#at least i'm getting this stuff sorted at last. slowly but surely

[seaofreverie]

Wanted to start working on projects for my part-time school this weekend but instead all I have the energy to do is lay in bed and play mario kart or lay in bed and listen to music

[justporo]

Brewing Storms

A storm is brewing - oh yes, a literal one too. Tav's scared to be alone during a thunderstorm. Astarion is reluctant but stays to provide some comfort - and realises it might have been one of the better things to happen to him.

Author's Note: I started this a while ago and then stuff got in the way - like Gale for example (lol) - and now I'm happy to be back to write something soft for Astarion and Tav!

Pairing: Astarion/GN!Tav (You) Warnings: Talk of trauma, very light smut Wordcount: 2,4k

~~~

Astarion and you had fallen into a sort of weird routine with your little late night escapades. Since the party after you saved the Grove and the first night you’ve spent together you had come together time and time again.

First only every couple of days. Always meeting somewhere away from camp and then sneaking back sometime before the others woke up. Although you were surely fair they all knew already anyway. But now you were almost spending every night together. Fortunately for the two of you, being elven meant you were still getting enough rest despite the nightly adventures.

Astarion kept feeding you his cheesy lines – you ate them right up. No one had ever given you this kind of attention. And as much as you knew that it was an act: how could you resist? You had never experienced such flattery nor could anyone you’d shared intimacy with ever compare to Astarion. But that wasn’t even the main thing.

You’d had crushes before, you’d fallen in love before but you were pretty sure it had never been quite like this. Your whole chest sometimes ached when you looked at Astarion. Sometimes when you caught him in a rare moment when he let his perfected mask drop for a second you saw the bottomless sadness and worry in his eyes. And all you wished for was to erase whatever it was that caused that sadness – to keep him safe and always give him something to smile about.

You had quite positively fallen for the vampiric elf. What had been a crush at first had very quickly become an unyielding need in your heart: desperate to be near him, to hear his voice, talk to him, to laugh at his sassy comments, to lay in his arms and to hold him in turn. Out of everything you surely hadn’t wanted or planned to fall in love with everything else going on – but there you were.

You were a hopeless case – even though you were sure it would come back to bite you (and maybe even literally): be it that he lost interest in you way quicker than you would like or that he had ulterior motives and that you were merely a means to an end.

In fact, you were entirely sure that there was more to Astarion. You weren’t all fooled and blinded by your brewing emotions for the vampire. Maybe not really the first time, but as you got more used to sharing a bed with Astarion you were well aware that it seemed like he wasn’t fully there with you.

You could take only guesses at why that was exactly – and you didn’t like any of those.

At several occasions you had tried to bring it up. But he had swatted your concerns away every time, just making a sultry joke or drowning you with kisses until you had forgotten what you had wanted to say. In any case he always pushed you to get back into his arms.

Gladly, you would have offered him an open ear – your heart was already wide open.

But you were sure this wouldn’t last. You were in way over your head and you so desperately wanted to avoid breaking the spell.

And as much as you would have wished for him to open up more, to let you in a bit more and as much as you would have liked to confess the way you felt: you didn’t think you could do it without ruining whatever it was between the two of you.

At least, he seemed to be a bit more present when he was with you of late. The changes seemed subtle enough, but you were convinced that it slowly became different. Maybe it was just that the two of you had gotten used to this dance now, but you could swear his hands lingered longer now on your skin, that his kisses became deeper and more tender, that the way he looked at you became softer sometimes. And that those moments, when he seemed miles away, became fewer.

Tonight, when you had set up camp it had seemed like a storm was brewing.

You had already felt tense when you had noticed: growing up on the streets of Baldur’s Gate as a child with nowhere safe to go had traumatised you for life. Especially when it came to storms: too many nights you’d had to spend outside somewhere while the rain kept pouring down.

But worst had always been the thunder. Every single one like an explosion while a little child sat somewhere cowered trying to stay safe and crying from fear and loneliness. Even when you had gotten older and had always managed to secure a safe spot for sleeping and shelter the fear of thunderstorms had remained.

And thus far you’d gotten lucky that there had been no storms since this whole chaos had started. But the stroke of luck was over now it seemed.

When Astarion had thrown you certain looks after the party had gone to unwind each on their own after eating, you had very rambly and awkwardly suggested to maybe spend the night in your tent this night, because the others surely knew anyway and what if it started pouring and wasn’t it more comfortable anyway?

You just were desperate to not be somewhere outside when the thunderstorm was going to hit – and maybe even not alone.

And Astarion had looked at you suspiciously with a raised eyebrow, surely noticing that something was up. But in the end, he had simply shrugged and followed you to your tent.

So now you lay pressed against each other. Astarion on top of you, his body delightfully weighing you down, both of your shirts already off and his hands kept roaming your body as you gratefully gave in to his open-mouthed kisses. His hand had just dipped below the waistline of your trousers when you could hear the first far away rumbling.

Immediately you tensed a little but forced yourself to try and not be bothered by it. Astarion’s kisses wandered down your throat now.

A second already much louder rumble. You gasped.

And apparently Astarion had noticed that it wasn’t because of his touch – you could almost feel how he had furrowed his brows. But he kept silent and continued to kiss and caress you, leaning on one of his forearms.

When a third roar of thunder made you actually wince and recoil, he pushed up on his arm and looked at you. The other hand though stayed right where it was inside your pants.

“Afraid of a little thunder, love?”, he said and cocked an eyebrow. His tone wasn’t even overly sassy but you still couldn’t help but to feel hurt.

More thunder. This time so loud it felt like it was exactly above you. You recoiled again and felt how panic rose in you. You pushed the vampire - who actually looked hurt by that - off of you. His hand slipping from where it had caressed you.

“Maybe I am afraid of thunder. So?”, you spat back while you sat up and hugged your knees to your naked chest. As much as you wanted the comfort of his arms: panic and whatever feeling it had been that had overcome you when Astarion had looked hurt when you’d pushed him back got the better of you.

Shame mixed with the fear and you could feel your throat close up.

Astarion had knelt back on the balls of his feet watching you with a look in his eyes you couldn’t quite place. He definitely didn’t seem as cocky as a few moments ago though.

You looked away as another thing spiced up the mix of emotions running high: worry, that you had just broke something that couldn’t be repaired.

“I-“, Astarion started and then stopped helplessly.

The vampire was actually worried about you in this moment. Astarion was surprised by the sudden outburst of emotion and he was certainly hurt that you pushed him away. But more than anything: he didn’t know what to do now. Quite obviously you were not in the mood anymore for getting down and dirty.

It occurred to him that he did not want you to be afraid and upset. But then again, he had no idea how to make it so. And on top of that: he was pretty sure you weren’t interested in anything of the sort. Sure, you were absolutely the one person he talked the most to in the party. And yes, you were always making sure he’d gotten enough blood – but that was probably because you had need of him being his fittest for fighting. Also, you did actually seem to care about what had happened to him, wanting to learn more about him – but…

The vampire was confused and helpless. So he opted for the one option he deemed reasonable: leave.

He grabbed his shirt and started pulling it over his head while saying: “Alright, since it seems there won’t be any naughty indulgence tonight, I guess I better get back to my tent and you can try and-“

He was interrupted by you grabbing his wrist firmly.

“Please”, you pleaded, “don’t leave me alone.”

You were desperate: you didn’t want him to leave, you didn’t want to have ruined the delicate thing that had been forming between you.

Astarion let his shirt drop again and looked at you. Your eyes were filled with tears and full of fear. His confusion became even more: “Darling, I’m not… Maybe you should ask the druid to… help you. Maybe he has something herbal to-“ You basically yanked on the vampire’s arm.

“No please, Astarion, I just… want you to stay here with me. Just… hold me? Please?”, you pleaded with him as tears started to stream down your face.

You really didn’t want to be alone for one but also you were desperate to feel his arms around you again – to be sure he would still want to hold you, as much as wanting his comfort.

Astarion’s brows furrowed again but he dropped his shirt again and crawled over to you as you shyly opened up your arms to him to be cradled by the vampire. He slid his arms around you and softly moved you until you were laying there: him on his back with you carefully snuggled up against his chest – skin on skin.

The relief you felt was almost instant. Not only because he had agreed to stay but also feeling his body against yours immediately made some of the tension inside you ease.

Astarion reluctantly started to stroke your back as you buried your face against his chest. It all felt more than just a little awkward and you felt a blush creep onto your cheeks, but you just wrapped your arms around the vampire and tried to calm yourself.

Still tears kept coming and thunder was rolling in quicker now. Then the rain started as well and became a constant drumroll on your tent. The loud rumbles kept going and made you wince from time to time, but it was now considerably better than before.

Astarion grew more confident with just stroking your back. He even carefully placed a kiss on the top of your head at one point, in your all messed up hair. You both eased into this rather unfamiliar form of closeness.

After being stressed about the coming storm all evening, you felt that your body couldn’t retain the tension anymore. You weren’t entirely sure what all this meant for Astarion and you, but you forced yourself to just stay in this moment. Because this already was something you wouldn’t have thought to ever be possible. It was tender and sweet. Something you would have never imagined when this vampire had, upon first meeting him, thrown you on the ground and threatened you with a knife.

You were so desperate to hold onto this. So, you wrapped your arms around him a little tighter and cautiously tangled your legs with his. He let it happen.

And Astarion – Astarion’s mind was racing, utterly confused by the turn the night had taken. It definitely wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy this outcome – to his own surprise. Quite the opposite actually.

When the thunder subsided and the rain tap-tap-tapping on the tent ceiling was what remained of the storm and he felt you quite noticeably relax into his arms even more – his chest started to ache.

He was overthrown by his own sentiment and the trust you put into him; surprised, scared even.

In his thoughts Astarion kept turning around the fact how you had specifically asked him to stay with you although you had so visibly been upset. More upset even than he had ever seen you in any battle. And that you had wanted nothing but to be held in his arms. And he – to his own surprise – had been happy to be there for you, proud even, realising that he really wanted you to be alright.

You hadn’t even talked since he had taken you in his arms. Just felt the connection, your skin warm on his. His hands hesitatingly caressing and trying to comfort you while your tears subsided and your breathing became more even.

And even though it had been you who had pleaded for comfort – Astarion could feel it too. Felt, how the warmth of your body soaked into his undead body and your breath brushed over his naked upper body – now in a steady and calm rhythm again. You were so close, he could even feel the beat of your steadying heartbeat through your conjoined chests.

And when Astarion was sure that you must’ve drifted off into your dreams – because he had held you – he kept staring up at the ceiling of the tent.

The rain had become almost non-existent after what must’ve been hours now.

The vampire’s chest still ached with something he wasn’t quite ready to acknowledge yet. But he could feel that it had become something way too big to ignore. Something that would soon be unleashed – for better or for worse. And he was frightened about that.

But not in this moment. This moment he would hold onto. So he wrapped his arms around you a little tighter still, closed his eyes and full on buried his face in your hair while he was so fully aware of the feeling of your body against his.

Then he whispered so silently, even the last of the raindrops would have drowned out the words. So silently, because he was still so unsure, so scared and the words were only meant for him – and maybe sometime for you: “My love, what ever have you done to me?”

[luvtak]

mr. sandman, bring me a dream

✧ pairing 7 dream x reader

✧ genre/tw fluff fluffy fluff fluff, what i think dating them would be like <3 an embarrassing amount of run-on sentences i'm sure.... the dreamies being the most perfect boyfriends to exist, mostly unedited

✧ w/c 2293 (about 300 words each!!)

✧ a/n back to my roots writing for nct... also,,, not the dreamies being my ult group but my last group to do these headcanons for :/ i have so much fun writing these little ideas and dreams about them let me know if you want more!

MARK truly the definition of wrapped around your finger… tells everyone about you every day of his life. Smiles at everything you say and calls you the cutest names. Makes sure everyone knows that you’re taken for life–no ifs about it. Tells you about his whole day, down to the most unimportant details. Kisses you all around your face and gets red seeing you so flustered. Constantly saying the worst pickup lines. Always always makes time for you even with his busy schedule. Talks to your family on the phone and becomes best friends with your siblings. Lets you win during video games and pretends that you’re just so much better than him. Never comes empty-handed–if you invite him over he’s bringing some sort of present he can’t help it. Wraps you up in at least three layers when it looks a little cold outside. Starts bringing up ideas for a Halloween couple’s costume in January. Celebrates your birthdays and accomplishments like his own. Holds you close to him in any moment of rest, the members are around? He’s only bringing you in closer. I’m sorry to say this, but he is definitely one of those people who refer to you as a “we”... “we watched that movie last week!” or “sorry, we can’t come, we have plans.” Would never even think about fighting with you and when it can’t be avoided, he is always the first to apologize. Walks around draped over you, his neck falling onto your shoulder and clumsily shuffling you along. Steals your phone to take silly pictures of himself, and you end up having 500 selfies of Mark making the same five kissy faces. Fixes your clothes/jewelry/hair as the day takes its toll. Kisses your wrist whenever you hold hands. Lovely and forever committed to giving you the sweetest existence possible.

RENJUN  My angel boy<3 would be the most loving boyfriend if you’re able to get past him giving you sm attitude. Lovingly scolds you 24/7 365. Pouts if you don’t say you love him back or forget to kiss him before you leave. Steals your sweaters and jewelry. Makes you laugh so hard you cry, then kisses the tears away. Has the worst case of cute aggression when he see’s you like he can’t help but take a bite out of you. Whenever you ask him to do something he’ll roll his eyes and scoff but still gets up to do it anyway. Says your name so sweetly and with so much love it could be a term of endearment. Sings to you when you’re sad. Holds you so tight when you sleep, like he could absorb you into his own skin. Carries a picture of you in his wallet everywhere he goes. Gets genuinely annoyed when other people know something about you that he didn’t–wants to know everything, especially the embarrassing stuff. Acts of service king, does things for you and expects nothing but a kiss in return. Gives you the first bite of his food. Forehead kisses 100% of the time. Extremely tenderhearted, wants to be loved and love in return with nothing holding him back. Knows your schedule down to a T. Shakes his head at every joke you tell, but still grants you a laugh. Kisses you slowly and earnestly even if theres people around. Drops the most earth-shattering confessions of love at random moments and just expects you to move on. Matching accessories are a must!! And he will be ready to break up if your forget it one day (we have seen how he is with the dreamies friendship rings). Wraps himself completely around you when no one is around, and stays that way until one of you has to get up. Loves completely and wholeheartedly and is a perfect perfect boy. 

JENO Shy and perpetually flustered, cannot believe he got you fr. Alternates between the cockiest boy you’ve ever met and the most oblivious creature around. Is so in awe of you, cannot get over you choosing him. A big baby of a boyfriend. Body slouched over yours at all times. Tells everyone it isn’t obvious how unbelievably whipped he is for you than giggles when you call him a pet name. Loves when you fawn over him lol, would feel so good about himself when you laugh at his jokes or wear an outfit because he said you looked pretty in it. Definitely the kind of boy who gets you a necklace with his initials on it. Is somehow even more smiley when you’re around. His love language is 100% acts of service–helping you with chores and making dinner, he desperately wants to wash your hair and help take your makeup off. Always takes you home himself and makes you call him before you go to bed. Kisses you all over when you’re sad and squeezes you so tight you can’t breathe. Puts his lips right over your ear and whispers so you can hear him in loud places, sometimes telling terrible jokes to see you laugh. Constantly on the phone with you–will get yelled at by his members and staff to focus on his schedule. Takes you on long drives and lets you have the aux the whole time, smiles even when he hates the song.  Snuggles up to you and has you in an iron grip all night; wakes up periodically to tell you to stop wiggling. Literally a broken record of “oh my s/o would like this!” and “you would never believe what my s/o told me…” Tucks you into his sweater when you’re cold and always carries extra clothes because he knows you’ll forget. Could never hide his feelings for you, it’s written all over–hairbands and your favorite snacks in his cabinets. Is so so so in love with you, and would never even think about being embarrassed of it. <3

HAECHAN Sweet as cherry pie. Silly and charming and the kindest boy you know. Lives his life attached to you, hands on your hips and kisses pressed everywhere he can reach. Never goes a day without telling you he loves you in the most sickeningly sweet ways possible. Listens to every word you say, goes as far as telling other people to be quiet so he can hear you better. Serenades you with the most obnoxious renditions of love songs and coos when you make faces at him. Teases you endlessly–tickles and jokes and ridiculous nicknames, but would never let anyone else make a joke at your expense. Sleeps fully on top of you, head pressed under your chin and hands slipped under your sleep shirt. Celebrates you and your relationship with all of him, always the loudest voice singing happy birthday and the prettiest flowers congratulating you for an achievement at work or school. Speaks to you so softly and with so much compassion you almost get whiplash when you see him around the dreamies. Brings home sweet treats and little keepsakes from his day out. Will watch a movie or listen to a new song and note all the parts you’d like so he can play it for you later and speak to you about it. Unbelievably protective, not in a toxic way, but he wants so much to be able to take care of you and keep you safe–hand pressed on your back while you walk through crowds, and his hand protecting you from hitting your head as you get in the car. Has lists of important days in his notes app, cataloging gifts he could get you and your order at all your favorite restaurants. The perfect silly boyfriend, caring and lovely and everything you need

JAEMIN Marry this man. Has been committed and steadfast in his dedication to you since you met. Extremely serious when it comes to your heart and your feelings. The first to say I love you or to apologize after a fight–would never raise his voice at you or say things he didn’t mean. Is always feeding you, either a complete meal that took him an hour to make or the most perfect bowl of ramyeon you’ve ever had. Constantly sending you pictures of the cats. LOVES pda–kisses you in front of everyone and laughs when they groan, cuddles with you on the practice room couch, and rolls his eyes when the dreamies gag. Always kisses you with soft hands on your cheeks and the prettiest smile. Buys you a keepsake from everywhere they go on tour and gives it to you in a huge suitcase and will not feel ashamed in the slightest. Somehow finds out how to bring you up in every conversation, “oh they really like this song” or “thats actually their favorite movie you know…” you would truly never have to worry about anything with this man, he’s gonna take care of everything, a future airport dad if i’ve ever seen one. Sends tiktoks of cute animals and pouts if you don’t like them right away. Buys you silly sweatshirts and phonecases and demands you wear them proudly as a symbol of his everlasting love. Out of all of the boys, I feel like he is the most likely to give you a promise ring, and in my heart, I know he would have his name engraved on the inside–a quiet confession only the two of you know about. Sleeps directly on top of you, I just know it… holds onto you in every crowd. So many conversations between little kisses and I love yous. Always carries your things, whether it be a bag or shoes that got too uncomfortable his hands are open and ready whenever you need them. The most perfect boy in the world, and whose surprised? 

CHENLE truly your best friend in the entire world, f2l in its entirety… would roast you every minute of every day but if anyone else even dared he is shutting that shit down right away. His arm has a permanent residence on your waist. Giggles at you when you’re annoyed at him but apologizes anyway. Makes you watch him play basketball at 11 pm and laughs when you say you're cold and sleepy, but takes you home right away. Will kiss you in front of anyone–loves it when you get all shy and flustered. Always trying to give you expensive presents and rolling his eyes when you tell him to reign it in. dog dates with Daegal!!! Talks about you so causally that the dreamies didn’t realize you were his girlfriend until he kissed you goodbye, and they were all so dumbfounded. Will watch anything if you like it and will tell you it sucked with a smile on his face before kissing you as an apology. Huge bouquets for any anniversary or birthday. Wraps his arms around you and rocks you around, whispering sweet words that he’d deny if you told anyone about. Stares at you 24/7 and gives you his 100-watt smile. Goes out of his way to help you–buys your groceries, helps wash your hair, picks you up, and takes you wherever you need to go–but always denies it. Begs you to wear his clothes, bonus points if it’s something that has his name on it, or some nct merch. Has an iron grip on your hand at any given point and giggles when you try to get free. Will listen to literally anything you tell him. Smiles into kisses and sighs when you pull away. Is so domestic and lovely in everything he does, even if sometimes he is the biggest menace. 

JISUNG so so so shy, truly does not know how to have a s/o in public lmao. When you’re alone he’s the cutest most confident boy in the world but as soon as there is another person around he does not know you. He makes it obvious that it's just because he’s awkward, but sometimes you definitely do have to tell him to stop being a weirdo and to hold your hand. Constantly makes fun of people with you and is always ready to hear some hot goss. Is always listening to you–even if everyone in the room is talking over you, he will be looking at you with his full attention and urging you to go on. Laughs at everything you say even if it's not funny. Kisses your cheek every morning first thing, and thinks you look so cute cuddled up into the covers. Piggy-backs you everywhere: you drank a little too much or it's too early… up you go! You being comfortable and happy is his priority in any situation, and if anyone including himself is disrupting that he is dealing with it immediately. Whether that means complaining to one of hyungs to help him or going straight to the source of the issue, he’s going to try and help you, even if it’s not like him to speak up for himself–you’re the most important thing to him. Tries to teach you nct dances and gets unbearable secondhand embarrassment when he sees you mess up. Almost exposes your relationship once a month. Is wrapped around you every single moment you’re alone, even if it’s just for a second–someone leaves the room? Jisung is suddenly fully enveloping you. Thinks pda is so embarrassing but would try so hard to be more openly affectionate with you. Blushes to his roots when you sweet talk him no matter how long you’ve been together. Kisses your hands when it’s cold outside and wouldn’t even think about giving you anything of his if you needed it. The sweetest, shyest boy, and so wonderful–loving him and being loved in return would be the loveliest gift.

© LUVTAK

[mikobeautifulheart]

Calling you their girlfriend

When your not actually together (yet). *Not proof read

(Btw use of the word girlfriend and mentions of death and corpses.)

INCLUDING: Megumi and Yuji

~Megumi~

You slowly opened your eyes and started to pull your stuff together. You stood up, not paying attention to the large gash on your leg bleeding out.

Instead you let out a sigh and walked past what was left of Nanami's body, You made your way through Shibuya station before setting your eyes on the unconscious body of Megumi. You leaned down and slung his arm around the back of your neck. Being totally honest you didn't even know if Megumi was alive, regardless you were going to get Megumi ('s body) out of there.

It was hard, he was taller and heavier then you but you still somewhat dragged his body out of there only to be met with Ichiji's corps on the floor. You kept staring at it until you felt Megumi's weight leave you, making you turn your head to see Shoko and other sorcerers attending to peoples wounds.

"Y/n are you okay? Y/n?"

You heard her voice fine but all you did was stare at her, empty and exhausted.

"Make sure Megumi's alright" Was the last thing you remember before blacking out.

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

"No, you HAVE to let me see her"

It was a familiar low voice, one you were fond of.

"Sorry but she's in no condition to see visitors right now."

"Will she die if she sees me?"

"No but-"

Yeah it was Megumi's voice, that means he is okay then.

"Then i'm going in"

The door slowly slid open and that was the first time you opened your eyes after Shibuya. The thought of Megumi coming to visit you made your head spin (in the good way) even if he did come out of curiosity at least it meant he sort of cared about you.

"We can't just let anyone get in there"

"She's my girlfriend" he said agitated.

Your heart started pumping and your cheeks were pink. No that couldn't be Megumi then, it was probably a dream. There was nothing between you guys other then being class mates. You sunk back into disappointment and closed your eyes so you didn't have to see the imaginary situation unfold.

The room was silent and suddenly you felt a rough hand hold yours, and a gentle thumb rub. Your breath hitched, if it was a dream this feeling wouldn't be so... real.

"Sir, your going to have to leave or i'll call security"

he turned his head, about to say something.

"If he leaves i'll die" You said with a raspier voice then you remembered.

He whipped his head around so fast, confirming in your mind that this was real. He squeezed your hand tighter as your eyes wandered to the bandage on his arm.

"You were out pretty bad huh? Are you okay?" you asked.

The nurse took that as her que to leave.

"About that. I don't really know what to say because saying thank you dosen't really measure up to how grateful I am to you."

"Eh w's nothing" you mumbled slightly embarrassed.

"I heard you outside there, nice save with the girlfriend thing." you said trying to change the subject.

"Yeah...I guess." He said, the tip of his ears turning pink.

"I'm just glad your better Megumi" You said sensing how unconfutable he felt after your comment.

"Look y/n I-I know were just friends or classmates or whatever you think but I...I really like you more then that."

You let out a giggle

"I like you more then that too."

-Yuji-

Yuji is a calm guy, he's rational and friendly. So why is it now that in the deepest part of his chest did he feel some stirring frustration?

For weeks he's been getting to know everyone at Jujutsu high and you were no exception. Out of everyone he knew you were the one he would hang out with most. Something about your nature kept drawing him in, leave him wanting for more. All those late nights at each others dorms, walks around the city when you finished your missions together and going to the cinema when you both had time off.

You had grown on Yuji and he trusted you, that's why he was clenching his fists and smiling when he heard one of the Kyoto school guys asked if you were busy after the event.

Its not like he had any right to interfere with your friendships anyway, he knew that he was just a friend right now and if you wanted to hang around the Kyoto students then that was your choice.

But Yuji just couldn't shake the torment of the guys smile when ever you laughed at his crappy jokes.

"Ah Yuji there you are, what the hell do you think your doing here!? We were supposed to met at- HEY DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME!" Nobora yelled as she watched Yuji stand up in some sort of trance and slowly walk toward you.

"Oh hey Yuji, I was just talking to some of the Kyoto students, this guys a fan of movies to!" You smiled brightly.

"Nice to met you" The guy smiled at Yuji reaching his hand out for Yuji to shake.

"You to, so y/n tells me you like movies?" Yuji put on an innocent grin.

"Yeah, bit of a film expert actually." he chuckled looking at you.

"Wow, must be nice I don't usually get the story first time round, luckily my smart girlfriend rants to me about it after." Yuji said with a checkmate look on his face.

"Honestly sometimes I zone out but I like letting her pretty lips run, its music to my ears."

You felt your face heat up, there's a chance Yuji made a mistake- he couldn't have possibly just called you his girlfriend, right?

"Honestly I must be the luckiest man alive because y/n is was out of my league."

The Kyoto student also turned red. All he could do was mutter a 'yeah' and walk away dissapointed.

Yuji stood there grinning before thinking abut what he had actually done. What a jerk he though.

Suddenly he felt an arm link onto his making him look down surprised.

"I'm so glad to have such a lovely boyfriend too." You said smiling brightly.

"S-sorry y/n I don't know what got over me haha..." He trailed off hoping the earth would swallow him whole.

"Well maybe if you take me to the cinema tonight I'll forgive you."

He turned his head back to you and beamed.

"Your going to have to explain it to me after though."

THANK YOU FOR READING ♡

AUTHOURS NOTE: Teheh I think if this post goes well i'll make a part 2. My inboxes are empty so... Reblogs r welcomed. Have a good whatever time.

[ppnuggiex]

　　　　　　OCTATRIO x gn reader

　　　　『　azul ,, jade ,, floyd ,, gender neutral reader 』

　　-> taking interest in their mer form

　　— fluff ,, sfw ,, crack ,, vulnerability from jade and azul ,, floyd being a pain in the ass

　　— some headcannons and writing blurbs for octatrio <3 they mean sm to me . might make dating hcs of them but genderswapped ,, or like dating them but theyre girls yknow ? 😭 i stumbled across some oneshots of them as girls on ao3 and now im becoming addicted to fem azul 😿🙏 also made little divider things <3 i kinda like them but they wouldnt become transparent 🤬🤬 so theyre just white n stuff 😞😞 as always enjoy and feel free to request :D

| • getting azul to trust you enough to show his merform took quite a while ,, a lot of patience and reassurance but it was worth it in the end

| • long tentacle arms expanding and curling with himself ,, flexing suction cups and reaching afar to stretch

| • face tinted red ,, glasses covering his eyes as he glanced downwards ,, his lips turned out in a pout as you gazed at his form

| • he was so sure you'd be disgusted ,, tell him never to contact you ever again ,, leaving him there in shambles with his heart broken

| • yet it never happened ,, rather the opposite instead ,, your eyes wide with excitement but voice soft and calm as to not spook azul more than he already was

| • a small " may i ?" with your hands outstretched towards him ,, ready to examine him as much as he'd let you

| • he'd only nod slowly ,, arms curling within himself once again and eyes darting around all over to ensure no one was near to see the sight before him ,, or in case he needed a quick getaway

| • azul is quite touch starved and touch sensitive ,, not used to having someone's hands over him in any sort of form ,, other than in violent means

| • how gentle you treat him ,, as though he were to wither away under your touch ( which he did feel like doing )

| • everything down under his consent ,, and his supervision of course ,, your brain and curiosity end up satiated ,, pressing a small kiss to azul's cheek in thanks for this memory

| • treasuring every touch you can get ,, reassuring azul that he's quite a beauty rather or not he thinks so ,, and last but not least a thank you for allowing this ,, for letting him trust you this much and that you would never break said trust

-

        cool to the touch yet smooth ,, your fingertips roamed over one of his appendages . azul sucked in a breath ,, eyes fixated on your fingers and awaiting for any depricating comments from your lips . though he never expected you to smile and whisper praises to him . " you're quite beautiful , azul ." it was small and short ,, yet it meant a lot to him . " i do absolutely adore the gradation from black to purple here ,, its quite lovely if i say so ." you murmured under your breath ,, eyes raking over his form as you played with the suction cups on the underside of his appendage .

        your eyes glanced back up ,, meeting azul's as they took in every movement of yours . " thank you for this azul ." you whispered ,, hands leaving his tentacle to wrap around his neck as you coddled against him . " i understand how private this is for you ,, how important it is . i really appreciate this azul ,, i'm proud of how far you've gotten ." you whispered against him ,, eyes still holding his as tears welded up in his soft iridescent gaze . his arms slowly wrapped around you ,, chest heaving as he tried to keep his composure around you . yet the more you sung genuine praise ,, the more his heart clenched in his chest and the faster his tears started to roll down his face .

        he allowed himself to bury his face in your neck ,, soft cries being blocked against your skin as your hand rubbed against his back ,, lips pressing kisses to his shoulder as you let him be vulnerable . " its okay azul ,, go ahead and let it out . i'm here for you ,, i promise ." you said ,, feeling his tentacles creep across your skin to wrap themselves around your torso . just this one moment ,, this shared memory of yours ,, he let his walls down and let you in ,, the vulnerability of his current state . your lips pressed another kiss to his shoulder ,, hearing his sobs start to die down as you rest your head against his shoulder .

| • its not often that hes surprised or caught off guard ,, like in this instance for example

| • he has caught your gaze before whenever he happened to be in his more natural form ,, how your eyes would eye him up and down

| • yet you never said a word about it once ,, keeping all your thoughts to yourself ,, all your secrets locked away

| • jade had gotten curious himself ,, curious of what you thought of him in this state ,, though he was never self conscious about it once

| • it didnt bother him whether or not you liked his natural state more than his more humane one ,, it wasnt of his concern to know or need that information

| • and it surely settled that way in his mind ,, at least until he got closer to you until eventually you both ended up together in a relationship

| • he couldnt contain the thoughts clouding his mind ,, it was near impossible to put a lid on them ,, as they would come back in a mere few hours to haunt him again

| • so when you asked to see his merform ,, he was quite ecstatic ,, caught offguard yet it wasnt an ask he would refuse

| • with the two of you in one of octavinelle's pools ,, alone together with jade in the water floating about ,, you on floor of the room with wide eyes and a smile ,, jade contemplated the emotions he felt

| • somewhat vulnerable ,, yet not in a bad way he supposed ,, watching as your eyes gazed all about him before you asked if you could touch him

| • his heart may have fluttered at that ,, but he wouldnt allow you to know that ,, eyes lidded as he swam closer to the edge of the pool and letting you feed your curiosity

-

        your hands reached out to the finals where his ears wear ,, stroking one softly with your thumb as jade laid his head in your lap . " enjoying yourself pearl ?" his sultry voice asked ,, mismatched eyes gazing into your own as he allowed you to fuel your curiosity . " yes ,," was all you could muster out ,, allowing your hands to trail over his scales coating his neck ,, collarbone and dragging down his arms . he was muscular ,, though not as much as jack was . you could still feel the flesh as your fingertips glided alongside his upper arms ,, digging in gently before moving on .

        jade could feel his heart pick up pace slightly ,, eyes widening slightly as your eyes shined ,, enthralled and mesmerized by his luxurious scales . you didnt notice ,, too busy being entranced at the gradation of his scales ,, eyes glazing over little nicks and scars he's gotten over the years .

| • similar to jade ,, hes been in his more natural state around you ,, noticing your staring and has teased you for it before

| • he'll call you out on how rude it is to stare before grabbing you off the ground and dragging you into the pool with a loud giggle

| • " shrimpy's so silly ! if you wanna look or touch ya just gotta ask small fry ,," he'll remark as he rubs his cheek against yours with his long body coiling around you

| • even then it takes you a while to finally ask ,, a gentle night at the beach during sprink break having mustered up enough courage to ask

| • floyd didnt mind ,, enjoying your flustered state as he allowed you to rub your hands on his scales

| • who knows he may try to get you to itch a spot for him that he cant reach ,, or splash water onto your face with his tail

| • he'll laugh as you grumble about ,, trying to wipe the water away only to be met with even more water ,, this time using his hands instead of his tail

| • when joining him in the water you have to be careful of what you do ,, after all if you do try to run from his grip he'll only take it as indication that you wanna play chase

| • like a snake he'll slither within the water ,, hands reaching out to grab at you and pull you close to him

| • on days he happens to be more chill for the time being he lets you gaze all over ,, not bothering to call you out on your obsessive staring

| • its moments like these that you can observe floyd in his beauty ,, rather than trying to escape it

-

        " floyd !" you grumbled as he splashed water at your face ,, causing you to squeeze your eyes shut . " for five seconds can you not splash me ?" you asked. he could only shrug ,, dorky smile on his face . " shouldn't have been starin' ,," is all he'll say ,, waiting for you to open your eyes only to splash you again . at that moment ,, you didnt care anymore and lunged forward at him ,, arms wrapping around his neck as you tried to splash water into his face as payback .

         unfortunately for you ,, he'd already dived underwater and dragged you along with him without warning . when you let go and resurface ,, he's at the other end of pool laughing at your flailing arms . " for one minute can i admire you ?!" you huffed ,, glaring over in his general direction as you swam towards the ledge of the pool . it doesn't take long until hes coming up right behind you ,, grabbing at your waist and bringing you back to him . " all you had to do was ask shrimpy ." he'll say as he floats along his back ,, you ontop of him and in his arms as he lets you look him over with adoration in your eyes .

[bitchinfawkseh]

Hii!! I was wondering if you could do a fic of dean with a coquette reader? Like a super femme reader who is obsessed with bows pink stuff ect? Ps I really like your tt🫶🏻

Pages of Affection

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Summary: You and Dean go to the library to investigate a case. While searching through some old papers and clippings, you discover a series of old love letters. Dean thinks they're stupid - you think they are romantic. In an attempt to make you feel special, he writes you a love letter.

W.C: 1288

A/N: ahhhh my first req! ty! Sorry this took so long for me to write. I've been very busy with school and work.

Book after book, page after page, and still nothing. Nothing that would help you with this case or future cases - and Dean's grumbling and complaining was getting annoying. You adjusted the bow that was pinning your hair back away from your face - sometimes it got all slanted and looked weird. And you'd rather not have Dean tease you about it again. 

"We should have just made Sammy do the research." Dean started. You rolled your eyes and let out a deep, heavy sigh. "I can't focus when you're whining." 

"I'm not whining -" 

"You are!" You interrupted, shooting him a mean glare. Dean went silent, and you decided to enjoy it while it lasted. You flipped open an older and more worn heavy book, the edges were frayed, and there were tons of scratches on the cover. Two flimsy pieces of paper fell out, landing in your lap. They looked to be old, too, with how dirty the paper was and how it smelt amazing. 

You purse your lips together and carefully pick it up, rubbing the material between your fingers. It felt more like parchment rather than modern-day printer paper. "What's that?" Dean asked, trying to peek at the papers. You shook your head and shrugged, you weren't sure what it was until you unfolded it. Messy scrawl and an easily read "My love," addressed at the top. You slowly smiled as you read through the love letter, it was so sweet… so romantic. 

My love, 

You've been on my mind for quite some time now, and it's getting harder each day to forget about you. I have known you for close to six years now. And as time passes, I fall deeper in love with you. Sometimes, it's tough for me to express myself. Whenever I talk to you, I get flustered. Whenever I talk to somebody else about you, I get tongue-tied. You make my heart jump every time I see you. It's crazy that you are oblivious to your effect on me. But that is a part of your charm. The moment I laid my eyes upon you, I knew that my heart would forever be yours. Your beauty, both inside and out, is unmatched and your kind and loving spirit only adds to my admiration for you. 

You are my heart, my soul, my everything. I cannot imagine a life without you, and I will do everything in my power to make you happy. I love you now and forever. 

Forever yours, 

George

"Oh… Dean, look." You said, passing him the letter as you went to read the second one. This might be the sweetest thing you've ever read, this George guy sure had a way with words. Dean watched with raised brows as you scanned the second letter, a soft happy smile on your face. Who knew someone else's love life could make you so happy? He swallowed hard and started to read what you handed him. It was… cheesy to say the least. It sort of made him cringe, to be honest. "You like this stuff?" He snorted. 

You frowned. "It's romantic." 

"It's cheesy, is what it is." 

"He loved whoever he sent this to very much, who cares if it's cheesy?" You asked. Dean cocked a brow and looked you up and down, from your floral dress to your mary-janes. Something you'd only ever wear if it was a "chill day", when you were out in the action, you'd opt for jeans and boots. "You like this stuff?" He asked. You nodded and your eyes briefly met his. "It's sweet." 

His lips thinned slightly, "Huh." 

And here he was, hours after you and Sam had both gone to bed, trying to write you a love letter. Dean tried to go with a rhyming scheme for a while - until he tried to rhyme your name with something that wasn't completely stupid and couldn't think of anything and scrapped that idea. 

He thought about just copying the love letter you found - or something from online but that would be stupid. You could tell, and it wouldn't show he tried to put any effort in at all. Dean glanced over at your curled-up sleeping form, wearing a cute pink vintage nightgown that you nearly flipped your lid over when you saw it in the thrift store. You did love all of that… girly stuff. It was very endearing. 

Then, he suddenly got some inspiration. Dean picked up his pen again, scribbling some things down on the paper. He knew what he wanted to write - but he didn't know how to word it. Dean appreciated you too much for it to be half-assed - or something that could be taken the wrong way with how it was worded. 

And soon, the words just started to flow. 

The next morning, Dean took you out for a coffee and some pastries at the local shop. The letter he wrote for you was snug in his coat pocket - waiting for your eyes and only your eyes. He swallowed the lump in his throat and wiped one of his clammy palms on the expanse of his jeans as he sat down on the bench next to you. You briefly looked over at him, taking a tiny sip from the herbal tea he had gotten for you. “So, what’s the occasion?” You asked. Dean’s brows furrowed and he chuckled nervously, he swore that his heart was going to beat right out of his chest. “What? No occasion…” 

Your eyes narrowed, “Dean.” 

“Okay! Okay, I… I have something for you - but don’t laugh, okay?” He swallowed hard and started to dig through his pocket. Your face immediately softened and you turned to face him, whatever it was - it was important to him. 

Then, he pulled out a folded piece of paper with your name addressed on the front of it. “I tried real hard, okay? So… don’t laugh.” Dean warned - but with the slight waver in his voice, you could tell that he was very nervous. You took the delicate piece of paper from him and carefully unfolded it. The first line was enough to make your heart swell and for butterflies to form in your stomach. 

Hey, 

I don’t really know what to write… you know I’m not the mushy-gushy kinda guy, but I wanna try for you. I wanna start this off by saying I think you’re the prettiest woman out there, no doubt in my mind (and the bows you like to wear in your hair are damn cute.) You’re my whole goddamn world… you know, I purposefully try to make you laugh all the time too because it honestly sounds better than any Zeppelin song (don’t tell anyone I said that.) All it needs is a good guitar solo… kidding. Anyway, you’re my sweet girl who adores all that cute girly and flowery stuff, hell, I even let ya put that old heart key chain on my keys for Baby - nobody gets to fuck with Baby, except for you. I love you, more than words can say. I know I don’t tell you a lot, but I do. 

I love you. 

Your bottom lip jutted out and you clutched the piece of paper to your chest, “Dean…” He surveyed your reaction carefully with wide eyes, did you like it? Did you hate it? Finally, you practically threw yourself into his arms and buried your face in the crook of his neck. “This is the sweetest thing ever.” You beamed. Dean let out a relieved chuckle and tightly wrapped his arms around your waist, he (not so) discreetly inhaled the scent of your hair, smiling faintly when the light fragrance of flowers hit him. “Glad ya like it, sweetheart.”

[tangledinink]

Chapter Twenty-Five of I'm Sorry, Teenage Mutant What Now? is now up! There's a certain theme in this chapter you'll never guess what it is. Read it on ao3 or below the cut.

[ prev ]

“Alright. So,”

Mikey stared up at his older brother curiously, leaning against Leo slightly, the two of them settled down on the couch. Donnie was perched on the arm of the opposite side, slumped slightly and tapping away at his phone-- but also clearly listening to their eldest brother, stood up before them in the Lair as if he was about to give a presentation.

“About the whole… turtle thing,”

Donnie immediately sighed, making a face, and Raph threw up his hands in protest.

“I ain’t even said anything yet!” He cried, exasperated, and Donnie shot him a dry look.

“Yes, and I already dislike it.”

“Aw, come on, Dee, give him a chance!” Mikey protested, picking his head up so he could offer Raph an encouraging little grin. He knew this wasn’t exactly, like, a favored topic of discussion in the household, but it wasn’t like they could just ignore it, either! At least not all the time.

“Okay, so, I’ve been thinkin’ about it a lot lately, and don’t y’all kind of think that it might sort of be… safer?”

“No,” Donnie said.

“Donnie…!”

“He has a point!” Mikey protested, crossing his arms over his chest. “I mean, we have shells when we’re all turtley. If Raph had been a turtle on our last ninja mission, his ribs wouldn’t have gotten all messed up!”

“Exactly!” Raph said, pointing, seeming very pleased that at least one of his brothers was offering some support. “Look, I know you guys don’t like it, and that’s… fine! I mean, I’m not askin’ ya to like it! I just think, maybe, it’s somethin’ we should consider for at least, like… ninja mission stuff?”

Leo wrinkled his nose, seeming unconvinced to say the least.

“I dunno,” he said. “I mean. Yeah, sure, I guess, arguably, they’re a bit more sturdy, but… we’re not really used to even walking in those bodies yet. Let alone fighting! I know adrenaline is a kickass drug and all, but doesn’t it kind of seem like more risk than it’s worth?”

“You still can’t walk?” Mikey questioned, giving Leo a curious look, his brows furrowed.

Leo paused, slowly turning his head to give Mikey a long stare, his expression strained.

“... Excuse me?”

Mikey frowned, tilting his head to the side. “I can help if you want! It’s not that hard once you get the hang of--”

“I’m sorry,” Donnie interrupted, his head snapping around. “Are you implying that you have been spending your free time willingly futzing around in a mutant turtle body just for the fun of it?”

Now it was Mikey’s turn to stare, his head bobbing around from brother to brother, trying to see if either of them were joking-- waiting for someone to say psyche.

Wait, were they for real?

“... None of you have checked yourself out in turtle form at all?” He gawked.

“No! Why would we?!” Leo cried, throwing up his hands.

“‘Cause! That’s, like, us!” Mikey argued, throwing his hands up in turn, imitating his brother. “You’re seriously telling me you’re not even a little bit curious!? You guys are all just ignoring it!? We find out that we have magick mutant animal forms, like, freakin’ animorphs, and you don’t even wanna bother seeing if we have any cool powers or turtle abilities or anything?!”

“Have you actually read the Animorph books? Because if you did I’m pretty sure--”

“That’s not the point!” Mikey interrupted Donnie with a whine. “When I’m a turtle, I can, like, go inside my shell! If some bad guy was trying to, like, stab me or something, I’d be totally screwed,” he argued, crossing his arms firmly over his chest with a pout. “But if I was a turtle, I could just pop into my shell and I’d be totally okay!”

“I cannot believe what I’m hearing right now,” Leo muttered. “We find out that we’re secretly freakish mutant reptiles, and you think it’s a fun hobby--”

“I’m not saying that, Leo!” Mikey protested. “But what’s the point in just ignoring it? If you don’t check it out, you’re never gonna get used to it. Besides, Raph is right!”

“Thank you, Mikey,” Raph sighed. “You guys don’t have to do it all the time or anything! I just think… It might be a worthwhile option to explore. I don’t want anyone getting hurt,” he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, his eyes kind of sweeping over them all, as if he were making sure they were all still here and uninjured and accounted for.

“Plus, it’s kind of cool once you get over the whole, like, world-shattering parts of it!” Mikey chirped, moving to grab at his bracelet. “Here, watch, lookit what I can do--”

Both twins immediately slapped hands over their eyes, loudly protesting in tandem.

“Don’t you dare--!”

“I am not looking and you cannot make me--”

“Hamato Michelangelo if you take off that fucking bracelet right now I will murder you--”

“I am OPTING OUT, thank you VERY MUCH, we are so not doing this today!!!” Mikey blinked in surprise, and then absolutely scowled, releasing his hold on the bracelet. Oh, so Donnie could go have a breakdown in the Hidden City in his turtle form, but he wasn’t allowed to show them his shell thing!? So unfair… 

“You guys are being babies!”

“Nope! Nope, not today! I’m out! Fuck this!” Leo responded, hopping up to his feet and making a hasty retreat towards the Lair stairs. “You play turtle all you want, I am not involved!”

“Agreed,” Donnie huffed, and he was right behind his twin.

And then there were two of them left in the Lair.

Mikey sulked, sinking back down onto the couch and pursing his lips. “Aw, come on…”

Raph watched the other two go, laughing kind of nervously before he hesitantly moved to join the other, sitting down beside him. “Sorry, big man,” he said, ruffling his hair gently. “You can still show Raph if you want?”

Mikey sighed. “Maybe later,” he said, wrinkling up his nose. “I thought they’d at least be kind of okay with it by now! I mean, it’s been how long?”

“I think it’s just… a little harder for them than it is for you,” Raph said with a weak shrug, hesitating a bit, and Mikey frowned, turning his head slightly so he could catch Raph’s eyes.

“What about you?”

Raph laughed sort of nervously, looking to the side.

“Well. I mean. I don’t… like it. I mean. I ain’t you. But it’s… it’s… alright. I mean. I meant what I said! It might be good for us. Keep us safe ‘n all.”

Mikey raised a brow. “And…?”

Raph hesitated for a bit, and sighed. “I mean. Look, Mikey, it’s a little… scary. I’m a lot bigger than you guys! And… sharper!”

“Yeah, but you’re always bigger than us!” Mikey protested, leaning against his brother, burrowing up against him. 

“Yeah, I know,” Raph said. “And that was scary once, too. But it’s… It’s fine. I dealt with it,” he said, shrugging a little, frowning to himself. “So now I just gotta…” He broke off briefly, setting his expression for a moment. “Now I just gotta learn it again. That’s all.”

He sighed very softly. And Mikey frowned a little.

“I’m used to being big and scary. I’m used to people being afraid of me sometimes,” he said. “So. It’s nothin’ I can’t handle.” 

“Yeah, but…” Mikey began slowly, kind of shrugging a bit. “I mean. We’ve never been scared of you or anything. You know that, right? We don’t care if you’re bigger than us,” he pointed out. “We never have! And we don’t care if you’re spiky, either, I mean… all our turtle forms are weird.” 

Raph forced a small laugh.

“Yeah. Yeah, I know,” he said, sort of waving off his concerns. “That’s not… I mean. I dunno, Mikey, it’s just sorta complicated. I mean. There’s just kinda… there’s less things you can be when you’re big, you know?” He said slowly, resting his chin in his hand. “It’s… you know. It’s hard, sometimes. Being strong and careful at the same time. Even when people aren’t careful with you. And making sure you don’t hurt anyone and… all that.” His eyes looked a tiny bit far off for a moment, like he was remembering something. “And… you guys can kinda do whatever you want! You can be all… little or bouncy or feminine or cute or delicate or whatever the hell else, and you just… can’t really do that stuff when you’re big. Once you get big enough, you just kinda gotta… There’s just stuff you can’t do anymore.”

Mikey paused a moment.

This was… the first he was ever hearing of this.

Was this… really how Raph thought?

“Yeah, you can!” He protested, his brows twitching a bit, furrowing as he stared up at his brother. “Raph, of course you can be all that stuff! Why couldn’t you!?”

Raph scoffed, shooting the other this little half-hearted half-smile. “Well, I mean, I guess I technically can? It’s just not as simple as it is for you guys,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I mean, you guys can do half of that stuff without even trying! And no one would even bat an eye. But it’s just… It’s not really the same for me? It’s like…” he scoffed softly, seeming almost amused. “Raph can pick up the rest of ya, but none of you could pick up Raph! It’s a little different!”

Mikey pursed his lips, giving Raph a pointed scowl.

“Well, you’ve never let any of us try,” he argued. And Raph laughed.

“Yeah, ‘cause you’d hurt yourself!” He teased, and Mikey socked him in the arm without too much heat to it.

“You don’t know that! We’re way stronger than we look!” He insisted. “And all that other stuff! I mean-- you could totally do that stuff, Raph! Just because you’re bigger doesn’t mean you can’t be cute!!! What kind of--!? I mean!!! Raph!!!”

He jumped forward, grabbing onto his brother’s face so he could stretch and squish his cheeks angrily.

“You’re already cute all the time, idiot!!! You don’t have to be small to be cute!!! That’s stupid!!!”

Raphael scoffed, laughing loudly, trying to bat Mikey away, though Mikey was suddenly aware, in a way that he usually wasn’t, that he was taking care to temper his strength. He wasn’t just batting at Mikey the way Mikey would bat at him. Every movement he made was careful and deliberate and planned. He thought about every jab or swipe that he made at his siblings.

Mikey was almost ashamed that he had never thought about his before.

He was never gentle with Raph when he jumped on him or grabbed at him or climbed on his shoulders because it never felt like he had to be. Raph was over a foot taller than him. He probably had at least a hundred pounds on him. Mikey had always been the smallest, and while he certainly wasn’t weak by any means, Raph was a goddamn wall of muscle. An unstoppable force! He had never met anything that Raph couldn’t push and bend and sway if he tried hard enough. So every time they met an obstacle, they all just… looked at him and waited for him to take care of it.

He… Yeah.

He was big.

Mikey supposed he had always looked at his brother and came to that conclusion, and then never thought any further on the subject. He had always expected Raph to be big and strong and sturdy. He had never wondered if he wanted to be anything else. 

Why did he do that?...

Mikey let go of Raph, and he climbed back down off of him, sitting next to him on the couch instead of half on top of him. And he sighed deeply. 

“You’re not scary,” Mikey said after a second, blinking slowly as he slowly settled back down on the couch. “And you can do all that other stuff, if you want to. We would let you,” he pressed. And he frowned, and he kept quiet for a moment.

“... I’m sorry it feels harder,” he finally said, tilting his head to the side slightly. “And… we’re not always careful with you.”

Raph stared at him for just half a second, hesitating for only the slightest moment before laughing again and waving him off. “What are you talkin’ about? You don’t gotta apologize, none of ya’ did anything wrong! This is Raph’s thing. It ain’t your problem,” he insisted, but Mikey wasn’t so sure that that was exactly the case.

He would work on it. 

Because Mikey was suddenly so, so sure that this was something he wanted to fix. And something that he could do. 

This was still the something that he could give to them.

“Still,” Mikey finally said, shrugging a bit and taking a long breath before getting up to his feet. “Do you still wanna see me do the shell thing? It’s really cool!” He offered, wiggling his brows at his older brother, and he chuckled in reply, nodding.

“Yeah. Yeah, sure, big man, show me your thing,” he invited, and Mikey grinned.

---

“Raph!” Mikey chirped excitedly, spinning around on his heels so that his back was facing the older brother. “Here! Les’ play piggyback!”

“Okay!” Raph agreed easily, absolutely beaming at the invitation, wasting no time in scampering over to Mikey. Their trip to the zoo, which had so far been absolutely abound with all sorts of excitement, to Mikey’s absolute delight, had taken a short departure from the previous energy while their dad tried to calm a squabble between his other two brothers. This was a bit less to Mikey’s delight. He wasn’t really sure what they were carrying on about, ‘cause he hadn’t really be paying attention. Those two were always fighting about something. He thought maybe it was about hair? Whatever. The point was, just sitting here and listening to them whine was boring.

But playing piggybacks?! That was fun! They could make a game out of it or something--

“Jump on--”

Their dad paused from his current task in peacemaking, however, just long enough to grab Raph by the shoulder right as he was about to make good on his baby brother’s invitation and jump on top of Mikey’s back. Before it even began, the game came to a grinding halt.

“You’re too big for that, Red, you’ll hurt him,” Dad bit out quickly, sparing them the most momentary of glances. “Play a different game.”

And just like that, he was back to his previous duty, trying to talk the twins through their latest drama in between their protests and tears.

Mikey paused, blinking in surprise as he processed this. 

They couldn’t play piggyback? But…

“No fair…” He whimpered, his lower lip wobbling a little. He wanted to pretend he was a Jupiter Jim spaceship or something! And Raph could’ve been Jupiter Jim!

Raph hesitated visibly, glancing between their dad and Mikey, his brows furrowed. And after a minute, he sort of forced a smile, leaning over to grab Mikey and shake his arm a bit.

“That’s okay, Mikey! I don’t have to piggyback you,” he assured quickly. “You can just piggyback me, instead! Raph doesn’t mind. That way we can still play! Alright?”

And Mikey grinned.

---

Okay. Alright. You can do this. It’s not a big deal. You have this totally under control--

Donnie’s hand lingered over the bracelet on his wrist.

And then at the last second, he flinched away like he had just been bitten, a short, high-pitched whine escaping him as a full-body shiver ran up and down his body. Nope, nope, nope!!! He did not have it!!! It was a big deal, actually, ugh, no, no, no, just thinking about it felt gross. How the hell was he supposed to consider this when just the idea made his stomach flip!?

Donnie growled softly in annoyance, laying his head down on his desk with a solid thunk, glaring down at the polished surface as if it were personally responsible. 

God. It just felt so fucking alien.

Had they really spent the first five years of their lives like that? 

No matter how much evidence was piled up in front of him, Donnie still struggled to wrap his mind around such an idea. I mean, that was practically a third of his life! And he just forgot about it?! He had a near-photographic memory! How did something like that happen!?

Part of him wanted to not believe it at all. It would certainly be easier to be in denial.

But, much to his annoyance, far too many things just… made sense.

He had too many memories, some recently resurfaced and some long-ago explained away, to simply dismiss the idea. He felt pretty stupid thinking about it now, quite frankly. Yeah, of course normal kids don’t have memories of ‘playing pretend’ in sci-fi movie-magic high-def like that!!! Obviously!!! None of his other memories were like that, were they!? When they would pretend to be Jupiter Jim or Lou Jitsu or whatever when they were older, it was exactly that, wasn’t it? Just them-- just kids playing make-believe games.

And yet he had just accepted the easiest thing. The most logical, most reasonable thing was just to believe that memories were weird and leave it at that, and that their early childhood was probably kind of fucked up, but human the entire time, and go from there.

Because… of course it was. Obviously, it was. Anything else would have been insane!

It was still insane. Even if it was, apparently, the truth of the matter.

It had been so much easier to blame all the freaky things they did as kids on something else. He and Raph bit people like feral pomeranians as kids simply because they hadn’t had the chance to socialize with other children before, of course. Not because they were carnivorous reptiles, prone to bouts of hunting instincts taking over. And he and his siblings got so sleepy in the cold and adored their heated blankets simply because poor circulation ran in the family. Not because they were literally made of cold-blooded creatures! That would be crazy. And Leo and he’s penchant for communicating entirely in animalistic clicks and chirps throughout early childhood-- a habit that still lingered even now? It was a twin thing, obviously, and nothing else. Because that would be crazy!

Not them literally talking to each other in fucking turtle or anything!

‘Cause how the hell would that work?

How the hell else would Leo fucking squeaking at you make sense, dum-dum? He thought bitterly to himself. It had been years and years now since they had properly employed their ‘twin language,’ but Donnie was pretty sure that it had never been a proper language at all. It wasn’t like they had any words in it, or they ever discussed what certain noises meant beforehand, at least not that he could recall…

But they could still always understand what the other was saying regardless, couldn’t they?

Donnie groaned softly, lifting his head back up just so that he could rub at his temples. Christ, thinking about all of this was just giving him a migraine. He quietly asked the universe what he had ever done to it for them to make his life a fucking joke. What was this, a parody of some Marvel comic or something!?

He hated thinking about it.

But…

He reached for his wrist again.

He touched the little crystal, his fingertips just barely brushing the surface.

He quite nearly gagged, another horrid shudder running up his spine as he spiraled back into a retreat. Ugh, god, he couldn’t just not think about it, either! Every hair on his body was standing on end, and he grit his teeth, forcing himself to start reciting pi in his head instead. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. 

He ran his fingers across the seams of the compression sleeves on his arms, reminding himself that they were there before he quickly turned back to his computer, snapping open several files and syncing up his headphones with the bluetooth.

He smacked the play button, and whatever random EDM playlist he had queued up on Spotify immediately began blaring through his ears, drowning out everything else. 

Much better.

He sighed deeply, narrowing his eyes slightly as his gaze roamed over the screen. It was fine. He was fine! All he needed was a distraction for a little bit.

He had already made a decent amount of headway in trying to recreate Baron Draxum’s research, translating and decoding everything he could remember from the notes he had reviewed and documented in his lab. It was patchworked at best, but it was the only solid information he really had on the mutation project…

That, and himself.

Donnie set his jaw, scrolling his way through the data sheets he had compiled.

He had made some decent headway. But he could always make some more.

---

Quite frankly, Leo had felt, like… great recently? Which was pretty insane, given the general state of things, and also how fucking awful he had felt not the long ago. And, like, sure, things were still kind of rough and he wasn’t exactly tickled about the whole situation, but somehow, at the same time, everything was just…

So good.

He had really only been on T for a few weeks, so he was pretty much sure that nothing had actually changed yet and it was in his head, but he had literally never felt so fucking good about himself before. His brothers had taken the time to inform him of how fucking insufferable he and his ego had become, and Leo didn’t even care, because damn right he looked good and obviously everyone should know about it, too! He had started taking about eight million selfies every day because he wanted to document the process, Dee, it’s science, I’m coming for your brand, shouldn’t you be supportive of this kinda thing? 

But it was just, like… even if nothing had changed yet, at least not noticeably, it was… It was going to. It was an active work in progress and he was just so goddamn thrilled about it. And like, yes, okay, things were weird and kind of scary right now and he was spending a lot of time doing ninja training and trying to stop the actual literal end of the world, or whatever, and that was sort of a lot of pressure? But here was the thing-- and he would never admit it out loud--

But he sort of didn’t mind any of it.

Because yeah, all the ‘ninja training’ stuff was difficult and boring sometimes, but he got to do it with his family. 

And, like, yeah, some of the stakes here? Were a lot, and it was terrifying if he thought about it too hard.

But him and his siblings and his dad? They were all doing it together. 

If word that he was enjoying hanging out with his family ever got out, obviously his rep would be ruined, so he had to take it to his grave. But he was. He was, like… happy. Happier than he had been in a while, in between everything else, in between the worry about his dad and the concern for his siblings, sure, but he was also, like… 

Weirdly happy.

Was that bad?

Oddly enough, he was really, stupidly happy right now, and maybe he just didn’t…

Didn’t want to give that up…?

Leo frowned a bit, biting the insides of his cheeks as he spun his bracelet idly around on his wrist, his nose wrinkled up a bit. 

It was silly, really. It wasn’t as simple as “if you take it off, you’ll be miserable again.” Things were obviously different than they had been before, when they first got home, in a lot of ways! There was no formula, no clear cut-and-dry cause-and-effect, he didn’t know that that would happen, it was just… 

Well, what if he was?

What if he tried to do ‘turtle stuff,’ or whatever the fuck Raph had said exactly, and then everything was horrible again? What if everything just went back to the way it was? 

Right now, Leo was pretty sure that he, like, liked himself. Like, actually for real! Almost all of him, even! He could look at himself in the mirror again, he could shower without crying, he could post selfies on his instagram and stand to be filmed and looked at and wear make-up and nail polish without having a crisis-- all things that he loved to do! All things that he had missed so, so deeply when he had hated himself too much to enjoy any of it.

He hadn’t liked hating himself. And he didn’t wanna do it again.

But what if he took it off, and then he did?

What if he took it off, and then there was no solution this time? He couldn’t start T a second time. So what if he just got… stuck…? 

Leo groaned loudly, tilting his head back and burying his face in his hands, scrubbing at his eyes.

This is so stupid! Raph is right and you know it! And none of this shit even makes any sense! Why would you go back!? It wasn’t the turtle thing, it was-- it was everything, it’s not that simple, and even if it was, you still need to get over it…!

“Did something happen?”

Leo jerked in surprise at the sound of his father’s voice-- he hadn’t even heard him passing through the hallway, and yet now here he was leaning against the doorframe. Ahhh, stupid ninja father…!

Rapidly righting himself, Leo straightened his back and cleared his throat, attempting to wave his father off. “Oh, they just kicked Dean off of the Bachelorette, which is obviously messed up because he’s clearly the hottest one there? I mean, I know it’s all, like, the producers, or whatever, but come on--”

“Mmm-hmmm,” Dad said, nodding thoughtfully as he slowly made his way into the other’s room, leaving him the time to chase him away if he wanted to. (But Leo himself was surprised to find that he didn’t.) “And…?”

Dammit, usually Dad always fell for Bachelorette based lies. Leo hesitated a second, staring up at the ceiling and tugging at one of his own curls-- straightening it out and then letting it go, feeling it bounce up against his cheekbones.

(He loved his hair. He loved loving his hair. He had come so close to cutting it off, and if he had, he would have been fucking devastated now. What if he ended up hating it again? What if he did cut it off…? He didn’t want to cut off his hair!... He loved his hair…!)

“Do you think we’d be, like… better fighters as… turtles, or whatever?”

His dad hummed thoughtfully, sitting down at the edge of his bed and seeming to consider this for a moment. “Well. I don’t know about that. But I suppose there could be advantages,” he finally said. “Though there could be drawbacks, as well. Why do you ask?”

He sighed deeply.

“Well. Raph thinks-- I mean. Raph said that he thought maybe it’d be, like… safer, or whatever. And we’d get beat up less if we had, you know, shells and body armor and stuff? And…! I mean, he’s right, we probably would be, but I don’t… we’re not used to it, and, and it’s different, and it’s, you know, it’s not stealth, obviously, so I’m not--” 

He frowned deeply, wrinkling up his nose.

“I still don’t… like it. I guess is the problem, actually,” he admitted. 

Dad sighed thoughtfully.

“Well,” he finally said. “That is certainly understandable. I don’t like what I look like without the bracelet, either,” he admitted, looking slightly to the side, his eyes dancing away for just a moment before he managed to herd them back. “I do admit that being safer and less prone to injury does sound very nice to me…! But that is just me being selfish. And your father,” he laughed. “... I do not want any of you to get hurt. And I… I would like you to be safe. But no one will force you to be in any body that makes you unhappy, Blue. That’s not safe, either, and I suppose I can’t…” He sighed a bit, sounding almost frustrated. “It wouldn’t be fair for me to prioritize one over the other.”

Leo frowned a little, wrapping his arms around himself. 

“But you do think we’d be safer, don’t you?” He pressed.

Dad kind of floundered for a second. “I don’t want to tell you what--”

“Yeah, yeah, our bodies, our choice, you love us, other quotes from parenting books, blah blah blah. I get it, Dad,” Leo scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Like, thanks, or whatever. But I want your actual, honest opinion, okay? Do you think we’d be safer if we were turtles when we fought and went on missions and stuff?”

It took his dad a little bit to respond, and Leo did his absolute best to his patient, only fidgeting a tiny bit.

“It is… not simple. I think there are situations where you’d be better served as humans, but I… I do think there are situations where you might be better off as turtles, too,” he finally admitted, and then gave a short, somewhat strained laugh. “Thank goodness you were all turtles when you were little. I think you may have all ended up with brain damage otherwise with how often you threw each other around…! I was always shocked by how resilient you were, even when you were tiny, but I was certainly grateful for it, as well!...”

Leo kind of screwed up his face for a moment, tilting his head to the side.

“Well, then how come you don’t fight without your bracelet? We don’t want you to get hurt either, you know.”

Dad seemed almost surprised for a moment, staring at Leo for a second, and then, to his quiet surprise, he laughed.

Leo scowled, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest, waiting for his Dad to stop snickering.

“Okay, let me in on the joke already, Pops--”

“Blue,” he finally said, shaking his head a tiny bit. “I am not a turtle. You know that, don’t you…?”

Now it was Leo’s turn to stare at the other for a moment.

“You’re not!?”

“No!” Dad laughed. “I-- I’m sorry. I should not…! I suppose you would have no way of knowing, it just…!”

“Why the fuck aren’t you a turtle if we’re turtles!?” Leo cried. “Why wouldn’t I think you’re a turtle!? The rest of us are turtles!!! Obviously, you should also be a turtle!!! If you’re gonna do a bit, then commit to it!!!”

Dad just laughed, wiping a few tears from his face.

“If you’re not a turtle, then what the hell are you?!” Leo cried. And it took a second, but Dad’s laughter died back down.

And then the two of them were just sitting in silence. Leo looked at his dad. And his dad looking at his own feet.

Leo winced, immediately backpedaling.

“Sorry. Forget I said that. You don’t have to--”

“I’m a rat,” Dad said, before he could even finish his sentence. “I was mutated with a rat.”

Leo stayed quiet for a second, slowly processing this.

He hadn’t actually expected his dad to… answer him.

A rat. Their dad was… part-rat.

For a second, he just sat with this new information, turning it around in his mind a few times and considering it. And to his quiet surprise, all of a sudden, when he reached back through his memories, he could feel soft fur on his skin. And he could recall whiskers tickling his face; a sensation long forgotten, but suddenly paired quite definitively with the feeling of being wrapped up in his dad’s arms, back when he was still tiny, or having a good-night kiss pressed onto his forehead at bedtime as a toddler.

A rat. 

That… made sense, actually, now that he knew it.

That felt right.

But still, the next thing he said was, “Why the fuck are we turtles and you’re a rat?”  

Dad chuckled, shaking his head. “I could not tell you, my son.”

“Who the fuck was in charge of this!? Turtles and a rat? Seriously?! Wait, is this why you have eight million snacks hoarded away in your room!? And can always tell if we snuck snacks or didn’t brush our teeth and stuff!?”

“Well, I don’t think the rat thing was really planned--”

“Good! Because, uh, lowkey, I’m just saying? Kind of fucking racist!” Leo exclaimed, throwing up his arms, and Dad nearly choked this time on the absolute snort of laughter that erupted from him, bowing his head to cover his face with his hands, his shoulders absolutely trembling with barely contained hysterics.

“You know what, Blue?” He finally got himself together enough that he could bite out a reply through wheezy breaths. “You are absolutely right.”

--- 

“Daddy,”

Yoshi sighed softly at the sound of the quivering, sobbing cry of his youngest son, reluctantly pausing in his current task of attempting to clean up the kitchen area and turning to instead meet the child, running to him on toddling little legs and wiping the tears from his face.

“What’s the matter, my son?” He questioned, kneeling down to meet him. Mikey came crashing into him at full force, throwing himself into his chest, and Yoshi grunted softly at the impact, just barely managing to not lose his balance and remain upright.

“It’s n-not f-faiiirrrrrr…” Mikey wept miserably, grabbing fistfuls of his fur and curling up in his arms, hiccuping pitifully as he looked up at him with wide eyes. 

“What’s not fair? What happened?” He questioned, his brows furrowed slightly with concern at the absolute distress his child was in.

“I--” He broke off for a second to sob, snuffling loudly and huffing to try to catch his breath, needing a moment before he was able to continue. “I w-want a tail, too…!”

Yoshi blinked slowly.

“Orange, you have a tail.”

“No, I don’t!” Mikey shrieked in distress. 

“Yes, you do! You have a little tail right on your butt under your shell right here! I can see it!”

“That doesn’t count!” Mikey wailed, and Yoshi sighed softly.

“What do you mean it doesn’t count? It’s a tail!”

“But it’s little!” Mikey sobbed. “I w-want a long tail, like Donnie and Raph and you! It’s no fair!!! I can’t even see mine!”

Oh, for god’s sake…

“Orange, I cannot give you a different tail.”

“But it’s no fair!” Mikey shrieked. “I want a tail like your tail!!! It’s no fair!!! How’s come you get’ta have a long tail!?”

“Michalangelo, I have a rat tail because I am a rat.” He couldn’t believe he was explaining this. “And you have a turtle tail because you’re a turtle.”

“B-but Donnie and Raph are turtles and they have long tails!”

“Well, they are different types of turtles,” Yoshi said with a shrug. Mikey sobbed.

“B-but-- But I want one too!”

Yoshi resisted another sigh. 

“I know. I am very sorry, Mikey. I would give you my tail if I could,” he tried to soothe, and goodness, would he. He knew that his children took great joy in grabbing onto it and hanging on while he dragged them around, (one of Yoshi’s least favorite games, quite frankly,) but he despised the thing. It was annoying to lug around, always pulling at his lower back, and just a constant reminder of every way that he was wrong now. He didn’t think he would ever be able to quite adapt to having an additional limb.

There were many things he had grown used to by now, though he still didn’t like them. He had learned to tolerate the absolute power that scent ruled over his life now. He had reluctantly grown to accept the blurriness of his vision. He had adapted to the odd teeth in his mouth and how they grew, doing his best not to allow them to get out of hand and became painful (though he was not always the best at this,) and had grown to accept the whiskers on his face and how they twinged when they brushed something, the fur covering his body, the claws on his hands and feet and how his legs bent in a different way now.

But the tail? The tail he still couldn’t quite accept. It was just too different. Maybe with some more time, he would, but… He wasn’t exactly convinced.

Mikey continued to sob, and Yoshi huffed a bit, slowly easing himself back to his feet, keeping the toddler tucked up against his chest while he cried. He got the impression that it might take a bit before he was ready to accept this fact of his life and calm down again…

So he supposed he would just have to figure out how to finish cleaning the kitchen and carry a sobbing toddler at the same time. 

---

Raph was the biggest brother. The brother who was the biggest. It was his job to keep an eye on all his little siblings and make sure everyone was okay and following the rules, and he was pretty good at it, too, he thought. In addition to this, he was captain of the school’s football team-- he had been shocked when the votes were tallied up in his favor, because he was only a junior, after all, not a senior like the captain usually was, and were they sure!? But evidently, they were, and the honor had gone to him-- and Raph thought that he actually did a pretty okay job at that, too. It had been a really good season last year. They went to states and everything!

Not only was he captain of the football team, but he currently held the title of captain of the swim team, as well, and the basketball team, and the wrestling team. And quite frankly, he wasn’t sure why in the world he kept ending up in the captain’s chair? He had never really thought of himself as a leader before, and even now, he was hesitant to wear such a title…

But if he had learned one thing about leading people so far, it was that you had to lead by example.

And it wasn’t fair for him to ask Donnie or Leo to tolerate being in weird, alien mutant forms if he wasn’t willing to stomach it too.

Which he could do! He knew he could. He just…

Needed some practice. That was all.

He had been down here for about twenty minutes now, just lazing about in the Lair and trying to get used to being like this. He had spent quite a bit of time pacing and wandering around before he had finally ended up here, plopped down in the middle of the room on his stomach, his arms curled up under his head as he took quiet note of his tail and how it felt sliding back and forth behind him-- just trying to memorize the weight and the movement of it, listening to the soft noise of scales on concrete.

Shhhh shhhh.

He had just been starting to think, yeah, okay, this isn’t actually so bad when he heard telltale footsteps coming from the stairs.

And when Donnie looked over from the stairwell and saw him, he froze. And Raph froze, too. He certainly hadn’t expected Donnie to tear himself away from his projects to come down here. He had opted to take advantage of the open space in the Lair rather than the privacy of his own bedroom, fearing that he might knock stuff over or ruin them in his turtle form, but now he was suddenly kind of questioning that decision.

And for a long, pregnant moment, it was just quiet between them. And he stared at Donnie. And Donnie stared at him. And before Raph could figure out what the hell he was supposed to say, Donnie began moving again, finishing his descent down the stairs into the basement.

“I need a break from the Lab,” he muttered, sort of absently, almost nonchalant, kind of gesturing to the laptop that he had under his arm. “Is it cool if I hang out in here for a while?”

It took Raph a second to actually process what Donnie was saying and formulate a response. But then eventually, he nodded. 

“Yeah. Of course.”

“Okay, cool,” Donnie said, and after a moment of kind of looking around, seeming to consider things, he went over to the couch. Grabbing one of the many spare blankets that lived there, he carefully spread it out over top of Raph-- arranging it just enough so that he could kind of climb half on top of his brother, both of them curled up beneath the soft fabric, any sharp edges or points from Raphael’s shell covered well enough that Donnie could snuggle up against him. 

It was rare that Donnie was interested in anything even vaguely resembling cuddles. He hardly even liked people touching him. Certainly, he wouldn’t allow strangers to touch him. Or anyone that he didn’t completely trust. A majority of the time, it was just his family that could expect the possibility of any kind of physical closeness-- and only when he felt safe enough to allow for such things.

A comfortable, warm weight pressed up against Raphael’s back, soothing and pleasant. He could feel the familiar sensation even through his shell. Raph kept still for his little brother as he felt him get comfortable against him, snuggled up close and settling in to relax. 

“Is this okay?” Donnie asked after a moment.

“Yeah,” Raph immediately responded. “This is okay.”

“Cool,” Donnie said.

Raph’s tail kept on waving from side to side behind him, though at a slightly quicker tempo now as he settled, allowing his eyes to slide shut.

Shhhshhhshhhshhhshhshhh.

---

Donnie stayed like that for about two hours, with Raph dozing in and out for much of it, before he finally took his leave. He had accomplished just about all he could from his laptop out here, and though he had, in fact, needed a break from the Lab, he didn’t wanna spend that much time away from it. 

His research called. 

He was pretty sure Raph was still asleep, so it was easy enough to very slowly, very quietly creep his way off of him, rearranging the blanket to ensure he was still covered up properly before making his way back up the Lair stairs. And while he knew that Leo had gotten home, (he had popped down at some point to grab something, and given him and their oldest brother a very odd look that Donnie couldn’t quite interpret,) he was somewhat surprised to find him camped out in the kitchen, bent over the island and reading something on his phone. His head popped up as soon as Donnie emerged from the basement-- and if he had been waiting for them.

“Finally finished with your cuddle sesh?” He teased in an almost sing-song tone, tilting his head to the side. Donnie huffed, rolling his eyes.

“Die,” he muttered in response, carefully closing the basement door behind him and beginning to make his way to the stairs. Leo was chasing him, however, much to his chagrin.

“Oh, come on! You barely ever want anyone to breathe in your direction. It’s an event whenever you’re in the mood to actually, like, cozy up to someone,” he pressed, pocketing his phone as he trailed after Donnie, hopping up the stairs right after him.

“Why would I want anyone to breathe in my direction?” Donnie scoffed, shooting the other a glare. “That sounds disgusting. And I’m allowed to have the occasional special exception and be in the mood, thank you very much,” he growled, hunching his shoulders slightly. “Besides, it was…”

He pursed his lips slightly.

“Mutually beneficial.” 

“Uh-huh…” Leo said slowly, quirking a brow slightly, looking Donnie up and down for a moment like he was trying to figure that out, and then seemingly deciding that it wasn’t the priority right now. “But so, like… it is a special occasion, then?”

Donnie frowned a bit, giving the other a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

“I mean. Like,” Leo shrugged a bit, sort of crossing his arms over his chest. “Like. Yeah. You’re allowed to not wanna be touched and then have special exceptions when you do wanna be touched and, like, you’re down with cuddles, and all that, so, I mean…” He sort of trailed off for a second, his eyes wandering away, before they snapped back over once again. “But like. This is one of those times? When you, like… are down?”

Donnie blinked slowly.

“Leo, what the hell are you--”

“Can I hug you?” Leo bit out, cutting him off before he could get too far, and Donnie sighed deeply. Ah. That’s what this was, then. Jesus, why couldn’t he just open with that?

“Yeah, Leo, you can hug--”

He didn’t even get through the words before his brother was crashing into him all at once, nearly costing him his footing with how he jumped for him, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing him so tightly that Donnie was pretty sure his compression sleeves were jealous. They had to kind of grab the wall to catch their balance again, stumbling slightly. 

“Jesus, Nardo, could you--!?”

“You scared me so fucking bad,” Leo hissed out, his voice pinched tight and muffled for how he had buried his face in Donnie’s shoulder, absolutely clinging to him. 

Donnie blinked in surprise, taking a moment to process this, wondering if he had misheard the other. “What…?”

“Never, ever disappear like that ever again,” Leo continued, tightening his grip on him slightly, which Donnie hadn’t even thought was possible. “I was so fucking scared, you bitch. I thought something really bad might’ve-- and it was my fault, too. I’m sorry. I’m-- I’m really sorry I was such a dick then. I didn’t mean it. I was just upset and I know that we already did this but I couldn’t fucking touch you then and-- I didn’t--”

Oh.

So that’s what this was about.

“Leo, it’s okay--”

“Shut up,” Leo mumbled, his voice trembling a bit, and Donnie didn’t really have a good refute for that. So he looped his arms around Leo instead and hung onto him back. He didn’t usually do that. Hugs from his family members were overall acceptable, but he didn’t always enjoy hugging back, at least not for long, but… 

You know. Special exceptions and all that. In that same vein, he kind of wrinkled up his nose at the wetness against his neck, but he could tolerate it.

It was fine. He could tolerate it for this.

Even though they were still halfway up the stairs, the two of them eventually, slowly sank down until they were both sort of awkwardly bundled up together on the stairs, half on top of each other, half flopped down the slope. Donnie kind of had to stick out a leg so he could brace his foot against the wall and keep them from sliding, but that was okay. He didn’t really wanna try to move the two of them anywhere, even if this would be easier if they were literally anywhere else in the house.

“I’m really glad we’re twins again,” Leo sobbed, and Donnie nodded a tiny bit.

“Yeah. Me too.”

“I-- I really w-want us to stay twins.”

“We’re going to, Nardo. Calm down.”

“I don’t want you to leave.”

“I’m not leaving, Leo,” Donnie said, and actually? It kind of felt really good to get to say this next part out loud. 

“I’m not going anywhere. Are you?” 

Leo sobbed weakly in response, shaking his head a tiny bit. 

“Okay. Good. Then we’re gonna be okay,” Donnie mumbled, squeezing him slightly. Wait, was he actually tearing up a tiny bit…? God dammit. Leo knew he hated crying, this asshole…

“I’m sorry I was a bitch before.”

“Yeah. You were kind of a bitch,” Donnie agreed, laying his head down, allowing himself to rest his cheek against his twin brother’s curls. “But there were, admittedly… Extenuating circumstances. And I… suppose I am also sorry. For running away. And scaring you,” he muttered, sighing a little. “... I just didn’t know what else to do.”

“Don’t do it again.”

“Not currently planning on it,” Donnie mumbled, pressing himself closer to the other. 

“I love you.”

“Yeah, okay. I love you too.”

“... I like it when we’re twins,” Leo hummed. “‘Cause then we’re not fucking basic bitches. We’re twins.”

“Yes, we are, of course, obviously a cut above the average citizen,” Donnie agreed easily, trying to discreetly wipe at his eyes.

“Yeah,” Leo sniffled, hiccuping a bit, and then finally, slowly, his iron grip began to loosen a bit. And after a bit longer, the two untangled themselves slightly. Leo kind of scrubbed at his face with the sleeves of his hoodie, flushed bright red and still slightly teary-eyed.

“Hey,” Donnie finally said, after watching him for a moment, sort of raising a brow. “Are you… like… good…? Or…?”

Leo snorted softly, a watery little chuckle escaping him.

“I-- I’m actually, like… really good, lately? So… Yeah?” He laughed weakly, brushing some of his hair from his face. “I actually think I’m, like… Really good right now, which is, like, stupid, and weird, and probably doesn’t make sense? But… yeah.”

Donnie gave the other a look.

“This is good for you?”

“... Yeah?” Leo laughed. “I just. Fuck,” he sighed deeply, swiping away a few more tears. “I just. I just really wanted to hug you and shit. Like. Before? Uhm. But I knew you didn’t want to, and touching and shit has been weird for you lately, so… You know,” he kind of shrugged weakly. “... I just… waited.”

Donnie blinked slowly. And Leo scowled, rolling his eyes.

“Do not tell me I need a therapist right now, or I swear to god, I will unplug everything in your room while you sleep--”

Donnie raised his hands to sign.

‘You should really--’

“DO NOT SIGN IT AT ME EITHER, JESUS CHRIST--”

---

The cool mist that accompanied his ancestors anytime they manifested themselves into the physical world tickled at the curves of Michelangelo’s cheeks, soothing the sting of the hot tears sliding down his face. He hiccuped softly, watching as the Hamato Spirits twisted into the world before him; one by one curling from the open scroll like smoke until he was surrounded by them.

“Good afternoon, young Hamato,” Ghost-Sensei spoke, and somehow, his voice seemed gentler than it usually was. Mikey choked on another sob at this alone, drawing his knees up his chest and bowing his head down. “What troubles you?”

Mikey sniffled softly, wiping at his face a few times and drawing in a deep, shaking breath.

“I-- I think I fucked up really bad,” he croaked, and he hated how his voice shook. He took several more long, purposeful breaths, but it did little to soothe the tremble in him. He hated how little say he had over his own body. Over his own thoughts and feelings.

He was trying so hard. Why wasn’t this working?

“Our purpose is to listen and offer guidance, Michelangelo,” Ghost-Sensei reminded.

“I--” Mikey hesitated for just a moment, staring down at his own feet, tightening his grip on himself slightly. “I. I was-- I thought I-- I was g-getting better, but I--”

He hiccuped miserably.

“I got too excited and I-- I burned Sarah,” he whispered. “We were-- we were w-working on a project together, at school, earlier, and I, I was holding onto one of the papers we were sk-sketching on, and I-- I didn’t mean to! It just-- it just happened! I wasn’t trying to--”

“Does she know that the fire started because of you?”

Mikey sobbed, shaking his head a tiny bit. “N-no, I don’t th-think so--”

“Then it will be okay,” they said.

Mikey swallowed hard, his brows furrowing as he glanced up to them. 

“But I-- I hurt her--”

“It was a mistake,” Ghost-Sensei said. “Sometimes, mistakes may happen, and people may get hurt. It is very unfortunate. But it happens in life. And if you train,” they added, their voice pressing ever-so-slightly. “Then we can ensure that it does not happen again.”

Mikey swallowed hard.

He kept quiet for a second.

And then he nodded.

“This is why we train,” Ghost-Sensei explained gently. “There is great power in the Hamato bloodline. But that is not something that can be taken lightly. There is a reason for each and every one of the Hamato Clan traditions, Michelangelo. Even the ones that we may not always enjoy,” they sighed. “There is a good reason. The mystical energy you wield is very special. But if you cannot learn to control it,” they warned. “Then you are a danger. Not just to yourself. But to the people around you as well. Do you understand?”

Mikey took a few more long, shaking breaths. And he nodded again.

“Good,” Sensei said. “... It will be alright. We are your family, Michelangelo. We can help you. And none of this is your fault. You should have been taught all of this a long time ago. You have a great destiny,” they said, their tone almost fond. “... It’s a shame you have not been set up for success. But we can still change those things. And we can teach you everything you need to know.”

Wiping away the tears from his eyes, Mikey sniffled softly. 

“Okay,” he whispered. 

“But this needs to be your focus, Michelangelo,” Sensei continued. “Not anything else. This is not something that can share your mind with other things. There are many people depending on you now. You are the last descendant of the Hamato bloodline.”

Mikey faltered, frowning as his shoulders hunched slightly.

“No, but-- my brothers are--”

“They are not like you,” Sensei pressed. “They don’t understand the weight of this power like you do yet. And they don’t feel the world’s energy like you can, do they? You are the one who wears the mark of our clan in your spirit. And you are the one who must protect the world. The potential you have…! You can already do so many things that they would struggle to bear,” The spirit drew back slightly, his eyes sweeping over him a few times.

“But it’s different for you.”

Mikey stiffened as he felt a shiver curling up his spine under their eyes.

“The Hamato Clan will always be here to guide and support you. And you will always have your family to lean on,” they said. “But you have been given a great gift, Michelangelo.”

They dipped their head slightly, lowering themselves just enough so that they could catch Michelangelo’s eyes with their own. It seemed to cut right through him. There was ice in it. But the cold didn’t hurt to touch, somehow.

“To be a Hamato is a great sacrifice,” they whispered. “It is a difficult destiny to bear. We were not put on this earth for ourselves, or to live an easy life.”

Mikey took a breath in.

“But you have the chance to spare them from so much, Hamato Michelangelo. This is a beautiful gift you can give to them.”

And again, they said,

“Do you understand?”

And Mikey let the breath back out.

And he nodded.

[ next ]

[whumpshaped]

tw injuries, psychological whump, emotional whump, self-deprecation, lashing out, very wacky/distorted way of thinking

Whumpee came home way later than Caretaker had expected. They jumped up from the couch where they'd been curled up, ready to give their friend a big hug and ask where they'd been for so long.

"I just wanna sleep," Whumpee said before they could've done either of those things. "Please?"

Caretaker reached for the light switch. "I just wanna know–"

"Don't!" Whumpee snapped, making them freeze. "Please. Not right now. I can find my way around with my phone. Plus, the bugs will come in if you turn the lights on now."

"I... okay. Okay." Caretaker stepped back, letting their friend walk up the stairs without another word. It was strange, but they didn't smell any alcohol, or any other substance. Whumpee really just seemed tired.

The next morning, Whumpee was locked inside their room. Caretaker knocked softly, hoping to only catch Whumpee's attention if they were already awake. They heard an inquisitive 'mmm?' from inside, and they took a deep breath.

"Can we talk about last night?"

"I don't want to."

Caretaker nodded to themself. They had to be a little more stern. Just a little. "I do. And I'm worried. I'd just like to know if you're okay."

"I am."

Well... that didn't lead anywhere. "Please come out."

"Can I sleep some more first?"

Caretaker sighed. "Yeah. Of course. Please come out once you've slept enough."

It had been several hours when the door finally opened. Caretaker tried not to be pushy, but they had to at least poke their head into the hallway. Whumpee was way overdressed for the weather inside, and their hair was covering half their face. Caretaker frowned, immediately recognising it as Whumpee hiding something.

"You wanted to talk?" Whumpee asked quietly. They seemed... scared.

"Yeah. But you're not in any sort of trouble, okay?" They beckoned Whumpee over to their room and they hesitantly complied, sitting on the bed while Caretaker took the chair. "What happened?"

"I lost track of time," they said curtly. They were wringing their hands nervously, eyes darting around the room to avoid looking at Caretaker. "Sorry. And then I was really tired, like I said."

"Where did you get the bruises?"

Whumpee's eyes snapped up to them, wide and terrified. Bingo. Caretaker hadn't seen any bruises, but they just had a hunch. "Wh- what bruises?"

"The ones you're covering up now. It's hot inside, you would never wear this stuff otherwise. Is that why I couldn't turn on the lights either?" It was slowly dawning on Whumpee that Caretaker didn't actually know for sure, and they'd just given themself away with their reaction. They looked down at their lap. "Whumpee, I'm not mad. I'm concerned. Can I see?"

"I'd rather you not."

"Please."

Whumpee shifted a little, tucking their hair behind their ear with shaky hands. They had a nasty black eye. "Can we stop here?" they whispered.

Caretaker bit their lip, really wanting to push until Whumpee showed them all the injuries so they could treat them. But that wasn't what they needed right now. "If you don't have any that require immediate attention, yes."

"It's all just bruises."

Caretaker nodded. "No broken bones?"

"I don't think so."

"Okay." They leaned back in their chair, trying to figure out how to address the elephant in the room. "You get into fights a lot," they began carefully. Whumpee shrugged.

"I guess."

"You seem to like getting into fights a lot." Another shrug. "You seem to... it's like... you don't want to win them at all. You never have any chance of winning."

"I don't know what you want me to say."

"I want you to tell me why you go out there and provoke people into beating you up."

Whumpee tensed up a little, then just shrugged again. "That's a stupid accusation. I don't do that. I just get into fights because I have opinions, that's it."

"You know that's not true. You start fights and then let them use you as a punching bag. That's what you do. And I don't understand why."

"I don't either!" they snapped. "Okay? Is that what you wanted? I don't know! It's weird, it's pathetic, it's disgusting, it's stupid! Is that what you want me to say? I know all that! And I don't know why I keep doing it!"

"Calm down. I'm just–"

"It hurts!" They pushed up the sleeves of their sweater, revealing bruises left by people yanking them around a little too forcefully. "It hurts, it's not fun, I– I never know how to stop it. Part of me doesn't want it to stop. So I just don't say anything. I just let them do it until it hurts too much and I cry like a stupid baby. And then they laugh and leave me alone– or they get angrier and go even harder. 'Stop starting fights you can't finish!' I wish I could! Okay? I wish I could keep my mouth shut."

Caretaker stood up from their chair and walked over to the bed, sitting down next to their friend. They pulled them into a gentle embrace, allowing them to cry openly. "Why do you punish yourself so much?" they murmured. Whumpee shrugged again.

"I... I'm so scared. I'm so scared of being bad. I don't want to be bad." They took a shuddering breath, chuckling a little. It quickly turned into more sobbing. "I feel like... so long as I'm the victim... but, but only while I'm the victim, and a good victim, a quiet one... I can't be the bad one."

~

general drabbles taglist: @ashh-ed @whumpsday @whump-queen @the-scrapegoat @hidden-dreamland @rosewriteswhump @dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night @whumpkinpie @delicateprincepaper @whumppmuhw

[cringefail-clown]

I'm so fucking invested in your turnabout au I'm going to explode please just like ramble if you up to it

hoo boy lets do it

so atm my favourite part of the au to think about is post scratch bro and his relationship with hal, post scratch roxy and what dave would think about him. like for example i don't think he'd be this big superstar like post scratch dave was in canon, his work against the condence would be much more subtle. i imagine him working much more closely with roxy and grandpa jake - its not clear in canon how much dave, rose and jade collaborated together, they for sure were in contact, but its honestly up to interpretation. those three in the au would probably work very closely together, maybe roxy and dirk could help jake with building up skaianet - dirk as an engineer and rox as a programmer. they'd also have their own gigs on the side, roxy would sure as hell hijack crocercorp with malware every chance she got, and dirk would have some obscure websites that'd spread propaganda against condence under the veil of weird puppet stuff and insane chatbots. he'd probably write some kind of this universes detective pony parody book and get it published and it'd become one of the most recognisable pieces of literature documenting the takeover of the troll empire and the rebellion against it

(some quick designs of hal and bro i pulled outta my ass)

honestly he'd probably become some sort of vigilante batman-esque figure in this universe?? he'd show up unexpected, blow some crockercorp warehouses and disappear into the night. and after hal joins him when he builds him a body the media would paint them as some sort of twin antiheroes lmfao

oh man and hal. it'd go simialrly as it was in canon, dirk would fuck around and copy his brain at a young age and they'd HATE each other at first. like dirk would feel responsible for creating hal, and hal would resent the shit outta him - like how dare he be the one who gets to keep the body and hal must be stuck in a pair of glasses, trapped with no means of escaping? but they'd start working together when they find out about dave and the future to ensure their lil bro has the best chances of survival, and in time they'd bond over it and their shared work against condy. they'd come up with a plan so that hal goes into sleep mode until the arrival of the meteor (bc no way in hell dirk would make hal go through hundreds of years of lonely existance, watching as humanity slowly ceases to exist and unable to do anything about it, he'd go nuts).

and the day finally comes when dirk would have to go face the batterwitch so he'd put hal in the apartment and they would tell each other one last goodbye and dirk would put hal in the sleep mode. and hal would wake up like only seconds passed, not years upon years, only the vast ocean streching as far as his eyes could see behind the dirty, dusty windows, and he'd know his one brother is long dead, gone while facing the enemy he was destined to lose against but had to do it anyway, and the other one moments from crashing into the waters below on a meteor sent by some insane video game that creates new universes. he'd sit there for a while, reality slowly sinking in, and he'd probably desperatly wish like he hasn't in years, to be human again and to mourn his losses the human way, because as advanced as his robotic body was he haven't thought about updating it with some goddamn tearducks.

on a lighter note, imagine dirk crunching numbers for three days straight to figure out how much food he'd have to stock in the apartment to make sure dave doesn't grow up malnourished, desperately googling "how much calories does an *insert age* year old need". he'd be banned from every supermarket in at least two states. he would walk into the store and employees would start weeping at the sight of him. i think about it a lot

[askthe-r-m-au]

Yeeeee I'm finally doing this-

Restarting the old R-M fic

(It's on my main account but it's pretty old... so...)

uhh just so yall know as lore gets added onto the AU things might change

Feel free to ask me here or on my blog directly

[ @dayseedrawz2 ]

Ok now onto the Fic!

[The Ring-Misstress | Chapter 1: an alliance]

☆Welcome... to the AMAAAAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS!!! My name is Caine!!! And I'm here to show you the most Jaw-dropping,Heart-stopping, MIND-BENDING parraphinallia you have EVER LAYED YOUR...☆

Blah blah blah... that's all Pomni could hear. She'd been a part of the circus crew for about a week or 2 now?? Maybe more?? Eh, who's counting. Not her! Long enough to know that Caine's daily routine consists of him rambling on about the adventure they'll have that day for at least 5 minutes. So she had plenty of time to dissociate.

Not that she minded Caine's endless rambling. In a way, it was actually kinda comforting, weirdly. Like listening to white noise to fall asleep. She was too busy in her own world to make out completely what he was saying, though. "Blah blah blah, adventure, blah blah blah code, blah blah blah Pomni, blah- Pomni?"

"Pomni??"

☆POMNI!!☆

♧Gah! Huh?? Wha??♧

The Jester was suddenly brought back to reality (unfortunately).

☆You got all of that, right??☆

♧Caine, I don't really care what you have set up for the next adventure-♧

☆My dear, that's the thing!! Today's adventure is unfortunately canceled because SOMBODY just had to EAT AN ENTIRE CHUNK OF CODE...☆

The ringmaster angrily turned towards Bubble.

°○I regret nothing○°

Caine could only groan in frustration before he poked bubble, who disappeared with a "Pop!"

☆... Well then, with that outta the way, I suppose you all enjoy your day off!! I'll be out here if anyone needs me!☆

The crew set off to their rooms, including Pomni. She turned towards the hallway with everyone else, being the last one to her room. But just as she was about to reach for her door, she noticed something...

What looked to be some sort of glitch?? Should she call Caine?? She wasn't sure... but she decided to anyway.

♧Uhh, Caine??♧

No answer. Oh, well. Guess he must've left to prepare the next adventure. That's all he ever does. I mean, he isn't a real person. There's probably not much else he'd want to do.

She took a double-take at the weird thing she'd seen.

♧Wait a second...♧

What at first seemed like just a jumble of 1's and 0's infact, was not. She recognized this... A string of code...

She could read it.

♧"01010101 00100000 01001100 00100000 01000010 00100000 01000010 00100000 01000101"♧

Hesitantly, she reached for the string of code...

Just then, a familiar voice hurriedly approached...

☆My sincerest apologies dear!! It seems my WackyWatchTM must've missed your message!! I hope I'm not too- Huh?☆

Pomni was fidgeting with the numbers. Scrambling them around, trying to make something of them. Eventually, she left them in a certain order. The numbers formed a sphere and slowly dissappear, leaving a familiar transparent ball...

♧Bubble??♧

°○Wow!! That was weird!! I'm gonna go now!!○°

And with that Bubble floated off to who knows where.

Pomni stared down at her hands. In them, few little bits of code, like glitter, slowly faded away.

She looked up from her hands startled to see that Caine had been floating there the entire time. He looked almost- dumbfounded...

☆How... did you do that??☆

Pomni seemed a bit confused at the question.

♧Y-you code things all the time what do you mean??♧

☆Yeah no- how did you do that without a Cane??☆

He gestured to his cane that was floating beside him.

♧I- Well- I dunno I just- sorta reached out and-♧

☆Well dear, I'm quite impressed!! Not only because of that but- I've never seen that sorta thing happen to bubble before...☆

He muttered under his breath.

☆unless...☆

♧Hm?♧

☆Say... Perhaps whenever you aren't busy with adventures, like today, you could help out with bugs and stuff!! How's that sound??☆

He look right into Pomni's eyes, almost pleading, in a way... Pomni thought about the offer for a moment.

What if... there were a code for the exit..?

Maybe... just maybe... helping the ringmaster was her ticket out of here!! To get on his good side!!

♧Uhh, yeah sure.♧

☆Well then, I understand if you d- wait, really?☆

♧I guess so.♧

She couldn't believe it!! He was actually buying it!! "Exit here I c-"

☆Oh Thank you thank you thank you!!! I could really use a hand around here!!☆

He wrapped her in a very uncomfortably tight hug. Nonetheless she manged to force a smile...

♧Heh, n-no problem...♧

YIPPEE IM FINALLY DONE-

This took all day-

Also I'm finally on summer break so imma hopefully have alot more time to write-

Uh anyways uh-

Ask Caine, Pomni an Voz I guess-

(or me about the au/fic in general)

See ya in chapter 2!!

[justporo]

From the Touch of Gentle Fingers

Just a short little drabble of Astarion and Tav sharing a tender, vulnerable moment worrying what the future might hold. Pairing: Astarion / Tav (You) (Genderneutral reader) Rating: General

You were organising the enormous stacks of books all over the floor in the room Astarion wanted to turn into a study. And he kept buying tons of books and scripts. And yeah, he did read them but he didn't care very much about keeping them in order or putting them back where they belonged. Seemingly his neat outter appearance didn't seem to reach past his own fingertips.

In fact in the months of living together in an actual home you had learned a thing or two about him and yourself. For example, you seemed to care much more about order than you'd thought possible while he seemed to have quite the chaotic nature.

But it might not be that but rather that he tried desperately to find out who he was or at least who he wanted to become now that he was free of higher powers. Maybe it was that with the still pretty recently regained freedom he felt a sort of impeding doom having to choose from a seemingly infinite amount of choices of what came next. You thought about that a lot and hoped you could help him and ease his anxiety.

As you were putting away another dusty old tome, you heard a few soft notes from a piano downstairs. You frowned. There was in fact a piano downstairs - the two of you had bought it. But you had been sure it had been a splurge only for decoration. So either Astarion was downstairs playing the piano or you had to deal with a ghost.

The sounds stopped then began again and started a little melody. You slowly got up and silently walked down the stairs. You felt that what was going on was pretty intimate. You stopped in the frame of the door and saw that Astarion was indeed sitting at the piano. His back was to you.

He softly played the keys and was humming to himself while the melody went on. It was hesitantly at some parts but still pretty impressive. The longer he played the more confident he got, the chords coming more quickly.

But then it ended promptly: a note amiss, Astarion angrily slammed his hands on the keys causing a discordant sound. Then he sighed in desperation and threw his head back. He was about to slam the case of the keys shut when you made yourself known: "I didn't know you could play."

Astarion winced and turned around as you walked over to him. "I don't really... It's been over two hundred years since I last played." "Sounded pretty good for that." He snorted and turned to the piano again while you slid down onto the bench next to him. He shuffled a little to make space for you.

You grabbed Astarion's hand that was closest to you and started to massage it. "You know how to do incredible things with these hands, Astarion, I bet you'd quickly take it up again if you wanted to." "Hmm yes, I bet you know exactly what these hands can do", Astarion replied with a smirk and a wink. Then the vampire sighed, his cheeky demeanor gone. You let go of his hand and stretched yours out to reach for the other. He gave it to you and you started massaging it as well.

"It's so frustrating", the vampire said with another sigh and looked at you. "Sometimes I'm reminded of something in the past, something I felt back then was true to myself. And some of these are things I want nothing more than to get rid off and then there's other stuff I would like to get back but it's all tainted." He softly took his hand from you and pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. "And then... there's stuff I desperately hope will be true for the rest of time." "Like for example?" "That you're here and that I love you, that there's always a path to take and that at the end of the road the clouds will always pass." You grabbed his hands from his eyes so he would look at you. "Well, the first one's a given, isn't it?", you said and leaned in for a kiss Astarion happily provided.

"And as for the rest", you continued, "I guess you can have and be all of the things because they're a part of you but it's up to you how you let them define you - and you can always make something new... something better." Astarion looked at you for a moment of silence. Then he tenderly cupped your cheek and pressed a soft kiss to your lips: "Then I guess I might have already started doing that."

[mimisempai]

The music of my name on your lips

Summary

Angel.

Crowley's name for him.

From the beginning. Pronounced only by him.

In all tones and with all emotions.

But always with affection and now... with love.

Notes

Day 4 : Music

Angel's sound on Crowley's lips is like ASMR

On Ao3

Rating G -  1299 words

Aziraphale awoke to the comforting sensation of warmth, and it wasn't the fluffy blanket that was the cause, but his demon's arms wrapped around him and his body pressed against his own.

Now that fall had arrived and the weather had cooled, Crowley clung to him even more for warmth when they slept together.

Not that Aziraphale complained. Far from it.

He inhaled deeply, reveling in the novelty of their mixed scents, which created a unique scent that enhanced the sense of comfort he'd felt upon waking.

Aziraphale turned slowly in the demon's arms, slipping his arm around his waist and gently moving his head so it rested on his chest.

"Angel..." Crowley sighed, his voice heavy with sleep, before stretching out while keeping his eyes closed.

Aziraphale ran his fingers through the red hair and the demon sighed again, his voice this time tinged with contentment as a slight smile appeared on his lips, "Angel..."

Angel.

Aziraphale wondered if he would ever get tired of hearing Crowley call him that. After so many millennia, he still hadn't.

Only Crowley called him Angel.

Probably more often than he'd called him Aziraphale.

From the beginning. 

In every tone, with every emotion.

"Surely the great thing about being a demon is you can do whatever you want." 

Aziraphale couldn't help but feel a certain jealousy, even though he would never admit it. At least not to himself.

"Mm, you sound jealous, Angel."

When he uttered the moniker he'd given him in that provocative tone, it was clear that Crowley, devilishly perceptive, had, of course, sensed that unwelcome  feeling in Aziraphale.

Job's children looked at him, frightened amid the flames, and asked, "Can't you save us?"

Aziraphale shook his head and replied, "I'm afraid not. He has a permit, you see."

Then he looked at Crawley and added confidently, "But... do not be afraid. You're perfectly safe."

He was certain of that, and nothing would change his mind, not even the demon's challenging tone as he asked, "Are you sure, Angel?" 

Oh, Crowley's tone had been so challenging when he'd spoken his name as they were surrounded by flames. Challenging and eager for an affirmation of his trust. Trust that Aziraphale had unwaveringly confirmed.

"Do you know what trouble I'd be in if... if they knew I'd been fraternising? It's out of the question." 

Crowley replied harshly, "Fraternising?"

He clearly didn't like the word Aziraphale had used, but considering his foolish request, Aziraphale continued, "Well, whatever you wish to call it. I do not think there is any point in discussing it further."

Crowley looked at him sternly and replied, almost hissing, "I have lots of other people to fraternise with, Angel."

Aziraphale replied haughtily, "Of course you do."

Crowley retorted, "I don't need you." 

Aziraphale countered, "Well, and the feeling is mutual, obviously," before striding off and tossing the paper into the water.

I have lots of other people to fraternise with, angel.

Even after all this time, Aziraphale hated the way "Angel" had resonated with the demon's anger. Despite the fact that he now knew the exact reason for that anger. 

Crowley was halfway into the Bentley, calling out to him in the middle of the crowded street, "I'm going home, Angel. I'm getting my stuff and I'm leaving. And when I'm off in the stars, I won't even think about you."

Aziraphale remembered how distraught he'd been as he watched Crowley leave, wondering if this was really the last time he'd hear the demon call him that.

"Oh, Mr. Fell, about the rent. I just want to say you're an angel."

Aziraphale, embarrassed, hastily replied, "Oh, nothing of the sort," then handed her the plate of cake, which she declined. 

He and Crowley walked toward the bookshop, and the demon asked him softly, "Doing good again, angel?"

Crowley had been so perceptive again, as he was whenever Aziraphale was concerned. The only thing the angel had noticed lately was that a new softness seemed to color Crowley's voice when he called him that. Since the aborted Armageddon.

He so desperately wanted Crowley to understand that they had to help Gabriel, he tried to tell him, "I just..."

Crowley approached and interrupted, "Angel, this is the supreme archangel of all Heaven, your former boss, who tried very hard to cast you into hellfire and destroy you. He is not our friend."

How could he not immediately hear the anguish in the way the demon had pronounced his name at that moment? 

"And you told him just where he could stick it, then?" 

Did Crowley not realize what Metatron was offering them? 

He immediately replied, "Not at all."

Never had he seen Crowley look so forlorn, so disappointed, as he replied, "Oh, we're better than that, you're better than that, Angel!

Never had Aziraphale heard his nickname uttered by the demon in such a desperate, betrayed way.

Aziraphale still felt his throat tighten as he thought back to that moment when he'd probably crushed all of the demon's hopes and the demon had crushed his own.

If there was one way he didn't want to hear his nickname in Crowley's mouth again, it was this.

 That of disappointment and deep sadness.

Metatron said coldly, "Very well, let's see if you and Crowley can protect mankind from what's about to happen."

But Aziraphale ignored him and made his way to the front door of the store. In his haste to cross the street, he was nearly hit by a cyclist coming from the left, forcing him to step back.

"Angel! Watch out!"

Crowley.

His voice, uttering his name with concern.

Always watching over him.

Aziraphale was overcome with emotion as he realized that no matter the tone of Crowley's voice when he uttered that name, there was always an undertone of caring, affection, and now love.

Angry.

Provocative.

Challenging.

Worried.

Disappointed.

Frightened.

But always caring and loving.

Angel, so often spoken on the night of their reconciliation, comforting, forgiving, apologizing, accepting.

And each subsequent "angel" now had an additional color. 

The color of their shared love.

Angel

Admonished, scolded, growled, because sometimes it was necessary.

Angel

Whispered before, during and after shared moments of intimacy.

Angel

Murmured to comfort after a bad dream or to heal deep wounds of the past.

Angel

Over and over again.

"Mmm, Angel?" Crowley murmured as he opened his eyes, pulling Aziraphale out of his thoughts.

The angel smiled before leaning forward to plant a kiss on the tip of Crowley's nose. He chuckled softly, amused at the small frown it caused.

The demon raised his head and straightened up a little to give Aziraphale a lazy kiss, which the angel gladly returned.

After a few kisses, Crowley asked, "What time is it? " and rubbed his nose into the hollow of Aziraphale's neck.

"Almost eight o'clock," Aziraphale replied, kissing the demon's hair, who replied in a plaintive voice, "Angel... Why did you wake me so early?"

He pulled the blanket over him and snuggled even closer to Aziraphale. 

The angel chuckled again, tightening his arms around Crowley before replying, "I didn't wake you, you did it yourself."

The demon muttered back, "Cheeky angel..." drawing another chuckle from Aziraphale.

"Go back to sleep, my dear."

"And you, what are you going to do?" asked Crowley, his voice slurred as he clearly began to fall asleep again.

Aziraphale replied tenderly, "I am watching you sleep. Since you keep me from getting up." 

Crowley snuggled even closer to the angel and hummed contentedly, "That's perfect...love you...Angel."

Had Crowley looked up at that moment, he would have seen the expression of infinite happiness on Aziraphale's face.

The angel had heard many symphonies and pieces of glorious music, but none as beautiful as this sound on his demon's lips : Angel.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Ineffable Growing Love series : here (After season 2)

Ineffable Husbands masterlist : here (Before season 2)

[adasknife]

ada being saved and my ramblings (I'm sorry)

I'm insane, please help me. my usually propaganda of luis and ada being once friends, re2 remake being ada's first proper mission, and wesker teaching her, like always, i don't declare myself as right so there we go.

i was numbly thinking about ada's "three big saves" in the current story. leon being shot for ada, wesker saving ada and lastly luis helping ada.

leon saving ada because of leon's unselfish way of being is so terribly fun for me. ada just wants to do her job, but when he slowly begins to help her with stuff. ada decides for him to stick around. She gave him a way out, but leon wants to be the hero of raccoon city. especially if there's is an evil guy in the center. when Leon gets shot for her, ada leaves him behind to 'finish' the job. what makes this so fun for me, ada doesn't seem to super regret having leon shot because in the end of the day, he owes her. and immediately after, ada loses a fight with annette. this saving gave her humble down.

being saved by wesker has me currently over thinking it. i remember reading a post of wesker not fully trusting ada and that's why he is babysitting her; I loved it! but with ada's losses in re2 remake, I just know he taught her. after all, he once was a leader for the STARS team, and in my simple mind- ada and jill sort of (very, very weakly) fight similar. when ada asks him if he'll back her up, he denies her- in my simple brain, it's because he did go on missions with her. after all, she did get so much better than the last time we saw her. wesker and ada have a sort of bond that developed between re2 and re4, but we never truly see it. I think this saving is just a reminder that ada will forever need help (well, at least for her)

luis's saving was just a man trying to clear his mind. despite me being they were friends before re1, sure, maybe not many people will agree with that, but ada and luis did send each other emails. a sort of bond already formed there. ada doesn't understand why luis wants to help leon and ashley. which funny enough, ada probably never understood why leon saved her years ago. but ada trusts luis. sure, she threatens him to give him the amber, but give her a break. she has been chasing the amber for two days already. her boss is calling her liability. she can't risk more time. yet after he saved her, ada let him go. in my opinion, this is the first time ada truly understood the point of saving a person.

i just think every detail in ada's life changed her for the better.

[nimblermortal]

Nimblermortal's Covid Survival Tips 2023

because what's the point of having this if I can't make it easier for the next person?

First symptom for me was a mild sore throat. This started around noon; the next morning I woke up with no symptoms but feeling terrible, which I interpret as the medical "sense of impending doom" that is a real symptom.

Charmin toilet paper. This stuff is softer than Kleenex. Get you a whole roll and a shopping bag. Don't have a runny nose for a symptom? Don't care, it'll come.

Blankets you can kick on and off. I spent two days "cycling" - chills, fever, then lucidity. You need to be able to both vent and huddle.

If you are scientifically inclined: Keep a thermometer nearby. I regret not taking my temperature during the cycles, I'm really curious about whether I was running hotter or colder during the hot stages. That said, you will definitely not have enough energy to take your temperature during these stages.

Some sort of infinite podcast. It doesn't matter what it is. Honestly I recommend Critical Role even if you don't like D&D live plays. You do not care what is going on here, the point is white noise that you don't have to change. Make sure the device is plugged in. I could only nap while there was white noise happening - and when I say 'nap' I mean 'I don't know if I slept or not, just that I was face-down and some time passed'.

Advil. This will lower the fever. If you can, wait until the second day - the fever helps burn out the disease, but this only applies to the first 24 hours. But don't let the fever get too high. I ran a steady 101 F/38.3 C for two days, which is fine. You can take one every 4 hours up to 6 times a day. For me the best effects only lasted 2 hours and I was ready by the fourth (but also a stubborn pig who tried to hold out; there's no advantage to this after the first 24 hours).

Small dishes. People kept trying to feed me and I couldn't finish anything. Small dishes, plain foods, let yourself have the ability to win at meals. (Note: this may not apply to you, but I'm the sort of person who used to be sent to elementary school with a single small potato because the cafeteria was too noisy for me to eat but I needed to win at lunch.) If you're preparing just-in-case, you could put some in the freezer

Immune boosters. My aunt swears by Sambucol, which is elderberry and vitamin C and zinc. Zinc matters more if you are male. My take on the Sambucol advantage is elderberry taste good.

Non-caffeinated tea. Something that goes down the throat easy. I had a sore throat to start with, then after the cycling I've got a progressively increasing cough; warm beverage nice. (I also craved a masala tea in the middle of the cycling, so caffeine might be nice, but you probably want to let yourself sleep.)

Vicks vaporub. Apply directly to the forehead liberally once the coughing starts. The package says you can do this 3 times a day.

Don't worry about cough medicines unless you have one you trust implicitly. Mum says they're not very effective, so you want that sweet, sweet placebo effect.

Someone to watch over you. Partly to make sure you don't get it worse than I had. Mostly because when I'm weak and sick I get clingylonely and I need someone to assure me I am loved. I had the same problem with the vaccines - shivering under the blankets calling weakly for Hyacinth because I was alone and Sad. Honestly the covid has been less intense but longer.

Recovery time. Covid heals a lot slower than comparable sicknesses. Whatever you think your return-to-work day might be, add at least two days to it. (I thought I was getting away with something last Wednesday, tried to work Thursday, and survived for one hour.)

More recovery time. This thing heals very slowly. I haven't had symptoms in a week - aside from having to plan for being able to do single-digit numbers of tasks in a day. And 'digesting a meal' is a separate energy task from 'eating a meal' is a separate energy task from 'preparing a meal' is a separate... (No really, I had to plan energy expenditure for digestion.) At a week out, I am still having to make room for daily hour-long naps and activities interspersed with lying down - though at least now I can embroider with a TV show during these periods. Give yourself lots of time, even when it feels stupid.

[standfucker]

Final Fall

Character: Nekomamushi

Reader: GN / AFAB

Word Count: 9.6k

CW: explicit NS.FW content, recreational drug use, monsterfucking, large insertion, biting, breeding, licking, tongue-fucking, oral (afab receiving), facesitting, excessive cum, creampie

Summary: Falling for the Cat Viper was, in your case, literal.

Ao3 Link

@daftbitch Happy birthday KP!!! Thanks for being such a fan of my stuff and chatting with me! I've loved talking to you! (And for those of you who follow KP, yeah, I'm Nekomamushi Smut Anon. Hi!) Hope you enjoy this one!

Lately, your life seemed to be one fall after the other.

First you fell for someone new in town, then you fell for a cruel trick played on you by their friends: You were tripped by one of them and literally fell in front of your crush, splashing them with mud and thus ensuring they would never again give you the time of day. Right when you were feeling especially miserable, the town bell alerted everyone to yet another pirate raid; you fell in battle against them, too, beaten and helpless as they dragged you back to their ship along with their spoils. Once out to sea, the pirates tossed you over the side of their ship, another fall into the chilly waters below. But none of those falls had been as big as what came after.

After fighting desperately to tread water amidst the crashing waves, you reached the point of exhaustion and sank. It was around noon on a warm, bright day, sunlight filtering in through the water above you, dappling the ocean’s surface and piercing through in beams around you. As the last of your oxygen reserves faded, you couldn’t help thinking that while you probably deserved better, at least your final view was beautiful. No sooner did the thought cross your mind than you felt your body being pulled into some sort of current, and in an instant, the world went dark. You could see a circle of light get smaller and smaller as you were sucked away, perhaps into some underwater cave. And just when your body reached its limits, your lungs about to give out, the light came back all at once, and you were somehow hurtling through the air.

You gasped and flailed, too winded to scream, as you fell for what seemed like an eternity. Plummeting down, you spun through the air and the world spun around you, appearing in glimpses: sky, sea, forest, sky, sea, forest. With every turn, the forest grew larger as you grew closer, until it engulfed you entirely. There was a brief but hard impact immediately followed by one so soft and plush that it broke your fall entirely, cushioning your landing.

Just like that, it was all over–or maybe, looking back, it was more accurate to say it had all started.

You shut your eyes, dizzy and dazed and not entirely sure what had happened in the last few minutes. The material beneath you was incredibly thick and fluffy, tickling your nose.

“Mrrrow?”

A rumbling, baritone sound reached your ears, like someone running their finger over the lowest piano keys. You slowly opened your eyes and looked up.

Rising in front of you was a small white hill with a big pink stripe across the top. You blinked, trying to make sense of what you were seeing, but the world wasn’t done spinning. Squinting, you waited for it to settle, and as it finally did, something fuzzy and golden rose up above the hill, right as you realized the hill was moving, too, up and down like it was breathing. No, not a hill, you realized–a round body, attached to the monstrous, feliform face peering back at you.

The creature was enormous, many times your size, its face alone so large it could have easily bitten you in half. It was currently lying on its back, regarding you with sleepy curiosity. Slowly, you glanced down–whatever this creature was, you were sprawled on its gigantic tail–and then you met its eyes again.

The cat monster craned its head up to look at the roof, where there was a jagged hole you must have caused. Then it looked to the side, and you followed its gaze to a clock on the wall.

“I’m not supposed to be awake yet,” it rumbled. “Need a few more hours.”

It laid its head back and closed its eyes, ignoring your presence. In a better state of mind, you would have realized it simply didn’t see you as a threat. In your current state, you weren’t even sure that you had survived the fall at all, possibly now dwelling in some strange afterlife. Regardless, you were sore and entirely drained, so you closed your eyes too, swiftly passing out.

A time later, you awoke halfway, vaguely aware that you were being carried. It was a comforting hold, strong and gentle, the walking rhythm feeling like being rocked. The body you were held against was warm and fluffy, mitigating the chill from your still-damp clothes, so you snuggled in further.

“Still tired, little one?” said a deep voice right above your head.

You nodded into the fur.

“Then sleep.”

…

…

Movement and light made you stir. A voice faded in, its pitch more like that of a regular human compared to the deep voice from earlier.

“...should have had someone bring them to me right away… could have gotten pneumonia…”

You opened your eyes to see what you could only describe as a bipedal donkey with long red hair bending over you, wrapping a blood-pressure cuff around your arm.

You yelped and sat bolt upright, forgetting the aches the action caused your body in order to scramble back. The donkey yelped too, leaping back a good distance.

“Please remain calm!” said a humanoid cheetah wearing doctor’s scrubs, running to your bedside with his hands up.

You stilled, eyes wide.

“Easy, now. You’re in no danger,” said the cheetah. It also had human-like hair, black and spikey.

The room you were in was some sort of clinic, modern-looking and brightly lit. You were in a patient bed, and before you were three people–the donkey person, also wearing scrubs, the cheetah person, and, dwarfing all three of you, the cat monster from before, now smoking from a long pipe.

“First things first: Are you-gara familiar with minks?” The cheetah asked.

Slowly, you nodded. You were indeed aware of the race of animal people, though they almost never passed through your hometown, so they always drew stares whenever they appeared. You could count the times you’d seen them in your whole life on one hand.

“Good, that saves us some time. I’m Dr. Kingston,” he gestured to the donkey mink, “this is my nurse, Molly. And you-gara have met Master Nekomamushi, it seems.”

You could only stare. A chill on your skin made you suddenly aware of the fact that you were naked. You quickly pulled the blanket up to cover yourself, though none of the three minks seemed to care about your nudity.

“What’s your name, lesser mink?”

You weren’t sure what a lesser mink was, but you answered anyway, hesitantly stating your full name.

“Nice to meet you-gara, Y/n! Is it alright if we continue to treat you? Your injuries are minor, but I’d like to get your vitals just in case.”

“Sure?” you said. “Um… I’m sorry, but where am I?”

Nurse Molly approached your side, fixing the blood pressure cuff back to its appropriate position just below your shoulder, then pressed a stethoscope to the bend of your arm. You stared at her hands–the palms were the same as a human’s, but each finger was dark and hardened, like a hoof.

“You’re on Zou,” the cat monster, Nekomamushi, answered. “No idea how you-gara got here. Ya just fell out of the sky while I was sleepin’! We’ll be needing ya to tell us what happened.”

You frowned, not entirely sure either. All you could do was try to recount the story up until then–the pirate abduction, being thrown overboard, sinking and getting swept into a current, the lights going out and then back on, and then your fall. By the time you finished explaining, you were well aware of how absurd it came across.

“I know it sounds crazy,” you said. “I can’t explain what happened. I mean, I hadn’t sunk to the bottom–there was open ocean around me–so I don’t know why it got dark or how I was suddenly in the air.”

Nekomamushi narrowed his eyes as you spoke, bringing a hand to his chin. He hummed, mulling it over as Molly took your temperature.

“That is indeed strange,” Dr. Kingston said, lifting your arm to inspect the cuts there. Up close, you were able to get a closer look at him. While you weren’t an animal expert, the spots you could see on his legs and tail looked big and splotchy, not like the cheetahs you had seen in pictures. “But I don’t think you-gara are crazy, Y/n. Though I’d like to check for a concussion just in case.”

“I got it,” Nekomamushi said, hitting his fist into his palm. “It must’ve been Zunesha. When he went to bathe himself, you-gara got sucked up along with the seawater. Then he sprayed ya over his back, and ya fell through my roof.”

“Zunesha?” you asked.

The following explanation was as difficult to fathom as your current circumstances. An elephant the size of an island, wandering the New World? Such things were the stuff of legend, certainly not reality. And yet, it was somehow the best explanation for what had happened to you–maybe the only one. The minks were also startlingly sincere, so much so that it was hard not to take them at their word. 

To prove it to you, the Dr. wrapped you in a robe and then led you outside. All around you were simple but functional wooden buildings, set within the forest you had glimpsed earlier. The houses were not unlike the ones in your hometown, though larger and with much steeper, triangular roofs. Though the Dr. pointed out the gray, craggy ground to you, you were more focused on the crowd of minks converging around the clinic: A myriad of different mammal species, mostly dressed in the same green uniform. It was like a reverse zoo, all of them staring at you with varying looks of intrigue. Feeling faint, you opted to go back inside shortly after that, laying back down in the patient bed and trying to process everything.

“Just take it slowly, Y/n,” Dr. Kingston said. “You’re still injured.”

“It’s a miracle nothing’s broken,” noted Molly.

The Dr. nodded furiously. “Master’s tail must have saved your life. You’re very lucky!”

You looked at Nekomamushi. “I guess I owe you one.”

“Nya-ha-ha! I was simply in the right place at the right time,” Nekomamushi said, waving it off. “Think nothing of it!”

You nodded, looking back up at the ceiling, letting your thoughts sort themselves out. At least no one in your hometown was seriously hurt from the pirate raid, and no one else had been kidnapped. Though your fate was strange, it could have been far worse–a lifetime of slavery could have awaited you had the pirates felt it worthwhile. Your throat got tight as the events of the day began to settle in. You tried to ignore it as Molly bandaged the worst of your cuts, but when you sniffled, all three minks’ heads turned to you sharply.

“Sorry,” you avoided eye contact. “I-I’m okay, really.”

“Don’t apologize, Y/n!” Dr. Kingston said. “You’ve been through a lot in one day.”

“It’s fine to talk about it, love,” Molly said tenderly.

Nekomamushi took a slow puff off his pipe, narrow eyes regarding you curiously.

You swallowed thickly. “I…I just can’t stop thinking about those pirates.”

“Naturally,” Molly said, patting your arm. “Not only did they do a number on you-teia, but you-teia could have ended up destined for–that one island, Master mentioned it before–oh, what was it called, now?”

“Sabaody,” Nekomamushi supplied.

“That’s…I don’t…I don’t have to worry about that,” you said, voice quiet in shame.

“What do you mean?” Dr. Kingston asked.

“Um…” You bit your lip, glancing away. “Well, I’m not a good fighter. Not very strong. The pirate captain, he said…he, uh…” The minks all watched you hesitate. Your gaze could burn a hole in the ground, vision blurry. “He said I wasn’t worth selling. That no one would want me…” You swallowed. “...Maybe if I fought bet–”

“I’ve heard enough.” Nekomamushi cut in, his giant hand coming to rest on your knee. With his other hand, he tilted your chin up so you were looking at him. “Listen to me, little one, and listen well: The worthless ones are those pirate bastards who attacked the town. You-gara fought back, even knowin’ ya might die. That’s not weakness!” He looked directly into your eyes, his own blazing fiercely. Leaning in closer, he moved his hand from your chin to cup your cheek. “Bravery like that can’t be bought! Your-gara value is limitless!”

It was weird, right then–he looked at you so intently, his lip curled and showing more of his long, sharp teeth, the points of his nails feather-light against your neck. You should have been scared, but right then, you’d never felt such blanketing comfort. You didn’t think anyone had spoken to you so sincerely before, and while his palm enveloped your cheek, the warmth you felt was all in your chest. It only made the tears flow harder, but you smiled despite yourself, and when you did, Nekomamushi smiled back, lips stretched wide and eyes crinkled shut. With his golden mane framing his face, it reminded you of the sun.

“Thank you,” you said gratefully, wiping your face on your arm.

Nekomamushi rose back up, beaming. “You-gara are a real mink! Take all the time you need to recover–you-gara are welcome here.”

The rest of Dr. Kingston’s exam didn’t take too long. He concluded that you didn’t have a concussion, but had made impact with the roof on your side, the largest bruises concentrated there. The rest of the bruises and cuts were from your prior fight. Disinfecting the cuts wasn’t fun, but you kept a brave face, finding yourself wanting to live up to Nekomamushi’s praise. The cat monster stayed with you in the clinic, bringing up some more urgent topics of discussion.

He gently but regretfully informed you that Zou was now likely quite far from where it was earlier in the day, as Zunesha was constantly walking. Nekomamushi would have to ask the few minks that had sailing experience if they were willing to set out on a journey to take you home, which could take some time to prepare for.

As he talked, you considered your life at home: how lackluster the offerings of your hometown were, how you were regarded by your peers, how deep down you had always longed for something different. This wasn’t what you had in mind, and you didn’t want to impose, but before he could finish speaking and before you could stop yourself, you interrupted him.

“Can I stay here?” you blurted out.

Nekomamushi’s eyes widened. He blinked, then bent over, leaning in close. You swallowed. At this distance, you could see the amber color of his irises.

“You-gara don’t want to go home?” he asked, pipe bobbing as he spoke.

You shook your head.

Nekomamushi raised a brow, but smiled. “You-gara want to live here, with us minks?”

Slowly, you nodded.

“Nya-ha-ha! Of course you can stay!” he laughed. “I meant what I said earlier. Stay as long as you-gara like.”

“Really?”

He reared back to his full height, placing one paw on his chest. “I, Nekomamushi, hereby grant you-gara a place among our kind. Any that oppose it can take it up with me!”

You slid off of the bed to stand before Nekomamushi and bowed as deeply as your sore body would allow.

“I’ll work hard!” you swore. “I’ll make sure you don’t regret it, M-Master!”

Nekomamushi grinned wide, a paw on your shoulder pushing you back up. “There’s more to discuss, but we can hammer out the details over dinner.”

Your face flushed warm, although dinner, in this case, turned out to be a group event. After you were cleared by the Dr., Nekomamushi pulled back one of the window blinds to reveal a bunch of minks trying to watch through the window. He slammed the window open and joyfully ordered them to go have a grand dinner prepared so everyone could meet you properly.

After a shower and getting dressed in some borrowed clothes, you talked to Nekomamushi while waiting for dinner to be done. In that time, you learned of the dual nature of mink society; of the two rulers of day and night, and how half of the population slept alongside their respective masters. Nekomamushi said you’d have to pick which lifestyle you wanted to live, and grinned when you immediately said you’d be nocturnal and stay with the forest folk. He said the culture might take some adjusting to, but the words didn’t come close to preparing you for that evening.

Dinner was a boisterous and very touchy affair–the majority of the minks greeted you with hugs and nuzzles (Dr. Kingston shouted at them that you were still hurt,) some even licking your face or kissing your cheek. It was overwhelming at times, but when you’d make eye contact with Nekomamushi over the heads of enthusiastic minks, he’d only smile and laugh, reassuring you that this was normal. Many of the minks wanted to talk to you, asking you a hundred questions about your home island and the things you had seen. You only hoped you didn’t disappoint them with the mundane realities of small-town life, but they seem enraptured anyway.

A dog mink named Wanda informed you that you’d have to meet their other leader, the ruler of the day, if you wanted to become a permanent resident. This immediately set off Nekomamushi, who irritably told Wanda “that mutt’s” permission wasn’t necessary. She wasn’t bothered by his sudden change of mood, only saying that it would be prudent in case you happened to wander during the day.

“Humans are naturally diurnal, are they not?” said a jaguar mink named Pedro. “I can see why you’re concerned.”

“I get it,” said Blackback, a gorilla mink. “The beauty of the town might make them change their mind!”

Nekomamushi’s ears flattened back. “The town pales in comparison to the forest.”

Another mink pointed out that humans couldn’t see well in the dark, and the boss cat’s lip curled, showing more of his fearsome teeth. You looked up at him from your spot at his side. His mane was so grand that with his ears currently pinned down, it looked like they were gone altogether. Again, combined with his bared fangs and sour expression, it should have scared you, but you only felt drawn to the strange being who seemed to have such faith in you, a total stranger.

“I want to stay in the forest,” you chimed in, turning all the mink’s heads. 

A monkey mink named Keith pointed his chopsticks at you. “You aren’t afraid of the dark? I thought all lesser minks were afraid of the dark.”

“Um… No, I mean… Well, maybe a li–”

“Don’t be rude,” said another mink, smacking Keith’s shoulder. “They go in at sundown because of the cold, obviously.”

The minks all nodded and murmured in agreement while Nekomamushi muttered something about having winter clothing. On your other side, a reindeer mink touched your arm in wonder. “It’s so smooth,” she marveled. “I thought it would be slimy, like a frog.”

It was not the first time you had been stroked by curious mink that evening. You didn’t really mind–it was interesting to feel the minks’ fingers, too. Most were like furry human hands, but a few hooved-animal species, like Molly, had hardened fingers. You figured you’d better get used to being in close physical proximity if this was normal for them.

Speaking of physical, the minks all sat closely next to each other, packed in tight so that each one’s leg would touch that of the minks sitting on either side of them. You were sandwiched between Nekomamushi and the reindeer mink–Milky, that was her name–but while Milky was quite lovely herself, all you could think about, to be honest, was being so close to the boss cat. Being squished against him warmed your whole side. It was nice. You found it hard not to steal glances up at him.

Carrot, a rabbit mink, watched you with a small smile. “Don’t worry, Master. Duke Inuarashi won’t take them from you.”

Your cheeks grew warm. You cleared your throat and glanced away for a moment, gathering your courage before peeking up at Nekomamushi to see his reaction.

The boss cat let out a growly “hmph,” then looked down at you and smiled. “It’s been a long time since I’ve made a new friend. Like hell I’ll let the dog bring you-gara to his side.”

Your cheeks got even warmer. You nodded and tried to avoid eye contact with Carrot for the rest of the evening. 

Housing arrangements were discussed, as well as what work you could do once you recovered. You had a desk job in your hometown, and there were not really any openings for such work on Zou. However, you had raised plants at home and tended to a garden, so it was decided you would help out at the moonlight farms close to the forest. Nekomamushi also offered for you to train with the Guardians, his group of warriors, if you wanted to hone your fighting skills.

Dinner lasted well into the late hours of the morning, the minks drinking and conversing and singing long after the food was finished. Everyone helped clean up, and as the hour turned, the minks departed into their dwellings. Nekomamushi said you could sleep in a guest room in his home, and you witnessed the strange sight of him instantly passing out as soon as the clock hit 6am.

Wanda and Carrot took you to meet Inuarashi. The three of you rode a strange, crocodilian beast there called a Wani, conversing along the way. You were met at the perimeter by a trio of guards you learned were Inuarashi’s Musketeers, whom Wanda explained the situation to.

Kurau City of Zou was as beautiful as Blackback had said. The rock-hewn buildings were ancient and attractive, far more rustic than the modern architecture of your hometown. Carrot separated from you at the perimeter, shouting about a bell as she darted off. Wanda explained about the welcoming bell on your way to Inuarashi's home, and by the time you arrived not ten minutes later, the bell sounded.

"Isn't it on the other side of town? How fast is Carrot?!" you exclaimed, and Wanda giggled.

The bell's ringing reverberated through the whole town, rich, deep tones pleasant to the ear. Any minks who hadn't noticed you yet now pointed you out as you passed by, though they seemed excited.

If that evening marked the first night of your life on Zou, the ringing of the welcoming bell marked the first day. Like the night before, a crowd gathered around you in the town, loosely following you as you were led to the home of Duke Inuarashi.

The Duke was a gigantic dog mink, the same towering height as Nekomamushi, and with just as imposing a presence. However, like his nighttime counterpart, he was kind and fair. After hearing the story from you and Wanda, he accepted you with little hesitation, though he made a comment on “that cat” going behind his back on matters of citizenship.

After napping in a guest room of Inuarashi's, Wanda took you back to the Whale Forest that following night. You met Nekomamushi shortly after he awoke, and he seemed unusually grumpy when he saw you.

Nekomamushi’s nose wrinkled, sending a bolt of nervousness through your stomach. Had you upset him?

“You reek of that mutt’s scent,” Nekomamushi grumbled.

“Oh… I’m sorry?” you responded awkwardly.

He bent down and held his hand out to you. “Come.”

You accepted his hand, which enveloped yours, and were immediately dragged off to another part of the building. Through another doorway, where the heat and humidity of the room became apparent before you could see why, as Nekomamushi’s body blocked your vision. You peeked around him to see the pool-sized bath centered in the middle of the room.

“We can soak here after we get cleaned up,” he said, then ushered you to a side room, where a row of shower heads were affixed to the ceiling. There were shelves built into the walls holding various cleaning products for all types of coats, with a few especially gigantic bottles in the middle that must have been for Nekomamushi. “I’m not sure which body wash is best for hairless skin, but I’m sure any of them will work just fine.”

To your shock, Nekomamushi started disrobing. You stared as he hung his robe on the hooks outside the shower room and slid off his harumaki, only finding your words once he started unbuttoning his shirt.

“What are you doing?!” you asked, realizing it was a stupid question. “I mean, um. Is this okay?”

“Is what okay?” he replied, not stopping undoing the buttons, revealing more of his fluffy chest the further down he went.

“Us bathing together?”

He removed his shirt and hung it on the hook. “Is there a problem? I lived with lesser minks for a time, and we sometimes bathed together. Is that unusual?”

You found yourself staring again. Even through the fur, you could see Nekomamushi had a husky build, visible pecs suggesting thick muscle underneath the roundness of his belly. His upper arms, usually concealed by his robe, were also huge. He had paused with his hands on the hem of his pants, arm muscles bunched as if flexing, waiting for your reply.

“Uhhh…” you said dumbly. “Um… Well, humans bathe together, but mixed-gender bathing didn’t really happen where I’m from. We separated by, uh, body type. Male and female.”

“Ohh, I see. You-gara are female, right?”

You shrugged.

“Would you-gara prefer to take turns?” Nekomamushi asked, sounding vaguely disappointed.

“Um…” you struggled not to stare at his torso any more than you already had. “I mean, if you really don’t mind, I guess I don’t mind either?”

“Meowrvalous!” He pushed down his pants without further hesitation, and you immediately turned your head.

You faced away from Nekomamushi while removing your own clothes, feeling thoroughly awkward. Yet after you hung up your clothes and walked back to the showers, Nekomamushi didn’t give your body so much as a second glance. It seemed minks really didn’t have any cultural hang-ups around nudity.

You kept your eyes off of him as much as possible, which was difficult with him standing right beside you. He didn’t have the same issue at all, turning to converse with you as if you were both fully clothed. Over time, you started to relax a little more, letting yourself return eye contact. The sight of him made you giggle, his proud, elegant mane now slick and stuck to his head, like someone dipped a poodle into a lake.

Nekomamushi offered to wash your back, which you hesitantly accepted. The moment his nails scraped your skin, full-body tingles ran down your back, making the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Your knees practically buckled at how nice it felt, your shoulders going slack.

“Oh…” you moaned, then immediately covered your mouth.

“Nya-ha-ha! Does it feel nice?” he asked.

“Really nice.” Your eyes half-lidded. “I guess I can wash your back for you in exchange, but my nails are short and blunt.”

“Use the scrub brush.” Nekomamushi handed you the long-toothed brush he had been using. It was gigantic compared to you, the size of a dinner plate. You had to use two hands to wield it, as well as stand on the base of Nekomamushi’s tail to reach his back, but you managed. It was a full-body exercise to scrub all of his back, though you didn’t mind after how graciously he had accepted you into his home. It was really the least you could do, and his satisfied purring was nice to hear as well.

The bathwater was the perfect temperature, just hot enough to melt all the soreness right out of your tired body. It was deep, too–it had to be to accommodate Nekomamushi, and it left you kicking lightly to stay afloat. He hooked his elbows on the rim of the bath and leaned back, letting out a sigh of contentment. You followed suit, leaving an arm out to hold onto the edge so you could relax.

“Ahhh, this is the life! And you-gara smell much better washed of his scent.”

You didn’t respond. Wanda had mentioned that an ancient feud went back between the mink lords, and it was better not to ask. There were other things on your mind, however. All of this was so sudden, and had been so easy. Almost too easy. You weren’t used to things going so well for you, you couldn’t help being uncertain with the change.

“Why did you accept me?” you asked suddenly, and Nekomamushi turned his head to look at you curiously. “I mean, you don’t know anything about me. For all you know, I could be a danger to your people.”

“Are you-gara a threat?” he asked bluntly.

“N-No.”

Nekomamushi shrugged. “That’s good enough for me.” You stared, and he smirked a little. “What, not convinced? Alright, then, little one. Listen well: First of all, all minks are natural-born fighters, even the civilians. Secondly, I have been a warrior for many years. My instincts are as sharp as my claws! Combined with observation haki, I would have sensed if you posed a threat long before you could do anything. Satisfied?”

You nodded, feeling a little silly for having doubts.

“Besides,” he added offhandedly, “the moment I thought you might harm another mink, my teeth would find your neck before you could so much as scream.”

Your heart skipped a beat, and you were suddenly very aware of your nakedness in a way you hadn’t been earlier–but fear only had a little to do with it. You instantly felt at a loss for why your body responded like that, because that shouldn’t be hot, but there you were.

“Ah, do not worry about it. I trust you-gara!” Nekomamushi hooked his arm around your body and pulled you up onto his torso, rubbing his face into yours in a typical mink greeting, though one you were used to experiencing clothed. “Garchu~!”

“Ack-!”

Upon seeing you covering yourself, he apologized and set you back into the water, and for the rest of the bath, all you could think about was how nice his fur felt on bare skin.

Life on Zou was invigorating. You learned the intricacies of how to tend crops that grew on elephant-skin soil in the dusk, toiling with the other farmers in the cool, night air. There was a mid-work nap everyone took together (you loved that,) before retiring after a few more hours of work. Afterwards, you would head deeper into the forest to train with the Guardians. All of them put you through your paces, especially Pedro, a ruthless but wise teacher. Your fighting skills sharpened week after week, though you would never be able to use electro like the rest of them, they all accepted you into their fold without question. Sometimes you even sparred against Nekomamushi, though it quickly became clear that he was in a league ahead of your own. Everyone would eat and bathe together after practice. You eventually grew so accustomed to the nudity that you were fine playing water-volleyball in one of the ponds in the buff.

In some ways, life on Zou was faster paced than your hometown. In other ways, it was the opposite. Adjusting to a nocturnal schedule was the most difficult part, taking you a few months to fully reset your internal clock.

All of the minks were friendly, even austere ones like Pedro squished his face against yours in a friendly garchu whenever you first saw each other. You found it easy to make friends, your own awkwardness no barrier to the minks’ affability. The Guardians especially liked your eagerness to learn despite your lackluster fighting ability, thinking highly of your willingness to get up no matter how much you were knocked down. It didn’t matter if you weren’t on their level yet, as they would say, as your fighting spirit was.

“I told you,” Nekomamushi said one time after helping you back to your feet yet again, “you-gara are a real mink!”

You were, to put it simply, riveted by Nekomamushi, more so than any other mink. He kept saying things that would leave you speechless in how easily it touched you, or doing things to show his appreciation of your presence. You ended up following him around in your off time, and to your relief, he didn’t seem to mind at all. He would even train you one-on-one sometimes, or invite you to bathe with him, or spend time in his company on his patrols, where he let you ride his back and cling to his mane as he raced through the treetops.

The weeks slipped by, each one leaving you feeling closer and closer to Nekomamushi, until suddenly it was over half a year since you’d landed on Zou.

Your life was fairytale-esque at times, and there wasn’t much you missed living on Zou. However, a slight problem had started to rear its head now and again:  you were lonely. Not in the usual sense–it was impossible to feel lonely around minks–but physically. Even before you had landed on Zou, you hadn’t had much luck in the romance department. Now, surrounded by minks, you didn’t know how to feel about it.

They were exactly like humans in every aspect aside from their therian heads, really. It shouldn’t have been weird. And usually, it wasn’t, though you kept struggling with your attraction–especially to Nekomamushi. It was getting harder to deny it to yourself, but you tried anyway, as surely someone like him wouldn’t be interested in your tiny, human self.

Your needs continued to go unaddressed, and you tried not to think about it, but one day, Pedro had you pinned in combat, and you couldn’t ignore the way your heart raced when he held his sword to your throat. It didn’t help that he was handsome, in a feral sort of way.

Pedro leaned in. “Do you-gara yield, Y/n?”

You swallowed. “Yep. You got me again.”

“Do not feel bad. You-gara have greatly improved. You just need to keep focusing on your footwork.” He lowered his sword, but did not move away, face inches from yours.

“Pedro?”

“You-gara should know,” Pedro said quietly, glancing at the other minks some distance away, “it is not fair of you to release scent like that when you’ve been claimed.”

You blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“Are you not aware?” Pedro said, pulling away and looking confused. “I know humans are nose-blind, but…do you really not know?”

“Wait, hold on? Claimed? I’ve been claimed?” you asked. “What does that mean?”

“Humans,” Pedro huffed tiredly, then elaborated, “when Master Nekomamushi rubs his head on you, he’s claiming you so that other minks don’t make a move.”

“Wait, wait. I thought that was a garchu?”

“It’s different from a garchu.”

“How?”

“Because of the scent. You-gara had no idea, huh?” Pedro laughed. “I guess you and Master have something to talk about.”

“Pedro!” you nearly shouted. “Can I please be dismissed from training?”

“Of course. But I expect you to work twice as hard tomorrow.”

You took off, shouting, “Thanks, Pedro!” behind you as you went. Every time Nekomamushi had hugged you or head-bumped you, that was a claim? You tried to think back, to figure out how long he had been doing it. A few months, or longer? You couldn’t tell, you didn’t know the difference, couldn’t smell it at all.

God damn it. All this time, and you had no idea.

You raced to Nekomamushi’s home, opening the door without knocking (as you were allowed) and screeched to a halt in his bedroom, where he was perched on his gigantic mattress with a comb and his pipe. The scent lingering in the room was different from the usual herb blend he smoked.

“Master Nekomamushi!” you called, but now that you were there, didn’t know how to address the topic. “Uh…”

“Hello, kitten. Garchu!” He hopped off the bed and scooped you up, pressing and rubbing his face against yours.

"Garchu to you too." you giggled nervously. "What are you doing? That smells different. What is it?"

"Catnip," he grinned.

"No it's not," you said, and he grinned wider.

"It could be."

"Stop that. What is it, really?" you pressed. It smelled slightly pungent.

Nekomamushi chuckled. "It's an herb called skunkmint."

Mink weed, you thought to yourself. "How is it?"

"It gets you high, if that's what you're wondering. Would you-gara like to try it, little one?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Ya ever smoke anything like that before?" He asked, sitting on the bed and patting the spot next to him. 

"Yeah, it won't be my first time." You assured, hopping up to sit by him.

Nekomamushi passed you the pipe, and you took a cautious pull, inhaling the smoke slowly. The smoke irritated your lungs almost instantly, and when you coughed, he patted your back.

"Take small hits. You-gara haven't smoked in a long time, I bet."

"Yeah," you coughed, passing the pipe back.

You took turns taking puffs from the pipe, chatting idly about nothing. The high settled over you pretty fast, a light and airy sensation that somehow made you relax while making you feel hyper-aware of your body. Your earlier concern about Nekomamushi’s claim floated around your mind like dandelion fluff, both concerning and not a big deal at the same time.

Nekomamushi offered you the pipe again, and you raised your hand to indicate you were done. 

“This is nice, but any more and I’ll float away,” you mumbled, making him giggle. It was cute. You picked up the comb that lay behind him on the bed, huge compared to you–the size of a washboard. “Were you grooming? Want help?”

“I’d love that,” he rumbled, taking a final puff from the pipe before snuffing out the herb. He set it down on the bedside table while you climbed his side to perch on his shoulder. It wouldn’t be the first time you helped him comb his mane. It always made for good background activity while you conversed.

Nekomamushi purred as you ran the comb down the side of his head. “That feels extra nice after the skunkmint.”

“I’d bet,” you smiled, happy to help him feel content. “You don’t do this a lot, huh?”

“No. It lets my guard down too much,” he admitted. “I need ta stay sharp. But Pedro can take care of things for tonight.”

“Any special occasion?” you asked, and he shook his head. 

“Just thought I’d take it easy. I’m glad you-gara are here right now.”

“Me too,” you said, and he smiled. On a whim, you decided to put yourself out there. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh?” he fixed his reddened eyes on you. “What about?”

“Just… stuff.” you said. “Pedro told me that, uh… Well…” you hesitated.

Nekomamushi hummed. “Take your time. You-gara can tell me when you’re ready.”

“Okay,” you said, and went quiet for a while, focusing on the combing as you tried to gather your courage.

No pressure. Nekomamushi liked you, Pedro had more or less said so outright. Why was this so hard? Why couldn’t you just ask?

“Hey, Nekomamushi?” In your intoxicated state, you forgot the ‘Master’. It hit you right as he started to reply.

“Ye–”

“I meant Master Nekomamushi!” you interrupted. “Sorry.”

He laughed, shaking shoulders bouncing you a little. “You-gara do not have to call me Master.”

Maybe it was just the weed, but you could practically feel the hot blood rushing to your face, the picking up of your heartbeat. He hadn’t said that to anyone else. Maybe Pedro was right.

“What was the question, little one?” Nekomamushi asked.

“Oh, right. If minks of different species interbreed, what species is the child?” Not exactly the question you were going for, but a step in the right direction.

“A good question,” he said, angling his head against the comb. “The child could be the species of either parent at random, though may retain traits of both species. For example, a bull mink and a cat mink’s offspring may look like a bull or a cat. Yet if it looks like a bull, it may still have cat-like traits, like feeling comfortable in high places. Or the child could look like a cat, but paw the ground when angry.”

“Fascinating! So many minks are actually mixed?”

“That’s right! I myself have mixed ancestry. Aside from cat, I have tiger, boar, and fox blood.”

“Wow!”

Nekomamushi chuckled, pleased at your interest. “I’ve even heard of minks interbreeding with humans.”

You froze where you were combing, feeling your stomach flip. Swallowing, you resumed, though he definitely must have noticed the pause. “Oh?”

“I don’t know if any offspring have resulted from such unions, but it’s not looked down upon by mink-kind.”

“Oh.”

You were quiet for a while, nothing breaking the silence but the gentle scratching sound of the comb’s teeth going through his mane and his rumbling purr.

“I, uh, have another question,” you finally said.

“Mm?”

“How do you, uh… I mean…” you stammered, and Nekomamushi glanced at you, making you look pointedly away. “Are you… Are you able to sleep with other minks, you know, given how big you are?”

Nekomamushi did not respond right away. When you braved looking back at him, you saw that he had turned his head toward you now, giving you his full attention.

“Why, Y/n,” he said, “what an odd thing to ask.”

Your heart hammered inside your chest, face hot with embarrassment. “If it’s too personal, you don’t have to tell me. I was just, uh…”

“Curious, kitten?” he smirked, and you felt the heat spread through your whole body, because he’d never called you that before. Nekomamushi brought his hand to gently cup your cheek, and you automatically leaned back into his hand like it was involuntary. “Is there something you need to tell me, perhaps?”

You gazed into his shining amber eyes, all at once at a loss and more sure of yourself than you’d ever been.

“I love you,” you said simply.

“I know.” He smiled wider. “From the very beginning, you-gara fell for me.” He brushed back your hair tenderly, leaning in closer. “Not just with your heart, but with your body… I can smell your interest, radiating from you so sweetly whenever you’re around me. It must have been a long time since you've last mated.”

You could only nod, entranced by his gaze, his touch.

“So. I could simply answer your question. Or, as I think we'd both prefer, I could give you-gara a demonstration.” He wrapped an arm around you to pull you to sit on his chest, holding you so close his face was only inches away, fearsome teeth slightly bared in his smirk. “My brave little kitten isn't afraid, are they?”

You lightly touched the ends of his tusk-like lower canines, sharp enough to prick your finger if you’d pressed any harder.

“No,” you said, and closed to distance, pressing your lips to his upper lip before you could hesitate.

Nekomamushi closed his mouth and kissed you back, adjusting his hold on you to bring you even closer, one hand buried in your hair. He tasted of the skunkmint you smoked and of pine, and of his own unique scent that you had grown fond of. His lower canines gently scraped your cheeks, and his lips couldn’t purse very far in front of his wide mouth, but he kissed you anyway and he kissed you without abandon, growling to himself in satisfaction. You don’t know what you had expected–you’d thought about it before, sure–but it was better than anything you could have imagined, if only for the way it made all the sensitive nerves in your mouth and heart fire off at once.

You pulled apart, staring at him with a lovestruck, dopey smile. “I didn’t know that would be so nice.”

“This will be even nicer,” he purred, laying you on your back and crawling over you. Your heart pounded as he pressed his face into your neck and inhaled deeply. “You-gara smell exquisite. Far too long, I have kept myself in check, waiting for you to approach while your troublesome pheromones beckoned me.”

He tore your shirt from your body suddenly, making you gasp, keeping his face in your neck and taking deep whiffs as he shredded the rest of your clothes. Once you were naked, he licked your neck with his rough tongue. You bit your lip not to moan.

Nekomamushi paused, taking in your expression. “You-gara are certain, yes?”

“Yes!” you exclaimed, grabbing his lower canines and pulling him in for another kiss. His growls riled you up, the excitement making you grow slick between the legs, something his keen nose picked up on right away. He pulled away from your mouth to lick up your stomach, then your chest. The light scraping of his tongue tickled and teased, your body overly-sensitive from the weed. Then he licked up your breast, flicking his tongue at the nipple, and this time, you couldn’t hold in your moan.

“Oh-! ‘Mushi, that’s–”

“Sensitive, kitten?” Nekomamushi pinned your arms to your sides at the wrists and kept licking your breasts, making you squirm and whine at the onslaught. You grew wetter and wetter, the stimulation going straight to your cunt and making it ache to be touched. “Beg for me a little. I want to hear ya–tell me what ya want.”

“I want you to eat me out!” you said shamelessly, struggling against his grip. “Please! You’re right, it’s been so long…”

“Hmm.” He didn’t let up. You could practically feel each bump of his tongue against your stiff nipples, so electric you almost didn’t realize he was waiting for more.

“Please, ‘Mushi! Stop teasing me! I–I need you!”

“Do ya now?” he purred.

“Yes! Only you. No one else.”

That seemed to stroke his ego enough, or perhaps he finally decided to show mercy. Pleased, he released his hold on you to instead scoop you into his arms, rolling onto his back onto the bed and setting you down to straddle his mouth.

“Tell me if it’s too much,” he said, taking your hands and placing them on his soft ears. Getting the message, you closed your fingers around the side of his ears for leverage, making him groan–it must have been a sensitive spot for him. “Feel free to grab or pull if ya need to.”

Nekomamushi pressed his muzzle into your cunt, sniffing, and growled in approval. You felt wetness at the sides of your legs and realized he was salivating, right before he stuck his tongue out and licked all rational thought from your brain in one rough swipe between your legs.

“Fuck!” You immediately gripped his ears hard, which only spurred him on further, another long swipe of his tongue from the bottom of your slit to the top, almost too much against your clit.

Almost.

You ground your hips into his mouth, whimpering as he lapped at your center over and over, each time sending a wave of pleasure crashing through your lower half. You sang his praises the whole time, whether with small noises or smaller words.

It had been a long time, so it didn’t take long before you felt yourself getting worked up to that beckoning edge.

“‘Mushi, I’m gonna cum,” you whined.

He grabbed your legs in response, pulling you right into his mouth and penetrating your core with his thick, hot tongue. Your back arched as he probed deep, legs spasming; the lack of attention to your clit pulled you just enough away, while his tongue prodding your g-spot pushed you forward again, keeping you riding the edge of what promised to be an earth-shaking orgasm.

The only words you could form were his name, everything else a babbling mess as you finally came apart, spasming hard around his tongue. You pulled his ears so roughly that you were certain it hurt him, but he only purred so hard you could feel it rumbling inside of you.

Nekomamushi held you down to him, riding out every wave of your orgasm until you buckled, slumping forward with your face falling into his mane, groaning. He withdrew his tongue into his mouth, smacking his lips once before checking in.

“All good, kitten? Do ya wanna stop?”

“Uhh,” you replied dumbly. “Hold–hold on.”

He chuckled as he picked you up, laying you against his broad chest. “Glad to hear it.”

You hugged him, burying your face into his fluffy mane. “Thank you… I loved it…”

“Good! Wanna keep going?”

You lifted your head, nodding eagerly. “Y-Yes! I can take you, ‘Mushi. Probably…”

“That’s my kitten.”

You turned your head to see him fully erect. His cock was, to your surprise, mostly human looking, red with a soft triangular shape to the tip, and rock solid. You crawled down his belly and immediately wrapped your hands around the twitching base. It was easily the length and thickness of your arm, and already, the head was weeping clear precum. He shuddered as you gave an experimental stroke.

You repositioned yourself to sit comfortably, clit pressed snugly against the base of his cock, and started to stroke him up and down with both hands. A deep, guttural groan came from the cat monster. More sure of yourself, you tightened your grip and kept going, encouraged by the ragged noises it elicited from him.

You made sure to tease him back, keeping your pace steady but not too quick as revenge for earlier. Only after he growled a needy “kitten,” did you lean forward and lick the head of his cock. It was slightly salty and didn’t taste like much else, and the noise it pulled from was downright bestial. Now fully confident, you closed your mouth around the head and sucked.

Nekomamushi instantly bucked his hips up into your mouth before he could stop himself, gasping. It pushed your head up more than actually gagged you, as he was too big to fit any further in your mouth anyway. He quickly apologized, but you only doubled down, stroking him faster and sucking harder. You pressed your torso against his cock, using your body to help stroke him off, feeling yourself get more and more excited as you did until you could no longer wait.

You weren’t sure if you could fit him, but you weren’t ending this evening without trying. At this point, he had leaked so much his cock was slathered in pre-cum, as well as your hands, and you were still soaked from earlier. Now was probably your best shot. You turned to face Nekomamushi, finding him watching you with wide eyes, and stood up, positioning yourself over his length.

Nekomamushi brought his hands to your hips, helping to steady and guide you down. The pointed tip of his cock spread your lips wide, already pushing you open before giving away into an even bigger shaft. You bit your lip as you sank down slowly, spread open wider and wider. Both of you were holding your breath, his grip on your hips secure. You made it about halfway down his cock before you were full to bursting.

“That’s–mm… That’s…” you tried to say, already dumb with how filled you were, “as far as I can go.”

“That’s fine!” Nekomamushi’s eyes had rolled back, his tongue poking out slightly. “Did so well, kitten. Fuck, just look at ya. Taking me when you’re such a little thing. Knew ya could do it… ” his praises went straight to your head, making your eyes flutter shut. “I’ll go slow.”

“Don’t,” you replied, opening your eyes to look directly into his. “I can take whatever you give me.”

“Oho?” He smirked. “A bold claim. But if I don’t hold back, I’m afraid I might hurt ya. Trust me, okay, kitten?”

“Okay…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you never forget tonight. Fuck, you’re already clamping down on me like crazy. I bet you-gara just love big dick, hm? Love being so full you can’t think straight?”

You canted your hips forward, whimpering. “Y-Yes, ‘Mushi, I love it”

“Good kitten.” He held you by the hips, claw-tips lightly scratching your skin, and lifted you slightly, letting you lower yourself back down onto him. Your back arched at the sensation, and he grinned.

“There you go. Just ease into it,” he purred, guiding you as you started to ride him. It was an all-consuming feeling, filled out and fucked slow, cunt stretched from every angle. You moaned softly as you went. By now, all your training had given you far more strength in your legs, letting you last much longer than you would have when you first showed up. You placed your hands over his on your hips, head lolling down weakly from how good it felt.

“Look at me, kitten,” Nekomamushi said, and you lifted your head to meet his eyes. He smiled. “There ya go–beautiful. I wanna see that look on your face. You-gara look good all fucked-out like that.”

“‘Mushi,” you whimpered. “Feels so good.”

“Want it harder?”

You quickly nodded. Nekomamushi rolled forward so you were on your back, then pulled out, flipping you over onto your hands and knees before repositioning himself at your entrance. He penetrated you from behind, another deep groan as he slid in as far as he could physically go.

“Ready?” he checked.

“Yes! Please!” you pushed yourself back onto him even further, proving your eagerness and making him purr.

“There’s my good kitten. Just say the word if ya need ta stop.”

You dug your fingers into the sheets as he started to thrust, slowly at first. You moaned as he took control, one hand on your hips to keep you steady, the other arm planted right over your shoulder to hold himself up. You hooked one arm around his, holding onto the burly muscle, and braced yourself against his heavy thrusts. It felt so damn good that all you wanted to do for the rest of your life was stay there beneath him, taking his cock like it was all you were meant for.

You were never leaving Zou.

“‘Mushi! Oh, fuck! Fuck!” you cried, arching your back.

Nekomamushi was panting between growls, grip on your hips tightening. “Good god, kitten. Ya feel so damn good. So tight. M’never letting you go.” He lowered his head to snarl by your ear. “You-gara are mine. I’m gonna make ya my mate, gonna breed ya so well all minks will smell who you belong to.”

“Yes,” you moaned, feeling your peak building once again. He speared deep inside you, just the slightest edge of pain as his tip nudged your cervix, just enough to keep you present and aware. His speed had picked up, his rhythm perfect and unbroken, dragging you, whimpering and writhing, to the edge.

“Ah… Ah! I’m… I’m gonna cum, kitten. Is it okay?”

“Yes! Please don’t stop!”

A few more thrusts, and the both of you crested the edge, your head thrown back as your orgasm hit you with the force of a speeding train. Nekomamushi, perhaps overcome with instinct, lowered his head to bite the back of your neck, keeping you in place while he spilled deep inside your guts. Maybe it was the intoxication, but the light pain complimented the pleasure so well your knees buckled from the sensation, only kept up by Nekomamushi’s hold on you.

Perhaps minks were built differently, but he came for a while, each time thrusting slightly against you as he spurted more and more. At first the excessive wetness made you think you squirted until you looked down. Cum had leaked past the base of his cock, spilling onto the sheets below.

Nekomamushi suddenly released you, licking your bleeding neck. “I’m sorry, kitten! I didn’t mean ta bite ya. Do you-gara feel okay?”

“I’m okay,” you confirmed, turning your head to smile up at him. “I, uh, I actually liked it.”

“I still should have asked first,” he said sheepishly, pulling out with a wet squelch. A flood of cum followed, gushing out of you so quickly you shuddered at the weird feeling. “Whoops... I’ll have to wash the sheets.”

You collapsed onto the bed, not really caring about the sheets, though you knew it ought to get dealt with before it soaked through to the mattress.

“Maybe after you rest a minute first,” Nekomamushi said, flopping down at your side, bouncing you on the mattress.

“Yeah,” you agreed. You snuggled into his thick fur and closed your eyes, feeling safer than you’d ever felt. After a few minutes, you spoke up. “‘Mushi?”

“Yes, kitten?”

“Can minks impregnate humans?”

He went quiet. You went quiet. Neither of you spoke for a minute.

“Let’s go talk to Dr. Kingston,” Nekomamushi suggested, and you laughed. “Let’s go talk to him, quickly.”

The sheets were forgotten as you washed up and raced to the doctor for emergency contraception, and the mattress ended up ruined, but neither of you had any regrets.

[magnoliacharmed]

Sextape

18+, CM Punk x Randy Orton one shot

[Also available on Archive of Our Own!]

Tags: mutual masturbation, porn video, porn with feelings

Word count: 2909

Summary:

Randy invites Punk over to his hotel room, then gets more than he bargained for.

Punk shoved his raggedy old duffle bag into Randy's arms and walked into the hotel room like he owned it. It was one thing Randy respected about him; he didn't act confident, he was confident. Sometimes, too much for his own good. But Randy was sure someone had said that about him in the past. 

"Did you really need to bring all this shit with you?"

Randy stared down at the duffle bag while he kicked the door to the room shut. Punk sat down on the couch, sinking into it without a care in the world. He kicked his feet up on the coffee table in front of it and rested his hands on his chest, blinking pretty eyes at Randy's prone figure still standing at the entrance. 

"This is a nice room, a lot nicer than anything they've given me. What do I gotta do to get a suite this nice?"

"Be me."

Punk huffed out his breath dramatically, then rolled his eyes. Randy was such a buzzkill sometimes. 

"Or, fuck me. Then you get to stay for a night. Depending on how I feel after, at least."

"Oh come on, Randy. We both know you'll let me stay."

"Don't be so sure."

Randy threw the bag onto the couch beside Punk and walked back into the room. The sun was setting relatively quickly, no doubt because of fat clouds rolling in. They were tinted a pleasant shade of pink and purple and orange on their bottoms, with a threatening deep gray painting the top of them. As hot as it was outside, rain would soon come pouring down. Randy let himself stare out into the distance for a few seconds, tilting his head at the droplets that were already beginning to appear on the window pane, then shut the curtains. 

Punk watched the whole thing quietly. Sometimes there were those little moments where he so desperately wanted to know what the hell was on Randy's mind. He wasn't sure he had the balls to ask him though, so he never reached out. The prospect of bothering him with an inane question, breaking whatever this little thing they shared together some nights… Well, Punk had come to enjoy it. So it was best to keep his mouth shut.

"You haven't even asked what's in the bag." Punk's voice held a hint of teasing in it.

"Probably something weird."

"Ouch."

Yes, the stuff was weird. But he didn't need to say it like that, in that deadpan no-joke unreadable way that made Punk twist up inside.

"Lucky for you, weird is what I'm in the mood for tonight. Open it up."

Randy made his way back over to the couch as Punk unzipped the bag slowly. He wanted to shock Randy, in fact he kind of needed to. The shock was what made it especially fun. There was only so many times Randy could call him a bitch or fuck him in some sort of semi-public space before it started to bore Punk.

"Tsk, tsk," Randy shook his head as he rifled through the bag. A red and white striped cheerleader's skirt, a cock ring, various dildos of different colors and sizes… the only thing that caught the barest semblance of his interest were a few DVDs.

"Not weird enough, Punk. Or maybe, predictably weird."

Punk felt like his chest was going to cave in very suddenly. Not weird enough? What the fuck?

"Uh… predictably weird?"

"Yeah, man. I knew you were into this kinda stuff already." Randy threw a transparent purple dildo into Punk's lap as he hit the bottom of the bag. He picked up the DVD cases and fanned them out in his hands. Two were about what Randy expected-- one held a perfect shot of a woman with her mouth wide open and come covering her lips, the other a barrage of stills of a man being fucked in a few different positions.

"Kinda looks like us." Randy turned the case around to Punk and smiled. Thank God. Punk was starting to think he fucked up.

The last case was strangely not of the dirty variety. It advertised some low budget action movie, the kind where every element on it looked poorly photoshopped on. A ripped white sheet of paper was slotted in the plastic covering that covered the actor's body. Randy popped open the case to find an unmarked disc where the movie should have been. He was stumped.

"And what's this supposed to be?"

The little gap in Punk's front teeth was cute. It gave him an air of innocence he most certainly didn't actually possess. Randy couldn't help but to let his cock stiffen slightly at seeing Punk beam up at him while it showed. 

"A surprise."

Randy paused at how playful Punk had gotten. He knew to be cautious when he started acting like that. It was best to ignore it for the time being. Soon enough, Punk would spill his own secret. Whether that was because he couldn't contain it or because Randy would get it out of him one way or another was to be seen. 

"A surprise? I don't know if I like your surprises."

"You'll like that one. But for now, it waits. Choose one of those other videos."

Randy sat the mystery movie down on the coffee table. He tried to figure out what kind of mood he was in as he looked at the other two videos. Watching Punk squirm while he took his time deciding made it all the more fun.

"Hm, okay. I think I know what I want. Close your eyes."

Punk shut his eyelids and crossed his arms over his chest. Randy turned on the TV and immediately muted it as he pressed a few buttons on the remote to switch the input to the DVD player. The plastic case snapped and popped when Randy removed the disc from it. Very shortly after he let the player take it, the menu queued itself up in all of its bright, naughty glory. Randy let the production logos start, then skipped past all of the scenery set up. Finally, he turned the sound back up just a little. 

Punk was being a lot more patient than he expected. It turned Randy on more than he thought it would, so he hurried to remove his clothes. He lowered himself onto the couch, only inches away from Punk's figure.

"Open."

Punk wasn't sure what to look at. Randy sat beside him completely naked, eyes on higher alert than usual, stroking himself slowly for Punk's benefit. He felt his cheeks get hot as he looked up towards the video, the woman with her mouth agape on the DVD cover getting ready to take a large cock into her mouth.

"Undress for me. Then, press play and sit back down."

Punk was off of the couch before Randy could finish. He fumbled to get his jeans and t-shirt off, then rushed over to press play. When he returned to sit by Randy, he made sure their bodies were touching.

"You must have seen the case for this one at my house, huh?" Randy's breath hitched as he twisted around himself. The video wasn't new to him by any means, but it was good every time. He'd shot off to it more than a few times, imagining the dark-haired woman as Punk each time. She even had a lip ring just like his. He wondered if he should do a better job hiding his stash as he recalled Batista coming across it once while visiting and making the connection between the woman and Punk very quickly.

"Maybe," Punk didn't take a second glance at the TV. His gaze fell fully on Randy's body, on the way his chest rose and fell while he stroked away. His head was thrown back while he continued on, feeling the way Punk stared a hole through him. Punk grabbed on to his own dick roughly, applying lots of pressure while he watched Randy. It'd been some time since they'd done this together. 

Randy's eyes, as blue as ever, shot open to return a look at Punk. The flush of his cheeks had spread across his cheeks, adding ever so sweetly to that innocent look he loved to put on. Punk felt especially seen, an overwhelming sense of pleasure washing over him. 

"Don't you look pretty," Randy smiled at Punk like he was going to eat him up. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Punk did look pretty coming undone just thinking about Randy.

"Just for you, Randy." Punk pressed his thumb hard at the base of himself. The woman's moans felt much louder in Punk's ear than they actually were. Randy could barely even hear them with the blood rushing in his ears.

"Just for me, fuck." 

Randy groaned and took a deep breath. He let go of himself, to Punk's immense disappointment. Punk continued to stroke at the sight of Randy's wet cock bobbing in the air. Punk didn't know where he got the discipline from to just stop at a moment's notice. He certainly wasn't going to stop on Randy's accord. It was selfish, but Randy had come to expect it. He'd even started to get a thrill out of how much Punk couldn't contain himself.

"You can keep going, but I want you to come while I fuck you. So you'd better slow it down."

Punk made a tortured noise that was a cross between annoyance and restraint. He pouted and let his hand flop onto the couch.

"I think it's time for that other video now. This time, you go stand over there and close your eyes."

Randy sighed at the request, but obeyed. It only took a couple of minutes for Punk to swap out the DVDs and position himself on the bed. He arched himself up, shaking his hair out to get it nice and big, and turned his head his neck quickly to peek at Randy still standing in the corner. The remote rested right in front of him, ready for the final step.

"Alright, open."

There was a long, expected silence in the room. Punk kept his ass in the air and wished he could see Randy's expression. If he wasn't angry, he could bet he was surprised.

"What… the fuck?"

Randy could not take his eyes off the image of Punk's fucked out face filling the TV screen. He had a wild look in his eyes as he bit at the bottom of his smiling lip and looked right into the lens of the camera. Randy was right behind him, or at least the blurred movement of his legs were.

"I look hot, huh?"

Randy was too pissed to admit that he looked perfect. 

"When did you do this?" Randy's voice was dangerously low. 

"Does it matter?" Punk readjusted his arms. They were starting to cramp up.

"No, I guess it fucking doesn't." 

The weight of the bed dipped when Randy climbed onto it. He grabbed at Punk's neck hard and forced him to look into his face.

"Are you mad at me?" Punk tried to reach up to give Randy a kiss, but couldn't move a muscle.

Randy took a second to answer. He was mad. Not because he'd been filmed without permission, he didn't care about that. He was mad because Punk had done it first, the sneaky bastard. He'd been planning on asking him if he could have a camera going for a while now. Now he had to come up with some new idea to keep Punk interested.

"I bet you wish I was, I know you like it when I'm angry. No, I'm not mad. I think it's sexy."

Punk almost let the wind get taken out of his sails before hearing that Randy said he thought it was sexy. He pushed his body back into Randy eagerly and inched his way to the remote's play button.

The volume had been turned up significantly from the sudden sound of Punk laughing ringing in Randy's ears as the video started. Randy watched himself pull Punk across-- his own bed? He filmed this at his house? He'd know those dark sheets anywhere. Video Randy grabbed at Punk's waist and pulled them chest to chest together, almost out of frame. He leaned into suck at the flesh of Punk's neck hard, making Punk moan as they both fell back fully on the bed. 

It was all coming back to Randy. That session between them had been a particularly good one. Better than usual, and that was saying a lot. Seeing the video now, it all clicked in Randy's head. Punk put on an extra special show just for him. 

Punk felt the slicked up head of Randy's cock press at his hole. While he thought they were both watching the video in a daze, Randy had reached over to the bedside table to rub lube onto himself. 

Punk was on his back now in the video with Randy still incessantly kissing and sucking at his neck. Those bruises took forever to heal, he remembered. He sported them proudly around the locker room and let the other guys take a guess at which Diva had given them to him. With every new name that came out of their mouths, Punk laughed. Video Punk looked up into the camera when Randy entered him. 

Punk of real life's mouth fell open when Randy took the opportunity to slot himself inside of him. He pushed back onto his dick and fucked back while watched the video play. It was unfortunate that the hidden positioning of the camcorder had muffled its microphone. Punk caught a few snippets of whatever Randy had been whispering to him that night and felt his cock twitch below him. He always knew the perfect thing to say. Randy continued to grasp at Punk's hips while he watched the video. What had made him so passionate that night, he couldn't remember. He was at Punk's neck like a vampire, moving from side to side then reaching up to say something obscene in his ear.

Punk moaned a beat off of his moans from the video, filling the room with a loud cacophony of his own voice. He was never not selling it. The smooth, tanned, tattooed skin of Video Randy's back had a bit of a sheen covering it from sweating. Video Punk licked the sweat that dripped down onto his neck as he looked back into the camera, then quickly pulled Randy in for a messy kiss when he began to look up in the direction of the lens.

"Very sneaky of you," Randy growled above him. He was sort of embarrassed at how ready he was to come this soon. 

Punk was jumping out of his skin from Randy's pace. His cock swung around heavily below him, begging to be touched. He wanted to save it for right at the end, right at the perfect moment. Randy's legs shook as he continued to fuck Punk hard and the video played on. Not only did Punk look good, but he himself looked good. He always looked good, but seeing himself on video in the middle of sex really did something else for him. At least he knew if wrestling didn't work out, he could always be a pornstar.  

Punk angled up to reach at his cock at the impending finale. He just knew it would catch Randy off guard. He of course knew it was coming up. He'd watched the video about a million times before finally debuting it to Randy. 

Video Randy slowed down and grinded slowly into Punk, a lewd movement that made Video Punk's eyes shut. They were both about to come. 

"God, you look so good, baby." 

Randy delicately smoothed Punk's sweaty hair out of his face. In a moment that Punk was sure had to be a slice of heaven, Randy's lessened pace and loving expression sent him careening out to space. He returned the look back to him, his eyes saucer plate huge and adoringly staring at Randy. Together they both groaned in ecstasy, their orgasms wracking their bodies at the same time.

Punk's moan was guttural as he latched onto his dick and stroked. His come shot out on the comforter with rushed spurts that made his legs wobble. Randy followed suit shortly after, breathing heavily. It took him a long time to actually pull out of Punk. He waited for his blurred, wet vision to clear up while he watched the last minutes of the video. He had collapsed on top of Punk, whispering little inside jokes as they both tried not to pass out. Finally, Randy of real life pulled out and fell back on to the bed, his arms spread out while he stared up at the ceiling. Punk climbed off of the bed and headed to the bathroom to clean himself up. Randy hadn't moved an inch when he returned to lie down next to him.

"So, you gonna kick me out?"

Punk framed the question as a joke. Deep down he wasn't sure if Randy was going to send him packing, especially after his little videotape stunt.

"No."

"No?" 

"No, Punk. I want you to stay."

"Okay."

Punk didn't press his luck as he moved in closer to Randy's body and the video quietly stopped playing.