#bap fanfiction

[moonwaterart]

So… because my fics seem to pop off a lot more than my art does. I’m posting another oneshot here with a link to the AO3 page.

Have fun with my favorite rarepair Dandy’s World fandom.

But I’m Still Nice… Right?

Rating: T

Pairing: Deck the Halls (Rudie x Glisten)

Word count: 5,993

AO3 link

Since the Christmas toons had been discovered, they’d been a major help with expeditions through the bowels of the facility that was Gardenview. Helping gather supplies in hard-to-reach places. Going where others wouldn’t to retrieve supplies to continue for another week, helping out where their skills were best suited. Yes, it was four more mouths to feed, but they earned their keep.

Cosmo was elated to see his cousin again, having a third medically knowledgeable toon around helped greatly. Not to mention she had a knack for gardening and helped turn the grassy patch in the lobby into a sustainable food source with some of the rations. The only natural light that came into the facility hit that patch in certain areas that weren’t covered by the tree, so she helped Sprout and Brightney figure out the best places to plant things.

Coal let other small toons ride her, so she was seen with Toodles quite frequently on her back laughing and squeezing with delight as the large boulder of a dog ran through the halls the toons safely occupied. She was quite fast for her size. It was nice to have a dog around again since Pebbles vanished and was later found Twisted. She also helped sniff out items that were missed on runs, so she was a good addition to have around, even if Cosmo sometimes complained about her begging for snacks which he ultimately gave in to.

Bobette helped keep their stock organized and counted. Making sure nothing ran out and if things were starting to, a team was put together to collect more. Her infectious attitude kept morale high even after bad runs. Always looking on the bright side of things, though the other toons could tell it was to hide how hopeless she felt about everything she and the other Christmas toons had gone through year after year for almost three decades. Alone. Forgotten. It was a miracle they didn’t twist. Let alone no ichor was found where they were.

Then there was Rudie. Rudie always seemed to be smiling about something. Always laughing along to jokes or joining in on conversations. Always wanting to do things to show how useful he could be. To prove he was worth knowing. He would almost always volunteer to go on runs, using his survival skills from over the years to help where he could. The Twisteds were a new challenge for him, but he adapted quickly, learning who he could help distract and who it’s best to avoid. He learned how to use the Ichor machines pretty quickly and was good at extracting from them too.

All in all, they each earned their place. Yet Rudie always felt he had to do more. Be more. Soaking up the praise he was given at a job well done and striving to be seen as ‘the nicest’ out of everyone in the group. So when he noticed in Bobette’s open inventory book that they were running low on medical supplies, he shut the book and made the decision to go on an expedition alone. It was late and many of the toons had come back from bad run after bad run, they needed something good to happen for a change.

He went to his room (it used to be Boxten’s room, but since he twisted. He didn’t need it anymore for obvious reasons) and got some things for his trip. His old present satchel to store any med kits and bandaid packs he found would do the trick as well as some wraps to help with his wind resistance. Wrapping them like how Shrimpo (reluctantly and quite rudely) showed him around his hands and just above his hooves, he made sure everything was secure before also snagging a snack from his private stash and started making his way to the elevators, doing his best to avoid anyone and everyone until he heard the large door slide down into place.

Dandy’s stall came up and the Flower seemed surprised anyone was coming down at this hour.

“Usually you guys wait until morning to do your runs.” He looked around the elevator before returning his attention back to Rudie. “Where’s the rest of your team?”

“It’s just me tonight.” The reindeer replied, a smile on his face, though his eyes gave away a slight nervousness. Dandy cocked an eyebrow.

“Either you’re one of the bravest toons in the group, or the dumbest.” He stated. “Going at it alone is dangerous.”

“I know. But it’s to help the others.” Rudie replied, his chest fur fluffing in defiance. “And I’ll do that if it means we get to survive for longer.”

“Hm… admirable… I guess.” Dandy shrugged.

“The other toons gave us Christmas toons a place outside our season when they found us… they didn’t have to, but they did… I’m doing what I can to give back, even though I can never repay their kindness.”

“Please… gag me with a spoon.” Dandy rolled his eyes, gesturing to his left. “Look, as always, if you want to go up, hit the button there. Try not to die. I’ll be up every other floor to check on you and give you an opportunity to buy things if you have the tapes.”

“…right… thanks.”

Dandy’s store closed up and the elevator descended. It was eerie without others talking to him or around him in the dingy box as it lowered, but he also found a strange comfort in the silence. He could almost hear the usual banter. Rodger reminding the group to grab research if they could for him. Tisha fussing over how dirty everything still was. Sprout asking everyone to be careful. Looey cracking a joke or two to lighten the mood.

A well oiled machine the group was. Rudie was appreciative that he got to be a part of that and only hoped this would help. “Okay Rudie… make it as far as you can, then go back. This is just a nice gesture you’re doing so we don’t gotta do it tomorrow.”

And he was nice… right?

The chime indicating he’d arrived at his first destination, snapping him out of his thoughts. Checking himself over one final time, he breathed in deep a few times and hopped from foot to foot, shaking out the nervous jitters. He has this. He had to. The elevator door slid open and he jogged out onto the floor, his hooves clicking on the tile as he quickly scanned the area for three things: Items, Ichor Machines, and Twisteds. Two things to seek, one thing to avoid as much as possible.

He had this.

—-

Eight floors down and descending to his ninth, he checked over the contents of his bag. Four bandaid boxes and two med kits. He also managed to snag a few ichor capsules for Rodger to study and some food products from an unraided pantry. Not bad, but he could find more. He should start checking doors to see if any were locked. Maybe there was a closet through one of them that someone forgot to check?

He zipped the bag back up and situated it back into place as he heard the chime ring out once more. He was about to jog out as the door slid open, but he heard something that caused him to stop in his tracks. A voice. One that no one had heard in months.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

His ears flicked and his fur puffed slightly. No… no he couldn’t be alive still.

He died. Rudie had been there when it happened. He heard it.

Toodles had wanted to go on an expedition. Despite Rodger’s hesitance, he reluctantly agreed, only if he and a select few he trusted to protect the child toon came with. They’d agreed to five floors and that’s it.

Goob, Glisten, Cosmo, Tisha and himself had gone along to watch over her and keep things running smoothly. They each showed her what things to do and how to do them. She was taught about the Twisteds and how to act in case she came across one. Everything was going according to plan.

Then they got to their final floor and all hell broke loose. It was rare for one of the main Twisteds to wander so high up, yet the high pitched scream of Toodles rang out as she got chased towards the elevator by Vee. The group realized she’d wandered off from Rodger’s side because she saw a toy on a shelf and was trying to grab it.

Glisten was the first to react, pushing past the others who’d already made it into the elevator and ran back into the darkness of the floor to grab the child. Rodger was freaking out and wanting to run back out after him, Goob and Tisha resorted to having to hold him back. Cosmo was over by the button to start their ascension to the surface. There was so much yelling.

That’s when they saw it. The twinkle of Glisten’s ability in front of Rudie. He was teleporting back to the elevator as the door was sliding shut, using him as his reference point given he was closest to the opening. The reindeer braced himself to catch him, but who popped into his embrace was Toodles who looked so scared, hurt, and traumatized, all she could do once she was in the reindeer’s arms was bury her face into the warm neck fur of the Christmas toon and sob. The gutteral sound of pained cries and glass shattering was heard as the elevator door fully closed, leaving the group in a stunned silence.

“Please… I don’t want to be alone again…”

Rudie snapped out of his thoughts and started jogging towards the voice. It didn’t take long for him to confirm who it was.

Peaking around a large crate, he spotted the hand mirror. His outfit was covered in ichor stains and ripped where Rudie guessed Vee had gotten him. His favorite bow was wrapped around his arms and occasionally dripped with the black substance that stained Glisten’s lower arms and hands. His stature made him look like he was trying to comfort himself as he stumbled around, almost in a daze, like he’d been crying for a long time.

“…Glisten?”

The mirror snapped his attention towards Rudie’s voice, the reindeer second guessing if he’d made a mistake as he saw Glisten’s shattered face. He only had one eye and he couldn’t see his mouth… but something was off about his eye compared to other Twisteds he’d encountered. He just couldn’t place it.

“Rudie…? Is that… really you?” Glisten took a hesitant step towards him, his posture lifting slightly. Now he could see it. The eye was lighter. A pink-ish color compared to the red the other Twisteds sported.

The reindeer slowly stepped out from his hiding spot. Giving him a small smile and wave. “Yeah.”

“Oh… oh thank goodness you’re here…” The two toons never got along. Glisten and Rudie always had an awkward relationship. Their conversations ended weirdly, they never had much of anything at all in common, yet something in Glisten’s tone called to Rudie’s empathetic nature. This wasn’t something he should shuffle away from like before. He couldn’t. That wouldn’t be nice.

And he was nice… right?

Glisten stepped even closer to him. “I’ve been alone for so long… Everything hurts. I don’t want to be alone anymore…”

“Are there… any other Twisteds around?” Rudie asked.

“I mean… Connie’s here… but she doesn’t ever want to help me.” The other sniffled.

With that confirmation, Rudie closed the distance. “Hey… it’s okay. You’re not alone anymore.”

“Please… stay?”

“I mean… I’m here now, right?”

Glisten collapsed into a sobbing mess and Rudie caught him, lowering them both to the ground, holding the other close. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Just let it all out.”

They stayed like that for a long while. Rudie not loosening his grip once, though he could have sworn he saw Connie pass by and look at the two before continuing her cycle of haunting the yet to be touched machines of the floor. He just rubbed a hand across the other’s back and slowly rocked them both side to side.

Once Glisten's sobs finally died down and a small, comfortable silence fell on the two. Rudie still continuing his comforting, the weight of the other pressed against him felt even more so now.

“Did… did what I did work?” Glisten finally asks. “Did Toodles make it?”

“…yeah. I caught her.” The other answered. “She was injured… she still sometimes gets night terrors… but she’s alive.”

Glisten breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness… I really didn’t know if my ability would work on someone else without me… I’m glad it did. I-I was always scared I’d see her one of these days… looking like one of them. Becoming one like I am.”

“…it’s not the same without you around.” Rudie admitted. “But how’d you live? We though Vee-“

“She left me to die.” Glisten started to explain his side of events, pulling back slightly. “I blacked out after I sent Toodles away. Vee hit me hard and shattered my face. The pain was unbearable… I don’t know when I woke up, but I did. I saw Gigi… thought she’d hit me… but she just kept mindlessly wondering. I knew something was wrong because of it.”

Rudie listened to the mirror talk. Recounting how he figured out how to move between floors without the elevator. How the others who vanished and twisted left him to his own devices, but because they mindlessly wandered and acted on impulse, he had no one to talk to. No one to hold a meaningful conversation with. He’d tried finding Dandy. To get him to open the elevator. To let him return home… but he’d started losing hope. He started acting out as well.

He explained why his arms were tied together; what he’d found out about Twisted behavior. Impulse, desire, and strong emotional state. That’s what made a Twisted turn into the animalistic monsters they were now. And the reason Glisten held out for so long despite how hard his body fought him. It was the hope someone would find him.

Rudie listened to his words, an ever growing pain in his heart. Glisten always acted so pompous and full of himself, but he did have a heart of gold despite it. He liked being the center of attention, but knew how to share the spotlight because at least people wanted him around. He always acted like helping others was such a chore, but his words revealed that he was thankful to feel that want from others. He loved being sought out. To be useful. To feel wanted. To be loved.

Hearing him describe what separated a Twisted from a Toon confirmed in the reindeer’s brain that Glisten was Twisted even as he held onto the last scraps of his toon-self to keep him from hurting himself and others. If Rudie stayed, he knew in his heart that he would start to twist as well. He couldn’t do that to the others topside.

He glanced around where they were, he could see a couple items on the ground, but in the corner of his vision, he spotted one of the Ichor Machines. He looked back down as Glisten, who’d gone back to resting his head against his chest fur and felt his stomach twist in discomfort. He didn’t want to leave the toon, but knew he had to at some point. However; this wouldn’t be a simple task. It was part of a long game. A game of waiting, a game of patience.

“Why don’t we get up and stretch out our legs, hm?” He suggested. “We don’t want to wither away and wallow in self pity here, yeah?”

“…right…”

Rudie pulled away, Glisten letting out a whimper from the lack of contact as the other stood up before helping him back to his feet. Making sure the mirror’s feet were stable, Rudie offered him a small and soft smile.

“…you won’t leave me… right?” Glisten asked again.

“I won’t.” Rudie knew he was telling a lie, he just hoped his tone of voice was convincing enough for the Twisted to believe him.

——

Rudie did his best to slow down for the Twisted toon as they walked the floor, but he also took the time to note where each machine he had to complete was located and if there were any items on the floor he could pick up. He noticed a blue box stashed away on a shelf a little out of each and nodded to himself. He’d need to grab that on another pass.

Rudie was never the best at making plans. He just sort of did what his gut told him to do and dealt with the consequences afterward. So being put in a situation (granted he put himself in this situation) where he had to make a plan, it was nerve wracking.

He looked back over to the broken mirror. His sluggish movements and eye glued to the floor indicating that he didn’t want to trip. Rudie bit his lip. Yes, they weren’t on a level where they could have been considered friends in any capacity, but Glisten needed one right about now.

He reached an arm across Glisten’s shoulders and pulled him closer.

Glisten let out a gasp and stumbled slightly, his shoulder’s tensing as he was pulled into the other’s side. He tried to process what was going on, but the ichor in his body was making things foggy and hard to process correctly as he tried to comprehend the gesture’s intent. Did the reindeer like him? Was it him just being nice? They never got along and were more acquaintances than friends… but he did always find Rudie’s willingness to help others admirable.

Maybe it was the Ichor intensifying his feelings about things, but feeling the weight against his shoulders, the warm fur against his side, and listening to the clicks of hoof-steps was a much-desired comfort to him. Thinking back to times they’d interacted before, Rudie always seemed to stumble over his words and say the dumbest things, making their conversations awkward and stopping them abruptly. The reindeer actively avoided the mirror after a while unless he was asked to talk with him, but Glisten never truly knew why.

The last time they talked was the day Toodles went on her first and presumably only run. A simple compliment from Rudie. Nothing more. Though he looped back through each conversation he could remember and each time Rudie fumbled over his words, it was to compliment Glisten. To try and get to know him better.

Huh…

“So… do Twisteds need to rest?” Rudie asked, snapping him from his thoughts. “Like, do you ever get tired? How about eating? I mean… without a mouth I guess it would be hard to do so…”

“What? Oh… No. Twisteds don’t sleep. At least from what I’ve noticed they don’t.” Glisten responded. “I’ve tried a few times, but it’s like my mind refuses to slow down. Like I’m waiting for something to hurt me again. It’s like I can feel my heart pounding and the ichor in my body pulse. I can physically feel exhausted, but mentally feel like I can’t allow myself to stop.

As for eating… I’ve tried before. Crushed up a protein bar. Let it fall down my throat. Threw up what I ate not even ten minutes later. Tried again with pop, but my body was physically rejecting everything I tried to eat or drink. I stopped trying after a week. My stomach sometimes growls, but I don’t feel the need to eat anymore. I sometimes feel the pain from where Vee hit me though, if that counts for anything.”

Rudie shuttered, remembering the sound of Glisten’s cries as the elevator door slammed shut.

“…I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“You… you shouldn’t have been the one out there.” Rudie admitted. “You didn’t deserve that kind of fate. Had we all kept a better eye on Toodles-“

“Rudie.” Glisten stopped moving and turned more to face him, reached a hand up to place on his cheek, but stopped himself and pulled his arms back again, instead opting to shake a finger and gesture as he spoke. “No one is to blame for what happened. No one. What happened, happened. It was all just a series of unfortunate events…”

Glisten took a deep breath, dropped his arms and looked away, before continuing. “I know you care for many of us… but I cared too. I still do. If I could go home… I would… but I can’t…” he looked up and offered a sad smile, or at least what he hoped came off as a smile. “I’m just glad you’re here. You make things brighter.”

“…what?” Did Rudie just hear him correctly?

Glisten gestured with his head for them to keep walking, so they did. The mirror continued. “You Christmas toons always know how to light up a room with your presence. Always so full of energy, life… ‘the snow is more powdered on the other side’ as it were. I’ve never seen you sad, not once. But you especially… you always had this air about you. One that was eager and willing to throw yourself into a situation even if you didn’t know how to get out of it.

Reminds me of Cosmo in a way, but not in a ‘self-sacrificing’, ‘people-pleaser’ way. In a ‘I want to know how I can help’ kind of way. You want to be part of the solution, never the problem. You just want to know what direction to go. Someone points, and you go. Dangerous, but admirable.”

Rudie felt his cheeks heating up, his fur puffed up slightly. He wasn’t used to someone complimenting him so much. Yes, he loved praise for a job well done… But compliments? Especially from the one toon he’d tried and failed time and time again to form a relationship with? That’s… new.

“Well… um… I do what I can to help. It’s just who I am.”

“Exactly. But after doing this for months, it changes you. Yet even after encountering your first Twisted, you never faltered in your willingness to go out and explore. Ginger and Bobette started staying back.”

“W-well, they do good work around Gardenview. We earn our keep.”

“As humble and nice as always.”

Rudie let out a nervous chuckle. “I-I do try to be.”

Was this genuine or was this some tactic to try to get him to stay? Either way, he could feel his tail wag slightly at the compliments and praise. He was in between a rock and a hard place at this point. He knew that. As much as it would hurt him, he would need to leave Glisten if he wanted to live. He just needed to make sure the other didn’t suspect he was leaving or going to leave.

The perfect excuse came when his stomach growled.

“Did you forget to eat before coming down here?” Glisten asked.

“Uh… yeah. It’s late and I missed dinner.” Rudie lied. He didn’t miss dinner, but it was late. “Was helping Brightney organize her new books. We got distracted talking about things. Is it okay if I take a minute to see if there's, like, a protein bar or something around here? I won’t be gone long.”

Glisten seemed hesitant to say yes… but it was for food. “Hurry back?”

“I will. Just…” Rudie looked around and spotted a chair nearby. He let go of the other and jogged over to grab it. He tapped on it, listening for any sign that it may break. Hearing nothing, he jogged back over and set it down gently, closer to the wall. “Here we go. You can rest here. I’ll hurry as fast as I can.”

He extended a hand out toward the other and offered a smile, waiting for him to walk closer in order to help him sit down. The chair groaned, but it held. He gave another reassuring word that he’d be back as well as giving Glisten’s arm a squeeze before jogging away. He had maybe two minutes max. He had to make those minutes count.

—

Rudie didn’t know how long it had been, but through the night he’d make excuses to Glisten in order to get away from him in order to finish a machine, collect an item or two, and run back to shower the other in affection. He had one more to finish. One by the elevator. He didn’t see it at first as it was tucked away and in a corner behind some crates and shelves. When he did get to it, he wasn’t able to get much of it done before he felt the wheel suddenly stop.

He saw the light flash blue and ripped his hands away, taking a few quick steps away before deciding he could come back later and jogged off. He swiped a crayon box off the table he passed and quickly stashed them in his satchel as he made his way back to where he left Glisten. The other was nestled comfortably on one of the couches they’d found tucked away in one of the off-shoot rooms.

Rudie made sure to grab a few more throw pillows on the way back. To make his next sentence more believable.

“Sorry about that. You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to find-“

As he turned into the room, Glisten snapped his head to his voice, tears streaming down the uncracked portion of his face, causing Rudie to stop mid-sentence and walk over a bit faster, set the pillows and his satchel down and take a seat next to him.

“Hey… hey… it’s okay. I came back, see? I told you I went to go find more pillows.”

“You… you were gone for so long though!” Glisten’s tone sounded desperate as much as it did upset.

“I know… and I’m so sorry for that. But really, I went to go find more pillows for us to use. Wouldn’t want to get uncomfortable, right?” The reindeer reached up and wiped at the other’s black tears, noticing how much redder his eye had gotten. He was most likely walking on eggshells now. He had to be careful.

Glisten leaned into his touch, looking at him. “I don’t want you leaving for that long again.”

“I won’t.”

“Promise you won’t be gone for that long again.” Glisten asked, inching closer to the other. “Promise you’ll stay with me.”

Rudie felt his stomach twist again at the same time, his heart fluttering at the close proximity of the other. “I promise… I’ll be here while we rest. I won’t leave for that long again.”

“Good… good… having you here… keeps me sane. Keeps me grounded.” Glisten’s head became buried in Rudie’s chest fur. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Listening to his words hurt. They really, really hurt. He wanted to imagine the other saying that in any other context. One where they’d hit it off and became close friends. One where they’d spend nights hanging out; laughing and chatting away in Glisten’s old room. He’d say something witty, the mirror would laugh and comment on something about it. One thing would lead to another…

No… but that wasn’t the reality he was in. They both couldn’t have that. Sure, Rodger had been working on trying to find a possible solution to the ichor corruptions, but there wasn’t anything solid yet. Only theories and probably cures. Nothing tested. Nothing debunked.

Rudie wrapped his arms around the other and pulled him closer. The two adjusted themselves until they were both lying on the couch and nestled together. Rudie made sure he was shielding the other. As if he was protecting Glisten. Maybe he was. From what though, he couldn’t say. Maybe the actions he was going to pull? Ones that would most likely hurt the both of them?

He could only hope this worked.

“Let’s try to get some rest.” He suggested.

“…I don’t think I’ll be able to…” Glisten replied softly.

Rudie chuckled. “I mean… you were alone then. Maybe now that I’m here, you can get some actual sleep.”

“…maybe. I hope so.” The mirror mused. “It would be nice to finally get some sleep.”

“Then let’s try… okay?”

“…okay.”

Rudie felt tired, sure, but he knew better than to sleep outside of the safe zones. He just hoped that if he stayed still long enough, he would feel the other’s body pass out and he could make his final move. He focused on the grip one of Glisten’s hands had on his fur. It was tight and slightly painful, but he knew that once it was loose, he was good to go.

He couldn’t hear the other breathing unless he strained his ears, but he could swear up and down that he could feel puffs of breath on his fur.

He didn’t know how long it took. An hour? Two? Maybe only thirty minutes - Rudie really didn’t know how to tell time - but slowly, Glisten’s grip started to loosen on him. As soon as he felt it fully loosen and he heard the soft ‘thud’ of his hands hitting the cushions below them, Rudie tested the waters and started to slowly maneuver himself off the couch, trying to make as little sound as possible.

Once he was on his feet, he grabbed the pillows he’d snagged earlier and carefully placed them around Glisten on the couch, resecured his satchel, and as slowly and as quietly as possible left the room.

When he was far enough away, he felt comfortable enough to turn it into a brisk pace back to the machine that was left unfinished.

He looked around, checking to make sure there were no signs of Connie being in the machine. Once he was satisfied that she wasn’t there, he got to work, turning the handle once more.

—

The elevator opening once more caused Glisten to wake up with a start. He could have sworn he’d imagined it, but as he started to settle back down, he noticed the warmth and distinct smell of spiced apple cider and balsam was gone which caused him to fully awaken in a panic.

His mind snapped things into place. The elevator sound, Rudie being missing and going on those ‘excursions’ to get things without him. He was lied to. Rudie was leaving him. He was going to be alone again.

No.

No, no, no.

He couldn’t! He- He didn’t want to be alone again!

He started running.

He needed someone here! He needed someone who’d reassure him, tell him what he wants to hear, love him even though he was this… this monster! Rudie made him believe that! Was it all a lie?!

He rounded the corner where the working elevator was, watching as the Reindeer started to step on.

“NO! NO, YOU PROMISED YOU’D STAY WITH ME!” Glisten’s words startled Rudie who looked towards him, his eyes wide with fear, but also something else. Pity? Sadness? The ichor seeping into his mind was clouding his ability to tell.

“… I… I’m sorry, Glisten.” Rudie stammered out. “But… but I can’t stay here. People need me.”

“BUT I NEED YOU, RUDIE! WHAT ABOUT ME?!” Glisten wailed. “YOU PROMISED!”

“…I know… but I can’t keep that promise.” was all the reindeer could say before stepping onto the elevator fully.

“NO! I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE AGAIN!” Glisten ran towards the elevator. Trying to catch it before the door slid shut.

When did his arms become unbound from one another, he can’t remember, but it was all in vain as the heavy door hit the floor, cutting Glisten off once more. He banged on the metal door. Screaming and wailing. Wishing to tear it open.

“RUDIE! COME BACK! RUDIE! RUDIE!!!”

—

His hand hovered over the button he’d pressed, listening to the wailing as it grew quieter and quieter as he ascended the floors. The hurt he felt from Glisten’s words echoing through to his soul. There was a ringing in his ears and he could feel his lifeblood pumping through his body.

He felt like throwing up.

He really felt like throwing up right about now.

But he had to remain strong. He did this for a reason. He did this to help the others in the safezone. Sure, it wasn’t as plentiful as he’d hoped… but the bandages and extra medkits would help no matter how many he’d collected.

His hand finally dropped from hovering over the button when he heard the door open behind him.

“The elevator’s back!”

“Oh- oh my maker! It’s Rudie! He’s alive!

“Rudie!”

He turned to look at the voices and finally stepped out of the elevator. Bobette and Ginger running up to him, concern on their faces as the cookie looked him over and Bobette grasped onto his shoulders, looking up at him.

“Rudie! You scared us half to Twisting! How long were you gone?!” The ornament asked.

“What… what time is it?”

“It’s about 8:30 a.m., why does that matter?!”

“Then… all night?” The two toons looked to each other, shocked, before looking back at him.

“Oh my maker, Rudie! Why didn’t you tell anyone?! You could have gotten killed down there!” Bobette stated.

“We would have known! That was so irresponsible of you!” Ginger added. “You’re covered in Ichor, you have bags under your eyes. Did you sleep?”

“Not… not really?”

“Oh my maker.” Ginger threw her hands up and started walking away, only to quickly come back. “Why did you stay out all night, Rudie?!”

“I… I saw Bobette’s inventory book.” He explained, pulling off his satchel, offering it to her. “We were running low on medical supplies due to the last few expeditions… I wanted to help. I also gathered some stuff for Rodger, some food stuffs, and some crayons for Toodles and the craft siblings to use.”

Ginger took the bag and propped a knee up to open it and look at the contents inside. Her eyes widened and she showed the contents to Bobette. “You.. you did all of this? I- I mean woah, this is huge… this is all going to help a lot… but Rudie…”

“You know I like to help where I can.” Rudie offered a smile.

Their expressions changed from shock to concern again.

“Are you okay?” Bobette asked.

“I… I’m okay…” Rudie lied, his voice cracking. The two female toons sharing a look, but knowing Rudie, he wouldn’t tell them until he was ready. Bobette reached up with a hand and wiped away tears that started to fall from his eyes.

“Okay… let’s go get you cleaned up. Thank you for getting all of that for us… but don’t do it again. We don’t want to lose you. We care about you. We all do, Rudie.”

“…I… I won’t, Bobette.”

“Please promise me you won’t.”

The feeling in his stomach gave a final twist.

“I… I promise. Hey… I… I’m still nice… right?”

That question threw her off somewhat. Why would he question himself like that? Did something happen down there? Maybe he’d tell them, but in due time. All she could do in the meantime is offer him a warm smile

“You’re at the top of the list.” She reassured him, starting to lead him away from the Lobby. “Now, let’s go get you cleaned up.”

[stollenwurm-writes]

A new fic!

After a very busy year, I suddenly had some free time and this wrote itself on a whim. It’s rare for me to write something without planning first.

Kaleidoscopes hasn’t been abandoned, just been too busy. And didn’t want to stop myself from getting back into the flow when a sudden urge to write something else came along :)

[haveyoureadthisfanfic]

Anon Positivity! *BAPS YOU WITH MY PAWS BAPS YOU WITH MY PAWS BAPS YOU WITH MY-

AAAAAAAAAAAAA

[gaipasgoldchain]

I need help from the bap K-pop fandom for a fic I’m writing please

[kumakuramata]

This blog is made for Mature Audiences (18+) only viewer discretion is advised.

Hello! My name is Kuramata Kuma and I am a wannabe Vtuber, Editor, and Writer! This blog is full of all things writing, bulky men, and creative announcements! See below for my writings, tags, Ko-Fi, and other recommendations!

*note that many content that is provided here may look familiar as Maribelle C. That is also me and that blog is now inactive.

Masterlist

Archive of Our Own | Asian Fanfics

KPOP

Chanyeol x Mirai { Tiny & Gigantor } FxM

Infatuation (BandMember!Chanyeol, Neighbor!Mirai)

Morning (18+ Only)

Cute Guy Alert

Love in Aquaria: The Bodyguard and the Hermit Witch (18+ Only, BodyGuard!Chanyeol, Witch!Mirai)

KNK

Long Enough (College!Youjin/Brother’sLittleSister!OC)

Heat (18+ Only, Youjin/WerewolfFilipina!OC)

Prenuptial Agreement (Prince!Youjin/PrincessFilipina!OC)

Beauty and the Fool (Highschooler!Heejun/BlackF!OC)

In San Francisco (PersonalAssistant!Youjin/BossF!OC)

Sleep Train (Youjin/F!OC)

BAP

Don't Take Overly Friendly Dogs Home (18+ Only, Yongguk/WerewolfF!OC)

Wonho

I Forgot Something (18+ Only, PersonalAssistant!Hoseok/BossF!OC)

Anime

Crossover

When the Worlds Collide (18+ Only, Kakashi/F!OC, SERIES)

Jujutsu Kaisen

Under (18+ Only, DILF!Toji/F!OC)

Sucker (18+ Only, Nanami/F!OC)

It’s All For You (18+ Only, BusinessMan!Nanami/RoommateF!OC)

Finally Mine (18+ Only, BusinessMan!Nanami/SuccubusRoommateF!OC)

Record of Ragnarok

No Gods (18+ Only, Qin Shi Huang/FBunnyHybrid!OC)

Naruto

Perfect for Me (18+ Only, Yakuza!Kakashi/OC)

Video Games

Dynasty Warriors

TBD

Resident Evil

After Hours (18+ Only, Semi-Canon, Carlos Oliveira/Filipina!OC)

Alpha/Beta Requests

I am currently open for both Alpha reading and Beta reading on my Ko-Fi. Please note the difference--Alpha Reading is where I approach your work as a writer, while Beta Reading is where I approach your work as a reader. If you would like me for either, I am currently open for reviewing! Please send a message on my Ko-Fi account

Author/Mangaka Recs

Original authors:

Mariana Zapata (Slow Burn & Age Gap)

Tessa Bailey (Contemporary and Nasty)

Maya Banks (NASTY, NASTY, NASTY)

Sylvia Day (Nasty)

Eve Dangerfield (Nasty, smut)

Raven Kennedy (Funny, nasty, adult fantasy)

Mangakas:

Umekoppe

Tomomitsu Yamamoto

[nfnfnfnfndnfkfjfndksjsndnxjsojsn]

[the-s1lly-corner]

Sharing the bed with various CRP characters 2/2

You can likely find part 1 within the Masterlist! I try to keep it as up to date as possible!

Characters: Laughing Jill, Jane, Ben, Ticci Toby, Nina

Notes: Reader is GN, can be seen as romantic or platonic

CWs: Edit later

Laughing Jill

Shes a little more patient than Jack when it comes to waiting for you to wake up.. she sometimes plays with your hair while you sleep! She doesnt really need to sleep, but she can fake it better than her make counterpart. Also very warm and soft, so that's a bonus! 7/10

Jane

Has a night time routine, always comes to bed smelling nice from a shower. Warm, too. She tends to stay up a little later and read, so shes usually second to fall asleep. Very mindful about you, makes sure not to accidentally wake you up. Early bird as well, leaves you a note if she leaves before you wake up. Doesnt toss and turn all that much in her sleep, not a cuddler though... 6/10

Nina

Teases you every now and then when you guys share a bed- "oh this is just like my fanfiction-" and she proceeds to ramble a bit. It's just her bedtime story! Keeps her phone brightness down so you can fall asleep, but sometimes you two stay up reading a fic together- its always a good time! Sleeps sprawled out on the bed, has probably accidentally bapped you in the face.. 7.4/10

Ticci Toby

Very cold, but he doesn't move all that much in his sleep asides from his tics, though of course that's not his fault. You guys have a big blanket because sometimes he snags it in his sleep- larger makes it easier to share! More room to play tug of war! Beginning of the relationship he sleeps on the edge of the bed but overtime he slinks closer to you 6.5/10

Ben

Given that hes mostly stuck in tech the majority of the time, you're pretty much sleeping with your phone or laptop in bed. Oh he would definitely play random videos on your device- from scary obscure stuff to those random building videos.. it's a bit of a gamble every time you open your eyes to the sound of a video quietly playing 2/10

[itzchrissydoesstuff]

🍞Ticklish👑

A Silly Trinity (Breadwinners & Michael Jackson crossover) fanfic

Synopsis: During one of their visits to Neverland Ranch, SwaySway and Buhdeuce find out that Michael is extremely ticklish, therefore, they decide to use this new piece of information to their advantage…

Content warnings(s): meh, just silly stuff 🤪

Author’s Note: Hiii!! This is my first one shot fanfiction. Constructive criticism and suggestions are welcome! Also, HOOOO BOY, this took a lot out of me 🥱 one more thing, THIS IS JUST A JOKE! Please don’t take it seriously. K byeeeeee

————————————————————————

*Neverland Ranch*

“BAP!!” Buhdeuce jumped up in front of SwaySway, who was lying on the couch watching the tv in the living room of Michael’s house at Neverland.

“Ah-!“ Before SwaySway could finish his small yelp out of frightened surprise, he fell face flat on the floor. A few seconds later, he carefully rose from the floor and sat up on the couch.

“Buhdeuce, you surprised me!” He said with a small grin on his face, still a little shook from Buhdeuce’s sudden entrance. “What’s up, bap?”

Buhdeuce jumped up and sat down next to SwaySway on the couch. His face was lit up with excitement that he couldn’t sit entirely still. “You won’t believe what I just found out about Michael!”

“Ooh, what is it?” SwaySway turned to look at Buhdeuce. From the looks of how eager Buhdeuce was, SwaySway became intrigued in what his best bap wanted to share with him.

“It turns out that Michael is extremely ticklish! I saw a clip online earlier this morning where Michael got his foot tickled by… oh, what’s the director’s name?” Buhdeuce’s face immediately went from excited to perplexed as he couldn’t figure who else was in said clip.

“We can figure that out later.” SwaySway interrupted to spare Buhdeuce the time to think. “So, why is this so exciting to you?”

Buhdeuce’s smile suddenly turned into a mischievous smirk as he giggled and stood up on the couch on his tippy toes to whisper in SwaySway’s ear.

“What if we snuck up on Michael and tickled him non stop? He won’t see it coming!” Buhdeuce whispered as quiet as he could just in case Michael or anyone else was listening.

SwaySway let out a quiet gasp and like Buhdeuce, he started to show a mischievous smirk on his face. He certainly liked the sound of that idea. The two looked at each with the same look on their faces as they started to plot their silly ambush that Michael had no idea was coming.

“This is gonna be so hilarious” SwaySway grinned. “Wait, where is Michael anyway?”

“I think he’s in his bedroom. He probably had to take care of something.”

“That makes sense.”

“Oh my bap, I can’t wait to see the look on his face once we start tickling him!” Buhdeuce chuckled in anticipation.

“I know, right? He won’t know what hit him!” SwaySway smiled along with his bap.

The two baps chuckled mischievously while rubbing their hands together as if they were planning something diabolical (which they technically were). There was no doubt that this was going to be the most hilarious and silly thing they’ve ever done. Their anticipation was quickly cut short when they both heard footsteps coming from the stairs.

SwaySway quickly turned his head and then whispered to Buhdeuce. “I think he’s coming! Quick! Hide!” The baps crawled and hid under the couch before Michael came into the living room, his poor soul not knowing what was coming for him.

As Michael walked into the living room, he saw the tv still running, but to his surprise, no one was in there.

That’s weird… Michael thought to himself. SwaySway and Buhdeuce were just here. I was only gone for two minutes.

It’s true that SwaySway and Buhdeuce often got themselves into crazy shenanigans, but little did Michael know, he was in for a real surprise. “SwaySway? Buhdeuce?” He called out for them, no answer.

Meanwhile, the duck duo was still hiding under the couch, holding back laughter like their lives depended on it. It was so funny to them how Michael had no idea where they were and wasn’t expecting what was to happen in a moment.

“Alright.” SwaySway whispered as quietly as he possibly could. “On the count of three, we’re gonna jump out, tackle him, and then, it’s tickle time!”

Michael walked over to the window to see the rocket van still facing downwards from when SwaySway and Buhdeuce crash landed. There’s no way they’d left if the van is still there. While Michael was thinking about where the ducks could be, there was a sudden noise.

Buhdeuce had such a hard time keeping in his laughter, a small giggle had slipped out his beak. Before he could let out some more and blow their cover, his beak was covered by SwaySway, who told him to ‘Shh’. Just when they thought they were safe, they heard footsteps again, and this time, it was coming closer to them.

“I think he’s coming towards us! It’s now or never.” SwaySway quietly alerted his smaller bap. “On the count of three, we’re gonna jump out and tickle him.”

“Guys, is this some sort of trick you’re playing on me? Very funny.” Michael said, trying to get the ducks out of hiding.

“You ready, bap?” SwaySway double checked with Buhdeuce.

“I���m not just ready, I’m bready!”

Michael slowly approached the couch, certain that SwaySway and Buhdeuce were hiding under. “What’re you guys up to?” He questioned.

Without another second to waste, SwaySway slowly counted to three. “One… two… THREE!!”

Right before Michael could get any closer, SwaySway and Buhdeuce jumped out from under the couch and tackled Michael in an instant, causing him and the ducks to fall back on the carpet, narrowly missing the coffee table and Michael’s fedora flying off his head.

“AAH-!” Michael shouted from the sudden impact. Just when he thought it was all over, he started to feel a funny sensation coursing all throughout his body. He lifted his head to find SwaySway and Buhdeuce tickling him from head to toe.

“What the? SwaySway! Buhdeuce! What’re you…” Before Michael could finish his question, his screams immediately turned into laughter as the funny sensation from being tickled took over him.

“Wow, Buhdeuce!” SwaySway giggled as he tickled Michael’s side. “You were right! Michael is SUPER ticklish.”

“Yep yep!” Buhdeuce agreed.

“Wait- ahahahahaha!” Michael struggled to speak as he couldn’t stop laughing so much. “Where were you- AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

As the ducks continued to tickle the very ticklish man, from his arms and stomach, to his shoulders and legs. As they went on, Michael was rocking from side to side on the floor, his laughter becoming louder.

“NOO, stop- AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!” He demanded. But as much as he tried to reason with them and break free from their sudden ambush, they continued their silly shenanigans. It wasn’t even long before Michael gave in and succumbed to their tickle attack, still laughing like there was no tomorrow.

“AHAHAHAHAHA!! That- AHAHA!! …tickles so… AHAHAHA! …so much!!” Michael was laughing and hollering so much, tears were forming in his eyes and rolling down his face.

The baps chuckled at Michael’s silly, vulnerable state as they showed him no mercy, whatsoever. “Tickle, tickle, tickle! How you like that, Mike?” SwaySway teased. Buhdeuce chimes in. “Look at you. You’re a hollering mess!”

“AAH NOO- AHAHAHAHAHA!!” Michael continued to squirm around, hollering with laughter, tears streaming from his eyes from the extreme, silly sensation coursing through his body.

Eventually, the ducks look at each other with mischievous smiles on their faces. Agreeing that they’ve tickled Michael enough, their hands slow down and retreat from Michael’s body. They look over at Michael, who’s down on the floor laughing his head off, also hyperventilating with his face riddled in tears.

“O-oh…” Michael tried to speak between jagged breaths. “…my gosh…” He was completely out of it, he couldn’t even move as his chest moved up and down from breathing so rapidly, his heartbeat racing like crazy.

Sway and Deucer continue to look down at Michael, giggling with pride at what they’ve done to him. Soon enough, Michael’s breathing starts to regulate again. He sits up to look at the ducks, smiling and chuckling from their goofy little prank.

“Oh, you guys!” Michael giggled. “You got me REAL good.”

“We sure did!” Buhdeuce looked at SwaySway. “We just couldn’t not pull a good prank on you, Michael.”

“Well, I think I needed that.” Michael grabbed his fedora to put it back on. “You guys never fail to keep me on my toes and cracking up.”

The three of them stand back up, SwaySway holding Buhdeuce in his arms. “Well, we’re not called The Silly Trinity for nothing” Sway grinned. “Yep yep!” Buhdeuce agreed, giggling in SwaySway’s arms.

“That’s true, but now…” Michael began to wiggle his fingers. “…it’s my turn now!”

SwaySway and Buhdeuce are caught off guard, realizing it’s THEIR turn to be tickled now. In an instant, Sway starts sprinting away from Michael, Buhdeuce still in his arms as Michael runs after them, continuing their goofy shenanigans.

————————————————————————

Written by ChrissyDoesStuff

‼️DO NOT STEAL‼️

Aaaand that’s all folks! Let me know what ya’ll thought about this and feel free to request more of these! Love ya’ll! 💕✨

[imtrashraccoon]

And here we are! I wrote this oneshot for @wendelin-utt as a prize for being so dedicated to booping everyone during the April Fools event. (Shut up, it is not fifteen days late!) They requested MC being isekaied and meeting Nostra.

Nostra is owned by @megalommi

Partially inspired by an audio by @improvidence318 and a oneshot by @aka-indulgence

Thank you! (I apologize if tagging any of you was annoying!) 乁⁠(⁠ ⁠•⁠_⁠•⁠ ⁠)⁠ㄏ

My Papa is a Hypnotist...and a Mobster?!

SkeletonChild!Reader & Nostra (Platonic if it wasn't already obvious.)

Word Count: 4,558

Our story begins in a dark room. It could be a bedroom or an office, but sitting in front of a desk, framed by the glow of their computer monitor is our protagonist.

And what are they doing at this ungodly hour you might ask? Well, dear reader, they are dedicating their very last moments to what will become a life changing event.

And the name of that event? The Boop-meter.

Overnight, their favourite hellsite had gone wild with the concept of...booping. You press a button and your target gets booped with a virtual kitty paw.

Truly a revolutionary idea.

Our protagonist has been clicking away at their computer for hours by now. Their goal? To achieve the coveted status [TUM BLR] and max out as many Boop-meters as they can at the same time.

Why? Well, clearly the site admins gave them too much power. Bapping strangers with hundreds upon hundreds of kitty paws without having to leave the comfort of your home? Well, no mortal alive could resist such an allure.

Ding!

That wasn't the sound of a Revenge Boop.

It seemed someone had sent you an Anonymous Ask.

"Do y0u bEli3ve iN 0thEr wor1ds?"

You snickered. No one used leetspeak unironically anymore and it was such a random question too. Your nimble fingers flew across the keys as you typed out an appropriately silly response.

"Sure, if it means Nostra exists somewhere! My life would be complete if I could get the chance to meet him!"

You went back to the vigorous tapping that maxing out these Boop-meters all but required. A few minutes later though, you received another ask.

"Bo0p!"

It occurred to you that when you set up your blog, you had forgotten to enable asks. So how had this Anon gotten through...?

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light from your computer.

Everything went black...

~ - < ฅ⁠^⁠•⁠ﻌ⁠•⁠^⁠ฅ > - ~

Where were you?

No matter how much you tried to blink them away, your vision was covered in bright spots.

The first thing you noticed was that you were outside in an alleyway. The second thing was that the world seemed so much bigger than before.

You could hear sounds of a struggle and when you looked around, spotted three figures in suits kicking another on the ground. It was then that you noticed that you were sitting in a pile of...ash? It stuck to your clothes and irritated the gaps in your bones.

Bones...

Why...were you a skeleton...?

Your ribcage hurt and it felt like your soul was going to burst.

This wasn't real. It couldn't be real.

All of the fanfiction and manga you had read hadn't prepared you for this. It felt like the world was rapidly spinning around you; as if you were stuck in the eye of a hurricane.

What had happened?

Living skeletons weren't real. You'd often wished they were but you knew it was impossible since magic didn't exist and never would. So that begged the question, had you just been transported to another world?

The thought was exciting and terrifying at the same time. On one hand you were fascinated with the idea that magic could exist and that you might be able to use it. On the other though, you were alone and knew nothing about the rules of this world. For all you knew, this society was vastly different from the one you had grown up in and there was a good chance that you wouldn't understand the local language.

It didn't help that you felt so small.

At some point, the sounds of struggle ceased and suddenly there were several people crowded around you. They spoke in hushed tones and you could tell just by looking at them that something terrible had just happened.

Through context clues, you managed to piece together that "you" had been heading home from the cinema with "your mother" when the unthinkable happened. They didn't seem to know if the attack had been premeditated or completely random though.

The men in suits looked really tough and seemed to have been acting as bodyguards, which explained why they had been beating up the thug who'd presumably been the one to carry out the grisly deed. So, did this mean that you were someone really important in this world?

Thankfully, they seemed to interpret your silence and bewilderment as symptoms of shock, which wasn't entirely wrong, as this whole situation was incredibly overwhelming. You were apparently lucky to have survived at all.

The next few hours were a bit of a blur. You were whisked away to what you soon learned was a safehouse, where you were examined by a kind bunny monster who you assumed was a doctor. She was very gentle and did her best to calm your nerves.

You ended up taking a nap since you were rather worn out from the whole ordeal. Although, not even an hour later, you were woken up to the sound of muffled voices outside the dimly lit bedroom.

"S-sir! Please, I know you're worried, but-"

The speaker was cut off by a much more gruff voice. "doctor...i need to see them now."

There was a beat of silence before she answered in a much calmer tone. "Yes... Of course, forgive me for overstepping, sir..."

He hummed in a non-committal way. "don't let anyone disturb us until i return."

"Yes sir."

You sat up and brought your legs up to your ribs, so that your chin was resting on your knees. At the same time, you tugged the blanket closer, only leaving your skull exposed as you peeked out from beneath it.

The door opened and another skeleton stepped softly into the bedroom. He was actually shorter than you'd expected but he had a rather stocky build that more than made up for it. He was wearing a dark tailored pinstriped suit, an expensive looking red and blue striped tie that had been hastily knotted, a pair of high quality leather shoes, and a blue suit jacket that he'd evidently thrown over his broad shoulders.

If it wasn't for the concerned look on his face, you might have been scared of him. He had sharp teeth that reminded you of a shark and his crimson eyelights only served to highlight how dangerous he was.

Your eye sockets widened when it suddenly struck you who this mysterious skeleton was, which he unfortunately seemed to interpret as fear, and his bonebrows furrowed. He clenched his fists and for a moment, he seemed to war with himself on how to best approach you.

That mysterious Anon must've done this! You had no clue how or why though. Still, you weren't complaining since it seemed like you'd gotten your wish. You were actually going to meet Nostra!

He moved carefully to the bed and knelt down on the floor to seem more approachable. You were desperately trying to keep a straight face but inwardly, you were practically screaming that this was actually happening right now.

"how are ya feelin', buttercup?" he asked softly.

"I... I'm okay..." you stammered.

His concern seemed to melt away and he gave you a warm smile. "good, i'm glad." He gently stroked your forehead with his knuckles and while you were a bit concerned at first, the sensation was actually rather pleasant.

You didn't know what to say, so you just sat there and let him continue trying to soothe you. His movements seemed a bit stiff but also incredibly tender at the same time, almost as if he wasn't used to comforting a child. He was so careful not to hurt you with his claws that, if you didn't know better, you wouldn't think he was even capable of actually using them to hurt someone.

At some point, you became so relaxed that you let go of your knees and sat up properly. In response, he wrapped his other arm around your small frame and pulled you up against his chest. You didn't really know if you should hug him back, so you ended up just sitting there and letting him hold you.

"i'm sorry that i wasn't there when ya needed me most," he murmured. His voice sounded more husky all of the sudden, as if he was desperately trying to keep his emotions in check.

You lightly patted his arm in an attempt to comfort him. "Don't cry," you whispered. "I'm here and everything will be okay."

His hold tightened ever so slightly before he hugged you closer. He very gently nuzzled against the top of your skull but didn't say anything else.

~ - < ฅ⁠^⁠•⁠ﻌ⁠•⁠^⁠ฅ > - ~

As the days passed, you began to get used to both your new body and this new world. You tried to play the part of a grieving child and while you were pretty sure you'd been convincing, you still worried that someone would notice that something was up. You were kept inside most of the time and almost never left alone, but that didn't stop you from gathering as much info as you could.

Everything felt like you'd stepped foot into the eighties. From the decor and styles of furniture to the absence of a lot of common technology to the types of clothing people tended to wear. There was a sort of charm to it though.

The safehouse was quite a bit larger than you'd first thought and had a few dedicated staff to handle the upkeep of the place. They ignored you for the most part and other than the nice bunny doctor, who you'd since learned was named Miss Flopsy, Nostra became your primary caretaker.

While he was often busy, he regularly set aside his work to spend time with you. If you even briefly suggested wanting something, he was quick to make sure you got it, no matter what it was or how much it might cost. You were only slightly tempted to take advantage of his generosity but had managed to keep your requests pretty reasonable so far.

You could sense that Nostra was grieving, even though he was quick to put on a smile whenever you were around. He was trying to be there for you but it was pretty easy to tell that he was struggling, in more ways than one. You knew it must be rough for him to have lost his partner as well as almost losing his only child.

You really couldn't help but try to comfort him but was hard. While you knew some children could be very empathetic, it would seem strange for a child to approach the topic like an adult might. So most of the time you would resort to giving him hugs and thanking him for every nice thing he did for you.

One evening though, you snuck into his office and, unbeknownst to him, caught him in a vulnerable moment. He wasn't really crying, but his body language seemed to suggest that he had recently, and he looked like an absolute wreck.

As quietly as you could, you crept around his desk until you were standing next to his chair. His skull was buried in his hands and by the empty bottle of scotch next to him, you knew that he had likely been drinking as well.

Hesitantly, you reached up and placed your small hand on his arm. "Papa?" you asked in a whisper.

Nostra stirred with a groan and turned to look down at you. His eyelights seemed much more dull than usual and there were dark grooves underneath his eye sockets. He was too worn out to even fake a smile like he had been previously.

"You look so tired."

He sighed and ran his phalanges over your cranium. "yeah... you've always been so observant, buttercup."

"Are you done with work yet?" you asked.

" 'fraid not. there's always more paperwork to finish or people to manage."

You crossed your arms and pouted, or at least the best you could manage to without lips. Nostra made a soft tisk sound before lifting you into his lap. He nuzzled the side of your skull and traced soothing circles into your shoulder blades.

"i'm sorry but that's just how it is at times," he said in a soft voice.

"I know," you grumbled. "But even if you can't sleep, you should at least make time to relax."

His movements suddenly stilled and when you glanced up at him, he had an odd look on his skull. He didn't seem angry, just slightly confused.

You pressed your teeth together as you tried to figure out what to say next. Something you'd said must've seemed odd. Were you not supposed to know that he couldn't actually sleep thanks to his hypnosis powers?

"I don't like seeing you so stressed, Papa. It makes me sad..." You trailed off and ducked your skull against his chest, muffling a sob as you did so. Hopefully your acting would be convincing enough that he would forget about whatever weird thing just happened.

After a moment, he pulled you closer and patted your back. "i'm sorry, sweetheart. i know it's not easy right now but i'm here for ya."

You clutched at his shirt and twisted the fabric. He'd probably have to have it ironed later but that was the furthest thing from your mind right now.

"Promise you'll take breaks from your work?" you asked.

He hesitated before pressing his forehead against your skull. "alright. just for you, buttercup," he hummed.

~ - < ฅ⁠^⁠•⁠ﻌ⁠•⁠^⁠ฅ > - ~

You might have been a bit too observant for your own good.

It didn't help that you were good at sneaking around and avoiding the people who were supposed to be taking care of you. It was actually something of a game to see how long you could stay out of sight and make them panic while searching for you.

One day, you were dodging your assigned tutor and managed to slip into the basement. You knew that you were forbidden from going down here but surely there wasn't anything actually dangerous. This was a safehouse; it was literally in the name.

So, imagine your surprise when you peeked into what looked like a meeting room, only to see Nostra was inside. You were about to step out of hiding when you suddenly realized that he wasn't alone.

Sitting across from Nostra was a well dressed older gentleman. He wore a black suit with a dark green tie and his fedora has been set on the table next to him. His posture seemed a little stiff, especially since Nostra was almost lounging in the chair across from him.

They seemed to have been talking for a few minutes, although you weren't entirely sure what about, but it looked like things were going well. You noticed they both had tumblers of what looked like scotch which seemed to indicate that this was a casual encounter.

You were about to leave before someone found you down here, when you heard Nostra ask the gentleman a question.

"do ya mind if i smoke, pal?" The man barely had a chance to respond before he pulled out an expensive looking cigar and lit up. "thanks."

You grimaced as the slightly pungent smoke began to lazily drift around the room. You hated when people were inconsiderate of others and smoked inside, but at least it didn't stink as bad as cigarettes generally did.

You would've left right then and there if the colour of the smoke wasn't so mesmerizing. There were two colours actually, a bright red and a vivid blue. The smoke curled around Nostra everytime he exhaled but oddly, the colours didn't mix together like you thought they should.

The mafioso probably thought it was some sort of monster cigar, but other than his eyes widening ever so slightly, he kept a stiff poker face. You noticed that he did seem a little uncomfortable with the smoke but not to the extent that you were.

"as i was sayin', the previous arrangement still stands. if ya want to move trucks through, ya gotta pay the tax, same as everybody else." Nostra's voice was low and measured, giving the sense that he was serious about this.

"And I'm telling you that your tax is too damn high," the man growled and clenched his fists in frustration. "We'd be selling at a loss..."

Nostra leaned forward slightly and exhaled, causing the coloured smoke to practically assault the pathetic man's senses. "seems to me that there's not enough demand... maybe your boss should be more worried about losin' ground than tryin' to jip me..."

The mafioso coughed and rubbed at his eyes with his fist. "How dare...you imply that...there's no...demand...?" He was struggling to speak all of the sudden, let alone stay awake.

Nostra chuckled, "oh i wasn't implyin' anythin' of the sort." He paused for a moment and studied the man in front of him with a smirk. "tell your boss to get his act together an' if he still wants to do business, he's gotta pay up."

The man suddenly slumped forward and nearly fell out of the chair.

Nostra sighed and shook his skull. "guess i overdid it again," he muttered.

The red and blue smoke slowly dissipated although he continued smoking his cigar. After a moment, he picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number. When the other person picked up, he spoke quietly into the receiver.

"i got a job for ya, get this waste of space out of my sight... i don't care where, so long as he's able to deliver a message to the lombardi's when he wakes up."

He returned the receiver to its cradle and ran a hand over his face. With a heavy sigh, he stood up and after taking one last glance at the dozing man, turned to the door.

You gasped and dunked out of sight, but you weren't fast enough. You knew you were caught when Nostra suddenly called out after you. With a sinking feeling in your soul, you hung your skull and braced yourself for the scolding that was sure to come.

Except Nostra didn't look angry, just very concerned. If anything he seemed almost horrified that you'd likely witnessed everything that just happened.

He knelt down to be more on your level and his crimson eyelights flicked over your face for a moment. "ya aren't s'posed to be down here..." he finally said.

You fiddled with the hem of your top, finding it incredibly hard to look him in the eye right now. "I know..." you muttered.

"i know you're curious, but there's things i do that i'd rather ya not know too much about right now."

"Like what?"

He sighed and stroked your cheekbone affectionately. "business stuff. kids like you deserve to have fun an' learn things while ya can, not be burdened with adult problems."

"Your magic is really cool though," you huffed and crossed your arms. "If you want someone to do something, all you gotta do is hypnotise them and bam!"

Nostra narrowed his eye sockets and scrutinized you again. "it doesn't always work like that, buttercup. sometimes people are smart, so it's not always wise to use magic right away."

You nodded thoughtfully, "I guess that makes sense."

He hesitated for a moment and then wrapped his arms around your small frame. "there's a reason i didn't want ya to know about this. my work is dangerous and i don't want ya to ever be in danger again, okay?"

You nodded and did your best to wrap your arms around his broad shoulders. "I'm sorry, I won't come down here again," you murmured.

~ - < ฅ⁠^⁠•⁠ﻌ⁠•⁠^⁠ฅ > - ~

"you're positive that's what happened?"

"I'm certain. You can ask Joey and Marco but I swear they were dusting. I remember there was a flash of light and the next thing I know, they were fine."

(...)

You were happily sketching away in your room. There was just so many interesting things in this world and as of late, your creative juices had been flowing freely. Although, you were very careful not to leave your drawings out for just anyone to see. It would probably be pretty suspicious for a child to have the skill level that you did when it came to art.

There was a gentle knock on the door that had you scrambling to hide your sketchbook under your sheets. You grabbed a random book from the bedside table and plopped yourself on top of the concealed drawings.

"hey, can i come in, sweetheart?" Nostra called through the door.

"Yep!"

You smiled brightly when he entered your room, but his expression remained serious, which was concerning. You waited until he had crossed the floor and sat down next to you on the bed before trying to figure out what was bothering him.

"Did something happen, Papa?" you asked carefully.

He frowned at that and you noticed his hands clench slightly before he took a steadying breath to try to calm down.

"no, but i was wonderin' about somethin', so i need ya to be honest with me, okay?" he asked in a quiet tone.

You pressed your teeth together as you set the book aside. You hadn't seen him act this seriously towards you before and it was frankly a little terrifying. Had you done something wrong? Could this be related to the attack that had happened before you appeared in this world? Had you slipped up somewhere?

Turning back to Nostra, you nodded. "Okay..."

"do ya remember what ya used to call your uncle?"

Your proverbial heart sunk. This was really bad! You hadn't even considered that his brother was even in this world and you sure as hell hadn't met him. Actually, you hadn't even met any of your mother's family now that you were thinking about it.

When you couldn't answer, Nostra's bonebrows pinched together with concern. "what about your birthday last year? do ya remember what flavour of ice scream ya had?"

"Chocolate?" you tried.

His face remained passive, giving no indication if that was even the right answer or not. "what about what your mother's favourite animal was?"

Again, you had no idea how to answer. Your mind was scrambling for any excuse to get out of this situation. Would it be too much of a stretch to claim that the attack had given you amnesia?

You jumped when Nostra put his hand on your back. He waited until you glanced up at him again before speaking.

"is there somethin' that ya need to tell me?"

The jig was officially up. You could hear your bones rattling from how badly you'd started shaking, but he was remaining firm, waiting for an answer.

"I... I'm not..." You were struggling to even speak at this point and your eye sockets were starting to sting, unshed tears threatening to burst through the dam and spill down your cheekbones.

"I'm not your child," you finally said.

Nostra's eye sockets widened a fraction and you felt the hand on your back twitch slightly, but he otherwise remained calm. "what do you mean?"

"I don't know how to explain it..." You stared at your hands for a moment as you wracked your non-existent brain for the words. "I look like them...but I have memories of being someone else. I'm...not even from this time period..."

He let go of you and ran his hand down his face with a heavy sigh. It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop if you weren't already nearly going deaf from all the rattling.

"Nostra, please...!" You started to reach for him but stopped yourself. Maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to potentially risk setting him off.

"I never wanted to hurt you..." you whispered, although your soul ached at the realization that by pretending to be his child, you had deceived him.

"where are ya from?" he asked.

You paused for a moment as you tried to figure out the best way to explain it. "I'm from another world... It's kind of like this one but without magic and monsters. You were...a character that someone created for fun..."

You could feel the way he was staring at you all of the sudden. You didn't blame him for being confused or even a little freaked out. You would be too if someone just randomly told you the things that had been coming out of your mouth.

"so, that's how ya knew i'm an insomniac..."

You nodded solemnly. "And how I know about how your hypnotism magic works."

"i...don't know what i was expectin' earlier... it wasn't anythin' like this though," Nostra muttered. "i thought maybe ya had memory loss or ya somehow absorbed someone else's soul... not somethin' this...complicated."

"I'm sorry."

He sighed and rubbed at the space between his eye sockets. "i should've done more. maybe i would've noticed sooner if i wasn't always so damn busy all the time..."

You remained silent.

"was it an accident?"

He was looking at you again and by the look in his crimson eyelights, you knew everything rested on the answer to his question. He didn't look angry, yet, but the way his pinpricks were flickering and how tightly he was gritting his teeth, you could see that he was barely containing his emotions.

"Yes. I was sent here without warning and I don't know if it's even possible to go back."

He held eye contact for several long seconds and you struggled not to look away for fear that he might think you were lying.

"i see."

"I understand if you're mad. I knew I shouldn't have tried to deceive you in the first place and there's really no excuse for my behavior."

"i'm not mad, not really... this is just a lot to process."

You reached over and placed your hand on his arm. "Again, I'm so sorry. If you want me to leave...?"

"no!"

You gasped at his sudden outburst but he quickly gave you an apologetic look.

"i'm sorry. just, don't leave..." He started to reach for you but hesitated, letting his hand hover near your face. "i know you're not them...but i can't handle losin' you too..."

You swallowed and blinked rapidly to keep the tears from breaking free. "If it makes you uncomfortable, I won't keep pretending to be them anymore."

Nostra nodded, "i need to think this over, but for now, i think that would be best." He cupped the back of your skull and when you gave him a slight nod, he pulled you into a careful hug.

You hugged him back as tightly as you could. While you weren't sure how your relationship would progress from here, you had hope that you could at least remain friends with him. Although you would need to work hard to establish something genuine.

Pretending to be his own kid was kinda weird anyways.

[ye-local-simp]

Ohoho I came here on the 4th, just before matchups closed hehe, can I ask for a twst matchup?

I'm an ISTP-T and an aquarius for starters, dunno if that'll help or not but eh

I tend to ramble abt things I enjoy, like oc making and fanfictions. I'm very cynical and think the world is a give and take sorta thing, no exceptions. I treat my OCs as my children (even though I give them shit ton of trauma but we don't talk abt that) anyways-

I like money, like, a lot of and swimming, I like swimming.

I have daddy and mommy issues and will make 'went to go get the milk' joke's, I enjoy both dark and sexual humor. I'm a lazy person and constantly feel lethargic (mom says it's my fault for that 🤷🏻‍♀️) I like to sing when I'm alone or with ppl I trust/like.

My significant other has to want children as well bc I really wanna be a mother when I get married so there's that, hope it narrows it down a bit

My love language is physical affection, and words of affirmation (giving) and gift recieving and words of affirmation (recieving) I sometimes playfully hit/bap ppl I'm close to as a sign of affection but sometimes I underestimate my strength and hurt them which makes me feel like shit.

Oh and I like purple 😁

You are matched with...

Idia!!!

-He also rambles sometimes so he knows that he can never judge you for that.

-He doesn't judge you for making fanfics and Oc designs.

-He will even help you animate the OC.

-He also has issues with his parents so he can definitely relate to later issues you have, so you both just have each other.

-He especially doesn't want your potential future children to suffer parents issues.

-On the topic of children, he doesn't mind having children with you, it isn't like it's impossible.

-Like; there isn't trouble affording it or taking care of them but he doesnt want to be seen as a wimp by his own Kids.

-And also being ready to be a father, a son is way different than a little brother like Ortho.

-But im the end he wants the best for the child.

[trashyswitch]

Day 1: Anticipation

When playing with BB, Seán teases Evelien about being absolutely wrecked the moment she gets off stream. But when she actually does leave the stream, Seán leaves her in a world of tickle-less confusion.

🎵It's the most wonderful tiiiime of the yeeeeeeear🎵It's Tickletober! We're finally here! And holy crap...It came a little too fast for my liking. But not to worry! I am still quite prepared this year. I had put out a question about whether I should write youtuber fanfictions...but ultimately decided writing fluffy fanfics that aren't in your face, will be allowed. So, there will be a couple new fanfics written about youtubers for tickletober, with respect to the real people.

So without further ado, I hope you enjoy!

Seán was spending time with BB, playing around with him and teasing him. “BB! Over here!” Seán said, wiggling his fingers a few feet away from BB. When BB lowered himself down in an attempt to strike, Seán continued to wiggle his fingers and tap them on the ground. “Come on, BB…You want it…I know you want it…” Seán teased. BB finally pounced onto Seán’s hand, and bapped it with his paws. Seán rolled BB onto his back and started scratching his belly with his fingers, making sure to focus on the cat’s sides. Evelien had been trying to focus on the game, but finally decided to put the controller down and watch the commotion behind her. Because let’s face it…She needs to take a small break from the stream. 

Seán spun BB around in a circle against the floor and caught his sides. “Bah!” He declared, before scritching his fingers on his chest and belly. 

“You look like you’re tickling him.” Evelien reacted. 

“Do I?” Seán asked, dramatically scratching his belly to emphasize it for the camera. 

“Yes! Why are you trying to tickle BB?” She asked. 

“I’m not! I’m giving him love scratches.” Seán replied. “You, on the other hand…” He wiggled his fingers at her. “I may just tickle later~” Seán teased with a smirk. 

Evelien looked at Seán with slight nervousness before looking at the camera. “Uh oh…” She muttered to the camera. 

The chat started to fill with comments from her audience as they asked questions and cheered on Seán. 

Evelien giggled as she read some of the comments. “Wish me luck, chat.” She said. 

Seán chuckled. “Imma tickle her so much, she won’t be able to stream tomorrow.” Seán teased. 

Evelien gasped and covered her mouth slightly. “Nooo! You wouldn’t.” She reacted. 

“Oho…” Seán walked up and rested his head on Evelien’s shoulder while wrapping his arms around the chair and her waist. “I would.” He finished his little tease before kissing her cheek. 

She smiled and leaned her head on the side of Seán’s head, enjoying his presence in the room while streaming. “I’m gonna try to end the stream here.” She told him. “Okay?” 

Seán giggled. “You’re really that excited for your doom?” Seán asked, poking her belly slightly. 

Evelien giggled and leaned back slightly. “Well…” She mumbled. 

“Alright.” Seán poked her side as he let go of her, and walked out of frame. “See ya soon.” Seán said, wiggling his fingers at her off camera. She chuckled with embarrassment as she tried to process what she had just seen. “...Well…” She looked at her computer and hummed as she remembered what she was gonna do before Seán had arrived. “I think I should keep playing for at least another 10 minutes. I still have a couple extra things to finish up before I end the stream.” She said. She played the game for another 10-15 minutes, before finally ending the stream and turning the live button off. She let out a small sigh as she turned off her camera and her microphone, before closing a few tabs on her computer. When she felt ready, she put her computer into sleep mode and got out of her chair. She headed out of her room, calling BB to follow her as she grabbed the doorknob. When BB was out, she turned off the light and closed the door. 

Evelien walked out to the living room, and sat down onto the couch. BB walked by the couch and laid somewhere else. “Hey Evelien.” Seán said. “Hi Seán.” She replied. 

“How was your stream?” He asked. 

She looked at him, antsy to get the playfulness started. “It was good.” She replied, slightly tense. 

Seán looked at his phone for a few minutes longer, before locking it, putting it down and looking at Evelien. “Cuddles?” He asked in a slight baby voice, opening his arms to offer her a hug. Evelien smiled and looked down a bit. Is this it? Is this his formal invitation to tickle town? She nodded her head and scooted herself closer to Seán before wrapping her arms around him. Seán wrapped his arms around her as well, and just held her for a while. 

She figured that after a few minutes of cuddles, Seán would want to pounce. So she watched his positioning and waited patiently for him to make the first move. A minute went by…then another 2 minutes…then another 5 minutes. Then another 10 minutes. 

She slowly looked at Seán’s hand, which was laying on her left side. Was…Was he…gonna do it yet? She kept watching his fingers adjust themselves slightly. She knew it was gonna happen any minute now. She just needed to be patient and hold out until then. 

Another 15 minutes went by, and still nothing. She began to frown slightly as she observed Seán’s hands. He still wasn’t doing what he promised. Maybe he was waiting until she let her guard down? So he could surprise her when she least expects it? Yeah…Maybe that was it. 

She soon decided to give Seán what he may have wanted, and tried closing her eyes and melting into his arms a bit more. Maybe if it felt like she was physically relaxed, and it looked like she was relaxed…then maybe this would be enough for him to finally pounce? 

Finally…after another 15 minutes…She opened her eyes and started poking his side. “Seán, please.” She said to him. 

Seán jumped and developed a wobbly smile almost immediately. “Wahaha- Ehevelien! Whahat are you dohohoing?” Seán asked. 

“You said you were gonna tickle me till I couldn’t stream tomorrow.” She reminded him. “Rihihihight nohow?” Seán asked. 

“Yes!” She replied, squeezing his belly lightly. “And I’m gonna hold you to that.” She added. 

“Ahahahaw, muhuhuffihihin.” Seán teased. 

She stopped tickling him. “Muffin!?” She reacted all dramatically. 

“Yeah! I wanted to cuddle for a while before destroying you!” Seán admitted. “But apparently you want it right away.” 

“Ihi do! I don’t want to wait anymore.” She told him outright.  “Why not? Cahan’t handle the anticipation?” Seán asked with a smirk. “Seán!” She reacted, poking his shoulder. “Stop teasing me, and just do it!” She ordered with an almost desperate smile on her face. 

Seán rolled his eyes with a smile and brought Evelien a slight bit closer. “Okay, okay.” He brought her hair back and put a pony into it. “So impatient.” He mumbled before dancing his fingers all over her ribs. “Is this what you wanted, Ms. Gabby Mc-Gabface?” He teased. 

She squeaked and threw her head back with breathless laughter, wiggling around in his arms as he tweaked her bottom to middle ribs. “HAhahahahaha! Yehehehehes! Fihihinallyhyhyhy!” She reacted, leaning against him. 

Seán raised an eyebrow. “Damn, okay.” He reacted. “Whahat?” she asked. 

Seán shrugged his shoulders, pausing his attack. “I didn’t know you wanted to be tickled so badly.” He admitted. 

“Well…I didn’t wanna force you.” She admitted, pouting slightly. 

Seán smirked and poked her sides a few times. “If you really wanted this so badly, then why didn’t you end the stream earlier?” He asked. 

She hugged her stomach as she shook her head. “Behehehecause Ihihi neeheheeded to fihihinihish sohomethihing on streheheheam firhrst!” She replied. 

“Oh yeah?” He reacted. “And what was this ‘thing’ you had to finish before your little date with the tickle monster?” He asked. 

“Ihihihi-” She threw her head back as she guffawed in surprise as Seán went up her ribs to her armpits. “BAHAHA- SEHEHEHEÁN!” She yelled. “HAHAHAHA! NAHAHAHAhahaha!” She yelled more, squeezing her eyes shut. “My god, you’re loud! I’m not even doing anything!” Seán reacted. “LIHIHIARHRHRRR!” She yelled back. 

“Wha-?!” Seán gasped and stopped tickling her. “How…DARE YOU!” Seán reacted. “The tickle monster does NOT tolerate such rudeness.” Seán warned. “Now COME HERE!” He reacted dramatically as he took in a big breath and blew a raspberry into her neck. 

Evelien laughed and wiggled around as Seán’s raspberries filled her poor ticklish neck. Just the vibrations were enough to tickle the life out of her. But on top of that, Seán was STILL wiggling his nimble fingers into her armpits! It was so unfair! But so worth the wait! 

Seán smirked as he saw Evelien purposefully leaving her neck vulnerable. “Another one?” He asked with a laugh. She nodded her head and listened as he took in a deep breath and blew another raspberry right onto her neck and jawline. 

She somewhat covered her mouth as she laughed her heart out in Seán’s arms. “SEHEHEHEÁN!” She yelled. “What? Isn’t this what you wanted?” Seán asked. 

“YEHEHEHEHES!” She reacted. 

“Then I don’t know what you’re calling me for. I’m just taking you to tickle town like I promised I would.” Seán replied. 

“IHIHI KNOHOHOW.” She replied. 

Seán smirked and looked at Evelien from the side. “One more raspberry for good measure?” He asked. 

Evelien giggled and nodded her head. Right as she nodded, Seán muttered an ‘okay’ and took in a deep breath before unloading one more raspberry onto her exposed neck. She giggled and took it with an iron will, letting herself laugh till her stomach hurt. It felt so freeing to be experiencing all this happiness. What did she do to deserve him? When the tickly vibrations began to calm down, her laughter began to lessen as well. It had only been a minute or two, and she was already growing tired in his arms. “Ihis…is thisthetiredness…I’ll feel…forthe…next whihile?” She asked. 

Seán kissed her head and cuddled her, closing his eyes. “Indeed it is. And for that, we have you covered. The tickle town has a comfy bed and breakfast for all your cuddly, sleepy needs.” Seán told her. 

She giggled a bit as he kept up his little bit. “And the best part?” Seán said, looking at her with a toothy smile. “The first night is always free.” Seán added. 

“Sounds good.” She replied, slowly closing her eyes. “S’undsss…..gooood.” she repeated one more time. 

It didn’t take long for Evelien to start breathing softly into a sleepy rhythm. Seán smiled and kissed her head again, and closed his own eyes too. They spent a couple hours just sleeping in each other’s arms, feeling safe and secure in each other’s presence. 

[silkendandelion]

Million Dollar Baby (completed), A One Piece fanfiction

Sir Crocodile x OC (male) Words: 40.8k Genre: Comedy, drama, smut, fluff

Summary: River and Crocodile have dinner with the owners of Nefertari Shipping, which goes about as well as you would expect. When neither of them can sleep, they finally talk about it.

Rated Explicit for sexual content and mature themes. Rating changes published per chapter.

There's a little smut at the end but not a lot.

Chapter 6

By the time Crocodile arrived at the hotel, the clock read almost 8:30, and he found the lobby suspiciously empty, save for a jet-legged mogul waiting for his taxi, and a flashy young couple with logo-patterned luggage checking in with the night clerk.

Despite this lull, the lounge nearly bursted with late-arrival guests sitting down to liquor and finger-foods, but still no sign of his beauty. He turned on his heel to leave, more frantic with every passing second that he might have been fooled, taken for thousands of dollars by a stranger—

Until he spotted him. Sat at the bar, easy to overlook when Crocodile had been searching for the blonde head from the night before. Their eyes met, too abruptly for him not to take a heartbeat to realize he should smile back.

Tall with proud shoulders in black silk, from his hair combed out of his eyes with pomade to the shine on his boots—he was breathtaking. As he stepped off the bar stool to greet him, Crocodile spotted a single-breasted waistcoat, snug to his figure and barely floral in low-contrast monochrome. Closer still, the lining of the suit popped in a flash of violet, the same velvet color in his eyes.

God, he wanted to undress him. Piece by handsome piece, kiss his skin until the world was even older and there was no one left but them.

“You’re very late. I almost thought you forgot about me,” said River with little bite.

Upon catching the glimmer of the tasteful diamonds in his ears, Crocodile finally found his voice. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“I look forward to it.” He smiled up at him, letting himself be led with a tentative touch to his arm.

Getting a cab, for someone like Crocodile in a neighborhood such as theirs, was as easy as extending his hand. Beside him, River wondered just how much of his life he commanded with only a gesture or a word. How little he wanted for anything, even attention.

“River.”

“Hm?” Said man didn’t look away from where he watched the cab flip on it’s signal to approach the curb.

“You look lovely.”

He supposed it hardly mattered, not when such wonderful, singular words like “lovely” were aimed at him. At least, it would certainly be nice while it lasted, to be sweet-talked while he rested comfortably in his shadow. His cheeks flushed, chest filled with fluffy cotton, but all he said, appropriately polite and deceptively sweet, was:

“It’s my job, after all.”

~*~

The Sandora lit up the block, an elegant, golden building to outshine even the rest of the opulence along the strip, with a starched concierge at the door to ensure all guests obeyed the dress code—and possessed a reservation. At Crocodile’s elbow, the usually flippant escort dialed in completely to his current assignment, too much so, jumping clear out of his skin when a curt tap to his arm signaled he was meant to follow.

“Hmph,” River grunted, offended, and his own hand shot out to bap at Crocodile’s arm in vague retaliation. He whipped his head over his shoulder to scold him, but River was quicker—

“It’s not a date but it is dinner. Aren’t I meant to soften your image? How can that work if you ignore me all night?”

“You—” He pursed his lips, and River spotted red creeping up his neck in the pregnant silence, among the quiet sounds of conversation and cutlery clinking. “You’re right. Forgive me, I usually attend these sort of meetings alone.”

River allowed himself to be coaxed from his annoyance by Crocodile’s palm extended in elegant offer, such solid evidence that the latter was entirely capable of being a perfect gentleman—if he so pleased. But the execution of business, River had begun to notice, tended to come first.

At the table, an older man with kind, crinkled eyes picked up his robes to stand to greet them, alongside a young woman with a modest blue dress, too old for her and warm-toned to compliment her tightly bound, sky blue hair.

“I hope we didn’t keep you waiting,” said Crocodile, gesturing for them to sit. “This is my associate, River Faustina. River, this is Cobra Nefertari and his daughter, Vivi.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” River greeted them both with firm handshakes, stepping out of the reach of the attendants who attempted to coral him into his seat. Vivi smiled behind her hand, glancing at her father as Crocodile sat down with none of the same fuss.

“I need to visit the lady’s room. Father, will you order for me?” She stood suddenly. Crocodile and Cobra effortlessly stood in respect for the lady leaving the table, which left River to clumsily shove his chair out after them, alas too late. The attendants smiled at each other when he found himself the only one standing, and plopped back down into his seat.

‘I thought you said there would be lobster,’ River whispered, holding his menu over his mouth like it did anything to hide his words.

“I can order for you if you’re at a loss,” Crocodile deadpanned back.

Across the table, Cobra thanked the waiter for filling his glass. “You know, River, I prefer lobster too. Some of these chefs get bored, I think, they start experimenting with things I’ve never heard of.”

“We’ll both have the fish. Scallops for the table, and whatever white the chef recommends with the meal,” Crocodile ordered as Vivi returned. Beside him, River sipped his glass with skepticism until he tasted it was just water.

The waiters all dispersed to leave them with wine and a cloistering silence, one Vivi was all too happy to break while her father picked absently at his cuticles. The fish couldn’t come soon enough.

“What exactly are your intentions with my father’s company, Sir Crocodile?”

River stopped nibbling on his lemon slice under suspicion of her aggressive tone but, beside him, Crocodile merely met her eyes over the rim of his wine glass.

“It will be dissolved. You and your father’s payout of the final value will be equal to your percentage held as shareholders. And you, Miss Vivi, will be the first person in your family to retire before 25 years old.”

“I have no desire to retire, Crocodile. Now or ever. I only care about the security of my father’s company that he has built since he was my age.”

“A company that is failing,” he said, and the waiters briefly paused their conversation to remove the appetizers and serve dinner.

“That’s not true,” Vivi argued, but her father’s silence beside her filled in the details that Crocodile spared them.

“Are you facing bankruptcy?” River spoke for the first time almost all night, to the entire table’s quiet surprise.

Having been introduced as Crocodile’s associate, Cobra had no qualms with answering his questions truthfully. “No, not at all. But I believe—and my accountants believe as well, we are entering a period of permanent decline. Too much of our field has been outsourced, we struggle to compete. Especially when our investors are pulling their support.”

“So how long will you fight?” said Crocodile. “Until your stocks are worth pennies and your daughter inherits nothing—”

“Oh, don’t pretend to care anything about what happens to us,” she spat. “You care about your profit, what will you get? 5 million? 10?”

Cobra reached his hand out to quiet her. “While Vivi phrases it poorly, she is right. I agreed to this meeting because you are a majority shareholder but…”

“Actually, I am the majority shareholder. As of this week.”

“We will buy back your shares,” said Vivi.

“You can’t afford it,” Crocodile fired back.

“We will… build the ships the Marines requested,” came Cobra’s quiet, resigned answer, sounding more like a question than the weak statement it already was.

“You? That’s unlike you, Cobra, for someone who has been the most vocally anti-war man I’ve ever met who shakes hands daily with the men who profit from it.”

“You are as shrewd as your father. And I had heard what a bastard he was,” Cobra said suddenly, harsh and too close to pitying for Crocodile’s taste.

“Not that it matters anymore. He’s passed away.”

River jerked his head up from where he was actually enjoying the fish to study the side of Crocodile’s face. He didn’t look back.

“… I’m sorry to hear that. I had no idea,” Cobra said. Compared to her father, Vivi’s fire would not be quelled, not when she believed he used the truth as a ploy to weaken their resolve. Not that it was beneath him, just not this time.

“It sounds like you have this all figured out then. So, you called us here to what? Give us notice for your master plan? To watch us squirm?”

“Vivi.” Her father scolded her, louder than he had spoken so far.

The table fell to suffocating quiet, broken by the clatter of River’s fork to his plate when his stomach pinched, too sour to finish his dinner. Darting between the aging CEO, his increasingly passionate daughter, River’s gaze laid the longest on the vulture who picked at them before they were even dead.

“What steps have you taken to compete?” He ventured. “Is it a clientele issue specifically, or rising supply costs?”

“Eat your food, River,” Crocodile said, low and precise in his words, his only warning to stick to the script.

“I’m serious, isn’t this unacceptable for what, one bad quarter? Two? Making predictions about negative growth that hasn’t happened yet?”

With his jeweled hand rubbing at his lips, Crocodile had no words for his date spouting off endless questions when he was meant to be just that—a date. Frankly, he was too stunned at River’s knowledge of what was happening at the table to do anything beside let him rattle on.

River, however, took the silence and three open-mouthed stares as nothing short of brutal, immediate rejection. “I—well, I’m—I mean,” he coughed, “I’m speculating.”

“And very well spoken,” Cobra insisted. On his lips, a calm relieved smile washed over him, his first of the night. “Crocodile, I will leave the conversation here tonight. Perhaps, you can learn something from the elegant company you keep.”

Vivi waited until her father rose to follow. “I agree. Goodnight, Sir Crocodile. It was a pleasure to meet you, River, and I hope we meet again.”

~*~

Not a word. Not one, single word spoken between them on the taxi ride home as River expected, but as he watched Crocodile mindlessly kick off his shoes by the door and pour himself a glass of dark liquor to take to the balcony—he wasn’t sure anymore that it was him he was displeased with.

He left his jacket on the couch beside Crocodile’s, wandering after him to offer a modicum of comfort as per their arrangement, but it wasn’t his voice that broke the silence.

“Where did you learn that? The questions you were asking at dinner,” said Crocodile. Inside his glass, the ice cubes clinked as they melted.

From so high above the street, the noise of the traffic hardly mattered, and River took a moment to let the wind cool the sweat where he popped his collar open. “I’m a student at the university. Hospitality and business management.”

“Why aren’t you in classes right now?”

“It’s expensive in this country to go to school. As soon as I write a check, that quick I’m behind again. But I just paid up my tuition today, actually, so I’ll return in the fall.”

Neither of them spoke on the finer details, for the best, they both believed. And because River wasn’t willing to admit that for such a small amount of money to Crocodile, he had restarted his life—and it was already all but promised away.

“You had no right to interfere during dinner,” Crocodile said, sparing him the embarrassment of questions like “Do you understand?” as he read the sheepish pull of his frown. “Were this deal any less secure, I would be more upset.”

River lifted his head from where he had been studying his shoes, gaze suddenly alight again with defiance. Always despite the risk. “So why did you invite them tonight? Was it like Vivi said, to taunt them?”

“I am not completely cruel and unfair, actually. It was an opportunity for them to present more profitable options. All they did was ask me to change my mind.”

The simplicity with which he spoke of the situation twisted River’s stomach, an unfortunately necessary reality within the cold world he had chosen to study—closer now than ever. But, one thing he still didn’t understand: why did Crocodile drink alone, hands in his lap, if he had won?

“I was sorry to hear about your father. Really.” River sat on the edge of a planter, a few paces away. “When did he pass?”

“I don’t know. My mother notified me yesterday.”

“Yesterday?!” His whole body flushed, connecting the timeline with their time together. “How can you function? Weren’t you close?”

“I hadn’t spoken to him in over 15 years. And the man my mind wants to mourn hasn’t existed for almost 30. Perhaps he was never real at all.” He tipped back his glass to finish it.

Across a cool breeze, River sat speechless, torn between comforting him with the gentle conversation of companionship that shouldn’t—couldn’t exist between them, and the body he was paying for. He settled for being clumsy at both.

“Do you—actually want to talk about this?”

“Not at all.”

“Okay. Well…” He rose, coming into his personal space but fumbling to be alluring when Crocodile did not rise to his invitation. “Then how about something else?”

Even to his own ears, he sounded unsure, suddenly terrible at his job after Crocodile had already praised him. He placed Crocodile’s hands on his waistcoat, tempting him to thumb the embroidered silk over the slope of his stomach.

“Come on,” his perkiness flickered minutely. “We can find a terrible late night movie, then fool around when we lose the plot. I’m sure the kitchen will send up some of those chocolate-covered fruits if we ask. What do you say?”

Crocodile tugged playfully on his vest, pity the mirth didn’t reach his eyes. “If you want sweets so badly, you can simply ask for them. You don’t have to pretend they are for both of us.”

“Okay okay,” he giggled handsomely. “Then we will order dessert for me and I will be dessert for you.”

“As—” His hands left him, brushing off dirt that wasn’t there. “Tempting as that sounds, I’m actually going to step out for awhile. Don’t eat too much chocolate before you sleep, or you’ll get strange dreams.”

Before River could protest, he vanished, out the door with a fresh cigar on his lips and a polite offer for him to not wait up. The fruit arrived a few minutes later, taunting his solitude on a chilled silver platter. Where he should have rejoiced at having the room to himself for the evening, left unsupervised with his treats and the rest of the menu, his thoughts kept wandering back to Crocodile, his client who was still only such.

And the dinner.

Watching a vulture work had soured his evening harder than he anticipated, forced to watch as the daughter—Vivi, he reminded himself—gnashed her teeth with all the tenacity he expected to wither the cruelest of hulking men. But Crocodile didn’t flinch.

By the time he exhausted his frustration with the issue, his eyelids drooped and the clock read after 2 in the morning, having spent his evening scribbling on both sides of the room service menu, blue-inked questions like “Possible fiduciary obligation?” and “Support from shareholders?”

There was just so little time. Any sort of plan would have to utilize the board as it was, with no time left for substitutions or weakness. Crocodile would not let him make a single mistake.

Trying to smother his questions in cool chocolate and warm, fragrant bath water yielded no relief, they just transformed into inappropriate worries about his client like: “Is he with someone else?” and “Is he having fun?”

The last question that remained, lifting him from the plush armchair when he could no longer think about business was: “Where is he?”

~*~

Ping, the elevator arrived at the ground floor.

“This way, sir.” Hand outstretched, the attendant gestured to the side of the lobby that led to the lounge.

As nonplussed as the attendant had been to receive him in the middle of the night, wearing only the hotel’s stark white robe and slippers, River padded awkwardly in the direction he pointed, striving to adjust his posture to something less bumbling.

In the middle of the night, long after everything closed, the bar was dark and quiet, with a few scattered staff on their breaks sat to watch the man playing the white piano on the stage.

Oh.

Under the sole spotlight, his practiced hands flickered stars off the ivory keys, playing a somber tune that River didn’t recognize. Romantic, perhaps from an opera, played such that even amateurs could tell the notes shouldn’t be so heavily dependent on the right hand. As the keys quieted, beyond the stares he collected, River approached the stage.

“You’re very good,” was what he said, but as he watched Crocodile flex the sting out of his hand, he wished he had said: “I wish I had been more serious about my father’s piano lessons when he was alive,” and then “So I could play with you.”

“I’ve been far too busy lately,” Crocodile said, gesturing to the other side of the bench. “Do you play?”

“Hardly. You could say not at all.”

He declined his offer for a seat, instead offering himself by coming to stand between Crocodile’s open knees. The hesitant press of his backside brushed the suddenly closed lid, and gentle hands skirted along his flank.

“Come to bed,” River said.

“No.”

“No?”

The hands applied more pressure, suggestive, and caught by the wrist when River glanced at the rest of the room. “It’s late,” he said, assured by the softness of Crocodile’s gaze that he knew he meant: “People can see us.”

Turning over his shoulder, Crocodile commanded the room with a plain look and two short, clear words. There it was again, that effortless glide of existence that filled River’s belly with equals parts want and something he couldn’t identify.

“Leave us.”

No one dared to disobey, not even for the salacious insinuation of what might happen to the beauty, suddenly alone with a man who undid his robe with the same gentleness he had thumbed the keys. Slowly, left then right, sliding his palms up the soft plane of his abdomen until River palmed over the gloved prosthetic, pressing it tight to the coils of muscle fibers beneath his skin.

When he played his role properly, demure and receptive, Crocodile found he could push down the tightness in his throat, that itch behind his teeth to kiss him hard. But when they lost the script, with River’s fingers around his hand, unwilling to let him go as he bowed himself back to lay across the sparkling white piano—the itch bordered on unbearable.

Pressing his lips to the silk of his solar plexus helped a little, as did the scratch of River’s pleasured gasps when he pulled the skin between his teeth—but it wasn’t enough. Not when his sighs tempted him to lose control.

Don’t call me yours.

Crocodile’s fingertips massaged his thighs, lifting them to expose him to the chill of the empty room and the spotlight that rippled off the silk of his panties and shadowed the tendon of his groin.

But for a moment, show me what it might be like.

He wanted to speak, feel the hot puff of his words reflected back at him from heated skin but, from between his legs, all Crocodile could see was the endlessness of his lithe body, beginning to mottle under his ruddy love bites, black hair falling back off his forehead, and he knew he couldn’t risk it. He might open his mouth and say something he couldn’t take back like “I want to be the only one who sees you this way.”

No, it felt too much like “Be mine”, rolled around the plush of tongue as he pulled his panties to the side to slip the half-hardness of him between his lips.

“Oh. I like that,” River moaned in his chest, reaching to brush his fingertips along the strong jaw that worked him.

Crocodile scolded himself for having foolishly assumed River’s cock wasn’t as pretty as the rest of him (he hadn’t gotten a very good look last time). Handsome, politely sensitive, with a tendency to drool in strings of diamond, and a charming path of black stubble that tickled the pad of Crocodile’s thumb when he stroked over his pubic bone.

He regretted not spoiling him sooner.

The wet, slick pop of Crocodile pulling off made them both shiver, with River the first to speak around his fragile panting. “Come on. Take me upstairs so you can fuck me on the bed.”

“I don’t have that in me tonight.” His lips skimming across River’s navel were met by quivering hands in his hair. Those same lips, now with tongue, bit gently on the angle of his hip, just to feel the muscle spasm against his teeth.

“But if you would like, I can please you right here. No one will disturb us.”

The fingers in his hair tightened. “Can you promise that?”

“Unlike you, I am unafraid to abuse my power.”

That made him giggle, cut off by a luxurious gasp when Crocodile lapped at the crease of his groin. “I don’t have any power.”

“Then what is this?”

Suddenly, he snatched River’s hand off the piano to press it around his throat, so he could feel where his pulse hammered against their threaded fingers, and the vibration of his moan as he swallowed his cock again, down to the root in one firm push.

For such a spike of pleasure, so hot and aching it bowed his back off the piano, River found he almost had the mind to complain. Well, not complain, but he needed to ask him: what the fuck was that, why did he want to kiss him until he couldn’t breathe? Like he could live on his words before air.

Between his legs, Crocodile didn’t seem interested in hearing his questions, too taken by the thighs squirming beside his ears as he swallowed him down again and again, laving his tongue in circles just beneath the head because it earned him such a sweet reward: nails against his scalp, then running pink, disappearing lines down his own overstimulated body.

When those restless hands finally returned to him, Crocodile followed the pink paths with his own fingers, brushing too carefully over a flushed nipple until he coaxed it to pebble and prod back at him. River’s flush darkened, almost as red as his chest when Crocodile bullied them enough to make him shudder. Pinpricks of lightning followed his plucking, zipping down to pool in his hard cock, swelling harder with hot, docile want.

River shakes with the effort to not his roll his hips, what he believes to be rude, until Crocodile’s wide palms come down to cradle his flank, thumbs on his hip bones and a deep hum in his throat as he coaxes him to make gentle swirls.

Gently, baby, just like that. More velvety sighs bubble up from River’s chest, easy and sweet, and his fingers cradle the soft hairs on the nape of Crocodile’s neck.

His jaw began to ache but he preened under River’s attention, those glassy violet eyes that tear away from the ceiling to hold his own. Awash with warm, honest affection, and something softer that he didn’t want to read too much into, not when River’s breath is coming faster, hitching, the only warning that he’s close besides the tremor in the thighs.

He comes with a cresting moan, almost a sigh, quieter than the wail of his orgasm the night previous, this one coaxed by a gentle tongue, rather than ripped free by a relentless stroke. Crocodile slowed almost to a stop, inhaling the salt of his sweat, cradling his softening cock on the flat of his tongue for all his restless wriggling as he pulsed his graceful, boneless completion.

Adrift in an endless ocean, River allowed himself to melt, soothed by feather-light hands on his skin and the barest presses of lips to his navel. Among his noisy life, alight with neon, pinks, blues and green—quiet is what he missed most. The slowing of breaths, their rhythm too subtle to trace beyond fingertips drawing circles in adoration. He wondered if making love could be the same.

Usually, this is where River would have preferred to drag his lover back up between his thighs, kiss them until he could only taste himself. Instead, he tried to remember the last time he made love, or had sex outside of his job, and settled for pushing his bangs from his forehead in the poor hope that it would ground his floating soul.

“What would—,” he swallowed around his numb tongue, “you like me to do for you? I just need a second, we can continue up in the room.”

Crocodile’s lips, reddened and slick, pressed more damp kisses to the rosy flush on his belly. “I’m all right.”

“But,” River got his elbows under himself, “You’re hard. Please let me.”

“It’ll go away on it’s own.” He rose, brushing out the wrinkles on his shirt and pinching the front of his trousers. When River made no move to make himself decent, Crocodile took it upon himself to twist his panties back into place and fold his robe closed.

“Let’s get you in bed, it’s late.”

“… Crocodile. It’s my job—”

“No, it’s not.” He said firmly.

With a cinch of the tie around his waist, the topic was closed, and he extended his palm to help him down from atop the piano. But as much as Crocodile was content to wait for the elevator in silence, the crestfallen River at his elbow pestered his heart. After he double-checked the night receptionist was distracted by their ledger, he deflated with a long-suffering sigh.

“Your professional duty is not to please me, nor am I obligated to please you. It is simply any activity that we both have agreed upon. You declare your price, and money is exchanged. As long as I am satisfied with the service, you owe me nothing. Have I violated your terms?”

“N-no. You were wonderful,” River mumbled, suddenly distracted by a loose thread on the sleeve of his robe.

“Would this… extra service be out of your genuine desire, and not some imagined obligation?”

With a sharp tug, the thread refused to break, indenting his forefinger with a sharp, red line.

“No.”

“Then we are finished for the night.”

Having expected a hard response, scolding him for asking for anything, for accepting generosity—River was surprised Crocodile ended the conversation as plainly as he had ordered their dinner. For a man like him, born to this country and raised in privilege, wanting was easy. Being seen wanting was even easier. And upon returning to the suite, with both men off to hopefully find decent sleep in their own beds, River knew the heat in his cheeks must be envy.

Chapter 7

[anotherobsessedsomething]

🎶💖😬

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

Yes most of the time it just helps me to set the mood. The kind of music I listen to can vary a lot though :D The songs I played on loop the past days while writing is "Do Kanns Zaubere" and "Verdamp lang her" by BAP. (Listen to Do Kanns Zaubere, look at the translation because it's cologne dialect and then think of Adam Schürk)

💖 What made you start writing?

Actually my first real OTP Ringsy. After I read basically every fanfiction about them I started to write my own. :D About 4 weeks after I claimed I will never write anything because I am not good enough but here we are :D (I said the same thing about writing smut but guess what? :D) The community was also very nice so I kept writing.

😬 Which of your fics would you be most horrified for friends, family, or coworkers to stumble upon?

People that know me personally are usually not allowed to read any of my stuff unless they are in the fandom and not many people know that side of me or that I write at all. There are a few very smutty fics I for sure would be horrified if someone would randomly find them. Also the first few of my fanfics are not very good so I always prefer when people read my newer stuff. Let me have a look at my works so I can decide which one is the most "horrible" one. Guess what most of my fics have smut in it lol :D

I guess it's "Eigene Wohnungen und andere Vorzüge" (Own apartments and other advantages) because it not only has smut but also dirty talk which I don't write a lot. I was definitely nervous to post that one. But there are many more for sure :D There are also way worse ideas for fics in my head I will probably go to hell (or at least horny jail) for lol :D

Thank you so much for asking this was so much fun!

Ask me Fanfic writer emoji asks

[popcornfairy28]

I'M SORRY WHAT

THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT THE TROPHY I WAS EXPECTING!!! BEST HUMAN PERRY?!?!?! I BEG TO DIFFER BUT ALSO THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! THIS MEANS A LOT 😭😭😭 I'M SORRY BUT I'M GONNA HAVE TO RAMBLE ABOUT THIS AND FOR ONCE NOT IN THE NOTES

I fervently do not believe my Teenage Spy Perry is even close to being the best, but I also look forward to it probably eventually being the longest Human Perry AU ever (I don't exactly look forward to all the writing I will have to do to make that happen, yet on the other hand I do lol). There are SO MANY amazing Human Perrys that I've read that led me to create my own; so many that I've been blown away by. I was genuinely expecting something fun and silly like Most Amount of Bap Fanfiction Written or something like that, NOT THIS. Not by a long shot.

There are so many amazing people here, too many to thank or mention, so I'm just going to stick to specifically thanking one person who was the catalyst for all of this and my biggest inspiration (even though he will probably never see this 😅): my brother. He got me to rewatch a couple of season 1 PnF episodes in 2022 with him after not having watched them since childhood, and the rest is history. My human Perry reminds me SO much of him, with his strong, quiet nature that hides a great goofball underneath. These past couple of months, I've watched as life has thrown him so much crap and curveballs, and he's handled it incredibly well, but everyone has their limits. I haven't been updating Perry the Teenage Spy as much recently partially because I've been trying to help out with the situation as much as I can, but I expect that I'll be able to start it back up again sometime this week or next.

Once again, thank you so much! This was so encouraging. I love y'all!

@popcornfairy28 @agentlizardofowca @samtheacesheep @makeusfly @humanperryfic @animationnut

Enjoy your trophies! Sorry once again for the delay, and for any potential quality issues. Thank you to @pyxehastoomanyinterests for the trophy templates due to my current personal state. Animationnut receiving an extra trophy is due to them accidentally being left out of the tournament, a mistake which I cannot apologize enough for. @/ask-whitebag is not being tagged for the friendship games due to general activity, but if anyone wishes to tag them themselves or tell them personally I encourage that.

[oxhaven]

Kawaakari : Last Light On The River

➹ description - sequel to kawaakari | samurai!yongguk comes back to your lonely town but it seems he has his mind on other things. You’re distraught on what to do and how to feel but it still remains, who will you serve?

➹ pairing - samurai!yongguk x reader as oc(yeji)  

➹ rated - M for mature | 18+ | NSFW

➹ genre - NSFW | smut | angst | edo period japan | samurai!au

➹ word count - 5k

➹ warnings - this is smut | profanity | NSFW | 18+ | unprotected intercourse | drunk sex | alcohol | bad representation of the edo period | tattoos

You could see the mirage of sweltering heat lining the orange dirt path. People lined up in front of their stores and even customers and passerby's stayed towards the side to keep the path open for the royal carriages coming forward in the distance. Their loud gossip turned into hushed whispers as the carriages came closer, seeing samurai in full armor leading the extravagant royal display that was pulled by finely dressed servants.

You scoffed to yourself, folding your arms over your kimono as you watched the applause and cheers begin for the presence of the king in your humble town. He had returned from meeting with some diplomats on the other part of the district, and purposely rode through town to flaunt his power over the people. You were proven to be correct, the gold rimmed door swinging open with the sight of a black covered leg kicking out before the sun gave light to the recognizable grace of the King himself.      

Bodies crowded together just to get a glimpse of the King make his way down the dirt path in the gold court carriage that two servant men pulled from the front. His fine gold and black robes hung from his pale body loosely, leading up to the small flawless face except for the single scar over his eye. His joyous laugh roared over the cheers of people pushing amongst themselves to wave at the King. You recognized the red tint in his cheeks and half closed eyes, his body staggering in the entrance of the carriage as his hand grabbed hold of his falling crown, the hanging beads crashing against each other.  

Ah, he’s already drunk. And in a good mood.

You had served the King with feminie company a few unfortunate times during past summers where he called upon your sisters. Head mistress never passed up the opportunity to offer the King her services, making you and the rest of your sisters dress your best and head to the castle to dine with the Emperor. It was uncomfortable and stomach churning, the deadly rumors about the King refusing to leave your head. King Yoongi was known as a tyrant, torturer, and sick bastard who took pleasure in every form of pain. You were proven right with the suffocating tension when you all settled into the dining room, the men keeping their hands off the ladies until King Yoongi flicked his wrist; permission granted to enjoy the feast and wine. The mood only lightened when your sisters got enough wine in him, a more comfortable expression on his face that was able to make you loosen up as well.

You remembered the many parties you attended like that for the King, making sure to keep a safe distance away from him as he served his men that he granted to join his events. You managed to avoid the many summonses this summer to serve the King, passing the responsibility onto your sisters as you settled for laundry duty. Serving the King meant more money; ten chickens, five pigs and a goat you could send back home for your sickly mother but you couldn’t handle that much murderous tension in a room, it was too much on your heart. You took on basic work back at the oiran with the other men that frequented the shop but you mainly helped out with errands such as these. Trying to gather fruit in the market that now was bombarded with attention to the King rolling through. You sighed out in annoyance though you kept a safe distance hidden away in the crowd, taking in the sight of the foolish King about to fall out of his carriage. You noticed the many samurai surrounding him, raising an eyebrow to their armor cladded bodies and stone faces as they led the way towards the castle. They definitely garnered attention to themselves, making you wonder what entailed during the meeting with the noble diplomats.

You watched the carriage continue to move forward, the many townspeople following the gold display in hopes that he would drop some gold coins for them. You shook your head, wondering if you should pack some extra unpaid fruit in your bag since no one was planning to do their jobs today. You moved to head back to the stalls but quickly stopped in your tracks with eyes going wide.

There were still more men coming, but you recognized this attire on instant. They didn’t wear bulky armor like the samurai in front, but you knew these guys were the real deal with their black robes and glimpses of the familiar crest on their bodies. The group of them followed behind with a significant distance between the carriage, greeting the people as they came by.

Your eyes scanned the group of men, searching out the person that you begged your mind to remember. Remember the appearance, the distinct features, call back on the love you once shared.

It was as if time had slowed, the glimpse of the black hair being pushed back with a tan hand, long fingers getting lost in the black locks before they moved to the back of his neck to massage the tense muscles. You recognized his thick eyebrows, above those dark eyes you could get lost in if you stared for too long. You recognized the nose, pink full lips and the peek of the assorted tattoos along his body right underneath his neck being hidden by his black robe. You recognized it all, drinking him in as quickly as possible before you dared to utter his name.

Yongguk.

Your mouth didn’t even fall all the way open before you were roughly pushed aside, screaming women mingling in the group to convince the samurai to take a chance on them. If it wasn’t for your eyes frantically searching for Yongguk again you would have knocked this heavy basket of fruits on each of their hands and started a brawl.

You managed to find him again in the larger crowd, only for your face to fall with the sight of the many women between his arms. A tiny hope of him acting a bit humble, pushing them aside and focusing on his own task at hand. Instead he welcomed the attention, heated bodies against his own as his mouth moved saying something to rile the girls up in a fit of giggles.

You didn’t notice the way your body quivered or the tears stinging your eyes making them grow red. The basket of fruit that you carried suddenly grew too heavy on your arm, intense wave of emotions filling your chest as you watched his head tilt downward, red painted lips beside his ear as a girl whispered something you assumed to be words of desire, a slight smirk on his face before his eyes darted up to catch yours.

A breath hitched in your throat as you rapidly blinked, feeling hot streams of liquid burning a path down your cheeks. You staggered back as you swallowed a building lump in your throat, unable to read the look in his eyes as he continued to look at you. You finally found your footing to quickly turn around in the direction back to the oiran.  

*

“Yeji-ah, you can’t stay like this forever.”

You muffled your sobs into the satin pillow you buried your face in, your body shaking with the cries you let out as you laid on the fluffy futon underneath you. Your friend sighed in the mirror, carefully drawing a winged line over her eyelid as she painted her face with the make-up on the table.

“Crying all night isn’t going to do you any good.” she tutted, not sparing your form a glance as she continued her work in the mirror.

The night air that came in through the open windows was cool on your hot skin from a very long soak in the bath that you spent crying in there too. You still had more sobs in you to get out, believing that this broken heart was never to be healed.

“I will cry for many more then.” you drawled, moving your smushed face to the side and finally breathing in some fresh air.

“You can’t do that~, you have work to do.”

You raised up your heavy body on your arms, pushing yourself up into a sitting position with legs crossing over. You wiped your nose with the back of your hand and pulled the snot back in with a sniff, hearing your friend make a small noise of disgust.

“I waited and waited for him to return back to me. I worked so hard even though I missed him so much.” You whined with another sniff, your numb heart being hit with another wave of sadness mingled with jealousy as the memory of the woman whispering in his ear flashed in your head again. “He’s a sleazy bastard. I should have listened to him the first time he said not to pursue him. I hope the gods give him what he deserves and-”

A hard smack against the table made you keep quiet, peeking up at your co-worker who was finally looking at you with a kind smile and freshly painted face. “This is not the Yeji I know.”

You made a noise of surprise when she hopped out of the chair and toppled over you, wrapping her arms around your form in a tight hug making you groan. Her hands clasped your face, mushing your cheeks together as she made you turn your attention on her.

“I’m not going to sit here and say I told you so because I already did but you can’t keep ruining this beautiful face with tears for a man.” You blinked at her, your smushed face making pout as your eyebrows knitted close together. Her mouth turned into a brilliant smile, playful eyes sparking with mischief.

“I heard the yamazaki is dining in a bar near the castle, and it’s going to be a very fun party.”

Your head began to shake with denial but her tight clasp kept you still as she continued, “How about we go stir it up a bit more, and I’ll give you a makeover that’ll make every man drop to their knees before you get through the door.”

You blinked at her, your voice coming out muffled, “But Yongguk will be there.”

“That’s precisely why you’re going my love.”

“I don’t want to see women on his arm.”

“And he probably doesn’t want to see his men drooling all over you. But that’s what’s going to happen. And you will take back your pride and ego and show him the power of a courtesan that can kill men and women with her appeal.”  

There was a long pause between the two of you, her words settling in before her eyes smiled at you and she smacked a kiss on your lips. She released her hold on you and moved to return back to her seat, giving you the option to let her help you or not. You didn’t really like the idea of going out to a party, much less know that Yongguk was going to be there giving other women attention. Your emotions were unstable; the idea of having to let go of a lost love you’ve waited so long for that you changed your whole demeanor to that of a young girl being married off to a fine prince. Thus, this fine prince ended up being a sordid asshole who had no morals. Though, you couldn’t hold back the excitement in your heart, a little piece of yourself coming back. The look on his face when he saw you in all your glory and unfazed attitude proving two could play this game. And you wanted the last laugh.    

That’s what it means to work in Oiran.

*

Adrenaline coursed through your veins, mixed in with the couple cups of wine you downed to get you going. You took extra care in getting ready as fast as you could before the night wasn’t young anymore. You dressed in the finest gowns you could borrow, a kiss to your forehead from the headmistress as she prompted you to bring back customers since you weren’t making any money. Her nose wrinkled in disappointment but she let you and your sister go, holding hands as your laughter filled the night along with whistles of approval from men passing by. There were more people frequenting the district up near the castle, probably due to the King throwing another extravagant party to himself. But you made sure not to go too close, recognizing the famous bar you and your friend were headed towards that was lit up with joyous noise.  

You squeezed the hand in yours a little tighter, your friend sparing you a glance as you held your head a bit higher, moving along the path towards the entrance of the bar. You heard the catcalls and whistles, men already falling to their knees to capture your attention like withered flowers. A naughty smile played on your lips, the fire lit lights from the windows shining on your face as you stepped in, your presence being made known by the men who were fascinated with your beauty. Donned in silk red and white robes, shoulders and neck exposed the cool summer air as your hair was pinned up in a messy bun with fringes of your hair coming down to tickle your exposed skin.  

You glanced around, already gaining company as paid drinks were offered to you before you could even find a seat. Your friend and you loved to play a game of hard-to-get, only showing each other attention as men tried to get in between. Your eyes scanned the bar in search of the bastard you had your mind on all this time, biting down on your glossed bottom lip as your brown eyes searched through the yamazaki men.  

Indeed you found him in the hazy smoked corner of the bar, giggling women at his feet and pouring him drink after drink, even feeding him a chicken teriyaki. He seemed to have noticed you first, dark eyes boring into yours as a red tint washed over your body. You cleared your throat and looked back at your drink in hand, throwing your head back as you let the burning liquid course down your throat.  

A few more men sat at the table with you and your co-worker, compliments and words of desire already spewing from their mouths as you turned your work switch on. As a maiden who pleases men this was the same exact scenario, but instead of money you were earning Yongguk’s attention.

“What’s your name, pretty girl?”

This one had caught your eye, among the others that your co-worker was keeping entertained he had his dark eyes on you. You scanned him over, being surprisingly reminded of Yongguk as you took his features in. Tan skin, thick eyebrows, short black hair and an adorable smile that made his eyes smaller. He was much more giggly, his body leaning towards yours as you rested a hand against his chest to steady him. “Yeji.”

He chuckled foolishly, “Nice to meet you, pretty girl. Name’s Himchan.”

You chuckled to yourself, laughing at his drunken actions as you watched him take a bottle of liquor out of the hand of his companion beside him, not even sparing him a glance at his flustered face. He poured the liquid into your cup, up to the very rim before he did the same with his own.

You could feel heat against the nape of your neck as you took your cup into your hands again, carefully bringing the rim to your plush lips and drinking down the alcohol. Your face scrunched over as the strong alcohol filled your senses, making your body shiver. Himchan watched your actions closely, all the while letting his hand creep up your leg. The rough hand trailing up your thigh exposed more of your skin, his face leaning in as his tongue wet his pink lips ready to press against-

You watched his face fly onto the table, his hand torn away from your body as you held back a sudden scream. Himchan was out cold before he could even put up a fight, his body slumped against the table. Your head spun to the side, seeing Yongguk stand tall over you with a hand rubbing over the knuckles of his fist.  

Both of your attention was turned to the loud roar of one of his men, seeing the rest of the bar had taken notice of what went down. The large man staggered before dragging a bottle of one of the wooden tables, swinging it back over his shoulder before throwing it towards Yongguk. He dodged expertly, the wasted booze splattering over the wall as the rest of the bar went into an uproar. Yongguk had spurred on a drunken brawl, the yamazaki men beginning to fight amongst themselves.

Fists were flying in each other’s faces as women screamed and moved to get away. You stumbled back, pushing away the heavy bodies that threatened to collide into you as you searched out for your friend. Your search was short-lived, a familiar rough hand wrapping around your wrist and pulling you out.

A rush of fresh air hit your heated face as you welcomed the outside, gathering your loose robes with your other free hand. You stared at the back of the man pulling you away from the bar, an ocean of mixed emotions washing over your body as you searched for your voice.  

“Guk!”

He didn’t even spare you a glance, continuing to drag you along to wherever he was going.

“Stop!” you let out again with a shaky voice, attempting to pull your arm back but his grip proved stronger.

“My fucking arm, stop!!”

You collided into his body abruptly, his familiar scent filling your senses as you instinctively grabbed his body. You didn’t have time to gather your bearings, your head being tilted back with a possessive hand in the back of your hair and pulling it down. Soft lips met your own and it took every muscle to tighten over for you not to melt. His lips were firm but needy, kissing you just like you imagined you would when the two of you were granted to meet again.

You heard a growl rip from his throat the same time his other free hand clutched around the fabric on your chest. Your heart skipped at the thought of him ripping your garments off of you when you were still outside, but he controlled himself as he released it and let his hand trail up your heart skin to wrap gently around your neck.

He pulled away from your lips much to your disappointment, the hand on your neck keeping you in place as your eyes fluttered open.

“Gukkie..”

He looked just as completely entranced as you probably looked to him, holding each other’s stares as your breaths mingled together in the short distance. He dragged his hand down from your neck, stepping back with his hand now in yours before leading you off again to a nearby ryokan. The both of you hurried in, ignoring the judging eyes of the innkeeper who recognized the face of the yamazaki. Yongguk led you down to a room, guiding you in and shutting the door behind the two of you.  

You brought him into your arms, leaning up to kiss him like you did before with more desire as you fought with robes on your body. He pushed you down, falling onto the floor and silently thanking that there was already a soft futon set up underneath you. He didn’t stray too far from your body, kissing you hungrily before dragging his lips down your neck.  

You had played this out in your head a trillion times, thinking of all the different ways this could go. But now here you were, unable to do anything with your hands as they scratched and pulled on his body trying to anchor yourself with the pleasure and emotions your body was experiencing.  

He managed to suck a few red patches over your neck and chest, already putting claim on you as his lips trailed down further. Your silk robes were no match for his steady hands putting shame to the hard time you were having earlier. You couldn’t decide if his kisses were hot against your skin or if your body was so hot that his kisses were cooling you down. Either way he had reached down to a region that needed him the most, your thighs spreading on instinct for him.

A finger dipped into your pool, swirling about before he pulled it up to the light revealing a sheen of wetness on his digit. His dark eyes caught yours in a heated gaze, making sure you watched him take his middle finger into his mouth, sucking it clean. You moaned wantonly at the sight, quickly biting it back with a whine in fear of your loudness.

He watched his head dive in, feeling his tongue against your slick folds as he licked up hungrily. You covered your mouth in silent scream, feeling his tongue quickly work into rhythm that circled around your folds and lapped up to flick your clit.

You pressed your hand against your mouth tighter, the noise in your throat finding its way out as your lips mouthed curses into your palm. Your free hand found it way into his hair, but he quickly pulled your grasp into his own hand and held on securely. His tongue dipped into your hole, pushing it in as far as it would go making your walls sputter in desire for more length, more girth, and more heat. Your legs were a quivering mess as he lapped you up, altering with his tongue going inside you in a mocking gesture of what was soon to come.

You had needed this. Badly.

Your robes were beginning to stick to your body though you were quite exposed to the air that began to fill with sex. You almost couldn’t take it when his mouth wrapped around your rosebud, sucking into his mouth and letting his tongue swirl around making you scream into your hand. You began to buck into his mouth, wanting even more of the pleasure you didn’t know what to do with.

He swirled his tongue over your pussy a few more times, a squelching noise filling the room shamefully as you whined to mask over the sound. Disappointment washed over you when he moved away, only to clench your walls at the sight of him sitting on the back of his heels, loosening the tie around his yukata.

Your eyes darted down as his robe opened up gracing you with the sight of his tan skin, toned body that was donning fresh new battle scars since the last you’ve seen of him. Nothing caught your eyes more than the hard meat standing at attention. You didn’t notice your legs were quivering in anticipation until his hands were underneath your thighs, pushing them back to fold over your torso. The concept of time had escaped from you not knowing if Yongguk was moving too fast or too slow as your eyes strained to watch him the pitch of darkness. You realized you didn’t need to when you could feel it, feel the head of his cock at your entrance coating itself in your wetness all the more making that same shameful sound.    

He was pushing himself in before you knew it, making a lustful noise tear from your throat as you stared up at him with eyes losing focus. You heard hiss out a curse, something about the tightness as he permitted his dick to go in deeper.

Claim you.

He held the back of your knees firmly, letting them shake in his hold as he guided his cock to go inside of you. He was so large, too thick for you to take in all at once. He knew this, which is why he pulled back to push in more slowly earning another fucked out whine from your throat. The two of you continued on like that until he was satisfied with what length you could take, pulling his hips back and experimentally snapping back in. Your body took the move well, coating his dick in a sheen of wetness as he built up a steady, slow rhythm. Even though your body was taking it well the pleasure was too much for you to handle. It had been so long since the last time for you never dared to have sex with another man if it wasn’t Yongguk. No amount of fantasizing and masturbating prepared you for this as you held onto his wrists so you wouldn’t lose yourself to the pleasure.

Yongguk watched his dick slip inside you, picking up speed as you took more of his length. Your wells sputtered over his girth, the tightness coaxing him to spill himself so early in the act. He chased the temptation away, snapping his hips into your own until his trance broke with your noise breaking into a high pitch. He whispered a soft apology, before returning to a bearable pace and letting his eyes scan over your body. You were a mess that was all his, in a shameful position that opened up just for him. You couldn’t hold himself back from picking up speed again, wanting to hear more of the noises spilling from your mouth. You were calling upon the gods, not bothering to hold back your wanton sounds as you spurred Yongguk on. You ignored the soreness in your legs as he pushed them back further, letting his body hover over you as he slammed his cock into your squelching pussy. Your eyes rolled back as you begged for it, making sure to tighten your walls over him everytime he came down.  

He cursed aloud before falling back onto his knees, halting his movements as he gained a tighter grip on the back of your knees. His dick slipped in and out of you, a slower pace than before though you weren’t complaining. The oncoming feeling of heat building in your lower stomach made you whine, as you reached out uselessly for Yongguk.

He stared down at your pleading expression, messy hair sticking to the sides of your face, lustful eyes begging out, “Make it last...please, make it last.”

You whispered the words over and over, listening to the growl that tore from his throat as he disciplined himself to keep a steady pace as he felt your walls squeeze over his cock. Your orgasm washed over in waves, a gurtled moan of his name as your eyes rolled back and curses spewed from your shameful mouth. You choked on a whine when he picked up speed, your sore legs falling to his sides as he released them and his hands fell between you. You listened to his mingled grunts and moans as he fucked you like he wanted. You wrapped your heavy arms around him, letting your mouth trail kisses along his neck and whispered dirty nothings into the air just for him to hear. He cursed loudly, quickly pulling out and emptying himself on the lower part of your stomach. You felt the hot spurts of liquid on your skin, the act of it almost turning you on again.

He fell over you again, welcoming his body in open arms as a tired smile played on your face. The both of you were spent and sleep was calling to you but the excitement of being with Yongguk after so long kept you up. You traced pictures into his back, your mind racing with the things you wanted to say to him.

You felt the weight on your body raise off of you, a look of surprise donning your features as you watched him gather his robe to cover him again and move away from your body. You quickly sat up, pulling your own silk to cover your body as you silently watched his back turn to you.

“So we have sex and that’s it? No I’ve missed you or this is where I’ve been this whole time?”

He was silent to your shaky questions, a hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. “You’ll be safe here tonight. Go home in the morning.”

You scoffed in disbelief, a familiar twinge in your heart as you blurted, “You’re a sleazy bastard. You take all the women you want and throw them away after one night. If I didn’t show up tonight it would probably be another woman in here with you wouldn’t there?”

“Stop it.” his deep voice gently commanded, his back still turned to you as anger welled up inside.

“I’ve waited all this time for you and the first thing you do when you get back is play with some prostitutes and ignore me? When were you going to make time for me!?” Your voice was much louder, enough to wake up other possible guests in the inn. Your mouth pressed closed when he turned around with a harsh stare until you realized what was being held in them. Your jaw trembled as you felt your eyes burn, hoping to get the rest of it out in a clear voice.  

“Did you forget about everything between us?”

You stared each other down for a long while, refusing to break eye contact in fear that if you did it meant he no longer carried those feelings for you. You blinked when he moved towards you, a hand on the back of your neck pulling you to the lips that placed a soft kiss on your head.

“Keep your feelings close to your heart. Don’t let anyone else see what’s inside.”

You gasped when you felt the tight tension on your neck make a snap, your consciousness quickly going out and sleep welcoming you home.

[promisesox]

Kawaakari : Last Light On The River

➹ description - sequel to kawaakari | samurai!yongguk comes back to your lonely town but it seems he has his mind on other things. You’re distraught on what to do and how to feel but it still remains, who will you serve? 

➹ pairing - samurai!yongguk x reader as oc(yeji)  

➹ rated - M for mature | 18+ | NSFW

➹ genre - NSFW | smut | angst | edo period japan | samurai!au 

➹ word count - 5k

➹ warnings - this is smut | profanity | NSFW | 18+ | unprotected intercourse | drunk sex | alcohol | bad representation of the edo period | tattoos

You could see the mirage of sweltering heat lining the orange dirt path. People lined up in front of their stores and even customers and passerby's stayed towards the side to keep the path open for the royal carriages coming forward in the distance. Their loud gossip turned into hushed whispers as the carriages came closer, seeing samurai in full armor leading the extravagant royal display that was pulled by finely dressed servants. 

You scoffed to yourself, folding your arms over your kimono as you watched the applause and cheers begin for the presence of the king in your humble town. He had returned from meeting with some diplomats on the other part of the district, and purposely rode through town to flaunt his power over the people. You were proven to be correct, the gold rimmed door swinging open with the sight of a black covered leg kicking out before the sun gave light to the recognizable grace of the King himself.       

Bodies crowded together just to get a glimpse of the King make his way down the dirt path in the gold court carriage that two servant men pulled from the front. His fine gold and black robes hung from his pale body loosely, leading up to the small flawless face except for the single scar over his eye. His joyous laugh roared over the cheers of people pushing amongst themselves to wave at the King. You recognized the red tint in his cheeks and half closed eyes, his body staggering in the entrance of the carriage as his hand grabbed hold of his falling crown, the hanging beads crashing against each other.  

Ah, he’s already drunk. And in a good mood. 

You had served the King with feminie company a few unfortunate times during past summers where he called upon your sisters. Head mistress never passed up the opportunity to offer the King her services, making you and the rest of your sisters dress your best and head to the castle to dine with the Emperor. It was uncomfortable and stomach churning, the deadly rumors about the King refusing to leave your head. King Yoongi was known as a tyrant, torturer, and sick bastard who took pleasure in every form of pain. You were proven right with the suffocating tension when you all settled into the dining room, the men keeping their hands off the ladies until King Yoongi flicked his wrist; permission granted to enjoy the feast and wine. The mood only lightened when your sisters got enough wine in him, a more comfortable expression on his face that was able to make you loosen up as well. 

You remembered the many parties you attended like that for the King, making sure to keep a safe distance away from him as he served his men that he granted to join his events. You managed to avoid the many summonses this summer to serve the King, passing the responsibility onto your sisters as you settled for laundry duty. Serving the King meant more money; ten chickens, five pigs and a goat you could send back home for your sickly mother but you couldn’t handle that much murderous tension in a room, it was too much on your heart. You took on basic work back at the oiran with the other men that frequented the shop but you mainly helped out with errands such as these. Trying to gather fruit in the market that now was bombarded with attention to the King rolling through. You sighed out in annoyance though you kept a safe distance hidden away in the crowd, taking in the sight of the foolish King about to fall out of his carriage. You noticed the many samurai surrounding him, raising an eyebrow to their armor cladded bodies and stone faces as they led the way towards the castle. They definitely garnered attention to themselves, making you wonder what entailed during the meeting with the noble diplomats. 

You watched the carriage continue to move forward, the many townspeople following the gold display in hopes that he would drop some gold coins for them. You shook your head, wondering if you should pack some extra unpaid fruit in your bag since no one was planning to do their jobs today. You moved to head back to the stalls but quickly stopped in your tracks with eyes going wide. 

There were still more men coming, but you recognized this attire on instant. They didn’t wear bulky armor like the samurai in front, but you knew these guys were the real deal with their black robes and glimpses of the familiar crest on their bodies. The group of them followed behind with a significant distance between the carriage, greeting the people as they came by. 

Your eyes scanned the group of men, searching out the person that you begged your mind to remember. Remember the appearance, the distinct features, call back on the love you once shared. 

It was as if time had slowed, the glimpse of the black hair being pushed back with a tan hand, long fingers getting lost in the black locks before they moved to the back of his neck to massage the tense muscles. You recognized his thick eyebrows, above those dark eyes you could get lost in if you stared for too long. You recognized the nose, pink full lips and the peek of the assorted tattoos along his body right underneath his neck being hidden by his black robe. You recognized it all, drinking him in as quickly as possible before you dared to utter his name. 

Yongguk. 

Your mouth didn’t even fall all the way open before you were roughly pushed aside, screaming women mingling in the group to convince the samurai to take a chance on them. If it wasn’t for your eyes frantically searching for Yongguk again you would have knocked this heavy basket of fruits on each of their hands and started a brawl. 

You managed to find him again in the larger crowd, only for your face to fall with the sight of the many women between his arms. A tiny hope of him acting a bit humble, pushing them aside and focusing on his own task at hand. Instead he welcomed the attention, heated bodies against his own as his mouth moved saying something to rile the girls up in a fit of giggles. 

You didn’t notice the way your body quivered or the tears stinging your eyes making them grow red. The basket of fruit that you carried suddenly grew too heavy on your arm, intense wave of emotions filling your chest as you watched his head tilt downward, red painted lips beside his ear as a girl whispered something you assumed to be words of desire, a slight smirk on his face before his eyes darted up to catch yours. 

A breath hitched in your throat as you rapidly blinked, feeling hot streams of liquid burning a path down your cheeks. You staggered back as you swallowed a building lump in your throat, unable to read the look in his eyes as he continued to look at you. You finally found your footing to quickly turn around in the direction back to the oiran.  

*

“Yeji-ah, you can’t stay like this forever.”

You muffled your sobs into the satin pillow you buried your face in, your body shaking with the cries you let out as you laid on the fluffy futon underneath you. Your friend sighed in the mirror, carefully drawing a winged line over her eyelid as she painted her face with the make-up on the table. 

“Crying all night isn’t going to do you any good.” she tutted, not sparing your form a glance as she continued her work in the mirror. 

The night air that came in through the open windows was cool on your hot skin from a very long soak in the bath that you spent crying in there too. You still had more sobs in you to get out, believing that this broken heart was never to be healed. 

“I will cry for many more then.” you drawled, moving your smushed face to the side and finally breathing in some fresh air. 

“You can’t do that~, you have work to do.” 

You raised up your heavy body on your arms, pushing yourself up into a sitting position with legs crossing over. You wiped your nose with the back of your hand and pulled the snot back in with a sniff, hearing your friend make a small noise of disgust. 

“I waited and waited for him to return back to me. I worked so hard even though I missed him so much.” You whined with another sniff, your numb heart being hit with another wave of sadness mingled with jealousy as the memory of the woman whispering in his ear flashed in your head again. “He’s a sleazy bastard. I should have listened to him the first time he said not to pursue him. I hope the gods give him what he deserves and-”

A hard smack against the table made you keep quiet, peeking up at your co-worker who was finally looking at you with a kind smile and freshly painted face. “This is not the Yeji I know.” 

You made a noise of surprise when she hopped out of the chair and toppled over you, wrapping her arms around your form in a tight hug making you groan. Her hands clasped your face, mushing your cheeks together as she made you turn your attention on her. 

“I’m not going to sit here and say I told you so because I already did but you can’t keep ruining this beautiful face with tears for a man.” You blinked at her, your smushed face making pout as your eyebrows knitted close together. Her mouth turned into a brilliant smile, playful eyes sparking with mischief. 

“I heard the yamazaki is dining in a bar near the castle, and it’s going to be a very fun party.”

Your head began to shake with denial but her tight clasp kept you still as she continued, “How about we go stir it up a bit more, and I’ll give you a makeover that’ll make every man drop to their knees before you get through the door.” 

You blinked at her, your voice coming out muffled, “But Yongguk will be there.”

“That’s precisely why you’re going my love.” 

“I don’t want to see women on his arm.”

“And he probably doesn’t want to see his men drooling all over you. But that’s what’s going to happen. And you will take back your pride and ego and show him the power of a courtesan that can kill men and women with her appeal.”  

There was a long pause between the two of you, her words settling in before her eyes smiled at you and she smacked a kiss on your lips. She released her hold on you and moved to return back to her seat, giving you the option to let her help you or not. You didn’t really like the idea of going out to a party, much less know that Yongguk was going to be there giving other women attention. Your emotions were unstable; the idea of having to let go of a lost love you’ve waited so long for that you changed your whole demeanor to that of a young girl being married off to a fine prince. Thus, this fine prince ended up being a sordid asshole who had no morals. Though, you couldn’t hold back the excitement in your heart, a little piece of yourself coming back. The look on his face when he saw you in all your glory and unfazed attitude proving two could play this game. And you wanted the last laugh.    

That’s what it means to work in Oiran.

*

Adrenaline coursed through your veins, mixed in with the couple cups of wine you downed to get you going. You took extra care in getting ready as fast as you could before the night wasn’t young anymore. You dressed in the finest gowns you could borrow, a kiss to your forehead from the headmistress as she prompted you to bring back customers since you weren’t making any money. Her nose wrinkled in disappointment but she let you and your sister go, holding hands as your laughter filled the night along with whistles of approval from men passing by. There were more people frequenting the district up near the castle, probably due to the King throwing another extravagant party to himself. But you made sure not to go too close, recognizing the famous bar you and your friend were headed towards that was lit up with joyous noise.  

You squeezed the hand in yours a little tighter, your friend sparing you a glance as you held your head a bit higher, moving along the path towards the entrance of the bar. You heard the catcalls and whistles, men already falling to their knees to capture your attention like withered flowers. A naughty smile played on your lips, the fire lit lights from the windows shining on your face as you stepped in, your presence being made known by the men who were fascinated with your beauty. Donned in silk red and white robes, shoulders and neck exposed the cool summer air as your hair was pinned up in a messy bun with fringes of your hair coming down to tickle your exposed skin.  

You glanced around, already gaining company as paid drinks were offered to you before you could even find a seat. Your friend and you loved to play a game of hard-to-get, only showing each other attention as men tried to get in between. Your eyes scanned the bar in search of the bastard you had your mind on all this time, biting down on your glossed bottom lip as your brown eyes searched through the yamazaki men.  

Indeed you found him in the hazy smoked corner of the bar, giggling women at his feet and pouring him drink after drink, even feeding him a chicken teriyaki. He seemed to have noticed you first, dark eyes boring into yours as a red tint washed over your body. You cleared your throat and looked back at your drink in hand, throwing your head back as you let the burning liquid course down your throat.  

A few more men sat at the table with you and your co-worker, compliments and words of desire already spewing from their mouths as you turned your work switch on. As a maiden who pleases men this was the same exact scenario, but instead of money you were earning Yongguk’s attention. 

“What’s your name, pretty girl?”

This one had caught your eye, among the others that your co-worker was keeping entertained he had his dark eyes on you. You scanned him over, being surprisingly reminded of Yongguk as you took his features in. Tan skin, thick eyebrows, short black hair and an adorable smile that made his eyes smaller. He was much more giggly, his body leaning towards yours as you rested a hand against his chest to steady him. “Yeji.”

He chuckled foolishly, “Nice to meet you, pretty girl. Name’s Himchan.”

You chuckled to yourself, laughing at his drunken actions as you watched him take a bottle of liquor out of the hand of his companion beside him, not even sparing him a glance at his flustered face. He poured the liquid into your cup, up to the very rim before he did the same with his own. 

You could feel heat against the nape of your neck as you took your cup into your hands again, carefully bringing the rim to your plush lips and drinking down the alcohol. Your face scrunched over as the strong alcohol filled your senses, making your body shiver. Himchan watched your actions closely, all the while letting his hand creep up your leg. The rough hand trailing up your thigh exposed more of your skin, his face leaning in as his tongue wet his pink lips ready to press against-

You watched his face fly onto the table, his hand torn away from your body as you held back a sudden scream. Himchan was out cold before he could even put up a fight, his body slumped against the table. Your head spun to the side, seeing Yongguk stand tall over you with a hand rubbing over the knuckles of his fist.  

Both of your attention was turned to the loud roar of one of his men, seeing the rest of the bar had taken notice of what went down. The large man staggered before dragging a bottle of one of the wooden tables, swinging it back over his shoulder before throwing it towards Yongguk. He dodged expertly, the wasted booze splattering over the wall as the rest of the bar went into an uproar. Yongguk had spurred on a drunken brawl, the yamazaki men beginning to fight amongst themselves. 

Fists were flying in each other’s faces as women screamed and moved to get away. You stumbled back, pushing away the heavy bodies that threatened to collide into you as you searched out for your friend. Your search was short-lived, a familiar rough hand wrapping around your wrist and pulling you out. 

A rush of fresh air hit your heated face as you welcomed the outside, gathering your loose robes with your other free hand. You stared at the back of the man pulling you away from the bar, an ocean of mixed emotions washing over your body as you searched for your voice.  

“Guk!” 

He didn’t even spare you a glance, continuing to drag you along to wherever he was going. 

“Stop!” you let out again with a shaky voice, attempting to pull your arm back but his grip proved stronger. 

“My fucking arm, stop!!”

You collided into his body abruptly, his familiar scent filling your senses as you instinctively grabbed his body. You didn’t have time to gather your bearings, your head being tilted back with a possessive hand in the back of your hair and pulling it down. Soft lips met your own and it took every muscle to tighten over for you not to melt. His lips were firm but needy, kissing you just like you imagined you would when the two of you were granted to meet again. 

You heard a growl rip from his throat the same time his other free hand clutched around the fabric on your chest. Your heart skipped at the thought of him ripping your garments off of you when you were still outside, but he controlled himself as he released it and let his hand trail up your heart skin to wrap gently around your neck. 

He pulled away from your lips much to your disappointment, the hand on your neck keeping you in place as your eyes fluttered open. 

“Gukkie..”

He looked just as completely entranced as you probably looked to him, holding each other’s stares as your breaths mingled together in the short distance. He dragged his hand down from your neck, stepping back with his hand now in yours before leading you off again to a nearby ryokan. The both of you hurried in, ignoring the judging eyes of the innkeeper who recognized the face of the yamazaki. Yongguk led you down to a room, guiding you in and shutting the door behind the two of you.   

You brought him into your arms, leaning up to kiss him like you did before with more desire as you fought with robes on your body. He pushed you down, falling onto the floor and silently thanking that there was already a soft futon set up underneath you. He didn’t stray too far from your body, kissing you hungrily before dragging his lips down your neck.  

You had played this out in your head a trillion times, thinking of all the different ways this could go. But now here you were, unable to do anything with your hands as they scratched and pulled on his body trying to anchor yourself with the pleasure and emotions your body was experiencing.  

He managed to suck a few red patches over your neck and chest, already putting claim on you as his lips trailed down further. Your silk robes were no match for his steady hands putting shame to the hard time you were having earlier. You couldn’t decide if his kisses were hot against your skin or if your body was so hot that his kisses were cooling you down. Either way he had reached down to a region that needed him the most, your thighs spreading on instinct for him. 

A finger dipped into your pool, swirling about before he pulled it up to the light revealing a sheen of wetness on his digit. His dark eyes caught yours in a heated gaze, making sure you watched him take his middle finger into his mouth, sucking it clean. You moaned wantonly at the sight, quickly biting it back with a whine in fear of your loudness. 

He watched his head dive in, feeling his tongue against your slick folds as he licked up hungrily. You covered your mouth in silent scream, feeling his tongue quickly work into rhythm that circled around your folds and lapped up to flick your clit. 

You pressed your hand against your mouth tighter, the noise in your throat finding its way out as your lips mouthed curses into your palm. Your free hand found it way into his hair, but he quickly pulled your grasp into his own hand and held on securely. His tongue dipped into your hole, pushing it in as far as it would go making your walls sputter in desire for more length, more girth, and more heat. Your legs were a quivering mess as he lapped you up, altering with his tongue going inside you in a mocking gesture of what was soon to come. 

You had needed this. Badly.

Your robes were beginning to stick to your body though you were quite exposed to the air that began to fill with sex. You almost couldn’t take it when his mouth wrapped around your rosebud, sucking into his mouth and letting his tongue swirl around making you scream into your hand. You began to buck into his mouth, wanting even more of the pleasure you didn’t know what to do with. 

He swirled his tongue over your pussy a few more times, a squelching noise filling the room shamefully as you whined to mask over the sound. Disappointment washed over you when he moved away, only to clench your walls at the sight of him sitting on the back of his heels, loosening the tie around his yukata. 

Your eyes darted down as his robe opened up gracing you with the sight of his tan skin, toned body that was donning fresh new battle scars since the last you’ve seen of him. Nothing caught your eyes more than the hard meat standing at attention. You didn’t notice your legs were quivering in anticipation until his hands were underneath your thighs, pushing them back to fold over your torso. The concept of time had escaped from you not knowing if Yongguk was moving too fast or too slow as your eyes strained to watch him the pitch of darkness. You realized you didn’t need to when you could feel it, feel the head of his cock at your entrance coating itself in your wetness all the more making that same shameful sound.    

He was pushing himself in before you knew it, making a lustful noise tear from your throat as you stared up at him with eyes losing focus. You heard hiss out a curse, something about the tightness as he permitted his dick to go in deeper. 

Claim you. 

He held the back of your knees firmly, letting them shake in his hold as he guided his cock to go inside of you. He was so large, too thick for you to take in all at once. He knew this, which is why he pulled back to push in more slowly earning another fucked out whine from your throat. The two of you continued on like that until he was satisfied with what length you could take, pulling his hips back and experimentally snapping back in. Your body took the move well, coating his dick in a sheen of wetness as he built up a steady, slow rhythm. Even though your body was taking it well the pleasure was too much for you to handle. It had been so long since the last time for you never dared to have sex with another man if it wasn’t Yongguk. No amount of fantasizing and masturbating prepared you for this as you held onto his wrists so you wouldn’t lose yourself to the pleasure. 

Yongguk watched his dick slip inside you, picking up speed as you took more of his length. Your wells sputtered over his girth, the tightness coaxing him to spill himself so early in the act. He chased the temptation away, snapping his hips into your own until his trance broke with your noise breaking into a high pitch. He whispered a soft apology, before returning to a bearable pace and letting his eyes scan over your body. You were a mess that was all his, in a shameful position that opened up just for him. You couldn’t hold himself back from picking up speed again, wanting to hear more of the noises spilling from your mouth. You were calling upon the gods, not bothering to hold back your wanton sounds as you spurred Yongguk on. You ignored the soreness in your legs as he pushed them back further, letting his body hover over you as he slammed his cock into your squelching pussy. Your eyes rolled back as you begged for it, making sure to tighten your walls over him everytime he came down.  

He cursed aloud before falling back onto his knees, halting his movements as he gained a tighter grip on the back of your knees. His dick slipped in and out of you, a slower pace than before though you weren’t complaining. The oncoming feeling of heat building in your lower stomach made you whine, as you reached out uselessly for Yongguk. 

He stared down at your pleading expression, messy hair sticking to the sides of your face, lustful eyes begging out, “Make it last...please, make it last.”

You whispered the words over and over, listening to the growl that tore from his throat as he disciplined himself to keep a steady pace as he felt your walls squeeze over his cock. Your orgasm washed over in waves, a gurtled moan of his name as your eyes rolled back and curses spewed from your shameful mouth. You choked on a whine when he picked up speed, your sore legs falling to his sides as he released them and his hands fell between you. You listened to his mingled grunts and moans as he fucked you like he wanted. You wrapped your heavy arms around him, letting your mouth trail kisses along his neck and whispered dirty nothings into the air just for him to hear. He cursed loudly, quickly pulling out and emptying himself on the lower part of your stomach. You felt the hot spurts of liquid on your skin, the act of it almost turning you on again. 

He fell over you again, welcoming his body in open arms as a tired smile played on your face. The both of you were spent and sleep was calling to you but the excitement of being with Yongguk after so long kept you up. You traced pictures into his back, your mind racing with the things you wanted to say to him. 

You felt the weight on your body raise off of you, a look of surprise donning your features as you watched him gather his robe to cover him again and move away from your body. You quickly sat up, pulling your own silk to cover your body as you silently watched his back turn to you. 

“So we have sex and that’s it? No I’ve missed you or this is where I’ve been this whole time?” 

He was silent to your shaky questions, a hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. “You’ll be safe here tonight. Go home in the morning.”

You scoffed in disbelief, a familiar twinge in your heart as you blurted, “You’re a sleazy bastard. You take all the women you want and throw them away after one night. If I didn’t show up tonight it would probably be another woman in here with you wouldn’t there?”

“Stop it.” his deep voice gently commanded, his back still turned to you as anger welled up inside.

“I’ve waited all this time for you and the first thing you do when you get back is play with some prostitutes and ignore me? When were you going to make time for me!?” Your voice was much louder, enough to wake up other possible guests in the inn. Your mouth pressed closed when he turned around with a harsh stare until you realized what was being held in them. Your jaw trembled as you felt your eyes burn, hoping to get the rest of it out in a clear voice.  

“Did you forget about everything between us?”

You stared each other down for a long while, refusing to break eye contact in fear that if you did it meant he no longer carried those feelings for you. You blinked when he moved towards you, a hand on the back of your neck pulling you to the lips that placed a soft kiss on your head. 

“Keep your feelings close to your heart. Don’t let anyone else see what’s inside.” 

You gasped when you felt the tight tension on your neck make a snap, your consciousness quickly going out and sleep welcoming you home.