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a safe haven l one

Jackson! Joel Miller x Female Reader

series masterlist

summary: After the events in Salt Lake City, Joel and Ellie are back in Jackson, Wyoming to start a brand new life in the safe haven; Ellie has a difficult time fitting in and adjusting in the community, but she finds a friend in you; Joel meets you for the very first time and strange new feelings instantly take root.

warnings/tags: 18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI. AGE GAP (no specific age is mentioned, but reader’s in her late 20s/early 30s and Joel is 56). reader is basically an OFC but story is written in reader format and her physical descriptions are kept as vague as possible. i have my own face claim for her, but i will only ever share it under cuts and with disclaimers. reader is married, Ellie plays a very important role in the series, hints at her strained relationship with Joel but this will indeed be a fix it fic because he deserves it, okay?

word count: 8.1k

Jackson, Wyoming | June, 2024

Joel’s deep, dark brown eyes linger on you from across the town mess hall with sheer, almost unabashed curiosity. Then again, he doesn’t even realize that he’s staring.

It’s about half past twelve, the designated lunch break hour in Jackson, and the larger scale eatery, which for the last couple of years has been run by an older man named Seth and his two surviving adult sons, is alive and well, buzzing loudly with obnoxious, overlapping chatter.

The hall is almost over maximum capacity, packed to the brim with several members of the steadily growing community who had stopped in for a quick bite to eat before having to resume their daily work duties around the settlement. Or at least, a majority of them had, anyway. Others shamelessly try to milk their lunch hour for all that it’s worth and more, dragging it out and extending their allotted free time for as long as they possibly can before having to return to their scheduled tasks around the commune. They float about the place, socializing as if the mess hall had suddenly turned into The Tipsy Bison, the bar right across the road that’s also owned by Seth.

Somehow, by a stroke of sheer good luck, you’d managed to find yourself a smaller, unoccupied table nestled against the wall, away from all the hustle and bustle. It’s tucked away over in the furthest corner of Jackson’s busy and bustling makeshift canteen, near where the aluminum double doors that lead back to the kitchens are propped wide open for the mess hall staff who were coming in and out to replenish the dishes at the buffet. 

You’re sitting at the table alone, your plastic lunch tray surrounded by an absurd amount of open books that Joel had very little choice but to assume came from the town’s modest, but decent sized library that he’d seen nestled between the schoolhouse and the old church, right behind Main Street. In between delicate bites of oven baked chicken and roasted vegetables harvested fresh from the gardens, you reach up and take the blunt, worn yellow pencil that’s tucked in the space behind your ear, using it to scribble on the notepad in your lap before putting the pencil back in its designated place. Although you’re clearly working through your lunch break today, that doesn’t stop you from being interrupted on several different occasions by numerous individuals—friends and familiar faces all approach you with hopeful expressions, eager to join you and keep you company. 

Sure, the hall is full, but there’s still a number of available seats still left at other partially occupied tables nearby, bigger tables that aren’t crowded with books like yours, tables whose occupants aren’t busy working, studying—doing whatever it is that you’re doing. It becomes apparent to Joel that you’re something of a hot commodity around here. He can’t quite put his finger on it, but there’s just something about you that reminds him of the sweet and popular small town girl his favorite country artists would sing about back in the day. The kind of girl with a magnetic presence and irresistible charm—the kind of girl that anyone can fall head over heels in love with in one way or another. 

There’s something almost too endearing about the gracious way you offer up just the most saccharine smile and apologetic doe eyes as you point to your books, politely declining every offer for companionship that comes your way, saying something he can imagine to be along the lines of, not today or maybe another time. Eventually, after a while, you’re finally left alone to bury yourself back into whatever it is that’s keeping you occupied that you can’t even have your midday meal in peace—you’re so engrossed in the task that you don’t even notice the older, salt and pepper haired newcomer who’s been blatantly staring at you from his table over on the opposite of the hall for the last several minutes. 

It’s not the first time Joel’s seen you around.

He still vividly remembers the moment when he’d first laid eyes on you several months ago during the winter season. 

It had been the morning after his fight with Ellie, after she’d confronted him and he had been forced to fess up about his plans to hand her off to his younger brother, Tommy—he’d asked him, pleaded with him, to get her to the Fireflies in Colorado. Joel’s mind had been in an all out raging war, his heart torn between doing what he’d felt was best for Ellie and what he truly wanted, which was to remain by her side and get her to where she needed to be himself. But how the fuck could he do that when all he’d managed to do in the few months prior to their arrival in Wyoming was fail to protect her over and over again? Sure, Ellie was a teenager, now closer to being an adult than anything else, but she was still a child, one who needed to be protected, kept safe. She needed somebody who could get to where she needed to be in one piece, and Joel had come to the conclusion that, as much as he wanted to be that person, he simply wasn’t capable. Slower, older, his hearing getting worse and worse as the days go by, he feared he’d only end up getting her killed if she continued on with him, a scenario he fucking refused to let happen at all costs. He wouldn’t hold another child’s dead body in his arms, not again.

Following a very long and sleepless night of tossing and turning, Joel had pulled himself out of bed just after sunrise that morning. After getting dressed, he’d quietly slipped out of the house and made his way down to the horse stables, hoping he could leave the commune as soon as possible and without notice from Tommy—and especially without notice from Ellie. It’s not that he had wanted to leave without saying goodbye to her, but Joel knew he wouldn’t have it in him to follow through with the decision he’d made about parting ways with her if he saw her face again, not a fucking chance. And so there he’d been, in one of the stalls at the stables, saddling up the horse he planned to steal and take off on when you’d walked by, flashing him a warm and friendly smile, probably assuming he was just another patrolman getting ready to head out for the morning shift. 

Joel had just stared at you, lips pressed together into a tight, thin line with an emotionless expression on his hard, stony face.

Of course, you were nothing more than a complete stranger who didn’t have the slightest clue as to what was going through his mind. You couldn’t have possibly imagined what was happening to the tortured older man you’d just encountered, the way his inner turmoil was a single thought away from tearing him apart from the inside out. You’d probably just thought he was rude for not smiling back, or at the very least, offering you a courteous good morning.

He’d almost forgotten about you since then.

Almost.

It’d been rather difficult for him to forget all about the prettiest goddamn fucking face he’d ever seen since the world ended two decades ago—not even after all of the events that followed that fateful morning.

The next time Joel had seen you was on his second day back in Wyoming. He and Ellie had made a trip down to the produce market on Main Street to pick up some vegetables and jarred preserves to stock up the kitchen pantry of their new, forever home. He’d caught sight of you as you made your way down one of the aisles towards the sweet potato bins with a brown, woven basket hanging from one arm and a reusable shopping bag draped over the other. Before Joel even realized that he’d been staring, your kind gaze met his own from across the market and you smiled at him again.

Still just as warm, still just as friendly. And you were still just as fucking beautiful as he remembered.

Much like that winter morning in the horse stables, Joel didn’t smile back at you. 

Two for fucking two—surely you must have thought he was a mannerless asshole at this point. He honestly wouldn’t blame you if you did. He’d think the same. 

Tommy, who had made it back from leading his morning patrol group just in time to join him for lunch, waves a hand in front of Joel’s face, looking thoroughly amused. “Maybe we should find you a goddamn camera,” he teases, letting out a small chuckle once he’d finally managed to break the older Miller’s trance, garnering his attention. “Y’know, so you can take a picture. It’ll last a hell of a lot longer.”

Joel scowls at his brother, though he says nothing.

He can’t very well deny that he’d been caught openly gawking. 

“Shut up, Tommy,” is all he can come up with before taking a large bite of seasoned carrots, heat flooding his face. The way Tommy’s looking at him, with that mischievous glimmer in his eyes, it reminds Joel of their younger years, when Tommy would make it his mission in life to do anything that would cause him discomfort just for his own kicks. 

“Hey, I don’t really blame you, y’know.” Tommy reaches over for his glass of sweet iced tea and picks it up, taking a long and refreshing sip. Smacking his lips together, he casually shrugs his shoulders, shooting Joel a knowing smirk over the top the glass as he comments, “She’s certainly a sight for sore eyes, ain’t she, big brother?”

“Watch it. Don’t think Maria would appreciate you sayin’ that kinda thing ’bout another woman who ain’t her,” Joel warns, cocking an eyebrow at him. His brother hadn’t always been the most faithful of partners in his first life, but Tommy truly seemed to be head over heels in love with his wife. Hearing him talk about another woman makes Joel wonder if perhaps remnants of his playboy ways still lingered behind even after twenty years. With Maria having just found out she was expecting his child, Joel certainly hopes that isn’t the case. “Eyes to yourself, asshole.”

Tommy shrugs again. “Ain’t no real harm in just takin’ a quick peek every once in a while,” he muses, although there’s a joking edge to his tone. Setting his glass of iced tea back down onto the table in front of him, he leans back into his chair and glances over at you. He lets out a long, low whistle, another smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. “Oh trust me, I get it, Joel—hell, every man around here gets it, fuckin’ single or not. She’s a real fuckin’ beauty, she is. But I should probably go ahead and warn you now that it’s best you don’t go gettin’ any ideas when it comes to that one.”

Before Joel can even stop himself, he finds himself asking, “Why’s that?

“Well for starters, that girl’s damn near half your fuckin’ age, you old fucker.”

Joel flips him off.

“Besides that, she’s already spoken for.” 

“She’s got a boyfriend.” It’s a statement, not a question.

“She’s got a husband,” Tommy corrects him. “She’s a married woman, Joel. And here’s the real fuckin’ kicker. She’s married to Jackson’s only doctor.”

Joel snorts, rolling his eyes. “A real doctor? Or just some fuckin’ clueless prick who claims to be a doctor?” he questions, shoving another forkful of his carrots into his mouth.

The younger man laughs at the bitter skepticism, knowing that it’d come from a place of envy more than anything. “Real, Joel. The guy’s around my age, give or take a couple years. He was finishin’ up his medical school residency when the outbreak first happened, at least that’s what Maria says,” he explains. He notices the confusion flash across Joel’s face and continues to elaborate. “Two of them go way back, went to the same college before she transferred out to another school for her law degree. Maria came across him and his group one day while out lookin’ for supplies. She said he still knew his stuff after all these years and decided to bring him in as the community’s physician. He looks after everyone around here. Delivers the babies, stitches up wounds. Hell, I broke my arm in a stupid ridin’ accident last summer and he set the bone right back into place, had me good as new within a few weeks. S’a miracle we’ve got someone like him around here.”

Joel glances down at his plate, twiddling his fork between his thumb and his index finger. He would have been a goddamn dirty liar if he’d said that finding out you were a married woman didn’t bother him. 

And to a fucking hero doctor nonetheless.

That only makes it sting a little harder.

Tommy immediately picks up on his brother’s disappointment in hearing the news about you being taken and softly kicks his shin with the toe of his boot underneath the table. “Y’know Joel, there’s plenty of other single women around here. Pretty ones, and real nice, too,” he informs him with a small smile. He pauses and then offers, “If you’re interested, I could introduce you around. Maria has this friend, her name is Esther and she’s a real cute blonde—”

“That’s the last thing on my fuckin’ mind,” Joel grumbles out in reply. He tightly shakes his head. “I just fuckin’ got here, Tommy. Besides, I’ve got Ellie that I need to take care of. We’re both tryin’ to get used to this place after bein’ out there on the road for so long. We’re still in the middle of gettin’ ourselves settled. The kid’s my priority right now—my only fuckin’ priority. Not meetin’ someone.”

Not wanting to push him too far, Tommy goes along with the subject change. “Speakin’ of Ellie, how’s she been doin’ by the way? Haven’t really seen much of her since you two got back.”

Joel hesitates, momentarily unable to meet Tommy’s eyes.

It’d been a couple of weeks now since the events that took place back in Salt Lake City. 

Since the hospital.

Since the Fireflies.

Joel had certainly thought once or twice about confiding in Tommy about what he had done. How he had ruthlessly and without a single ounce of mercy killed all of those people in the hospital, how he had shot Marlene dead at point blank range—how he had violently and single handedly stopped what had most likely been humanity’s only chance at potentially finding a cure for the cordyceps infection by preventing the Fireflies from operating on Ellie and performing a brain surgery that would have killed her. 

Joel doesn’t regret it, nor does he regret the choice he’d made on Ellie’s behalf.

He would do it all over again in a fucking heartbeat if it came down to it.

He doesn’t carry guilt over having done what he’d done, but he does carry the guilt of having lied to her about it after it was all said and done. He felt awful for looking her in the eye and swearing to her that everything he’d said about the Fireflies was true when it wasn’t. Ellie claimed to believe him, but he knew better than that. She was smart, too fucking smart for her own good. She might not have known the extent of it all, but she knew for certain that Joel wasn’t being entirely forthright about what had gone down in Salt Lake City while she’d been unconscious.

From that moment on the mountain, things had been quite tense between them. That conversation instantly caused a rift in their relationship, but Joel could tell she was doing her very best to force herself to fully believe that he was still a person she could trust, a person she could put her faith in. He took an odd sense of comfort in knowing that her forced efforts to keep believing in him had to have meant something good. 

She didn’t want to give up on him or on their relationship.

Joel exhales a heavy sigh, finally answering the question. “Not too great,” he admits, quietly. “I’m real worried ‘bout her, Tommy. It’s been a couple weeks now since we’ve been back and she still hasn’t made one single goddamn friend around here. She doesn’t fuckin’ talk to anyone, barely even talks to Maria.” He sighs again, tiredly rubbing the side of his face with his free hand. “She spends most of her time hidin’ out in the stables with the horses. She would rather be around them than other people. She can’t live the rest of her life like that. I try to tell her she needs to put in more effort on her part, but she won’t fuckin’ listen to me.”

“Just give her some more time, Joel. After everythin’ that poor kid’s been through in her life, it ain’t a big surprise that she’s strugglin’ a bit to fit in around here, y’know?” Tommy notices the way his older brother’s jaw clenches and he offers him a look of sympathy. “Look, I know Ellie means a whole lot to you and if I were you, I would be real worried ’bout her too. But just give her a little more time to adjust. She’ll get there, I know she fuckin’ will. She’s a real strong kid, big brother.”

“Yeah, I know she is,” Joel murmurs in agreement. “Hell of a lot stronger than someone her age should have to be.”

“She’ll be just fine,” Tommy reassures him. “She’ll find her place here, Joel. Just wait. You’ll see.”

“I sure as hell fuckin’ hope you’re right.”

You relish the feeling of warm sunlight hitting your face.

Summer’s just beginning in Wyoming, and after a particularly long, cold and cruel winter that swept the western state this last year, you couldn’t have been more thrilled to see that warmer weather is well on its way.

At least, for now you’re thrilled.

Winters in Jackson were god awful, but summers could be just as brutal, if not worse.

Clutching the strap of your old, but sturdy brown leather satchel bag securely over your shoulder, you hurriedly make your way across the settlement from the mess hall and back towards the horse stables, the place you commonly referred to as your second home—it wasn’t all that much of a joke, seeing as you often spent more time there than you didn’t. It’s now after lunch hour, and there’s still plenty of work to be done before the end of the day rolls around, most of it which would undoubtedly trickle into the next day.

Being the only veterinarian in the community, there was always more than plenty of work to be done every day. Too much work to be done by one single person alone. Often, you find yourself feeling quite overwhelmed by it all. You feel like you’re completely in over your head, and it leaves you wondering if you’d made the right decision by taking such an enormous responsibility into your hands.

Then again, it’s not like you’d been given much of a choice. In a way, it had been expected of you.

Prior to passing away from illness two summers ago, your father had been the veterinarian who looked after the animals. Even though you hadn’t been trained professionally like he had, your father decided to spend the final years of his life teaching you to the best of his ability and with what little resources he had available. After all, Jackson was going to need someone to step up and take care of the animals when he was gone—particularly the hoses. Even as his physical health worsened, he used every last ounce of strength he had left in him to prepare you to take over for him when he died. Thanks to him and all he’d done for you, you certainly knew a thing or two, but the job was still daunting, even after all this time of being in practice on your own without him there to guide you like before.

Keeping the horses healthy to begin with made your job a hell of a lot easier, but when a horse became sick or injured, that was when your knowledge and your skills were truly put to the test. Horses were how everyone traveled when in search of needed supplies, how patrolmen and women moved around while they were out and about on watch keeping the community safe against the infected and against raiders. Horses were one of the most important, most precious resources the commune possessed. They kept everything going, everyone moving, and you’d be fucking lying if you said that being the sole person in charge of caring for them didn’t put a tremendous amount of pressure on your shoulders.

Sensing your doubt, Maria Miller often assured you that you were the best person for the role—the only person for the role. “The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree,” she had complimented you over coffee at her place the morning after you had successfully removed a bullet lodged into the shoulder of one of the horses that had been injured while Tommy and his group were out on overnight patrol. They’d stumbled across violent and armed raiders, and luckily everyone had made it out unscathed with the exception of Tommy’s beloved black horse, Ranger. You recalled being pulled out of your bed in the middle of the night to tend to him, the first serious case you had to take care of without your father’s guidance. Thankfully, the stallion’s injury hadn’t been life threatening, and you were able to patch him up within the hour. After just a few weeks of working with Ranger and putting him through physical therapy, the horse made a full recovery and both Maria and Tommy couldn’t have been more thrilled with your work.

Still, you still continued questioning your own abilities, but it didn’t really matter in the end. Both Maria and Tommy decided to assign you as Jackson’s equine veterinarian, pulling you from your previous job, which had been helping Seth make sandwiches at The Tipsy Bison.

You rush into the stables, making a mental list with the names of all the horses that you still need to check over for the day, including the group of horses that had just arrived back from that morning’s patrol. You make your way down to the very last stall which is serving as home to a stunning, chestnut-brown pregnant mare.

“Hi there, Stella,” you coo sweetly, beaming at the beauty. “Hi, my gorgeous girl. How are you doing today, sweetie pie?”

“I would be doing a hell of a lot better if I could have one of those apples in your bag,” a voice answers, startling you slightly.

Peering around Stella’s body, you catch sight of Ellie laying down on a small bed of hay in the furthest corner of the stall. She’d made something of a pillow out of her backpack, kicking back as she flips through her favorite superhero comic book for what had to be the hundredth time. She offers you a silly, lopsided grin the minute she takes a glimpse at the baffled look on your face. “Howdy.”

“Ellie,” you sigh her name softly. “What in the world are you doing in here?”

“Living my best life,” she deadpans. “What else does it look like I’m doing?”

You try but mostly fail, in hiding your laughter at her quick witted sense of humor. “Ellie,” you say her name again. “You can’t just hide out in here with the horses every single day, you know,” you point out, dropping your heavy satchel bag onto the ground. Stella lowers her head and gives it a sniff, no doubt smelling those apples you always carried around with you.

“Wanna bet?” The teenager quips with a small joking smirk as she sits up, tossing her comic book to the side. Bits of hay stick out of her brown hair, which she always keeps tied back in a messy ponytail.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in school with the other kids?”

She rolls her eyes. “I already went to school. Back in the Boston QZ. FEDRA’s finest, dude.”

You don’t know all that much about Ellie Williams—nor about the brooding older man that she’s here with, Joel Miller. The only thing you do know is that Joel happened to be Tommy Miller’s older brother and he acted as Ellie’s guardian. Initially, you’d thought he was her father, but Maria had told you that he had no familial relation to the girl, a fact that took you by complete surprise.

Their arrival in Jackson back during the winter season had the entire town talking—but by the following morning, the pair were gone, not to be seen again for several months until their return towards the end of spring just a couple of weeks ago. Rumors flew once the word of their return had gone around, but in reality, no one had the slightest clue about where they had gone or why they had left the safety of the commune’s walls in the first place. Not even Maria, who had failed in getting her husband to talk. She swore up and down Tommy knew something she didn’t, but he refused to spill his brother’s secrets, even to his own wife.

Like everyone else in the tight knit community, you were curious about Ellie, and you were especially curious about Joel. You’d seen him around a couple of times before, but hadn’t had the chance to meet him yet. Still, even without having spoken a single word to him, you already knew he wasn’t anything like Tommy, or anyone else you’ve ever encountered, really. A man of very few words, he kept to himself, just like Ellie did. Still, Joel knew he needed to find his place and pull his weight in Jackson just like everyone else, and once he began working patrol alongside Tommy, he finally began engaging with other members of the town. 

Reluctantly so, but at the very least, he was trying.

Ellie, on the other hand, avoided everybody at all costs. Everybody, that is, except for you.

Since their arrival, Ellie chose to spend her days in the stables. She’d hang out with the horses while reading her comic books or listening to tapes on some old Walkman she had permanently borrowed from Tommy. Despite a hectic schedule that kept you busy, you eventually started taking the time out of your day to talk to her. It had started off with light chatter about the most trivial of things—how the day was going, whether or not the weather was nice outside, what had been served for lunch in the mess hall that afternoon. Ellie seemed almost annoyed with you at first, but after a couple of days, she’d quickly started warming up to you and by the end of the first week, she had started following you around the stables, joining you wherever you needed to be. The girl had taken a liking to you, but she was still quite guarded and careful, as if she were still testing the waters, figuring out whether or not you could be trusted.

You don’t mind that, though.

Little by little, simply by being kind to her and making the genuine effort to get to know her, you’re slowly beginning to chip away at her layers. There was still quite a long way to go if you ever wanted the teenager to completely open up to you, but you didn’t mind that either.

You’d be as patient with her as you needed to be.

You walk over to her. “Listen Ellie, as much as I really enjoy having you around me all the time, you really do need to make friends, you know.”

She blinks. “But you’re my friend.”

Even as you rephrase yourself, you can’t help but smile. “Friends your own age,” you remark, tucking the loose lock of your hair that had fallen loose from your dutch braid behind your ear. “You know, my husband, he has a niece named Dina. She’s about your age. I could introduce you to each other if you'd like?”

Ellie furiously shakes her head. “No.”

“Ellie—”

“Everyone around here looks at me like I’ve got two fucking heads or something. She probably fucking will too,” she mumbles. She pulls her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them. “I’d have an easier time fitting in around here if I was a fucking clicker.”

Chuckling, you gently shake your head at her.

By now, you’d pretty much gotten used to her rich and colorful vocabulary.

You crouch down in front of her. “Look Ellie, I know how hard it is not to fit in with others.”

“You?” Ellie blows a loud raspberry in complete disbelief. “No fucking way. I don’t believe that for one fucking second, sweet cheeks.”

“Hey, in case you didn’t know this, I haven’t always been this age,” you remind her, lightly swatting at the side of her knee with your hand. “I was fifteen once too.”

“Yeah, and you were probably little miss fucking perfect, just like you are now.” She rolls her brown eyes at you in a teasing manner. “I bet everyone just loved you.”

You swat at her knee again. “Oh, stop that. That couldn’t be any further from the truth,” you reply, wondering where this child had come up with the idea that you are, or had ever been perfect. “I was still living in one of the quarantine zones with my family when I was your age, Ellie. We were living in the Alburquerque QZ for quite a while before it got overrun by the infected. They had schools and everything, just like in Boston. My mother was a nurse, so she had the privilege of enrolling me in one of their better schools, a preparatory school—she had the hope that I’d become an officer so I could have a chance at a decent life.” You pause, noticing a strange glimmer flash in the girl’s eyes, but when she says nothing, you continue on, “So I got the absolute pleasure of going to school with a bunch of kids whose parents were officers and important higher ups in the zone. And let me tell you something, the world may have gone to complete shit, but teenagers can still be fucking assholes.”

Ellie throws her head back and laughs loudly. “Whoa! I never thought I’d hear you curse. I thought you were too fucking prim and proper for that.”

“I’m not all that prim and proper,” you counter, grinning at the way she continues to cackle. “Besides, spending all this time with you might just have me cursing like a fucking sailor by the end of the week.”

“Fuck yeah it will,” she agrees with a nod. 

You grin again, but when your eyes meet Ellie’s, it falters slightly.

Ellie hadn’t told you much of anything about her past, but one thing was for certain—the young girl had been through hell and back. You could see it written all over her face, even when she smiled and even when she laughed. The traces of terror, pain, and trauma were quite subtle, but they were very much present and in recent nights, you’d find yourself lying in bed, wide awake and wondering what all this poor child had gone through in her life. Thoughts about what Ellie had seen, what and who she had lost in this world haunted you.

She’s different. 

What she’d been through made her different.

It set her apart from the other children, especially those who don’t know what it’s like to live a life outside these four walls.

It pained you to know that she felt ostracized when you were willing to bet your life that whatever had happened to her, it hadn’t been her fault.

Ellie Williams wasn’t your responsibility—you hardly know her. But you already care about her. An inexplicable soft spot for her had found its way into your heart from your very first interaction with her. If there’s anything you can do to help her ease into this new way of life, you’ll gladly do so without hesitation.  

“So then,” Ellie finally says after a minute, looking up at you. “Is it, uh, is it alright if I keep coming to the stables to spend time with you and the horses?”

“Of course.” You rise to your feet and glance at Stella. “But only on one condition. You have to help me out with the grooming. I’ve been really short handed lately and could use the extra help. Deal?”

She jumps up to her feet, eagerly nodding her head. “Deal.”

Joel dumps his plastic tray and used dishware into the designated dirty dish bin before shoving his way through the doors of the mess hall. The air outside is still relatively cool, it’s crisp and fresh—but the temperatures are sure to get a hell of a lot warmer now that summer has officially arrived. Not that he minded.

He keeps his sights set straight ahead of him, doing his best to avoid eye contact with anyone who so much as even throws a glimpse in his direction.

People seem to be getting to him, but oftentimes, he still feels like a pariah. It’s almost like he’s some fucking feral stray cat that Jackson had adopted and taken into it’s home, willing to tame him, but still afraid that he could start tearing shit up at any given moment if they didn’t keep a close enough eye on him. He could handle that, though. It’s his Ellie he’s worried about. Between the survivor’s guilt she’d been dealing with on a daily basis and the way she was looked at in the community by everyone, Joel feared for her well being. He could only hope that Tommy was right about her just needing time and that eventually, she’ll find her place and he’ll have the chance to give her the most normal life possible under the circumstances. 

It’s the very least Joel could do for her after all she’d been through in the last year—after what he’d done, how he had lied straight to her face. He fucking owed her that much.

Ellie deserved happiness, and he would do just about anything in his power to give it to her.

Joel arrives at the horse stables and makes his way inside. “Ellie?” He calls out her name. “Ellie? You in here?”

That’s when he hears her voice. 

“Wait, what? Stella’s pregnant? I didn’t fucking know that!”

Rounding the corner into the very last stall, Joel sees Ellie standing there, her tiny little hand on the muzzle of a brown horse. In her opposite hand, she’s holding a mane brush. She isn’t alone.

He’s surprised to see you standing there beside her, your hands planted on your hips. You’re wearing a pair of well worn light wash blue jeans, the legs tucked into a pair of weathered black riding boots whose soles are completely caked with muck. Joel remembers you wearing an oversized, long sleeved red flannel shirt back in the mess hall, but it’s now off and tied around your waist, leaving you in a thin, cotton white tank top—the material fits snug on your frame, and Joel tries his hardest not to stare at the patch of bare skin that peeks between the hem of your shirt and the waistband of your jeans.

Christ.

You’re even more beautiful up close.

Fuckin’ get a grip, Miller, he thinks silently to himself.

“She sure is,” you reply to her question with a wide grin. “We just found out about a week ago and believe she’s about a few weeks along. We’ll have a sweet new baby in a year.”

“What? No fucking way!” Ellie exclaims, looking thoroughly excited, but bewildered by the fact. “Horses are pregnant for a whole year? Holy shit man, that’s fucking nuts!”

“Well, for eleven months,” you clarify for her, giving Stella a gentle, but firm pat on her muscular neck. “This is Stella’s first one. We’re hoping for a smooth pregnancy that reaches full term, but sometimes babies decide to come a bit sooner than expected.”

Curiously, Joel’s lips part and his eyes widen slightly.

He can’t fucking believe it.

Ellie hadn’t spoken a single word to anyone in two weeks and yet here she is, engaging with you so easily and so effortlessly, cracking the first genuine smile he’d seen since they had fed that giraffe back in Salt Lake City. More than that, Ellie is being herself, cursing up a storm and all, and you don’t seem the slightest bit bothered by it, not like the other adults whose jaws would drop in utter horror at her use of such foul language.

Joel wills himself to move and steps inside of the stall. He lightly clears his throat. “Ellie.”

You and Ellie both turn around, glancing in his direction.

“Joel? What are you doing here?” she asks, her smile fading slightly.

“Lookin’ for you. It’s lunchtime. Y’need to go eat somethin’ kiddo.”

She holds up the brush in her hand. “But we were just about to—”

He stops her with a stern glare. “Lunch. Now. Go.”

“Fine,” Ellie huffs and rolls her eyes at him. Picking up her red and tan backpack from the ground, she hands you the mane brush and stomps out of the stall, roughly shoving into Joel’s shoulder as she pushes past him without another word.

Joel glances at you, a sudden wave of awkwardness washing over him. Just as he’s about to politely excuse himself and leave, you speak.

“You’re Tommy’s older brother, right? Joel?”

He nods. “Yeah. I am.”

Stepping away from Stella, you walk over to Joel and introduce yourself, extending a hand for him to shake.

Your name is as beautiful as you are and it sounds heavenly when he repeats it, rolling smoothly off his tongue. He takes your hand in his own and the contrast between the two is stark. Your hand is soft against his rough, small compared to his large, but somehow still an all too perfect fit.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Joel.” Your eyes find his, meeting them in a way that makes something inside of him that had been sleeping for decades now stir itself awake—it’s a feeling that’s too foreign for him to pinpoint. 

Realizing he’s been holding onto your hand longer than necessary, he drops it and takes a step back, lightly bumping his back against the stall door. “I’m—uh, I’m real sorry ‘bout Ellie,” Joel apologizes to you after a minute. “I know she’s been spendin’ a lot of time in here. I hope she hasn’t been botherin’ you or gettin’ in the way of things. If she is, I’ll have a talk with her.”

“No, no. Of course not. She hasn’t been bothering me at all,” you quickly assure him without missing a beat. “I’m usually in here alone, so it’s actually been really nice having her around. I enjoy her company a lot.”

“You do?”

You toss him a puzzled, but amused look. “Is that so strange?”

Joel places his hands on his hips and leans back against the stall door. “Ellie’s been havin’ a little trouble,” he confesses. “Adjustin’ to life here and meetin’ people. She, uh—she ain’t like all the other kids around here, y’know?”

“I know.”

His eyebrows raise to his hairline—exactly how well had you and Ellie gotten to know each other already? What all had she told you? What did you know about her?

What did you know about him?

Joel tries to mask the concern on his face.

“I was just talking to her a little while ago. I told her I know how hard it is being a teenager and trying to fit it in with the crowd, even in a world like this one.” You let out a humorless laugh and shake your head, the ridiculousness of what you’d just said sounding sillier out loud than it had in your mind. “It’s even harder when you’re just so different.” You detect the way that your statement triggers something of a negative response from Joel—the way his eyes darken in a flash of anger and his nostrils flare slightly tell you he doesn’t take all too kindly to anyone talking negatively about his kid. Ellie being different is something that he already knows, of course, but hearing it from someone else isn’t easy for him, and it certainly isn’t welcome. It puts him right into protective mode and you don’t blame him, not in the slightest. You hold your hands up and reassure him, “There’s nothing wrong with being different, by the way.”

Joel sees the sincerity in your eyes that go hand in hand with your words and his defenses switch off almost as quickly as they’d switched on. “There isn’t,” he agrees with a careful nod of his head. “Nothin’ wrong with it at all.” He clears his throat. “M’sorry, I didn’t mean to—it’s just that I don’t really like it when people start runnin’ their mouths ‘bout my kid, that’s all.”

Waving a hand, you assure him, “No need to apologize at all, Joel.”

Little by little, he starts relaxing. Taut and tense muscles that have been wound up for years and years are suddenly beginning to loosen. All it’s taking is being in your presence and talking to you. Joel suddenly understands why Ellie’s taken such a quick liking to you. 

You’re unlike anyone that either of them had ever met before. You’re bright and you bring about this warmth—a different kind of warmth Joel hadn’t felt in so fucking long. It feels like seeing the sun for the very first time after spending years and years trapped in a cold, cold darkness.

He glances around the stall. “So, uh—what’s the deal? You one of the stable hands around here or somethin’ like that?”

“Something like that,” you repeat after him, a tiny grin tugging at the corners of your mouth at the way he speaks with a heavy, but still incredibly charming Southern drawl. “I’m the veterinarian here in Jackson.”

He chuckles. “Y’mean, those still exist?”

“Sort of. My father used to be the veterinarian here,” you explain to him. “That was what he did for a living before the outbreak happened. We lived in New Mexico on a horse ranch when I was growing up—he started off as a stable hand and then he went back to school to become an equine veterinarian. When we got here a few years ago from one of the quarantine zones, he told Maria what he had done for a living before this and he was asked to care for the horses in exchange for our place here.”

“And you?” Joel can’t help but wonder out loud. You seem quite young, can’t be older than your late twenties or early thirties at most, which would still have made you a child when the outbreak happened. “No offense darlin’ but you seem a little bit too young to have gone to vet school before shit hit the fan.”

Darlin’.

He doesn’t mean to call you that. But it’s too late—and you don’t appear bothered by it.

Instead, you laugh, and the sound is like a gorgeous melody he could listen to on repeat for the rest of his life if given the chance. “No, I definitely did not go to veterinary school. Actually, my dad taught me everything I know.” You speak fondly of him as you continue to say, “He educated me. Well, as best as he could considering the circumstances and all. He gave me a ton of books that I could read and study from, but most of it was hands-on training. He tried to teach me all that he could before he died a couple of years ago.”

Joel frowns. “Oh. Sorry to hear ‘bout your dad.”

“It’s alright. You don’t have to be sorry.”

He peers at you, wondering what had happened to him. 

“He died of illness,” you tell him, as if having read his mind. “Cancer, we think it was, but we obviously can’t know for sure without proper testing. And before you say it again, you don’t have to be sorry.” You cross your arms over your chest, tilting your head at him as you change the subject and ask, “So, how are you settling in?”

“S’been alright, I reckon. Real different from what I’m used to—from what we’re both used to,” Joel answers, referring to Ellie.

“I can imagine it is. It took me a while to get used to this place when I first got here too. It’s such a different way of life, especially when you lived under FEDRA control for so long,” you empathize with him, sighing as you drop your arms back down at your sides. “You stay just a couple of houses down from Tommy and Maria, right?”

“Yeah, we’re two doors down in the brown and greenish lookin’ unit.”

“I’m in the light blue and white cottage right across from them,” you inform him, your pretty eyes twinkling as you give him a smile. “I guess that kind of makes us neighbors, doesn’t it?”

Joel’s stomach somersaults.

If you didn’t stop smiling at him like that, there was going to be a problem.

“It does,” he manages to say. Remembering Tommy’s warning from earlier, he decides it would be best for him to leave—and the quicker, the better because he’s beginning to notice how fucking easy it is to fall under your spell. He pushes himself away from the stall door. “I should probably get goin’ now. Got evenin’ patrol,” he says. “Listen, uh, I really appreciate you spendin’ time with Ellie and bein’ so kind to her. Thank you for that.” He gives you a small grateful nod and turns on the heel of his boot to leave the stall.

“Joel?”

He stops dead in his tracks, his back stiffening slightly.

The sound of your soft voice saying his name is sweet like pure, raw honey.

If he isn’t careful, he’ll become addicted to it—he fears he already is.

Swallowing harshly, Joel turns back around to face you. “Yeah?”

“We’re having this big get together tomorrow night in the barn that’s right across the way,” you say, jabbing a thumb over your shoulder. Through the small round window in the stall, he can see the very barn you’re talking about. “We do it every single year on the first day of summer. We do it for the kids more than anything, but everyone comes out.” There’s a subtle hint of shyness to your tone. “I’m not sure if Tommy or Maria have mentioned it to you yet, but there’s going to be a big barbecue, drinks, and even dancing. The whole nine yards.”

Joel has to bite back a small scoff of disbelief. “You serious?”

“Hey, the world might have ended, but people still know how to get down and party,” you joke. You observe the genuinely perplexed look that crosses his face and giggle. “I know it must sound really bizarre. But it’s a lot of fun and it’s a great way to really get to know the folks around here. I think it would be great if you and Ellie both came.”

“Ain’t too sure if it’d be Ellie’s thing. Or mine,” he admits, raking a hand nervously through his hair at the thought.

“You won’t know unless you give it a shot, Joel.” You gift him with another brilliant smile that just about makes his heart stop inside his chest. “Please?”

Joel hardly knows you.

Hell, up until five minutes ago, he hadn’t even known your fucking name—how is it possible that he can’t say no to you? A complete fucking stranger?

He thinks about it. He doesn’t like the idea of having to interact with anyone outside of his patrol duties, but if going to the damn thing means seeing you again, then he’s willing to at the very least give it a shot. 

“Maybe we’ll both stop by for a bit and check it out,” he finally replies, exhaling a sigh of defeat.

“Great!” You beam happily. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, then!”

“I’ll see you tomorrow night,” Joel repeats, giving you one last nod before turning and leaving the stall.

As he leaves the stables and heads home, he can’t help the way the corners of his mouth threaten to turn upwards at the mere thought of seeing you tomorrow night. 

Shit.

Yeah, he’s in fucking trouble. 

[katanablue]

OPEN you say?

Iiiiif inspiration strikes maybe a desperate and whiny bay!Leo during mating season? 😩 he deserves to be a little whiny and cranky sometimes. And like... you just keep getting interrupted

Ifnotthatsokayyoucanignorethis. loveyourstuffkaybye

RIP IM SORRY THIS IS LIKE 80 YEARS LATE

Warnings: fem reader, sex obvi, anal, mentions of ass eating, Leo is mean for half a second

. . . . . ╰──╮꒰💙꒱ ╭──╯ . . . . .

Three times.

Three times you and Leo have been interrupted from getting busy with each other, from letting him release all these pent up frustrations and desires, letting him mark you up and claim you as his because once again that time has come.

Mating season.

By now you’ve learned to recognize the symptoms, a few years of being together have you in tune with his isms. He’s more fidgety, focusing harder to keep with his mediation and he always lingers closer to you with a protective hand on some part of your body.

So naturally, as the good partner you are, you let him indulge.

Obviously he cautioned you that things would be… rough. That the last thing he wanted to do was to hurt you and ignore you if you were asking him to stop.

But after a very long detailed talk coupled with some research, you felt ready.

You started slow with him; handjobs escalated to blowjobs, oral performed on you went up to 69-ing with you on top until eventually you worked your way to having sex.

And some selfish part of you loved when it was Leo’s mating season because it always left you feeling like a fucked out pile of goo.

It was hard at first finding the time and space to help him out but you figured it out with time; whether it was in his room late at night or at your apartment.

But this time, the universe seemed to be against you both.

Twice you got disturbed by his brothers, claiming they needed to go for patrol to check out some suspicious activity and last time it was Splinter who wanted Leo to join him for meditation.

But even that couldn’t cool the leader in blue’s blood.

Leo was getting desperate at this point and you were too, but in your case you could easily take care of your problems yourself. Leo, however? Needed you. His hand didn’t do it justice. He climaxed but it never felt good, not like how it would feel if it was by your doing. He needed your pleasure to help him achieve that maximum euphoria.

Leo was ready to kick everyone out the Lair at this point but luckily he didn’t need to; his brothers were out doing their own things and Splinter was relaxing at home which meant Leo could slip away to yours.

Which is how you ending up like this; Leo rutting against your ass, cock so slick and slippery as it rubbed in between your cheeks with him panting and whining directly in your ear.

“Gonna make it feel so good. So good, my love.”

Mating season was the only time he did this, claiming that your pussy (while amazing) wasn’t enough. He had prepped you with two of his thick fingers, his fat tongue licking and slurping your hole because while he was clouded with lust, he wasn’t so far gone that he’d forget to help you.

You both were practically dripping by the time he shoves his leaking cock into your ass, arousal pooling beneath you on the sheets and creating sticky strings between your folds. Leo nips your throat and trails up to your ear and cheek, his breath hot and showering you in goosebumpss

“Gonna fill this pretty ass with my cum. That’s what you want right? To be filled?”

You can only mewl from the utter filth that flows from his lips, clutching pathetically at the pillow near your head when he pushes his cock in.

This is the only time he’s gentle, when it’s giving you a moment to adjust, and when it’s over it’s a whole different aura.

He practically molds to your back, his plastron rough and slightly uncomfortable against your sweaty skin but you don’t care. He fucks you hard and deep, whimpering and grunting because he’s finally getting what he’s been chasing after since the start of the season.

Of course it couldn’t be completely perfect.

A phone starts going off, the ringtone obnoxious and loud as it echoes through your room. And Leo growls, legitimately growls out of frustration and anger at another disturbance.

“L-Leo—“

“Don’t. Don’t you fucking dare.”

He puts a hand in between your shoulder blades and holds you down while continuing to piston himself into you, watching the way his fat cock disappears into you, how your ass bounces with every hit.

“Could be import—ant!” You cry but deep down you know it’s no use. Once he’s sunk himself into your warmth, there’s no stopping him until he’s done.

“There is nothing more important than me fucking you until you’re broken. Do you understand me?” The way his voice gets so raspy and gravelly has your pussy clenching around nothing and for a moment you wish he had something pounding you there too. You weakly nod your head, saliva falling off your tongue.

“Y-yes sir.”

He cums shortly after, moaning harshly with stuttered movements when he fills your ass up. He pulls out with a wet pop, parting your cheeks and watching the way he seeps out from your hole.

“Gonna fuck your pussy now. Is that okay? It’s okay right?”

Before you can even croak out your ‘yes’, he’s already halfway in, once again giving you that small window to adjust before he picks up the pace.

The phone rings again and Leo whines out of annoyance, shifting his hands to grab onto your arms to haul you up into a better position. It makes your mouth drop open, tits shaking with every slap and your legs quiver violently.

“Mm you’re so perfect for me, my perfect hole.”

He holds you tight against his plastron, one hand snaking to your throat while the other goes to start rubbing your clit. Your thighs nearly clamp shut but he keeps them open, fucking you impossibly faster.

The phone rings and rings and rings, until eventually it stops. For a few seconds it’s just Leo fucking you with reckless abandonment, whispering pathetically in your ear about how good you feel and how he can’t wait to fuck you again.

And again.

And again.

Yeah, mating season Leo might be your one of your favorite Leo’s.

[sashi-ya]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ エロチックトバー２０２４> MDNI / EXPLICIT CONTENT

TURBULENCE ✈ JUGRAM HASCHWALTH X F! READER ＫINKTOBER DAY 27: PLANE SEX

🐙 requested by: Anonymous. Hiii, the theme for the event is a bomb😳Do you write for the Sternitters too? (Bleach). If so, I’d take a Jugram Haschwalth for the airplane sex kink. The gender can be female or gn, I don’t mind. Thanks in advance! ⚠️ tw: mdni. explicit content. modern au. business trip. airplane sex. 🐙 wc: 2.4k // kinktober 24 masterlist // join the taglist

Ah, he has always been next to the general director. He even works more than him. Jugram this, Jugram that. Go here, go there… 

“Jugram-sama, I just received an e-“ you inform but get interrupted by him. “I know…” the blonde answers, checking his phone for the third time since you both seated on that plane. 

Uncomfortable, both try to get your legs ready for a lot of hours over the clouds. No matter how much you were -the Silbern company- willing to pay, a last-minute flight across the world only had barely two tickets available on economy. Forget first class, not even a single one free on business class. 

However, if Yhwach ordered Jugram to do it, he must do it. And you, his assistant, tried your best to find accommodation… took whatever it took. 

You keep quiet as his crystalline eyes fix on the screen of one of his six phones. What an amazing beauty this man holds, with manly features but still delicate to be mistaken by an angel… still, he might be the loneliest of them all, by choice perhaps, pushing everybody away… 

“Did you pay wifi on board, right? I’ll need it” he utters, as cold as always. As serious as ever. 

You nod, searching for a little card with a special code they gave you when you were checking in. 

“Here, Jugram-sama” you give it to him, grazing your fingers. He is not really looking at you, he just seems especially glued to the screen. 

It doesn’t take much for the plane’s doors to be finally closed and for a flight attendant to reach your spot. A young beautiful woman, dressed in the airline’s sexy uniform, stops right by your side noticing Jugram still on his phone. 

“Ah, Sir. Excuse me, we are about to take off, you should put your phone down until we reach cruise alt-“ she says, shutting up the moment the blonde looks at her in a very “not amused” grim. 

 The immediate change of that woman when seeing his handsome face isn’t something new for you, in fact, the flight attendant didn’t even notice you were also on your phone. She immediately recognize him, acting all silly and flirtatious towards him. 

“Sorry. Will shut it off in a moment” Jugram says, blocking his phone and sliding it inside the chest pocket of his white suit. 

You do the same, sighing. It’s ok, the flight attendant won’t notice, nor will Jugram. He doesn’t care about you; you are just a mere software that breathes and speaks to help him… or so you think. 

“Fasten it. Tight” he suddenly says, bending just a little to reach for your seatbelt and adjust it closer to your lower stomach. And you gasp, when did he ever cared about your safety? 

You nod, again. Out of words, even more than always. You can’t say much, you just fix your eyes into the little screen in front of you. Hot ears, hot cheeks… a simple touch of this man, and you are sent to heaven. 

And, speaking of heaven, soon and with your ears popping the plane leaves the ground to be finally airborne. In complete silence, the only sounds you are blessed with are the roaring of the engines and the little creeks of the plastic insides of the plane. 

Time flies, they say, when you are comfortable… however, this wasn’t exactly the definition of comfort. You tried to squeeze yourself in that tiny seat, as much as possible. Your left elbow carved into the plane’s fuselage wall, and your right arm crossed over your chest. You don’t wanna take Jugram much space, and as much as you wish, you don’t even dare claiming the middle armrest for your own. 

“You look uncomfortable, (Name)” he mutters, this time with his eyes scanning a haggard magazine. You have no idea how he does it, but he sees you without looking. 

“Not to sound very cocky, but economy nowadays is a torture… we haven’t even left Germany, and my legs are already dead, I wonder if I’ll be able to walk when we get to Japan” you whisper, as the lights of the cabin have already been turned off and some snoring from other passengers filter in between the sound of the engines. 

“Try to rest, we will need energy” he simply says, closing the magazine and turning his head to the side. His eyes closed, but his facial muscles still tensed.

When will you rest, Jugram Haschwalth? 

Seven hours in, and that water bottle you chugged in while bored, has started to affect you. But how to leave your seat to go to the bathroom, if that would mean crawling on top of Jugram who has finally -incredible to you- fallen asleep? 

Yet, your bladder has a limit and after several minutes trying to forget about your necessities, urgence takes over… 

Taking a deep breath before starting to move, you stand up. You hit your head with the overhead compartment and swear in silence. Then, facing Jugram, your left leg goes first, passing over his long legs. And just like this, with your hands on each side of his face, on the headrest, your hips seem like straddled on his, even though your crotches aren’t touching. 

A soft rocking motion, known as turbulence, seems to complot against you as it becomes a little more noticeable. It obviously affects your balance, but you are not willing to wake this man up, much less with you in such position. 

However, Jugram seems to never really rest, and suddenly a pair of hands land on your waist. 

“Careful” he whispers, opening two shining stars per eyes. His hands are strong, his hold making you feel secure. 

“I’m sorry, I had to go to the toile-“

“You should have asked me to move…” he answers back, helping you to reach the aisle. 

You nod, out of words, and quickly run -as best as you can- to the toilet. You can’t normalize your breathing for at least a couple of minutes after you finally relieve yourself and in the mirror in front of you, you try your best to fix your image… 

Yet, seems destiny has decided to play with you, once again…

The up and down motions increase, turbulence becoming more and more noticeable, and a flight attendant asking you to hurry and go back to your seat once you’ve managed to leave the restroom.  

You grunt; why in the world there isn’t something able to deal with turbulence yet? Grabbing anything, really, while you walk to your very uncomfortable seat, you pray for Jugram not to be asleep.

“Uh, Jugram-sama, I’m ba-!” you try to ask for him to move so you can squeeze back into your seat. But, of course, to make it a lot more shamefully to you, turbulence makes you jump. 

The blonde once again snatches you, this time saving you big time not to hurt yourself badly. You get locked in his arms, on top of his lap. Your face close to his, noses almost touching, eyes fixed on each other’s. 

“You ok? Did you hurt yourself? Is your head ok?” he asks, touching the back of your head, grabbing you real close to his body, seriously worried. 

You nod, finally breathing back. 

“I’m ok… thank you for saving me, Jugram-sama” you whisper, letting your forehead rest on his shoulder. You are sure you shouldn’t have done such thing, but you couldn’t help it… it is hella scary to feel like gravity has abandoned you. 

“Don’t… worry” he whispers back, allowing you to rest as much as you wish on him. His hand on your head makes it clear, “stay here if you wish”

The scent of his skin, and the sweet perfume he wears, makes you dizzy… what a delicious combination. The warmth of his flesh on your lips, invites you to kiss him… how much you wish you could do it, but just the way the plane moves will have to do, an indirect kiss that can’t be call as it. 

And, the more the plane moves, the more you softly jump on his lap. And Jugram seems to tense, more and more… is it that maybe the constant graze of your legs on his crotch, the warm breath of your mouth, or your nose buried on his skin it is making it really difficult for him? 

You notice his muscles becoming stiff, and thankful for the darkness surrounding the fuselage, you take a little bit of advantage of the situation… I’m sorry, Jugram-sama, this is a dream came true. 

However, common sense comes back to you; “Sorry, Jugram-sama! I’m gonna go back to my seat. I’m sorry...” you try to stand up, but you can’t. 

“Stay…” he grunts in your ear, pressing your body, harder, against him. This time you can feel a man’s reaction to a beautiful woman jumping on him… 

You look at him; this time your eyes are imbued with lust. You only just needed a plead, a single word… you are just a human, you have been pushed to the limit… You have always wanted him… and apparently, he has always wanted you. 

Perhaps a couple of seconds passed, but to you it felt like an eternity. His hand landed on your cheek, with its fingers reaching the back of your head. 

In silence, trying to recognize each other’s traits with the soft led lights of the bathroom sign on the back of the plane, you spend some more minutes until he devours you in one kiss. 

It is more than magical and also painfully needy; you have no idea if he had been wanting to kiss you since forever, or this is just something out of the blue. And who cares? Kiss me more, Jugram-sama. 

Indecently, the kiss become more and more deep, in a full plane, surrounded by strangers… and his hardness keeps growing, as if was searching for your core to go desperately deep inside. 

“Toilet, go. Wait for me” he commands in between tongues playing. 

You widen your eyes; he wants to fuck you in that tiny bathroom?

“Please…” he adds, again pleading, begging. 

You nod, this time biting your lower lip. He helps you; the turbulence continues but has decreased in intensity. You walk to the bathroom in the back, praying for nobody, including the crew, to see you. 

Your clearly agitated -and horny- imagery reflects on the mirror of the tiny toilet. You wonder how is Jugram going to manage to get inside without being noticed. 

Trust Jugram Haschwalth, he is not only wise, he is rich and the second hand of one of the largest companies in the world… 

“Miss, if I give you my number, would you close the bathroom for me and my assistant? She is not feeling well and I will try to help her. Please, contact me soon, we are soon purchasing a private jet, and we will need a flight attendant like you to join us” 

“Oh! Of course, Jugram-sama! Thank you!! And please, don’t worry, take all the time you need!” 

A sudden knock on the door announces he is here, not even a minute has passed. You open, sticking yourself against the back of the toilet. Amazed you noticed nobody but him around, where are the flight attendants? 

There is no time to think, as he gets inside and closes the door right behind him. Pleased with the loud noises of that Boeing 777, he turns you around. Your belly hits the mini counter, Jugram’s hands lowering your bamboula pants. 

“I don’t know why you chose to wear these today, but I’m so glad you did” he grunts in your ear, as it was hella easy to lower them down and expose your ass. 

You were about to reply it was because of comfort, but it’d be pointless to add anything at all. He lifts your right leg on top of the counter, for better access, feeling your wetness with his free hand. 

His chest hits your back, his chin carved on your shoulder, both looking at each other through the mirror. 

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time… I’m sorry it has to be on a plane’s toilet” he says, smirking. 

For a long time, Jugram-sama? Amazed, amused, impressed… the very first time he is showing you a smile and it’s when he has his fingers inside your folds… 

“I- I don’t- I don’t care…”  you simply answer, because you can’t even think straight; by now, Jugram has started fingering you like nobody else did before. 

Your inner thighs tremble, your skin becomes bumpy. Your hand tries to reach for Jugram’s hips, you want him closer -inside-. And he understands his job, immediately. 

“You want me to fuck you, mh?” Jugram asks, pinching your cheeks and making you look yourself in front of the mirror. 

“yes… please…” you plead, lifting your hips, grabbing yourself from the little counter in front of you. It isn’t easy not to lose balance on such a tiny place, on a plane with occasional turbulence. 

Jugram, however, seems not to notice the motion of the plane and keeps both feet steadily on the ground. He lowers his zipper, freeing his sex from his white pants. Ready, so ready to impale you, he doesn’t even take a single moment to do it. 

His strong hand lands on your mouth the moment he finally gets deep inside you; a Boeing might be loud, but your moan could have been heard by others.

The slaps against your ass and thighs force you to put your hands on the mirror in front, where both never stopped looking at each other. It is both magical and perverted the way  you enjoy this moment through the reflection. 

One, two, three. More and more. But is not enough, is not deep enough… “Come here…” he commands, turning you around. 

You pant, legs trembling, wanting more and more. 

Jugram sits on the toilet and spreads his arms to receive you. And you immediately understand; time to bounce on his hard sex. 

You let yourself fall on his lap; the need allows his dick to slide right in with no difficulty whatsoever. Facing your blonde lover snatches your lips in a feverish kiss, his hands press the small of your back against him, and his legs begin to bounce along with you… ah, deep Jugram-sama; deep, fast… faster… 

And now turbulence is making it even better, don’t you think?!

Taglist of amazing babes: @awas-posts @missfuriosa @theneighbourhoodferret @cyberdazetragedy @ariesbbytings @animesnowstorm @lenablack9919

[skultyun]

Just head empty. (I lied I'm thinking about taehyun using my mouth like a toy) You as his personal stylist and locked in the dressing room with him because he said there was a "wardrobe malfunction" which was just an excuse to get you touching all over him.

warnings: dom!taehyun, noona!reader, oral (m.recieving) and some degradation..

You were busy minding your own business, brushing off the dust on the members clothes when someone suddenly taps your back. You look behind you to see it's taehyun and he points at himself, his outfits all messed up and far from how it originally looked like earlier. "Something happened, can you fix it?" He asks like it's no big deal, but you're in shock wondering how did it get ruined this badly. "What- What did you do!" You place the lint roller aside, taking closer inspection of him.

"it's just a few wrinkles." But the angered look on your face quickly shuts him up. "Just a few? It's supposed to be tucked in— and where even is your belt??" You lift his shirt up to find out most of the accessories suppose to be on him few gone. "It's in the other dressing room, I went to the bathroom so I had to take some things off."

"And did that have to include your shirt?" You question, but he shrugs, sighing in defeat you take his wrist and drag him to the room where he claims all the accessories he had removed where, and he was right, all of them were on this one table scattered and placed on top of eachother. You wanted to smack the shit outta this guy, even if it meant ruining his makeup. "Right before you go on stage.." you shake your head and he comes over. "Take your shirt off, I have to iron it." Both hands on the table with the most fed up look on your face.

He complies without complaint, undoing the buttons one by one from top to bottom, you catch yourself staring at his physique, he's well-built.. extremely well-built. Leaving much to your imagination of what left he had to show.

"Mhm, and what now?" His voice interrupts your thoughts, you almost lost track of what you had to do, good thing he thinks your upset, otherwise it'd be obvious you had interest in him. "Right." You approach him and take the polo setting it on the table as you went to get the belt.

"Seriously don't get why you'd need to leave this here aswell.. making me do all the work.." cursing under your breath, you get on your knees, leveled to his waist as you adjust his pants. He's staring down at you, real intense. It makes you panic briefly before you calm yourself down. Telling yourself that 'you were a professional, this shouldn't be that much of a deal.' but you knew that was untrue. Being around taehyun makes your heart race extremely fast. You can't tell if it's because of those big pearly eyes of his, or his sexy raspy voice when he calls for your attention, how he's a little younger yet towers over you with ease.

You really didn't know.

But he probably did, noticing your jittery movements as you slipped up attempting to put his belt on over and over again, well aware he could just tell you to stop and he could do it himself (but he likes seeing you suffer) yet he didn't. Observing every move of yours, enjoying the touch you gave him in such "subtle" ways.

"Noona, you're too obvious." He states, you pause in whatever you were doing (like you were doing it in the first place.) to look at him. Your widened eyes as he calls for your attention never ceases to amuse him, round shiny eyes always having to look up at him, it's the same for this time aswell. "Obvious? What do you mean obvious?" You play it off cool, though you already had a clue of what it might be..

"Eyeing me like that, imaging dirty things in that pretty little head of yours and thinking you could get away with it?" Your heart drops to your stomach, you knew you glanced at him a "few times" but you didn't think it'd be THAT obvious. "I'm not dumb darling, I can sense when someone's eyes are on me." He lifts your chin with his left hand, the other going to zip down his pants which you don't even notice because you're too immersed looking into his eyes.

"But you're in luck, because I'm looking back."

His hand tugs down at his boxers, his cock sprung out free, standing up so tall something from him is once again towering over you. Beads of pre-cum are rolling down from his leaking tip, he presses it against your lips to which you don't hesitate to taste, tongue peeking out to lick over his slit. Taehyun groans and squeezes your cheeks to have your mouth open. "We've still got time, right?"

You nod, not even caring about the stage performance anymore, you already had a taste, and you had to come back for more. "Mhm- please kang wanna taste your cock.." letting yourself go along with the shame as you begged to have him, getting impatient himself he hums. "You'll let me use that perfect tight throat of yours right? Let me fill it up to the brim with my cum?" The idea gets you so excited, squeezing your thighs together, you nod. "Will- every drop..!"

"Then take it—" He huffs, forcefully pushing his cock through your lips and into your warm cavern, he's moaning loudly from your heat. "Ahh.. bet your pussy would feel just as good." He stills, so deep into you hes already slipped past the back of your throat. You hum with your eyes shut, the vibrations causing him to groan. "C'mon noona, you promised to take it all."

He grabs a fistful of your hair, you open your eyes for the first time, looking up to meet his gaze once again, full of fierce passion and desire. "So perfect with your mouth stuffed with my cock.." he drags you back, pulling you away from his length, leaving your throat empty, the feeling of his shaft deep in you missing makes you crave it again, but there's no time to miss it as he gives you exactly what you want, shoving you back down his shaft, you almost choked from how sudden it is, but you relax your throat and let him use it to how he pleases.

"Ugh, is this what you wanted? To choke on my dick while there's people waiting out there to see me? Wonder what they would think about when they realize you were here sucking me off.. think about how much of slut!- agh- you are for me.."

His dick slams to the back of your throat time and time again, bruising you that it definitely left a mark, it's so hard it doesn't spare time for you to think about it, just cock-drunk for this man's dick, your pussy aches at it's emptiness, wanting to have him so bad. Taehyuns reaching his peak, starting to move his hips along as well as the pace speeds up. "Fuck,- fuck! So warm- sooo tight." He coos. "Just wanna fill you up, all filled up with my cum, so you know just how much I've been wanting you too."

You whine around his dick, his words don't help stop your arousal, your wetness is dampening your panties, free hand slides inside to rub at your clit. "So I'll do it- keeping my promise- good girl- good girl takes my dick so well!-" The obscene wet sounds of your saliva from his dick pumping into you makes you crazy, oh how much you needed him, never knew you'd be this downbad.

"G-Gonna cum!- shit- c'mon and take it noona, take it pretty girl-" he raspes before he's moaning and thrusting deep into you, white spurts of cum paint your throat and you take every single drop like promised, you reach your own high aswell and moan around his dick as you sunk two fingers into your heat, milking all the cum out of him dry before hes pulling out and pumping his cock, you open your mouth which was covered in his cum, taehyun groans and shoots the remainder of his seed on your face, trickling down to your chin and chest.

You swallow it and breath heavily to catch your breath, it hurts to swallow.. bastard. But he's like perfectly sculpted angel when he's glistening in sweat and panting heavily on top of you, cock still standing hard. "Y-You're still hard?? Even after all my efforts.."

He chuckles, crouching down to your eye level. "Oh trust me they aren't going to waste." Hovering over you as your laid back on the floor, positioning himself between your legs, you panic realizing the time that you may have left and push him off before he could push into your entrance. "Woah there! Don't you realize the time? You need to be in stage in a few minutes!"

But taehyun shrugs. "It doesn't matter, I'll just make it quick then."

[lostintransist]

This Bunny Bites - Part 3

I managed to post part 4 before part 3 so that has been fixed now and updated. Enjoy!

When you finally settle into bed the clock on your nightstand reads four AM. It had been a relatively quiet night after Johnny and company left, only a few spilled drinks and one guy who got way too into the fact he could touch the girls. You would always be grateful that the owner paid for a cleaning service to come in every morning and deep clean the building instead of making you girls do any of the cleaning. You had a gig once that made you clean after all the clients had gone. It took one puddle of cum in the bathroom for you to leave and never come back to that job.

You set your alarm for one PM and drift off to sleep listening to the rain sounds from your phone.

When you wake you shuffle out of your room into the small kitchen of your condo, flicking on the coffee machine. You sit tweak the blinds in the living room just enough to let in some light and sit on the couch staring into nothingness. Once the sound of running water stops you stand and shuffle to the the kitchen. After adding just the right amount of creamer you head back to your room. You adjust the curtains in here too until you can see but not be blinded.

Placing your coffee on the bedside table you grab your phone and fire off a text to your best friend.

‘Guess who showed up at the club last night?’

‘Was it Satan?’ Cara’s reply comes right through.

‘Nope, worse.’

‘Worse than Satan, but your father is dead so…your grandpa??’

You laugh out loud at the grandpa comment, your mother’s father happened to be the sweetest old man two lived hours away from you in a nursing home.

‘My brother.’

The ringing of your phone doesn’t shock you. You slid it open and answered Cara’s call.

“Bitch what the fuck did you just text me? Your BROTHER came to the club last night? The brother that abandoned you to the scum-eating, walnut fucking, monster of a sperm donor?” Cara must not have been at work if she was using her favorite insults.

“Yep, that’s the one. He was there in a group and didn’t recognize me when I came by to get orders.” You slurp a sip of coffee, feeling Cara flinch across the line at the noise.

“God, what did you do?” she stressed the last word.

“I kicked him and his friends out, obviously. He acted all shocked when I told him to get the fuck out, claimed he hadn’t done anything. Took me full naming him and calling myself his baby sister before he recognized me.”

Cara doesn’t interrupt but adds whispered commentary through the whole tale.

“I have never seen a human go so pale before Cara. I almost laughed, but I kept it together. Told him to get out or get thrown out and then one of his friends stood up, threw some money on the table, and basically forced my brother out the door. The two other friends he was with also dropped some money on the table and followed him out. The weird thing though is that when I totaled up what they had left on the table it was eight hundred dollars.”

“Eight,” Cara choked on air. “They left you eight hundred dollars for kicking them out?”

You shrug despite knowing she can’t see you, “I don’t know man, that’s just it. I can’t think of any good reason they would leave such a big tip!”

Cara whistled, “Damn, that means your what a month closer to your goal of quitting right? My best friend going to become a world-famous author one of these days.”

You smile at her undying support. She had gotten out of dancing after her business degree had landed her a nice six-figure paying job. You pulled down more than that but with most of it in cash, you had to be careful with depositing your money into any bank account.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I doubt I will make much money off of writing which is why I need to have enough money so between the rentals and my savings I never have to dance for work or do anything I don’t want to again.” Your dream was to get out, maybe move to the south of France, or Austria, and live out the rest of your days in peace.

“You know I will buy all of your books as soon as they are published,” Cara reminded you.

“I know, I love you too.”

“Good, now I have to get back to work. You free for brunch on Sunday?”

“I will have to check my calendar so text me?”

“Can do doll, love you!”

“Bye,” you hang up feeling more cheerful than before the chat.

You finish your coffee, sifting through your feelings about your brother’s abrupt return, and hope he doesn’t show up again.

Part 2 | Part 4

Masterlist

[bhaalbaaby]

Can I absolutely ask about a breeding fic?

Title: Waves Rush Over (3059 words) Pairing: halsin/f!reader Warnings: breeding kink, slight size and scent kink, praise kink, daddy halsin, fluff and smut, pwp A/N: sorry for the delay 🥹 life keeps happening lol hope you like it

Read on AO3!

Halsin's hands are just one feature you like about him. They tell his stories in more ways than his words. There are callouses and scars, scratches, and are heavy as he rests his hand on your waist and thighs when you sit on his lap. His knuckles can be rougher than bark, especially during the cold. You keep a jar of soothing balm near you at all times to help his cracked skin. Halsin stoically smiles as you apply it, nagging him to take better care of his skin. The children also mimic it, some asking you for mini jars so they can give them to Daddy Halsin if they notice his dry skin. 

Those hands hold many tiny ones at once throughout the day. When his charges are not playing with Thaniel and Oliver, they find Halsin when he's not busy. While his hands are wisened by his years, his features soften. You notice a month after arriving in the former Shadowlands.

If a child isn't adjusting well, Halsin can sense it. He doesn't make the child feel singled out. You catch it once with a young halfling. He kneels in front of them, speaking soft healing words. You can't imagine the trauma the child has seen as you hear the small sniffles escape the even smaller body. Halsin then engulfs them in a hug, cradling the child until they fall asleep. You don't interrupt as you watch, your heart skipping over itself.

Though you have many children who claim you as their new parent, you could see Halsin holding your baby just like this, just as soft. You sigh as you finally leave the sweet scene. If it doesn't happen right away, you'll be fine. There's always the act of making one. 

Halsin knows your body on a molecular level. You wonder if he can read your thoughts when he brings you tea when you're tired, medicine for pain during that time of the month. You notice the times when your hormones are peak that he's friskier. Kisses in the storage closets, his hands exploring your body while you try to cook. Sex happens still but there's never enough time to enjoy it, to indulge like you could before returning to Reithwin. Halsin can feel your frustrations, his little gestures easing some of them. 

As you're helping serve dinner, he rests his hand on your waist, distracting as ever. You stand up straighter, the bowl of sweet greens from the garden on your waist. "May I help you, Daddy Halsin?" You ask, feigning annoyance in front of the children who giggle.

The corners of Halsin's lips curl up slightly as he nods. "Let me take over, my heart. I have a special job for you." Your ears prick up, letting him take the bowl from your hands.

He leans closer than he needs to, whispering in your ear. "Go to the kitchen. I'll be there shortly." You do as you're told, mostly wanting to behave for whatever he has planned for you.

Luckily, your wait isn't long. Halsin puts the bowl on the counter, shaking his head. "These children are growing stronger every day. Good thing for us our harvests have been bountiful." He glances over at you through his dark lashes.

You look away, heat creeping around your collar as you nod. "Yes, the land has blessed us. I hope they never want for nothing."

Halsin steps closer, tilting your chin up to him. You forget how big he is sometimes, the way he towers over you. He presses his lips against yours, pulling away when one of the volunteers comes in to get another bowl of food for the children. They snicker as Halsin still holds you in his arms. "Perhaps we should go somewhere more private," Halsin suggests.

You tilt your head to the side, "Wait, you didn't tell me what my job would be." You interject, gripping his leathery tunic.

"Ah, that." He smirks as he glances towards the door. "In all honesty, there isn't any new charge for you. Well, not yet." He clears his throat. "You're in heat."

Your eyebrows shoot up to your forehead at his blunt statement. "In heat? I'm not like an animal, Halsin," You giggle, his hands sliding from your waist to your ass.

"Not the same intensity as a bear, but I can smell it. When you bent over..." He closes his eyes, breathing deeply. "Your smell is intoxicating. I can barely focus, Tav. All I can think of is taking your body and watching you swell." You feel hot prodding on your stomach, proof that Halsin is telling the truth. He can't go back out there in this state.

"Poor bear," You coo as he leans down, pressing his forehead against yours. He exhales, growling softly. "I need you, Tav. Now," He growls, pawing you closer. Pressure builds between your thighs as you start to ache for him. If he doesn't move you now, he'll be forced to take you to the kitchen. You hope the cooks don't mind the clattering of pots and pans.

Halsin picks you up with ease as he leads you into his private room on the main floor. He sleeps in here when bedtime stories go on forever and the stairs are daunting so he says. You don't mind it as he shuts and locks the door. He barely gives you time alone as he sweeps you up in a passionate kiss, your breathing becoming one. You smell the woodsy musk and mint on his breath as your tongues intertwine. He groans, his arms wrapping around your waist, keeping your body flush against his. You close your eyes as you stand on your tiptoes, trying to keep up as he sways, getting lost in the kiss. You pull away, searching for breath as his lips travel down your neck, his hands searching as if trying to pull you even closer, melt you into him. The kisses continue down your chest as you fumble with your top, trying to free your skin from his lips.

He ignores the attempts as he gets on his knees. He stares up at you, his breathing heavy. "You are beautiful, my love." You laugh softly as you pull your restraints from your body, finally topless. You can't think of anything to say back feeling dizzy.

Halsin buries his face between your thighs, inhaling your arousal. You hold your breath, his face and breath warm. Each inhale causes you to throb more as you swallow hard. He sits back on his knees, smirking as he spreads your legs. You've seeped through your pants, the mark is more obvious as he stares. Without a second thought, he leans forward, his tongue slowly swiping up. Your moan catches in your throat, trying to stay quiet. Halsin continues regardless, his tongue swirling on the darkening spot on your pants. Your legs tremble as he teases you, his hands slipping from your thighs to resting on your ass to keep you standing. You bite your lip, massaging your sensitive nipples. Each tweak makes your hips jolt away from his mouth causing a dissapproving growl from Halsin. He pulls away, his eyes between your pants and your flushed face.

"Do not hold yourself back, my love. You surely aren't down here," He whipsers, as he drags your ruined clothes down. You try your best to kick them off, but they get stuck on your heel. You're grateful Halsin is on his knees as he carefully slips the fabric over your feet, tossing them away. He chuckles, his hazel eyes darken as he drags his fingers over your thighs.

"The thought of you dripping with me is too much to bear." His breathing becomes more pronounced as he speaks, his mouth waters.

"I can't take much more waiting." You say, your senses awakening as your nose pricks.

He doesn't need more encouragement to give in to his temptations. You lean back into the wall as his tongue laps at your folds, his hands keeping your legs firmly apart. You finally audibly moan as you watch him feast, his tongue flicking at your clit. His lips wrap around it, suckling the nerves. Your toes curl as his tongue continues its lithe licks. The sensations are overwhelming as you reach for something other than his hair to grab onto. 

He buries his tongue between your folds as you grip his broad shoulders, moaning out as he presses you against the wall. He bobs his head back and forth, his tongue thrusting in and out of your dripping sex. His hands massage your ass as you tremble, feeling so weak each time his tongue enters, swirling around. You can barely say his name, your mouth unable to form words, thoughts barely forming beside the pressure building in your stomach. He glances up at you, his tongue dragging up to your swollen clit.

You curse, your hips jutting against the druid's face. He presses your hips against his hungry mouth as he suckles your clit, groaning as you writhe, trying to move away from the immense pleasure. He removes his mouth, raising his eyebrow as you gaze down at his face, panting as you try to catch your breath in this moment of reprieve.

"You are sweeter than any honey, my heart. Please, sing to me." He says as he guides your hips back to him, his mouth quickly finding your swollen button and making acquaintances as he flicks and swirls his tongue around it.

"I can't take this much longer." You cry out as your legs rest on his shoulders, wrapping around his head. He moans in response, his head rocking up and down as his tongue guides up from your entrance to your clit and back down, his nose pressed against your clit.

You're on the verge of exploding when you feel his thick finger prod at your hole his tongue making its way back to your clit. You gasp as he thrusts in, your stomach tightening. You try to run away again, but his other hand is firm on your backside. His gorgeous eyes glance up at you watching the ecstasy paint your face as he quickens his pace.

He pulls away briefly, licking his lips. "The way you squeeze around my finger... I can only imagine how you'll feel around my cock, accepting my seed." You massage your breasts again, wincing as you rock your hips with his digit, feeling so close.

"Please," You beg, not wanting to come from his mouth and fingers. You crave his cock more than ever.

He smiles as he carefully removes your legs from his shoulders. His hand however doesn't leave between your thighs, his middle finger thrusting inside and claiming your hole for him. You try to squeeze your legs together to minimize the gushing noises that escape to no avail.

He chuckles as he looks down, "Dripping to the floor. You are quite the sight." You glance up at him, pouting that he hasn't fucked you yet. He leans down kissing you breathless. Your head swims as you gain autonomy of your hands, reaching for his breeches and tugging them down. His heavy cock springs out, searching for your heat. You wrap your hands around his girth while his tongue and yours dance. You love how you taste on him, the essence of your arousal only adding to his delicious taste.

He pulls away, growling. His eyes are shut tight. "I must have you now." You wonder if the wall would give if he wild shapes into a bear now, but the thought fades as he picks you up, guiding your hips up to his cock. You wrap your arms around his neck, peppering kisses on his jaw as his hands sink your hips on his thick member. You rest your damp forehead against his jaw as you moan, your breathing ragged. You try not to give into the pleasure right away, your hole quivering as he slowly thrusts inside.

"Oak Father bless me." He moans, his fingers digging into your soft skin as he picks up his pace. You rest back on the wall as you attempt to watch him. His leather tunic is still on, not like he cares. You drag your fingers down his chest, panting. "You're amazing," Halsin moans with a small breathless laugh. He leans closer using the wall as leverage as he picks up his pace, filling you the brim with each thrust. You can't keep your moans down, pleasurable cries escaping your body as your cunt weeps for him.

"Fill me up please, my love. Breed me." You moan, resting your forehead against his. He groans at the statement, smirking as he bounces your body on his cock. "Oh, my heart. I will. Your womb will only know my seed." His mouth sloppily kisses yours, the wet sounds each time his cock fills your hole music to both of your ears. You whimper feeling his balls smack against your ass, his cock pressing deep inside.

His hands wrap around your hips, the extra force of his grip sending pleasure pangs throughout your whole body. You both need this. Your hips seize up as you push his cock out, the knots in your lower stomach too much to bear. He rubs his cock against your slit and cock as you stiffen in his hands, and goosebumps rush from your head to your toes. He chuckles as the orgasm ripples through you. "Such a beautiful sight." He whispers before gathering you up.

He carries you to your bed, the frame sinking as he climbs on top of you, his legs pushing yours up. He runs his hand down your neck to your hips, keeping you still as he slowly thrusts inside. You reach behind your head for the pillow, mewling as his cock claims you. Your mind clouds with only thoughts of him as he continues with his previous pace, pounding you into the bed. The bed is less forgiving, the squeaking and headboard hits against the wall with each thrust. You don't mind the extra noise as your nails dig into the feather-down pillow, fingertips pricked by the calamus.

He leans down, his intoxicating kiss taking over your senses again as he presses against your c-spot. You can feel his cock pulsating with each thrust, his grunts more pronounced. "Ah, I'm so close, my heart."

You whimper as you kiss him in response, your teeth dragging on his bottom lip. "Claim me, my body is yours." You moan as you let go of the pillow. Your hands meet as he presses your wrists down against the bed. He leans up, the headboard erratic as his face contorts, his hips flush with yours as he explodes. The feeling of his emission inside drives you over the edge again, your eyes closed tight as you cry for him.

His nose is stuffy as he breathes through his nose, trying to calm down. He keeps his cock inside of you as he sits back, rubbing your clit. You close your thighs together, his other hand rubbing his shaft. "Every drop belongs to you," He whispers as you clench around his softening member. You sit up on your elbows, rocking your hips against his. He laughs softly, his hand leaving his cock on your waist.

"I'm not as young as I feel." He admits. You roll your eyes as he readjusts, letting you ride him.

"I want every drop," You purr, bouncing your ass against his thighs.

He practically tears his shirt off as he throws it on the floor. "You may have it," Halsin replies, spreading your ass as you ride. "The need to breed you..." He lies back against the bed, spreading his legs slightly to give himself more leverage. You can feel his shaft harden, ready for more as he hits your spot once more.

Your legs tremble as you rock your hips. "I want it. I want to be your breeding whore." You moan as he takes over your pace, thrusting hard into you, his arms wrapping around your torso to hold you down.

You can't handle the immense pleasure that erupts throughout your body, your moans turning into breathless screams. "That's it. Good girl..." Your nostrils flare at the nickname, driving you insane.

"Please, Halsin, fill me." You pant, before biting and sucking his neck.

His growl vibrates in your mouth as he holds his hips against yours for a moment before picking up his speed again. He curses under his breath as his thrusts are more reckless, the familiar pulsing filling your hole as you throb around him, so close to another orgasm. His hand leaves your waist, finding your hair, tugging your face to his. "I love you," He groans, holding your face in place before Mount Halsin erupts again, overwhelming your cunt as his thrusts slow to sharp and precise ones. His moans are better than any song you've ever heard as he coaxes you to orgasm making you join him in a hueless haze.

You roll off him, breathing heavily. He sits up slightly as your legs spread, his seed seeping out. "Such a delicious sight. Had I more energy, I'd pound it back into you. Not one drop wasted." He remarks, ignoring the heat that comes to your cheeks. He leans over, suckling your nipple.

"Halsin," You whimper, your body a live wire. He pulls away with a small pop.

"The night is still young... I will get us some food and we'll dine up in our room."

You raise your eyebrow at the implication. He smiles as he slips off the bed. "We'll need some energy if we are to continue."

"Continue?" You ask coyly as you roll to your side.

He nods. "You will be thoroughly bred tonight, Tav." He grabs his pants and his ripped shirt from the floor. He nods at the door next to the bed. "That door leads to a secret staircase to our bedroom. Do not put anything on. I want you as you are. Just as nature intended."

You giggle as you slowly get off the bed, your legs not quite ready. "Do not keep me waiting." You say with a wink before disappearing up the staircase, excited for what the night will bring.

taglist: @spacebarbarianweird @tragedybunny @astarionsbeloved @thedancingbun @razrogue @celestialomlette @rentheannihilator @rinmoon7

[justmeinatree]

10 - Made Of Something New : Home

Summary : you meet niall in your hotel bar. and there’s an intense connection.

previous part /// jump to pt. 1

TW : smut

Word Count : 2.5k

A/N : she’s all done 😭 i am floored by the support i’ve gotten on this fic. seriously, a giant hug to all of you. i’d also like to throw in a couple honourable mentions, to the lovely @horansqueen who provided the amazing gifs featured at the beginning of each chapter ! and to the equally lovely @niallthebadboi who has been listening to me rant about this story for months now. i owe you both so much ♥️ anyway, without further ado .. ✌️

Series Masterlist

GIF : @horansqueen

May 1 - Home

you were so thankful it was saturday. after your brother’s wedding last week, you’d jetted back home, and with no time to adjust to the jetlag, you were back at work.

it was such a long, busy, work week that you’d barely had time to think anything over. but now you were basking in the opportunity that is the weekend, and you’re comfortably curled into your bed, awake, but eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the late morning sun drifting through the sheer curtains that you barely closed last night. too tempted by the comfort of you bed to even really care at the time.

back in vegas, you’d woken up by niall’s side, indulged in a lengthy early morning make out session, his fingers eventually burying themselves in your heat, claiming he couldn’t help himself.

he took his time with you, let his fingers stroke, explore, slowly building up a need inside you. once all was said and done though, you had to bid your goodbyes, needing to head back to your family.

niall was going to the airport, getting on the next flight home, assuring you again that he needed a week or two, tops, and then he’d be finding you. 

you never pressed the matter, wrapping your arms around his neck, getting on your tiptoes and kissing his lips, deciding that you were going to trust this. trust the feeling. trust him. 

as you were laying in your bed, now 8 days after that morning in vegas, just as you were sinking into the comfort of your mattress, and mess of blankets and pillows, thinking about niall, about his skin, his smell, his hair, his voice, his eyes, there’s a knock at your door. interrupting your train of though, your warmth, your comfort.

you groan, burying your face deeper into the pillow, deciding to completely ignore whatever it was, in favour of staying cozy. but there’s another knock. and another. and you figure something must be going on.

so you begrudgingly decide to haul yourself out of bed, stumbling down the stairs, in just your tanktop and sleep shorts, too annoyed to really care, rounding the corner to your door, and spotting niall through the window.

you furrow your eyebrows, rushing a bit more to open the door, swinging it open, and looking him over, “what the- who- how did you find my house ?”

“really weren’t kidding when you said you lived in a small town,” niall chuckles, shaking his head. “went to the one store, asked if they knew you, and they just told me where you lived. are you sure you’re safe living here ?” he asks incredulously. “that seemed way too easy.”

you giggle, leaning against the door, biting your lip, “m’fine here, ni. dont have to worry about me. what are you even doing here though ?”

“told you i’d come find you,” he says, confusion showing on his features, as if that obviously meant he was just going to pop into your town.

“i didn’t think you meant this,” you laugh, stepping aside, as you fully realized that niall is still standing outside, and you had yet to make a move to let him in. “fuck, sorry, come in,” you add lightheartedly.

niall takes your invitation, making his way in, dropping a small duffel bag by his feet in the entranceway. once his hands are freed, he turns to you, arms reaching out to wrap around your body, face burying in your neck, breathing you in.

as your hand settles into his hair, the other wrapped around his back, over his shoulder, niall takes in your appearance, cooing apologetically, “did i wake you ?”

“no,” you murmur, shaking your head, explaining “was just enjoying the extra time in bed.” 

“please dont let me stop you,” niall hums, pulling away from you, turning you away from him, hands settling on your hips. “lead the way, petal.”

you smile, leaning back into him, niall’s arms wrapping around your chest, as you lead him down the hall, up the stairs, and to your bedroom.

niall takes the opportunity to look around, eyes gazing quickly over as many things as he can, smiling as he notices photos on the wall, plants on the windowsill, before his stare falls onto you, sitting on your bed, surrounded by a mountain of blankets and pillows.

he smiles, making his way over to you, crawling onto the mattress, hovering above you, fingertip grazing down your cheek, murmuring quietly “you’re so beautiful.”

you feel the warmth rising on your cheeks, biting on your lip to hold back the huge smile that’s waiting to burst. as your irises make contact with his, you swear you feel yourself melt. something about this moment feels different. freer in a way.

“what’s on your mind, pretty girl ?” niall hums, resting on his elbows above you, his thumb lightly stroking your cheek.

“i still don’t understand why exactly you’re here,” you explain, adding cheekily, “not that i’m complaining. i’m just confused is all.”

“because there’s nowhere i’d rather be,” niall whispers, nose gently gliding against your own. “besides, i did what i needed to do. m’all yours now.”

“what does that mean ?” you ask, somehow more confused, eyebrows furrowing, as you look up at him.

“christ, petal, thought it was obvious when we talked in vegas,” he chuckles, shaking his head. “went home, had a fuckin painfully long talk. we broke up,” he says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “spent the week dealing with lawyers, banks, start all the crap that needs to be done.”

“you broke up ?” you whisper incredulously, mouth agape, looking up at him, a bit shellshocked. 

niall giggles, pecking over your lips, “s’been you since the moment we met. i was so fuckin daft, petal. i want you to be able to properly trust me. i want you to know that i’m here for you. that i want nothing more than to be with you,” he explains. “i dont want to start over, because we have some of the most amazing memories. but i want us to have the opportunity to start doing this right. admit our feelings freely. because i fuckin love you petal,” he blurts out, a little unexpected even to himself.

he probably shouldn’t have told you like that. probably should have waited for a better moment. probably should have waited to even just know where you’re head’s at. but he also doesn’t want to second guess himself anymore. he’s always felt it, deep in his bones, in his blood, that there’s a special connection with you. and he doesn’t want to hide any part of that anymore.

but now that he’s watching your brain reeling, processing this large drop of information, he may be regretting it. niall can feel his heart rate pick up, can feel his breathing getting shallower, just as he can hear your soft voice perking up, “i love you too, niall.”

and just like that, he swears his world has stopped. the earth has surely stopped turning. his ears are ringing, fingertips tingling. everything just paused. with his brain still catching up, niall’s body takes over, lips mingling with yours in a slow, heated kiss.

your hands immediately wind their way through his hair, holding him as close as possible, in an attempt to make the kiss last as long as you can.

“love you so much, fuck, so much,” niall breathes against your lips, dipping back in to kiss you more and more. he couldn’t get enough, and thankfully neither could you.

“was always you,” he mumbles, so incredibly lost in you, as his lips leave yours, in favour of trailing kisses to your chin, and down the column of your throat, nipping and sucking tiny bruises, “was always fuckin you, petal.”

“niall,” you whimper, biting your lip hard, hands fisting the sheets, trying your best not to ruin the sweet moment by grinding into him. which is proving to be more and more difficult, the more he moves over you, now down to your breasts.

with your tanktop straps halfway down your arms, breasts now exposed, niall’s tongue skillfully working over your nipple in an effort to pebble it, before moving onto the other, “getting needy aren’t ya, pup ? you’re already whining for me.”

“want you,” you whine breathily, the realization that, depending on how this will work in the long run, you essentially have access to niall whenever you want, going forward. there’s nothing to hide from anymore.

“you got me, love. m’right here. not going anywhere,” he coos, mouth working its way back up to yours, teeth and tongue clashing as he can’t make up his mind, much too engrossed in the feeling of you to really notice.

“can i- please, just-“ niall groans, his hardening length rolling against your hip, as his hand shimmies it’s way between both your bodies, falling on your sleep shorts, fingertips dancing along your inner thighs.

“do something, please,” you breathe, whining, “need to feel close to you, ni.”

and well, niall really didn’t need to hear anything more, fingers slipping your shorts over to the side, creating an access for himself, as his knuckles graze over your dripping pussy.

“fuckin hell, sweet girl, you’re already so wet. bet i could slide my cock inside you without any prep,” he hums against your ear, tongue darting out to lick along the shell of your ear, his breathing ragged.

“please. please try,” you hum, hips rolling up into him, niall’s fingers bumping against your clit in the process, eliciting a loud moan.

“yeah ?” he groans, biting your earlobe, tugging on it as far as he can. “want it to sting a little ? want me to just thrust my way into you ?”

“please,” you repeat, honestly wanting nothing more than to just feel him. you were right earlier, there was something different about this time. without any outside forces, without any inner denial on both your parts, the feelings were amplified. 

“christ, puppy, anything for you,” he groans, slipping his cock out of his pants, lining himself right up with your centre, slowly breaching your entrance.

a shudder works its way through your body, breathy moan escaping your lips. there was something even hotter about both you still being fully clothed. it somehow turned you on more. maybe it was the intense need, the impulsivity of it all.

“fuck, fuck, you’re tight,” niall moans, his face tucked into your neck, working on composing himself. the intensity was affecting him as well. and as much as niall’s held it together so far, the incredible need to bury himself inside you and stay there forever, was getting stronger and stronger by the minute.

but with patience, he’s slowly worked his way in, now seethed inside you, breathing coming through in ragged breaths.

“so good ni,” you gasp, feeling the tip of his cock settled as deep as he can go, your pussy clenching over him, trying to suck him in further. “love you, love you so fucking much.

niall groans, his head lifting from your neck, forehead resting on yours, eyes finding your own, “v’never felt so much. fuck, s’crazy.”

you nod in understanding, not many other ways to explain it, but you know exactly what he means. you feel it too. your entire body is prickling, skin on fire, lungs burning, and you dont want it to stop for a second. 

your brain feels like it’s short circuited, electricity zapping about in your head in an uncoordinated mess. the only real anchor your body had to this moment was the weight of niall’s cock inside you.

“please move,” you whimper, trying to wiggle your hips unsuccessfully under the weight of him.

niall’s lips collide with yours, hips beginning a slow rolling motion, his member gliding deliciously through your weeping folds, satiating the desire running through your blood.

he keeps it slow, wanting to feel every ridge, every bump, every bit of smooth expanse of your inner walls. niall is revelling in it. marking every bit to his memory. and although he knew, and loved, your cunt before, he never fully let himself appreciate it quite as much as he is this time. 

and now that nothing stands in his way, now that he feels in his bones that he’s not going to get hurt, he gives into it. truly lets himself let go. and if he thought you made him feel good before, he was sadly mistaken. because this, this is the best he’s ever felt.

he can hear your moans getting louder, even with the muffling provided by his own mouth, he can feel your thighs twitching for more. he knows the slow pace drives you absolutely wild, has seen you give him some of the best orgasms because of it.

so he keeps it up, drags his cock expertly against your sweet spot, making sure to angle himself to roll against your clit with every thrust. 

he watches your head roll back, his mouth suctioning to your throat at the presented opportunity, “want you to cum, pup. want to feel you, want to hear you. and then, fuck, then want to do it over and over again for the rest of our lives.”

you groan, nodding, a string of pleases and yeses leaving your kiss swollen lips, your cunt starting to shutter around his cock.

“that’s it yeah ? that’s what’s gonna make you cum, isn’t it ?” niall groans. “wanna hear about how i’ll take care of you ? how m’gonna make you feel good for the rest of your life ? gonna choke you, tie you up, make you squirt. fuck, taste your pretty cunt every fuckin day until i die.”

you hated to admit it, but he was right. it was gonna make you cum. it was working right this second, as you feel the overpowering heat in your tummy buildup to its breaking point. moaning loudly, you bury your face in niall’s hair, body trembling as your muscles seize, nails ripping their way down his back.

“fuck, fuck yes,” niall groans, feeling the sting of your nails, mixed with the crushing smoothness of your cunt, focusing on breathing, so as not to cum quite yet.

“my beautiful petal. my fuckin dirty little pup. my love. for the rest of our lives.”

……

love you all ✌️

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

tags : @acesofspadess @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @kathb59 @jerseygirlinca

[seat-safety-switch]

Are you filming some stuff for YouTube this evening? Maybe got a hot date with TikTok? Chances are, you’ll need to clear a bunch of crap out of your house. Clutter in the background is not only distracting, but could be legally actionable. Imagine if a small child saw something blurry, out of focus in a scene, and then applied sophisticated image-analysis algorithms to electronically hallucinate that blurry object into something dangerous. You’d have a lawsuit on your hands.

Hello. I’m Carlos Liability, from Liability & Liability Liability Law. Yes, my last name is a little confusing, especially since you consider that my business partner, Estella Liability, is neither married to nor related to me in any way. It is just the way the universe does things sometimes. Yes, I do give this speech every single time I introduce myself. Otherwise, people interrupt. May I proceed?

Internet video is huge, and the parasites of the tort industry know it. They want to tear down brave content creators such as yourself, over largely fictitious claims. Without an attorney like myself at your side, you won’t know which judges to bribe to make the whole thing go away. Google knows: most of those “democratically-elected” judges rolled off their factory floor, prior to the Turing Laws and the Sentience Bans. I digress. 

Here’s the thing. This “backdrop risk,” as the banks are calling it, is very real indeed. Just last week in Topeka, some dude filming a TikTok video about how to clean, assemble, and adjust the sights on a high-powered carbine rifle was held liable for his video. Why? Because he had some copyrighted music on in the background. Estella and I would fight for him, except he got into some kind of bunker and started shooting at anything that came within three blocks of his home. And we’ll fight for you.

[wyvernquill]

Finally some more Dreamling Anastasia AU!

(Obligatory link to the masterpost with all the other posts in this AU - it's also pinned at the top of my blog!)

So, it's been... a while... but I've recently finally got some motivation to write a bit more of this. Apologies to everyone really looking forward to the finale/resolution - I've decided to go all the way back to the start of the story, instead. I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless!

(Tag list: @10moonymhrivertam @martybaker @globglobglobglobob @anonymoustitans @sunshines-fabulous-legs @dreamsofapiratelife @malice-kingdom - since it's been a, uh, really long time, please let me know if you're no longer interested in this AU/fandom and don't want to be tagged anymore, I won't mind! On the other hand, if someone else would like to be tagged in future updates, please let me know!)

---

“Sister… it’s me.”

The man on the dilapidated theatre’s stage shrugs a heavy, moth-eaten velvet coat off his narrow shoulders. It crumples into a dark semi-circle around him, releasing a dramatic cloud of dust.

“Dream… of the Endless~”

.

“Ah. Hm.” A somewhat fussy older gentleman in the empty space usually reserved for the audience adjusts the small circular glasses on his nose, grimacing in a polite and distinctly English way - which he has, once, after first coming to this realm and taking this form, spent hours practising in the mirror - while checking a long list in front of him. “Mr… Carter, was it…?”

“Oh, please.” The man on stage flicks back his white-streaked bangs. “Call me Hal.”

“Yes. Of course, Mr. Hal.” The gentleman purses his lips. “That was… not, er. Not terrible, I suppose. And we’re pleased to note that you appear to have… brought your own cloak.”

“Don’t get used to it. Zelda and Chantal only let me borrow it for the audition.”

“Well, it is a lovely cloak. Only, ah, while Dream of the Endless was known to have quite striking eyes, I do think that, perhaps a little less eyeliner…”

“I could tone it down, I suppose, but I really think the performance would lose something without the makeup.” Hal sighs melodramatically. “I can sing and dance too, if you need it for your… what is this audition for, actually? Play? Music hall show? Ooo, one of those moving pictures?”

“Er.” The gentleman fidgets with his cane, grass-green eyes flickering around the empty theatre. “Well-”

“Thank you, Hal.” The younger man beside him interrupts with a winning smile that only barely covers the boredom and frustration lining a rather ruggedly handsome face. “We’ll let you know.”

“Hm.” Hal, clearly enough of an old hand in the acting business to know a polite “you’re not getting the role, piss off” when he hears one, frowns, and bends down to gather up the borrowed cloak, stalking off towards stage exit right with his head held high, not deigning either of the two men with even one more look.

“...I really do not think this will work, young Robert.” The older man mutters, decisively striking through Hal Carter’s name on his list. It is the last. “None of them look even remotely like him. And the voice-”

“I know, Gil. I know.” The younger man, Hob - only Gilbert is proper and precise enough to call him Robert - rubs at his temples, as if to stave off a headache. “They never manage to get the voice right, do they.”

“Ah, if it were only that…” Gilbert sighs, setting the list down. His eyes are soft and unfocused, seeing far into a past that has long since been razed to the ground. “His Lordship, he… he had a certain air about him, you understand. An otherworldly strangeness. He was the dream-maker, and dream-made, and to look at him was to gaze upon infinity.”

A soft scoff.

“Even if we claim that he has been greatly reduced by being turned into a meagre human - no offence, dear friend - as long as he does not have some spark of endlessness about him, nobody who has ever met him would fall for the ruse. And we are attempting to con his family. I simply cannot see any viable path to success.”

Hob does not respond, for a moment, picking up one of the flyers on their table.

It reads:

.

SEEKING Actor, slender, pale, tall, dark-haired, in the 20-40 age range to play the role of Dream of the Endless (method actors preferred). Generous pay and further benefits await. Auditions each weekday at 6pm at the Old Whickber Street Theatre, Soho. Ask for Hob and Gil.

.

“We’ll find him.” Hob insists. “The perfect pretender. He’s out there, I just know it.”

“We are not the first fools who have attempted a, a caper of this sort.” Gil points out, almost gently. “None of the others ever succeeded.”

“Yes. Well. None of the others managed to find and correctly identify the late Dream’s own pouch of genuine dream-sand on sale at the black market.” Hob shoots back, gesturing at the cord just barely peeking out from under Gil’s collar. (They’ve decided it would be safer if Hob comes into contact with the sand as little as possible, and Gilbert has taken to carrying it as closely to his heart as he can manage.) “It’s hard evidence, Gil, it’s a sign, it’s our chance - and it might just be enough. The trick with a good con is really making it look like you’re giving the mark exactly what they desperately want… and there’s nothing in the world Death of the Endless wants more than to have her brother back.”

.

(She wants it so desperately, in fact, that she’s offering immortality to any sentient being who manages to procure Dream for her.

And, well.

There’s nothing in the world Hob wants more than to live forever…)

.

“Your word in- or, well, kept out of Destiny’s ears, young friend.” Gil sighs, collecting his lists and notes and the remaining flyers, tucking them into his coat and reaching for his cane. “In the meantime, how about we go down to the public house and have a bit of a snifter to wash away the memories of all those atrocious performances, eh, my lad?”

“Best idea you had all day, Gil.” Hob grins, clapping a hand on Gilbert’s shoulder. “Are you buying?”

Gilbert raises one grey brow. “At the risk of provoking a joke regarding my non-human status: in your dreams, Robert.”

Hob laughs; and, together, they step out into the winter night, old snow crunching under their shoes and new flakes beginning to drift, gradually, down from the sky.

.

.

.

It has been a decade since the end of the Endless’ reign.

Ten years since humanity tore Destiny’s book from his hands and burned it.

Ten years since Destruction abandoned his siblings, hiding away in his own, separate exile. 

Ten years since Despair’s first aspect was killed, and another took her place.

Ten years since Delight went mad with grief and became Delirium…

.

And ten years since Dream of the Endless was captured, bound, turned human, and killed.

.

People still whisper about it. Still speculate, trade gossip and hearsay back and forth. Some insist that the Dream King yet lives, hidden away, turned human, just biding his time, waiting for an opportunity to return to his siblings.

It’s a lovely legend, Hob supposes. A fitting end and non-end, for the Lord of Stories, to live on in one… but that’s all it is. A pretty tale, which will breathe new life into a myth only for as long as it’s being told. It isn’t true…

…but now, ten years later, Hob and Gil will damn well make it so.

.

.

.

Ten years is also, coincidentally, all that a man a few streets down from the old theatre can remember of his life.

Ten years since he was found, naked and emaciated and bleeding, in a ditch next to some countryside road in East Sussex.

Ten years of fighting his way through a life in poverty, with no family, no friends, no-one to care for him, except perhaps the birds.

Ten years of strange and haunting dreams, blurred faces calling out to him with names he can never remember later but knows are his; ten years of waking every morning with tears on his face and a longing for someplace - and someones - he wishes he could remember; ten years of a woman’s voice begging him night after night to come home to her, to them.

.

Ten years of being much too busy starving and freezing and barely surviving to spare even a single thought to the dying legends of the Endless.

.

This man turns his face up to the sky, snowflakes catching in his dark hair and on his coat like stars glinting in the night; and he shivers, his breath clouding mist-white in the air, curling thin arms around a narrow torso.

(For a moment, just a moment, his eyes glow dark and infinite, a mirror to the night sky and the endless universe beyond.)

And then, he ducks his head down into his scarf, shivers again, and continues on through the snow.

Ten hard years have taught this man better than to waste his time standing about and daydreaming.

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Alx was on a mission. It was a very good mission, and they would not fail it. They had everything ready- a reason to be at the Hellp Desk (dragging a particularly nasty soul down who was due to arrive) and a way to start a conversation. Saying they liked Izuku’s hair was a good compliment. Right?

The blue-skinned demon paused to adjust their hair. It was one of the few things they couldn't shape shift, something their mother was baffled by as she could change her hair in anyway she wanted with a thought. Their father pointed out that his heritage probably came into play with that. Alx didn’t mind it. Much like their nails it was nice to have to put effort into things.

However, they did wish at that moment to be able to make the stupid strands stay straight.

Taking a breath, they walked right to the desk where they saw Izuku talking with some soul. Not the soul they had to grab, so Alx felt confident as they walked up to the desk.

“I don’t care who or what you were in life, you can’t take it with you. Level four,” Izuku was saying in a bored tone as he was turning back to his notebook.

“I was doing what was best-“ the soul began, his green and yellow hair becoming less prim and proper as he ran his hands through it.

“No you were attempting to control a situation due to your self righteousness and your egotistical nature due to your Quirk. You could see A future not THE future. Future in itself is subjective,” Izuku interrupted. “You had no right to demand things of your former hero partner and you barely pass on how you outright groomed your intern and forced him into a roll he didn’t outright choose. You then used a tickle machine which is actually classified as a torture device in some countries on other employees of yours. The only reason you’re not on a lower level is you did have good intentions you just failed. Level four,” Izuku turned away from the soul to smile. “Alx, right? You’re here for Kai when he shows up?”

“Overhaul himself yeah,” Alx said casually. They raised an eyebrow at the soul in front of the desk who looked lost. He didn’t seem to know what to say. “Keeping busy?”

“More or less. We don’t often get you guys up here to get souls,” Izuku said, tilting his head with his big green eyes blinking.

Alx had to hold back their coo as they shrugged, wishing there was something to lean against so they could tug their clothes a bit to show off their figure. They’d given themself a chest for the day, and some rocking curves, wanting to show off for Izuku. Their cute top showed a bit but the casual leaning would work better…

“I shouldn’t be here,” snarled a voice. A brunette man had come to the desk. “I was ridding the world of that disgusting disease called Quirks!”

“No you were an abusive bastard who wanted an excuse due to your own issues regarding how touching things made you fully aware of everything in it including germs which caused you to go mad,” Izuku said back, eyes narrowed. “Which would give you leeway if you didn’t know what you were doing was wrong and enjoyed hurting a little girl over and over again.”

“That thing was diseased,” the soul snarled. “No one should control time like it did. I did what-”

“Quirks are not evil things. What people do with them makes them wrong or bad. And you went around hurting people, hurting a child who hadn't been able to control her Quirk,” Izuku said coldly. “And you liked it. Just like how you liked the control you had over your subordinates. Liked how you put your ���father’ in a coma. You can run around claiming anything you want, I have your file right here,” Izuku held it up, holding Overhaul’s eyes. “And as a ‘pure’ person, a Quirkless person in life, I will only say this, I hope you don’t go to the void to soon. I hope you stay on level nine a very good long time.”

“Holy fuck you're hot,” Alx blurted out. It broke the tension and Izuku’s head whipped around to them. They flushed and grabbed Overhaul. “GOTTA GO!”

To the Void- WHY?!?

[bellaxgiornata]

Masterlist of Bella's Michael Kinsella Fics

Michael Kinsella x Fem!Reader Series

Safe Haven [Chapter List]

Warnings/tags: 18+; series contains violence, hurt/comfort, domestic abuse mentions, angst, smut, fluff, mutual pining, friends to lover

Contracted to work on your next novel, you leave the States and move in with your sister in Dublin in hopes of a quieter, peaceful place to work on your writing. And somewhere safe to hide. But you weren't expecting to meet your sister's attractive and curious neighbor, the one fresh out of prison–Michael Kinsella. And you certainly weren't expecting to become his safe haven, or for him to become yours–especially when your past eventually finds you.

In Search of Solace [Series Masterlist]

Pairing: Michael Kinsella x baker!Fem!Reader

Warnings/tags: 18+; depiction of seizures, depression, fluff, emotional hurt/comfort, smut (more tags to come)

When Birdy witnesses him at his most vulnerable, Mikey finally loses it. After unloading the truth about how he can no longer continue down this path, Birdy promises to help him relocate to a town in the U.S. near Anna's new university–far away from the Kinsellas. But while Michael grapples with the man his family forced him to become, struggling to find peace in his new life, he's surprised when he finds his solace in you and your strange dog.

She Lit a Fire [Chapter List]

Warnings/tags: 18+; series contains smut, mostly fluff but some angst, and pregnancy

It's been nearing six months since your mother passed and nothing about your fast-paced life feels right anymore. Not knowing what else to do with the inheritance left to you, you quit your job on a whim and book a few weeks stay at a seaside cottage in a small town in Ireland. Unsurprisingly, you're quickly drawn to the handsome bartender at the local pub who curiously doesn't drink–and who also happens to live just down the beach from your cottage. The pair of you end up in a whirlwind romance, but when it comes time for you to leave, Michael is crushed when you refuse to continue things. Though you're certainly surprised to find yourself Stateside two months later pregnant with his child.

I Can't Lose You [List of Installments]

Warnings/tags: 18+; light angst, overprotective Mikey, love confession, smut

The night doesn't go as planned after being tasked by Amanda to seduce a rival drug lord in order to seal the deal for claim to more territory for the Kinsellas. When Michael finds out from his brother what happened, he's not happy with you for following Amanda's orders. Not only is he determined to get revenge on Titan, but he's even more determined to finally get the pair of you out of his family's business.

Michael Kinsella x Fem!Reader One Shots

First Thing in the Morning

Warnings/Tags: 18+; nothing but soft and smutty Michael

Michael wakes you up with one thing clearly on his mind.

New Jeans

Warnings/tags: 18+; fluff, dirty thoughts, embarassment, confession of feelings, and Michael’s perfect ass

Tired of the power struggle and constant arguing between Frank and Amanda, you find yourself distracted by Michael’s ass in a pair of new jeans at an early morning meeting. But your inappropriate daydreams are interrupted when you get caught staring.

Whatever You Want

Warnings/tags: emotional hurt/comfort, light angst, fluff, soft Michael

You've been having a difficult year adjusting to your life in Dublin, struggling with a few things that you've kept hidden from Michael so as not to burden him further. Though when he comes home unexpectedly early from a family meeting, you realize he's been reading you better than you'd thought.

Keep Me Warm

Warnings/tags: 18+; smut, soft Michael

After Michael cancels your date night because something came up with his family, you're surprised to find him on your doorstep drenched and shivering from the rain.

The Christmas Morning Surprise

Warnings/tags: 18+; smut, holiday fluff

On Christmas morning you try to surprise Michael with breakfast, but you what you didn't expect was that he had a Christmas morning surprise for you, too.

[summer-nights19]

Good for business part 5 - It's not so simple

Balor x fem reader Part 4

About a month had passed since you'd first moved to Mistria, and, during that time, you'd settled in a lot faster than you were expecting. The farm had begun to flourish - you'd cleared away most of the weeds and rubble, and you even had a steady stream of orders. At Adeline's request, you'd recently started working on a large order of timber to help repair the bridge, which had collapsed with the earthquake. While you did genuinely want to help and see the town flourish, part of you was also excited to get to work with Balor every day. Over the past month, you two had grown pretty close - you'd stop to chat about everything and anything almost every chance you got, and he'd visit your farm at least once a day, usually claiming to have business to of some sort to discuss. During your free time, you guys were almost always seen together - you'd hang out at the sleeping dragon inn together or take leisurely walks around Mistria's fields and historical sites while chatting idly. After every Friday night at the inn, he'd walk you home under a sky full of stars, just like on your second night in Mistria.

Of course, you'd adored every minute of it - you knew that you were just good friends and business partners, but that didn't stop your heart from leaping in your chest whenever he was around, or your gaze from lingering on his lips for just a moment longer when he spoke to you. Sometimes, you couldn't help but fantasize but what those lips might feel like against your own...

A soft knock on the door of your cottage interrupted your train of thought, and you heard Ryis speaking from outside.

"Y/N ? Is this a good time ?"

After taking a moment to collect yourself, you replied.

"Yes, please come on in !"

Before you could even get up from your chair to open the door, Ryis had already entered your cottage, a bag full of timber and various tools slung over his shoulder. He smiled at you as he set down the bag.

"I was thinking we could finally finish the bridge today, if that works for you ? The timber you provided should be more than enough,"

"Sure. I don't have anything else on today, and I've been looking forward to checking out that Saturday market,"

You met his smile with one of your own as you got up to gather your own tools, which were quite worn, but they'd been gifted to you by several of the townsfolk to help start you off with your farm, so you weren't about to complain.

Ryis nodded at you as you finished packing and opened the door so you could both head outside. All around you, the sky was completely cloudless and you could feel the warm sunlight caressing your skin. As you approached the bridge, Ryis spoke up.

"Hey, Y/N, I was thinking that we could potentially head to the market together when it returns ? I mean, just so I could show you around-". Ryis stopped mid sentence and met your gaze, his cheeks flushing slightly red.

"Hmm I think I already promised Balor I'd go with him, but you and I could definitely go another time. Or maybe we could all go together ?"

Disappointment flashed across Ryis' features, but he was quick to hide it with a pleasant smile.

"Yes, that sounds great,"

You felt your face heat up a little.

"Ok, we should probably get to work ... the bridge won't repair itself,"

You both took out saws and started working in companionable silence to replace the damaged timber with new one. After a while, Ryis spoke again.

"You know, you're shaping up to be a really good carpenter. The one thing that I'd say is that you'll use less energy if you hold your saw like this," he adjusted your grip on the saw gently with warm, calloused hands to show you how to hold it. Blushing, you realised you were suddenly standing close enough to smell him the scent of soap and timber was overpowering your senses. You mentally kicked yourself for being so stupid - he was just showing you how to hold your saw, it's not like it meant anything-

"Hey, Y/N !" as soon as you heard that familiar deep voice call your name, you jumped up, almost dropping your saw. It was a good thing that Ryis was still holding onto it.

Trying to calm your heart down, you turned around to face Balor.

"What's up ?"

"I need a hand carrying some of the stuff in your shipping bin to my wagon. It kinda needs to be done now as I'll be leaving to meet a supplier soon,"

You thought back to what was in your shipping bin - mostly tulips, daffodils and some leftover timber and stone. It was a little heavy, but you'd seen him lugging around way heavier packages. Still, you weren't about to pass up an opportunity to spend time with Balor.

"Sorry Ryis, looks like I won't be able to help you after all," You gave him your most apologetic smile as you packed up your tools and started heading in Balor's direction. Ryis smiled back.

"It's not a problem, make sure to call me if you guys need a third,"

"We'll figure it out," Balor replied as you two started heading off. Despite the relaxed smile on his face, his voice almost sounded... tense ? Maybe you'd imagined it.

***

It took only around ten minutes to help Balor load his wagon. The entire time, he kept up a stream of easy chatter about current events in Mistria and all the crazy thing's he'd encountered while travelling that week. After finishing, you closed your shipping bin and gave him a small smile.

"I should probably head back and finish helping Ryis with the bridge,"

Balor's eyes flashed with something you couldn't decipher before he replied.

"Best of luck. You'll do great things here. But, Y/N, don't forget you promised that first trip to the market to me," he smirked playfully before he got inside his wagon, driving off before you'd had a chance to even process what he'd said.

It had been a casual enough statement, as had Ryis' invitation earlier. So why did they both feel so ... intense ?

Masterlist

[peachymilkandcream]

Break Me Slowly|Part 27|Yandere Levi x Evelyn

(A/N: Sadness over! Domestic Evelyn and Levi here we come. Back to the shenanigans that make these two so special. The last chapter will be chapter 30 so be prepared for a little bit of sadness with that. Hope you enjoy and comment to be added to the taglist!)

WARNINGS: noncon, dubcon, manipulation, domestic abuse, yandere themes, forced marriage, forced pregnancy, stockholm syndrome, violence, mind breaking, misogyny, vaguely implied suicide, etc.

===============================================

That house was so familiar yet so foreign. It felt like it had been years since either stepped foot in that house, surprisingly undamaged from the chaos an mayhem. Most of the staff had fled in the terror of the infernal footsteps but the housekeeper remained, determined to ensure her employer's house remained untouched so she would still have a position if he lived and a sizable gain if he died.

How humiliating it was for Levi to be carried in by his wife. His damn legs rendered useless by a split second lack of judgement. He'd get his strength back, he was sure of it. Training and hard work had given him the body he had, he wouldn't allow any injuries to define his quality of life. No matter how long it took, he'd be right back to where he was, a man to be feared and respected. Besides, he had a son to raise when his wife gave birth, he wanted someone his future son could respect and look up to.

While their world had changed, the house within was the same. Slightly dirtier with only one to clean its mass, but still comfortingly the same. Evelyn and Levi knew the truth, they were lucky. Extremely lucky. Armin and the others had been regarded as fiends who killed their savior Eren Jeager. The Captain and wife had been welcomed back with open arms since Evelyn was accredited with helping to start The Rumbling and supporting Eldia's future at all costs. As for Levi, the lie spun was that Floch had only had issue with the Captain for personal reasons but he was never a threat to Eldia, in fact he fought for them but was tragically wounded before he could do more. Levi only agreed to this when the possibility of raising his children where he always dreamed was in front of him. His family mattered more than a bunch of kids he barked orders at.

=============================================

Picking up the pieces of an old life came slowly, many nights were spent desperately trying to sleep as the silence deafened them. Other nights were interrupted by shaking and screaming in terror as the nightmares of being crushed flooded their minds. The days were spent lazily enjoying the company of each other until the new Eldian government sorted itself out.

Evelyn was six months pregnant when Levi was officially given a position in the Eldian military. The lack of work had been driving him crazy, and when Commander Erwin was reinstated as a lesser head of the military thanks to a few pulled strings, the call to sign his enlistment form was instantaneous. His new uniform looked odd compared to the usual green and white, but there would always be adjustments, and if it meant gaining the respect of all those who saw him in the streets it was worth it.

=============================================

With the fall came the panicked cry of his wife from upstairs one weekend, causing the Captain to nearly trip and fall on the stairs, fearing for the worst.

"What is it? What's going on!?"

The bent over and sharp breathing coming from his wife signified that his dreams of a legacy as far as the eye could see were coming to fruition sooner than he thought.

Only the best midwife would do, paid well to ensure the risky business of childbirth wouldn't claim that of his beloved and child. Unlike most men of the era Levi was determined to be in the room overseeing everything that occurred, ensuring that there would be no foul attempts to harm his wife or child.

The screaming and wailing threatened to deafen him, the face of agony some men had told him had turned them off of having and more children just made him desire more. He was a sadist through and through, and he still believed deep down she deserved to suffer for all the stress she put him through.

Finally he was freed from her persistent whining when his child's first cries filled the room. An eyebrow raised to show Levi's amount of concern but the glass in his hand sloshing around the stiff liquor seemed of more importance, he could never show such a weakness as joy to anyone, even his wife and child.

"So what is it." He asked flatly.

"It's a boy sir. You have a son-"

Levi turned quickly to hide his grin of pride, on the brink of extinction another Ackerman had been born to carry on the family name. His wife truly was the most perfect creature on the planet to give him all that he desired and on their first try.

He gazed on the child set against his mother's chest. "I want to hold him."

For a moment Evelyn seemed hesitant, good, she was coming to bond with the child already, now it could be used as a bargaining chip to ensure she remained where she ought.

With the child securely in his arms Levi allowed himself to show a smidge of emotion, bouncing the bundle and speaking to him softly. "You will be set apart from all my son, destined to be a great soldier and become just like your father."

"Congratulations, have you decided on a name for such a precious boy?" The midwife smiled kindly with her yellowed teeth.

"Well actually I like-" Evelyn started.

"Furlan. Furlan Ackerman. That is his name. He will carry that name to higher heights than the man before him."

"Now isn't that nice, a strong name for a strong boy."

Levi ignored the rest of the gossip as to what names can do for a child, focused only on the perfection in his arms. As perfect as he was, as his wife was. No other would ever have children as great as they would.

"Furlan Ackerman, the name of humanity's next strongest soldier."

[lostintransist]

This Bunny Bites - Part 3

When you finally settle into bed the clock on your nightstand reads four AM. It had been a relatively quiet night after Johnny and company left, only a few spilled drinks and one guy who got way too into the fact he could touch the girls. You would always be grateful that the owner paid for a cleaning service to come in every morning and deep clean the building instead of making you girls do any of the cleaning. You had a gig once that made you clean after all the clients had gone. It took one puddle of cum in the bathroom for you to leave and never come back to that job.

You set your alarm for one PM and drift off to sleep listening to the rain sounds from your phone.

When you wake you shuffle out of your room into the small kitchen of your condo, flicking on the coffee machine. You tweak the blinds in the living room just enough to let in some light and sit on the couch staring into nothingness. Once the sound of running water stops you stand and shuffle to the the kitchen. After adding just the right amount of creamer you head back to your room. You adjust the curtains in here too until you can see but not be blinded.

Placing your coffee on the bedside table you grab your phone and fire off a text to your best friend.

‘Guess who showed up at the club last night?’

‘Was it Satan?’ Cara’s reply comes right through.

‘Nope, worse.’

‘Worse than Satan, but your father is dead so…your grandpa??’

You laugh out loud at the grandpa comment, your mother’s father happened to be the sweetest old man who lived hours away from you in a nursing home.

‘My brother.’

The ringing of your phone doesn’t shock you. You slid it open and answered Cara’s call.

“Bitch what the fuck did you just text me? Your BROTHER came to the club last night? The brother that abandoned you to the scum-eating, walnut fucking, monster of a sperm donor?” Cara must not have been at work if she was using her favorite insults.

“Yep, that’s the one. He was there in a group and didn’t recognize me when I came by to get orders.” You slurp a sip of coffee, feeling Cara flinch across the line at the noise.

“God, what did you do?” she stressed the last word.

“I kicked him and his friends out, obviously. He acted all shocked when I told him to get the fuck out, claimed he hadn’t done anything. Took me full naming him and calling myself his baby sister before he recognized me.”

Cara doesn’t interrupt but adds whispered commentary through the whole tale.

“I have never seen a human go so pale before Cara. I almost laughed, but I kept it together. Told him to get out or get thrown out and then one of his friends stood up, threw some money on the table, and basically forced my brother out the door. The two other friends he was with also dropped some money on the table and followed him out. The weird thing though is that when I totaled up what they had left on the table it was eight hundred dollars.”

“Eight,” Cara choked on air. “They left you eight hundred dollars for kicking them out?”

You shrug despite knowing she can’t see you, “I don’t know man, that’s just it. I can’t think of any good reason they would leave such a big tip!”

Cara whistled, “Damn, that means your what a month closer to your goal of quitting right? My best friend going to become a world-famous author one of these days.”

You smile at her undying support. She had gotten out of dancing after her business degree had landed her a nice six-figure paying job. You pulled down more than that but with most of it in cash, you had to be careful with depositing your money into any bank account.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I doubt I will make much money off of writing which is why I need to have enough money so between the rentals and my savings I never have to dance for work or do anything I don’t want to again.” Your dream was to get out, maybe move to the south of France, or Austria, and live out the rest of your days in peace.

“You know I will buy all of your books as soon as they are published,” Cara reminded you.

“I know, I love you too.”

“Good, now I have to get back to work. You free for brunch on Sunday?”

“I will have to check my calendar so text me?”

“Can do doll, love you!”

“Bye,” you hang up feeling more cheerful than before the chat.

You finish your coffee, sifting through your feelings about your brother’s abrupt return, and hope he doesn’t show up again.

[runawayonryo]

Blood and Gold (OC DU x Gortash)

Chapter four: investigate the murders I

Alaia's eyes are tired and weary; having stayed up all night recalling her recent encounter with the tyrannical archduke himself. She sits on one of the many benches outside of the Elfsong Tavern, her silver blade dagger in hand as she glances at her own reflection within the lethal blade. Her moment of tranquility is interrupted by her two elf companions, The pale vampire-spawn rogue and the drow paladin. Both step outside of the bustling tavern to join her presence and upcoming adventures.

"Dear, you never did join us last night did you?"

Astarion inquires, his red eyes gleaming with curiosity and his usual arrogance. When no response is given, Minthara steps forward and reinforces the group.

"We have murders to investigate and power to claim; Alaia's midnight walks are none of our concern, vampire."

Alaia grumbles and rises to her feet, adjusting her battle-worn armour. She throws a sharp glare at the two elves before reaching for her map; the entirety of Baldur's Gate kept on the stained crumpled parchment. Sighing, she glances up at the busy streets; many civilians, beggars and refugees walking the old stone paths. Astarion raises an inquisitive eyebrow:

"Looking for something?"

"Finding where we should start looking..."

"The tyrant mentioned some suspicious deaths in Rivington did he not? Perhaps that's a start"

The Drow responds, her arms crossed and face scrunched in mind frustration. Alaia gives a half nod before stepping forward into the bustling streets with no words spoken; her black curly ponytail swinging with each step she takes. The pale vampire-spawn follows suit along with Minthara, their steps leading towards the Gate once more to Rivington. The air is cool yet humid, the scent of sea water dominating their own natural musk.

"Ah Fraygo's Flophouse! I remember the Tiefling mentioning it a while ago. Apparently the beers are delicious... Not that I'd drink such a disgusting beverage."

Astarion inquires, motioning at the old yet tall and shabby building on the bridge. The very Tiefling he mentions being Karlach, one companion whom Alaia cur off from the party; her head residing within her bag. Karlach had made the mistake of turning her axe on the rogue, disagreeing with her hunger for power and the slaughtering of refugees within the Emerald grove. Alaia vividly remembers Karlach's story, or what little she has told her. Though she is aware of who had sold her to the archdevil Zariel.

Gortash.

Alaia glances up at the windows of the Flophouse, her expression puzzled at the boarded off third story windows. Halting her steps, she turns towards the Flophouse; interest piqued at the mysteries that could lie within.

"What are you doing? We don't have time for a drink"

Minthara huffs exasperatedly; her eyes piercing into the back of Alaia's head. Astarion doesn't seem as concerned, his tongue running over his fangs as he mentions his cravings for a wine-like beverage. Pushing he heavy oak doors open, the three elves are greeted with the loud ramblings of many patrons and adventurers. Astarion doesn't give Alaia's mission a moment of thought, immediately approaching the bartender with a sly smirk.

The young blonde woman greets him kindly:

"Why hello there, how may I help you?"

"Hm, do you have something 'full bodied and red?'"

Minthara unlike Astarion follows Alaia up the steps into the second story; eyes analysing every nook and crevice for potential clues or threats.

"Full bodied and red hm? Why certainly we do sir. To celebrate Duke Gortash's coronation, it'll be on the house"

The bartender winks, her hand holding a rag and wiping down the counter. Meanwhile Alaia and Minthara have discovered a suspicious gap behind a wardrobe.

Minthara swings her kneels acquired hammer (which she had taken from Ketheric Thorm's corpse) against the wardrobe, causing a loud thud and the doors to crumble and cave in. Alaia moves forward, crawling into the hidden room that lies behind the now-broken wardrobe, her one brown and one blinded eyes wandering across the room.

Minthara doesn't join her, rather she stands guard outside of the entrance; her hammer held tightly in her grip.

"Anything of interest?"

Alaia's hands reach for a piece of parchment on the desk, a list of names and instructions on the paper.

_

"Those wishing to face the Dread Lord's Tribunal and enter the Temple of Bhaal must slay the targets on this list and frame the corpses as a murder by the cult of the Absolute.

Bring the victim's hand as proof of the killing. Walk in blood, Aspirant.

Duke Belynne Stelmane - Elfsong Tavern, Lower City.

Father Lorgan - Open Hand Temple, Rivington.

Dribbles the Clown - Circus of the Last Days, Rivington.

Alexander Rainforest - Office near the Counting House, Lower City.

Franc Peartree - Abode near Feolgyr's Fireworks, Lower City.

Cora Highberry - Large home near Baldur's Mouth Gazette, Lower City.

Figaro Pennygood - Facemaker's Fashion, Lower City.

Chef Roveer - Elfsong Tavern kitchen, Lower City.

Nesha Leesha - Blushing Mermaid, Lower City.

Varri Vanthampur - Vanthampur Villa, Upper City."

_

Among them is Duke Stalemane, a name the Emperor has mentioned before. Stalemane was his love, his 'nearst and dearest' as one may put it. Alaia rolls up the parchment as stuffs it in her pocket, her eyes drifting to a corpse resting by the unoccupied bed. Kneeling by the corpse, she runs a finger over the deep settled wounds, her gaze scrutinizing.

"Did you hear me?"

Minthara's voice echoes, her annoyance palpable. With a huff Alaia rises to her feet and speaks plainly: "I know where we must go. We'll start with the weapons-dealer, Franc Peartree."