#apparently this is like a favorite angle all of a sudden | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dragonfire44 · 2 years ago

Text

This Light to My Darkness Chapter 1 Meeting the Client

The air felt dense, closed in but not as if it was suffocating. The trees were tall and clustered, which was really no surprise given that this was a forest.

Despite that, it smelled nice, damp moss, a hint of rain – old rain; which was good that it wasn’t going to start raining as that dampened his sense of smell. Pine permeated the air and a mix of different flowers.

The dirt path was littered with pine needles; in the distance he could hear a steady trickle of spring water. There were different kinds of flowers, some white, some light purple, yet the pink ones caught his attention, as it made him think of the Fairy Tail mark on his best friend’s hand. Her favorite color is pink.

He brushed his fingers against rough bark as he turned his attention from the flowers. Angling his head up with eyes closed he sniffed the air a few times, separating the forest smells to the aroma that didn’t belong in the woods.

“Natsu?” Lucy whined from where she’d just plopped down onto a log. Though worn it was relatively firm that the blonde had no concern of it giving way under her.

“How much farther?” The words sounding more like a wail from a small dog, not that Natsu would ever remark on that.

“Don’t worry Lucy,” Wendy spoke up with a soft, gentle voice before Natsu could even open his mouth. “I’m sure it won’t be much farther.”

Lucy turned to the youngest member of their group with a sad sigh; in the bluentte’s hands she held a map. Carla, the white exceed was standing next to Wendy with crossed arms sporting a bland expression.

“Maybe we should stop for the night?” Gray commented from his lounging spot against a tree.

“AYE!” Happy cried from atop Natsu’s pink head. He was flat on his stomach, his little green pack resting on his back, with a fish inside – he knew because he could smell it and his tail twitching every few moments in apparent serenity.

Lucy moaned inwardly that the blue furred cat got a free ride and she had to walk. While she could use Horologium, the group tended to give her crap about that and well it did kind of make her feel embarrassed. And plus she did need to work on her endurance.

Still she was exhausted and dirty and really just wanted to take a nice hot shower and fall into a nice soft, fluffy bed and sleep till the next day.

“We shouldn’t stop,” Natsu stated, pulling his arm away from the bark to cross them over his chest. “If Erza were here, she’d say it was important to meet with the client as soon as possible.”

Gray raised an eyebrow at the fire dragon slayer, “you sure it’s not just because you’re not tired and want to fight?” Gray said with a snort.

Not that he was discounting Natsu’s words; Erza was quite the slave driver. But she’d chosen to take a mission with MiraJane since the takeover mage rarely ever went on any anymore. Though privately he was sure they just wanted some alone time.

Lucy huffed blatantly annoyed, “well how much farther?” She spat again.

Granted the thought of camping here in the woods didn’t particularly thrill her. While they had the necessary stuff, all of them had packs of course; she still didn’t feel like roughing it outside if she didn’t have too.

Natsu shot Gray a scowl very tempted to start a brawl but the edge of frustration to Lucy’s words had him reconsider; wasn’t like he couldn’t punch Gray in the face later.

“Well the map says,” Wendy spoke up into the sudden silence, her brows scrunched as she peered again at the paper.

“Oh, right,” Lucy cut in, “because the maps been oh so helpful.”

Wendy looked crestfallen and Carla bristled but before the white exceed could say anything in defense of Wendy, Lucy was twisting around to glare at the pinkette, “how could you get us lost!?” She snapped, a finger pointing at him as she lightly trembled from her ire.

“You have super enhanced sense of smell! Which, you always brag about!”

Natsu didn’t think he bragged exactly…

“We are not lost,” Natsu stated with a slight frown.

Lucy threw her hands upwards in exasperation, “then, why are we still stuck in this godforsaken forest!?” She screeched. “It’s been hours!”

Wendy raised her hands placating, worry and slight nervousness etched on her gentle face, “Lucy, cal…”

Lucy rounded on the girl, fire in her eyes, and a sharp retort on her tongue –

“Don’t.” Natsu commanded, stilling her. The word was hard, a hint of warning in his tone and it took her by such surprise that she froze. She slowly turned her gaze to Natsu, his features were flat, his mouth pressed thin.

Carla took that one moment of stillness to snap with visible fury, though she did try to keep it from coating her voice, “don’t take your anger out on Wendy just because you’re tired!”

Lucy clenched her hands, working her mouth as she forced her gaze back to the younger girl, grimacing at the tears in the brown orbs. Her eyes darted down to the disproving gaze of the white exceed and swallowed tightly. She sagged back onto the log, in her frustrated anger she’d jerked up. She felt like a heel.

She pressed a hand to her face, grimacing at the feel of dried sweat and dirt. No doubt her hair was a tangled mess, even with the small ponytail.

“I’m sorry, Wendy.” She whispered quietly.

“It’s okay Lucy,” Wendy said gently a soft smile gracing her face; “it has been a long day.”

Gray re-crossed his arms, a part of him wanted to be surprised at Natsu’s over protectiveness for Wendy but he knew the pinkette saw her as a little sister. And while Natsu was protective of everyone in the guild he showed more towards certain people. Granted he was surprised he’d been so quick to snap at Lucy, seeing as the celestial mage is Natsu’s best female friend. Honestly that was a bit short. But well they were all mostly tired - maybe the idiot was more fed up of traversing through theses woods then he let on.

It didn’t help that they’d left early and gotten on a train, which having to deal with Natsu’s motion sickness of moving vehicles was always a bit of a chore when it came to getting him on them and dealing with him during the ride if he wasn’t knocked out by Erza. While he liked not having to deal with Natsu like that he didn’t think knocking him out like that was very appropriate. Not that any of them would ever say that to her. And with Erza not here, not one of them had wanted to do that themselves.

While Gray did enjoy fighting with Natsu, he didn’t much like hitting him in his weaken state. It left a bad taste in his mouth.

And for whatever reason the train didn’t go to the town they were heading to. So they’d had to disembark as close as possible and travel on foot the rest of the way.

They could have gone around the forest, but not knowing the length put them in a bind. They didn’t want to take days to get there or worse weeks. And Happy and Carla hadn’t seen an end to the forest from the air. Definitely sounded better to cut through it then trying to avoid it.

Of course the mission they got stuck doing had a massive forest in the way. Maybe passing through the woods was like a test or trial.

Gray snorted rubbing a hand through his black hair. He glanced up at the green leaves, the trees were so thick and clustered he couldn’t even see the sky. At least they gave a lot of nice shade, and the sound of bird calls was pretty soothing.

They hadn’t even met with the client yet, but he was starting to get a bad feeling about this mission. It didn’t help that the request had stated a fire type mage was mandatory. While Maco qualified he wasn’t prone to taking very long missions anymore, or very far away ones. And this one was both. It sounded long and it was far. Hell the place was on the edges of Fiore, and the town was called Elwood or something like that, either way he’d never heard of it.

But what had bugged him about the request was the limit of mages. That was a very rare thing to put. After all why would you care how many came to help? And usually the limit targeted specifics, like if a couple was needed, it would state at least two people needed to come.

But this one had stated no more than five mages were to come. It was disconcerting. While the two exceeds put them past that number, they figured the cats wouldn’t count as they weren’t people. And it did say mages. Loopholes were nice.

Not that he expected the client to make a fuss about the two cats.

“There’s a stream not far from here,” Natsu stated, interrupting the stagnate silence. Natsu pointedly didn’t answer Lucy’s shouted question.

Lucy groaned but pushed herself up, hands grasping the straps of her light brown bag that rested against her back.

Gray cast a quick glance at the group, eyes pausing at the map Wendy held and sighed. The map had clearly been a scam. It didn’t really help them wade through this forest. He very much wanted to go back to the train station and slug that asshole in the face for putting the idea into Wendy and Lucy’s head to buy a map of the area. Because while it showed the forest; it didn’t show how to navigate it. And that bastard had to of known that going around the forest made little sense.

Well at least now they knew why this town wasn’t traveled much to. Who wants to take on a forest to visit a small town at the edge of the country?

They trekked in silence.

Lucy wasn’t too keen of speaking right now, even if Wendy had forgiven her, plus talking required energy.

She stared forlornly at the passing greenery, desperately, silently going over a hot shower which helped push her on. Her feet ached though she was super glad she’d worn brown boots for this job. Her light brown shorts didn’t really help against stray branches but mostly plant life was what was in the way, unless she ran into trees.

She made sure to keep part of her attention on Wendy who was following behind Natsu and the other on the scenery. While she wasn’t a nature buff, she did enjoy flowers, and the air smelled very good. She closed her eyes sucking in a deeper breath just to enjoy the Geosmin. Then promptly tripped, with a startled cry she dropped. She hit the ground hard, her chest smiting dully. A part of her felt just done with the day, and contemplated just staying right here.

“You okay?” Gray asked from beside her, his blue bag hanging off one shoulder.

“Yea,” she grumbled, she peeked an eye open in time to see the faint concern on the ravens face flutter back behind a cool indifference. She sat up taking note that Wendy was now holding Carla in her arms, the map nowhere to be seen.

“I’m fine,” she repeated to the bluenette, watching the younger girls face smooth from the slight concern. She huffed as she turned her head to the side, the embarrassed flush stark on her face she knew.

It took her a moment to process the odd color hidden among the greenery. She shifted towards it, wonder slowly flooding her face.

With a shocked yet delighted gasp Lucy jerked towards and then hunched near the small flower.

“Lucy?” Gray asked confusion evident.

“It’s a Fairy Slipper!”

All five behind her blinked owlishly, not that she was giving any thought to their reactions.

“What?” Natsu uttered.

“Lushy hit her head too hard, she’s seeing things.” Happy hummed out.

“Shut up, stupid cat!” Lucy cried, not letting his typical annoying words get to her.

She clasped her hands to her chest and wiggled a little in delight. “Fairy Slipper,” she reiterated.

She turned to the confused group, “Levy told me about them. It was in a book on flowers.”

Wendy shuffled carefully closer making a curious sound; even Carla sported an interested look.

She turned her gaze back to the rare sight, “It’s known as Calypso Orchid, it’s a hidden treasure. A single flower, has a height of six inches, emerges from a budlike corm, with only one dark green egg-shaped leaf per plant. They have delicate, easily-damaged root systems, and can be hard to spot among the thick moss carpeting the forest floors.”

She glanced up at Wendy seeing awe on her face, “I’ve always wanted to see one, and the name!” She cried jubilantly. “It takes after our guild and looks pink!”

Wendy giggled. “It is lovely.”

“I suppose we were lucky you tripped.” Carla mused.

Lucy smiled brighter, funny how things like that happened sometimes.

Natsu eyed the small delicate plant before glancing at the joyful expression on the blonde’s features.

Gray caught a slight shift from Natsu and looked away from the girls fawning over a flower to rest onto the weirdly quiet dragon slayer. Granted he’d been rather off since he’d met up with them at the train station. He wondered if the fire breather was partially concerned about the job request asking for a fire mage. He couldn’t begin to think of what else it could be if not that.

Natsu’s attention was solely focused on Lucy, a soft fond look gracing his face and his heart gave a twinge. He quickly looked away with an annoyed glare.

Why couldn’t Natsu look at him like that? He thought sourly.

Sometimes it sucked being in love with your male best friend slash rival who was clearly in love with his best female friend.

The bitterness reared around and he clenched his teeth to will down the surge of jealously. It really didn’t help that it was common knowledge that Lucy was in love with the fire dragon slayer. Why they hadn’t already confessed he didn’t know, perhaps they both hadn’t realized they both felt the same?

Gray didn’t know but he defiantly wasn’t looking forward to the day that the two announced they were dating. As long as things stayed the same, he could believe he might have a chance with the pinkette.

Or at the very least not have to worry with Lucy taking up more of Natsu’s time once they started dating. It was common after all to spend a lot of time with the person you were dating.

Natsu had never shown interest in anyone, but he had brought Lucy home with him to join the guild and even went on missions with her. Something he wasn’t prone to doing outside of Happy or taking an S class with someone.

No one knew for certain how the dragon slayer felt but it was pretty darn apparent she was important to him. And judging from that look he’d just sported Gray would be damn shocked if Natsu didn’t love her.

He just didn’t see what Natsu saw in her. Sure Lucy was beautiful, not on the level of MiraJane – though that was his personal opinion. And she was kind, outgoing and optimistic. But really… what did she bring to the table aside from that?

It wasn’t like she could ever fight Natsu like he could. Natsu needed a challenge and Lucy would never be able to provide that. Hell he’d been Natsu’s rival since they were kids.

A small part of his mind whispered that perhaps he couldn’t compete with Lucy because Natsu was only into girls.

It hurt. Sometimes he wondered why he didn’t just stop taking team missions, because it ached to be around Natsu and gnawed at having to keep his distance. Hurt knowing that Natsu looked at him and saw just a rival, a friend.

It would sting less to be around Natsu. Yet the thought of staying away, putting distance between them left him feeling a sour churning in his gut. He’d rather be around the dragon slayer, brawl with him, and hear his brilliant sunshine laughter then to go without; because something was better than nothing.

At least he hoped.

Finally Lucy stood, realizing the time slipping through the hour glass. She glanced towards Natsu mildly surprised that he hadn’t insisted on going by now. He was looking off into the distance, most likely in the direction of the stream.

She frowned lightly, he’d been awfully quiet since they’d hit the forest. Granted he wouldn’t take off and leave them when they were dependant on him to get them out of this forest… unless of course a fight hit. He’d promptly forget and chase after them. Earlier he’d even avoided a brawl with Gray, it was kind of concerning.

She sighed but still a fond grin made its way onto her face, she caught Gray’s eye and it slipped. Gray had a dark frown and it felt like he was borrowing it into her. If looks could kill…, she swallowed slowly then revamped her grin and said brightly, “sorry for the wait guys.”

Natsu spared her a quick glance and nodded.

The rest of the way was uneventful. Lucy tugged out a water bottle, careful to keep the strap of her bag from slipping off. As she pried the cap off, she wondered about the mission.

The job description hadn’t been all that informative. The pay was decent but not eye catching, really the only reason they were even doing this job was because it had requested a fire mage. And well it was pretty common knowledge that if you wanted a fire mage to hit up Fairy Tail.

While Natsu wasn’t the only one, it made her wonder if the client was looking to have Natsu come but then why not just request Natsu specifically. It was pretty rare for someone to be requested and not have them do the mission; especially in Fairy Tail, so perhaps another reason?

And Maco and Romeo were the only ones besides Natsu who had fire magic. But both of them were not well known. And this town was way out here so it was even less likely that they knew of them compared to Natsu.

Then again maybe they hadn’t wanted to use Natsu’s titles; while ‘dragon slayer’ was commonly known now a day, Natsu had been known by ‘Salamamder’ longer – at least she thought. When she first met him she knew of Salamander not of the fire dragon slayer. If this was some kind of secretive or sensitive job maybe the client didn’t want to risk letting others know who was coming to help.

Or maybe she was just reading into it.

But the job itself would require talking to the client. She wished she had some kind of idea as to what this job would entail.

“Fish!” Happy’s cry cut into her musings and she looked up to realize the spring was right before them.

“We’re not here to fish, Tomcat!” Carla snapped clear disproval etched onto her face.

Lucy surveys the area, noting some yellow and lilac colored flowers; water glistened off of wet coated rocks.

“We’ll follow the stream this way,” Natsu voices, pointing right. “To the town, it should flow around or near the place.”

She supposes the town must get their water from somewhere.

They resume walking, though a part of her couldn’t help but glance forlornly back at the water, wishing they could of stayed a little and she could soak her throbbing feet. So Lucy has taken to a repeated mantra of hot showers and fluffy beds to make each step forward easier. Not that it really helps.

Natsu grins as he glimpses the world outside of the trees. Behind him Gray mutters, “Finally.”

Lucy emits a small jubilant squeal, hands clasping together in front of her chest before she stills.

“You know, with our luck,” she starts musingly, a finger to her chin, “I was really expecting to get into some kind of fight before we got out of the forest.”

“Aye!” Happy chimes.

Gray tilts his head at the blonde, “I thought so too.”

Wendy glances at Natsu, who’s stilled as well but doesn’t seem interested in commenting. “Well maybe,” she hugs Carla a little more enjoying the soft fur against her bare arms “that Fairy Slipper was a good omen.”

Gray and Natsu both snort almost in sync but Wendy’s grin stays firm, eyes sparkling at the possibility.

Lucy mimics that grin, “yea!” She liked the thought.

“Should we meet with the client or just find a place to stay first?” Carla asks into the silence.

Gray and Natsu share a look, Lucy frowns.

“Let’s find the place and see if they’re still awake, it’s only about eight.” Gray states.

Lucy groans but supposes it’s for the best to let the client know they’ve arrived as soon as possible. While there hadn’t been a deadline, it had stated to come in a timely manner. And without any info and no urgent need it was only proper to set out promptly. Still if they have to wait till morning, she didn’t think it’d make much of a difference.

With weary sighs from the majority of the group, Gray takes the lead, seeing as Natsu can’t smell out an address.

The town looks a lot like Magnolia. Buildings are about the same sizes, there are bits of greenery on some people’s window sills.

She spies a few people talking, a couple holding hands. Lights are on in some of the buildings; café, or restaurants she figures.

She peers at Gray to see him glancing at the job request to street signs. She hopes they get there quickly. She’d of liked to freshen up before this meeting but not having secured a place to even sleep makes that kind of hard. Hopefully the client doesn’t take offense to most of their state. They’d have to know the quickest and easiest way was through the forest… hopefully.

She glances between everyone, she’s pretty sure she looks the worst. It figures.

Hell Gray still has his shirt on, granted he dropped it a couple times along the way, but they never got too far before someone noticed.

She didn’t even want to contemplate the amount of money he had to spend on clothes with how often he loses them due to his odd stripping habit.

It was like never having enough rent money and that was terrifying.

“Ah,” Gray’s hum cuts the silence, “here it is.”

Lucy turns to look at the place and feels her jaw drop. It was a manor. Not as big as her house had once been, but it was defiantly close.

“Oh,” Carla states quietly.

“Great,” Lucy huffs, “the client has money.”

Natsu raises an eyebrow, “so?”

Lucy gives him a flat look and gestures at herself. Rich people tended to be snobbish, and entitled smug jerks. She’d met her fair share, though she was aware they weren’t all like that. The princess of Crocus was a good example.

Natsu doesn’t look impressed. “If they want our help then they shouldn’t care how messy we look.”

Lucy sighs, at least Natsu hadn’t said filthy. While she felt that, she didn’t think she looked that bad.

“Are we going in or what?” Happy says with a whine.

Natsu tilts his head up to look at his little buddy.

“I want fish, Natsu.” Happy says pitifully. He’d already eaten the two from his bag.

Natsu offers a small grin, “I’m starving too, but we can eat as soon as we’re done here.”

“I’m actually surprised you didn’t just run off to the nearest food source the second we got into town and start pigging out.” Gray comments with wry amusement.

Natsu whips around with a heated glare, “you trying to start something Ice princess!?”

Gray offers a smug smirk as he crosses his arms, “I’m shocked you restrained yourself flame brain.”

Natsu growled, jerking a step towards him, his earlier thought about punching Gray in the face coming back to him. It was defiantly later.

With a fisted right hand raised he –

“Guys!” Lucy splutters, her tone frustrated but annoyed.

“Not now Lucy,” Natsu says, not even sparing her a glance.

Wendy makes a distressed noise and Lucy surges forward to put herself between the two boys, arms spread out at her sides.

Natsu pauses, raising an unimpressed eyebrow.

“Really?” Lucy snaps. “We’re right outside the client’s house,” She stresses.

When Natsu blinks sage green eyes at her and looks ready to go around her, she adds, “the sooner we see if we can talk to the client, the sooner you guys can eat.”

And as she knew it would Natsu promptly drops his fist and darts towards the white gate with a shout, his white muffler swishing behind him “right! Let’s get this taken care of!”

Happy cries an, “aye sir!”

Gray shoots Lucy a venomous glare that no one sees and he quietly seethes. Damn her, it’d been way too long - since before the train ride since Natsu and he had butted heads. Their brawls were practically the only time he got Natsu’s sole fixed attention.

And Erza wasn’t here to keep them in check. Granted they hadn’t had too much of anything - he figured Wendy’s presence was curbing Natsu. Since Erza wasn’t here to do it. Or hell he didn’t know – it sure as hell was weird.

He presses his arms tighter to his chest, it was also the only time they pretty much had any contact.

“Hurry up Ice poke!” Natsu calls from where the group has gathered at the door.

And Gray lets a gust of air out. Damn he felt pathetic. He’d probably never live it down if anyone ever learned that a lot of the fights he starts with Natsu is just so he can touch him. Or to see that fire in his eyes, to have that –

“Gray!”

Snorting Gray opts to not reply but begins making his way to where the rest are.

He closes his eyes as Lucy raps upon the door. They wait in anxious silence. All for varying reasons. Lucy is so ready for a hot shower and sleep. Wendy and Carla both want to take a relaxing bath, Happy and Natsu both want to eat, and Gray just wants to immediately crash onto a bed and not move for at least eight hours.

It takes no time at all for the door to sweep open; an elderly man dressed in a black suit most likely a butler given the appearance and the largeness of the house.

“May I help you?” he inquires politely. His gaze’s sweeps over the group, noting the disgruntled appearances of most but eyeing the two odd looking cats for a long moment before settling onto the blonde girl.

Lucy offers a sheepish grin, “Sorry for the late hour,” she starts courteously back, “we are from the Fairy Tail guild, responding to the job request.”

The man merely blinks, “do you have proof of your affiliation to this guild?”

Lucy nods and raises her hand to display the pink Fairy Tail mark that all members have.

He hums lightly, eyes darting to the pink haired male, “yours?” he questions.

Natsu raises an eyebrow at being singled out but complies, shifting to show the red mark on his shoulder.

The elderly man nods is satisfaction stating, “Two is fine,” when Wendy and Gray share an uncertain look, “I highly doubt you have non members with you.”

“Please come inside, and I will inform the Master of your arrival.” He steps back, pulling the door wide.

They all shuffle in, each slowly taking in the grand entryway.

Lucy gazes at a portrait of a family, as the door shuts quietly.

“This way to the sitting room, please.” The butler gestures with an arm out.

They followed silently. All too weary to care about the splendor around them; though Lucy eyes a few landscape paintings.

They were ushered into a spacious room, painted a light blue color, the furniture – whites and blue fitting well with the scheme.

“Please have a seat,” the butler states pleasantly.

As soon as the door closed Lucy inched over to the white couch that looked like it could fit four or five people and sagged down gratefully. She took a moment to enjoy getting off her feet for a few moments before carefully removing her bag and gently settling it onto the blue plush carpet. Gray took the blue chair with a relieved hum, while Wendy and Carla settled next to Lucy’s left. Wendy’s light lime green bag nestled on the ground by her legs.

Natsu eyes the room, and then glances at the shut door; he really just wanted to get this over with and sighed. He made a motion to rub a hand through his hair before belatedly realizing Happy was still splayed atop his head. His fingers brush the soft blue fur of the Exceed’s head, earning a curious yet slightly tired sounding noise.

He merely runs his palm over Happy’s head and plops down beside Lucy.

Wendy was starting to nod off when the door opened, Lucy made a quick motion to rise earning a jolly, “it’s fine, stay seated.” A firm yet slightly gruff voice stated, most likely due to age.

Lucy settled more comfortably in relief, though made sure to keep proper posture now that their client was here.

The newcomer settled down across from the three onto the coach, a glass rectangle table between them.

“Jose, the butler will be along shortly with some tea.” He murmured, taking in the scruffy looks.

Lucy blushed and almost apologized for their appearance, instead pressed her palms flat on her knees.

They spent the next few minutes in awkward – for some, silence waiting for the tea.

Wendy tried valiantly to keep her eyes open, her head kept rocking slightly, her eyes constantly trying to slip and stay shut. Carla helped by lightly pressing a claw paw into her arm.

Happy had closed his eyes, not caring if he took a small nap, wasn’t like he was having any tea. Gray stared determinedly at the glass table, his arms crossed, trying not to give into the ache of slouching back and letting the chair lull him to sleep.

Natsu merely stared at the man with a set frown, arms crossed and slouching into the coach, not caring about looking respectful.

The man, who looked to be in at least his fifties returned Natsu’s stare, though he kept a faint smile.

The door opened emitting Jose, efficiently the butler laid out the tea, one for everyone, even the cats much to everyone’s collective surprise. He took a silent vigil behind the chair his Master sat at.

Lucy, dying for something that wasn’t just water, carefully picked up the white tea cup, gold trim around the rim, her eyes darting to their host who inclined his head and took a dainty sip.

“It’s delicious,” she praised.

The man nodded, took his own sip before gently replacing it upon the saucer.

“I’m sure you’re all tired, so I’ll try to keep this brief.”

His mouth twitched in mild amusement when all of them gave some form of relief, from their expression or sound.

Navigating the forest was quite the task, though not so difficult with a dragon slayer; as he eyed the exotic looking male with pink hair, the infamous white scaled scarf around his neck. He hadn’t expected the rumors of the fire dragon slayer to actually have pink hair.

“My name is Mason; I am the mayor of this quaint town.”

The raven raised a brow at this, but for the most part no one reacted.

“Recently a group has been coming into town and delighting in causing trouble. It started small but it’s gotten to the point people are afraid to stay out late, to go out on their own.”

Lucy wondered if that was why she’d seen so few people out and about on the way here. It wasn’t that late after all.

He reached for the tea as he sighed, “as the mayor it is my duty to make sure the people of this town feel safe and are safe.”

He took a sip savoring the lemon flavor before replacing it onto the table. He entwined his fingers, resting his arms upon his lap.

“And you want us to stop them?” Gray asked, “Kick them out of town?”

“Partly,” he agreed, “people have ended up hurt, things have been stolen, things destroyed. But as of yet no one has died.”

Lucy and Gray frowned at this.

“It’s possible simply speaking with them may fix the issue, though I am not hopeful. If this can be resolved with no fighting that would be ideal.”

“But,” Lucy uttered looking mildly perplexed. This didn’t make sense, why did the job request want a fire mage then?

Natsu twitched at the possible thought of coming all the way here and not being able to fight. He held in a growl. Happy merely kept dosing.

“There would of course be reparations, can’t very well let this go.”

Wendy nodded at this, her cup of tea left forgotten in her hands as Carla quietly sipped hers, now situated besides the bluenette.

“It is believed that they have a base somewhere in the woods,” he paused as all but the pinkette twitched, amusement coloring his tone as he continued, “however we are having a gala in the next coming day, it will be a relatively large gathering, these people are bound to show up to cause chaos. Steal even hurt people.” He took a breath.

“I ask that at least one of you if not two attended the event, blend in. The others can guard the wealthier rooms.”

Lucy wasn’t thrilled about the party, but it did beat going back into the forest. She knew everyone save perhaps Natsu would feel the same.

“That sounds doable,” she offered when the mayor remained silent for more than thirty seconds.

“Outfits will be provided; Jose can relay measurements to make sure you all get proper fitting garments.”

Lucy was relieved not to have to go out and buy something. She didn’t bring a ton of jewel with her.

“Is there a limit to how many can attend this party?” Gray asked curiously.

Mason shook his head, “If all of you think it best to attend; that’s fine, but I do ask that proper behavior is portrayed. If you want to switch people in and out that’s fine. But someone should be present at all times.”

Gray tilted his head, “so you don’t care if no one guards your wealthier rooms?”

Mason’s smile seemed to thin slightly, “the people’s safety is more important than replaceable items.”

Gray caught Natsu’s eye and he knew they were both thinking similarly, he held in a snort.

“If a fight is unavoidable, I ask that you keep your surroundings in mind.”

All but Natsu and Happy nodded. Natsu wasn’t going to make a false promise. Sure he could lie but why bother?

“My son Alexander will be attending, he can escort one of you, or all of you. And I am sure he can guide you at the party if any questions arise. I ask that you reframe from bothering me during this time unless someone is dying or has died.”

Everyone kind of blinked at this, feeling mixed thoughts but Lucy spoke up after a stiff moment, “of course.”

She did know how important wealthier people took these kinds of events.

“What do these guys look like?” Natsu inquired, speaking up for the first time.

“Ah, yes,” Mason mused, he’d almost forgotten. “We don’t have much to go on them in ways of appearances or abilities. As I stated, no one has been killed.”

Lucy and Gray gaped, and the blonde was quicker than the ice make mage to sputtering out, “Wha… how do you not have some idea as to what they look like!?”

“As I said most people are too afraid to go out at night, these events typically happened late, or too fast. There really aren’t any reliable descriptions.”

“Well what do people say?” Gray asked, tone carrying a disbelieving quality. Though he figured perhaps they hadn’t canceled the gala due to this fact. Plus he was pretty sure these types of things were planned months in advance. Canceling due to something this small in scale must seem silly.

Mason eyed the raven, his smile practically gone, but merely said, “Wearing a dark cloak, or hood.”

He leaned back against the soft cushion with a sigh, “these people are outsiders. Most here can innately tell these people don’t belong, but that doesn’t mean they can explain what they look like.”

Gray wasn’t sure he bought that.

“Is there anyone here who uses magic?” Wendy asked softly as she leaned over to set her empty cup of tea onto the saucer.

“Not many people in this town do.” He exhaled closing his eyes as he briefly rubbed his nose. “That might be why these mages came here.”

“How do you know they can use magic? If, no one has really seen their abilities?” Natsu questioned.

Mason met the sage green eyes firmly, mouth set, “the damaged buildings is an easy tell. No none mage could inflict that.”

Natsu hummed with a nod.

“Do you, Fairy Tail accept this job?”

Natsu snorted earning a disproving look from Lucy; he promptly ignored it, though the mayor didn’t seem to mind and said, “We came all the way here.”

Lucy inwardly grouched – and trudged through a freaking forest to boot.

“Splendid.” Mason practically crooned a glint that could pass for relief twinkled in his eyes.

Silence reigned for a few moments before Mason clapped his hands together, “Now if there are no more questions?” he paused to assess the faces of his guests. When no one spoke up and the blonde even shook her head, he rose.

“I should have inquired at the start, but perhaps introductions to end things off?”

Lucy blanched and realized with shock that they had indeed not introduced themselves. Jeez, Erza was usually the one who did that and most of the talking.

Natsu didn’t find it that big a deal; the mayor knew they were from a legit guild. So what if they waited till the end of the meeting to give names?

Grays scrubbed a hand through his hair, mildly annoyed he’d forgotten proper standard greetings. Wendy flushed and glanced at the white exceed.

Lucy stood, “My name is Lucy.” She deliberately didn’t offer her last name. While doubtful the Heartifllia name was known out here, no reason to risk it for now.

She gestured to the girl besides her and the bluenette took the queue, “I’m Wendy and this is Carla.”

Carla merely inclined her head and said respectively, “thank you for the tea.”

Mason offered a small smile to the talking cat.

Lucy waved a hand at Natsu, giving him a flat look – he hadn’t even touched his tea, talk about bad manners. “Natsu,” the dragon slayer complied. He was so ready for food. “And the cat is Happy.”

Mason raised a brow at the name.

“I’m Gray.” The raven stated as he finally rose, having been reluctant to move till he knew for sure they were going to be leaving.

“There is a hotel straight down about a block away. If you will leave your measurements with Jose I will bid you all a goodnight.”

Lucy let out a moan of delight as she snuggled into her pillow. She’d gotten her long anticipated hot shower. And now she was so ready to sleep.

Wendy was curled up with Carla in the other bed, both fresh from their baths and already asleep.

Gray collapsed onto the bed forgoing a shower, his shirt lost to gravity somewhere in the room.

Something was strange here. His brain was too tired to think on it, to parse it. He’d worry about it in the morning.

When Natsu came back from his shower, having eaten earlier he found both Gray and Happy passed out. Shuffling over to his bed, he settled onto the mattress, not as soft and comfy as Lucy’s sadly but it beat the ground. With a final glance at his sleeping buddy he closed his eyes.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31993957/chapters/79250947

Click Link for all current Chapters and All Tags

#fairy tail #natsu dragneel #gray fullbuster #lucy heartifilla #wendy marvell #happy (fairy tail)#gratsu #carla #gray x natsu #gray fullbuster x natsu dragneel #fanfiction

14 notes · View notes

awlwren-writes · 2 years ago

Note

3, 4, 17, 18, 21, 30 for the behind the scenes ask

3. Do you write fics from start or finish, or jump around?

I mainly write from start to finish for a particular story or chapter. Sometimes I will move scenes around, of course, or realize I actually want to start sooner and go back to fill things in, but usually I just go and hope the words keep coming.

That said, if I write a series or collection of themed posts, often I write the middle/second one first. This is often something I accidentally do with reading series as well, so maybe that says something about me.

4. Do you outline before you start writing? If so, how far do you stray from that outline?

Already answered!

17. What fic are you most proud of?

Technically already answered but I'm going to answer again, because choosing one favorite is the worst. The fic I (at this moment, it will probably change with the wind) think is the best out of what I've written might be Over Your Hill. I got to explore a headcanon I like, I got to delve a little more into what their relationship looked like in the early stages (useful for Those Who Wander) and I enjoyed the comfort part. And when I reread it recently I liked it a lot! Which was a very pleasant surprise.

18. What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene.

Again with the choosing! You get my commentary anyway in the end notes most of the time because I can't shut up. ^_^

Okay. I'm proud of how I matched up Cor's assault on the dropship in Heaven in a Rage to what Nyx heard in WWFL's chapter, Eternity in an Hour. At that point, the way we were writing is we would talk about the general scheme of things, broad strokes, background info, etc, and then she would write the chapter and then I would write mine as an alternate perspective on the framework she built, and sometimes then we would adjust minor things if I thought of something cool and we had time. But half the fun was fitting my story around hers.

Spoilers here for the climax of the first arc of Smoke and Mirrors, in case anyone wants to read it and enjoy the Drama unspoiled. Plus, it got really long (Long enough to crash Tumblr's Editor, apparently, T_T, so this is the rewritten commentary), so I'm putting it under a cut.

So for Nyx's actual rescue, she gave me: a loud bang and shouting, Nyx hits the wall, someone yelling "(get us out) of here, Drautos", clashes of metal, a roar, Nyx thrown across the ship, then Cor is there talking to him. (I never actually questioned that any of this could be a hallucination, btw, I treated it as a strict guideline. Which maybe made this harder than it should have been. I also have wondered a lot why people in the comments doubted it was Cor that Nyx heard, and just now noticed WWFL's very Evil end note asking if people think it's actually Cor or someone else. Sorry for questioning you all for nearly a year.)

Okay.

This is full on half the fic, so you're getting the highlights, not the whole thing quoted.

The hatch was closing as the ‘ship lifted off, leaving Cor a smaller and smaller window to get on board. He was confident he could cut through the hatch, but he was less confident that the blow would stop there and he couldn’t risk that Nyx was on the other side. Thankfully, the fact that this was an older model was helpful in that the hatch was on the side rather than the front. If he got the right angle… Cor darted up close to the ‘ship, thankful the strange magitek engine didn’t actually give off heat despite its color, and slashed at the hatch from the side. It dropped off the ‘ship entirely, and the ‘ship lurched, off balance from the sudden loss of weight. A soldier fell out of the opening, screaming.

Cor was originally just going to jump on the hatch and prevent it from closing, and then I realized the hatch opens up not down, and he would be squished if he tried. And then, like Cor, I wondered about just cutting it open, and discarded it for similar reasons. But it wasn't speculation in vain, because I could give that train of thought to Cor so he wouldn't instantly have the right answer without trying!

And so we have Cor making himself a permanent entrance, which will come in handy later as well as be a problem later, and we have the bang and a Wilhelm scream, because I am a Star Wars nerd and couldn't resist, and the jolt that knocks Nyx out. It also made my next steps easier, because Cor could kill the pilot mooks quickly without one having to survive long enough to scream, or Nyx to have missed the noise of the fighting.

Through this whole fic, in Cor's perspective the word ship always has an apostrophe in front of it indicating it's an abbreviation for Dropship or Airship, kind of like early writers did for 'droid (See, I told you Star Wars was formative). This is because he's just less familiar with the terminology and the technology itself; when he thinks "ship" (without the apostrophe) he's thinking of a water craft. Drautos doesn't have that problem in his POV chapters, because he has spent a lot of time talking about them with the people who designed them and use them every day.

Moving on. To summarize the next part: Cor gets to demonstrate his skills by mowing some soldiers and techs, gets to see Nyx is alive and ties him down so he doesn't slide out of the plane like the screaming soldier did, and then the copilot tries to attack Cor in a blind panic at having the Immortal in her ship. Cor kills her, and as she dies she squeezes the trigger and sprays the pilot, killing them.

The ‘ship started to dive as the pilot fell forward onto the console.

Cursing this whole day to fall into the depths of Leviathan’s mysteries to never be remembered again, Cor charged across to the front of the ‘ship as fast as he could on his bad leg, pulling the pilot back and grabbing the white joystick underneath them. It reminded him of playing video games with Regis as a teen, but he pushed that memory away and pulled up on the joystick, hoping to level them out at the very least. He had no idea how to land this thing.

I really enjoy fantasy swears, because I love the worldbuilding behind what makes something vulgar or taboo. A culture that is sex positive might not use "fuck" as a curse, for instance. One without a concept of Hell might instead think of the very creepy depths of the Ocean and how jealously Leviathan guards what is hers, and consider that whatever falls to the ocean floor is more lost than lost, and you get a concept halfway between Davy Jones' Locker and Hell.

Does anyone else remember playing computer games with joysticks? Am I just old? Cor is older, so he gets the experience as well.

The ‘ship did seem to level out, but it also turned back in a wide circle toward the courtyard and the machine guns on the other craft. He tried to straighten it out but the ‘ship wobbled alarmingly and he hastily adjusted his direction back to the way it had been. Hopefully Drautos had taken the other ‘ship out by now.

Actually, as the commander of the Niflheim army, Glauca probably knew how to fly this thing. Hadn’t the glaive captured one once, too? It wasn’t important. He tried to hold the joystick steady and tapped his radio. “Drautos, come in. I need you to tell me how to get this scourge-riddled spawn of a tortoise and a garula landed!”

Here I shamelessly shoehorn my HCs into this fic. The first is that Cor joined the Retinue as a driver, and prides himself on this skill. That makes the inability to instantly be able to pilot a foreign craft on his first time very galling to him personally. The second is that the reason Nyx can do so in the movie is because of said captured craft, which was slotted for an infiltration mission for the Glaive and so the Guard didn't get to play with it. This is how the Traitor Glaives know how to pilot them as well, and might explain how they got the rare pilot-able model during the battle at the airships in the movie.

Cor's lack of ability to fly the ship also allowed me to do two things which made my job easier. First, it gave him a reason to call Drautos, whom he might otherwise be inclined to leave behind just to not risk Nyx further. Yes, it would be great to not have Drautos/Glauca (and I had fun playing with Cor not knowing which name to call him by) running free with all his information, but Cor was hurt and protecting Nyx, and fighting to capture or kill Glauca when he was cornered like this wasn't an acceptable risk if he could avoid it. Second, it allowed him to come back close enough to base that Drautos didn't have to chase down an airship on foot.

There was static over the line, likely interference from the base itself, but no answer. He tried again. “Drautos! I need to get this flying box on the ground or at least last long enough to get it out of here, Drautos!”

And we finally have the line Nyx hears! I changed the first part of it from what WWFL was probably thinking of, but it still fit what Nyx heard, so I was grinned and moved on.

Drautos, by the way, hears none of this, between the metal box Cor is in and the metal boxes and buildings he is in, and probably whatever jamming the base has set up. And because he knows Cor is ridiculously competent at too many things and because Drautos himself knows how to pilot and so sometimes underestimates how difficult it is (as do we all with things we know well), he takes Cor's bad driving as intentional, probably wanting additional backup in case things go wrong.

[Cor circles back around, gets fired on, and then...]

A massive clang resonated through the craft as Cor struggled with the controls, and the ‘ship shuddered from the impact. Cor craned his neck to peer below them at the courtyard, trying to see what had hit them, if someone had managed to bring larger weaponry into the fight, but he needed most of his attention to keep the craft in midair. He risked a quick glance back at the interior of the ‘ship to see if he could see any obvious damage, but his view was blocked by the still partially-melted form of General Glauca.

The big clang is Glauca and his metallic armor hitting the metallic dropship! Yay! The other clangs Nyx hears as he wakes up are the bullets hitting the ship.

I figured this made more sense than having anyone who could cross swords with Cor showing up at this point, which is where my mind first went when I heard "clashes of metal". I think this was also the point I realized my first draft of this rescue (which involved a lot more fighting on the airship) wasn't going to work, scrapped it, and started the one you see here.

Poor Cor. Under fire, can't control the ship, thinks he's been hit by a missile and then sees his traditional enemy Glauca. It's probably for the best that he has both hands full or he might have attacked him. Which is why he, in the next paragraph, is very insistent on reminding himself that he's a sort-of ally and calling him:

“Drautos!” he exclaimed, then wrenched his attention back to the instrument panel to stabilize the ‘ship as it swayed again. Blast it into ions, he was better than this. He could hold a car steady on the road while he tracked daemons’ paths through the countryside around him if he so wanted, but the controls on this vehicle were touchier than a car wheel.

Glauca’s armored gauntlet settled on his shoulder as Cor frantically worked at the controls, then he leaned over and pressed a combination of buttons in the center of the console. Cor could read Nifltunga, but these were labelled in some bewildering combination of abbreviations and acronyms and so he had been ignoring them, figuring it was better to work without them then press something wrong. Whatever Drautos did, it stabilized the ‘ship and caused the whine of the engine to roar with sudden burst of speed, which Cor frantically tried to direct up and away from the base and the courtyard full of enemies.

And now we have the roar and the second jolt! (RIP to Nyx's brain. Blame WWFL, not me) I leaned into the ambiguity of the word roar and made it the engine roaring as Drautos switches it to GTFO mode rather than, say, our lion-associated POV character because of the same thoughts about the lack of plausible enemies at this point.

Yes, Nyx was tethered, but it was hastily done with materials not really meant for someone lying on the ground. It kept him from falling out of the aircraft, at least, even if he got a little more banged up.

Poor Cor. So used to being excellent at everything and he's crabby about this one time he's not. Not that he allowed himself the other excuse for that difficulty that I pointed out here: foreign abbreviations are The Worst. Especially technical ones.

Another note about fantasy swears: I base most of the action ones on the astrals - frost it, burn it, blast it, etc. The various versions mostly get used in certain contexts - Ifrit is kind of shady (no pun intended) in current culture, for instance, so anything with burn/ash/char is pretty serious. Shiva references are kind of a mixed bag at the moment because of Niflheim associations, and before she self-destructed were very popular in Insomnia. Nowadays they're kinda old-fashioned, because she's better regarded. Blast (with the modern reference to ions! Some swears do change) refers to lightning and thus Ramuh, so it usually has to do with judgements or condemning something. In this case, Cor is judging himself and this situation very hard, and also has lightning on the brain because of Crowe's attack.

Anyway, next they Talk in a Manly and Dramatic fashion where they don't really address any of the emotional things going on, but Cor does acknowledge that Drautos didn't have to help but did anyway, even at what may be the cost of everything he worked for, and Cor appreciates it even if it probably won't change much.

Cor finally gets to check on Nyx and Drautos fills him in on the basics, including the miasma infusion, and right on cue Nyx -- who is rather messed up between getting doubly concussed in a short time period, having a fever, being infected with the scourge, and generally pretty hurt before that with only rather janky medical help that's gotten ripped open a few times -- gets to hallucinate his sister dying and Galahd burning! Fun times.

I wanted to put Nyx calling for his mom both because it fit the time he was hallucinating, but also because it's historically a thing that even Strong Tough Soldiers do. Being hurt sucks, even if you are a Main Character, and it's not a shameful thing at all to be afraid (this is my Tolkien influence, when literally everyone being afraid of the Nazgul blew my childish mind and made confronting them even more impressive rather than expected).

The hallucinations are there because that was a thing that was happening to him and I wanted some continuity with WWFL's take on Nyx vs the Scourge, and because it's a nice cover for Cor missing what Drautos is doing (his Final Message). Plus, it means Cor has a pressing need to give Nyx help ASAP, without worrying about spinal injuries and the like that might have caused him to delay using a potion otherwise, because Nyx in his hallucinations is probably doing worse damage and he clearly needs a lot of help.

So Cor does some desperate first aid, and bundles Nyx up against him so he can't hurt himself more.

He reached up and stroked along Nyx’s cheekbone, trying to wipe away some of the damning tears.

Does this help anything? No. Does it make Cor feel better to not see evidence that Nyx is infected? A little. Should Cor have been touching the scourge tears with his bare hands? Definitely not. Luckily, he is the other kind of immortal.

“I’ve got you, Nyx, we’ve got you,” he murmured, matching the cadence of his voice and his hand to the pulse of the engine as they dropped slowly, presumably toward a landing somewhere. Cor couldn’t bring himself to care where. “We’ve got you.”

Cor switches to the "we" here, because it had to happen eventually to fit the script. I like to think the "we" only partially includes Drautos, and mostly includes the rest of the glaives and guard who came to help rescue Nyx, and a reassurance that Cor didn't get captured in trying to save Nyx - a reoccurring nightmare for Nyx.

Nyx shifted against his shoulder, leaning up into Cor’s hand on his cheek. Cor could feel his lashes fluttering against his neck as he started to stir, and he let himself believe it was a good sign. “Cor?” He could barely hear it over the sounds of the ‘ship landing, but it made his heart soar higher than the airship had. Nyx was talking, and he recognized him. Surely that was a good sign? His name had never sounded so sweet.

He stroked Nyx’s cheek slowly, wiping away more tears as they fell. Were they lighter? Surely they were. He kept up his mantra, reassuring Nyx that he wasn’t alone, that he was safe. “We’ve got you.” He’d never let go.

Butterfly kisses are the best. Even if the situation is the worst.

Cor is Tired and Dramatic (as was I when I was writing this). He's going to cling to hope and what victories he has and comfort his boyfriend as best as he can and let the Drama flow. He's earned it.

Until Drautos (who had temporarily earned back his first name basis by the help he's given them and by Cor being Tired) takes his turn to be The Most Dramatic.

Thanks for the sticking with me on that long tour through my thoughts (and pity the two and a half hours it took to write it and rewrite it after tumblr ate it.)

21. What is the one fic that got away?

Probably To Hope's End, my Nyx as a Messenger AU. I want to go back and finish it. I do. But I have a lot of unfinished stories, and I think that one's furthest on the backburner for now. Partially because it's going to be long, and if I'm focusing on a long one right now it's going to be Those Who Wander.

30. Tell us an idea for a longfic you want to write in the future.

I would like to get back to the time travel fic I've told you about where Regis trying to use the crystal to check out Noctis's future causes refractions, so you get past, present, and future Cor and Nyx (who were anchoring the spell) of various ages all shoved in a room together and trying to figure out what in the world is going on.

And all the chaos that spills out from that.

I also have several fics that I've posted that I want to continue or expand on if I have the time and writing energy to do so...

But you know pretty much all of my ideas already.

#long post #and get some answers #ask games #garbria #writing #my fics #ffxv #smoke and mirrors #posting quickly before tumblr eats it again #edited

7 notes · View notes

inthedeadofnate · 1 year ago

Text

and the thorn was irritating, very apparently, ribbing him even as pavor realized he'd gotten nate in a different snare, maybe an even more powerful one as his dick led the way to their temporary secret headquarters. he could feel every step and how it pulled the denim of his jeans from inseam to waistband. "don't fuck the dead at all, and if i did, i think that'd make you just as weird." nate grumbled, actually not minding covering up the usually preferable silence, while they made their awkward acquaintance journey together; it was definitely his least favorite of all the silences: hustling some place to fuck.

nate was trying to make sure the door was closed and locked, not wanting any sudden surprises when accosted with the intimacy, accidentally locking eyes with pav while he leaned in intially, and nate's stomach did a flip that was at least 50% anxiety, worried he was gonna have to ask him to knock it off with the gay shit. but then, luckily, all eyes were averted so they could work out their nastiest urges in a more polite and private manner. he let his head rock back against the pressboard wall, the thick tongue sending zaps that specifically made his zipper uncomfortable, so he rid himself of that barrier, letting the button go too. then the zaps were not enough and he palmed the top of pavor's head, applying an insistent but gentle pressure that hopefully seemed like friendly guidance. his other thumb hooked his briefs to let the girthy piece of meat spring free, angling hips out and up so his shoulder blades hit the wall behind him. maybe too hard though, because he had to bat rake handle back into the other direction as it fell down the wall toward them, just in the nick of time. he offered a rough whisper, "sorry."

people were so easy. so far he had gotten nate riled up enough to want to kill him and riled enough to want to fuck him. while this wasn't his plan at first, he wasn't going to shy away with it. pavor knew that he could still make people confront the deepest and darkest parts of themselves while having sex. that's what he was banking on now. when he got up, he was quick to move his hand down the curve of the man's back and then gave his ass a quick slap. "i guess you don't just fuck the dead then, huh?" yes, he was still going to be a thorn on his side in between the hot moments. pavor didn't hesitate before rushing towards the toolshed as nate guided him. the second that they were inside, pavor grabbed him by his waist and pushed him against one of the walls. he acted as if he was going to kiss him on the lips, have an intimate moment, but then he ducked his head and started to suck on the man's neck, peppering kisses in between.

#[ elergyhub ]#[ pavor ]

31 notes · View notes

theteasetwrites · 3 years ago

Text

Keep Me Warm

❧ Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader ❧ Era: Alexandria Safe Zone ❧ Pronouns: any ❧ Warnings: none ❧ Word Count: 3.9k

❧ Summary: You and Daryl hole up in a cabin for the night during a bad snowstorm. Lingering tension leads to the two of you getting very close, and it's not just the cold that brings your bodies together.

❧ A/N: Happy holidays! This is a cute little wintery oneshot. I had way too much fun describing snow, fire, and probably other things lol. Winter is such a great sensory season... the sights, the sounds, the smells... ugh, that's why it's my favorite season (that and I love when it's cold outside and just being inside snuggled up). Enjoy!

Virginia. A beautiful, lush southeastern state… with snowstorms that could make Jack Frost shiver.

Having grown up in Georgia, where it certainly did snow, but never to the point where it almost reached your knees, and you couldn’t see past the flurry of white particles whistling past your stiff face, you were accustomed to a pleasant, delicate snow, the kind that graced your eyelashes and hair with the utmost gentleness, as if caressing a snowdrop.

The snowstorm you found yourself in now would have blown the petals off that snowdrop and sent it into the next state over.

A whirlwind of silvery white flakes bombarded you and your run partner, Daryl, from every angle, collecting in small spiraling bursts and creating enough pressure to almost knock you to your feet as you trudged in the cool, damp snow.

It came upon you fast, this storm. What started off as a routine supply run to a department store for winter clothing and blankets quickly devolved into a frosty fight for your life.

Of course, with your luck, the storm had to start right as you and Daryl were right in the middle of the desolate forest that separated Alexandria from the shopping center you had fought life and limb to escape from.

“Hey!” you heard the gruff southerner call out to you from somewhere beyond the blindingly bright tableau of whiteness before you. “There’s a cabin over there!”

You frantically searched your field of vision for the apparent cabin that Daryl could see. He must’ve had better eyesight than you because the only landmark you could see for miles was the clear outline of the silvery moon hanging low in the sky, rising steadily to assert its reign over the impending night that loomed over you.

“Where?” you asked, squinting your eyes tightly to keep out the snowy debris assaulting them.

You heard one of Daryl’s characteristic grumbles before you felt a sudden tightness around your wrist, then your legs seemed to magically lose all control as he dragged you with him through the onerous onslaught of snow raging around you.

The closer the two of you got to the destination, the more the view of the little, but sturdy, log cabin came into view.

It was hazy, and seemed more like a mirage than a real life structure, but it was certainly there, uncomplicated and dutiful in its time-honored dependability. After all, what was more American than a hunter’s log cabin in the woods not too far from Washington D.C.? Surely such a hovel was respectable enough for even Abraham Lincoln himself.

In any case, it was certainly suitable for your purposes: escaping the rather inclement weather that seemed more like the atmosphere you’d find on an uninhabitable planet.

With a sudden respite from the brightness of the white conflagration, you found yourself looking around the dark, abandoned cabin. You felt Daryl brush past you, his crossbow propped up to his eye line as he searched the small, unassuming home.

From a quick look around, you could see the place consisted of one bedroom and bathroom, as well as the obligatory kitchen and dining area, adjacent to a small but welcoming living room, the centerpiece of which was a beautiful fireplace constructed from large river rocks.

You crossed your arms over your chest, trying to conserve your newfound warmth as much as possible, but you were still freezing, and that fireplace looked to be your only ticket out of the frozen lake in the Ninth Circle of Hell.

“C-can we light that fire?” you asked Daryl, who looked around the place suspiciously as he lowered his crossbow. “I mean, I think we’re snowed in… might as well try to warm up.”

He huffed, and a cloud of dragon’s breath soon followed. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Too stormy outside for walkers to even see the smoke.”

You nodded, then watched as he crossed the living room floor to inspect the fireplace. He knelt down on his knees and craned his neck to look up the chimney like a mechanic scrutinizing a car’s engine.

“Seems safe,” he said, rising to his feet and rubbing his hands together all the while. He turned to look at you, shivering in front of the door. “Whole place is safe,” he assured you.

“Good,” you said, rather awkwardly.

While you were certainly glad to have found a place to shelter until the storm subsided, you couldn’t shake this feeling of anxiety within you. You had it the whole time you were out with Daryl since the day before, and the night you spent with him in the mattress store, but it was worse now.

You couldn’t quite put your finger on the feeling, since it was so different from anything else you’d ever felt with someone, but you really admired Daryl, so much so that you developed a kind of fascination with him over the years, perhaps even an infatuation.

He was so brave and smart and strong and handsome and—well, let’s just say you were trying your best throughout the whole run not to place your body against his and absorb the glowing warmth he always seemed to be radiating. It was so, so tempting, and the chill of winter wasn't making the temptation any easier.

Willing your frozen body to move, you crossed over to the red plaid sofa and plopped your backpack beside you. Daryl began working on the fire, taking advantage of the dry logs that were already in the fireplace. You unzipped your bag and pulled out every last blanket you could fit in that oversized hiking pack.

You slung a white fleece blanket over your shoulders and made your way into the kitchen to search for some food. It was a long shot, but you were starving, and the small cabin had a rather large pantry.

To your pleasant surprise, the place was relatively well stocked, with several cans of baked beans and vegetables.

“Thank God,” you sighed to yourself as you picked up each can one by one, until a few small packets of tea fell on the ground. You bent over to pick them up, and smiled when you read the label: holiday winter spice. In other words, the perfect thing to lift yours and Daryl’s spirits.

Though you weren’t entirely sure what month it would have been back in the days when people used to track that kind of thing more closely, you had a pretty good hunch that it was late December, and that Christmas would have been not too far off. If you couldn’t celebrate it like you used to, you’d at least try to have a bit of cheer with this little forgotten holiday gimmick.

When you returned to the living room, Daryl had his back to you as he stood in front of the fire, seemingly admiring his work.

“Look!” you said rather excitedly as you set your finds down on the log coffee table. “Canned beans, canned corn, canned peas… and we can warm everything up over the fire.”

Daryl turned around and looked at your treasure trove. He nodded his head. “A’right,” he said. “I’ll start cookin’.”

He began to make his way to the kitchen to retrieve some pots and pans, but you quickly outstretched your hand to touch his bare forearm.

“No,” you said. “You made dinner last night. I’ll make it.”

Daryl looked down at your hand on his skin, as if studying it. You looked down at it, too, before realizing you were touching him. Swiftly, you pulled your hand away and swallowed hard.

“Nah,” he said. “You should get under those blankets.” He gestured to the other blankets you left on the sofa. “‘Sides, your hands are freezin’.”

You smiled sweetly. “At least let me make the tea.”

He furrowed his brows at you. “Tea?”

You turned around to pick up one of the tea bags from the coffee table. “See, holiday winter spice. You know, for Christmas.”

He scoffed. “Whatever.”

He returned from the kitchen some minutes later with several pots to cook the food in, and one specially reserved for your tea.

Dinner was the best you had had since leaving Alexandria. Sure, it was all just canned food, but in the end of days, that was the best you could hope for.

You sat across from Daryl on the sofa, maintaining a respectable but excruciatingly distant space between the two of you. You could feel the heat that seemed to be constantly bathing his body. He was one of those people who just generated warmth, and if you weren’t already attracted to him, you certainly were now, considering even the inside of that cabin was cold enough to make you shiver.

“Thanks for cooking,” you said before spooning a heap of baked beans into your mouth.

“Don’ mention it,” he replied, the words garbled with the food he was chewing.

You giggled at the man’s less than polite mannerisms that you came to know and love.

“What?” he asked, almost defensively.

Your eyes widened. “Oh, nothing. Sorry.”

He returned his attention to his food. “You still cold?” he asked, his eyes focused on the spoon clanking around in his bowl.

“Um, no, I’m fine.”

Daryl raised his face to look at you, to find you were now the one playing with your food. “Saw ya shiverin’. I can make the fire bigger.”

“No, no,” you said, shaking your head. “You already did so much. I’m fine, honest.”

Several beats of silence passed, save for the chill winds that whistled through the cabin and the clashing of distant debris caught in the wrath of the winter storm.

When you’d both eaten your fill, you cleared the fireplace area to begin heating up water for the tea. Luckily, the previous residents had kept a pretty big storage of bottled water in their cupboards, so you took advantage of the surplus.

“Here,” you said, handing a steaming hot cup of tea to Daryl. He looked at it like it was some kind of strange foreign delicacy. The aroma of rich cinnamon and cloves, accented by pepper and citrus, trailed with the movement of your gesture.

“Thanks,” he finally said as he took the mug from your hands.

You sat down across from him on the couch once again and began blowing on your own mug. Daryl followed suit, watching you from the corner of his eye and studying your body.

The entire run had also been a source of anxiety for Daryl, but for a few different reasons. For one, he found himself constantly checking up on you to make sure you were all right. He knew you could defend yourself, he wouldn’t have let you come along with him if he didn’t, but it didn’t make it easier when he saw you shivering from the cold.

And then, there was the realization of why he was so protective of you, why he worried so much about you.

He came to terms with it the night before, when he was forced to sleep just a few feet away from you for the first time in ages. It came thick and fast, this need to be near you, the feeling of warmth he got from you. Not a physical warmth, because you were almost always cold, but a warmth that radiated from your kindness and your hope.

It was what initially attracted him to you, your unyielding search for a better future for your people, the people that he, too, wanted to protect, but lately that appreciation had become something more akin to want.

Now, seeing you in the glow of the fireplace, it really hit him that he was dealing with something that he had no idea how to approach.

In the time he spent scanning over you, he noticed again how much you seemed to be uncomfortable, like you needed more warmth than you were getting.

“You’re cold,” he said bluntly.

You turned your attention to him. “Just a bit,” you admitted. “The tea’s helping, though.”

Daryl nodded, then suddenly set his cup down and grabbed a few throw pillows from the couch, crossing over to the fireplace and setting them down on the floor. “What are you doing?” you asked him.

He loosely gestured to the pillows. “Sit.”

You laughed. “What, and we could cuddle by the fireplace?”

Daryl’s eyes widened, and he seemed visibly taken aback. You shuddered when you realized what you had said. Sometimes, things like that just slipped out and betrayed how you really felt. In truth, you wanted nothing more than to cuddle up to Daryl, even if just to keep warm. It didn’t have to be romantic, though you wouldn’t mind if it was. All you needed was real, bodily warmth, something a blanket couldn’t provide, or even a roaring fire.

“I mean, not really, obviously,” you corrected. “Are you cold?”

He shrugged. “Nah. Just… sit.”

You set your now empty mug down next to his and walked over to the fireplace with your fleece blanket in tow, feeling the blazing heat of the fire spreading over your face as you lowered yourself to the ground. Your socked feet patted over the genuine wood floor, and Daryl followed soon behind, sitting much closer to you than before and outstretching one leg, resting his arm on the knee of his folded one.

“Better?” he asked, watching you closely to see if you were still shivering.

You nodded with a smile. “Yeah,” you said. “Thanks… for caring.”

He averted his eyes from you and looked into the fire. “Well, can’t take ya back as a popsicle,” he said, and you laughed softly at his cute little joke. For a man as serious and quiet as Daryl Dixon, he always had these short bursts of light and humor that snuck into his otherwise stoic public persona. “Once this storm is over, we can get back out on the road, get these blankets to everyone.”

“Sweet of you,” you remarked. This time, you didn’t scold yourself for expressing your feelings. Maybe it was something about the warmth from the fire, or the even closer proximity to Daryl that made it seem much more right for you to reveal the intimacy of your words. “You know, I don't think I've ever told you this, but I’ve never met someone who cares about his friends more than you.”

Daryl found that hard to believe, but it was true. He was so selfless, and almost knightly in the way he defended Alexandria, your home. You took it personally.

He shrugged, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks and hoping that the dim lighting of the darkened log cabin wouldn’t alert you to the blush rising in his cheeks, and it certainly wasn’t from the cold.

“Your cheeks are so rosy!” you said sweetly. “Are they cold?”

You had a feeling they weren’t, considering he was never cold, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

“Nah,” he said, straightening his back and trying to maintain some semblance of “manliness,” though it was hard with the way you were staring at him, hoping that he might admit to being just a little cold.

In truth, he was, maybe just a little bit, cold. After all, even the warmest of bodies felt the chill of the harsh, icy world you lived in.

“Well,” he said after a while of feeling your concerned gaze on his body, “s’a little chilly.”

You laughed. “Daryl, it’s freezing outside. It’s okay to admit you’re cold, you know…” You trailed off, with a certain image in your mind as you bit your lip and looked at the hardy man before you, so strong and steadfast, but also so sensitive and sweet.

In your thoughts, you became so lost in the reflection of the flames dancing across his pensive face, so thoughtful and tired as he kept a watchful eye over that fire, which burned brightly like the wings of seraphim. Still, Daryl’s face was no match for the angels, whose burning paled in comparison to that of the sudden urge you felt in your heart.

“Um, would you like to share my blanket?”

Daryl turned to look at you, his eyes much softer than you thought they would be. You wouldn’t be surprised if the usually rather standoffish man completely rejected your well-meaning suggestion, or if he pointed out that if he really wanted to, he could drape himself with one of the myriad blankets you had scavenged from the day before, but he didn’t, he just looked at you with that softness, that warm glow.

He bit his lip as he thought, looking down at the blanket that wrapped around your shoulders and your body as you sat with both legs folded up against your chest.

He had to admit, that blanket looked more inviting than any other measly piece of cloth he’d even seen or felt in his life.

“You okay with that?” he asked.

You tilted your head and smiled. “Well, I did ask, didn’t I?”

A slight tug on his lips appeared to lift the corner of his mouth, causing your heart to pound even more than it already was as you waited for his response.

“Sure,” he finally said.

You unraveled your blanket a bit, then scooted yourself closer to Daryl until you could wrap the other side of the blanket around his broad shoulders, the same ones you had dreamed about caressing more often than you liked to admit.

In the process, your hand gently grazed Daryl’s opposite cheek, and he shuddered a bit at the unfamiliar sensation. No one ever touched him there. He was sure you did it by accident, but it felt so purposeful nevertheless.

When he finished pondering on the accidental touch of his cheek, he began to notice that you were now pressed up against him, your shoulders and hips completely touching with hardly any space between your faces.

Any chill that emanated from either of your bodies was now totally dissipated. The warmth that existed between you, that you both created, together, was enough to last you all winter.

“Better?” you asked him, echoing his inquiry from a few minutes earlier.

That little tug quirked up his lip again. “Yeah.”

For a while you were both quiet, listening to the crackle of the steady fire and the banging of the treacherous wind from outside. Every once in a while, when the whistling became too unbearable and something in the distance seemed to be knocked over by the wind, letting out a terrible crashing sound, Daryl could feel you clinging to him ever so slightly, your hand almost instinctively curling around his forearm and your head practically slotting itself between his neck and his shoulder.

“Sorry,” you would say with a giggle, to which he’d mutter something about it being fine.

He really didn’t mind. He didn’t like it when most people touched him, but he knew your touch was trustworthy. It was nice, the feeling of you holding him, getting closer and closer to him. Most of all, he liked feeling that you could trust him, that if you were afraid of something, you’d look to him to help you escape from it, to keep you warm.

When a particularly loud crash sounded from nearby, you practically gasped as you clung to his strong arm and inched your face closer to him, causing him to flinch a little with you, until he looked at you and met your frightened eyes.

“S’all right,” he said softly. It was remarkable how soft that gruff, throaty voice could sound.

Instead of loosening your grasp on him as you did the times before, you kept your grip on him—tight, but it was a comforting tightness, like the tightness of a baby being swaddled in the softest blanket.

“It’s far away from us,” he assured you.

You nodded, not taking your eyes from his. You had never looked into them so closely, and now that you had, you didn’t want to look away. They were gorgeous, so blue and so orange from the reflection of the fire. Their fierceness gave you the courage you needed to speak again.

“Daryl,” you said, the sound of you speaking his name like a choir of angels in his ear, “could we… hold each other? You know, for warmth.”

You were plenty warm now, and you knew Daryl was too. You could feel it all over him, that warmth that his body naturally carried, and the warmth that was already shared between your bodies. You didn’t need to be any closer, but you wanted to.

“Yeah,” he said.

He didn’t waste any time in adjusting the blanket so it wrapped completely around the both of you, from back to front, and then tucked his free arm underneath it to pull your chest snug against his until he couldn’t pull you closer anymore.

You did the same, enveloping his broad frame in your arms and resting your head on his chest. He couldn’t help himself from smelling you, the lingering scent of the cinnamon and cloves from the tea lingering all around you.

You let out a deep sigh, which punctuated in a small whimper of satisfaction that you let out against him. He felt the vibrations, and closed his eyes as he enjoyed the radiation.

“Daryl,” you said again after a while, still buried in the soft cotton of his shirt. “Thank you.”

He flinched a little at the feeling of you pulling away from him, just enough to look him in the eyes. Still, it felt like you just had to be closer again, somehow.

“You make me feel safe,” you said.

He chewed on the inside of his bottom lip. “You are safe,” he said. “I’ll keep ya safe. Promise.”

You smiled softly. “Keep me safe like you keep me warm?”

“Yeah,” he said, subconsciously rubbing his hand up and down your arm. “I got ya.”

You closed your eyes, and let your body do whatever it needed to do, leaning your forehead against his, then feeling the breath from Daryl’s mouth inch closer to your lips.

Soon, his lips pressed against yours, and, after a few seconds of hesitation, as if asking silent permission to continue, he moved his lips languidly until you began to move with him.

You broke away from the blanket to raise your hand up to his neck, just below his jawline, and caressed his warm skin. He did the same, raising his hand to hold the back of your head ever so slightly, pulling you further into him until it became too much and you both had to come up for air.

You parted slowly, leaving lingering kisses on each other’s lips for as long as possible.

The sigh you released could only be described as heavenly. “Daryl,” you said, your nose touching his and your eyes only open enough to look down and admire his reddened lips. “Can you keep me warm all night?”

He was quiet for a moment, then you felt his hands on your hips pulling you closer again, this time without the weight of the blanket which had completely fallen off of both of you. You couldn’t tell, though, since Daryl was the only warmth you needed now.

“Yeah,” he said before kissing you once on the lips again, then again, and then again… “That’s all I wanna do.”

Thanks for reading! Likes, reblogs, and comments of any kind are always appreciated!

#daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon x you #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon #twd #twd fanfic #the walking dead #the walking dead fanfic #norman reedus x reader #norman reedus fanfic #norman reedus

648 notes · View notes

ahdriking · 2 years ago

Note

Top 5 times Porsche confronts Kinn exs, i need jealous Porsche at his finest please. Ty

This was supposed to be a dot pointed list of top 5's. Instead, here's 1k of VERY self gratuitous jealous!porsche 🙈

The first time it happens, it's a complete fluke.

They're out at a café together, one of Porsche's new favorite places that does excellent scones, and everything is going well until Kinn suddenly goes ramrod stiff in his chair. Porsche notices, of course he does, and his immediate reaction is to assume danger. But then he catches sight of the waiter hovering at the edge of their table.

The boy is cute–lithe and trim in the way Kinn always used to prefer– and he looks at Kinn like he's hung the moon. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together.

Kinn doesn't say anything, so neither does Porsche. It's just one of those awkward things, he supposes. It was bound to happen sooner or later, given Kinn's previous reputation and insatiable appetite. It was hardly the end of the world that they’d run into one of Kinn’s exes.

But still, Porsche watches.

He watches the boy as he serves them, treating Porsche apathetically while batting his lashes at Kinn like a pathetic puppy, taking advantage of every possible excuse to linger at their table. He watches him lean in too close when he refills Kinn's water, his body angling over Kinn’s so that Kinn might see down his shirt, if he was so inclined. He watches him as he laughs at a not funny joke and places his hand on Kinn's shoulder, leaning into him like Kinn was his to lean into.

Something dark and insistent begins to curl in Porsche’s gut. He isn't an idiot. He knows jealousy when he feels it, and he feels it now.

Porsche clears his throat, pointedly, and the boy’s hand snatches away from Kinn like he’s been burned. Porsche glares at him, as dark an expression as he can muster on his face, and as expected, the boy tucks his tail between his thighs and scampers away.

“Are you alright?” Kinn asks him around a mouthful of scone, oblivious to the exchange.

Porsche forces himself to breathe, and smiles. “Absolutely fine.”

But that was just the first time.

It happens again a week later. They’re walking down the street, hands entwined, when there’s a sudden call of “Kinn!” from somewhere in the crowd. They both turn to look, and Porsche’s stomach drops as he sees a boy wandering out of the crowd towards them. Porsche recognises him, which can only mean he was one of the more recent conquests. Which meant he probably still remembered Kinn’s touch on his body. He probably still remembered his taste.

Porsche barely resists the urge to growl, instead setting his jaw, a scowl creasing his face. Before the boy can reach them, Porsche tugs Kinn insistently and steers him into a thicker part of the crowd, putting as much distance between them and Kinn’s ex as quickly as he can.

“Porsche?” Kinn asks, confused at the sudden change in direction.

“Come on,” Porsche demands, twinning their fingers tighter to keep Kinn moving behind him.

The next time it’s in a public bathroom, of all fucking places. He walks out of the stall to see Kinn smiling half-heartedly at a slip of a boy angling his body far too promiscuously in Kinn’s direction. Kinn has the gall to at least look a little uncomfortable as he meets Porsche’s eyes.

Porsche washes his hands, loudly, before stomping his way over and shoving himself between the two in the guise of reaching for the paper towels.

“Sorry,” he says, when he steps on the boy’s foot. “My bad.”

He once more drags Kinn behind him as they exit the bathroom moments later, leaving Kinn’s ex hanging mid sentence, and slamming the door behind them.

It happens again a few months later, when they’re out shopping. Porsche comes out from the changing rooms to see yet another boy toy cosied up close to Kinn’s side, showing him something on his phone that apparently required they be practically plastered against each other. Kinn laughs at something the boy says, and the jealous anger that flashes through Porsche is sharp and intense and bitter. He can’t stop himself from ditching the clothes he was intending to buy, marching over to Kinn’s side, grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the store without so much as a backwards glance or a by your leave.

“The hell— Porsche?”

Porsche slams Kinn against the wall a block away, ignoring the intrigued stars they attract from the meandering crowd on the street around them. He pins him there with hands placed firmly on his chest, shoving him back when Kinn tries to move away.

“Porsche? What the hell?”

They look at each other, Kinn wide eyed and confused, Porsche with an expression on his face that could only be described as thunderous. The burning, white hot jealousy is still curling low in Porsche’s gut, and it makes him feel bold.

“Is this some kind of game to you?” Porsche demands. “Do you enjoy fucking with me?”

Kinn’s eyebrows furrow in concern. “Porsche, I–”

“Don’t you dare say you don’t know what I’m talking about,” Porsche snarls.

Kinn looks confused for all of a handful of moments, before understanding dawns on his face. He blinks at Porsche in something like surprise, before his lips curl up into a smile.

“You’re jealous,” he says.

“Shut up.”

Kinn does as he’s told, for once, raising his hands placatingly, even though that smug smile is still on his face. Porsche swats his hands away and crowds forward against him, pressing their bodies flush.

“Next time you decide to stop and have a chat with one of your old fuck buddies,” Porsche says, his voice low and dangerous, “Don’t.”

Kinn swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing visibly. His eyes dart down to Porsche’s lips. “Or what?” He says.

Porsche snarls, his hands curling into the fabric of Kinn’s shirt as he clutches him tightly. He glares at him for as long as he is able, before his attention inevitably falters, and his eyes flick down to Kinn’s pink, full lips. He hears Kinn’s breathy exhale, full of want, and it’s all it takes for Porsche’s resolve to snap.

Porsche darts forward to steal Kinn’s lips in a brutal, searing kiss. Kinn makes a surprised sound, one that Porsche devours as he moves his mouth against Kinn’s hungrily, demandingly, taking what he wants and brokering no quarter. He is determined to prove to Kinn in every wanton slide of their lips, every flick of his tongue into his mouth, that he belongs to Porsche.

He bites Kinn’s lower lip as he pulls away, breaking the kiss and tugging the soft flesh between his teeth enough to leave a sting. He feels Kinn’s body shudder against him, feels his ragged breath ghost along his cheeks. His cheeks are flushed, and Porsche is transfixed by it.

“I think I like this jealous side of you,” Kinn says with a breathless smile.

“Bastard.”

#kinnporsche #kinn x porsche #kinnporche the series #I DUNNO WHAT THIS IS I JUST FELT THE INSPIRATION #sorry it took so long anon i hope it satisfies your craving

75 notes · View notes

yesimwriting · 4 years ago

Text

Corridor Moments

A/n this is a request from @mariannagris for a fic with the Darkling x Sun Summoner! reader where they're having a cute moment and then Zoya walks in and sees that they're together and gets jealous.

I'm working on a longer fic that should be up this weekend!! I'm working through a bunch of requests/updates rn I promise lol

He's no longer guiding me, but he hasn't moved his hands away--one on my waist, one on my shoulder.

"Aleksander," I try to keep my tone casual, only hinting at a warning.

There's no way he misses it, but he still allows the hand on my shoulder to ghost across my collar before setting his palm on my cheek. "Yes, my sun?"

Before I can roll my eyes, he brushes his thumb across my cheek softly. His touch has started to become more casual, but I'm not sure the comfort it brings me will ever lose its novelty. I tilt my head slightly, leaning into his touch.

"We're not alone." The reminder is more for me than him. All of his actions are intentional, he knows the risks of his sudden bout of affection. "We may be in an empty hallway now, but we're not alone."

Aleksander leans forward slightly, forcing me to press my back into the wall to avoid melting into him. I don't miss his half-smile, a confident smirk breaking across his features. He knows what he's doing. "And what would we need to be alone for?"

The slightest hint of annoyance bubbles in my chest. For someone so determined, he enjoys playing coy more than he should. My lips part, prepared to call him out for his teasing, but Aleksander senses my hesitance like always. He leans forward again, this time pulling my chin up slightly so that our lips could brush together if I just inclined my head slightly.

The closer we get, the more I feel our distance. His eyes flicker downwards, focusing on the slight part of my lips. Aleksander angles his head downwards, allowing our lips to meet fully. Now that the barrier's been broken, I have no choice but to reciprocate with full force, my hands leaving his chest and finding their way into his hair. Aleksander's hands grab the collar of my kefta. He pulls me towards him sharply, as desperate as I am to eliminate space.

And then he pulls me away. I'm left pouting on instinct, lips slightly swollen and breathing a little uneven. "Easy," he chides, "We can't afford to get distracted."

I wrinkle my nose at him. He started this, pulling me out of the meeting under the ruse of important, private conversation. "And who's the one doing the distracting?"

Aleksander smiles fully. A real grin, the kind of grin that rivals any amount of sun I could ever produce. "You," he breathes, leaning in again and brushing his lips against my cheek, "Considering you won't leave my thoughts."

I let myself grin back, his unexpected softness an arrow that pierces through whatever's left of my composure. "You're awfully sentimental today."

He straightens slightly, expression still light. "Is that a bad thing?"

Squeezing the hand that he's placed on my waist, I beam at him. "Not bad at all--just different."

He's still looking at me with a fierceness that sometimes frightens me due to its wholeness, but something ancient and dark is settled behind his eyes. Something haunting that he won't let me help him with. I haven’t known him that long, but I’ve figured out that his affection is often a secret plea, a silent attempt to rid himself of darkness. What's the point of being able to summon the sun if you cannot banish the darkness that haunts those you care about? I raise his hand to my mouth, kissing each of his knuckles deliberately. He exhales at the contact, some sort of tension coiling in him at the chaste contact.

I like us better when we’re alone. When he lets things like this slip from him as he tries to let my light in him. I could stay in this corridor forever with him. I could hold him by his hand to make sure he can’t slip away from me.

Reality does not allow me to coddle my dreams. If I lose focus, he’ll be able to convince me to do anything--to forget my own name even. I drop my gaze to the hand I’m still holding, running my thumb along his knuckles. “We can’t--we can’t stay.” Not the truest sentiment--he can do whatever he wants. “I can’t stay.” The correction leaves me bitter. “Not for long.” The addition only softens the harsh edge of reality slightly. “People are already starting to think you’re extending favoritism towards me.”

Aleksander lifts the hand I’m holding, taking my hand with him. He turns my hand over before placing a kiss on my palm. The contact is warm and fleeting and I’m powerless against the sentiment it stirs. “And this isn’t favoritism?”

I roll my eyes, his warm breath is still against my skin. “That depends--am I your favorite?”

His hold on my hand tightens slightly. “You already know the answer.” I let the corner of my mouth twitch upwards. Aleksander has already offered me more than I expected today, but it’d still be nice to hear him say it. “You, my darling, my sun, will always be my favorite.”

I beam a little easier, warmth expanding in my chest. Still, the feeling isn’t enough to burn through all of my reluctance. His affection stems from the fact that he believes me to be his salvation. That’s the only thing that makes sense to me. How else could i have won his affections?

“It’s easy to favor a Sun Summoner,” the response is soft, a bit of forced teasing edging my words.

His eyebrows draw together as his hold on my hand tightens, turning from a gentle squeeze to a desperate grab. “Sun Summoner or not, no one else has ever held my favor the way you do.” Aleksander leans towards me again, the comforting heat of his breath on my cheek. “And no one ever will.”

I’m reduced to nothing more than happy neediness, letting him cup my face and pulling me towards him. His lips meet mine with a desperate understanding that’s both bruising and coddling. Aleksander’s teeth graze my bottom lip, testing waters that are unfamiliar between us. I reciprocate, pushing even closer to him. He pushes us backwards, pressing me against the wall as he moves his attention away from my lips and down my jaw, leaving a trail of hot skin wherever his lips brush.

“Aleksander,” I breathe, placing a hand on his chest, “Meeting--we need to--”

He pulls away just enough to let me feel his grin, “That can wait.”

“They’ll think things,” Despite my warning, Aleksander doesn’t pull away, his fingertips brushing against my collar. “They’re waiting,” he sighs against my hair, still careless, “Alina--she’s waiting...” He continues to touch me like I’m an illusion of the light. “And--” He smiles at my waning resolve, attempting to move forward to silence the last of my protests with a kiss.

I turn my head, suppressing a reluctant laugh at his carelessness. Aleksander is not discouraged, pressing a kiss against my cheek. Shifting my gaze while placing my hand on his chest to make it easier to push him off fo me, I freeze. He must feel my new stiffness, because Aleksander pauses against me.

Zoya. She’s standing at the entrance of the corridor, watching us--watching me--with such a sharp look of ill-defined displeasure I’m surprised I’m not physically withered by it. Awkwardness and something akin to guilt leave me blind as I try to create space between me and the unbudging General. Does he not see her?

“Yes?” His voice leaves goosebumps against my skin--not an ounce of shame, but not a drop of that easy-going softness either. He’s General Kirigan again--sharp and incapable of shame or regret. He’s in complete control, all the power in the world is at the fingertips that are still on my skin.

Zoya’s expression does not waver, eyes still locked on me. “Those in the meeting were beginning to worry, but I see that you’re occupied.” I was wrong. She’s not staring at me, she’s staring through me--like I’m nothing more than a thin curtain on a cloudless day during high noon. “I’ll inform the others.”

“You’ll inform them of nothing I don’t approve of.” He’s fierce, the threat of venom apparent in each syllable. “And it’d do you well to meet the Sun Summoner’s gaze with a little more respect.”

I’m quick to grab his forearm, desperate to articulate how much I’d rather him not pick this fight--not when most can barely stand me, not when the more I think of Zoya’s look I realize any bitterness towards me is something else. Not hatred, no--resentment. The kind of resentment that’s only ever a byproduct of something else. If I was bolder, I’d assume it a look of jealousy--maybe not over the man, but the attention and praise received for being nothing more than new and shiny. Her eyebrows knit together as Aleksander’s hold on me adjusts slightly. Okay, maybe the fact that I’m with Aleksander has something to do with it--but it has to be more than that. Her dislike of me, her constant myriad of comments and looks all points to a jealousy much more bitter than that of someone love sick.

If something in her has been broken over time here, time around Kirigan and his pension for manipulating that I am not blind to and my presence and joy is a reminder of that, than I can bear her hatred. “She was looking at me normally.” Before he can challenge me, I move his hands off of me gently and slip away from between him and the wall.

I guess that’s what it takes for him to understand that I mean it, Aleksander straightens and takes a step forward. His eyes linger on me as he walks forward. I stay a few steps behind him, a pathetic attempt to cling to any kind of properness I can manage.

“If I were you, I’d at least comb your hair with your fingers before entering that room again unless you’d like to announce yourself as a form of entertainment.”

Being a decent person is nauseating sometimes. “And take the fun out of it for you?”

I don’t wait for her reply, moving down the hall to catch up with Aleksander. Still, when I’m no longer next to Zoya I brush my fingers through my hair in hopes of correcting any damage she’s created. Maybe I should be more worried. Maybe I should care about the opinions of others more. But every reason to stay away from Aleksander entirely feels so small. I’m not naive enough to fall blindly, but the thing about being a Sun Summoner is that you can bring light with you, no matter how dark the path you chose is.

I watch Aleksander as he places a hand on the door to the room. He offers me one last, genuine smile. His path isn’t as dark as he wants it to seem, and even if it is, I don’t care.

596 notes · View notes

seriouslysnape · 4 years ago

Text

Pleasurable Silence

Remus Lupin x Fem. Reader

Warnings: Smut.

Word Count: 2,123

A/N: This was originally a request, but I just realized after I wrote this that this wasn’t what the requester asked for. So this is just a repost.

“Did I stutter? Get on your knees.”

“I don’t like the way he looks at you.” Remus snarled, his arms crossed angrily over his chest.

“Remus, you’re being absolutely ridiculous. Sirius is your friend, he has never looked at me that way,” You huffed; “You’re making this up in your head.”

This argument had been going on for far too long now. You had been at each other’s throats for almost an hour. You were tired of fighting, and tired of trying to make Remus see that he was being immature. You and Remus had been at a dinner party of sorts. It was Remus and some of his old friends from his days at Hogwarts. Of course, Sirius Black was included in this group.

“I’ve known Sirius for a long time. I know how he is. I know exactly what he was thinking by the way he was looking at you.” Remus growled, angrily loosening his tie.

Remus had been having a great time, until about halfway through the dinner when he grew quiet. You had noticed that his jaw was clenched the way it did when he was aggravated, and his pupils were dilated about 2x their normal size. You knew something was bugging him, but you decided to leave it be until you were back in private.

That’s when Remus let it all out.

He was pissed about how Sirius had apparently been boggling over you all night. You were sure that Remus was being paranoid, because Sirius had never said or done anything out of pocket in the few years you had known him through Remus. Remus had always been a little insecure, but never like this.

“What’s the matter with you, Remus? You weren’t so nervous before.” You pointed out, removing the pins from your hair.

His tie had been discarded and he ruffled his fingers through his hair to unstyle it. He was fuming.

“I’m not nervous. I just don’t like seeing my best friend eye-fuck my wife.” He hissed.

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. This was beyond insane. You were annoyed that, after all these years, Remus still got uptight about stuff like this. You supposed that it was better that he was upset opposed to not caring, but it made you feel like he didn’t trust you.

“You’re out of your mind,” You sneered; “Sirius is your best friend. He would never do that.”

Remus rolled his eyes. His cheeks were burning red and the tips of his ears matched his face. He was almost ready to explode.

“For the love of- stop. Just stop talking.” He said turning on his heel to enter the bathroom.

You felt a rush of anger. There was no way you were going to let him talk to you like that. You caught the bathroom door right before it completely closed, Remus looking to you with an agitated expression. You basically marched up to him, just centimeters away from him.

“If you want me to stop talking,” You began, not at all anticipating what this would lead to; “then make me.”

Remus froze for a moment. He quirked a stoic brow and ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek. He gave a cocky chuckle.

Challenge accepted.

He stared at you for another moment before crashing his lips roughly to yours. He brought his hand up and grabbed a fistful of your hair. He backed you into the bedroom once more, pushing you up against the nearest wall. His hand was still in your hair, yanking your head back and sucking hard on your neck. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt, but enough to surely get your attention and send waves of pleasure through you. He growled low in his throat and continued to nip at your neck.

“I can make you stop talking,” He announced, his voice muffled in the skin of your neck; “I can make a hell of a lot prettier noises come out of you too.”

“I’d love to see you try.” You tried to say confidently, but it came out more of a desperate whine.

You let out a surprised gasp when he suddenly kissed you again, nothing short of rough and hot. You let out a hum, and he pulled back and looked at you with so much lust that you felt a shiver travel down your spine. His hands were tight and firm on your waist, keeping you completely pressed against him. His pupils were blown twice their usual size.

“Get on your knees.” He instructed seriously.

You didn’t immediately respond, a little jarred and very aroused at his sudden assertiveness. This had really riled him up. When you didn’t move, his grip loosened on your waist but his eyes narrowed a touch.

“Did I stutter? Get on your knees.” He ordered again, much more sternly.

You slowly sank to the floor, your knees hitting the carpet. You looked away for a split second to get situated, but his hand grabbed your chin, forcing you to look at him.

“Eyes on me.” He said, looking down at you.

You looked up at him, eyes shining with desire and expectation. His gaze studied your every move and expression. You went to quickly put your hair up, but he stopped you.

“Don’t touch your hair.” He said, holding it up himself.

You ran your hands over his hips, trailing to his pants. You unfastened his belt and unzipped his pants, letting them fall to the floor. He sprung forth in front of you, and he moved one hand to the top of your head. You eyed his tip for a millisecond, so quickly that he didn’t even notice your break of eye contact.

“Can I...?” You said, opening your mouth just ever so.

He smirked down at you.

“Be my guest.” He replied.

You put your mouth over his length, suddenly gagging when he shoved your head further into his crotch. He pulled out.

“You better take it like I know you know how to.” He said, shoving back into your mouth again.

You were prepared this time, swallowing around him and working through the reflex. You sucked and kissed, a moan escaping from the man above you. His grip was unchanged on your head, but his fingers were stroking gently. His words came out a bit mumbled as he continued to slam back into your mouth.

“Such a good girl...” He muttered.

His hand in your hair pulled your head back and he rocked his hips roughly into your mouth. Then pulled back and rocked into you over and over.

“Every time you’re such a pretty girl on your knees for me...taking me so well.” He groaned, tossing his head back.

You hummed in affirmation, almost giggling at the way his eyes rolled back into his head. He thrusted a few more times before removing himself from your mouth, watching you swallow his pre-ejaculation. You noticed the fire in his eyes had returned.

He pulled you from the floor forcefully, snatching the zipper on the back of your dress down and pushed it off of your body. He stopped cold when he realized you hadn’t been wearing anything underneath it the entire night. You fought the urge to grin at his face. His eyes raked over you, he was hungry for you.

“Seems I’ve forgotten your favorite thing to take off...must’ve slipped my mind.” You snickered.

His expression was dead serious, as he pulled you to his half-naked body. You began to unbutton his shirt, whipping it off of him in a flash.

“Get on the bed.” He demanded.

With the sound of his tone, you wasted no time getting on the bed, laying back on the pillows. He grazed over your body, taking it all in. A hot flush ran through your face, almost being tempted to look away. He dove down and buried his face into your neck, sucking just as hard as before. You arched your body upward to meet his, an appreciative praise coming from him.

“You’re so damn beautiful.” He said in an almost whisper.

Your hands gripped at his biceps as he left bruise after bruise along your neck, spending extra time on the spots that he knew were most sensitive. Your breathing was heavy, your body wriggling in impatience.

“Remus...” You whimpered.

He looked down at you, a few tufts of his supple hair had fallen onto his forehead.

“What, baby?” He purred, knowing he was driving you crazy.

He captured your nipple in his mouth, sucking hard. You moaned out and arched against him. His teeth just barely biting down.

“Please...” You pleaded.

You threw your head back in frustration when he withdrew his mouth from your breast. He was going to drag this out as long as he possibly could.

“Please what?” He egged you on.

“Please fuck me.” You begged.

He gave a thoughtful hum. He looked over you once more.

“I don’t know...you’ve been awfully bad tonight,” He replied, a devious grin on his face; “Wearing absolutely nothing under your clothes, knowing that you had more attention than just mine.”

You rolled your eyes. If he wasn’t going to please you, then you’d do it yourself. You reached your hand down to your aching, heated sex. You went to rub your throbbing clit, but he grabbed your wrist so hard that you let out a little yelp.

“Don’t you dare.” He warned.

You gave an exasperated sigh, you couldn’t take it anymore.

“Merlin- Remus, please.” You cried out again.

He pinned both of your hands above your head to keep you from trying anything. He let out a seductive chuckle.

“You are just so eager tonight, kitten.” He mumbled.

He shifted to where he was towering over you, you wiggled excitedly in preparation. You knew you were about to get your world rocked. He lined himself up and pressed into you finally. Your heart fluttered at the feeling you had been craving for so long now. He pulled out almost completely and slammed hard back into you.

“You feel so good.” You panted, trying to get your hands free of his hold.

He lifted your leg over his shoulder at that, giving him a better angle so he could go deeper. Remus then slid out and slammed in as far as he could, groaning at the feeling and the sounds you were making. Delicious noises were coming from both of you, pure feelings of ecstasy and desire. He began to fuck you hard and fast until the sounds of your cries and his moans were echoing off of the walls.

“Could Sirius ever make you feel this good?” He asked breathlessly; “Could he ever fuck you like this?”

You shook your head in response, but that wasn’t good enough.

“Answer me.” He ordered.

“No. He couldn’t. Only you.” You cried out.

In response, he rubbed hard circles on your clit. A new round of whimpers escaping your chest. The hot coil in your belly was growing quickly. He could feel it. He sped up his pace, feeling you tighten around him as you released.

He slammed into you again, his cock pulsing hard before filling you completely. He groaned into your shoulder as he came. He collapsed on top of you, your moans were replaced with erratic breathing. Remus looked at you as you regained control over your body again. He had let go of your hands, your fingers running lazily through his hair. He purred contently, a feeling of pure bliss and serendipity washing over him.

Your mind was reeling. You had never seen him like that. He had gotten worked up and angry before, but he had never put it into motion like that. You thought about your fight and how upset he was. Although, now he didn’t seem so agitated anymore. You continued to scratch lightly at his scalp, calling his name out softly.

“Remus?”

He looked to you again.

“Yes?”

You kissed his forehead, a warm glow appearing on his face.

“You know I’m all yours, right? I would never want to be with anyone else.” You assured him.

He knew that deep down. He knew you loved him the way he loved you. But sometimes he just became worried. What if he suddenly wouldn’t be enough? What if someone more charismatic or more...handsome came along? He tried not to think about it.

Based on the way you were looking at him now, though, and the way you were touching him, he knew it wasn’t something he had to think about. He peppered you with much softer kisses now. He felt an overwhelming amount of care and love. This is exactly where he wanted to be.

“I know.”

#remus lupin x reader #remus lupin #remus lupin x you #remus lupin fanfiction #remus lupin x female reader #remus lupin x y/n #remus lupin x female #remus lupin smut #harry potter lupin #harry potter remus lupin #seriouslysnape

620 notes · View notes

kissmetae · 4 years ago

Text

Hope

❧ AU: x Taehyung || Friends to Lovers (Lowkey slow-burn)

You felt distressed, caught up in your own emotions and confused by your over-thought thoughts. Going through a rough patch as some would say, where everything felt hopeless and you found yourself scrolling pinterest till 1am looking for "angsty" core aesthetics to fit your new "vibe" of life. But it was easier said than done to dig yourself a hole when your best friend constantly stood by filling the hole back up as you dug in an attempt to stop you, help you and make you feel better, despite having his own issue to deal with... his crush on you.

|| ANGST + SMUT | 11k | x reader | masterlist in bio ||

❧ Disclaimer: This is fiction. Actions and events in these stories are often exaggerated and to a certain degree unrealistic. Please have this in consideration when reading fiction, especially if it includes sexual content.

❧ Rating: EXPLICIT || sexual content, unprotected sex || Warnings: mention of feeling hopeless, "deep reflection", (reader is troubled by something going on in their life but it's open for interpretation/unspecified)

❧ Smut features: Vanilla, desperate, first time together, unprotected, reassuring/concent asking/'checking in' (is this ok? Does it feel good?) top!Tae and a power outage.

How do you know when you've reached the complete state of hopelessness? Do people ever become 100% hopeless? You inhaled deeply and sighed it out. Gaze to the white ceiling, back on the bed and legs up against the wall. The tingle in your feet from the lack of circulation made them look somewhat less alive and feel cold. With a tilt of the hips you allowed your legs to slowly fall to the side, forming a new pose in the shape of a 90 degree angle on the bed and allowing for the less zombie-ish color to return to your feet. Hopelessness. Feeling like there is no point yet still stubbornly aching in the inner crevice of the head with a wish for there to be a chance for something else. A change, a plot twist a sudden eureka to make the entire world loose it's zombie color pallet and become lively and vibrant again. Hope. Or a wish for hope. It's probably some basic programming, like survival instinct, hope instinct. But at this point you didn't want to believe. You wanted to be grumpy, upset, frustrated. To curse society and curse what isn't fair and curse all the norms and expectations around you regardless of who made them up! Curse the media, curse the mold for perfect and the lip filler ads, curse the restrictions planted by your own beliefs and curse the cause of said belief! But feeling frustrated and angry is hard. Not only is it exhausting but it's the hardest emotion to let out fully and feel satisfied by after. If anything anger and frustration feels like a self-fueling fire that keeps burning more and more until you get exhausted and slump down on the bed with your legs up the wall. Crying would've been easier. You sat up, feeling a brief spin in the head due to your advanced modelling poses and reached for your water bottle. Water, Zen, calm rivers, refreshment, sound of clucking water in the harbor... rain. You turned towards your bedroom window at the sudden raging pattering sound outside. Even the sky needed to cry today. You reached for your phone, having it be faced down for the past hour or so after giving up on ranting about your dilemma to your friend. You had two types of friends. Those who were there for you when convenient and those who were there for you regardless. Taehyung was one of them. 3 missed calls. 15 texts- make that 16. A sting of guilt washed through realizing he must've been worried sick the past hour. Too exhausted to use your vocal chords you opened the text chat. Taehyung was the definition personified of a caring person. Sometimes to the extent where you'd question if it was more than anyone deserved. Did the world deserve Taehyung? You didn't make it through the second text before your doorbell rang followed by a loud bang. It sounded urgent... You got up from bed and slipped your feet into your white fluffy slippers and made your way to the front door of your apartment. You unhooked the clasp and unlocked your door to see one of the rainstorm's victims dripping water onto your doormat. Taehyung, Dressed in a green raincoat and hair clinging to his forehead and temples. His chest was rising unnaturally with his attempts to regain his breathe. "Tae-" He stepped in, an arm wrapping around your side and the other pressing your head to his wet shoulder. "If you didn't make me so worried... I would've removed my raincoat before hugging you." He squeezed. "See this as my revenge." His heart was beating fast. He pulled back after a few seconds, breathing stable and his red hands reaching to unbutton his raincoat. Did he not wear gloves? He pulled the door shut behind him and gently kicked off his boots. Apparently not. "I'll... go hang your raincoat in the bathroom for it to dry" you said, taking it from him. He was quick to address the elephant. "Why didn't you reply to my texts?" He followed behind you. "I... I left my phone to charge and I got distracted..." you made up, hanging his raincoat up in the shower. "I didn't come here to scold you, but when you tell me you're feeling hopeless, you get that it makes me worried right?" His voice was gentle and he looked at you with concerned eyes, stood in the door to the bathroom. Actually.... you didn't. Why would anyone worry... everyone seemed to always take it as nihilistic comedy or something and swat it away with something along the lines of "you’re just hungry" or the classic "are you on your period?" Maybe you were or maybe you weren't but why would that matter? Just thinking about it made you feel annoyed. As if any deep emotion only was caused by a period, it's just a period, why would anyone, let alone someone with a period themselves ask someone else that in a way that minimizes the reason they feel upset or angry or whatever emot- "Hey?" Taehyung pulled you back out from inside your head. "I don't know..." He crossed his arms over his chest and you knew that look far too well. "We'll talk about it, but right now, I'm here to make it better and take care of you. Did you eat?" You shook your head. "Great! Because I stopped by at the shop on my way... before the rain attacked me and picked up some stuff, including~" he said with an eager tone and walked towards the grocery bag you hadn’t noticed until now. He picked it up and dug his hand in for something. "Du du du du" he sang dramatically and slowly pulled out the familiar dark blue packaging. The love of your life, the source of all things good. Chocolate. The good one! Not the weird orange wrapping one you hated, but the blue one, the holy blue one, your favorite one. "I remember your frustration when you saw the empty shelf of horror last week and it was restocked today so i picked up three just in case." "THREE?!" "Mhm!" He nodded proudly. You could cry, finally, but for other reasons. "TaeTae you're the best." You walked towards him, hugging him tight. He was the bestest of the best, the hero, the savior, chocolate delivery man. Oh what would life be without him. A blush spread across his cheeks. "You did it again." He said shyly "Hm? Did what?" "You called me TaeTae." "You don't like it?" "... I do." -- Taehyung had you stationed at the kitchen table while he cooked. With a focused gaze he scrolled on his phone, reading the next step for the recipe while stirring the pot. You were pretty sure he knew this recipe by heart now, he'd cooked it for you before and he should be confident in it but seemingly not enough yet to put the recipe down. The kitchen smelt amazing and you could feel your hunger cry out for whatever was simmering in the pot. Taehyung gently tapped the wooden spoon against the pot as he added another ingredient. "Are you going to tell me what happened?" He asked. That's where you'd left him hanging in your texts when exhaustion took over... "I just..." "Is it /that/ thing?" Taehyung asked, very much knowing of your source for distress already. "Kinda... but this time it feels different... I’m not nervous or eager, I just felt like I was waiting and waiting and what if I waited so long for nothing and I.... it doesn’t make sense but I just feel numb at this point and like I'm losing hope. Like every odd is set against me and I'm the only one dumb enough to still bet on myself." "And me. Except I'm not dumb, nor are you and I'll always bet on you. Always." Oh Taehyung... "Well, as your personal doctor and advisor and therapist and nurse, care-taker, comfort teddy and so on, I am going to prescribe you with some stuff." You chuckled. "Please go ahead." He placed a plate in front of you and another on the opposite end of the table. "Firstly, a good healing meal." "And you’ve already done everything in your power right now, you’ve been working hard. Maybetoohard." He mumbled under his breathe followed by a fake cough. "That said, let me distract you." "How?" "Well, some old school friends wanted to go out clubbing this weekend and-" "You don't like clubbing." "Hold on, let me get to the point. My suggestion is that you can come too, it won’t only be them. There will be the general club people too of course and I think most of them were bringing other friends or their girlfriends too so... it might be fun? If it sucks, we'll ditch and go to the midnight bowling place or noraebang, yes?" Maybe having some social interaction, an excuse to dress up and good music wasn't such a bad idea? The only thing bugging you was the potential mess there could be... and lately with your stressed mind you hadn't been the best at handling those environments, but after all this was just a club, with dancing people... it couldn't be that bad right? Bowling did sound fun too though... But you knew distraction and fun was what you probably needed. Maybe it wouldn't solve the issues but maybe it'd make it weigh less. The small distractions did a lot, a big one should do even more. "Sure." "Really?!" You could've sworn you just witnessed his ears wiggle from excitement. "I'll come." -- When Taehyung said "clubbing" you expected big flashy neon signs, a red rope and a guard and pulsing music coming from inside... not a giant base, a sax and a set-up of almost 4 different types of synthesizers. A jazz club. You should've known. The band was some sort of electro jazz fusion sprinkled with funk type band, as they introduced themselves as and they weren't bad, not at all. In fact this was a lot cozier than an uncomfortable packed nightclub. You just wish Taehyung told you so you could've worn your comfy flowy favorite dress rather than your tight little black one, wanting to fit in with the scene... Taehyung was dressed in black slacks, a green sweater and a brown coat that was hung over his chair, paired with his trademark assortment of bracelets on his wrist. Including the one you gave him for his birthday two years ago. He never took it off since the day he got it. It made you smile seeing it on his wrist. Taehyung's old school friends, the few you had managed to great during the evening were all really nice and most of them had their arm either around another or a hand held by another. You couldn't help but feel a little awkward, the questioning looks that didn't need to be vocal for you to understand. "Is this your girlfriend?" Taehyung just smiled, maybe playing it off was best... or did he just not notice the silent question? At first you expected a shrug or something but nope... "Would you like something more to drink?" Taehyung asked, leaning in so you'd hear him over the music and pointing towards your nearly empty glass. "I think I'm alright." "What?" "I'm ok." You leaned in closer. "Do you want to dance?" You and Taehyung were seated alone at one of the many tables as the majority were occupied dancing to the beats of the band and the rest drinking at other tables or mingling around. You had been up there at least twice, maybe even three times dancing the best you could and Taehyung always being by your side but your brain was starting to get a little drowsy. "I think I'm going to call it a night. But you can stay if you want." "No no, if you want to go home I'll come with you, let me walk you home." "I'll take a taxi its ok" "I insist." "So do I" the few drink he had had were enough to make his words braver and bolder. "It's late, I don't want you to go back alone regardless of if you take a taxi. I'll walk you." Fine. "Ok" Taehyung swept the remainder of his wine and grabbed his coat and waved some quick goodbyes. It was cold outside. Dark and empty... maybe it was good Taehyung insisted after all. He stumbled slightly, alarming you. Your hands instinctively reached for him and he giggled. "You only had two glasses I doubt you're drunk right now." "Maybe I wiwwle tipdie" he giggled, clearly acting up. "Does wiwwle tipdie Taehyung need help? Should I carry you on my back?" "No! I should be carrying you, do you have a blister on your heal from your shoes? Sore feet? Sore legs? Anything I can use as an excuse?" You laughed, patting him gently on the back. A cold breeze travelled through the street and you pulled your jacket tighter around you. "You're cold?" Taehyung asked "A little... my choice of dress wasn't the best." "I think you look beautiful." The sudden compliment caught you off guard. "... thanks." "Thanks? For what?" "The compliment" "I'm simply stating the facts." He said, looking to the side and slipping his hands into his pockets. "It sure is cold..." Why was it feeling awkward suddenly? Silence between the two of you would usually be comfortable... "Thanks for bringing me too." "Did you have fun?" He turned to face you again. "Yes, it was better than I expected." "I'm glad to hear that." "But let’s go bowling next time." "Sure!" He smiled widely. A source of warmth suddenly surrounded you and you looked up to see Taehyung's face turned away yet again but his arm resting around your shoulder, wrapping his coat around you and urging you closer into his side till your hips almost brushed against each other. The rest of the walk back home was a few minutes of silence, but luckily you didn't live far. "Home sweet home" "How will you get home?" You asked, concerned. "Ah..." he checked the time on his phone. "Well I've missed the last train... so unless I can find a taxi which so far I've seen none I'll have to sleep at the station." "No you're not, come, you can call a taxi from my place and at least wait inside instead of out in the cold." You said, grabbing his arm and pulling him with you through the entrance. "Nobody's picking up?" You asked Taehyung looked down at his phone with a confused look. "It keeps hanging up on me? I don't know if maybe their line is down or something?" "It would explain why we didn't see any on the walk back." "I guess so... so now what?" He looked up at you. "Guess you'll have to stay the night." He grinned. "Can't remember the last time we had a sleep-over" he chuckled and removed his coat. He was right, it must've been years ago... the last time you could remember was a movie night gone sleep over during winter when it had snowed so no traffic was able to move at all. You grabbed a spare cover and a pillow and handed it to Taehyung, sleepiness already present in his eyes. "Hey." Taehyung said, laying out the pillow and cover on your sofa. "If I have a nightmare can I come lay next to you?" He grinned. "If you have to." He replied with a puppy gaze. "Good night TaeTae." His eyes widened and he looked down at the couch. "... Good night." -- The question was when would you wake to the sound of birds chirping instead of the aggressive rasp of the snow plow dragging across the street? It almost sounded like it was more ir less plowing the asphalt off the earth rather than the snow. More irritating was that it just added to your unsatisfying sleep and rough awakening streak. One good morning was all you asked for... You sat up, slid off the edge of the bed and slipped into your slippers that were neatly set up by its side. A scratch of the head and an adjusting pull of the bun on your head and you headed to you first destination; tea. With heavy steps you dragged yourself out of your room and were met by the surprise you had forgotten was left on your couch from last night, sprawled across the sofa... in only boxers. Oh god. The covers were halfway on the floor, only covering his legs, barely. It was cold too but should you just ignore him... no, you couldn't... but what if you woke him up? He was only in boxers and you were already trying your best not to look but your brain had already registered that they were black and Calvins... please no more information... thigh muscles NO! Chest, focus on the chest. He was breathing, he was alive. Inhale, exhale. You carefully made your way towards him. His chest was toned... the type perfect to rest your head on NO! Messy hair... It really didn't help that your best friend was as attractive as he was. You bent down and carefully picked up the cover, pulling it back up over his upper body. He must've been really cold, his nipples- NO. You shook your head furiously to get rid of the thought. You turned around 180 degrees and marched to the kitchen. Tea. Tea. Tea. Tae. TEA! You could hear the covers rustle as he shifted, followed by a soft groan. Oh no... Please no. Although... why was it so dangerous for him to see you in your own home, making tea. I don't know! But regardless it felt like an action movie stealth scene for the grand heist judging by your heart beat. The boiler was too loud, the accidental clink of the mug as you set it to the counter too, the rip of packaging of the tea bag, the wind whistling outside! Sweat? You were sweating, stress consuming you yet again over the moist pointless little thi- "Hey?" The tea cup smashed against the kitchen floor along with your gasp and you grabbed the door handle of the kitchen cupboard for support. Taehyung starred at you with wide startled eyes. Maybe your screech scared him as much as his sudden presence scared you. "Sorry." He chuckled, voice so deep and raspy you could practically feel his vocal chords vibrate. Your heart was pounding hard. Could he at least have been swaddled in the covers and not in his boxers right now... You diverted your eyes to the porcelain shards across the floor. "Wait wait wait!" Taehyung yelped, holding his hand out to stop you from moving. But it was too late. The dark kitchen along with your giddiness had of course resulted in the unfortunate miss step. You sighed, lifting your foot from the chard as you felt something wet trickle down your foot. Taehyung quickly reached to turn the lights on, the bright shine blinding both of you briefly and making the view of him even clearer. "Stay there." Taehyung ordered. Your kitchen was pretty small so there wasn't much space to move without risking another wrong step. A cup of tea and now all this. You slapped your arms to your sides in a deep pout. Making a new cup now just felt wrong but you craved a cup so bad and it was cold... the floor was cold, you were cold... and not to mention everything hanging in form of heavy weights on your shoulders and chilling on top of the imaginary storm cloud above you right now. It's like your issues were mocking you and just making everything worse. Maybe the issue was that you related to the once-was intact mug. You felt split and unorganized, all over the place and dependent on things you knew you shouldn’t be depending your hope and happiness on but yet day after day you’d lose yourself in a visualization of a scenario of perfection were everything would be ok until again the door was slammed in your face and you had to start all over again. No matter how many times you felt like this time would be different and this time you were ready, this time it'd all go your way because the past was forgiven and your time wasn’t right but again and again .... Your patience was running out. You sniffed, wiping the tears from your cheeks with the back of your hand. Taehyung came back holding a broom and a dust pan when he saw your face of tears. "No..." he sounded panicked. He leaned down quickly sweeping the chards to the side of the kitchen and tossing the broom and pan into the pile so he could approach you. Strong lean arms embarrassed you like out of a 6 different angles k-drama scene. A hand found its place on the back of your head, softly petting you as the other pressed you closer to his warm chest. Never had you expected that hugging Taehyung would feel this safe. May it be because he was the one you could be truly vulnerable with or that he was the one that knew what was going on right now, but whatever he did... he did it just right. "You don't need to say anything." He whispered. "I know." He squeezed you a little firmer. "I know." He reassured. "Sssh" his hand felt so gentle as it caressed you. "It's going to be ok." He felt so warm. "I'm here." His skin felt so soft against your hands. "I'm not going anywhere." Your heart calmed down. Taehyung didn't pull away until you became silent and your breathing stable. But even then he didn't pull away completely, only enough to look at your face and caress his thumbs under each eye gently. "I'll reheat the water for you." He smiled softly and reached for the switch on the kettle. You didn't want to let go, not just yet. But he slipped away carefully and kneeled to sweep up the shards and discarded the pieces into the bin. He briefly disappeared and came back holding his sweater, arms slipped in and pulling it over his head as he entered, causing his shoulders to naturally flex slightly as he slipped it on. He grabbed two mugs from the cupboard, added a bag in each and filled them with the hot water. You tugged and fidgeted at your sleeve as you watched, feeling unusually shy in his presence. "Come, let’s sit on the sofa" Taehyung said and grabbed a mug in each hand but quickly came to a halt. "Your foot!" You had forgotten about it too. He placed the mugs back down and watched you as you lifted to check the cut. "Fuck." Taehyung said and quickly ripped a piece of kitchen towel off and handed it to you. Holding one hand against the fridge for support and the other wiping the smeared mess on your foot you watched as Taehyung quickly disappeared and reappeared again with your med kit. "Does it hurt?" He asked, rummaging through the kit. "No, it just stings a little." He pulled out some disinfectant solution and eyes you quickly up and down. Before you knew it he was stood in front of you, kneeling slightly as you felt his large hand grab a hold behind your thigh and his arm scooped you up on him. Your heart was back to its rapid pace again. He set you down on the sofa carefully and went back to grab the disinfectant and the tea mugs. He sat on the floor in front of you, soaking a cotton pad with the solution and gentle pulling your foot towards him by the ankle. "Ah, thanks goodness it doesn't seem to be deep." He said with relief, gently dabbing the cotton pad to the wound. It stung a little but it wasn't too bad. "All nice and clean, do you have cute band-aids?" "Only boring plain ones I'm afraid." Taehyung scrunched his nose. "Boo." With a band-aid beneath your foot and your longed for tea in your hands you sat next to him on the sofa. "An eventful morning." "I should become your fulltime caretaker at this point." Taehyung joked. "Not that I'd mind." "Will you pay me?" He raised his brows as well as the mug to his lips. "No way." You smiled. "Charity work is good for karma." "I already have good karma!" Taehyung protested, pretending to be offended. He laughed that trademark warm laugh that was like a smooth cackle that somehow always triggered a little firework to go off in your chest. You smiled, looking into your mug as if it'd tell you a fortune. ... you swallowed and looked up. In winter the sun rose late and had begun its voyage above the horizon, painting the sky a bright warm orange tone as it shined in through the window behind Taehyung. No. You didn't have feelings for him. You just felt some post-event shakiness and nerves and for the matter of a fact you finally got your much needed cry. It must just be your chest feeling lighter thanks to the cry. "So, do you have any planes today?" Taehyung asked. "I don't even know what day it is." "Good, I don't have plans either and it's Saturday for your information. But I do have a potential plan and that is, since I'm already here, to spend the day with you unless you have important to do's, which you shouldn't, because you need a break." He whispered towards the end. "A fmnn break." He repeated, biting his lip on the word to censor himself, but he got his point across. "A break would be nice... but when I try, I feel distressed as if I shouldn't be doing it because I'm wasting my time. I need-" "A distraction" Taehyung filled in. You nodded. "Then thou shall sit here and watch my live-in-action cooking show live from your kitchen." He said cheerfully, slapping his hands to his thighs as he stood up. "Do you have strawberries?" He asked. "In the freezer." "Yes!" He made his way to the kitchen, worth to mention is the open floor plan of your apartment so you could see him well enough from where you were seated. The soft messy curls on his head bounced with him as he walked. He dramatically pointed at you with a spatula in his hand. "Welcome." He said, speaking deeply into the spatula. "The pancake and strawberry smoothie extravaganza extraordinaire show with your host." He point his thumb and index under his chin. "Kim Taehyung." His goofiness never failed to bring a smile to your face. He went to grab his phone on the sofa table. "I need background music...." he hummed as he scrolled, spatula still in his other hand. "Jeopardy music 10 hours?" He looked up at you for an opinion. "Please no." He giggled and a calm upbeat song started playing from him phone as he put it back down and resorted to the kitchen. While frying up the first batch he was spaced out, humming on the theme tune to jeopardy anyway. You had made yourself comfortable on the sofa, lying down. The sofa smelt like him now. The same sweet comforting scent as the hug had... and his coat the numerous times he'd wrapped it around you when it was cold or shielded you from the rain with it. But speaking of memory, thinking back at those often occurring times you were also reminded about how a previous "friend" used to try and provoke you into being nervous and shy in Taehyung's presence. You'd been close for years and maybe she had an issue with that or something but she'd always find ways to tease you in way. Claiming Taehyung was giving you "looks" or "checking you out" in ways she as a self-declared expert in men deemed were of more than friendly nature. And since she as expert of men by that likely thought all men were the same, proves how reliable of a source she was. Taehyung he just.... you were close. She just wanted to make you feel embarrassed and self-conscious and make it awkward between you. You hated thinking about that. It made you overthink and feel awkward. Like an evil loop. You looked up at the breakfast chef, catching his eye as he quickly looked back down to the pancakes. You could get used to this view. Handsome man in boxers and sweater making you pancakes when you’re feeling blue, the headline in your head spelled out. The Zen experience of the kitchen fan being turned off brought stillness and Taehyung emerges with a plate of pancakes, disappearing and re-appearing again after denying your offer to help with the strawberry smoothies, plates, forks, knifes and every suitable pancake topping he had been able to locate in your kitchen. And a tube of mustard as a joke that you only kept in your fridge for when your dad came over to dinner and his weird obsession with having mustard on everything. It was probably even expired. "Enjoy your meal." "You're my hero Taehyung." You said, stabbing a pancake. "I can be your hero baby." You froze. "What?" "Haven't you heard that song?" He smiled. Oh.. "Hero? By Enrique Iglesias?" "Ah, now that you mention it-" "With the weird music video were goes on this road trip with the girl and then he's suddenly rubbing money over her body in this random stone house." "Is this what you binge on youtube at 2am when I wake up to 15 links and emotional texts." "Do not judge me!" You giggled. "I'm not, I like waking up to those texts from you. You sent them to me for a reason." Taehyung smiled shyly. "Yeah... anyhow! I have a suggestion, a proposal, a-" "Go on" "Since I'm your hero, but even I weren't. I thought maybe I could stay here a few days? Only if you want me to, of course. I just-" he became shyer. "I like to think that you seem to feel better when I'm around and you're going through a rough time so I'd like to be there for you, like you are for me." Your heart made its presence in your chest known yet again. "You should think.... because it's true." "So?" "It'd be nice." He smiled widely. "Great! But I do need to go home and pack some clothes and... some pajamas and Yeontan! He is a great comforter trust me, he has cheered me up many times when I've cried." "Cried? What were you crying about?" "Oh- uhm it's nothing, it's ok now so." He swatted it away. "Boys cry too." He joked, but it tasted weird. "But he's staying with my parents this weekend, but if you want I can go pick him up." He suggested. "It's ok, he needs time with his grandparent." Taehyung chuckled. "Well they love their grandson so I'm sure they wouldn't mind having him stay an extra day or two." -- You couldn't help but feel bad that Taehyung had to sleep on the sofa... His bag with clothes and necessities was placed in the hallway and the covers neatly hung over the backrest. "We could take turns and sleep in the bed every other day." "I told you it was fine." Taehyung insisted, again. "I just feel bad..." "Then let’s both sleep in your bed and call it even." "...." your cheeks felt hot. "See, so I'll sleep on the sofa. Don't worry about it!" What does he mean "see"? ... you were simply imagining what excuse to use as to how your head would coincidentally end up on his chest instead of your pillow. "Or we'll both sleep on the sofa, but it might be a bit cramped." He continued. "Maybe this was a bad idea..." "Hey no! No, I'm just joking. Don't feel bad ok." Taehyung's hands smoothed down your arms. "Beds are better at healing wounds on the feet too." You exhaled deeply. "Oh TaeTae..." "Doesn't this feel like we're having a pajama party or sleep over?" He smiled. "Kinda, should we build a blanket fort and watch movies?" His mouth dropped open. "I'm just kidding!" You laughed He pouted. "Oh you want to?" A nod. "You want to build a fort and watch movies?" You asked with more excitement. More enthusiastic nodding. You both cracked up laughing on the sofa together. "I'm serious though." Taehyung grinned. -- You lied awake in your bed, eyes to the ceiling. For some wild reason you both thought it would be a great idea to binge through the entire twilight saga series as a source of comedy but you only made it up to half-way through eclipse when it became too much to handle for both of you. The first movie was easy to mock and laugh at and make fun out if but once it got more serious and romantic in new moon it started getting a little awkward. To say the least, feeling flustered from watching twilight but not due to the movie itself but from the presence of Taehyung right next to you in your make-shift sofa blanket fort. You couldn't stop thinking about him. And he was out there... on your sofa, right now. And who knew if he was in cute polka dot pajamas with his hair a mess on the pillow or his tight fitted boxers and his hair tied up.. You bit your lip, crossing your legs at the visual. You remembered the first time you witnessed Taehyung tie his hair up and how it felt like being punched in the gut. It's not possible to be that attractive. "Then aren't you attracted to him?" The voice echoed in your head. Just because you find someone attractive doesn't mean you're attracted to them! Which is very much true. But Taehyung's personality was attractive too which was harder to justify the same way. And his person. And him. The entire package. You sighed. Maybe the stupidest thing you could do right now was reach for your phone and google "do I have feelings for my best friend?" Ah yes. A quiz. Maybe it wasn't so stupid after all, it'd say maybe you like him but you're not into him at the very most. Question 1, do you find them attractive. Well who wouldn't? And like mentioned it doesn't mean you're attracted to him. Yes. Question 2, do they like you? Pfft... what kind of question is that? How would you know? I don't know... or yes I guess? I mean he clearly likes you as a friend or he wouldn't be up to making all this effort for you but do they mean platonically? You ticked maybe. Question 3, Do you stalk them on social media? What the??? He's your best friend! The algorhythm shoves his posts in your face weather you like it or not. Sometimes. Question 4, Do you see them a lot? Yes. Question 5, Do you want to know more about them? You already know everything ... but what he cries about to Yeontan is something. Yes. Question 6, when you see them with somebody else who isn't considered their friend, how do you feel? Jealous. Question 7, when they're around you how do you feel? Nervous or self-conscious or nothing or i don’t know... well nervous AND a little self-conscious depending on the situation and if he's dressed or in just his boxers. Nervous. Question 8, Do you think about them? Yes. Always. Question 9, Do you laugh at their jokes? Another weird one but yes. Question 10, are they your ex? Huh? No. Definitely. A lot. You placed your phone screen down on your chest and let out a sigh. Maybe visualizing a kiss or two while in the shower was a crime after all... or was the question why were you in the first place? He was amazing in every type of way and you wanted to know if he was amazing at kissing too andmaybeinbed but you can't just ask him that or try it out, so you had to resort to imagination.... Who were you even trying to convince at this point? You liked him. Definitely. And a lot. The realization did nothing to help you fall asleep unfortunately. Another 15 minutes in dark silence passed when you suddenly heard the floorboards squeak. Maybe Taehyung was going to the bathroom or grabbing a glass of water... But the soft pats of his feet should've stopped by now... Your half open door pushed open a bit more shyly and Taehyung peaked in. Dressed in pajama bottoms, but no shirt. "You're awake." He said, whispering. "So are you." "I can't sleep..." he rubbed his arm. "I feel lonely." As if you'd deny him looking all shy and vulnerable in your door. You scooted to the side in your bed, making raise his brows in hope and anticipation, fingers fidgeting. "Come." You said, patting the bed next to you. The bed dipped gently as he lied down and you put the covers over him. He shifted onto his side, placing his head on your pillow. This was better. But since you just took an online quiz to realize you had feelings for this man currently shirtless in your bed, you couldn’t help but feel incredibly awkward. "How come you're feeling lonely?" You asked, trying to conceal your stiffness "To a start I sleep better when I get to hold something." He said shyly "Who?" You asked, intending for it to be a thought. "When I'm at home, Yeontan." Of course... "He lays on the bed and I feel less lonely and hearing him walk around or do something makes me feel soothed knowing I'm not alone... for the most part." "Are the tears you cry... tears of loneliness?" You could tell it triggered something in him. He bit his lip and nodded gently, eyes glossy. "For the most part it's just me and a pillow." He confessed. "But you could say-... it's something like that, yes." Face to face, mere inches apart. You thanked the darkness of the room that he couldn't see you blush right now but unreasonable fear that he'd somehow "sense" it in the atmosphere still worried you. You shouldn't have taken that stupid quiz it only made you start overthinking and it was probably rigged and the questions were weird so why should you listen to it? Get back to your senses! He's your best friend and you're comfortable with him! Calm down! "... I know it's dumb" Taehyung mumbled. "I know it seems like I'm this easy-going social butterfly with lots of friends who can find someone to hang out with within seconds... but when I'm alone at home, I just feel so empty. Like if nobody sees me, I don't exist. Thus when I'm alone, I'm not real anymore." "That's very philosophical, but what if someone thinks about you while you are alone? Then wouldn't you exist since somebody has you on their mind?" "But it'd be impossible for me to know and people have better things to do than walk around and daydream about me." It stung a little inside hearing him say this. "People are actually capable of multitasking you see, they can do these better things you speak of and think about you at the same time. I think about you a lot, sometimes I think about you while doing the laundry, riding the bus or taking a show- that sound's wrong." Taehyung chuckled. "But you get what I mean." "What do you mean?" He asked "That I think about you and that you aren't alone TaeTae, you never are. If you're ever feeling lonely, maybe think about me. If that helps. Or get to know yourself more, become your own friend or create an imaginary friend!" "I already do that." "Have an imaginary friend?" "Think about you." Oh. "... does it help?" You asked shyly. He shook his head. "It just makes me miss you and want to come to see you." Is it possible to experience a softer heart attack than you just did? Rather than a heart exploding in saw gore-level mess it gently poofed and became a small cloud of red feathers gently falling to the ground. Since when had you become a softie? Two hours ago you were all if there's no sex in the romance novel, it's not worth my time but now you suddenly felt an urge to ransack the romance section of the nearest library to read every cheesy romance story you could find until you could find one similar to your own. Your... own? What? With... with Taehyung? ... not that you’d visualize every male lead character as coincidentally similar to him regardless of how their looks were described in the book.... "Maybe I do need to spend some time with myself to get over it..." No! Stay here with me! "I can spend more time with you." Taehyung looked up. "I think that could benefit us both." He sounded more hopeful now. "Well, you're already here so it's also convenient." Despite the darkness you could make out the smile on his face that appeared. Cute. But wait... did Taehyung suggest he could stay here for you, because he felt lonely? He shifted slightly and the sheets rustled. His leg accidently brushed against yours and your first thought was to tangle your legs with his in a leg tackle war... but you still felt too on edge to act casual and playful with him like you normally could. You swallowed. "How long have you felt this way?" "A while... a long while. At first it was nothing but then it got worse and even more worse when I realized this one thing." "What thing was that if I may ask?" He sighed. "It's hard to explain... but, say a friend." "Mhm?" "A friend feels kinda lost, existentialism and stuff going on, doesn't like to be by himself, then he finds this person and they make him forget it all but once they’re apart it all returns to him again like they were his escape but only for as long as they were together." "Is that only with that one person or all?" "No no, only that person. And then he realizes he might be in love, or he's addicted to the person in a way, but in a good way not an obsessive way just-" "In love?" "Something like that." "You're in love?" "Huh?! What no! This was about a friend! I'm not talking about me!" "Then what did you realize Taehyung?" You could tell his mind briefly blanked in panic. "I realized that maybe I, as said friend need to find that person for me." "A person?" He nodded shyly. "You want to fall in love?" "I don't know... something like that." 'Something like that' seemed to be his catchphrase this evening. But in love? A person? His person?... that couldn't be you... could it? Did he want you to be his person? Were you his person?? The questions and confusion kept spiraling through your head, (finally) making you feel tired and exhausted. "I think... I just want to tend to someone else than myself, to not have to think so much about it and instead take care of somebody else." "Is that why you offered to stay?" "Yes and no, I want to take care of you because I am genuinely concerned and worried about you, I want to be there for you. But also, sleeping on the couch last night, hearing you tiptoe around the kitchen... it made me feel comforted." His voice sounded drowsy. "If you want... I can be your person in this scenario." You suggested. "You've already become.. person." He mumbled, sinking deeper into his half-awake state. -- You stretched your leg out one at the time, twisting your body gently and inhaling deeply into a stretch, gently batting your eyes open. You pushed a palm against the bed to get up into a seated position when something suddenly restrained you, heavy over your abdomen. Surprised, you raised the sheet to see the reminder of what you had forgotten last night. Over your waist, a lean arm with faint thin dark hairs and a few subtle veins travelling up the forearm from the large hand clung to the side of your waist... all attached to the source of warmth to your left, Taehyung. His dark locks a mess on the pillow, his bare upper body now fully on display in the daylight and his polka dot pajama pants haven travelled down a bit too far low for your sanity... Cursed be the eyes in your skull for travelling down the view. You would've noticed it sooner or later regardless, especially since your thigh was a hair between touching it. It, being the weird relief of knowing he got some deep relaxing sleep in... but with an awkward morning surprise... and his arm wouldn't grant you freedom without you accidentally or intentionally having to wake him up. You carefully shifted to at least have your thighs at a safer distance, but your bed wasn't intended for two people, so it was easier said than done. His grip suddenly tightened and a low groan escaped him as he shifted. Why did you feel fear as if you shouldn’t be present in your bed in which he entered himself. If anyone Taehyung should be the one fearing his life right now. His thumb caressed your side gently and it felt nice... soothing. Until his eyes suddenly opened wide with a soft gasp as you felt his morning hard on grace against your thigh. Eyes that pleaded and begged you didn't notice pierced into yours and you decided to play along. "Did you sleep well?" His hand quickly retreated to your disappointment. "Sorry i... I did it in my sleep it wasn't-" "It's ok, you said you sleep well holding something and being held didn't feel too bad..." "Well, in that case, I actually slept better than I have in a really long time." He said, voice raspy and deep still. He rolled onto his back, thankfully, and placed his hand behind his head. "Did you?" "Huh?" "Did you sleep well?" "In fact, I did." You said, answering truthfully and resisting the urge to put your head on his bare chest. If only the lord or whoever would stop testing me... "Hungry?" He asked. You nodded. "Great, I'll fix something ok, but close your eyes." "Why?" "I'm shirtless." ... right. You covered your eyes with your hands and the warmth left your side as he got up and escaped the room. You slowly got up, trying to win some time for him but a few brief seconds later heard the sound of the bathroom door down the hall closing and locking. Yikes. That went smoother than expected. You set up some tea, knowing Taehyung described coffee as the closest to unlethal poison you could find, you knew he'd prefer tea or hot chocolate and that there was no use to ask. You knew him too well. It was nice having him here. And waking up with a strong arm around your waist wasn't too bad either... if only you could've let yourself enjoy the moment instead of freaking out, what if he grew cautious now and you'd never experience it again? You sighed softly, grabbing two mugs from the cupboard. After a while, the kettle clicked and you poured some water into each mug. It had been a while now... ... was he meditating in there? There was no sound of the shower, or anything, not that you were listening. Would it be weird if you asked if he was ok? Since the kettle was off the entire apartment became significantly more silent. You heard a faint mumble. "Fuck..." You swallowed. Ear please momentarily turn off, mind and imagination too please. You reached to put the kettle back on but since the water was already hot it clicked off again after 5 seconds. The bathroom door opened and you braced yourself to not look down. Luckily, he was now wearing his oversized sweater or else you would've failed immediately. He let out a soft chuckle. "I spaced out." His cheeks were flushed red and glowing. Right. "I made you some tea." -- Why were deep topics always easier to talk about at night? Were people like clams? You wake up and it opens a little and once we hit the night the clam is fully open and then closes during sleep to a new no-talk-me-I-not-have-tea-yet to ask-me-about-how-i-view-existentialism cycle? Or were nights just vulnerable with the darkness? In that case you should metaphorically speaking be an open clam all day during winter when the sun goes into its own hibernation. But here you were again, just like last night, except... 20 minutes into the sudden power outage that made your impromptu movie night come to a halt. And it was getting really cold. Bundled up under a cover together, staring at the flicker of the candle on the coffee table in silence. "I was going to offer to make you tea to warm you up but the kettle..." Taehyung said with a soft chuckle. "The power will probably come back any moment soon." He said optimistically. As you looked out of the window earlier, you noticed it wasn't just your place, but the entire block seemed to have an outage. Unusual. But the current roaring rain storm outside likely had something to do with it. The wind was aggressive, the windows shook, it whistled in a creepy way and the trees outside rustled loudly. "How about we play a game?" Taehyung suddenly suggested, breaking off the silence again. He was feeling awkward, you could tell. He always rested his hands in his lap, fidgeting or poking at the cuticles of his nails when he felt awkward. "Sure, what should we play?" His face lit up. "Questions and answers? I can start!" "Shoot!" You folded your legs and shifted to face him on the couch. "What's your ideal type." ... he... immediately went there. "Looks or personality?" Taehyung shrugged. "Both." "Well it depends on the vibe they give off of course... and mainly. I guess tall, but it's not that important, wide shoulders are always nice." You paused to think, how can I describe Taehyung without it sounding like I'm describing Taehyung. "Funny, caring, optimistic, outgoing..." "Like me!" He smiled widely. You leaned back, squinting while caressing your chin, examining him playfully. "Hmmmn" He placed his hands under his jaw, like he was displaying his face and batted his eyelashes. "Not bad, not bad." He looked disappointed. "Just not bad?" You playfully nudged his arm. "It's your turn to answer. "Fine." He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest but cracking a giggle. "I'll ask you the same question." "Very original, you." "It's called recycling, so tell me." "I did." "Huh?" "You." Your heart froze briefly before beginning to pound. "Me?" "Mn!" He said confidently. "You're not bad" he mocked. You swallowed. "I have a question about the rules." "Go on" "If I ask you anything, do you have to tell the truth?" "Yes! Nothing but. So you better tell me what you actually think rather than 'not bad'" "Is the friend you talked about actually you? And am I the person?" He tensed up, swallowing. "I guess it was obvious..." he mumbled, rubbing his arm and looking down at his lap. "I just..." he began, but reluctance interrupted him. "I understand." You said. He looked up, seemingly surprised yet still tensed "I make you feel less lonely." He nodded slowly. "Which makes sense. After all we're best friends." You continued. "... right." He looked away. "Best friends." Taehyung reached up to move his hair away from his eyes, still facing down as if he was considering something. "So... what do you think of me?" His voice sounded more serious. Where to start of course he was gorgeous! Wide shoulders, a build you'd die to slide your hands down, dark big eyes, a sweet smile with plump lips, sculpted perfectly and his honey skin. Person wise... he was someone you'd want to have as your person. "A nice person" He scoffed. "Seriously?" He seemed upset. He finally looked up, meeting your gaze. There was a sparkle in his eye. The warm light from the candle made his face glow even more. "I mean person as in the person you have, a your-person" "A nice your-person?" He tilted his head. "You told me yesterday in bed that you can feel like someone is your person because they bring you comfort and make all your problems go away and you feel better just by being in their presence! A nice that-type-of-person." "But I was talking about you!" He pleaded "And now I'm talking about you." "You are my person, what do you mean?" He asked, placing emphasis on "my" "That you're my person too. Am I being unclear?" "No, not at all. I just wanted to hear you say it." "So you tricked me?" You scoffed. "Not really." He leaned closer. "But maybe I set you up and you simply walked into my trap." "So now what? We're just going to sit here in denial over the fact that we both admitted to being each other's person?" You questioned, feeling slightly panicky and picking at your nails. Was this platonic or not? "We don't have to" he grinned. "But to be clear, I'm not talking about you being my person as in my other half, my best friend type person, even though you are that too bit this isn't it." "Are you trying to tell me that you're in love with me?" He tensed up again. Fuck it. "Then just say it, stop confusing me with your riddles and metaphors and I won't do the same. Just tell me-" His hand pressed against the back of your head as he leaned in almost all the way. He caressed the back of your head gently and your gaze dropped to his soft pink lips with the tiny freckle to the side. You leaned in close enough to brush a gentle touch before Taehyung pressed you closer for your lips to finally collide. It started off desperate yet a little shy. You pressed back, grabbing at his sides and the kiss deepened. Your heart was pounding. Never did you expect he'd just go for it and kiss you when you showed some bold courage towards him but you didn’t have a slightest regret because he tasted so good against your mouth. His plump pink lips so passionate, so needy but also so gentle and triggering an explosion in your chest. Taehyung leaned over you, making you lay down on the couch as he crawled on top and it turned into an even wilder heated make out. Your hand tangled into his hair, his hand rubbed against the side of your waist under your top. Fearing it'd be the first, last and only, you wanted every single piece of this moment you could have. Unintentional, his touch triggered a soft moan to escape your throat, which subsequently triggered a groan from Taehyung. Making a sound like that with his voice should be illegal. It did things to you, things you didn't want to confess. But the box of secret confessions was torn open within seconds as Taehyung, a heavy breathing mess suddenly pulled away from your lips and landed by your ear, exhaling deeply. "Fuck, I'm hard." He groaned and you knew the box was flying out the windows with your filthy confession floating aimlessly around for him to hear but all you managed to stutter out was a choked "huh?" "If you knew how long I've wanted you for." He whispered. "How scared I've been of being rejected because I knew it'd shatter me." The hopeless romantic you knew he was made his attendance known. "A friend?" You chuckled. "Maybe I set myself up with that one, I admit. But I was hoping you'd catch on." He chuckled, still breathless. He planted a kiss against your neck. Were you about to have sex? Would it lead to that? Did you mind? Certainly not... Taehyung pushed up slightly, looking down at you. "May I?" You nodded and he smiled widely, pressing a kiss to your lips. Shifting, he easily found his place between your thighs and grinded up against you slowly with pressure, causing both of you to exhale into a sweet needy moan. Your feelings felt scattered all over the place but this wasn't the time to pick them up. You wanted to let go, to surrender, just for this moment. Let go of everything clawing at your back, clouding the sunny skies and draining you. There is nothing more exhausting than smiling pretending everything is ok while whatever inflated issue in beast form is clawing its nails across your back and the scars sting like lemon juice was just rubbed all over you, feeling disgusting and sticky, let alone in pain and with a sore back from the held tension. He grinded again, sensually this time as the tip of his nose travelled up your neck, inhaling your sweet scent. "Mmm" he hummed softly. Your hand made its way to his nape as he settled by your neck. "I could fall asleep here." He chuckled. "Right here in your neck, it's so warm and smells so nice. It's more effective than lavender." "Are you enchanted by my odor?" He laughed his trademark bubble laugh. "I wish you knew how much fun you are." He squeezed you, rubbing up firmer to you with a desperate grunt. "Fuck I can't take it anymore." He stood on his knees, crossing his arms in front of him and grabbing the hem of his sweater, pulling it up and off, exposing his soft skin and toned chest as it fell to the floor. His hand reached for the button on his pants but before making it to the zipper his attention returned back to you with his hands sliding up under your top and pulling it up over your head. "I just want to make sure again... is it ok?" He asked, eyes big. "Yes, touch me, kiss me, do whatever you want just don’t leave the couch. At least not without me." He smirked at this, finally able to surrender to his greed. Taehyung reached for the waistline of your pants, unbuttoning, unzipping and pulling them down your hips with your underwear going off with them. His fingers softly rakes over your skin as he travelled down your legs, your hips lifted to assist him and then they were tossed onto the floor. He reached for his own zipper again but you sat up, quickly swatting his hand away and reaching for it yourself. He was on his knees between your thighs. You pulled them down, sliding your hands over his soft curved hips, revealing his tight fitted boxers with little to any space left for his hard on. You swallowed. He blushed. Relieved that Taehyung took over the lead again you lied back down as his hands gently pushed you back, slipping the bra straps off your shoulders and reaching behind you to unhook and free you from your final piece of clothing. But with this one he wasn't in a rush. He slowly tugged at the lacey fabric, revealing your chest to him as he bit his lip. "Wow." He mumbled and his patience was gone. One hand grabbed your left boob, feeling it and squeezing it softly as the other slipped into his boxer to touch himself. He whimpered, seemingly trembling as a result of his desperation and the discomfort he must be feeling in those tight pair of... he let go of your boob, quickly pulling his boxers down and himself out. You felt your core twist and ache and his boxers joined the pile of clothes on the floor. Taehyung fell forward onto all fours on top of you. Fully exposed, fully erect and a full sight to take in in the dim light in the dark. Distracted and eyes travelling all over him, his hand suddenly cupped your chin, tilting it up for you to face him. His nose graced over yours in a sweet eskimo kiss before his lips, just as gently pressed to yours. Taehyung's hand slid down your neck, your chest and down until he found himself. Your toes curled as you felt his touch where you wanted him the most in this moment, the tip of him slowly sliding up and down your slit, triggering your need even more. Taehyung let out a shaky exhale. His lips were parted and eyes staring right down at your exposed curves. He positioned himself, slowly sliding the tip in, just to feel... just to get some urgent relief... he leaned his head back and his hands landed a tight grip of your waist. He couldn't take it anymore. Slowly and carefully he began to push. Making sure by studying your every expression that he wasn't hurting you and that it felt good. A sweet whimper escaped you, causing him to grin in delight as he pushed in deeper. He was thick... the gentle stretch he caused felt amazing and you couldn't stop yourself from clenching around him, making him moan and managing to make you even wetter just by the sound. With a soft grunt he slipped in all the way. Giving you a moment to adjust to his size, he moved his hand up to caress your cheek with the back of his hand. His touch felt like magic. Like a gentle feather smoothing over your cheek, but slender and strong, with long dainty beautiful fingers. You leaned into his touch. "Does it feel ok?" He whispered. You gave a reassuring nod. He pulled his hips back and thrusted back in, not too soft and not too hard he picked up a slow but deep rhythm for his movements. Your hands felt their way up and across his back, studying every curve and where he naturally flexed as he moved. His hands were firmly holding you in place at the waist, every desperate exhale and every shaky inhale sending almost an ASMR like tingle down your spine via your ear until your name suddenly slipped his lips. Most people feel a fuzzy like feeling inside hearing their proper name be called but this... this was unlike no other time. His deep voice, following a whimper, exhaling your name like a magic spell and it fading into a shiver-causing moan. To put it simply it was the sexiest thing you've ever heard and it activated a whole new part within you that felt foreign but so so so good. Like your blood had suddenly turned into liquid gold, all happy hormones releasing in a firework spelling the world "nothing else matters" in an imaginary sky. You wrapped your arms tighter around him, moaning his name out felt liberating. And it clearly triggered an equal reaction. His cheeks were already flushed and his eyes went wide. He smirked, growing more desperate, fucking your harder and deeper, chasing release. "Please cum for me." He whispered, pleading. "Please." He didn't need to place a formal request, you were already loosing yourself. The only sound echoing in the darkness being the roaring wind and rain along with your breaths and groans and the sound of his hips and your thighs. Wet, heavenly sounds to you. His sweet moans, his broad back, his dick... everything about him made you feel euphoric. The ever building tension below, the sweat forming on his forehead... "I'm gonna cum" he whimpered. Thinking your body couldn't possibly react stronger to him than it already was, it did. The thrusts grew faster, grunts louder and you could feel yourself leak even more. Back arching, tension growing... it felt even tighter now... you could feel him so well, every movement until you suddenly came un-done with a loud whimper to his ear, setting him off into his own orgasm, cumming deep inside with a string of "oh"s and groans, gritting his teeth together and tensing his face in a greedy expression. He slowed down to a halt, remaining inside, breathless on top of you. The light on the sofa table had reached its end and the faint scent of smoke filled the air as the flame went out, making the room completely pitch black. Taehyung's face nuzzled softly against your neck, inhaling the scent of you deeply and being soothed. "Wow." He coughed, followed by a groan. "Wow." You repeated, happy that the light went out so he couldn’t see your flushed face. "You ok?" He whispered, vulnerability present in his voice. "I didn't go to hard right?" "It was amazing." He let out a breath of release and an awkward chuckle. "I'll pull out.." he said shyly, moving his hips back slowly and gently, slipping out. To your surprise, Taehyung climbed off of you, standing on his feet. The cold air made your nipples ache and your skin shiver. You wanted your human blanket and source of heat back. But you didn’t have to wait for long. A pair of strong arms slid in under you, lifting you up with ease. "The sofa is too tiny." He carried you into your bedroom, gently putting you back down on the bed and laying down on his side next to you, pulling you close to his chest where his heart was still pounding hard. He hugged you tight, caressing the back of your head. His lips pressed against the crown of your head gently. "My good girl." He whispered, sounding almost proud. Your cheeks burned and a weird sense to cry bubbled up but you quickly swallowed it and hugged him tighter, burying your face against his chest. Never had you thought being called a good girl, specifically "Taehyung's" good girl would be able to move you to tears. But maybe it's what you needed to hear, mixed with the hormonal serotonin cocktail your body just released upon you. "You'll always have me." He nuzzled his nose in your hair. With a click the power came back on, including your pink hue nightstand lamp next to the bed. Taehyung's cheeks were deeply flushed, amplified by the flattering pink light cast over him. You giggled. Had this really just happened? Because it felt so right. Or was it just the relief of sex? But masturbating had never made you feel this emotional before... You looked up at Taehyung's face again and he smiled softly, his hand caressing your bare back up and down. It was definitely him.

355 notes · View notes