

Master didn’t seem upset that Pet was holding still and looking up at him. By the hint of a smile on Master’s lips, it seemed that he was pleased by the unusual posture. 

It didn’t dare meet Master’s eyes, of course, but now it could try and read his lips. Even if it couldn’t decipher the words that Master was speaking, it had already come to enjoy the soft murmur of Master’s speech. The kindness and warmth was enough for it to relax. 

New… new… new for both of us… learn together…

Pet knew that it could do that. Pet was happy to learn new things for its Master, and it was going to try its very best to do them well. Failure meant punishment, but even worse, failure meant disappointing Master. Disappointing its old Master is what got Pet into this mess to begin with. It could handle any amount of pain, however Master chose to train it, but disappointment always burned the deepest. 

Pet can be good. Pet can learn with Master. 

---

It struck Rowan that now only was the boy still naked, but the stench of waste and sweat clung to his body. The putrid odor of the liquidation event had begun to seep into the room at no fault of the boy’s own. 

Of course - Rowan privately scolded himself for forgetting. The facility never gave its victims the luxury of proper hygiene, and this one had been stuck at the liquidation event for days, before eventually being stuffed in a box. There was no wonder that the boy’s curls were slicked down with grease and dirt. 

Rowan attempted a smile. He knew it didn’t reach his eyes, but how could it, when he knew how much pain this person had been through? 

“How does a bath sound, yeah? Can we do that?” Rowan offered this enthusiastically. Rowan also knew that his bathroom was a bit of a disaster, scattered with half-empty shampoo bottles and skin care products he hadn’t used in weeks. He tried to soothe himself by rationalizing that the boy wouldn’t particularly care about the room’s cleanliness. 

There was no reaction to Rowan’s offer, not a nod, not so much as a twitch. It was all he could do not to sigh, worried that any sighs would be interpreted as misplaced frustration. The last thing he wanted to do was set the boy on edge. 

He remembered what worked earlier, the very gestures that had lured the boy to his bedroom in his first place. After giving himself a determined nod, Rowan took a few steps backwards, and gestured with a low hand to invite the victim to follow along. 

Much to Rowan’s relief, the boy understood. He scampered forward on his hands and knees, eyes glued back to the ground, every bone on his gaunt frame showing. As much as Rowan would have preferred him to walk on two feet, this was going to have to do for the moment. Just enough to get him cleaned and settled in, nothing more. Then they would begin work on rehabilitation. 

As soon as Rowan opened the door to the bathroom, the boy bolted forward and into the tub in a tangle of limbs and apparent enthusiasm. Rowan hadn’t spoken a single word or made a gesture. He smiled in spite of himself, and cocked his head to the side.  

“Alright, I guess baths are okay? That’ll make this easier.” Rowan thought about the many victims that had been tormented by water, scalded or frozen at inhumane temperatures, or held beneath the surface until they drew mouthfuls into their lungs. To have a victim who was at least amiable to the cleaning process would relieve the burden on them both. 

The boy had resumed the typical kneeling position in the tub, seemingly unbothered by the hard porcelain. Rowan figured it was best not to try and correct that for the time being. One step at a time. Be encouraging. 

Rowan leaned over to the spigot and slowly turned it on, carefully easing the handle towards “H,” and diligently checked the temperature as water began to flow. Once it was comfortably warm he plugged the drain and watched as the clear liquid began to pool around the boy’s legs. Rowan almost swore he heard a contented sigh as the boy’s eyes slipped closed. 

For the first time in more than a day, Rowan felt himself smile, a genuine smile. And for the first time, he felt that maybe he was cut out for this. 

---

Pet was grateful for the washing before it even began. Its old Master was so particular in keeping Pet clean, and would have his servants scrub Pet down every day beneath a stream of hot water. Sometimes the soap was floral, other times it was citrus, but it always left Pet smelling wonderful. Handler never gave it such luxuries when it was sent back to the training facilities. 

The water rose ever higher, first over its thighs, then over the pale skin of its stomach, until the water finally came to a stop right above its navel. It could have groaned with how pleasant the warm water felt on its aching legs and bruised knees. For a moment it nearly dared to speak, express its gratitude for the kindness, but knew better than to open its mouth without being told. 

Still, it was a treat to have Master wash it rather than a servant.

Master gently cupped warm water over its head, and Pet closed its eyes tight to keep the water out. With each new splash of water Master continued to talk away, his voice nearly as warm as the water, wrapping around Pet’s shoulders along with the suds. Of course, the words were still indistinct, and Pet listened in case there was a command it could discern, but it was already starting to think that maybe Master just liked to talk. Pet wouldn’t mind that at all. 

---

“I’ve never really had anything to name before,” Rowan mused aloud as he worked his fingers through the boy’s curls. The texture was so much deeper than his own, the ringlets rich with weight. He made a quick mental note that the dollar-store shampoo he used for his own pin-straight hair would most certainly not do in the future. 

“You see, I had to name a goldfish when I was a kid,” Rowan continued as he began to rinse the shampoo out. “I had to name it, and I stalled for weeks. My parents kept asking me, and my sister kept bugging me about it, but I just didn’t have anything. My mom eventually suggested ‘Goldy,’ and I just went with it. But if you can’t tell me what you want to be called, at least not yet, you deserve a name. A proper one, something with a bit of dignity.”

He wondered if there were websites to help with such a thing. namesforyourbrainwashedhumanslave.com? It wouldn’t surprise him. 

“You’re going to have to learn to wash yourself in the future.” Rowan gently wrung some of the water from the boy’s thick head of hair and hoped he wasn’t pulling on the roots. “It’s okay if that doesn’t happen right away. I’m more than happy to help, but I want you to feel comfortable doing things on your own, without having to ask me. You can come in here and have a bath whenever you want. The apartment incorporates the cost of utilities into the monthly rent already, which means we can use as much as we want at no extra cost. It’s nice to have almost unlimited heat in the winters, especially this far north.”

As he began to carefully wipe away the grime on the boy’s face with a warm cloth, Rowan nearly startled when the boy leaned into the touch. He hadn’t expected to feel pressure returned against his hand. After pausing long enough to pull himself out of the shock, Rowan pressed on and began to scrub at the dried blood on the side of the victim’s face. Flakes of muddy brown and deep crimson scabs covered the deep gouges that ran from his temples, down his ears and jawline, almost down to his neck. Given the extent of the damage, it was a wonder there was any skin left. 

“I hope one day you can tell me how these got here,” Rowan murmured as he got a good look at the wounds for the first time. Blood flaked away and fell in hues of brown into the water, mixed with fresh red from the most recent and still-weeping wounds. 

“I’m sorry,” Rowan whispered before he could stop himself, because he knew he had to be hurting the boy, no matter how gently he tried to proceed. The wounds were deep, and Rowan wondered if they needed stitches. How was he supposed to tell? Maybe they were too wide for stitches, maybe the scar tissue was already too well-formed. 

They were different than the scars that Rowan had seen on other victims before, and he had seen the aftermath of many instruments of torture in his time. These scars were jagged, and they were as wide as three fingers across, as though they had been continually torn open. It was the first time Rowan saw them this close up, and he noted that the cartilage of the ears was warped and knobbed. Again, something like he had never seen before. 

The water had turned a translucent copper color, and Rowan tried not to be sick as he reached in to drain the bathtub. A quick hand gesture and the boy got out of the tub and knelt back down on the bath mat. 

Right, towels. Dry him off. 

“Let’s get you dry, huh?” Rowan spoke. Maybe it would help ease whatever tensions were running through the boy’s mind if Rowan kept narrating what he was doing. He imagined it would be beneficial to take away some of the nerve-wracking suspense, and instead replace it with vocalized certainty. 

Forcing a smile on his lips, Rowan grabbed the freshly-laundered towel he had set aside, and held it out in the boy’s line of sight. 

“I’ve got a clean towel here. If you want to do it yourself, just grab the towel, and I’ll stop. Otherwise, here we go.” 

As soon as the terry cloth made contact with the boy’s shoulders, he leaned into the touch, his upper body shifting a few centimeters closer to Rowan’s own. Again. This time, Rowan didn’t startle quite so easily. In fact, he was surprised at himself, and the happiness that blossomed in his stomach. 

He knew he couldn’t take happiness in this forever. There was no joy to be taken in a human being that acted on inhumane training, a human who sought other human contact because they were told to, not because they wanted it. But if the boy wasn’t afraid of him and his touch, that was one small victory. Rowan had a feeling he was going to have to take the little victories for what they were. 

“You’re doing great,” he said, not for the first time that hour. But this time, Rowan knew he might have been talking to himself as well. 

---

Taglist: @honey-is-mesi @aswallowimprisoned @kira-the-whump-enthusiast @honeycollectswhump @rekiroyalstraightprincemaru @tragedyinblue @clairelsonao3 @octopus-reactivated @maracujatangerine @peachy-panic @whumplr-reader @dislexiher @cc1010foxy @onlybadendings @panstardalia @tempoghast @whumpzone

[imjustthatbad]

The Ending We Won’t Get:

A/N: FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT THERE IS MENTIONS OF BLOOD AND BEING CHAINED UP (not in the fun way) if that bothers you please do not read. Anywho… This is my first attempt at this kind of fanfic so please if you read this go hard on me. I did it without an editor and in the middle of the night but I needed a conclusion to this story so I’m making one. There will be some creative direction on my part but mostly trying to stick with what I have researched. Please give a read and let me know if it’s something you want me to continue. If Netflix won’t fucking save our Warrior Nun then gods damnit I will do my best to. From here on out all A/N will be at the end and I’ll add T/Ws at the top. Hope you enjoy this fellow warrior nuns.

——————

Chapter One: Dancing With Your Ghost

… A week after Adriel’s defeat…

“Have a good night Hans, remember to push the specials.”

“Alright Beatrice, have a good night and let me know if you hear from her.”

The air was cold and the rain bit her skin through her shirt as she walked from the bar back to her home above the butcher’s. She wasn’t sure what made her return to the Alps. Maybe because that’s where she was happiest, maybe because that’s what she wanted, maybe because she hoped that Ava would walk through that door any second. It’s been a week and that hasn’t happened and her hope dwindled more and more with each passing moment. As she approached the door to their…her…apartment she paused for a moment. Pushing back the hope that maybe if she opened the door she’d be greeted by the woman who she had once shared it with. She closed her eyes as she pushed the door open and once she heard the door gently hit the wall she slowly opened her eyes and… Empty. To be expected but most definitely not wanted.

She sighed and walked in, locking the door behind her. She crossed the small apartment and turned her kettle on before looking into her apartment. Nothing had changed since she and Ava had last left it. The bed meticulously made something Ava used to make fun of her for.

“It’s just going to get unmade Bea, you really don’t need to make it. I swear you can take the nun out of the Cat’s Cradle but you can’t take the Cat’s Cradle out of the nun.”

“Well, you live under the scrutiny of Mother Superion for a majority of your life and tell me not to make this bed. Besides, it helps you stay out of it till it’s time to sleep.”

“Trust me, I’ve spent enough time in a bed that I don't need any motivation to stay out of one. Well unless it involves having se..”

“..I get the point! …I’m still making this bed, now will you help please.”

“Yes mother.”

The sound of thunder pulled her from the memory far too soon. She shook her head and entered the bedroom pulling fresh clothes from the dresser and changing into warmer, less soaked clothes. Her timing was perfect as she pulled her sweatshirt down just as the kettle began to whistle. She watched the rain fall from a window in the apartment slowly sipping on her tea and attempting to relax. Being free from the obligations of being a warrior nun was still very new, she always had the pull to do something. Train, study, guide others, learn new things, help everyone with anything but now, now was just for her. An attempt at a normal life she had never had. At just being Beatrice. It felt weird, she felt wrong but “It’s still new, it’ll get easier.” Camilla had assured her a five days prior during a surprise phone call. She hadn’t wanted to lose all her friends and kept in contact when she could but at the same time she wanted to be alone. Wanted to start over. In this life or the next didn’t necessarily mean you had to die to get a second chance.

She watched the rain fall for several minutes, finishing her drink before starting her night time ritual. Same as it’s always been; shower, brush teeth, brush hair, get dressed, and pray. She knows she doesn’t have the obligation to do that last bit anymore but it made her feel less…she wasn’t sure but it helped. She walked to the couch and got under the blankets. She hadn’t gotten the courage to sleep in their bed yet. She let the soft sounds of rain and thunder lull her to sleep.

“Oh Bea…”

She opened her eyes and saw her, the small yet strong brunette kneeling next to her a soft yet sad smile on her face.

“Bea…what are you doing? Why are you gone? Where are you?”

Her eyes fluttered with confusion, she felt her eyebrows pull together as she tried to sit up but found that she was unable to move.

“Ava? Ava! Ava I can’t..I can’t move, are you okay? How are you here? What happened?”

She felt Ava’s hand run down the side of her face as she cupped her chin. She desperately wanted to pull Ava into her but when she tried to move her arms she felt the pull of metal on her wrists. Looking down she saw that she was chained to the ground.

“Ava, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

A singular tear ran down Ava’s face, did she look older? More weathered?

“I’m fine Bea, but why are you gone? Where have you run off too? You’re going to miss all the fun.”

She watched as Ava’s eyes got darker, the singular tear slowly turning black. Her voice sounded lower and harsher, like she had been screaming for years without pause. Beatrice pulled hard against the chains, she felt the all too familiar feeling of skin ripping on her wrists as her binds cut into her but she didn’t stop trying.

“Ava! What do you mean? Where are you? What’s going on? Ava please..please help me so I can help you! I miss you so much, please let me help you.”

Ava stood, her eyes continuing to darken, a dark purple light emitting from her back. The halo? No the halo is golden it doesn’t shine purple that’s impossible there’s been no mention of it ever turning purple or any other color. She pulled against the chains again, she felt a give and Ava must’ve heard it too, her focus moving from Beatrice’s face to her wrists.

“Nothing can save her now, she’s under my control. Nothing can stop my halo bearer.”

That’s not Ava’s voice but it’s not Adriel’s voice either. Who’s speaking through her? She pulled harder on the chains and felt her left arm break free and she reached out to Ava but she wasn’t fast enough. Ava side stepped and began laughing but it wasn’t her light and airy laugh Beatrice had come to love. It was someone else. This wasn’t Ava. It was her body but she’s not in control.

“So close, yet so far. We will find you, we don’t like loose ends. This war will be won by the superior army and nothing will stop us.”

Ava’s body begin fade as if she was phasing and right as Beatrice’s right arm was freed she was gone in a puff of smoke.

“AVA!”

Her eyes popped open as she quickly sat up, hearing herself scream for Ava. She stood up quickly and looked around getting her bearings. She saw her apartment, the made bed, the small night light tha Ava liked to keep on next to it. It took her a moment to convince herself it was all just a dream, no night a dream. A nightmare. She covered her face with her hands and took a deep breath.

“It was just a dream, nothing more.”

She assured herself and laid back down but as she laid back down and pulled the blankets back over her she noticed it. Her wrists, bruised but not bloody. As if she had been chained days ago and she was slowly healing from it. But that’s impossible. It was just a dream. Wasn’t it?

[dipolardruid]

OH MY GODDD I LOVE PETRA SOO MUCHH💗 ALSO THANKS FOR DOING MY REQUESTS MAN! Anddddd if the inbox isn’t too full or if you aren’t too busy I came up with another request! SO yk the request you got a while back of reader who’s only friends with Tina right? And how she will practically force reader to spend time/talk to everyone else. How will she and everyone else react to reader being clingy to someone else that isn’t Tina? Like reader spent time with everyone else and now reader prefers to be with Petra, or Paul, or Jake. And sorta just clings to one of them. Maybe even prefers to be with one of them than Tina. You can either make hcs or a oneshot of this whichever you find easier! Separate reactions or not ^^

-🌊

also take that other anons I’m the fav anon 😎

TW: Unhealthy relationships,yandere, slight mention of possible kidnapping.

"Come on please just for tonight! You knew me first anyways!" Tina says in a pleading tone after your rejection "Petra agreed to be there a little later after us." At this you tense up a little bit sighing "Ok ok I'll go." Tina smiles at this giving a small yay.

It wouldn't be long after the conversation that she would practically drag you out into her car, During the 20 minute drive she talked a lot only really allowing you to put in a few words if even that but what'd really catch your attention would be about her buisness "A simple threat about blacklisting him from my company and some warning to other companies about him which would affect any career and future in his field did the trick." You stare at her in shock, something she realizes "what?" She says in curious tone.

"Isn't that illegal?" Tina attempts to hold a smirk but fails to do so "Not if it's proven to be true information." She says without an ounce of shame "but you said he didn't do anything." Tina gives you a side glance before responding "pay some editors, some witnesses and some victims and that is all it would take utterly destroy the man from buisness to personal relationships." At this you seem to become uneasy.

Tina realizes your change in tone and immediately gives her usual and bright smile "Anyways enough of that let's talk about this special getaway!"

As you look towards the entrance once again you hear a small clank and a annoyed sigh causing you to look back at Tina who seems to be giving you a sharp stare before quickly putting on her bubbly appearance once she processes that you were staring back at her.

"Sorry it was more directed at Petra she is very rarely late so I'm just a little confused as to why she hasn't atleast called." Tina looking slightly dejected.

Seeing this you take out your brand new phone that Tina gifted you just a week ago after finding out the phone you had was quite old "I'll call her you never know if something could've happened." Before you could even start typing in your passcode Tina quickly grabs your hand covering your phone screen with the palm of her hand "No" Her tone catches you off guard due to the amount of force she had said it with.

You look around to see the table closest to you staring but quickly look away once they make eye contact with you "Oh I'm so sorry! I meant no she is probably very busy if something had happened I would've been the very first to find out you know this!" She says a little nervous at this point.

Your hands begin to grip and twirl around eachother as you begin to feel more uneasy as Tina's mood seems to go back and forth much worse today compared to previous days.

"I'm really sorry I really truly am, I don't want you to be uncomfortable I just...." Tina seems to stay quiet at this almost as if thinking but just lowers her head "I just wanted a day for ourselves....Petra doesn't even know we are even here...I'm reall-" Tina's eyes begin to water as she cuts her sentence off before completely giving in and letting out a soft sob drawing attention to your table.

You look around seeing those who are aware of the situation looking at you either in confusion or with a stink eye at the situation "Hey hey, it's alright don't cry." After some time of you comforting her she finally stops crying.

"I just really wanted to spend time with you, I see you make time for the others all the time even more for petra and it's as if you've forgotten about me when before you and I would spend time together all day everyday." She quickly continues before you can start talking "I'm glad you all are getting along, I was afraid you wouldn't have any interest in them and ignore them but now I can't help but feel as if you'd prefer me gone and I hate that, I don't want you to leave me or for any of the others to leave I hate it so much."

Hearing this you go to deny what she's saying only to realize it's true, ever since the others started spending more time with you, you seemed to slowly drift away from Tina to the point that even when you do spend time with her you'd be talking about the others or keeping an eye on your phone waiting for any calls or messages from them even with Tina right in front you.

Sighing you scratch your index finger against the table "I didn't know you were thinking this, I'm sorry... I got so caught up with the others I didn't think about how you were feeling, I promise to spend more time with you."

At this Tina quickly looks back at you with a smile "Really!? " she says in excitement keeping her tone low as to not draw anymore attention then she already has upon nodding your head she immediately brightens up seeming to pounce slightly from happiness.

After that day Tina was in much higher moods compared to before when she seemed to only go through the motions even the others seemed pleasantly surprised at her sudden change, the only one who seemed to be the same being Jake but you do catch him giving you a gentle smile once in a while before looking away.

One thing that seemed to intensify though is her clinginess before when you could at least get a small moments peace is now non existent even in the restroom where she'll go with you, she now is the one to drive you home, that's if you're lucky since 90% of the time she takes you to her home despite promising to take you to your home.

Just be careful not to fall back into old habits it will not end well she will use many methods even locking you up in her room while also letting the others in on what's happening, Petra might be the only one to really show hesitation at the plan but will go along with it once she sees you aren't treated badly.

This is avoidable as long as you agree to pretty much give away all freedoms and anatomy with the illusion that you still have your freedom after all she is letting you go out and talk to your friends and family, allowing you to attend school, and most of all allowing everything in your life to continue on smoothly so you shouldn't have an issue with sacrificing a few of your freedoms for that right?

She could always take it all away without a second thought and have you completely isolated as to where the only contact you'll ever have is them so it'd be in your best interest to just go along with it whether you like it or not.

Request are open!

[leftoverenvy]

Contaminated - Part 5

Summary: Emily and JJ's marriage is in shambles, so Emily turns to an unlikely source of comfort: her student.  To add gasoline to the fire, Emily starts an affair.  A songfic inspired by Contaminated by BANKS.

Pairing: Emily Prentiss x OC; Prof! Emily x POC OC; Emily Prentiss x Jennifer "JJ" Jareau

Warnings: smut (18+); heavy angst; power dynamic; age gap (unspecified – but all over 18); power imbalance; professor - student; cheating; marital arguing

Word Count: 7k

Tumblr Masterlist | Wattpad

Taglist: @ssa-sapphic 🧸; @reidselle 🦭; @gaelic-symphony 🎻 ; @hotchs-bitch 🦆 ; @multiverse-mxdness 🧌 ; @madelineleong

Part 5

I didn't hear from Liv again that night.  I could see that she had read my text message asking her to come back, but she left me hanging all night.  And all the next day. I tried to push it from my mind.  She just needed a few days to reset.  We'd find our way back like we had before.

I thought I'd be able to signal to her in class that I wanted to apologize, that we could be more – it was just a little complicated right now.  But when Tuesday came, I scoured the lecture hall for her, and her usual seat was empty.  I tried not to let it get me too down.  I shouldn't care so much whether a student was in class.  But she wasn't just any student.  I needed to see with my own eyes that she was okay.  Her absence hurt more than the devastation on her face this weekend.

Wednesday, I immersed myself in grading and catching up on sociology journals.  I couldn't let myself think about Olivia and what she was feeling.  It was maddening that my consistent fling was now just as rocky as my marriage.  I chuckled darkly.  Hadn't I started an affair to get away from my crumbling marriage?

I sent Liv a text every morning.  I didn't want her to feel suffocated, but I also needed her to come back and let me explain myself.  It frustrated me that she wouldn't give me the chance.  Without Liv, my mind was too loud; without Liv, my bed was too cold.

On Thursday, I watched the doorway of the lecture hall like a hawk.  My intense gaze gave some students pause, but I couldn't bring myself to care what they thought of me.  I needed to see wildly curly hair and mocha skin – I needed to see brightly twinkling eyes and teasing lips.  When the ingress of students had slowed, I directed my eyes up to the clock hanging above the door.  The hands had struck the start of the hour; it was time to begin lecturing.

I sighed in disappointment and pulled my notes from my briefcase.  This week's lectures felt pointless without Liv staring at me from across the room with her distracting winks and smirks.  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  I had a duty to the other seventy or so students to be a good lecturer; Liv wasn't my only student.

Without bothering to look up from my notes, I greeted the class and started my lecture.  I heard a few students shuffling around, hurriedly pulling computers and notebooks out to take notes.  At least I wasn't the only one feeling unprepared for this lecture.  I internally rolled my eyes at how dramatic I was being and looked up to face this hall of students waiting for me to dive into today's material.

I stopped breathing.  There she was.  She must have slipped in while I was taking notes out of my briefcase.  Silence filled the lecture hall interrupted only by creaking seats and throats clearing from the awkward tension emanating from the front of the room. 

Liv looked miserable.  Dark rings surrounded her eyes, and her hair was thrown haphazardly on top of her head.  My brows furrowed in confusion.  She had walked out.  Why did she look so sad?

Throughout the lecture I tried to catch her eye, to apologize with my eyes.  But each time we made eye contact, she dropped her gaze to take overly careful notes.  Liv went from eye fucking me from across the room one week to averting her eyes any time I remotely looked in her direction today.  I was frustrated to be thwarted at every attempt to even look at her.  She was hiding from me. 

I had hoped to ask her to stay after class, but she left class 2 minutes early.  I couldn't stop class to ask her to stay in front of seventy-three other people.  I was desperate, but not that desperate.   After all, her ignoring me was far nicer than I deserved.

Over the next week, nothing changed.  She couldn't stand to look at me, and I couldn't get her to respond to any of my many text messages.  Even though I desperately needed to lose myself in her, I backed off.  She clearly wanted space, so I'd give that to her.

_ _ _

The following week, I thought I'd lose my mind.  I had driven to that spot out in the country where I fucked her in my backseat.  I put my favorite sad record on and laid down in the backseat to remember what I had had just a few weeks ago.  I always compared her eyes to the night sky.  Liv was my star, always shining brightly.  Sparkling.  Just like everything I touched, she was tarnished and gone.

Though Liv hadn't skipped any more classes, I knew better than to expect to see her sweet smile or lustful eyes.  Each afternoon, I started class by passing my eyes sadly over her section to check if she was there.  While lecturing, I swept my eyes over her, tracking how she was holding up.  Though not as haggard as the first day, she didn't look like herself; she looked about as well as I felt.  I tried my best not to stare at only her during class, though I was tempted every day.  Even sad, she was achingly beautiful. 

Towards the end of lecture, out of the corner of my eye I saw slight movement.  I would quickly glance over to Liv – as I always did – and then move on to whoever had raised their hand.  My eyes widened in shock to see Liv's hand in the air.  She oozed timidity: her shoulders were hunched, her arm half fell as soon as my eyes fell on her.  Her lip was caught between her teeth, biting it out of nerves.  I considered not calling on her, because to hear her voice again would be to open that wound back up.  I had only just gotten used to the idea of not talking to her.  But I needed her like an addiction.  I dismissed the ludicrous idea of not calling on her as quickly as it had entered my head.

"Yes, Miss Martin?"

"Um."  She cleared her throat unnecessarily.  "I'm getting hung up on law enforcement's reliance on forensics, especially in anticipation of trial, and what you'd do as a profiler when the forensic evidence isn't matching up with the psychological profile."  I leaned against the podium and slid my glasses halfway down my nose to look at her properly.  She sounded so fucking sexy speaking to me about forensics and profiling.  I could eat her alive.

I found myself back at this familiar crossroads.  Our fate, once again, rested in my selfish hands.  I felt like a sniper lying in wait, ready for her to step into my crosshairs so I could pull the trigger. 

The remaining five minutes of class were sufficient to answer this question in a satisfactory way for a freshman-level course.  But that wouldn't get me close to her again.  Calculated, like a true hunter, I heard myself answer, "See me in office hours."  Her eyes widened with panic.  Now it was her decision to make.  See me alone, or don't.  "Class dismissed."

Students started packing up quickly, happy to be let out early.  Meanwhile, Olivia sat frozen in her seat, her mouth hung open just slightly.  I shoved my notes back into my briefcase, grabbed my water bottle, and winked at her as I made my way to the exit.

I sat in my office, nerves inexplicably making my palms sweat and my stomach turn.  Would she really come?  What if she felt cornered into coming just to get her question answered?  Had I sacrificed her education just to get closer to her?  I had worked myself up so bad I nearly packed up to go home when she poked her head around the corner.

"Professor?"  I exhaled in relief.

"Ahh, Liv.  Come in, please."  I wiped my hands on my pants and gestured for her to have a seat in the chair across from my desk.  We stared awkwardly at each other, neither knowing how to break the ice.  She sat rigid in her chair, her backpack still clasped tightly in her hands.

"That was a very astute question you asked during class," I noted, figuring a little praise couldn't hurt.  She smiled slightly and relaxed into the chair, opening her backpack to pull some papers out.

"Thank you," she said cautiously.  This version of Liv was a stark departure from the one that had last entered my office.  Just a two weeks ago she had let me eat her out in the very chair she was currently sitting in.  The memory made me smirk softly.

I sat back in my chair and looked at her with an eyebrow raised.  "That isn't a topic covered in the assigned readings."  She didn't offer an explanation, so I further prompted, "So what drove you to inquire about this topic?"

"Well," she said sheepishly, "I actually chose this for my final paper topic…"

"Ahh," I interrupted in understanding.

"I was wondering…"  I only looked at her, eyes raking over her chest covered in tight, stretched cotton.  She trailed her words as she caught sight of my low gaze, her breath catching in her throat softly.

"Yes?" I asked, amused by how easily I could fluster her.

"Since this isn't a topic covered by our textbook, I was wondering if you could take a look at it before the due date and give some feedback?  I don't want to miss something more nuanced about this topic simply because I'm a freshman."

"Why choose it at all then?" I wondered aloud.

A smile teased at the corner of her mouth, and happiness tickled me like a feather.  I didn't dare let myself believe we would get back to normal so easily, but that smile hinted at a brighter future than the one I believed I had before she walked into my office.  "Perhaps you've noticed that my tastes are more…advanced than my peers."  Was she flirting?

Involuntarily, my head tilted slightly as if my growing smile forced it to.  "I do believe I've noticed that, Miss Martin."  I paused, trying to right the ship.  It was strange to be separated from her like this.  My desk had never felt like a barrier before.  In fact, I had bent her over it countless times before.  But today, it felt like a mountain between us.  It was a necessary reminder that she needed me to be her professor, not her lover.  She had come here for a legitimate, school-related reason – I needed to rein it in.

I motioned for her to hand me the paper.  I put my glasses on and flipped through the headings of the paper to get a feel for the direction she went in.  It was ambitious for a freshman, and I was excited to read it.  "I'll take a look at it this weekend."  I quickly grabbed a pen to write myself a note so I didn't forget to edit this for her.  "Thank you for being proactive and not waiting until the last minute.  You'll get much better feedback this way."

She nodded slowly, not saying anything else.  I sat back and looked at her over my glasses, silently gauging whether her school business was finished.  She looked so beautiful today. The cotton, green, wrap shirt hugged her chest so deliciously.  Though it was usually her habit, I bit at my lip because I longed to sink my teeth into her.  But that was off limits, so I settled for staring at her like a lion circling a wounded antelope.

I was itching to ask about us, about where we stood.  And all the while, I couldn't stop yearning to taste her.  So I stuck the end of the pen in my mouth to chew softly on the cap, wishing I was nibbling on her.  This pen would have to do.  She shifted her weight, clearly uneasy under my intense stare.  Her chest rose and fell heavily; I could hear her steady exhales.  I gripped the arms of my desk chair tightly while I continued to stare at her over my glasses.  I was about to lose my mind.  I wanted her.

She inhaled shakily and said, "I appreciate you taking the time to do that.  I know it wasn't marked in the syllabus that you would."  I hadn't included it in the syllabus because students never exercised the opportunity anyway.  I was, once again, impressed by the type of student she was.  "Thank you, Emily."  I took the use of my first name as a green light, a signal that it was safe to proceed away from school and talk about us.

I took my glasses off and set them gently on top of her paper.  I moved around the desk to sit in the chair next to her.  The conversation I wanted to have was not professional, and it would be awkward for her.  But I needed to be closer to her.

"Liv," I started.  "I'm sorry."

"Em, I-"

"Wait," I interrupted, holding a hand up.  I stood up and quietly closed my office door.  No curious ears needed to hear this conversation.

"I owe you an apology.  You can tell me to fuck off right after, and I won't bring it up again, I won't bring us up again.  But I'm sorry.  I never meant to string you along like that."

"Okay…" she trailed off, "So where does that leave us?"

"Wherever you want it to leave us."

She looked at me skeptically.  "So if I said I wanted nothing to do with you?"

A pang of hurt twisted my stomach.  "I'd mark your paper, email it back to you, and never speak to you again."

She grimaced, obviously not thrilled with that idea either.  "I don't know if I can go back to how things were."

"What do you want?" I asked.

"You," she whispered, looking down.

I steeled myself to start lying.  "You've got me."

"Can you promise me something?" she asked tentatively.

"Anything," I promised.  I knew this was dangerous territory.  I knew what she was about to ask, and I knew the next things I was about to say would be more lies.  But I needed this.  This time apart had been hell, and I'd do anything to take it back.

"Be with me," she begged.  "Leave your wife and be with me."

I needed to tread these waters carefully.  One misstep could be disastrous.  Again.  "You're so special to me," I whispered, cupping her face.

"Then take me out," she bulldozed, pushing my hand off her face.  "I'm tired of being your little secret."  I could tell she was getting worked up.  I needed her to calm down because I couldn't stand for her to leave again.  I'd say whatever to get her to calm down, to believe that I was committed to her.  I'd bend the truth to shape a future with her.

I sighed.  This was messy.  Things with Olivia weren't supposed to be this messy; they were supposed to be fun, easy.  "Gimme some time, baby."  I grabbed her hand and stroked the skin over her knuckles.  "I promise things are over with my wife."  She exhaled in relief.  "But these things take time." 

She looked away, her eyes flooding with tears I knew she'd fight tooth and nail to hold back.  "Hey, look at me," I cooed softly.  Tears slipped down her perfect face, and I wiped them for her.  "I need some trust here.  I'm in this with you.  I'm not trying to hide you away like a dirty secret.  It's just more complicated than how we feel about each other.  But you mean more to me than some cheap affair." 

"Okay."

My stomach twisted, not at the fact that I lied, but at the ease with which I was able to do so.  Before, I had lied by omission or fibbed gently.  And now I had looked her straight in the eye and lied – lied about what this was, what it meant to me.  But I just needed this a little bit longer.  Why start caring now when our entire relationship was built on a foundation of lies?

"I missed you," she admitted.

"I missed you, too, Liv."

"No, Emily.  I missed you." 

"Yeah?"  I smirked and leaned in to kiss her.  Like our first, I hovered my mouth over hers, waiting to see if she would pull away.  And like our first, she closed the distance and kissed me.

I sighed into her kiss, thankful for her second, second chance.  I pushed her back onto her chair and straddled her lap.  Her hands quickly untucked my shirt to touch any part of my bare skin that she could.  I continued to kiss her, lapping at her mouth relentlessly.  I had missed this.

I trailed my lips down her jaw, moving to suck on her earlobe.  "Emily please," she begged, panting into my neck.

"Please what?" I smirked.

"Don't tease.  It's been too long."  I stood up, pulling her with me and pushed her onto my desk.  I climbed up to hover over her.  "Shirt off, please," she asked, her fingers already pulling at my shirt.  I whipped my blazer off and pulled my shirt over my head.  She sighed at the feeling of my skin on hers.

I unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them down her hips halfway.  We'd have to make this quick; we had already taken off too many clothes for a fuck in a public place, but then she pulled her own shirt off, and I groaned.  She was delicious, and I would devour her.

I pushed my hand down her pants, the angle awkward from me not bothering to pull her jeans all the way off.  "Fuck me right now," she begged.  I pushed a finger between her lips, testing to see how wet she was. 

"Jesus," I hissed into her neck.  She was soaked.

As I pushed my fingers into her, she started moaning too loudly.  I didn't want us to get caught.  It had been a close call the first time we fucked in the office, and I didn't want a repeat.  "You know the rules, baby.  Be quiet."  Her mouth latched onto my collarbone.  As she got closer and closer, she sucked against my skin harder.  It started to get tender, but then I felt her nails dig into my skin, the sharp sting from the new lines down my back distracting me from the sting of my collarbone. 

I felt her stop breathing, her muscles coiling tightly.  She threw her head back – the soft thud against the wood making me wonder if it hurt – and gripped my shoulders roughly.  "God, Em," she whispered.  "That was incredible."  I pulled my fingers out of her, sucked her wetness off my fingers, and climbed off the desk.  I knew from the first time that it would be best not to linger in here with our clothes off. 

Once I had quickly dressed, I pulled her down to the edge of the desk and helped her settle back on her feet.  I pulled her jeans into place and buttoned them for her.  "Come over," I said, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.  I wasn't done with her.  "Stay the night with me tonight."

"I can't tonight," she pouted.  "I promised Kara we'd get dinner."

"Come over after," I tried again, nipping at her earlobe.  Into her ear I whispered, "I'll make it worth your while…"

She groaned, hips bucking into mine.  "Em, please.  I can't cancel again.  Tomorrow?"

"Definitely," I agreed.  I nipped a final time at her neck as payback for earlier; my collarbone was still a little sore.  I helped pull her top over her head, subtly pulling her tight shirt higher than it had been when she had first entered my office.

"Can I text you?"  Her nerves from earlier had returned.

"Of course, Liv.  Have fun tonight."  With a final kiss, she was walking out of my office, a sway in her hips that had been lacking the last week and a half.

_ _ _

I felt so much better after smoothing things over with Liv.  I came home a refreshed woman.  I hummed to myself as I got ready for bed, smoothing a restorative oil into my hair.  I idly wondered if I should stop dying it – the constant dying was badly damaging it.  In preparation for tomorrow, I smoothed my favorite lotion over my skin, knowing it would make my skin irresistibly soft.  As I stood up from putting lotion on my legs, I yelped in shock at seeing JJ's reflection in the mirror.

"Jesus!" I gasped, a hand flying to my pounding heart.  "JJ you scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry.  I thought you heard me coming."

"No," I snipped.  "I didn't.  What are you doing home?"

"I live here," she reminded me.  But she hadn't been home in about a month.  It hit me that I hadn't seen my wife in a month.  How had it taken me this long to realize?

"Right…" I mused.  Suddenly, I felt extremely vulnerable naked.  I reached for my robe to cover up, sensing a fight as one senses an approaching storm.  I saw the clouds darken in her eyes – I saw the moment when she registered the bruise on my collarbone.

Harshly, JJ asked, "You think you can cover that up?  You think I didn't already see it?"

"See what?"  But I knew what she meant.  I had felt the sting from the hot water of my shower on the scratches Liv etched into my back earlier this afternoon.  JJ had undoubtedly seen both.

"How long?" she demanded to know.  When I didn't respond, she crossed her arms.

"How long what?"  My mind was reeling.  I wasn't prepared for her to find out this way.  I hadn't prepared what I was going to say.

"How long?" she growled out.

I slumped against the counter.  This was the reckoning.  I had done this, and it was time to face the consequences.  "The first time?  Or when we really started the affair?"

"Does it matter?!" she asked incredulously.  I winced because no, no it didn't.

"Since December," I whispered, head down.

She chuckled humorlessly.  "God, Em! I" - she paused and shook her head in disbelief - "I can't believe you!"

I couldn't respond.  I couldn't believe it either.  I had known it was wrong from the start; I had no idea how I ended up here.  I put my head in my hand, my middle finger and thumb at the corners of my eyes trying to keep the tears at bay.  I had never been more frustrated with myself.

"Her or me."

I snapped my head up.  "What?" I hissed. 

She issued her ultimatum again: "Her or me, Emily.  This can't keep going on.  You made a promise to me."

I laughed in her face.  "A promise?" I repeated.  "What about your promise to me, JJ?  You don't think I've known about Will since December?"  She blanched, her eyes wide and darting back and forth between mine.

"I knew you were snooping through my phone!" she diverted.

"Are you kidding me?  You're mad about me finding out you were cheating because I saw your text messages?"

"So you just decided to throw away a year of marriage because I made a mistake?" 

Rage coiled inside of me.  "'A year of marriage?'" I asked in disbelief.  "JJ, we were together two years before that!  I'm not 'throwing away' anything."

"You cheated," she pointed out again.

"So did you!" I screamed back.  I was fed up with her double standard.  It didn't escape my notice either that every time she referred to Will, it was a "mistake," but I was cheating.  She had started this; I was incensed by the injustice.

"And that makes it okay?"

I deflated, moving into our bedroom to sit on the edge of the bed.  No.  Nothing excused this. "We aren't okay, Jayje," I whispered.

She sighed and sat next to me on the bed.  "I know."  I grabbed her hand, finally finding that anchor I had been looking for all those months ago.  It was reassuring to hear her acknowledge something was wrong.  It made me feel better to hear that it wasn't all in my head.

"I'm sorry."  I choked on emotion.  She didn't say anything.  "Can we fix this?  Are we too far gone?"

"I told you: her or me.  I need to know she isn't important to you.  You made a promise to me, a vow," she reminded again.  I looked down to our hands clasped together, the gold and silver of our wedding bands gleaming in the dim light.  That thin ring of metal could have been a two-ton sheet of steel for how it felt pressing against me.  It was a painful reminder I had broken our most sacred vow – it didn't matter that she broke it first.  I fucked up.

"I'll break it off, JJ.  Tomorrow.  I promise."

"Okay."

I waited a few seconds for her assurance that she would break things off with Will.  Nothing came.  "Jayje?"

"What?"

"…Are you going to break things off with Will?"

"Of course," she said through clenched teeth.  "I don't want to do it over the phone.  So I will next time I see him."

I nodded, getting lost in thought.  It all felt so daunting.  How did one go about fixing a marriage in shambles?  I couldn't remember how we had built something from nothing.  How could we build upon a foundation of rubble?  Wouldn't we always be cracked?  "We can do this, right JJ?"

"Right," she agreed.  But she sounded about as sure as I felt.

_ _ _

Of course I did not look forward to telling Liv this was over.  It was made even worse by the fact that just over 24 hours ago I had told her that she meant more to me than a fling.  There was no reason to lie to her like that, but I had.  This would be the last straw.  She'd never forgive me for this one.

I sat in my car, idling in the driveway, my hand resting on the gear shift.  I couldn't make myself put it into gear to go pick up Liv.  My phone buzzed on my lap, the message scrolling across the screen on my dash: "I'm outside. No rush"  I sighed and put the car in reverse and headed out.  I couldn't keep putting this off.  JJ had left for a case and would fly out to Will after the case to end things with him.  I had to do this for JJ, for us.  I owed it to JJ to try.  We had both promised to leave the affairs behind and move forward together.  That's what marriage meant.

When I pulled up in front of Liv's dorm, she slid in with a radiant smile and her usual, cheerful, "Hi!"  Her sweet innocence shattered my heart.  I had wanted to ruin her, but not like this.  I never wanted to shatter her completely.  "What's wrong?"  It felt like salt in the wound to know that she could read me so well.

"We have to end this."  Like ripping off a Band-Aid, it'd be better to be quick and direct.  She inhaled sharply but said nothing.  I didn't know how much I should tell her – how much she would want to know – so I just left it at that.  I would let her process as long as she needed.

"Why?" she whispered in horror. 

"This isn't appropriate."  It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't entirely truthful either.

"Don't."  The anger in her voice startled me.  She was always so gentle.  "Don't you lie to me Emily Prentiss.  Not after what you promised yesterday."

"I'm sorry," I told her honestly.  "I never meant for this to get so messy."  She scoffed.

Neither of us said anything for a few minutes; the smooth hum of the engine and her shaky exhales were the only sounds in the car.  "Why?  What happened to change everything in a day?"

"JJ came home," I admitted, "My wife," I corrected.  I realized I never told her JJ's name.  "And we're going to try to work through this."

"Does she know?  Does she know about me?"

"Yes."

"God!" she exclaimed in frustration, wiping harshly at the fresh tears on her face.  "What about me, Em?  Don't sit there and tell me you don't want this too."

"She's my wife, Liv."  Surely she could understand that that meant something, that I couldn't just throw that away lightly.  "I'm really sorry about yesterday.  I didn't mean to mislead you."

"Oh no!  How could I have possibly been misled by 'I promise things are over with my wife?'"  She paused for a millisecond and continued, "Oh, and let's not forget 'You're special to me; you mean more to me than some cheap affair.'"

Each of my own words thrown back at me felt like a slap in the face.  "I'll never be able to tell you how sorry I am."

"Then don't do this, Emily," she begged.  "We have something here.  You just have to let me in."

"I can't.  I have to do this, Liv.  I made her a promise."  I winced, waiting for her sharp words.

Softly, defeated, "You made me a promise too, Em."  Somehow her resigned, broken voice hurt me more than her anger.

I rested my elbow on the center console and put my head in my hand.  "I know, baby.  I'm so sorry."

"Is that all you're going to say?  It doesn't matter how sorry you are, Emily.  It hurts that you're choosing her over me."

"I have to try," I whispered.  For the first time, I looked into her eyes.  Those deep, chocolate eyes I loved so much.  "I'm sorry, Olivia.  I have to at least try to make things work with my wife."

"You swore it was over.  Just yesterday, you swore it was over."  The tears streamed down her face in earnest now.

"I thought it was," I said genuinely, but if I were her, I wouldn't believe me.  I had told her too many lies by this point.

"What changed?  Was it because I didn't come over last night?"

"No!" I rushed out.  I didn't want her thinking this was her fault.  She was such an angel, so innocent thinking this was on her.  "JJ came home last night, and we fought.  That's not new," I said as an afterthought, "But she found out about you, and we both agreed to try to move past this, to work on us."

"And your mind is made up?"  No.  I still wasn't convinced that JJ and I could move past this, but it wouldn't help Olivia move on to know that.

One final time, I lied. "Yes."

_ _ _

Seeing Olivia in class was awkward.  I didn't know where to look while I was lecturing.  I couldn't stare at her, no matter how badly I wanted to.  And lord did I want to.  She looked delicious wearing my favorite skirt.  It was the same skirt that had nearly ended my new career.

She strutted down the aisle after class, her endless legs on full display.  That skirt was indecent.  Because she was walking towards me, she was swaying her hips enticingly.  She knew exactly what she was doing.  If I had been a better woman, I wouldn't have let it get to me.

"Professor?  I have a question…"  She bit her lip and looked at me through heavy, flirty lashes.

"Unfortunately," I said packing up my bag, "I am in a rush.  Could you come up for office hours?"  The only rush I was in was to get her alone.

"Of course.  That's a great suggestion, Professor."  Her emphasis sent a shiver up my spine.  "I'll meet you up there," she said with a wink.  And then she turned on her heel and sauntered back up the aisle out of the classroom.  My palms itched to spank her.

I raced across campus and took the stairs up to my office two at a time.  I beat Liv to my office, but I kept my door closed.  I didn't want anyone thinking they were welcome.  I texted her to just come in when she got here.  Five minutes later, when I was about to text her again, she slipped in my office, closing the door behind her softly.

I didn't bother greeting her.  "You're in trouble."

"Why?!"  I stood up and crossed around the desk to grab her.  I pulled her close and captured her lips in a steamy kiss.  I sucked harshly at her lip while I kneaded her hip.

"This skirt," I said tugging on it lightly, "Is inappropriate for class."

She smirked, her eyes twinkling with mischief.  "Last time I checked, Professor, there was no dress code at Georgetown University."

"You were woefully misinformed, my dear."  I spun her around and pushed her front to my desk, bending her over.  "You see," I continued, backing away to get a better look at her.  "This skirt barely covers your ass."  I ran my fingers up her thighs, teasing her over her thong.

"I didn't know there was a sociology department uniform."

I flipped her skirt up, revealing her round ass to me.  I nearly moaned.  "I didn't know students got to talk back so brazenly to their professors."  I spanked her softly – I didn't need echoing slaps to draw anyone's attention to my office.  "My my, the code of conduct has really relaxed since I was a university student."

She pushed her hips back, looking for more.  "Perhaps the standards in New Haven are different than here in DC."  The corner of my mouth turned up into a half-smile realizing she had googled my resumé.

"Perhaps they are," I mused.  I pushed her thong to the side and traced a finger up her wet slit.  Leaning down, covering her body with my own, I whispered, "Don't you dare make a sound.  Do you understand?"

"I'll try," she whimpered.

I spanked her again, this time a little harder.  The loud slap made me wince.  I hoped these office walls were thick.  "You'd be wise to listen this time, Liv."  I pushed my fingers in her slowly.  I kissed along her ear and commanded, "Don't get us caught, baby."  And then I started moving my fingers.

She whimpered quietly, pressing her face down into my hard, wooden desk.  Her arms reached up to grip the edge of the desk, her fingers turning lighter from gripping so hard.  "Em!" she gasped softly.

After several minutes of driving into her, I felt her tensing.  "Come on baby," I coaxed, my other hand moving around to touch her clit.  "Cum for me."   She whimpered again, and I shushed her.

"It's no fair when you talk to me like that," she panted.  "How am I supposed to stay quiet when you do that?"

I smiled in pride, my ego loving that she was at my mercy.  "Try harder."  And then I curled my fingers how she liked and bit at her shoulder.

"Fuck!"

"Shh," I warned, "You don't want anyone to walk in here, now do you?"

"No," she moaned.  "Please, don't stop."

"Then be quiet for me.  You can cum if you're quiet, baby."

She clawed at the wooden desk, crumpling papers in her desperate hands.  "Em, god!  I'm so close!"  And then she went silent, her muscles clenching around my fingers rapidly.

I slowed my fingers to let her come down from her high.  She stood up, fixed her thong and skirt, and then sat on my desk in front of me.  I slid her legs open so I could step closer.  I tilted her chin up with my clean hand and then slid my fingers in her mouth.  If she could get my fingers all wet, she could clean them up.  She moaned around my fingers, her eyes closing as she sucked harder.

I wrenched my fingers out of her mouth and kissed her hard.  I poked my tongue in her mouth to get a taste of her; I would never get enough of her.

She pulled back.  "If this is what I get when I'm in trouble, maybe I should get in trouble more often."

I moved out of her embrace to sit in my office chair, smoothing out the papers she had creased.  She flopped back into the chair across from my desk, and asked, "Can we-"  A knock interrupted her question.

Both of our eyes widened.  I cleared my throat and pushed things back into place on my desk while Liv smoothed her hair down.  "Come in," I called.

"Emily I- Oh!"  Another department professor stopped.  "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were meeting with someone."

"Private conversation," I responded, hoping he'd leave quickly.

"I'll come back later," he said confused, looking back and forth between us.  But when he left, he didn't close the door behind him all the way.

"That was close," Liv whispered.  I nodded, incapable of saying anything else.  That had been incredibly stupid; we could have gotten caught so easily.  If he had knocked just two minutes before… "I better head out," Liv interrupted my spiral.

"I don't want to see that skirt again," I said icily.

"Ever?" she asked, a knowing gleam in her eye.

"At school," I amended, and she smirked.  "Come over later tonight," I told her.  I wasn't asking.

"Bossy," she teased, but smiled, nodded, and walked out of the office. 

That skirt had nearly gotten me fired.  She knew just how little self-control I had when she wore that skirt.  I knew exactly what she was doing.  Unfortunately, knowing what she was doing didn't seem to change anything.  The entire class period, I remembered what it had been like to bend her over my desk and fuck her raw.  For the entire class period, I reminded myself that she was off limits.  I had toyed with her enough.

_ _ _

Things were more awkward at home than they were in the classroom.  JJ was making an effort to be home more, which I appreciated.  But something was still off.  Kissing JJ felt wrong.  Her lips were too thin, her waist too bony.  Her hair was too straight, and her eyes too blue.  It was wrong to hold it against JJ for not being the woman I wanted.  After all, I should have wanted my wife.  But I didn't.

Every time we tried to kiss, it was clumsy.  Her lips no longer felt like home.  Hers weren't the hands I wanted grasping my biceps.  I hated how loudly she breathed while I was fucking her.  I resented how she didn't hold her breath when she was about to cum.  I tried desperately to push Liv from my mind, but the harder I tried not to think about her, the more frequently she'd pop up.  The only time JJ and I tried to reconnect, I nearly moaned "Olivia."

It wasn't working.  JJ and I fought just as much as we had before, only now I had no outlet to release that frustration.  We had all the same fights we had had months ago; nothing had changed.  There wasn't some magic resolution now that we had both committed to fixing this.  I was starting to think there was no fixing this.  She didn't seem as committed as I was to making sure we would still be together.  At this rate, I wasn't sure we would even make it six more months, but at least I could say I had tried everything to fix our marriage.

I spent two weeks confused why we were still so hostile towards each other; I spent two weeks missing Olivia's body.  It took two weeks to understand why JJ and I would never work this out. 

I had tried to rush out of the house that morning, recognizing I was going to be late to my first lecture.  Leaving lunch behind, I planned to return home later in the afternoon.  But when I did come back, I heard muffled noises from upstairs.  I had thought JJ would be at Quantico, so I went upstairs to check it out only to find a man pounding into my wife.

I stood in the doorway, a disbelieving laugh leaving my mouth inadvertently.  Will whipped around and JJ pulled the covers up to cover herself as if I hadn't also seen her naked body.

"Get. Out." I growled out to Will.

JJ started to protest, "You don't have to-"

"She'll call you later.  Now get the fuck out of my house."  He hurriedly pulled his jeans over his legs and rushed out of the room, his shirt still clutched in his hand.

"I can't believe you!" JJ said, ripping her own shirt over her head.

"ME?!"  I stood before her, my mouth dropped in incredulity.  "I guess those promises we made to each other didn't mean anything after all, did they?"  Without giving her a chance to respond, I walked out of the room and out of the house.

I hurriedly sent an email to my class rosters that afternoon classes were cancelled, and that I was sorry for the short notice.  I needed to see Liv, but I had burned that bridge.  I longed to go home, but JJ and I had burned us to the ground.  I had nothing to go home to.  I'd tried to have it all, and in the process, I'd lost everything.  I had lost JJ to a man whom I could never live up to.  I had lost Liv to my own selfish need to feel anything other than the pain JJ inflicted.  And I had lost myself along the way.

I couldn't fathom how I ended up here.  I no longer recognized who I had become.  But a recurring, familiar feeling crept over me.  I was utterly and completely alone.

_ _ _

Continue to next part

[asteriaspirit]

Call & Response

“Thanks for your patience. Eager to chat. All good on my end. What's your schedule this week?”

Maybe I should've expected it.

It wasn't unusual for Kenneth to disappear off the face of the earth for two or three weeks, complaining about work and deadlines and stress, before popping back into my life as if he had never left. These text messages between us were common place—more common that I would have liked to admit...or accept. And they always caught me off guard; just when I was at the point of leaving, of walking away and never looking back on our relationship for the past year, another one of these damned messages would ping my inbox and I would read it. All those traitorous butterflies would swoop and spin in my stomach and my brain would conveniently forget that he had been missing for two or three weeks—but almost a month this time.

I worry my bottom lip as I unlock my phone and set my thumbs to tapping out a quick reply.

“Hey. Glad to know you're okay—”

I groan, re-reading the words and knowing that if they sounded sarcastic in my head, there was no way they wouldn't sound the same in his. So, I delete the line.

“Hey,” I type for the second time. “I'm pretty free this week. I've got work coming up in two days—training a new girl—and then I'm off on vacation until next Friday. Are you in my neck of the woods?”

I read it over, read it a second time, read it a third time and contemplate adding an emoji or two, but, honestly, I can't be bothered. He leaves on these long trips to the West Coast and I don't hear hide nor hair of him. No snap-chat messages, no random emojis or pics sent via text message. There's nothing. He might as well be dead.

Hell, a few times I was convinced that I'd hear about his untimely demise from some friend that snoops through his messages and relays the ghastly news to all of his contacts.

I hesitate before pressing the send key and I'm thoroughly surprised when his response is quickly.

“Should be. I'm about five hours out right now. Hoping that the boss man sends me in your direction. Been missing you terribly.”

I snort. I know exactly what he's been missing. And...I don't blame him; I've missed him in the same manner, especially on nights when I got to go home early and the apartment was too quiet. Even when we did nothing but lay in the bed together and scroll on our phones, the company was always nice. It was appreciated. But how can he sit there and say he's missed me when he hasn't reached out once? Would it have been so hard to send a thumbs up to let me know everything was okay? That he was okay?

I crane my head to the left and then to the right, attempting to ease the strain that I can feel building at the base of my skull. It didn't used to be like this. There was a point in time when I looked forward to talking with him, to laughing with him and learning about him, but that was...quite some time ago. I doubt we'll ever return to those simple and easy mannerisms again.

And that's a shame.

“Well,” I find myself typing after nibbling on my bottom lip for much too long. “Let me know when you're here and I'll do what I can to make it work out.”

The smiley-face I send him is in good faith. There's no subtext, no hidden meaning to it. I will do what I can to make sure that we have at least one night together. Even if he annoys me, there is a craving that we share that must be sated and I'd be a fool to ignore it for any longer than I already have. Granted, it's his fault that it's been ignored, pushed to the wayside and forcibly forgotten. And now that he's return, it too has reared its ugly head. It feels hungry and vicious inside of me. I wonder if it tugs at him in the same manner that it does me...

The phone dings a third time and I stop gathering my things from the passenger seat to peek at it. Surely he's not still talking, right?

“I apologize again for being out of touch,” the messages states and I can feel my eyebrows lifting. He is not the type of person to apologize directly. There's always a reason behind the apology. He was running late, he forgot something at his hotel, he didn't know that we were meeting an hour before and not an hour later, etcetera. I accept these words, swallow them down and force them to fill this hole that he's made of me; a hole that can only be filled by him.

“I've had a crazy time out west, but not in a good way. It's been...pretty stressful. And I'm hoping that I can relax for a few days and we can get back into our regular routine before I'm gone again. Shouldn't be gone long this time, only a few days. And then I should be back more next month. A lot more than I have been.”

I exhale slowly. Because I've heard these words before—I've read these exact phrases before and I don't want to get my hopes up. I don't want to throw logs onto the budding embers of hope and have it all blow up in my face a third time. Honestly, it's probably been more times than that, but I don't want to think about all the times my heart has overruled my brain and left everyone confused when the outcome was the same.

“I completely understand that,” I type back while nodding to myself. “I've been working like a dog and there's all this shit happening at work—lots of turnover. I've been out of sorts too. So, if you're feeling low, don't worry about us linking up. It's no big deal.”

The hole inside my stomach yawns and growls in disagreement. I can feel sweat begin to bead along my upper lip even though the dashboard reads that outside of my tiny Versa Note, it is a cool 53° Fahrenheit. I shouldn't feel warm, I shouldn't feel achy or even teary-eyed as I press the send button.

I reach toward the driver's side door handle and pull it open when the phone dings a fourth time.

At this point, I'm never getting out of the car.

...And it's that thought that forces me out of the car.

If he was so intent on speaking to me, then he could wait until I've gotten in and settled down from work. After all, this normally happened the other way around; me waiting on a response from him about...whatever. The time we were meeting up, the place where he wanted to hang out for the night; he'd tell me these things last minute and then expect me to just appear there as if I had some cosmic powers of teleportation.

It wouldn't kill him to wait on a reply from me. No more than it killed me the past three weeks waiting on him.

I'm thankful that I live on the first floor of the apartment building. I don't have the energy to climb up stairs tonight and I shoulder open my front door while attempting to stop myself from yawning. I can almost feel the soft cushions of the bed beneath me, but there's things I have to do before I can succumb to the blissful void of slumber.

Bags get thrown onto one end of my couch, I toe off my gym shoes and shrug out of my jacket before hanging it up. I make sure the front door is locked before I find myself slumping down on the couch as well, a groan of satisfaction tumbling from between my teeth. Oh, it felt amazing to be home.

“Thanks for that,” his message reads, “but I want to get back to our routine. As long as you do as well? Everything okay? You seem mopey.”

I squint at the phone between my palms and tip my head slightly to the side. Mopey? Did my words really convey the “mopey” feeling? I scroll quickly, reread a few lines, and snort to myself again. He was hearing what he wanted to hear. Definitely.

“Eh,” I type by way of response while shrugging my shoulders in the same moment. “I've just got a lot going on right now. Not really mopey. Just tired.”

“Are you sure? You didn't backslide while I was gone, did you? Or, maybe you got your feelings hurt because I was out of touch for so long?”

I clench my jaw and allow the phone to slip from my hands and land on the cushion next to me. He had some amount of nerve saying those words to me. Get my feelings hurt? Of course I got my feelings hurt! I didn't know if he was alive or wrapped around a tree! What if he fell between the cracks in an earthquake or a steel beam fell from one of the buildings he was working on and impaled him?! I wouldn't even know!!

Rubbing my hands up and down my face, I sigh and attempt to push past the violent emotion that swirls unbidden in my chest. I have half a mind to call him, to tell him how much his lack of communication really pissed me off, but it's late and I don't want to end the night on a sour note. So, instead, I close my eyes and count backward from ten.

...I'm feeling marginally better by the time I hit two.

“Just got a lot on my brain,” I type back to him, the words leaking from my fingers slowly. I wonder how much I should tell him. Does he really care about what's going on here, with me and my job, or is this just filler to take up the time between now and whenever he finally lays down to sleep? Maybe keeping it lighter is the better idea.

“No backsliding,” I type after a pause. “No one to backslide with.” And I end the sentence with an smiley face sticking their tongue out at the viewer.

And...he doesn't reply. Not immediately.

I've gone through my purse, taken out receipts and change and even put on pajamas before I find myself back at my couch, phone in hand, a new message waiting to be read.

“For future reference,” he says, “if you're trying to make yourself sound extra good to your Sir, saying a shortage of playmates is why you haven't been bad isn't the best angle to take...”

...I hate that he can read between the lines. I hate that he can pick up my subtext without even trying. I hate that sometimes it feels like he knows me better than I know myself. I hate playing catch-up with him and he's always

in the lead, never giving me an ounce of room to make a single mistake. And, most of all, I hate that I like it so...fucking...much.

I clear my throat, willing the cocktail of embarrassment and arousal to subside before I attempt to reply to him.

“That wasn't my intention,” I type, but I don't get far before I'm erasing the sentence. He would know if I'm lying.

There is no excuse that I can give him, no explanation that would sound good either from my tongue or my fingers. There's only the truth and I am laid bare because of it. He was right when he mentioned that I was in my feelings about him being gone. I was. I am.

I am not a creature that enjoys being alone.

I'm still floundering with what to type to him, how to salvage this situation, when the phone dings in my hands. My gaze is drawn to the screen and his words.

“I'll let you know when I pull in. Dunno if it'll be tonight or tomorrow. But I'll keep you informed.”

“Okay,” I quickly type back. “Thanks. I'll see you when you get here.”

“You will.”

Against all better judgment, I allow myself to hope.

[glass-throat]

disowned memories

au where mikasa and levi attach themselves to each other. this universe is all over the place so anything goes.

About a week into training, Jean had attempted to approach Mikasa. He thought of her to be the most beautiful girl he had even seen. He had an issue with trying to find Mikasa when she was alone before he could talk to her. 

He watched as she made a gesture towards Armin that she was going to follow Eren out of the mess hall. Jean looked around said mess hall - everyone was distracted with cleaning or talking to others so this was his chance. He could finally talk to her without any interruptions.

Mikasa had very strange friends, Jean thought. He didn’t really like Eren. Armin seemed like a really nice kid, but there was that one guy though.

No matter how many times he made sure that nobody was watching him, as soon as he glanced at her direction, those little eyes were already watching him. Jean was always the first one to break eye contact but dear Sina, he couldn’t help it. It was like he was being watched by a monster. The only thing that was missing was the snarling teeth but he didn’t even need it to be threatening.

Was he her boyfriend?

It did make sense. Someone as attractive as Mikasa wouldn’t be single for long. If Jean had a girlfriend like that, he’d fight tooth and nail to keep men away from her too. He mentally nodded in understanding.

Jean watched as she disposed of her food tray to follow Eren out of the small building. Jean quickly repeated her actions and made his way towards her. If he wanted to talk to her, this was the only time. Even if that guy was her boyfriend, he wanted to at least introduce himself so she’d have a name to his face.

“Hey, yo-” he called out before he cut himself off. He felt something hard shove into his side violently. He stopped in his tracks to see what he bumped into when he noticed that it was actually a person.

It was him.

There was no exchange of words. There didn’t need to be. The shorter guy was giving him that same look from before. Jean had two options: break eye contact and walk away or man up and take the bait. He looked at him to see that he was now standing in front of him, as if waiting for him to make a decision.

Jean could probably take him. He had heard from others how fast this guy picked up on things in training but they were all teenagers, so there was a chance they were exaggerated rumors.

“What do you want.”

Jean noted that it wasn’t even a question, that this guy was already demanding him to answer him.

“I just wanted to get to know Mikasa,” he replied carefully.

“You already know her name. What else do you need?”

Straight to the point. Jean mentally rolled his eyes. 

“I just wanted to compliment her, get to know her. I’ve seen her around and she seems like a pleasant person,” Jean rambled.

Levi lifted a brow in amusement. “You wanted to compliment her? You don’t think that’s a weird thing to do, especially if you don’t know the person?”

“How’s that weird? I just want to tell her that I like her hair. That’s not weird.”

“You being convinced that that’s not weird tells me everything I need to know about you, besides the fact that you watch her all the time and you think we don’t notice. Everyone’s too nice to say anything but I’ll say it. It’s fucking weird and creepy that you watch her. You’re making her uncomfortable. There’s a reason she hasn’t approached you.”

Jean wanted to sigh in disappointment. He thought he was going to be able to talk to Mikasa but he wasn’t fast enough. He didn’t even know why he told him that. 

“I didn’t mean for it to be that obvious but of course I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable. I just think she’s so pretty and sometimes it’s hard to look away. I mean, she’s quiet. I’ve only heard her talk maybe once? Nothing gets to her. I’ve seen some of the guys fight each other for fun and she doesn’t even bat an eye.”

“I can tell you right now that she’s definitely not interested. She’s too busy being up Eren’s ass to notice anybody else. You probably don’t even exist to her.”

Before Jean could come up with a comeback, he was already walking away.

He let out a sigh and felt a hand land on his shoulder. He turned and saw that it was Marco. With a sympathetic smile, Marco said, “don’t take it too hard. I don’t think she notices anyone outside of her circle of friends. It’s hard to get along with people like that.”

Jean rubbed his face in frustration. “Maybe he’s right.”

-------

It had been a few weeks since they moved into their camp. It was supper and the squad had assumed their usual positions: Armin and Eren next to one another while Mikasa and Levi sat across the table from them. Levi stared at Jean from across the hall. Jean had assumed that because he was far away enough, no one would notice.

Levi looked over at Mikasa and noticed that she hadn’t touched her food. She wasn’t engaged in a conversation with the boys because they started talking about the stars and shapes in these stars and Mikasa was staring off into space.

He nudged her knee subtly with his own, “oi, what’s wrong?”

She hummed in response. “It’s nothing,” she spoke, taking a sip of her water.

Levi made a face, “you haven’t touched your plate since we got here. You can’t be strong enough to protect Eren if you don’t eat,” he poked.

She lets out an annoyed scoff, “I’m not a child,” finally looking at him.  

“Then don’t fucking act like one and eat.”

There was a slight hesitation before she asked, “have you noticed anything weird about them?”Levi raised a brow. He wasn’t sure who she meant.

“That group over there. Two blonds and the tall one on the far left.”

Levi followed her gaze with his eyes, trailing back to the group she mentioned. The blonde girl kept to herself and looked more miserable than Shadis. The bulky blond boy in front of her was having a conversation with himself it seemed and the dark brunette on his side was sweating profusely, despite the cool air around them. Levi felt his lip curl in disgust at the gross boy.

“What about them?”

“I’m not sure,” she sighed, “something’s off and I can’t shake it. Like I’ve never seen that white shirt thing she’s wearing. It’s weird because it has the hood from a cloak but it’s not a cloak.”

Levi did make a note of the strange apparel earlier but he wasn’t really one for fashion so he had assumed it was a fad he had missed.

“Maybe you’re jealous? I heard that Eren was trying to befriend her,” he commented lightly as he watched her pick at a small piece of bread.

She rolled her eyes. “I already know about that. But it’s not it.”

“You can’t just ostracize them because they’re a little weird.”

“It’s just strange. All these kids came in all over the place and they all come from different backgrounds but something about them just feels different. Maybe they haven’t encountered an actual Titan yet, but they don’t talk about the future like everyone here does. With a sense of dread or fear. I can’t put my finger on it but that’s why I feel weird about them.”

“I was listening to what you were saying and I do understand what you’re trying to say but you also said a whole bunch of vague shit. Just keep to yourself and we’ll be fine. I’m not too hot about them either. That brunette over there keeps trying to make passes at your dumbass and you don’t do anything about it.”

She shrugged. “He just says hi to me every once in a while.”

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

“What’s with them?”

“What the fuck Jean? What do you want?”

“Hi Jean. What do you mean?”

“Mikasa and Levi. What are they?”

“What’s it to you? Mikasa’s out of your league and Levi would never let you near her.”

“Eren, be nice. They’re really close friends. They have a special bond.”

“Close friends. A special bond? So they’re married or something?”

“If Levi could, he would’ve done it by now.”

“That’s true but they’re not. They’re just very close friends. I think they’re closer than you and Mikasa are.”

“So they’re not married or related?”

“You thought they were related?”

“What? Everyone’s convinced.”

“That would explain so much.”

“So they’re not?”

“No. They just happen to be very similar.”

“It’s really none of your business. If you’re that curious, then you ask them yourself.”

-------

When news broke of Wall Rose being breached, the 104th trainees were put into squads. Levi and Mikasa are both assigned to the front vanguard and while Levi was elated that he was going to be able to be near Mikasa, he couldn’t help but feel worried with both him and Mikasa on the same team that something was going to happen to the other two.

When Levi first met Mikasa, he couldn’t care less about her friends. Since the fall of Wall Maria, they had all connected through the trauma of losing everything. The two boys had managed to squeeze a spot in his heart. Even Hannes managed to make him crack a smile or two. Eren was on thin ice, though. His attitude was very hard to get over sometimes. Levi appreciated the energy but he disliked how Eren had treated those around him. He recalled the last few times he had to intervene between him and Mikasa because of Eren’s recklessness. The way Eren treated Mikasa made his blood boil. He knew Mikasa could handle herself but she would let Eren walk all over her until she was in tears.

Levi was planted on the ground, reaching for his toes in a last minute attempt at stretching before they headed out when Mikasa approached him.

He looked up at her, feeling his back pop.

“Don’t die,” he told Mikasa.

Mikasa gave a slight smile, “that’s funny. I told Eren the same thing.”

“I’m serious. I didn’t graduate just to have you die on me.”

“I thought you gave your heart to humanity,” Mikasa asked sarcastically.

“You and I both know that’s not true.”

Mikasa stayed silent.

There were some yells to grab attention. The small group turned towards Ian awaiting instructions.

“All right soldiers! Let’s go to the front and help the rest of the civilians evacuate! Schmidt, Koch, Brzenska and myself will take the left. The rest of you will take to the right. We’ll start in the middle and work our way down to the base! Remember that the civilians are our first priority! Let’s head out!”

Most of the soldiers gave a battle cry before setting out to their assigned areas.

-----

When Armin delivered the news of the death of his squad, Levi felt his breath caught in his throat. He had thought that Eren would at least make it to his twenties before meeting an unnatural cause of death. The news was upsetting to him. He quickly pushed the pain to the back of his head, keeping it tucked away for a different time, a time much quieter and less compromised.

Levi could tell that Mikasa wasn’t handling it very well. He stood behind her and faced Armin directly. He didn’t need to see her face to know that she was hurting. He had a small thought that she was going to lash out at Armin for letting it happen but he knew she was better than that.

He watched as she laid a hand on Armin’s shoulder in a comforting gesture and told him everything was going to be fine. Mikasa wasn’t good with her words but she made sure that whatever she was feeling, she would display it through her actions. Levi had wanted to talk with her to make sure that her head was clear enough to clear their objective but he put all his faith in her will to make it through herself. They didn’t have the luxury of time to talk about their feelings right now.

Mikasa stood and walked to the edge of the roof the rest of the squad stood on. Armin looked at Levi in confusion and gestured to Mikasa. Levi took it as Armin asking him to keep an eye on her. He nodded in response before walking up to the boy and lowered himself to a squat.

“I don’t know what happened, but given the situation that we’re in, the best thing we can do is fight. It’s what Eren would’ve done.”

“I know,” Armin replied with a sniffle. “Everything just happened so fast and he would still be here if he didn’t bother to save me.”

“But you wouldn’t be here if he didn’t save you. He didn’t save you just so you could regret living. Don’t take it too hard. This is the first time you’re fighting against these giant bastards. Just take this as a lesson and don’t freeze up again. Don’t let Eren’s death be for nothing.”

Armin stared at the rooftop. There was a pregnant pause before Armin made eye contact with Levi and nodded in agreement.

“Try to use that big brain of yours and figure out how we can get out of this mess,” Levi said before standing.

He looked over at the strange trio from before. He raised a brow when he could see that the two blonds were speaking quietly. He couldn’t read lips but he could see that Marco may have heard them because of the strange face he made.

He was going to ask him about it later.

------

After her speech, Levi was the first to follow her. The rest were not too far behind them. He could tell she was planning something.

Mikasa took down the Titans as soon as she saw them so she cleared the way for others to follow. There were a few Titans here and there that appeared behind her it wasn’t difficult getting past them.

“Oi!” He called out to her. She didn’t pay him any attention.

“Mikasa calm down! Don’t waste your gas!”

Just as he said that, the girl in front of him fell.

In what he would deem poetic, Mikasa had looked like what Lucifer had - a fallen angel. The parted clouds in the sky made her dark hair almost glow from the low sunlight. He watched as her body gracefully bounced from a rooftop and fell out of sight. He kept note of where he had last seen her and veered off course from the tower.

“Mikasa!” He could hear Armin call out.

“I’ll get her! Keep going and we’ll meet you guys there!” Levi yelled, not leaving room for argument.

Levi was hoping that Mikasa had landed in a safe place so he could talk some damn sense into her. He understood that it must be painful for her to lose Eren, but a part of Levi had thought this might help her grow. He had always thought of Eren as someone stunting Mikasa’s growth. He wasn’t great with words but she made him want to try.

When he found her, she was on her knees.

He used a short burst of gas to boost himself and landed next to her. She didn’t even react to his presence so he planted his foot on her arm and pushed her to the ground. She didn’t even look at him.

“Get up.”

No response.

“Oi! I’m talking to you.”

She still ignored him. Her dull eyes continued to look at the space behind him. She was going to look at him whether she wanted to or not.

He kicked her in the stomach. She finally acknowledged him.

Levi got on one knee. He could hear the thundering footsteps from behind him. They sounded a little distant so he had some time.

“He’s gone. Dead. You have to accept that. Armin watched him die and look at him. Eren wouldn’t want you to kill yourself for him. If you die now, who’s gonna kill the Titans? You can’t shut down like this. They need you. I need you. If you won’t fight for him, the others, or humanity even, fight for me. You can trust me to take care of myself. It’s going to take a lot more than a giant fuck to kill me and you know that. Don’t let these big dumbasses get to you.”

Levi couldn’t feel the footsteps anymore and made a move to grab Mikasa before he saw that she had already picked herself up and dodged the giant hand. She almost looked surprised herself. He looked at the building behind her. There was another Titan approaching them.

“See? Your body still wants to fight. You need to want to fight too.”

“He’s not alive anymore. What am I supposed to do? I promised his mom that I would protect him and I couldn’t even do that.”

“Fight. You have to fucking fight! Find another purpose! What else are you supposed to do? You can’t honor his death if you’re dead! He wanted to kill all the Titans, right? It’s up to us to see it through! We’re going to kill all these fuckers and see that goddamn ocean in his honor. You’re the Mikasa Ackerman! You have to fucking fight! If you need a purpose, if you need someone to keep you grounded, let me be that person for you. You know me better than anyone else. I can help you through this if you let me in. I’ll fight for you if you fight for me.”

Something in his words woke her up. The light came back in her eyes and she was suddenly on her feet. There was no time to celebrate so Levi grabbed her by the waist and took them to the farthest rooftop.

“Now that you’re done throwing your tantrum, let’s get out of here. I don’t think I have enough gas-”

Levi paused when he heard the loud sound of bones breaking. He turned around to see one of the Titans had just thrown a punch.

“Is it fighting the other Titan?

“What’s going on, Levi? Can they do that? Were there others....”

“No. I didn’t hear anything about it. I’ve never seen anyone else with the same ability.”

“So there’s a possibility that this one might be a shifter too?”

“Maybe? I don’t think now is the right time to think about it.”

“There’s a chance this one might be willing to help us. How do we know it’s not someone we know?”

“Like I said, I don’t know. We gotta go. We can talk about it on the way over there.. Get on my back.”

[anemonelovesfiction]

Summoning A Succubus 2

Succubus Tsireya x Fem! Human Reader

Warnings ⚠️: Teasing, Begging, Fingering, Tribbing

Came to me while I was working and I figured why not write a part two? Maybe people will enjoy this as well?

Middle picture is from @waiting4avatar

Not proofread

<< Previous Chapter

Translation Station

Rutxe: Please

Tewng: Loincloth

Srane: Yes

Ngaytxoa: Sorry; My Apologies

Yawne: Beloved

Txotsafya: If that’s the case; If that’s so

Sevin’eve: Pretty Girl

Yawntu: Loved one

Word Count: 2.5 k

“Come on, you can do it, go faster.” Her words are demanding and all I can do it try, but the wobble in my legs was starting to catch up to me and I could feel myself struggling to ride her fingers any faster than I currently was, if I did I’d probably topple over.

“I-I can’t,” I finally muttered after thinking long and hard about the correct words to speak in her native tongue.

“Awe, that’s too bad.” She murmurs as she leans down to kiss my forehead and withdraws her fingers from my sopping cunt.

“No no, please put them back in, I was close!” I ramble, not having realized that although I was standing, my legs were shaking bad, I held my dress in the palms of my hand exposing myself to her.

“Mhm,” She hums absentmindedly as she shoves the fingers she’d had inside me, into her own mouth, sucking on my essence while maintaining eye contact.

“Please,” I whine, her eyes rake down my body before bringing them back up to make direct eye contact with me, a small smirk playing at her lips as she takes her fingers out of her mouth, sticking her tongue out to sensually lick between her fingers.

“Why should I?” She asks as the crystalline beads of her top capture the rays of sunlight and sparkles flow into my room.

I groaned aloud, watching as her pointed ears flicker at the sound, sticking straight up toward me so she can hear me better, I could only bite my lip as a wince rips through my lips, scrunching up my dress in my palms while waiting for her future instructions.

She had been visiting me for months on end, I had clearly become some kind of stress relief for her, but the feeling was mutual. But we didn’t always have sex when she visited, she would teach me about her culture, her life, and even her language, the one we were currently speaking at the moment.

“Because I’ve been good-“

“Not from what I saw.” She cuts me off and the skin if her brows relaxes, almost resting-bitch but not quite.

“I’ve been good up until that point.” I admit, feeling how warm my center was, just aching to have her fingers or her tongue shoved inside, begging for release.

I had grown impatient with her sporadic visitation the past couple of weeks and was feeling rather horny this morning. I was unsure if she was even able to visit today given her busy life, but was surprised to see her sitting on my office chair and watching me shove my fingers inside myself. I’d only opened my eyes because I’d felt as though I was being watched, my fingers sliding out as a scream ripped through my throat to find her sitting there and smiling, attempting to shove my dress down to cover myself and a heat spreading on my face, embarrassment washing over me.

“Then you have not been good.” She states sensually, leaning down close to me and placing the tips of her fingers under my chin, the sensation bringing me to stiffen my body as I stared into her eyes.

“Rutxe ‘Reya,” I begged and see her eyes soften as she coo’s at me.

“Lay down,” She instructs in English, accent rich, I could only focus on how her words did so much to me, heart rate quickening as she spoke, my mind going fuzzy as I attempted to focus, but being giddy at the same time as I lied down on the bed, spreading my legs without her having to tell me.

I just laid there watching her walk around the bed until she stood at the end, she turns around slowly and I can feel myself clench around nothing, she seductively slides her tewng off, sliding it off her body smoothly, leaving me to wonder how she’d managed such a great body. I could see her nipples had hardened underneath her crystalline and shelled top she had worked so hard to make the very first day she came here.

She sensually picks her leg up and places her knee right next to my hip, using her hand to steady herself, placing it next to my head and repeating the process with her other leg, leaning down to place a sweet kiss on my lips, tongue darting out to gently caress my bottom lip, silently asking for permission, something she knew she didn’t have to do.

I opened my mouth for her to shove her to guess deep in my mouth, swirling it around my own, not having to fight for dominance, I knew where I stood with her. I could only gasp as one of her hands had come into contact with my clothed breast, thumb flicking the hardened nub underneath my dress.

“You’ve been a bad girl,” Tsireya mutters as her lips attack my neck, tongue sticking out to lick across the sensitive flesh and causing me to moan aloud.

I attempt to close my legs together to gain any sense of friction I can to apply to my clit, but am met with a slap to the thigh from the hand that once held my breast, her face backing up as the skin of her brow is furrowed together making her appear angry, I could only bite my bottom lip as an answer but understood what she had been conveying, feeling her hand pry my thighs apart before speedily placing one of her fingers into my core.

“Tsireya!” I stated in a shocked moan as I feel her slip inside so nicely, one of her fingers felt like two of my own, and she’s made me see stars on more than one occasion with one finger alone.

“Srane?” She teases as she slowly slides her finger back out, ensuring to run the tip across my G-spot as she did so, her sweet face breaking out to a smirk.

“Please don’t tease-“ I gasp as she rams her finger back in, not having expected her to have been so rough, I could barely pick up that I’d spoken English before she brings her finger out and shoves it back in.

“Ngaytxoa,” I apologize quickly, catching my mistake before she could correct me, I had to learn Na’Vi in order to understand the rest of the spell book I’s bought and she had been gracious enough to teach me, but it came with a small price, and every time I spoke in English I’d get a slight punishment out of it.

It hadn’t occurred to me that it had been a while since I last felt her tongue on me, until a squeak had left my lips as she licks my clit with her textured tongue, my body reacting in two ways.

First jumping up and wanting to get away from the foreign feeling of her the texture, sending my clit into overdrive with sensitivity. And Secondly, regretting having pulled away from her as I loved the way her tongue could stroke my bundle of nerves and bring me closer to an orgasm. I could only whine once I realized she wasn’t licking me like I’d wanted her to.

“Look at you, yawne.” Her voice is sickeningly sweet as she coos, my face tilting downwards to capture her eyes above my pussy, I could tell she had been smirking, but before I could comment on it she had decided that now was the time to send another shock through my nervous system as she licked my clit once more.

“Fuck,” I whispered under my breath, unsure if she had caught it but glad she had decided to continue licking her prized possession, feeling jolts of electricity shoot their way up and down my spine as she continues without ceasing.

“Reya!” I toss my head back as my hand sneaks up toward her beautifully braided hair, grasping onto it like my life depended on it and started grinding my hips up against the flat of her nose, feeling more pleasure than before, until she places her hands on my hips to stop them from moving, no longer fingering me, her mouth coming off of me as well and a whine building in the back of my throat but I don’t dare release it.

“I’d like to try something on you,” she states rather simply as her hands leave my body, my whine coming out at this point as I didn’t want her to stop touching me, her smirk returning on her lips as she stares down at me.

“I think it will be worth your time,” She smiles and hums at the same time, leaving my imagination to run wild as to what it was we could possibly be doing, but my mind draws a blank as soon as I see her shuffle herself near the edge of the bed, seeing as she readjusts herself so her legs tangle with mine.

She can see my confused face and only smiles, reaching between our bodies with her long hand and tilting my chin up.

“Do you trust me?” She asks and all I could do was nod immediately, I didn’t have to second guess if I could trust her, she has given me every reason to trust from the moment I met her- even if it wasn’t under traditional circumstances.

“Good girl,” She smiles at me before adjusting my hips and adjusting hers, I could feel the lips of our pussies spreading one another's open as she ground her hips softly. I raised a brow to try and understand where this was leading to until I felt the friction of her hardened bud slide up against mine.

Her moan breaks through my thought process before I realize I’m copying her with my own, my hips desperate to feel that sensation again quickly humping against her before she grabs a hold of then, almost bending herself in half.

“Rutxe-“ I begged and continued to fight her hands as I attempted to move my hips, ending in a pathetic attempt of a rut against her hips and feeling nothing from it.

“We have to go slow, yawne.” She speaks softly and it gets me to stop my movements.

“Like this,” She demonstrates as she pushes her hips against mine, her clit once again finding mine and rubbing deliciously against it, my legs starting to shake from the lack of continuous pleasure only to slowly move my hips against hers, feeling as our hardened buds pass by each other.

“Txotsafya,” I mutter as I refrain from moving my hips too quickly, desperate for release but understanding that it’ll take time if we’re in this position.

“Slow and steady,” She mumbles and I nod as our hips move in unison and I cry out once more.

“Are you close already?” She teases as I begin to pant, feeling close to my orgasm but not close enough, wanting to feel her rubbing up against my body non-stop.

“How’s this pace?” She asks sweetly as she picks up her pace, managing to move her hips at the perfect rhythm for me to enjoy, throwing my head back with a long moan as I grasp the sheets to give me a sense of grounding myself.

“Sevin’eve,” Tsireya speaks and causes my face to heat up at her comment, feeling like the prettiest of girls every time I had been with her due to her constant reminders.

“I’m close-“ I gasp in a breath of air as I feel my hips starting to rut with a mind of their own, feeling my eyes closed tightly as she continues thrusting her own hips against mine, I felt my dress slipping and rapidly reached for it, grasping it in the palms of my hand, not caring if the fabric of the dress had wrinkled, even after having spent the night before ironing it.

“I want you to look at me, yawntu.” She speaks and its as if my body lived to serve her, feeling my eyes being pried open my the sheer force of wanting to please her, seeing her turquoise eyes as a raging ocean at this moment, wanting nothing more than for both of us to come.

“Come for me,” She speaks and I bite my lip to muffle my moan, a sharp cry coming as her hips continue to move against my own during my orgasm, a sense of bliss running through me and feeling my eyes closing themselves once more.

_________

I rushed my feet down the pavement as I finally reach for the door of the building I worked at, being thankful I lived a walking distance from it and didn’t have to worry about finding parking on such a busy street, and knowing there was nothing in the parking garage. I rushed toward the time-clock area and punch my employee number in, glad to see I had come back on time, a deep sigh leaving my body as I relax a bit.

“Where did you go for lunch today?” My coworker asks nicely, although I hadn’t heard her coming up from behind me and jump a little upon having heard her voice.

“Oh, uh,” I thought rather quickly, wondering if it was worth mentioning, but figured it would be better to tell some of the truth, it wouldn’t hurt, right?

“I went home, didn’t feel like waiting for my food during lunch rush-“ I shrug sheepishly and see my coworker nod their head in agreement, stepping out of the way to see as they reach toward the time clock and punch their own employee number in.

“You wouldn’t want to go to barnes and noble after work, would you? Theres a book I want to pick up but I kind of want to read the first couple chapters to see if its worth buying.” They admit to me and I could feel my body begin to relax. I’d assumed they’d probably ask more invasive questions as to what I had eaten or if my lunch went well but felt rather relieved to have them switch the subject.

“Oh, sure, I’ve got another book I want to pick up from Lauder’s and it’s next door.” I admit as I had been wanting to search if there were any other spell books similar to the one I’d bought a couple months ago.

“Lauder’s has been closed for a long time, Y/n…” They trail off as they rub the back of their neck awkwardly.

“Oh, bummer, how long? I just bought a book there a couple of months ago.” I admit and see their eyebrows upturned.

“They’ve been closed for a little over a year now, my aunt used to own the store,” They admit and I could feel confusion filling me up. If Lauder’s had been closed that long, how was I able to go into the store and grab the book I’d gotten? I could only look up at my coworker and the only thing I could think to do was shrug my shoulders.

“Maybe I have the name confused.”

[rindecision]

Chapter 17: Examination - The Devil of Hawkins - Fanfiction

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |

This chapter is unrefined (May get further editing in the future)

“What’s this about?” Jonathan asked as he got into Nancy’s car.

“Did you bring your camera?” Nancy started the car and began backing out of the driveway to Hopper’s old trailer.

“Yeah,” he held up the camera bag.

“Good,” she said quickly as she turned the car in the direction of town, and began filling him in on the details of what she’d found.

“Wait, so you think Vecna is involved in this?”

“Could be, I’d rather not overlook it just in case.”

“What-” Jonathan shook his head in confusion, “what would he want with corpses?”

Nancy swallowed, trying to shake the memory of Barb’s corpse out of her mind. She took a deep breath, “I don’t know, but who else could be doing this?”

“This town is crazy right now, who knows what freaks are coming out of the woodwork.”

“Then we end up finding a criminal in the process, but I don’t think any of this is a coincidence.”

Jonathan knew she was right, but he hoped she wasn’t.

---

Hopper sighed as he opened the door for Joyce, Will, and Argyle. “Did you really have to come over?”

Joyce glanced at him as she passed. “I want to get Will looked at,” she said firmly.

Hopper placed his hand on his forehead and rubbed his temples, closing the door. “Fine, but why did you bring Argyle along”

“I’m not leaving him alone in my house again,” Joyce added sternly.

Hopper squinted, afraid to ask what happened. “Where’s Jonathan?”

“He’s with Nancy. You said there was something you wanted to show me?” Joyce tapped his chest as she walked into the kitchen.

“Less of a something and more of a someone, and ‘want’ is the wrong word.” Hopper sat at the dining table and watched Joyce get a can of soda out of the fridge. Will sat on the couch, rubbing the back of his neck and watching Argyle sprawl out on the recliner. Argyle looked at the blanket hanging from the large overhead shelf, he attempted to swat it, but his fingers were just shy of contact. Jim continued to rub his temples. “It may freak you guys out, but El says he’s fine.”

Joyce gave him a concerned glance as she sat across from him. “What’s going on, Jim?” she said with a firm caution.

“Where is El?” Will asked looking around.

Hopper sighed. “Last I knew, they were all out back.”

“All?” Joyce questioned.

“Yeah, Steve’s here too.”

“Steve?” Will nearly laughed.

“Yeah,” Hopper said quickly, “but the main thing is Ed.”

“Who?” Joyce squinted.

“You know that guy we had a funeral for a couple weeks back?” he explained.

Will contorted his face. “You mean Eddie?”

Hopper nodded. “Well, he’s alive.”

Joyce caught herself before she snorted her soda, “Like Will?”

Hopper shook his head.

Argyle’s eyes lit up, and he leaned forward in the recliner. “Woah, did he raise from the dead like a zombie?”

Hopper raised an eyebrow, “closer.”

Joyce and Will looked at each other, worried.

“To be honest, we don’t understand why or how he’s alive, it’s the main reason I wanted to get in contact with Owens.”

Joyce nodded. “Is he dangerous?”

“Not that we’ve seen, he’s acting just like himself, but his appearance is... well.” Hopper didn’t know how to explain it. He clenched his jaw, spun around in his chair, and called out the boarded window behind him, “can you guys come in?”

“Coming,” El’s voice called in from outside.

“Try not to freak out when you see him,” Hopper said, “I ended up pulling my gun on the kid when I saw... you’ll see.”

Joyce looked at him horrified and jumped when the front door opened. El and Steve entered first, Steve greeted them and leaned against a nearby wall. Eddie took a deep breath as he revealed himself to three strangers. Will’s gut dropped when he saw the same veining Billy had on his skin.

“Holy...” Joyce exclaimed quietly. She gripped her soda can tight enough to slightly buckle the aluminum as she was faced with a reminder of extracting the Mind Flayer from Will.

“Hi,” Eddie said awkwardly as he closed the door behind him, he stood in front of it, unsure of what to do with himself.

“Dude!” Argyle leaned as far to the edge of his seat as he could. “You look rad!”

Eddie couldn’t help but chuckle nervously, he could tell the other two didn’t have the same opinion. El sat next to Will on the couch.

“Ed,” Hopper called casually as he stood up. Eddie looked at him with wide eyes. “This is Joyce,” Jim gestured to her, and she gave a shaky nod. “That’s Argyle,” he nodded in Argyle’s direction.

“Yeah, man.” Argyle nodded, leaning back in the recliner. Eddie smiled briefly at Argyle, he reminded him of Rick.

Hopper walked up behind Will and placed his hands on his shoulders. “And this is Will.”

Eddie nodded meekly and sat in the nearby armchair, curling his knees into his chest. “I’m Eddie,” he breathed, “nice to meet you.”

Will swallowed, he’d felt strange since they got out of the car, nothing as strong as when Vecna was active, but it felt similar. Now that he was closer to Eddie, that feeling was slightly stronger. The sound of his mom’s voice snapped him out of staring at Eddie.

“And you’re sure he’s safe?” Joyce looked between Eddie and Hopper.

“We can’t say for sure, but El hasn’t felt anything from him.” Hopper let go of Will’s shoulders. “What about you?” he asked looking down at Will.

“I- I feel something,” Will ran a hand over the back of his neck. “It’s faint, I almost didn’t notice it.” He lowered his hand and rubbed his arms. “Do-” he sighed, not enjoying recalling the memories, “do you feel anything new?” he asked Eddie.

Eddie furrowed his brows at Will’s vague question. “What do you mean?” He rested his chin on his knees.

Hopper walked back to sitting at the small table with Joyce.

“Like.” Will groaned. “Do you feel like you just... know things you didn’t before, like you’re being fed information directly into your mind?”

Eddie leaned back, lowering his legs to the ground as he thought. He tried not to be distracted by realizing Steve had moved behind him and was leaning his hands on the back of his chair. The closest thing he could think of was the vine's sonar effect. “Not really, I mean,” he sat back up and looked at the weary Will. “When I touch the vines in the Upside Down I get a sensation like you mentioned, but it only tells me where I am, like a map.”

Joyce and Hopper shared a nervous glance.

Will nodded, “I know the feeling you’re talking about, but for me, it was constant, as if I was connected to something.”

Eddie shook his head, “no, I can’t say I feel that.”

“Have you felt like something is invading your mind like you can’t fully control yourself?” Will was almost excited to be able to talk to someone who could, at least somewhat, understand what he went through.

He leaned back to think, the only time that happened was the first night with Steve, and when Henry forced him to see things that weren't there. “Not really, I felt something similar once, shortly after I came to, but nothing since.”

“What about heat?”

Eddie looked up at Steve briefly before looking at Will. “It sucks.”

Will shivered at the memory of removing the Mind Flayer from him. Joyce looked at Will, to Eddie, then turned to Hopper. “Should we try it?” she asked tentatively.

“I want to ask Owens first,” Hopper said with a sigh. “Eddie actually died, so his situation may be different.”

Joyce nodded and looked back at Eddie, who nervously shifted in his chair, bringing his knees back to his chest as everyone stared at him. Usually, he liked being the center of attention, but this attention felt closer to being called to the principal's office.

---

“Ms. Wheeler, I’m assuming?” The morgue receptionist asked as Nancy and Jonathan approached the counter.

“Yes,” she smiled.

“Gary!” the receptionist called loudly, startling Jonathan and Nancy.

The door to the back opened after a couple of seconds, and a middle-aged man looked at them. “Ah, you got here faster than I expected, come on back.” He stepped aside letting them walk past him and guided them down the viewing hall. “Usually, I’d want to keep something like this under wraps, but with the police refusing to do anything, I feel like I have no other option. I just ask, that whatever you write, please keep the names of the people involved out of it, and be respectful.

“I understand,” Nancy said, glancing around the hallway. Jonathan’s chest tightened, and he got nauseous as they passed the viewing window where he’d seen Will’s fake corpse. He looked away and followed Nancy as they entered the mortuary. It was a large, sterile medical room.

“They’ve been going missing from here?” Nancy asked as she looked around.

“Yup,” Gary walked over to a fridge door and opened it, pulling out an empty rack. “Last night there was an elderly man here.” He shook his head. “I have no idea what I’m supposed to tell the families.”

Nancy gave him a sympathetic glance as she walked up to the empty rack and Jonathan took a picture of it. The pale sheet was skewed and draped over the edge of the rack. “How many others were there?” She pulled out a notebook and started taking notes.

Gary sighed and opened three other doors and pulled out their empty racks. “Two each night,” he said plainly. “The back door is always left wide open.” He pointed to the double doors they use to bring bodies in and out. “After the first night, we had to chain it shut, but whoever is doing it, has the tools to bust a thick chain and padlock.”

Nancy contemplated in worry. “Do you have cameras?” she asked.

He shook his head. “A small town morgue like us? No.”

Nancy sighed and continued to look around. “Are there any similarities between them? Like age or sex?”

“No,” Gary closed the fridges. “They’ve all been unrelated and completely different.”

“Am I able to see their files?” Nancy asked, already knowing the answer.

He sighed. “I’m sorry, I can’t release that information.”

“I figured,” she nodded. “Did they have any similar health issues?”

Gary thought for a minute and shook his head, “No, I can’t say they did.”

Jonathan continued to take pictures as Nancy talked with Gary. Something caught his eye on the hinge of one of the fridges, it was one that had just been closed. Jonathan got closer and took a picture of the pink slime coating the hinge. “Nancy?” Jonathan said, stepping back.

She hurried over and took a deep startled breath when she saw the familiar slime.

“What on earth is that?” Gary asked as he picked up a rag and wiped it off. “Probably something the cleaning crew overlooked, sorry about that.”

“It’s fine,” Nancy said with shuddered breath as she and Jonathan shared a worried glance. “But the cleaning crew, don’t they work overnight?”

Gary shook his head. “They come in for a couple of hours after we close up, but it’s a small place, it doesn’t take too long to clean it.”

Nancy nodded. “Thank you for your time, Gary,” she said quickly. “If anything else happens, please give me a call at the Post, and ask for me specifically.”

“Of course. Thanks for giving me the time of day.”

Nancy shook his hand with a smile and hurried out of the building, Jonathan on her tail. “What else could that have been?” she said as they reached her car.

“I-”

“Come with me,” she cut him off as her eyes landed on the funeral home across the street.

“What?” Jonathan spun and caught up to her as they walked across the road.

Nancy pointed at a camera as a bell chimed from her opening the front doors. Jonathan was able to connect the dots.

“Welcome.” The same funeral director that helped Jonathan pick out Will’s coffin, walked up and spoke softly, “how can I help you two today?”

“Hi,” Nancy said sweetly. “I’m Nancy Wheeler with the Hawkins Post, I just got done talking to Gary at the morgue. They seem to be having some break-ins, and I was wondering if I could take a look at the security footage from your camera.”

The man looked at her and sighed. “Isn’t that a job for the police?”

She frowned at him softly. “Yes, but the police have been unable to come to check it out, and I figured I could lend a hand.”

He pursed his lips. “Oh, what’s the harm, come on.” He nodded to the side and walked them down a back hallway.

“Thank you.” She smiled at Jonathan happily and followed the man. Jonathan shook his head and walked behind her.

The director showed them into a small room with a TV and took down a small stack of tapes, “These are from the last few nights.” His head perked as the door chimed. “Make sure you don’t get them mixed up, I’ll check in on you shortly.”

“Of course, thank you,” Nancy said sincerely.

She gave Jonathan a triumphant smile as she picked out the tape from the previous night and put it in the VCR. She fast-forwarded until after the janitor left for the night and slowed it down to four times speed. Something unexpected moved in the corner of the screen. She paused it, rewound it, then played it at normal speed. “There,” she paused and pointed at a humanoid shadow in the woods beside the building.

“Shit,” Jonathan said softly, “are we sure it’s not a person?”

Nancy played it, the footage kept tearing, but they could see it rise to its full height before turning the corner. “Do you know anyone that’s taller than a doorway?” she sighed. “Get a picture of it.” Jonathan did as asked and took a few shots before Nancy hit rewind on the tape. They hurried out of the building while the director was distracted by a customer.

---

“Thanks for coming by,” Hopper said as he opened the door for Sam Owens.

Sam nodded as he entered. “Got a full house I see.” He smiled at the group, and his smile broadened when his eyes landed on El, who was standing up to greet him. “I’m glad to see you got reunited.”

El smiled and walked up to him, “I am glad you are alive.”

“Me too, kiddo,” he smiled with a light laugh, patting her on the shoulder as he continued to look around, he gave Joyce a friendly nod. She smiled back from the table with a cup of coffee in her hand. He saw Steve leaning on the kitchen counter and squinted. “You look familiar,” he said contemplatively.

“Yeah,” Steve answered casually, “I was there the night of the mall fire, your men patched up my face.”

“Right!” he exclaimed cheerfully, “now I remember, your face was all swollen back then,” he raised a hand to his own face and tapped his cheek. “No wonder I didn’t recognize you. Sorry about what happened.”

Steve shrugged. “Seems run of the mill at this point.”

Owens laughed and shook his head, “Unfortunately, you aren’t wrong.” He continued to look around and lit up when he saw Will sitting on the couch, “Ah, Will, how’ve you been feeling?” He set his large bag on the coffee table as he knelt in front of Will.

“Fine, I think,” Will answered tentatively. “It feels weird being back in Hawkins.”

Sam squinted. “Weird how?”

“Like, I can still feel him.” Will rubbed his arms.

“Feel who?” Owens pressed.

“Well, before, we thought it was the, y’know, the Mind Flayer, but now we know it’s One.”

Sam nodded. “And when you say you can feel him, what do you mean?”

“It’s hard to explain.” Will thought for a minute. “You know that feeling you get when you think someone is watching you?”

“Like a paranoia?”

Will nodded. “It’s like that, but stronger.”

Sam hummed as he thought. His eyes landed on Argyle.“Ah, you must be Edward.”

“Nah, man,” Argyle laughed, “name’s Argyle.”

“Thaaat’d be me,” Eddie sighed, sitting cross-legged on the loft above Argyle.

“Oh, my.” Sam stood, and looked up at Eddie, hardly believing his eyes.

Eddie took a deep breath and jumped down, startling Argyle.

“You really are something.” Owens walked up to Eddie and shook his hand, “I’m Dr. Sam Owens.”

“Eddie,” he nodded passively.

“Well, Eddie, you’re quite the celebrity right now, aren’t you?” Owens said as he looked down at the veining on Eddie’s hand and turned it around in his own.

“Not in the way I’d hoped.” Eddie sighed, apprehensively watching Owens look at his hand.

Owens ran his thumb over one of the larger veins on the back of Eddie’s hand, watching it react as any other vein would. “Got some big aspirations?”

“Just a dumb high school band.” Eddie looked away, trying not to think about how those dreams flew out the window in a big way.

“Unless Jim’s picked up a new hobby, I can assume that’s your guitar in the corner then?” He lightly clapped his hands around Eddie’s and looked up at his face with a soft smile.

Eddie looked at his guitar out of the corner of his eye, carefully propped up next to the cold fireplace. “Yeah,” he said with a faint smile.

“I certainly hope I can be of assistance in at least figuring out how you ended up like this.” He gently guided Eddie’s chin to the side, getting a better look at his complexion. “If not finding a way to get you back to... well, you.” Eddie stood in place awkwardly as his face was examined by the plump stranger. He was particularly fascinated by Eddie’s eyes.

“That’d be nice,” Eddie said flatly.

With a nod of agreement, he got into his bag and grabbed a small flashlight. Eddie winced when the light hit his eyes. “Interesting,” Owens said softly as he turned off the flashlight. Eddie blinked the spots out of his eyes. “Mind if I get your vitals?”

Eddie shrugged. “Why not.”

Owens gestured for Eddie to sit in the armchair. With a sigh, he did, and Sam set his bag on the ground next to it. He took out a thermometer and recorded Eddie’s temperature. “Joyce,” Owens said casually, “when Will was infected, did you see any other symptoms besides what we saw at the lab?” He looked at the temperature reading and nodded with a small hum.

“Yeah,” Joyce sighed, she glanced at Eddie’s skin and looked down at her coffee. “When we removed, whatever that was, from him, he...” She pursed her lips. “His strength increased, well beyond what a thirteen-year-old boy should be capable of.”

Will held his arms and looked away, ashamed. The memory of that night was foggy at best, but he still could remember strangling his mother.

Joyce swallowed and looked up at the boarded window. She was glad Jonathan didn’t come with them. He would have the hardest time hearing this. “Then, right before that thing left him, his face was covered in the same veins he has.” She vaguely waved in the direction of Eddie, unable to look at him.

Eddie watched Owens finish getting his pulse and take out a stethoscope. He felt bad that his mere appearance was a trigger for this family’s trauma. Owens slid the stethoscope under Eddie’s vest and placed it over his heart.

“Will was not the only one that was affected,” El added.

Owens looked over at her quizzically. He thought for a second, then realized what El was talking about. “Oh, you mean ‘the flayed’ as your friends called them.”

El and Will nodded.

“Did you see any similarities between them and Eddie here?”

Will and El shared a quick glance and nodded again. Will spoke, “the veins, they were the same on Billy, when One, or The Mind Flayer, or whatever was controlling him.”

Owens looked back at Eddie, he could see the veining on his chest through the thin white shirt. “Only when he was being controlled?” He stood and walked behind Eddie, placing the scope on his back, over the vest. He was surprised when he heard what sounded like movement, almost as if someone had a hand on the other side of the fabric.

“Yes,” El confirmed. “He looked normal the rest of the time.”

“And you’re positive Eddie isn’t being controlled right now?” Owens said, cautiously removing the stethoscope from his ears and standing up. He placed a hand on Eddie’s back and lightly palpated, noticing his strange muscle structure. A small, unexpected movement under his hands, made Owens jump.

“Not that either of us can tell,” Will said pointing between himself and El. “Honestly, One’s presence has felt oddly dormant today, but what I feel from Eddie is very different from what I felt from Billy.”

Owens hummed and looked down at Eddie. “Can you take your vest off for me?”

“I don’t mind, but I’m going to warn you, it ain’t pretty back there.” Eddie slid the vest off his shoulders, smirking at Steve watching him. Steve glanced away. He set the vest on the table.

Owens looked in awe at the torn shirt and the obviously warped skin underneath it. “Your shirt too if you don’t mind.”

Eddie glanced at Steve leaning on the counter and briefly caught eyes with Joyce, he was concerned about upsetting her further with his body. He looked away and nodded, pulling the shirt off. Steve found himself unable to look, it was the first time that watching a man take off his shirt felt embarrassing. Before Eddie was able to completely remove the shirt, the room was already gasping.

“Man, that’s gnarly,” Argyle said excitedly, Eddie looked at him with an amused grin.

Joyce covered her mouth. “Oh my god,” she whispered as she saw his body coated in veins and scars. Will gawked at him, equally horrified.

“Told you.” Eddie set the shirt on top of his vest, awkwardly glancing around the room.

Owens looked at Eddie’s back in both fear and awe. “What on earth caused that?”

Eddie smirked, knowing what was going to happen. “Those... are my wings.” His smile widened at the clamor of shock and questions that ensued. He was having a hard time controlling his inner show-off.

“How are those wings?” Owens asked, gently pressing a hand on Eddie’s back. “Oh,” he exclaimed, retracting his hand quickly when he felt movement under the skin.

“They fold in there.” He peeked a corner of one of the talon-tipped spines out, so Owens could see it.

“Holy, hell.” Owens stepped back in shock.

“They’re too big to take out in here,” Eddie stated plainly. “But, if we go out back, I can show them to you.”

“Please.” Owens nodded, packing his supplies back into his bag and picking it up.

The others joined out of curiosity as they walked around the back to the picnic table. Eddie’s attention whore took over as he smirked, spun to face them, and unfurled his wings dramatically. Everyone except Steve flinched. Argyle shouted and fell on his ass. Joyce shouted as she grabbed Will and pulled him to her protectively. “See.” Eddie smiled. “Wings.” He let them relax into a cape.

Owens walked up to him and started examining the wings, asking Eddie to move them in various directions. He asked him to explain how he came back to life and Eddie summed it up to the best of his ability, starting from their plan to kill Henry. He also mentioned Steve’s dream. Owens listened as he continued to examine as much of Eddie as he could. “This is fascinating, I wish I had a full lab in order to run the proper tests. You mentioned you can climb any surface, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Would you mind demonstrating?”

“Sure.” Eddie retracted his wings, getting an audible cringe from Owens as he watched it happen.

“Ahaha, sick,” Argyle exclaimed.

Eddie licked the corner of his mouth and chuckled at their reactions as he walked to the wall of the cabin. He placed a hand on the log wall and effortlessly pulled himself onto it. He crawled on all fours over the wall in every direction.

“Dude, you’re like Spider-Man,” Argyle shouted, sitting at the base of a tree. Will laughed in agreement. El tilted her head, unfamiliar with the reference.

Owens watched Eddie intently. “Can you stand on the surface, or do you have to remain on your hands and knees?”

Eddie thought for a second, “I’ve never tried standing.” He crawled closer to the ground and attempted to stand, he felt off balance but was able to manage. He laughed and turned, so he was facing the roof. Out of curiosity, he decided to try jumping. As he expected, he immediately fell to the ground. He laughed at himself, “apparently I can’t jump.”

Owens smiled in amusement as Eddie got to his feet. “You likely need to keep at least one part of you on the surface in order to keep your grip.”

Eddie nodded and tucked his hands in his pockets as he tried to walk up the wall hands-free. An amused smile set on his face as he took the first few steps up the wall cautiously, he could feel the gravity pulling at him, but he was able to resist it and maintain his posture. Carefully, he stepped over the ledge of the roof and walked on top of it. He turned to face the group and held his arms out to the side, laughing triumphantly. His eyes lingered on Steve, who was smiling and shaking his head up at him, his arms folded while leaning against a tree.

“Impressive, Mr. Munson,” Owens clapped. “While you’re up there, would you mind demonstrating your flight?”

“Gladly.” He opened his wings as he hurried to the back of the roof. With a deep breath, he ran full speed to the edge and launched himself into the air with a few heavy flaps of his wings. The exclamations from the crowd felt like they gave him life as he soared over the trees.

The whole thing made Hopper uncomfortable, worried about someone seeing him. Steve dropped his arms and watched in awe, he’d never seen Eddie fly properly before. Argyle, El, and Will watched with the same dumbfounded face. Joyce didn’t know what to think and swallowed nervously, keeping a hand on Will’s shoulder. Eddie glided toward the top of the pine Steve was leaning on and clung to it, making it sway with his weight. It startled Steve enough for him to run out from under the cascade of pine needles. With a kick, he launched himself back into the air, shaking the tree violently. Eddie parachuted his wings and glided down behind Steve, startling him. He wanted to slap Steve’s ass, but something about that felt too intimate, so at the last second he aimed for his lower back instead, retracting his wings. He caught his breath and walked up to Owens. “Very impressive.” Owens smiled. “You seem worn out.”

“Flying’s harder than it looks,” Eddie said with a smirk.

“Was I imagining it or did you move exceptionally fast when you ran off the roof.”

“Yeah, did you want to see that too?” he smirked, eager to show off.

Owens smiled at Eddie’s excitement. “If you don’t mind.”

Eddie nodded and took a deep breath before running around the cabin twice, stealing Argyle’s hat on the last lap.

“Hey, not cool, man,” Argyle called after him as his hair fluttered in front of his face.

He skidded to a stop beside Owens and tossed Argyle's hat back to him.

Argyle caught the hat, “boy’s like The Flash and Spider-Man.”

“And Falcon,” Will added.

“Oh, you’re right.” Argyle put his hat on, with a face worthy of an epiphany.

Eddie laughed, taking their words as praise. Steve raised an eyebrow at them, only understanding the Spider-Man reference. Owens turned to Eddie. “And you have no idea how you got these abilities?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“Any other new attributes?” Owens asked as he pressed a stethoscope to Eddie’s chest.

Eddie thought, “yeah, I’m stronger, and I think my hearing is better”

“How much stronger?” He moved the stethoscope a few inches over on Eddie’s chest. “Deep breath.”

Eddie took a slow deep breath before answering the question. “I’m not sure.” He glanced over at Steve briefly. “But I can pick up a grown man like they’re nothing.” Steve subtly looked away.

Owens took off the stethoscope and glanced around the forest. “Can you try your hand at moving that boulder?”

“Yeah,” Eddie walked over to the boulder El was practicing on earlier, but before he placed his hands on it, Owens stopped him.

“Wait, Jim, would you mind trying to move it first?”

Hopper took a deep breath, not thrilled to be used as an example to be outshone. “Fine,” he huffed, rolling up his sleeves and walking to the boulder.

“Don’t hurt your back old man,” Eddie mocked as Hopper passed him.

Jim shot him a dirty look before facing the boulder. With a strained groan, he was able to loosen the dirt around it, but not fully lift it from the ground. He stepped back and gave it one more go, this time he was able to shift it slightly. He let go, and it soundlessly settled back into its spot. “There,” he said with annoyance. He walked to the cabin wall and leaned on it.

“Thank you.” Owens nodded at Hopper. “Go ahead, Eddie.” He waved.

Eddie nodded and stretched his arms, he crouched beside the boulder and gripped it as low to the ground as he could. He heaved and lifted with his legs, rolling the boulder out of its socket. “I don’t think I can fully lift it, but I can at least do that without too much strain.”

Owens nodded and walked up to Eddie “Hmm,” he looked into Eddie’s eyes, “and you said your eyes change back to normal at times?”

Eddie nodded. “Last time it was while I was playing my guitar.”

“And before that?”

“Uh,” Eddie froze, uncertain how to put it. He leaned and whispered into Sam’s ear.

“Oh,” Sam said shocked. “Well, any other times you can think of?”

Eddie shook his head. “The only time I notice is if I’m in front of a mirror or if someone tells me.”

“So you don’t feel anything when it happens?”

He shook his head again. “Nothing.”

“I’d like to see it if you’d be willing to play your guitar for me.”

Eddie smiled. “Of course.” He ran back into the house to grab his gear. Steve was tempted to follow him out of habit but caught himself before he did.

“So, what do you think, Doc?” Hopper asked, walking up to Owens.

“Well, all things considered, he’s in perfect health, his body temperature is low.” He gestured to Will. “Like we saw with Will, but his case is definitely different. Will didn’t get any of the boons that Edward has, and Will was much more affected by it, both physically and mentally.”

Hopper squinted at Owens. “So what does that mean?”

“I’m not sure, but I’ll do what I can to find out. I’d like to get him to a lab at some point, but I don’t know how I’d manage that without alerting Sullivan.”

“Did you alert him by coming here?” Hopper’s tone was threatening.

“I did my best, but I can’t guarantee anything.”

Hopper pursed his lips.

“Got it!” Eddie called as he ran around the corner. He looked between Hopper and Owens, feeling the tension. “We good?” he asked, slowly walking past them and sitting on top of the table.

“Yeah, just keep it quiet,” Hopper said, glaring at Owens.

Owens nodded and turned his attention back to Eddie, while Hopper walked next to Joyce. Owens stood beside the table, watching Eddie get his mini amp set up to his guitar and clipped it to the lower portion of the strap. “Is it going to distract you if I shine my light in your eyes?”

“I don’t know.” Eddie shrugged. “But we can try.”

Owens smiled and nodded, pleased at Eddie’s compliance. Once Eddie was situated he put the strap over his head and did a few warm-up cords before he slid into playing Powerslave by Iron Maiden. It didn’t take long before he felt himself getting into the groove of the music. Playing heavy rock and metal just felt natural to him. He did his best to ignore Owens staring at him. To help his focus without closing his eyes he looked up at Steve, or down at his guitar. He preferred Steve, though. Steve didn’t know how to handle being stared at, so he just leaned against a nearby tree and forced himself not to smile like an idiot while avoiding Eddie’s eyes. He found it harder to maintain eye contact with Eddie’s normal eyes. Steve being bashful just helped Eddie keep a hold on his goal mindset.

Hopper leaned back against the wall of the cabin, unable to watch Eddie stare at Steve. A part of him wondered if Steve was actually okay with Eddie's affection, or if he just didn’t know how to say no. Steve had always been a bit of a doormat. Joyce noticed Jim acting odd and walked up to him, continuing to watch Eddie as she spoke. “That poor boy,” she said softly.

Jim furrowed his brow in confusion. “Steve?”

Joyce recoiled and shot him a baffled glance. “What? No, Eddie. Where the hell did you get Steve from?”

“Sorry,” Hopper coughed. “I meant to say, Ed.”

Joyce sighed and rolled her eyes.

Eddie winced momentarily when Owens shined the light in his eyes, he heard Owens give a small curious exclamation and continued examining his eyes with the flashlight. He prematurely swapped to the more melodic part of the song and tried to keep his eyes locked on Steve. He licked his lips and let himself fully feel the music. He gently swayed as his hands glided over the neck of the guitar, and the satisfying feeling of the pick plucking over the strings engrossed him. The melodic part wasn’t too long and eventually, the rhythm started to pick up. He turned his attention to nothing in particular as he stood and started to shred. Owens stood back and watched as Eddie lost himself in the moment. After the crescendo of the song passed, he stopped playing and looked at Owens. “Was that enough?” Eddie asked.

“Plenty.” He nodded. “Thank you. Also, your skill is no joke. Maybe you will go somewhere with that band of yours”

Eddie smirked as Owens walked up to him and shined the light in his eyes as they slowly flooded with black. “That is indeed fascinating,” he said as he turned off the light and tucked it in his shirt pocket. He pulled a small plastic case out of his bag. “I do want to run a few tests, do you mind if I draw some blood?”

“Go for it,” Eddie said casually, setting his guitar on the table and sitting on the seat beside it, blinking the spots out of his eyes.

Owens set the plastic container next to Eddie. “Any other changes to your body that you can think of?”

Eddie thought for a minute. “Not that I’ve found.”

Owens nodded as he prepped Eddie’s arm for a blood draw. Owens shook each tube of blood gently before he set them in the case. Eddie was shocked at how many vials he was filling. “You bleeding me dry?”

Owens laughed. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, I just don’t think I’ve ever seen so much blood at once.” He watched him pop the 13th vial on, the vacuum sucking his blood rapidly into the tube.

“I need to be thorough, and without having a proper lab.” He put the vial in the box and took out an empty one. “I need to take what I can now and bring it to a lab instead.” He popped the vial on and continued to speak. “Will?”

“Uh, yeah?” Will responded tentatively.

Owens smoothly swapped vials. “You said what you felt from Eddie was different from what you felt with Billy, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“How so?”

“Well,” Will started, “with Billy, I could clearly feel his intent, like I was connected to him in a way. I could feel One’s presence coming off him. But with Eddie, it’s much fainter. I can’t feel his intent, and the presence I feel coming from him only seems to be a fragment of what I felt from Billy.”

“Interesting,” Owens said softly as he drew the 25th and last vial. He held it up, examining how dark the blood was, it was borderline black. He removed the needle from Eddie’s vein and put a bandage on it, telling him to hold pressure. Eddie did as asked, feeling a little weak. “On average it takes a couple of days to fully recover from that amount of blood loss, so take it easy. Keep an eye on how you feel, I want to know how it affects you.”

Eddie nodded. “I feel weaker, that’s for damn sure.” He blinked at the dizziness.

“That’s to be expected.” He packed up the case and tucked it in his bag. “I don’t think there’s much more I can do with you at the moment, I’d say go get some rest, maybe have a big dinner.”

Eddie nodded and tried to stand, he stumbled and braced himself on the table. Steve ran up to him. “I’ll get him inside.” Steve wrapped Eddie’s arm around his shoulder, picked up the guitar, and helped guide him to the cabin door. Eddie smiled happily at the assistance and leaned on him a little more than he needed.

Hopper averted a glare as the pair passed him.

“While I’m here.” Owens turned to look at El and Will. “Shall I check in on you two as well?”

Steve stumbled Eddie through the door to the cabin and set him on the couch. “How’re you feeling?” he asked sitting next to him and setting the guitar on the table.

Eddie smiled at Steve’s concerned face. “You’re cute when you’re worried.”

Steve stammered at being called out, “I-” He sighed, giving in. “Yeah, okay, I’m worried.” He smiled softly wiping a few locks of Eddie’s hair out of his face.

Eddie turned his head and kissed Steve’s palm, startling him, and getting a faint blush as he retracted his hand. “I’m going to get you something to drink,” he said quickly, getting up and hurrying into the kitchen. Eddie gazed at him with a soft smile over the back of the couch. He still couldn’t believe that he could be affectionate with Steve Harrington, even if only in private. It was easier for him to accept that he’d become an undead demon. He leaned a little further over the back of the couch as Steve bent down to grab something out of the bottom of the fridge. Steve stood up with two cans of Coke and turned to see Eddie quickly sliding back into the couch. He squinted at him and returned to sitting on the couch beside him. Steve opened the can and handed it to Eddie.

“Aw, you even opened it for me, how sweet,” Eddie teased.

“I helped with blood donors at the shelter.” Steve sighed as he opened his own. Eddie took a long drink, the sugary liquid felt rejuvenating. He sighed with relief and closed his eyes as he leaned back. Steve looked over Eddie’s bare chest. Even though he liked the look of the scars, it made him sad to know what Eddie went through to get them. Eddie took a stuttered breath as he felt Steve’s hand ghost over his side. He looked over at Steve with wide startled eyes. “Sorry,” Steve said meekly.

Eddie smiled. “Never apologize for touching me.”

Steve clenched his jaw and jabbed Eddie in the side. “Even if I do that?”

“Ow,” Eddie flinched, trying not to spill his soda. He took a quick drink and set it on the table. “You asked for it, Harrington.” He lunged forward and pinched the scars on Steve’s sides.

Steve groaned at the pain and pulled at Eddie’s hair trying to pry him off, setting his own can on the table.

“That’s just going to turn me on,” Eddie said quietly, smirking at Steve.

“God, you really are a freak.” Steve released Eddie’s hair and tried to push him away. Eddie grinned and slid his hands under Steve’s shirt, tickling his sides. Steve curled up and flexed as his lungs forced laughter, “stop,” he breathed through hitches.

“What do you say, Harrington?” Eddie continued to relentlessly tickle Steve.

Steve hitched and stuttered before he managed to get out, “please.”

Eddie laughed and stopped tickling him, his smile fell as he looked down at a flushed and panting Steve. Shit. He bit his lip as he looked down at Steve’s slightly parted in a vague smile.

Steve closed his eyes and caught his breath, “you’re an asshole.” He opened his eyes and swallowed when he noticed their position. He watched as Eddie’s eyes gradually filled with black.

Eddie was frozen in place, transfixed on Steve, locked in a battle between desire and logic. “Sorry,” he said quickly as he came to his senses and sat up.

“It’s cool,” Steve said, sitting up and grabbing his soda off the table. Eddie picked up his as well, and they looked away from each other, awkwardly drinking in silence.

Eddie perked when he heard movement outside. He grabbed his vest off the table, stood, swung the vest on, and leaned against the wall behind the TV. Steve looked at him, perplexed as the door opened, and the others walked in. Owens was the last to enter, and he turned to Eddie, “how are you feeling?”

“Fine,” Eddie responded simply.

Owens saw the soda in his hand. “How’s the dizziness?”

“Almost gone.”

“Already?” Owens squinted.

Eddie nodded.

“Have you noticed any wounds or other injuries healing quickly?”

Eddie thought for a minute. “Yeah, when I first came to, I was in massive amounts of pain, but after one night’s rest, I felt generally okay.”

“Hmm.” Owens looked over Eddie’s scars. “Were those open when you woke up?”

Eddie shook his head. “No, they looked the same as they do now.”

Owens had many tests he wanted to run on Eddie, more out of pure curiosity than anything else, but was unable to do most of them without a proper lab. He turned to look at Joyce and Hopper. “Next time I come by I may bring some different equipment to try a few other tests. I’m not going to lie, at this point in time I have no idea how he got like this or why his situation is different from Will and Billy’s.” He looked back over at Eddie. “My theory is that it has something to do with Eddie being dead prior to becoming infected. If I had the facility I’d request admitting him under my care just to be safe. But not only is that out of the question,” He glanced over at El with an apologetic smile. “I’d rather not detain anyone else against their will.”

Eddie furrowed his brow, he knew he was missing something there. “Tell that to Hopper,” Eddie teased flatly.

Hopper glared at him. “That was for your own good, and the good of the rest of us.”

“Isn’t it always though?” Owens smiled coldly at Jim. “In the end, who are we to say what’s in the best interest of someone else? That’s a hard lesson to learn from experience. Don’t make my same mistake Jim.”

Jim’s glare softened as he remembered his fights with El before she ran away. Eddie tried not to show his joy at Hopper getting a scolding, even if it was a mild one.

Owens continued, “Overall I don’t see any obvious threats from Eddie, other than purely what he is capable of. He’s shown acute control of his abilities, so I’d say just keep an eye on him. If he starts showing any personality changes like Will and Billy did or anything else that just seems off, let me know immediately.”

Eddie and the others nodded in agreement. Steve cautiously spoke up, “do you think there’s any way to get Eddie back to human?” Eddie smiled at Steve’s words, flattered that he would be the first to ask about it.

Owens thought, “I’d have to run more tests, but I do have some theories. We’ll see the results of the labs and try out a few things. With Will, the shadow, or Mind Flayer as you call it, entered him while he was alive, so there was an obvious separation, and it acted like a virus. But Edward died and was brought back to life with it. I can’t tell for sure but there is a chance that whatever brought him back is the only thing keeping him alive, and by removing it, we could kill him in the process.”

Steve looked at the ground in horror, he was afraid of something like that. Joyce looked at Eddie with a pitied expression. Eddie sighed, as his worries were confirmed.

“Oh.” Owens looked back at Eddie, who perked as he continued. “El told me it was your idea to have her explore new aspects of her powers.” He smiled with a sense of pride. “I like the direction you’re going with it, and I feel pretty comfortable letting you guide her for a while. Our methods have been...” He sighed. “Too clinical. My hope is that a more human approach will develop her in ways that we could never achieve. I look forward to seeing her improvement on my next visit.”

Eddie huffed a small laugh, pleased with the praise. “Thanks, but I really didn’t do much,” he said humbly. “She came up with the idea herself.”

El shook her head. “I would not have thought of it if you did not help me.”

Eddie smiled softly at her.

“Thanks again Dr. Owens,” Joyce said with a genuine smile as Owens gathered his equipment.

He nodded as he headed toward the door. “I’ll be in contact when I examine the labs, and we can set up another meeting.”

Hopper nodded. “Sounds good.” He opened the door for Owens and closed it behind him, locking it.