#but actually? i might be able to do the proper overnight curl

[orionangeline]

Gave myself pin curls bc I couldn't remember the last time I had hair long enough to curl so if in the morning I curse wikiHow, Bobby pins, amateur hairstyling, and forgetting what hairstyles should never be reattempted; You all know what endeavor I messed up royally

[bump1nthen1ght]

At the End of the Day

Pairing: Gender Neutral!Reader/Non-Binary Tentacle Monster (It/It’s pronouns used)

Genre: Fluff, First Times, Comfort

Warnings: Explicit Content up ahead (18+ only!), Tentacles, Slight mention of Aphrodisiacs

Word Count: 2904 Words

Summary: After an exhausting day at work, you find some unexpected comfort from under your bed

Request :Omg I love your Forest Fun fic💕 Could I req a NSFW with a tentacle monster, monster under your bed? I was thinking of a lonely reader, meeting their under the bed mate one night where they were hang their hand off the bed, hoping for a monster to hold it and love them, AND IT DOES! Tysm I love your writing!!!

You officially concluded it was a bad day when you collapsed on your bed at 12 AM, too tired to sleep and too dehydrated to cry your feelings out.

You had been on your feet for nine hours, been screamed at for three, and had barely had time to heat up a cup of ramen noodles before almost passing out from exhaustion. Not even the comfort of a screen could help, having forgotten to record the newest episode of your favorite show and having left your phone charger at home all day.

All in all, you 're having a bad time.

You sluggishly pull up your blankets, only in your underwear because putting on pajamas was too much work, and are left to look at your ceiling.

The bed is cold, not yet warmed by your body heat, and the sheets feel a little itchy. You groan, wondering if one thing, one thing, could go right today.

It’d be nice if you had someone to cuddle. Maybe a pillow would suffice, but it’s the thought of someone’s soft touch, playing with your hair, the sound of their heartbeat against your ear. Someone to massage out the stress from your back and shoulders, and remind you that everything would be alright; Whispering promises of a better tomorrow.

But that doesn’t just happen overnight.

You throw your hands over your face, groaning into your palms as you beg your mind to just let you sleep. Dragging your fingers down your cheeks, you let out a pitiful whine before you flip over to your stomach and try to find comfort that way.

You stuff your face into your pillow, one hand dangling off the side of your bed, fingers just barely brushing the carpet. You trace patterns into the fabric, wondering how nice it would feel to be wrapped in something that warm and cozy. Something big enough to envelope you whole, pinning you to the bed. Something with nice warm hands to fill yours, that will pet the back of knuckles and kiss them goodnight. Something that would travel up your wrist, hot and sensual, leaving a trail of warm ooze that-

Wait.

What the fuck.

Your hand jerks upwards, the liquid now running down your forearm glistening. You pull your face out your pillow and throw yourself to the other side of the bed, eyes racing back and forth across your room.

It’s the same as before, only moon light shining through your window and the low hum of your fan accompanying it. You take another look at your hand, streaks of slime dribbling down the sides. It’s warm, the consistency of aloe vera, and sort of smells like...vanilla?

With your heart pounding, you slowly inch over to the side of your bed, not daring to look too far over, too afraid of what you might see.

You fly backwards when the tip of something black and shiny comes up and over your sheets, tentatively tapping the side. It looks like it’s feeling around for something.

Was it looking for you?

You freeze as the tentacle reaches farther and farther up the sheets, thrashing around as you avoid it’s touch, until another one joins it in the search. You don’t move an inch, fearing any shifting of the blankets would alert the creature to your presence.

The tentacles reach about half-way across the bed, almost brushing against your toes, when they freeze. You hold a breath and watch them slowly slink back underneath, wondering if now is the time to lose your shit.

A pair of eyes-wait, no, two pairs of eyes peer up from the side, glowing yellow in the dark. Their pupils expand as they take in the darkness, darting around until they see you, curled up against the corner of your headboard.

There’s a soft churring noise, like the startup of a vacuum or the sound of birds singing. A tiny tentacle comes up, sheepishly tapping the sheets as the creature stares at you.

“....Alright?” It murmurs. It’s voice is scratchy, like it’s trying to make sounds it never has before.

“What?” Your mouth, barely making a whisper. The tentacle points to your hand, still covered in ooze.

“Smelled...sad.” The creature sniffs, slightly raising it’s head so you can see the bottom half of its face. It resembled that of a human, but the mouth extended all the way back to it’s jaw, hinged like a snake. You can see several rows of sharp teeth and the purplish tongue that comes out and wets it’s...lips? “Thought….I could help.” The tentacle draws a circle into your bed covers, the creature's eyes darting away as it’s skin flushes an even darker black; Indigos and deep violets highlight the contours of it’s face. “Don’t like it...when you are sad….”

You think you’ve lost your chance to have a breakdown, your mind already switching to numb out the wave of realizations you are going through right now. All you can focus on are the bashful look on the creature's face, the way it’s tentacles nervously tuts back and forth, and how warm your hand felt in its embrace. How nice it felt.

“Oh, uh, thank you.” You mutter, finally able to make proper words. “I appreciate it.” You unconsciously rub your thumb over the palm of your slick hand, noting how hot it still is, how it relaxes your muzzles like a warm bath.

The creature just nods, resting it’s chin on the bed.

“Feeling...better?”

You shrug. “Uh...a little bit. A good hand-hold is always nice.”

At that, the creature perks up, and you can see some more tentacles come up the bedside. They beckon you to come closer, massaging the mattress and somehow leaving no trails of their slime. The creature swallows, rubbing the back of its neck.

“...Could make you feel….really good….If you...want.”

Your eyebrow quirks, the cogs of your brain working extra slow tonight. But the way the creature flushes, the way it’s tentacles writhe so sensually, you soon start to get the picture.

A logical person might have said no. Might’ve screamed, thrown on the light, and barricaded their bedroom. Probably called the authorities, or animal control.  

But isn’t this what you’d been asking for? And they were sweet enough to pick you up when you were down. Even asked for your permission afterwards, and made a conscious effort to not make a total mess of your bed.

Maybe it’ was the nine hours of pure hell, maybe it’s the fact it’s the most physical contact you’ve had in months, but there’s a part of you that really wants to say yes.

And it’s probably the sleep deprivation that makes you actually do it.

“Yeah. I-I think I would like that.” You slowly unfurl yourself, the creature's face lighting up as you slowly crawl over to it. It’s tentacles thrash around unabashedly, some too eager to even wait for you to get closer, tickling the tops of your knees and nipping at your fingers. You giggle as one finds a ticklish spot. “What’s your name?” You whisper, falling into the soft touches of it’s tentacles as you get closer and closer to the creature’s face. It’s still flushed purple, it’s eyes racing over your body.

“Ghitir.” It croaks, taking a deep breath as your oversized night shirt slips down your shoulder, exposing your skin to it’s greedy eyes. It’s flattering, how much it wants you.

You pull down your collar even more, letting it fall past your collarbone and show just a peak of your chest. A tentacle has begun crawling up your leg, the thick ooze leaving a warm trail along the outside of your thigh, and you gently grab it. Ghitir shudders as you stroke your thumb over the tentacle, feeling the way it’s muscles push against your palm.

It’s hot breath brushes across your face as you look into its four eyes, not realizing how close you had gotten to it. Your eyes fall it’s mouth, where it’s long tongue darts out for a second.

“My name’s _____.” You punctuate the sentence with a kiss, one which Ghitir reciprocated hungrily. It’s tongue along your lips before darting into your mouth, your hands running up the back of its neck as you sink deeper into the feeling.

The tentacles have grown bolder, several now pushing past the bottoms of your pajama shorts and others going under your shirt. One slides up the center of your chest, it’s tip barely touching your nipples as the others run along your pelvis. You can feel slime drip down your behind as several caress your ass, pulling the fabric of your shorts higher and higher as they squeeze. The liquid has gotten even hotter, making your skin buzz and tingle.

All the sensations come together in a perfect tidal wave, so much so that even the rubbing of your pajamas against your crotch has you keeling into Ghitir, thrusting your hips against your mattress. Ghitir churrs, pulling it’s tongue out of your mouth to lather your jaw and neck in kisses. There’s a slight sting as you feel claws dig into your lower back, your hazy eyes glancing downwards to see Ghitir’s four, vaguely humanoid-arms, push you closer to it’s body. It pants and yanks on the shirt fabric, urging you to take it off. You do so in one quick motion, but before you let Ghitir lunge for another kiss, you yank it’s shoulders upwards and onto your bed, revealing all of its body to you.

It’s torso and arms connect to a mass of rolling tentacles, big and small, all of which latch onto you as you fall back onto the bed. Some squirm under your waistband, pushing your shorts and underwear past your crotch and down to your thighs. You shimmy your legs and kick them off your ankles, a shiver running down your spine as cold muscle presses up against your sex. Ghitir leans down into the crook of your neck, exhaling hot breath as it’s cold skin presses into your chest. Your nipples pebble and you run your hands down it’s back, nails digging into it’s clenched muscles.

Ghitir’s tentacles rub your crotch, undulating while one slinks down to your entrance. Beads of liquid smear off of it and into your skin, it’s tip just ghosting over your hole. The knot in your stomach burns hotter, your crotch thrusting upwards, trying to catch that fleeting sensation. But Ghitir is focused on covering your neck and shoulders in sloppy kisses. Sweat drops down your neck and it licks up toward your jaw, shuddering a groan from the taste.

Your head is hazy and your eyes have a hard time focusing, but you're able to feel your way to a tentacle, grabbing it by the thickest part and rubbing your thumb up it’s side. Ghitir lurches forward, it’s tongue lolling out with a shaky squeal. The tentacle teasing your entrance seizes, pressing up against the sensitive skin but not quite pushing through. You move your hand farther up the tentacle, squeezing intermittently before you reach the tip. You brush the pad of your index finger over it and a drop of slime drips down your wrist. One pair of Ghitir’s hands has moved down to your hips, it’s claws slightly pinching your skin as you press your finger down on it’s tip. It bites back a groan, rolling it’s lower half into the bed when you lick a stripe up the tentacle. It’s slime isn’t salty like human sweat, but sweet, almost like nectar.

You press your abdomen upwards, pressing kisses against the tentacle, your other hand grabbing another and half-hazardly jerking it up and down. Drool is dripping down Ghitir’s face, it’s eye’s locked onto you. You wink, erotically sticking your tongue out as you lick up, and up, and up, until just the tip rests on your bottom lip. With a tentative lick, you open your mouth wide and suck down the tentacle like a lollipop.

Ghitir’s forehead falls against yours. It’s tentacles convulse as you suck in your cheeks and move your head up and down, the tentacle in your mouth slowly stirring to action. It massages your tongue, shyly moving further and further into your mouth. Drool and Ghitir’s slime drips down your jaw as you let it slacken, the tentacle quickly hitting the back of your throat. The tip presses against your gag reflex, pulling back quickly once it hears you choke. But you give Ghitir a thumbs up, keeping a tight suction around the tentacle as it gently begins to face fuck you.

You can feel Ghitir’s hand’s shaking as it pounds your mouth, releasing more and more slime as it shudders inside your lips. You stop moving your head, letting Ghitir thrust into your mouth at it’s own pace, and reach forward and feel around for the tentacle pressed against your crotch. Your vision is dotted with black spots, but you eventually find the tip pressed so close to your entrance, pulling and urging it forward. Your eye’s shift toward Ghitir, it’s face locked onto the way you take it’s tentacle in your mouth. It’s tongue is hanging out of it’s mouth, cheeks nearly glowing with it’s bright blush, but it’s coherent enough to understand what you want.

The tentacle slithers out of your hand and presses against your soaked hole, dripping with it’s slime and your sweat. The tip finally pushes past your entrance and you can feel your eyes roll backwards as it stretches you open.

The tentacle is slightly smaller than the one in your mouth and although the pressure is relieving, it still leaves you wanting more. You jerk your hips forward, asking for it to punish your hole like it’s punishing your mouth. Ghitir nods, one of it’s hands stroking the side of your jaw as another tentacle slips inside of you, twisting with it’s twin and pressing against your walls. You moan once more, tears forming at the corners of your eyes. The sensations are overwhelming, deliciously overwhelming.

The tentacles inside your curl around each other, searching for that sensitive spot inside you. The tentacle in your mouth starts to thrust erratically, more and more slime coating the back of your throat as it begins to spasm. You clamp your lips around the base, coating it in your saliva as it nears it’s climax.

Your legs feel shaky and buzzed, your movements uncoordinated as you focus on breathing and chasing your own orgasm,The pair of Ghitir’s hands on your hips help your lower half hump against its tentacles. With a yelp and quick jolt of your body, Ghitir realizes it’s finally found the perfect spot, the one that has your toes curling and your eyes rolling backwards. The tentacle in your mouth slows down, edging itself on your tongue and your lips, but the tentacles down below pick up the pace. They pull out until only their intertwined tips remain, right before surging back inside you.

Your bed springs squeak as Ghitir continues to pound you into the mattress, it’s free pair of hands roaming and groping all unattended parts of your body as you throw your hips upward with every thrust. It pinches your nipples and lays wet kisses all down your collarbone, your chest coated in slime, saliva, and sweat. The tentacle continues to just rub itself all over the inside of your mouth, shaking as it teases itself nice and slow. Tears drip down your face as you feel the rubber band snapping, the fire in your belly about to combust. You moan around the tentacle, gurgling a couple of “Yes, yes, yes!”

Ghitir purrs as your body begins to seizing up, it’s claws digging into your pelvis as the tentacles pick up their speed. The tentacle in your mouth retracts, gushes saliva and slime falling out of your mouth. But Ghitir quickly replaces it with its tongue, petting the side of your face as you make out.

There, there, there, right there, right there- The moan you let out is almost a scream, punctuated by a strong “Oh fuck!” as hot streams of Ghitir’s cum flood your insides. The smaller tentacle spasms, squirting it’s juices all over your sweaty chest as Ghitir bites its lip with a groan. You can feel your body slacken, your chest heaving as you collapse into your sheets, leaving only tiny kisses against Ghitir’s lips. It follows you as your head sinks into your pillow, finally pulling away to let you catch your breath.

Ghitir rests its forehead against the center of your chest, its tentacles slowly slithering out of you, dripping slime all over your bed. Its chest is still alight with a purple blush, their body shaking from all of the exertion.

You find yourself stroking the side of their face, mind still fuzzy as you trace the contours of their cheekbones and enjoy the unusual texture of it’s skin. Ghitir’s four eyes peak open, just as delirious as you are.

“Thanks.” You suck in a deep breath, “That was...amazing.”

It smiles, nuzzling its cheek into your stomach, a small purr rumbling through you.

“No...problem..”

Ghitir’s tentacles lay sprawled out below you, lazily petting your calves and feet as Ghitir draws lazy circles into your stomach.

In no time at all, you fall asleep.

[whenimaunicorn]

The Heart of Admiration - Part 6

In which we learn how Hope and Vane spent that fateful night in that tiny room.

Prompt:  16. “everybody sees how you look at him.” Content: pining, angst, more pining, a healthy dose of denial, and certain individuals having way too much fun with the fake marriage ruse. Catch up here.

Notes: the first section had been previously posted as a preview, if it feels familiar. Keep reading, for everything that follows is new. Also, shout-out to my partner in crime for this fic, @navigatrixnarrations​, the real inspiration for Hope Wickham. Words: 3767

Hope dreams she’s teetering on a great precipice, unable to pull herself back nor to find the courage to see what lies in the darkness below her feet. She wakes up to the realization that she is actually just about to fall out of bed.

She pulls herself back on the mattress, able to do no more than achieve a slightly more stable balance before hitting a solid wall behind her. A warm, toned, breathing sort of wall. Her sleeping captain had encroached upon her territory in the dead of night, and now her shoulder is jammed into his chest and he’s softly snoring into her ear.

“Move it, you lunk,” she hisses, nudging him firmly with her shoulder.

It accomplishes nothing. There’s not even a hitch in his breathing.

“You’re on—my—side,” she growls, shoving against him harder with each word, bracing her feet against the mattress and throwing her back into him.

The snoring stops with a bit of a sigh, then resumes without any further acknowledgment of her disturbance.

Hope twists her body around with a few jerky movements, and stares down the bridge of his nose. His head is sharing her pillow. Unacceptable. “Captain.” She grasps his shoulder and shakes it, tentatively at first and then more briskly. “I need more room.”

He makes some sounds, half-words not recognizable in any language that Hope is familiar with. They sound both curious and exasperated. A few more brisk shakes get Vane to shift onto his back, but he remains soundly asleep.

At least she’s not nestled between his pectorals anymore. But his immovable shoulder is still preventing her from getting comfortable without touching his body. The amount of space left in the bed would be no problem if she were inclined to embrace the man, to wrap the line of her body along the whole side of his. The thought makes her flush, both with unexpected craving and with the embarrassment that would suffuse her if her captain woke up to find his navigator spooning him.

The craving, and her exhausted need to just get a little more comfortable, win out. She lets her top leg relax until her shin falls against his; better, but not enough. She rolls forward on her hip into her favorite sleeping position, daring to stack her knee on top of his thigh. Instantly, her tight muscles relax. The move presses her belly comfortably against his waist. The warmth of him is lovely, as are the gentle waves of his breathing. A part of her cannot believe she is pressing her body against Captain Vane’s in this way, while the rest of her is just too tired to care about propriety.

Her arm would be most comfortable draped across his chest. But did Hope dare to go that far? In the square of dim moonlight cast by the small window, she finds herself inspecting her captain’s sleeping face.

She’d stopped pretending she didn’t find him handsome. Her eyes follow the strong lines of his cheekbones down to his powerful jaw. When she’d first joined his crew, she’d been nervous about his intentions toward her, but the possibility that he found her attractive had never materialized into anything troubling to her. Despite the fact that Vane was now an inert mass in the center of her bed, he had never pushed her so far as to make her truly uncomfortable. In fact, his lack of direct advances have made her wonder if she’s imagining the whole thing. It is still distinctly possible that he thinks of her simply as a trusted member of his crew, valued only for her skill.

His jawline is vexing her. The fine stubble on it, grown out through the course of the day, is practically beckoning her fingertips. It would not be at all appropriate for her to stroke him in the dark, whilst he sleeps, and yet what other chance does she have to explore the way Captain Vane makes her feel without him catching her at it?

Shoving him did not wake him up. Perhaps tickling would do the trick. She tells herself she is only reaching fingers up to his cheek in order to annoy him into waking, and that only for the purpose of rolling him over to a more reasonable share of the mattress.

There's nothing surprising about the texture of Vane’s cheek, not technically. It’s just skin and little bristles of hair. And yet something about it feels absolutely unique, infinitely fascinating to her fingertips. She feels she could enjoy doing this for hours, or conversely that this one moment of tactile pleasure is stretching out wider and more significant than any moment has any right to. How can something feel soft and rough at the same time?

Vane's breathing hitches, his great brows creasing as he seems to become aware of her touch. Hope's fingers retract as if burnt. She really shouldn't have been doing that. She no longer wants him to wake up.

With a rumbling little groan, Vane reaches his arm over and embraces her, gathering Hope against his chest and rolling into her until she is trapped with both arms curled up between their bodies.

There is nothing to do but admit defeat, and let sleep take her, cozy and warm in the arms of her captain.

~*~

He hadn’t known exactly why he said it. She’s mine. How Hope must have shuddered, listening to that. He knew she could handle herself. It just sort of came out of his mouth when he saw the way that fisherman was leering at her. But now here she is, curled up against his chest in the thin light of early morning.

He’s grateful that he woke up so gently. Oftentimes unpleasant dreams haunt him in the early hours before dawn, and he does not always awake without a fight. This time, fleeting dreams melt into awareness of a warm weight at his side, and now Vane thinks he will just never move again. Her hand is on his chest. His heart beats strong and wild just beneath her palm. He stares at the ceiling, breathing carefully, only shallowly, and hopes this moment might stretch out forever.

His arm is around her. When did that happen? She fits so perfectly right there, tucked into his shoulder. If ever he had doubts about the depths of his feelings for the woman sleeping beside him, they were surely dispelled now. This is more than just desire, more than just skin craving skin. Her trusting little body anchors him, makes him feel as if heavens and earth are all turning as they should, with this bed at their absolute center. As if everything that exists had navigated his life right to this still point right here.

When she wakes, it will be over. If only they really were husband and wife, if the story they had spun in the tavern downstairs had magically come true overnight. But Vane would not risk losing her from his ship, not just to tell her how he feels. Better to see her every day, to hear her voice carry across the deck over the ocean winds, to take the smiles and tongue-lashings she throws in equal measure, and keep his heart concealed. At this point, not even his crew would forgive him if he drove her away.

She stirs. Oh, the cruelty of that soft sound that she makes as she wakes. Vane keeps himself still and unthreatening as he feels her body tense, as she lifts her head with a start and pulls her hand away from his heart.

Her hair is mussed and lovely, a lock of it falling across her face as she blinks at him in the warming light. She looks neither angry nor confused, so his worst fears recede. She looks . . . he can’t quite put his finger on it. Distressed?

“I—” a nervous smile darts across Hope’s face. “I’m sorry.” She laughs, and pulls her body away. That’s all she does, when she awakens to find herself entangled with his limbs at the center of a benevolent universe. She laughs.

She averts her eyes. She won’t look at his face as she scrambles to sit all the way up. Carefully not letting any part of her body touch him again. What more evidence does he need that he’s right to keep his heart locked away? “Mornin’,” he growls, polite as he can. Then swivels away from her to set his feet firmly on the floor.

~*~

Somehow Hope had been sure that she’d awaken before her captain, that she would be able to pull away and hide the secret embrace she’d bestowed on him during the night. Instead, she’d found herself rousing to the face of a very much aware and awake Charles Vane. And he had just been letting her sleep on, curled up against him like that, with her palm splayed across his bare chest…

Heat rises again in her cheeks, and she keeps her back to him as they both straighten hair and clothing and prepare to look presentable enough to walk downstairs. She hopes she hadn’t made him too uncomfortable. Poor thing was probably so shocked to wake up and find her like that that he was afraid to move. Probably thought she’d yell, accuse him of impropriety, trying to sneak something while she was asleep. But Hope knows she’s the one at fault here. She was the one who had indulged secret desires, and the only one that should be feeling any shame today.

The right thing to do would be to say something. Clear the air. But what on earth is the proper etiquette for I’m sorry that I took advantage of the warmth of your body last night? I apologize for testing the waters and liking it just a bit too much.

“You must think me silly,” she says to him. She’s not really certain where she’s going with that, but it’s a start.

Charles looks up at her abruptly, shirt in hand.

He’s listening. She has to say something more. “I promise that I’m not—” she cuts herself off. It’s imperative to reassure him that he doesn’t have to worry about her attraction to him, but equally important that she not even give him the idea that’s what this is about, if such thoughts had not already occurred to him. “I want to reassure you that my feelings aren’t—"

This time she’s cut off by a loud, thumping knock at the door. Both their heads swivel at the sound. “I hear congratulations are in order,” Jack Rackham’s cheery voice calls, emanating through the wood. “I was told the ‘newlyweds’ would be found in this room.”

Hope checks that her blouse is in order, then jumps to open the door. Their quartermaster’s face looms down at her, one amused eyebrow raised expectantly. “We didn’t get married, Jack. It’s all a misunderstanding.” She steps back into the corner, trying to create enough space to allow him entry into the tiny room.

Why is Vane looking at her like that?

Jack’s eyes float to find the captain as well.

Vane is gruff. “Told the mark she was my wife.” He pulls his hair out of the collar of the shirt he just finished shrugging on. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“So we’ve made contact, then.” Pleased, Jack sweeps fully into the room.

Hope closes the door behind him, mindful that Fellows might come walking up at any moment to begin their rendezvous. “More than contact,” she confirms, intent on filling Jack in quickly before another knock comes at the door. “He’s agreed to lead us right to it.”

Jack seems distracted. “A fine bit of news.” His eyes linger on the single bed, the two pairs of boots still standing side-by-side at its foot.

Something about the way he makes eye contact with Vane, directly after looking up from the rumpled bed, irks her. Hope stalks into his line of sight and crosses her arms. “Nothing untoward happened, Jack.”

Why do his eyes keep flitting back to Vane? Jack has nothing but a nod for her statement. Why on earth would the captain’s feelings be the ones anyone would be worried about right now?

“I promise you,” she says stubbornly, “he was a perfect gentleman.”

“That's not what you called me last night,” Vane rumbles behind her.

She whirls on him. “Don’t make this worse,” she barks at the cheekiness she detects in his halfhearted smile. “The last thing you want today is an angry wife.”

“So we’re keeping up this little ruse, then?” Jack inquires. Judging by the impressive angle of his eyebrow, he's realized Vane’s feelings aren't the only ones that might require caution in this moment.

Vane’s big hand cups Hope’s elbow, guiding her in the direction of their boots. “No way around it. Our contact took a fancy to her.” He holds her eyes for a moment, measuring his next words. “Which she leveraged. Seems I've got a coquettish little wife on my hands. Fellows finds out we ain't really married, now, and the only way to keep ‘im would be to send her to his bed instead of mine.”

Jack looks, frankly, flabbergasted at every word of this report. He turns wide eyes to Hope, for confirmation of such an extremely uncharacteristic story. “What—” he stops, screwing up his face in confusion, then tries again. “How much did you have to drink last night?”

Hope scowls at him. “It was a calculated play. Got us the deal, didn't I?”

“So long as the man can get out of bed today,” Vane adds, helpfully. “We did attempt to drink him under the table by the end, there.”

Hope's memories flash to that portion of the evening, to the fire ignited in her blood by the casual grip of the hands Vane kept resting on various areas of her body, the alluring spark nestled in the laughter behind her captain’s eyes. She can admit that the tittering, maddening, absolute uncertainty of these new feelings, she still tells herself they are new, led her to drink much more than was her usual habit.

“Perhaps we had best go knock on his door,” she says, forcing her mind back to the real business at hand, “before he gets away.”

~*~

She’s not sure how on earth she hadn’t thought to expect it. Hope considers herself an intelligent woman, extremely capable of thinking a plan through, anticipating the obstacles, the contingencies, and every flavor of unexpected consequences that might come from a particular course of action. It’s what makes her a damned good pirate, after all.

And still, it hits her like a blow to the stomach, knocking all other thoughts from her head for one long, unreasonable moment.

“You’re back,” the boatswain calls, waving as she and Vane accompany Fellows up the gangplank to board the Ranger. “Welcome aboard, Captain. Welcome aboard, Mrs. Vane.”

She almost stumbles. Which is especially embarrassing because the captain had his hand on her arm, and absolutely must have felt her composure crumble at those particular words.

“And who is this that you’ve brought with you, Mrs. Vane?” Oh, Shane is having fun with this. Hope can hear the subtle emphasis he has put on the honorific this time. They sent Jack up to the ship ahead of them, to let everyone in on the need for a little subterfuge while Mr. Fellows leads them to the treasure. It seems clear now that the crew has decided to have fun with it.

She’s not going to live this one down.

“This is Mr. Fellows,” she introduces. “Please, meet Shane Rollins, our boatswain.” Hope would like to remove her hand from Captain Vane’s arm, now that they’ve attracted the attention of the crew, but his fingers have covered hers and she can’t quite bring herself to recoil. She expects to find him laughing at her when she looks up at her “husband,” but his squinted eyes are very carefully not looking at her. Perhaps there is a slight tilt to the chiseled line of his mouth. Bother. He probably finds this extra funny given the way he found her wrapped around his body this morning.

Quite a few more members of the crew are on deck than usual, watching them board. She could chalk it up to excitement over the treasure her guest was about to guide them towards, but the smiles are just a bit too sly for that, aren’t they.

And it only gets worse as they get underway. Their guide turns out to be a gregarious, amiable fellow even when hungover. He, of course, stays close by the navigator’s side, attending to his “important business” of advising their course while chatting up the various crewmen who continue to insert themselves into the conversation. And it seems that as long as Fellows is glued to her side, Captain Vane will be too. Which, while perhaps intimidating to Fellows, (perhaps), does absolutely nothing to dissuade the crewmen from attempting to fluster Hope as best they can.

“Such a handsome couple you two make.”

“I confess I did tear up just a bit at your ceremony.”

“Oh, I remember it like it was yesterday.”

“That’s because it was yesterday, wasn’t it?”

“No, yer daft, it were a week ago.”

“Ain’t they been married for months now?”

“Nah, it only feels that way, on account o’ how long they was makin’ eyes at each other before that.”

For her part, Hope mostly just stares resolutely out to sea. Despite Vane’s uncharacteristic nearness, he himself does nothing to feed into the madness either.

“I just love seeing the two o’ you so happy together. Oh, put your arm around her. Give her a kiss.”

That last one is met with the flattest stare Hope can summon. There is no way that even an actual Captain’s wife would ever put on a performance like that. “Reckon we’re close?” she asks Fellows instead.

“Oh, might be a couple more hours. Plenty of time to keep trading stories.”

~*~

Eventually she reaches her limit, right about the time Jack starts spinning his own version of their false narrative, opening with “We had never thought our Captain here would be the marrying type…” Hastily, Hope excuses herself to go put on a fresh set of clothes, before her growing frustration blows the whole charade.

But when she gets to her bunk, she finds it stripped, her few meager belongings nowhere to be seen. Did they—?

Hope fumes. There’s only one logical explanation for this, isn’t there. The crew’s been quite thorough in their commitment to establishing the ruse. She stalks back out of the lower decks.

She finds her clothes in the Captain’s quarters. Of course. Her skin prickles as she disrobes in here, even though the room is empty. To be undressed inside Vane’s private space . . . to her horror, Hope realizes the main emotion it’s filling her with is a sense of longing.

This is so inappropriate. She dresses herself as quickly as she can, then gets hung up on deciding where to set her soiled clothes. She can’t have Vane returning to his cabin and seeing her shirt and breeches flung across his bed, where she just almost forgot them in her haste to exit. The impression of casual intimacy that would leave just wouldn’t do at all. They’re dirty, so she won’t tuck them away into a drawer… She settles on draping them carefully across the chest of her belongings that the crew had so helpfully moved into this cabin. With the most innocuous bits of each garment facing forward, neatly lined up, to minimize all possibility that they might create the impression they had been flung aside by a now-naked woman.

When she’s satisfied, Hope doesn’t return to the main deck. They’ve likely moved on in conversation up there, but her renewed appearance might only drag their wicked minds back to making fun. Instead, she finds a secluded section of railing from which to hide a little longer, while contemplating the sea.

The waves are mild this morning, and the blue expanse glitters in the brightness of the sun. She wishes she had her hat, but it was missing from her bunk and she was not going back to Vane’s cabin to search out where the crew may have stowed it. Wouldn’t be right to start rifling through his things, even if no one on this boat seems to have felt shame doing it to hers.

When she had awoken, so embarrassingly nestled against her captain’s chest, she had thought it would be easy to simply carry on and ignore what had happened. The way that lying with him had made her feel. But now it seems no one is willing to let her forget it. The feel of Vane’s arms around her… she has to press her eyes closed for a moment, against the sudden rush of heady emotion threatening to disperse all reason and good sense in its wake.

She opens them at the sound of boots approaching on the deck. It’s Jack, strutting toward her with a keen, wary look in his eye.

“What.”

He lifts his palms in a gesture of harmlessness, then takes a place leaning against the rail at her side. “Just making the rounds. Ascertaining that each man is at his post.”

Hope rolls her eyes at that. “Did you disperse the crowd around Fellows, then?”

Jack fixes her with a look out of the corner of his eye. “Eventually.”

Hope sighs, and sags a little deeper as she stares out across the water. “I hadn’t expected the crew to be quite so… enamored of this idea.”

“No?”

“Sure, it’s a little funny,” she grants, “but they were like a bunch of gossiping old biddies up there. What, I wonder, set that off?”

She rounds on Jack, preparing to accuse him of stirring up the crew’s expectations. But something in his flat, serious look stops her. “You really don’t know.”

“Know what?”

Jack presses his lips together, exhaling a little huff through his nose as he chooses his words. “Darling.” He leans in a little closer. “Everybody sees how you look at him.”

Hope tries not to let her eyes widen at the splash of nerves that rush through her body. “What? How do I look at him?”

“Like the secrets of the heavens might be written under his skin.”

Next chapter here

[kalee60]

So @larkboyd this happened and I don’t think I have any excuse for it... apologies as I haven’t written for Merthur in quite some time - but your enthusiasm stoked mine - so... errr - enjoy?? 

Based on this Tumblr post here

No warnings except it gets a little spicy ;)

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

“You look like a startled Stoat,” Arthur called out to Merlin, and Merlin couldn’t help the way his shoulders stiffened. For God’s sake he was trying his damndest to keep them alive - all while not letting a slip of magic out, and quite honestly Arthur was getting on his last nerve.

“Yeah, well at least I don’t look like a bone-idle toad,” Merlin snarked, enjoying the way Arthur straightened and seemed to startle, like Merlin was being inordinately rude, which he wasn’t - he always spoke to Arthur in that way. 

“You’re saying I look like a toad?” Arthur finally drawled like he couldn’t comprehend the thought, that it was an impossibility to look thus. Merlin was not going to pander to him and confirm that he actually was the most striking man he’d ever seen, and his chiselled features made Merlin’s insides quiver. He was a prat, a pillock and the most infuriating man, no, it was worse - Prince - in the known world. And Merlin wanted him desperately. Much to his disgust.

It made him feel off-balance, so with as much snideness in his tone that he could muster, he responded, “yeah, and maybe one day you’ll magically transform into a handsome prince.” 

Throwing his ruck-sack onto his back he tried and failed to notice the way Arthur touched his face as if to check for warts, then ran a hand through his hair, before gazing down at his body, which left Merlin able to look his fill without being caught. Damn it, he had to curb this - want, deep inside.

“Since magic’s outlawed that’ll probably never happen,” Merlin continued, trying to dampen his desires, it was almost impossible though. And he felt his attraction to Arthur was almost as hard to hide as his magic. “Come on let’s go.”

Arthur followed mulishly behind him. Looking after a Prince was more than a full-time job.

~~~

That evening, Merlin tried unsuccessfully to light a fire, as Arthur watched him too closely to use magic. It was getting cold and he was hungry and he needed to heat the stew else Arthur's royal pain in the behind would complain for hours.

“What’s taking so long?” Arthur whined, “usually it takes you two seconds.”

Merlin wanted to snap that things would go quicker if Arthur deigned himself low enough to help sort out their camp (allowing him a swift glimpse of gold to infuse his eyes and get the damn fire started), instead he ignored the prat.

“It’s cold,” Arthur pressed and Merlin looked up archly, his brow raised and he couldn’t help the utter look of annoyance that crossed his face. Arthur saw, if his small smirk was any indication. The clod-pole knew exactly what buttons he was pressing.

“Go get some more kindling,” Merlin demanded, and when a twig flew past his ear he looked up incredulously. “Did you just throw a stick at me?”

“I’m helping with kindling,” was the response, and Merlin couldn’t help the sharp bark of laughter, which turned into something a little more. Then Arthur joined in, and everything was just absolutely ridiculous. He also wished Arthur’s laugh didn’t make his stomach feel all jittery. The low cadence, deep and full of filthy promises, but not ever aimed at him. Never him.

Merlin was a servant, not a potential bed partner. More pity to Arthur, as Merlin had many, many interesting skills.

To Merlin’s surprise, Arthur actually stood up and began to gather wood, which in turn meant he could use magic to light the fire, and soon a warmth was flowing against the front of his body as he nurtured the small lick of flames into a steady blaze.

“There you go, that wasn’t hard. You could have managed that ten minutes ago, I can’t feel my fingers,” Arthur came up next to Merlin, very closely, and rubbed his hands together and held them out to the fire.

“You’re lucky you can still feel your arse, considering it’s the largest part of you,” Merlin said under his breath.

“What was that?” Arthur asked, not sounding at all very forgiving, and Merlin knew he’d pushed a little too far and gave a beaming smile instead and said he’d put the stew on, which interestingly made Arthur’s gaze soften and his eyes drop to Merlin’s mouth. And although it wasn’t intended to be read in any way other than general, it still sent a zing up Merlin’s spine.

Licking his lips he let out a small cough which startled Arthur into a scowl and a ‘hurry up, I’m starving’. Of course he was.

Dinner wasn’t a fancy affair and they both ate in silence, and as the light disappeared completely from their small part of the forest, sheltered by a rock face, Merlin knew it was going to be too cold overnight for him not to use magic in some way to keep them warm so as not to end up dead from the chills. But he couldn’t. It would be too reckless and an ongoing spell would tax him too much, and honestly he’d never performed such magic anyway. He looked between their two cloaks and swallowed all of his pride. He had to keep the future King safe at all costs. Even the cost to his dignity.

“I think we’re going to have to stay close tonight,” he tried at first.

Arthur’s flat look did not instil confidence, “excuse me?”

“Err, it’s too cold tonight, you can tell by the rings around the moon that the fire won’t give off enough warmth, and since we don’t have proper blankets, we’re going to have to…” Merlin trailed off at the look on Arthur’s face, one he couldn’t really decipher through the flickering flames, “... cuddle.”

“Merlin, are you suggesting the future King of Camelot, cuddle for warmth with his servant?”

What. A. Pillock.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying, a dead Prince won’t become King. Even if he’s more frozen than you are now.”

Arthur blinked once, then scowled in such a familiar way it was almost endearing, then finally, much to Merlin’s utter shock, he created a space before him. Not behind. It seemed Arthur was going to allow Merlin to curl up in front of him, closest to the fire. And that was - unexpected.

Although when Merlin made his way over, he instead, lay down behind Arthur as close as he dared. At least behind him if he needed to use magic, he could keep it hidden, to a degree.

They laid awkwardly for about half an hour, when Merlin began to shiver, he couldn’t help it and soon he was wracked with them, trying not to jostle the surly prat before him. Sure he could use a spell to warm himself, but he just wasn’t confident in such close quarters, he’d wait until Arthur fell asleep but of course the dollop-head refused to do anything but stay on guard.

“For the love of Camelot,” Arthur finally huffed and his arm reached out behind him, groping at poor Merlin until completely baffled, his arm was yanked back across and over Arthur. What in hell was he doing? “Better?”

And surprisingly, yes it was, but did he admit that? Instead he took it for what it was, shared body warmth and snuggled in closer, feeling the sharp inhale from Arthur as his hips unintentionally ground into his backside. He swallowed his apology, not wanting to draw attention to it. Trouble was, all of Merlin’s attention was honed in on every breath, every noise, the way the firelight played over Arthur’s golden hair, making it appear ethereal, and he needed to rein in his galloping thoughts. Arthur was not someone he could lust after. Not someone he could have.

“Do you really think that of me?” Arthur said quietly and Merlin craned his neck to try and hear the soft words.

“Think what?”

“That I look like a toad,” was the response, and Merlin bit his lip to stop the laughter bubbling up.

Lord, Arthur was the vainest and most obtuse man in a thousand forests.

“Honestly?” he asked with only a hint of mirth in his voice.

The nod was so unlike Arthur, usually he was full of gust and bluster, but for some reason Merlin decided that the truth wouldn’t hurt. Well part of it.

“No, I don’t think you look like a toad,” he felt Arthur relax a little against him, “but you do look like a prat, not even in training anymore. I’m pleased to confirm you have entered the esteemed ranks of complete and utter fully fledged royal prat.”

“Oh…”

“You sound disappointed? I can still say you look like a toad. Magic, as discussed, won’t help you. But a kiss might...” And what the actual hell just slipped out of his mouth? He was going to blame his absolute lack of brain cells on the fact he had Arthur basically wrapped up in his arms, and the smell and very aura of the larger-than-life man had enraptured his senses until he didn’t even know what he was saying.

It didn’t mean he was lying though.

Arthur went still, very still and Merlin braced himself for a walloping - which didn’t come.

“That could…” Arthur stopped and coughed, his voice thick with something and Merlin held his breath, what was happening between them like an out of body experience. “...could be amenable.”

“Amenable,” Merlin couldn’t help chuckle.

“I mean, I don’t want to be a toad for the rest of my life, who does?”

“No, no of course you don’t.” Merlin barely whispered as Arthur tilted his head back, and suddenly Merlin had pouty lips made for kissing (among other activities he tried not to image too often) within his reach. The small uncertainty in Arthur’s eyes almost hidden by the darkness and Merlin had to school his own features, knowing Arthur could quite simply see his expression clearly in the firelight.

He didn’t wait for a second invitation, not sure if this was his only opportunity to kiss Arthur, other than in his fantasies, he wasn’t about to turn it down, and as he lowered his head, he heard the small inhale between Arthur’s lips, and then they were kissing.

It was everything and unlike anything Merlin had expected. Arthur’s lips were soft, so unbelievably plush under his own cold mouth and he couldn’t help dive deeper, taste further, take everything on offer. And just when Merlin thought his luck had run out, Arthur sighed into his mouth and opened himself more, pressed his body firmer against Merlin and his hand tangled up in Merlin’s hair and, god, it was good. It was perfect, actually.

Merlin couldn’t say how long they lay there, kissing, learning each other’s mouths, seeking to shock and make the other gasp, as when Merlin discovered that Arthur enjoyed having his hair pulled, delighting him to no end.

But it was when a hardness pressed insistently against Merlin’s leg, he realised they’d gone from a fairly innocent teasing to something much more.

“Arthur?” Merlin questioned, diving back in for another kiss, devastating the blonde, if his hazy wild eyes were any indication. “What do you want?”

Arthur didn’t answer for the longest moment, and Merlin was beginning to think he wouldn’t.

“What any good serv… friend would give, nothing more, nothing less.”

Merlin mulled on the words for only a second, making up his mind in less than that.

He rolled Arthur back so he was facing the fire again, Merlin pushing right up against his back, his own hardness tight against Arthur, and although he wanted friction, he had a different plan. The small huff of air, almost as if Arthur were trying to hurry him up, so very familiar and Merlin pressed himself tighter against him, enjoying the hitch of Arthur’s breath.

It was too cold to undress and they had been limited with bathing except the dip in the river earlier that morning, so Merlin had one or two options left to him. He decided quickly what he wanted.

He spared a kiss against the back of Arthur’s neck, and snaked his hand down into the soft folds of Arthur’s pants, grasping his dick firmly, and Arthur bucked against him roughly, and for a moment, Merlin thought he’d overstepped. 

But then the way Arthur went boneless and whispered ‘please’ into the night urged Merlin on with his movements.

Arthur was large in his hand, and so very hard, and as he stroked up firmly, his mouth watered, hoping at some stage he’d be able to wrap his lips around the girth, wanting it desperately. Arthur shook in his arms, so Merlin repeated the movement, up and down - slowly, glacially.

“Merlin…”Arthur tried to sass.

“Hmmm,” he replied cheekily, knowing exactly what was going through his mind.

“Move.”

“Demanding, aren’t you?”

Arthur husked in an uneven suck of air as Merlin’s fingers danced across the tip of his dick, finding wetness, enough to spread down his shaft to ease his movements.

“I’m your… oh, god that… bloody hell…” Arthur arched back as Merlin bagan to lazily step his fingers up then down. “I’m your crown prince and I demand you… you know.”

Merlin smirked against his shoulder, not able to stop the small press of his lips on Arthur’s ear, “I’m not sure I know at all, Arthur.”

Maybe it was Merlin saying his name out loud, making it more real, but Arthur moved his head to look back over at Merlin, pressing himself forward as if searching for - oh… Merlin kissed him hard, tongue pushing in and Arthur moaned around him, the vibration of it hitting him square in the gut.

Arthur was stunning.

Merlin began to stroke him hard, Arthur’s lips loosening over his until they were only sharing air, the punched out gasps leaving Arthur’s throat had Merlin puffing out sharp breaths, whispering words of encouragement that Arthur was gorgeous, that he could let go, let Merlin take care of him. He didn’t relent, his pace becoming brutal, with one goal in mind, to get his Prince off. To make him fall apart from only his hand.

“Let go for me,” Merlin rasped, lips pressed on Arthur’s.

It was all he needed, Arthur’s lips clung to his suddenly as he moaned deeply and began to release in Merlin’s hand, the stickiness and warmth pleasing Merlin to his toes. He did that, he made Arthur feel like that. Made him lose control. 

It was a heady and addictive feeling.

The kisses turned soft, Arthur still breathing heavily, and Merlin removed his hand, looking down at his soiled fingers and Arthur gave him a look.

“Don’t you dare wipe that on me.”

Merlin smirked, it was not his intent.

One finger disappeared into his mouth and Arthur made a strangled noise as Merlin sucked his second finger clean. Arthur tasted like nothing on earth, and Merlin wanted more. But was it his lot in life to be able to taste Arthur Pendragon from the source?

“You’re going to kill me, Merlin.” Arthur growled before pinning him to the ground shockingly easy. “Wait until I get you back to the palace and into a bed, you’ll not survive the night, especially after a bath - you smell like a boar.”

Merlin laughed, “I smell like you - so are you a toad or a boar.”

Arthur’s hand on his dick stopped the flow of teasing words.

~~~

If Merlin and Arthur were inseparable after their two night jaunt stuck in the woods, and if the other Knights happened to see Arthur’s hand slip into the breeches of his most loyal servant on the odd occasion. Well, it was just as easy to look the other way.

After all - it was their future king and consort they were in the company of.

[burnedbyshoto]

Ashido Mina

a/n: so, here’s to the start of my event! sfw is above the cut, nsfw is below it! I’m having a lot of fun with these and I hope you all enjoy :D

SFW

A = Affection (How affectionate are they with a s/o?)

Super affectionate with you. You need a hug, a kiss??? Mina will provide everything needed

B = Breath (What could their s/o do to take their breath away?)

Come out of nowhere and hug her from behind, or plan something super romantic and spontaneous, she’s such a romantic that the more cliche the better

C = Cuddling (Do they cuddle? If they do, how and when do they cuddle?)

Mina loves being the big spoon because she loves to bury her nose into your hair. She will cuddle with you whenever you please honesty

D = Dream (What do they dream of doing with their s/o?)

She wants nothing more than to win a dancing competition with you, or at the very least join one with you

E = Effort (How much effort do they put into a relationship?)

A lot of effort, she’s the type to date intending on marrying who she’s marrying so, you better treat her right

F = Fear (What do they do if their s/o is scared? How do they handle it?)

She will get a big blanket and roll you up and just hold you, you’re a burrito baby now

G = Gifts (What type of gifts do they give their s/o? Do they want a gift in return?)

she is the type to give you over the top things. think of jim’s present to pam during christmas before they got together… yeah, pretty intimate and intense but something you’ll love.

mina loves a gift in return and she especially loves gifts where she gets to do thinking’s with you!

H = Hugs (Do they hug their s/o? How often?)

hugging all the time!!! she loves touching you!!!

I = Intimacy (How romantic are they? Do they have problems with intimacy?)

a total romantic, everything she does for you is done with hearts in her eyes, and she has no issues with prodcasting such love

J = Jealous (Do they get jealous? How do they act when jealous?)

while not one too typical to get jealous because she trusts in you, when she gets jealous know she gets touchy. like stand behind you with her mouth to your neck touchy.

K = Kiss (Are they a good kisser? Do they like to kiss? How often do they try to kiss you?)

minas kisses are super gentle and sweet, she’s not the best kisser but she’s so passionate about it that you forget. if you go a day without getting at least ten kisses from mina, something’s wrong

L = Love (When do they say they love you? How often do they say it? Do they prefer to say or show it?)

mina doesn’t know what to do when she figures out she loves you. it’s something she’s always imagined feeling but now that it’s real she can only gape like a fish. she’ll accidentally blurt it out before her 10 step plan to confess happens. she prefers to show it then say it.

M = Marriage (Do they want to get married? If so, what kind of ceremony?)

she wants a full out reception party. she wants the biggest dance floor and the two of you to perform 194930 dances together.

N = Night out (What type of dates do they like to go on? How often do they like to go on them?)

mina actually treasures dates where the two of you stay in! the both of you lead busy outside lives that intimate ones indoors resonate deeper within her heart

O = Out of the Ordinary (What’s something they don’t normally do with/for their s/o?)

there’s not much she wouldn’t do for you, but on the rarest of occasions she’ll let you touch her horns.

P =Playful (Are they playful in a relationship? If so, how do they play around/mess with their s/o?)

super playful relationship! playing nerd gun fights in pjs at two in the morning! laughter is always echoing in the hallways with you two

Q = Questions (Do they ask their s/o their opinion on things? Do they share theirs?)

she’ll always ask for opinions on things she’s unsure of and will ALWAYS give her own thoughts about it

R = Random (How spontaneous is their relationship? Do they do things on the spot or plan ahead?)

she is a very big on the spot person! not that she doesn’t plan things out, just successwise she has better on the spot events

S = Sleep (How do they sleep with their s/o?)

the two of you nap together more, especially during high school because you both are too nervous at getting caught in the others room overnight!

T = Trust (How much do they trust their s/o?)

trusts you completely. if she didn’t trust you, she wouldn’t have ever asked you out

U = Unique (What makes them unique as a s/o?)

how deeply she loves. your hobbies will become her hobbies. it doesn’t matter because mina loves dancing and you do it with her, so you best believe she will do whatever hobby you love the most!

V = Vulnerable (How long until they can be vulnerable around their s/o? What are they like in this state?)

being vulnerable with you is super hard for mina because she’s always just so hyper and cheery, that the first time she’s vulnerable it makes you worry because it’s super super scary to see her sad and horns wilting as if in response. it takes about three months for her to show you this side.

W = Wild Card (Get a random domestic headcanon of the character of your choice)

mina loves comparing her hand size with you. whether they’re bigger or smaller than hers, she’s just fascinated by your hands she can’t help but stare and compare.

X = X-Ray (What would they do if their s/o got injured?)

suddenly number 18 in the class is outperforming number 1 in the class. she becomes instant health genius as she does anything to make you feel better

“mina is just a paper cut!”

“if we make it a slightly deeper cut you won’t feel the stinging pain anymore!”

Y = Yuck (Do they have any pet peeves about their s/o? Are there any habits that might bother their s/o?)

constant negativity. like the yucky kind that drains the fun from everything. she hates that in a s/o so much. like there’s a difference between that and being a pessimist and she sees and understands that.

Z = Zeal (Are they passionate as a s/o? Do they want or like passion?)

she wants and LIKES THE PASSION OKAY?! give mina her ideal love 2k19

NSFW:

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Mina lays there breathing for a full 5 minutes

She is always overwhelmed post sex, just give her a minute

While not the best at cleaning up, she lowkey loves just laying in your guys mess, she will always cuddle and hold you.

Lots of pillow talk

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

On herself, mina prides herself on her arms and legs, she’s extremely proud of her natural strength

Mina is a useless boobs gal. 

dangle them in her fucking face p U H L E A S E

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

Mina fucking loves it when she can get herself to squirt

Like one you guys figure out how to make her squirt it’s going to happen every time y’all fuck cuz it sorta reminds her of her quirk

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Has definitely masturbated to an innocuous picture of you when the two of you went months without seeing each other

never masturbated until the two of you got together tbh

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Is not experienced at all prior to you! Mina is a romantic with a terrible streak prior to you, but she is a fluid person so she nails everything in the bed fast

F = Favorite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

Favorite position is kneeling. She gets to hold you tight and full access to your boobs.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

Definitely, the lover who goes from super romantic and intimate sex to can barely take this seriously love making

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

Always groomed. The second she knew she was gonna fuck you she got that shit waxed. She has a heart strip though, and yes, her pubes are curly and pink

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…) 

Sex with mina is very very intimate, even if its in a joking matter. She truly cherishes everything about you and will always try making your sex life as amazing as possible

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

Loves masturbating together. Like loves it so much. She loves watching you please yourself while she… ahem… assists you with some toys

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Hair-pulling: she loves having her hair pulled and the feeling of fingers knotting into her curls, degradation: she loves calling you impolite names because of the way you react, roleplaying: LOVES DRESSING UP AND CREATING A NEW PERSONALITY OKAY

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

By far her most favorite place to have sex is in the backseat of a car. It’s risky and hot. She’s addicted.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Physical reactions. Moan for her, move your body and praise what shes doing for you. Also when you wear that one big t-shirt with your hottest lingerie underneath and give her a lap dance

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

DO NOT TOUCH HER HORNS. THE MOMENT THEY ARE TOUCHED SHE’S DONE

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

Loves giving more. Only on special occasions does she like having the attention on her, but for the most part, she will spoil you

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

All depends on her mood! She genuinely loves going fast and rough, but on anniversary nights, she enjoys slow and sensual paces

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Is definitely down to have a quickie, she thinks it’s hot, but only once every 2 years. She just enjoys being able to hear you scream as loudly as she can make you scream.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Very experimental! The two of you have designated days for trying out new things just because you’re never too sure

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

Mina actually comes really fast, it’s a big reason as to why she prefers focusing on you! But she has good stamina and can last to three full and kinky rounds.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Toys are a must.

Vibrators, dildos, strap on, anal beads.

You think of one, you two own it.

They are very used and will go interchangeably, but are more often used on you

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Not that big of a tease actually. Like she may abuse vibrator rights, but it’s not in a teasing way! More like a “i’m trying to make you squirt” way

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

She’s very loud in bed!

Moaning, whining, mewling, and sometimes even begging

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

The first time the two of you had sex, mina came twice in under two minutes. Once because of how your breasts felt rubbing against hers and when you pressed your soaked cunt against her own

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those shirts and pants, picture or words)

Mina is a blessed girl with round perky breasts, probably a dd-cup. her right one is actually bigger surprisingly! And she has inverted nipples. She has larger than average labia

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Went from sorta there to we fuck at minimum five times a week.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Takes her forever to fall asleep, will be awake long after you pass out

[sagesparrow394]

Nerdiness

Fandoms: Sanders Sides, Hazbin Hotel

Characters: Logan, Patton, Virgil, Janus, Roman, Remus, Emile, Remy, Valentino

Relationship(s): Moxiety

Summary: Hazbin Hotel AU. Go here if you want a preface of who’s who and see the character designs

When there’s a surprise guest at the hotel, Patton gets all hands on deck to make sure the guest gets a proper welcome. However, things get put on pause after he heads to Logan’s room and finds something out about their spidery friend.

Trigger Warning: themes of sexual assault and abuse

—————

It had been a very normal, very quiet day at the hotel. Emile was running around the lobby, dusting and cleaning the cobwebs that had been woven by spiders overnight. Janus was drinking cheap wine behind the bar, though insisting, “It’s soup. It’s too early for alcohol.” Roman was wandering around absentmindedly, checking on things and occasionally picking on Virgil, who was in charge at the time as Patton was out, pinning up posters anywhere he could to advertise the hotel.

And, though it seemed to everyone else that these posters would be a lost cause, given how most demons had initially reacted to the idea of the hotel, they apparently weren’t.

For, at around midday, the front door opened. And in stepped a demon.

He was a bat demon, wings folded behind his back, and two black bat ears poking out of his hair. He wore a black jacket, white shirt, and black skinny jeans. He was texting on his phone as he stepped in, one of Patton’s posters in his other hand.

“Hey, babes, this is the ‘Happy Hotel’, right? I wasn’t too sure, since the sign says ‘Hazbin’. Might wanna update the flyers.”

Virgil looked up from where he had been sitting on the couch, eyes widening. He went to get to his feet and welcome the demon, but before he could, Roman was already welcoming them in

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, welcome to the Hazbin Hotel! I’m Roman, I run this fine establishment.”

The bat demon raised his eyebrow. “I thought that Lucifer’s son did?” He paused. “Wait, Roman? The Radio Demon?”

“I work with Patton! He owns it, but I’m helping him run it. And so is that boyfriend of his, I guess...”

Virgil rolled his eyes, going over to the bat demon. “Sorry about him. Just come on over to the reception and we can check you into a room, Mr...?”

“Just call me Remy, babes.”

Virgil led Remy over to the counter, where Janus pulled out the guest book, blowing the dust off of it. He opened it to the first page, where there was only a single line filled in: ‘Logan “Angel Dust”.’

“Angel Dust’s still living here, huh? Thought you’d have kicked him out after the whole turf war thing,” Remy said.

Virgil sighed. “Trust me, I wanted to. But Patton insisted he deserved another chance.”

“Yep, I did! And I think it was a good idea. I mean, he hasn’t joined any turf wars since then, has he?” Patton was standing in the doorway.

“He’s still an addict and offering his usual ‘services’. Remember he invited us to his strip show a week or so back? Still a sex worker,” Virgil shrugged.

“Come on, now, this is a sex worker positive environment!” Patton said, wandering over. “And the whole point of this hotel is to help people who are sinning, not kick them out for sinning. I’m sure, with our help, he’ll make progress and be clean from drugs in no time!”

Janus scoffed. “His stage name is literally the drug he’s addicted to. I doubt it’ll be that easy. Plus, just because you’re sex worker positive doesn’t mean those guys up in Heaven are.”

“Well... we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Anyway... who is this?!” Patton turned to Remy, grinning from ear to ear.

“Remy. Nice to meet ya, gurl.”

“You too! Oh, you’re going to love it here! Now, I’ll show you to your room-“

“Actually, think I wanna get a tour first, see what facilities and stuff you got here. Plus, I’d quite like to meet Angel, I’m a bit of a fan of his.”

“Oh, sure! In that case, I’ll go get him. Verge, Ro, while I’m gone, why don’t you show Remy around?”

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Um, I think it’s better I go with you, Pat-“

“Sounds wonderful!” Roman grinned. “Come on, we must get going, there’s so much to see!”

And with that, Virgil found himself being pulled away by Roman, Remy following behind. Patton smiled as he watched them go, before turning and heading to the elevators. He headed up to the floor Logan’s room was on, before heading down the corridor to the room.

When he arrived, he knocked on the door, but didn’t wait for a response, immediately opening it.

“Logan, you’ll never believe this, but we have another guest! It’s so exciting! And they want to meet you, so let’s head down... stairs...” Patton trailed off, blinking in disbelief.

Logan was sat on his bed, Fat Nuggets curled up to his side. However, the thing that caused Patton to be surprised was what Logan was wearing and what he was doing.

He was wearing glasses, which wasn’t new. When he first moved into the hotel, he’d explained he mostly wore contacts, but would trade them for his glasses in the privacy of the hotel as they were more comfortable. Along with the glasses, though, he was wearing a baggy sweater and jeans - a far cry from his usual tight suit that showed off his body.

And he was reading. A very thick book, and by the looks of the cover, a scientific one. In fact, there was a cardboard box on the floor beside his bed that was filled with books and... academic papers?

Logan looked between Patton, and the book in his hands. “Uhh... It isn’t what it looks like. Books... get me hard? This is all for sexual purposes?”

“Logan...” Patton spoke slowly, a smirk pulling at his lips. “Are you... a secret nerd?”

Logan sighed. “... I’m not gonna be able to get out of this am I? Fine. Yes. I admit it. I am a nerd. I like astronomy and science and math and all that shit. But you can’t tell anyone, okay? This stays between us, no one can know.”

Patton’s smile fell. “Why not?” He came over and sat on Logan’s bed. “You shouldn’t hide your passions and the things you enjoy. You should express yourself and embrace them!”

Logan scoffed, folding his arms. “In case you’re forgetting, I have a reputation to maintain. I’m seductive, alluring and sexy as all hell. ‘Nerd’ doesn’t exactly go along with that. People won’t exactly want to accept my services if they think I’m just gonna ramble about quantam mechanics for the whole time. And not just because they’d think I’m boring and lame. It’s what Val told me: I’m already hotter than others. People feel like shit if they think you’re both hotter and smarter than them. If it gets out I’m smarter than the average demon, people won’t pay to be around me because I make them feel bad about themselves. So, it’s much more profitable to just play dumb all the time, as then they think they have at least one thing up on me.”

“So... to get work... you need people to see you as lesser than them?”

Logan shrugged. “Yeah, pretty much. That’s how demons are.”

Patton frowned. “That isn’t fair at all! You shouldn’t have to be forced to hide part of yourself. And even if you weren’t smart, that fact shouldn’t make you lesser than others.”

“Eh, I do what I have to. And I still get to enjoy my nerd shit in private. It’s not too bad.”

“It is, Logan. It really is. You shouldn’t have to live a lie like that.”

“Well, I do, and there’s nothing you or I can do about it, okay?” Logan snapped. “If I were open with this shit and Val found out, he’d-!” He paused. He took a deep breath. “Just go, Patton. And don’t tell anyone about any of this.”

“But-“

“I said go.”

Patton sighed. He reached over and gave Logan a comforting pat on the shoulder, the other flinching. Then, he turned and headed to the door. He gave Logan a comforting smile, before gently closing the door behind him.

Logan sighed, gently hugging Fat Nuggets. His eyes drifted to the mirror. As he watched, someone appeared behind him in his reflection.

In the reflection, Valentino slipped one hand up Logan’s sweater and the other into his pants. Logan tensed, trying to remind himself this wasn’t real. Just a hallucination.

“Angel... what did I say about these kind of things?” Valentino smirked, looking down at the reflection of the box of books and papers.

Logan didn’t respond, just hugging Fat Nuggets closer in an effort to comfort himself.

In the reflection, Valentino slid his hand further up Logan’s sweater until it came out the other end and gripped around Logan’s neck. “I don’t like you thinking you’re better than me... Your intelligence doesn’t mean shit, especially in our industry. Give. It. Up.”

Logan shook his head, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, his reflection was normal again. Valentino was absent from it.

Logan sighed again, leaning back on his pillow as Fat Nuggets licked his cheek. After a moment, he pulled out his phone.

Logan: Meet me at the drug vending machine outside the store. I need some fun to distract me.

Remus: You got it, Lo!

Remus: But won’t those hotel guys be mad at you? They weren’t exactly happy last time we went out and tore shit up together.

Logan: I really don’t care right now. I just need some fun. See you in ten?

Remus: Fuck yeah!!!

Logan pocketed his phone, before getting to his feet. He put the book he’d been reading back in the box, which he then took to his closet. Once it was hidden away, he took off his clothes and replaced them with his usual blue and white striped suit. Then he went over to his dresser, taking off his glasses and putting them away, and then placing in his contacts.

Once he was all changed, he picked up Fat Nuggets. “Let’s see if Janus will look after you again while I’m out.” And with that, he left the room, heading to the elevators and down to the lobby.

In the lobby, Roman and Virgil had just finished giving Remy the tour and returned. Patton happily welcomed them back.

“So, what do you think?”

Remy nodded. “Pretty nice place you got. Being ‘redeemed’ seems like a pretty good bargain to live here. Feels like I should be paying hundreds.”

Patton smiled. “I’m glad you like it! Now, um, about meeting Logan, that’ll probably have to wait. He’s, uh, dealing with some stuff right now.”

“Are you sure about that?” Roman asked. “He’s right over there!”

Patton turned around and, as Roman had said, Logan was there, stepping from the elevator.

“Oh, Logan! Why don’t you come and meet our new guest! Apparently they’re a fan of yours!”

“Sorry, but it’ll have to wait. I’ve got somewhere to be.” Logan headed over to the front desk. He leant against it, giving Janus a wink. “Think you can look after Nugs for me again?”

Janus groaned. “I’m not looking after that fucking pig agai-“

“You will? That’s great! Here you go, make sure he’s treated well. Daddy’ll see you later, Nugs.” Logan handed the pig over to Janus, before turning away and heading to the door.

“Where are you going?” Virgil asked, folding his arms.

“If you must know, I’m meeting up with Remus.”

“Remus?! The guy who dragged you into the turf war that ruined our reputation the last time you hung out?! No way in hell are you meeting up with him!”

Logan huffed, turning back to the others. “Two things. One: he didn’t drag me into it. I joined willingly to pay him back for helping me out. And two: that wasn’t the last time we hung out. Remember that time last week I invited you guys to my show and literally all of you no showed? Remus came round after, and he and I hung out for a bit. It was perfectly calm, no destruction.”

Patton raised an eyebrow. “He came here? How come none of us saw him come in?”

“He climbed through my window. Now, I’m not letting you guys stop me from seeing my best friend. You don’t have the right to. So, I’m heading off.” And with that, Logan turned and left the building, the door slamming behind him.

“He’s in a good mood...” Janus muttered, setting Fat Nuggets down on the counter and opening a bag of chips for him to munch on.

“That might be my fault...” Patton chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “I walked into his room before he said I could come in, and found something out that he’d wanted to keep secret.”

“He has secrets?” Virgil asked.

Patton nodded, before whispering. “He’s a super smart nerd.”

Janus scoffed. “Logan? Smart? No way.”

“He is!” Patton nodded. “He was reading a sciency book, and owns a bunch of academic papers to read for fun. And we only have those in hell to act as torture devices! He just hides it because he thinks it’ll ruin his business if people think he’s a nerd. Y’know, since nerds aren’t ‘sexy’. I tried to tell him he should embrace who he is, but he wouldn’t have it.”

Virgil shrugged. “Well, what do you expect? I think we all know he’s stubborn as hell. C’mon, lets go show Remy to his room. We’ll deal with Logan when he gets back.”

Patton nodded. “Okay... Well, Remy, it’s this way! Come on!”

-

“-and of course there’s a phone here for room service! You can decorate however you want, as well! So... what do you think?”

Remy nodded, sitting on the bed. “It’s perfect, babes. Thanks a ton.”

“No problem!” Patton smiled. “Let us know if there’s anything we can do for you.”

“Will do,” Remy said as he pulled out his phone as it buzzed. He chuckled. “Looks like Angel Dust - or, I guess Logan, since you all seem to call him that - is having some fun.”

He held up his phone for Patton and Virgil to see, the former sighing and the latter groaning.

On the screen, Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench were discussing a series of destruction and explosions that was going on across the pentagram. And the footage from the scene clearly showed the ones behind it were Logan and Remus.

“Well... at least it’s not technically another turf war?” Patton shrugged as Virgil held his face in his hands.

“We’re ruined....”

“No, we’re not. It’s gonna be okay. Remember, Verge, we have Remy here too, and I’m sure more guests will follow. And it’s not totally Logan’s fault. I’m probably the one who made him upset to the point he decided this was the only way to get his feelings out. In the future, I’ll wait until he says ‘come in’.”

“That may be true, but it doesn’t change the fact he needs a healthier coping mechanism that doesn’t involve blowing up the whole city.” Virgil sighed. “And all this because he doesn’t like the fact people know he’s a nerd...”

-

“So, why’d you want to come wreak some havoc?!” Remus called as threw a molotov at the building across from the one he and Logan were currently standing on the roof of.

“Patton walked in on me reading,” Logan explained, throwing a bomb at a store a couple of buildings down. “He knows I’m a secret smarty pants. He promised me he wouldn’t tell anyone, but I really doubt he’ll keep that promise. Knowing him he’ll accidentally let it slip. He’s probably already told his boyfriend. I just wanna make it clear, in case it does get out, that me being a nerd doesn’t make me any less of a force to be reckoned with. Oh, also, you mind taking some pictures of me for Insta? Also gotta make it clear being a nerd doesn’t change the fact I still look flawless.”

Remus laughed, pulling out his phone. “No problem. Don’t worry, Lo, if I hear anyone talk shit about you, I’ll make sure everything they own gets blown to smithereens!”

“Thanks, babe.”

“No problem. Anything for my best friend. Now, lets go! We got more places to destroy!”

And with that, the two of them ran off, jumping from building to building, and tossing bombs everywhere they went and Remus occasionally snapping photos. And Logan made sure to ignore his phone ringing in his pocket.

[believingispowerfulmagic]

“Building a Family” Chapter 15: Growing Closer

"The kids are watching TV in the living room," Robin said, coming into the kitchen. "Can I help you with anything?"

Regina nodded, motioning to a nearby towel. "Can you dry these pans for me, please?"

"Of course," he replied, picking up the towel and taking a pan from her hands. He started to dry it, letting her focus on the next pan in the sink.

They finished cleaning from dinner in a comfortable silence as Regina wondered if this would've been their routine had they been able to stay together. Even years later, they were in sync with each other and moved with the ease of a couple who had been together for those years rather than apart.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked her. He now leaned against the counter and had placed the towel over his shoulder.

It was downright sexy.

She pushed that thought away as she gave him a soft smile. "Just thinking about what our lives could've been."

He hummed before reaching out, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. "I sometimes like to go there too. But I try not to stay there too long. If I do, I get angry and forget to enjoy what I do have now."

"When did you get so wise?" she asked him, hugging him. She rested her head on his chest as he rubbed her back.

Robin chuckled, swaying them gently. "I don't know if I'm wise. Just taking this one day at a time."

She hummed in response, closing her eyes as she listened to his heartbeat. "Maybe I should do that."

"I think you're doing fine," he told her. "Actually, I think you're just amazing."

"You're biased," she reminded him.

He shrugged. "Perhaps I am."

They stood there a bit longer, just holding each other in silence. After a little while, Robin kissed her forehead. "I was thinking we're overdue for a proper date night."

"You were?" she asked, raising her head and opening her eyes to look up at him.

He nodded. "What are you doing this Saturday?"

"Nothing for now," she replied. "Are you sure you want to have a date night the day after Roland meets Marian?"

"I think he'll be fine. We're going to meet in Archie's office and so I think it'll go well, nothing to traumatize him. He might be more curious about her but I don't think he's going to be upset if we go out," he said.

She nodded, knowing he had a point. But she still worried, especially as she considered the request she had wanted to make of him. Toying with her bottom lip, she decided to ask her question. "Do you think he'd be okay if we made it an overnight date?"

His widened slightly but his lips curved into a smirk. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"That I want to spend a night with you doing adult things? Yes," she said, licking her lips at the prospect.

"Oh," he replied, sucking in some air. He let it out again before smiling. "I think Roland would love to have a sleepover with his Uncle Will. I'll check with him."

She smiled, relieved and glad that he was okay with it. But then another concern popped into her head and she frowned. "Unless you're not ready. I don't want to pressure you into anything. I know we just essentially got back together and so if you want to wait a little while longer, that's fine."

Robin pressed his hand to her cheek, gently rubbing her skin with his thumb. Love and adoration filled his eyes as he gazed down at her. "Oh, I am ready, sweetheart. You aren't pressuring me into anything."

"Promise?" she asked.

He nodded. "Promise."

She rose up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. He responded, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. Gripping his t-shirt, she sighed into the kiss, just enjoying sharing it with him.

They broke the kiss and he held her close, rocking her gently. She kept her eyes closed, certain she could fall asleep standing up as long as he continued to hold her. But she knew it would be more comfortable lying down in her bed. Without moving, she asked: "Stay tonight?"

"Yes," he replied. "I even packed overnight bags for myself and Roland and was going to ask you."

She chuckled. "Good."

He kissed the top of her head. "Do you want to go join the children? Have some quality time with them before bed?"

"That sounds perfect," she said, moving away from him. They kept their arms wrapped around each other as they headed into the living room, finding Sophie and Roland lying on the floor as they watched Frozen. It appeared luck was on their side and they had missed the dreaded "Let It Go."

Robin and Regina settled on the couch. She tucked her feet under her as she leaned against him. He wrapped his arm around her again, rubbing her arm as they watched the movie with their children. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she closed her eyes and let herself relax in his embrace.

She floated between consciousness and sleep, hearing only snippets of the movie. Regina couldn't remember the last time she had felt so comfortable and so relaxed. Maybe Robin needed to spend every night with them – for her own health.

The couch dipped and she felt a little body curl against her. She wrapped an arm around him, knowing it was Roland. They cuddled together as she felt herself start to fall deeper into sleep. It wouldn't be the first time she had slept on the couch and she doubted it would be the last—especially now that she had Robin to cuddle on it.

Continue reading on FFN, AO3 or Wattpad

[mauve-n-arcadia]

The Pining of the Void: Chapter 1 The Crystal mines

By Mauve & Arcadia

Deep in a Cave was not Where Glush preferred to be. It was damp and muddy, and he really didn’t care for how much washing it took to get the sweat and dirt out of his jumpsuit after a long day in the mine. He placed a chisel in between the rock and the crystal jutting out of it. The crystal shone a yellow light over his tools, thankfully making it very clear where Glush should strike, and he brought his hammer down on the chisel.

The rock was shunted down a bit and then sloughed off the crystal, letting more yellow light pour into the cave. Glush took off his left glove and wiped the sweat off his brow as he stood up and appraised his work. A good chunk of crystal about the size of his thigh was jutting out of the wall, and it looked like if he wiggled it a little he might be able to pull it free.

“How are you doing over here, Glush?” Glush looked over his shoulder to see the white light of a miner's helmet peeking out from behind him, then foreman Shadbak emerged from the depths of the cave.

Glush made a sound of annoyance, he was immersed in his repetitive motion and beat of his work. He gestured towards the rock as if saying, ‘it was going well till you interrupted’.

Shadbak gleaned the meaning behind the gestures and grunts.

“If you use your axe as a pivot from the bottom that should pop right out.”

Glush stared at the crystal appraisingly, he didn’t mind bashing it till the rock came out, but he wasn’t opposed to making his work easier. 

He placed his chisel towards the bottom of the crystal, and it did indeed pop out with minimal effort.

Glush smiled at Shabak and then tossed the Crystal at her. Without missing a beat, she took a large bag off her hip and pulled it open. The Crystal disappeared into the bag with a swish.

“Good work, Think it’s about time we call it a night. We've tapped most of the big veins of spell crystal here, and we ought to give it a chance to regenerate.”

Glush smiled broadly and sighed in relief.

“You look like you could use the fresh air too!” Shadback added as the two of them started their way out of the cave. Glush thought that he could also use a nice long wash, and a cold drink. 

As they crawled through bottlenecks and hoisted themselves up steep walls, Glush noticed that the rest of the miners were nowhere to be seen. He did have a habit for being the one to wander furthest into any given mine, weather he was directed to or not. It just seemed like all the best spell stones were in the deepest caves.

Glush wasn’t sure how he ever ended up with such odd talents, but it was just a fact of life for him.

Finally, at the mouth of the cave, Glush Stretched his arms as far above him as he could, and took in the sunset as it dipped below the horizon far to his other side. The yellow and orange hues were only interrupted by a light smear of clouds and Tall grass that went on as far as he could see.

It was a treat to see the untamed wild these days. It almost seemed like all of the land was taken up by some warlord or other. Though he knew that just behind him, atop the plateau stood Belladonna's west fortress, thakfully it was comfortably out of sight.

---

The next day Glush woke up sluggishly. He rolled out of his cot and hit the ground with a loud thud. He made his way through a small labyrinth of cots to get to the outside of the tent and approached the breakfast pot. 

Today’s breakfast was a rather grey gruel, but Glush ate it all the same. The excuse for the poor breakfasts was that they hadn’t been meeting the quota, so the company couldn’t afford the proper meals. Glush knew it was more of a punishment.

Shabak of course, was already seated and eating. She was an early riser. Glush made his way to the pot, and ladled out some grey for himself in order to join her. 

They ate in companionable silence. Every time Shabak opened her mouth to make small talk, Glush would spoon more gruel into his own mouth to avoid answering. She still found occasion to prattle on.

“Your numbers up yesterday, but everyone else's were down….we may need to move on from this location soon, or dig new tunnels.”

Glush fought a glob of slop down his throat, and cleared it to speak. His first attempt came out as a crackling squeak, then he tried again. 

“Dig more and  fort fall down into land.” Glush jammed another spoonful of the muddy grey in his mouth so he had an excuse to stop speaking again.

“Hah! I’d love to see the warlords fort sink into the earth as much as anyone, afraid that even though there are a considerable amount of tunnels in the plateau, it is nowhere near collapsing, which even if it’s good for Belladonna, it’s also good for us!”

Glush grunted, unconvinced. He was at least half sure that his deathbed would be under a ton of rocks, and probably one of the warlord’s shoddy fortresses one of these days. There wasn’t much he could do about it except hope it didn’t happen though. Spell crystal mining was about the only job that he could get.

Well, it was the only job that best fit him, He was qualified for it, it made him enough money to get by and buy the odd instrument here and there, and he didn’t have to talk to anyone. It was pretty absurd how many jobs required you to speak. That was never something Glush was very good at though.

In fact, Shadbak was probably the only person Glush had spoken more than a brief introduction to in years, and that was only because she would talk to him all the time.

He didn’t mind it much. Shadbak knew better than to expect a verbal response for the most part, but after they had been working together for about a year, she was too curious to not ask questions.

Speaking of which, she had that glint in her eye that meant she was probably about to ask him something. Glush put his spoon down and braced himself. 

“So why the piccolo? You’ve been saving up for a nice instrument as long as I known you and you buy that tiny thing? It’s not even made for Orc hands.” she held up her own hands showing her broad palms, regular sized for an orc lady, but absolutely monstrous compared to human hands that such delicate instruments were made for.

Glush huffed. Questions about why he does what he does were the worst, because they were hard to answer, and when he did, Shadbak was rarely ever satisfied with his response. 

Glush didn’t know how to articulate the answer she wanted. The piccolo just felt right, and sounded nice.

“Pick - low, not that small…” Glush struggled to find the words, “Sound nice. Like… hmm.” Shadbak was still giving him an expectant look, and he couldn’t think of any better words, So Glush fished the tiny instrument out from the inner pocket of his dust covered vest and began to play.

His large fingertips did not falter on the tiny machinations of the piccolo and for the brief moments he played he felt free. The notes danced in the air and flew from his lungs like a flock of birds out of a tree. 

When he finished he stored the piccolo back carefully and looked at Shadbak, her eyes looked a little glazed over.

“Okay, I guess that’s a good enough reason.” She said. “You know with talent like that, you could easily make it as a minstrel. Nobles would pay fine for your little song twig.” Glush chortled and stuffed his mouth, making it clear he was not going to say anything else.

Shadbak looked thoughtfuly at Glush. “I guess it might be difficult since the nobles don’t care much for Orcs.” 

Glush nodded, giving her a look like ‘duh.’

She got up and gathered her dishes, patting glush on the back as she walked by. “Their loss, we get to have the best flutist this side of Yshvid, and we’re just humble miners!”

Glush shortly followed her and got ready to start his day in the mines.

---

As he began to fall underneath the shadows of the plateau his ears perked to the sound of hoofbeats approaching rapidly. 

An armoured figure appeared atop a grey warhorse. 

They pointed menacingly. “You there” they snarled. “Where is the foreman”

Glush blinked a few times at the regalia of the knight and their steed. They were covered in checkered purple and green, and the hanging fabrics were decorated with purple bells. The whole display was a little ridiculous, as was the usual sensibilities of nobility.

Glush though, then he shrugged at the knight's question. He really didn’t know where she went after breakfast. She could be in her tent, in the mine, wherever she damn well pleased really.

Glush couldn’t see the Knight lips curl underneath their helmet, but he could certainly hear the acid tone in their voice.

“Well perhaps you should find him” and they tapped the insignia on their shield, a purple flower.

Glush turned without acknowledging their request and walked into the mines. He didn’t feel like dealing with nobility right now, and though the caves were never comfortable, their silence and isolation was welcome.

Well, relative isolation. The other miners kept to themselves, simply nodding and smiling at glush as he passed by. That wasn’t bad though, as long as nobody tried to talk to him, he actually enjoyed company.

He saw Shadbak sizing up a fresh outcropping of spell crystal. The vein was too small yesterday to really do anything about, with crystals smaller than a fist, but overnight it had grown drastically to the size of the crystal he had finished with yesterday.

She looked over her shoulder to see who was shuffling up behind her and smiled at Glush.

“Got a real good one right here, Not sure if we should take it though. Spell stone that grows this fast may be part of a node.” She felt her hand along the shining surface of the spell crystal. Glush didn’t understand much about the mechanics of magic, but he knew that if this vein was part of a ‘node’ it would be better left alone.

“Hmm. well, don’t really have enough time to figure it out, you and I gotta pick up the slack for the rest of the team, I’m tired of gruel for every meal!” She motioned for Glush to follow, and they both descended deeper into the cavern.

---

Glush and Shadbak fell into a familiar rhythm, She would guide him to the best spell crystals, tell him the most efficient way to pry it from the walls, He would make a few deft whacks, and toss the Rough gemstones into Shadbak’s bag. Time passed easily this way, and Glush had almost completely forgotten there was a knight waiting outside for the forman.

He held the spell crystal he just mined and paused, breaking their rhythm.

“What is it?” Shadbak asked. 

“Knight, outside.”Glush said.

“Huh?” Shadbak’s face quickly went from one of confusion, to one of sudden and urgent realization. “You left a KNIGHT waiting outside this whole time?”

Glush shrugged.

“UGH, you are just awful sometimes.” She didn’t really sound serious, but it was clear she was annoyed.

Shadbak rushed out without another word. So Glush just...kept working. Without Shadbak guiding him, he found himself venturing deeper and deeper into the system. But there wasn’t much to be gleaned. Glush recognized all these tunnels from the many days spent in them before. 

He was working on a rather stubborn crystal. Losing himself in the rhythmic clunk, clunk, clunk, of his axe, when he barely was able to make out the gathering bells at the front of the mine.

He gave the crystal a few last hurried clunks before it popped out, then gathered his meager findings in his arms to be deposited, and meandered topside. 

Shadbak was already giving the others the news. 

“We will be moving west, we’ll need to be packed up first thing in the morning” She announced.

Glush left his pile with the others for Shadbak to collect. 

“But I don’t want to get farther away from my family's village!” One of the Orcs protested. Glush couldn’t remember his name.

“Then don’t come!” Shadbak exclaimed. It looked like she was getting frustrated with the pushback. They all knew we’d have to move on from this mine eventually.

“We’ll be meeting up with another mining company, so there will be plenty of workers to go around. AND, they are paying us 15% more per crystal at this location!”

The crowd murmured at that. Goodbye gruel, hello stew.

“I need everyone up and packing by 7am.” And that was the last of the speech. She found Glush at the edge of the group and locked eyes with him. The harshness in her face eased into more of a scolding look. Glush figured that maybe he was actually supposed to follow Shadbak out, and he pulled nervously at his collar as she approached.

“You hear all that?” Glush shrugged and nodded yes at the same time. He only heard the tail end of her announcement, but he got the important bit. Shadbak sighed. “Look, next time Belladonna sends a knight to our camp, don’t just blow him off. We’re lucky this was just about a job she needs us for.”

Glush shrugged again and smiled.

“Don’t pull that innocent bullshit on me, Glush! Now get your green ass in gear and get ready to go!”

---

[sayeyav507]

How to Crate Train Your Puppy

Knowing how to crate your dog is great.

Knowing how to organize your schedule to succeed is great.

But how you can do both? https://puppyhealth225.blogspot.com/2020/07/it-is-important-for-your-boy-to-choose.html

Today I have something...

... that will make you feel like you are an expert dog trainer.

In today's post I am going to show you exactly step by step how to crate train your puppy. This method can be used for crate training an older dog as well.

And for those who are wondering what can I do instead of crate training for a dog then the answer is to use a separate room which I will cover in a separate post.

Look:

Crate training your puppy is the most effective, fool proof and humane method to train your puppy, especially if your goal is to train your puppy in seven days!

Some believe crate training a dog to be cruel or barbaric. However, if you will evaluate crate training from a dog's viewpoint, you will find that it actually meets an innate desire for a safe place to call his own.

How does crate training helps your puppy?

It is in their genetic makeup to want a secure and sheltered area to rest. Many times in the effort to create their own "den" a puppy or dog will curl up in a box or under a low table. Crate training can help to satisfy this very natural instinct in your puppy, and will provide you with several benefits as well.

Offering your dog its own crate meets your pet's instinctive needs and allows you some control in housebreaking endeavors. Moreover, crate training is a form of dog obedience which will benefit your canine.

So understanding what makes a good crate for your puppy would be your first step.

The most effective crate is one that is just barely big enough so that your dog can lie, stand and turn around. If you give the puppy too much space it will destroy the den concept, and will give your pet the option of soiling half of the crate and still having a clean area in which to rest.

Once a crate has been purchased, you will want to give your puppy or dog time to investigate. Just leave the crate on the floor with the door open until your puppy becomes used to having it around. Placing dog treats and a towel might help your puppy gain an interest in exploring the crate.

After your puppy is familiar with the crate, close your dog inside the crate for ten to fifteen minutes. Stay right there with your puppy perhaps even putting your fingers through the wire of the crate.

Your puppy needs to be assured that this new environment is safe and secure. After ten or fifteen minutes open the door and let the puppy stay or leave at his will. This should be done several times that first day getting your little one accustomed to his crate.

The crate is to be his safe space and should never be used to punish your puppy. The time in the crate should be as enjoyable as is possible. Toys and treats can help to establish this setting of harmony and peace.

Crate training helps you teach your little one not to use the bathroom inside. Dogs instinctively desire to keep their den clean. Dogs do not want to sleep in a soiled area and will do all within their power to hold it until they are taken to their designated potty spot.

If you have a crate that is the proper fit for your puppy he is going to do all in his power to refrain from using the bathroom until you let him outside. Crate training makes it a simple way to schedule regular trips to his designated potty spot.

You may be wondering:

"Which is the best location to place the crate"

It is important to determine the crate's ideal location. You need to put the crate in a location that will remain consistent. This may be a high-traffic area where your family spends a lot of time, but you may also want to provide the dog with some rest time removed from activity, especially at night. Dogs are social animals and some breed even more so than others.

They enjoy being near their family so that they can see what is going on around them and can feel like a part of things. This is very fulfilling to a dog. Since being in a crate should be a positive experience and they should want to spend time there, you don't want to stick them away in a quiet room or out of the way place in the house. They will feel punished, excluded and isolated; and that will not make for a serine, happy puppy.

Here is the deal:

Make sure you place the crate in a busy area of the home where they are able to see and hear what is going on with their family. Usually kitchen or living room areas are ideal locations for a crate. Keep in mind that you would like this area to be free of uncomfortable drafts, not too close to a heat source (radiator, fireplace or vent). You will want to avoid direct sunlight. As much as you are able to give the location of your crate should be neither too hot nor too cold.

If your puppy is very young, you may want to consider moving the crate into your bedroom at night, or placing them in a portable carrier or second crate. The very young puppy has just gone from being with his mother and perhaps siblings to being alone. This can leave them stressed and feeling abandoned which will result in whining and crying. You don't want to make the mistake of putting the puppy in bed with you as that will confuse him as to who is the alpha - him or you. But, neither do you want him to feel frightened and alone.

A puppy will get great comfort and a feeling of safety and security being able to sleep near their family, especially during those first few days in a strange new place.

It isn't essential you have them sleep in your bedroom with you, but it may be beneficial. After a few days, begin to move the crate slowly to where you want them to sleep as they have time to adjust to their new environment. Simply move the crate further away every few nights until you have removed them from the bedroom and where you want them to be.

Some ideas of the proper toys and bedding to place in your crate would be tough chew toys. There are many benefits to leaving two or three tough chew toys in the crate with your puppy. It will provide your puppy with something to occupy their minds and keep them from becoming bored.

It will give them an alternative to chewing up their bedding, which could be detrimental to their health. It reinforces that being in the crate is a time for some of their favorite things, thus making the crate a happy place for them. It also will help reduce the likelihood of your puppy chewing on your belongings.

It is important to be aware that soft stuffed teddy bears and easily chewed squeaky toys should only be given to your puppy under supervision and never left in the crate. They will likely get destroyed, but your puppy could inject pieces causing intestinal blockages.

How long does it take to crate train a puppy... ?

The most important thing about crate training is to follow a strict schedule so that your puppy becomes accustomed to routine! If this sample schedule is adhered to you will be well on your way to having your puppy potty trained in record time!

Adhere to a 24-hour schedule. To house train your dog in 7 days, you need to meticulously follow a schedule. This will establish a routine for both you and your dog. Your puppy needs to go out first thing in the morning, after meals and play times, and before bedtime. Each moment should be accounted for.

This is a sample routine for someone who is home all day.

Make sure to give your puppy a bathroom break during the night.

You probably wondering...

... How long can a dog stay in a crate.

The maximum time you are able to leave a young puppy is four hours so with a very young puppy you will need to set your alarm clock for every two to three hours. After the alarm goes off take your puppy out of the crate and give him a chance to relieve himself in his designated potty spot. Then quietly put him back into the crate.

Older dogs can wait longer, but you need to make sure they do not go in their crate overnight, or all that hard work in the day time is basically undone. During this time do not fuss or even speak to the puppy except to give him his potty instructions - the same words and same tone as during the day. You don't want to give him the idea that night-time is play time.

What's the bottom line?

A crate is an ideal place to keep your belongings safe and secure and your puppy safe and secure while you are away. Another thought is that a crate is also the most secure and convenient way to transport your dog as it will keep him protected while in the car and is a necessity for airline travel.

As with anything, a crate can be abused. You may be tempted to keep your puppy there throughout the day or to use it as a way to punish him. This will just undermine the training process and perhaps make your puppy hate the crate when it should in fact be his haven!

When you are crate training all feedings initially should be done inside of the crate. Make sure you leave the door open while you are feeding your puppy. The association with food will make it a great place for him.

Your puppy needs you as the owner to be consistent in your routine but also in the words you use to instruct him. Just as you will want to use the same phrase with the same exact inflection when teaching your puppy his designated potty spot; you will also want to use the same phrase and same inflection when instructing him to get inside of his crate. You need to choose the same word each time.

A command such as "crate time" or "get in your Kennel" with the same exact hand gesture will help him to understand what is expected of him. When the puppy goes in say the command, and when you feed him at meal times say the same command. When your puppy obeys give him a treat to show him your pleasure. It is best that your puppy not associate his crate with being alone.

So in the early days of training make sure that you or someone familiar is able to be with him as he acclimates to his crate. Those early days can also be benefited by keeping a puppy journal. It may sound impractical to keep a journal of the times your puppy needs to go potty, but it may in fact prevent unwanted accidents to have a written documentation of his successes and his accidents.

A regular feeding schedule will help to insure a more regular bathroom schedule. Remember it is critical to not punish your puppy for accidents, teaching your puppy to eliminate outdoors is a process that takes patience and time.

[sserpente]

A/N: Request from @alpaca-obsession and @bubblesbeemily. Have fun! <3

Words: 2484 Warnings: (angry) smut

For as long as you could remember, Eric and you had kept your relationship a secret. It was long before the aptitude test that he got involved in Janine’s questionable schemes to overthrow Abnegation and take over the government. But just because you had been raised in Erudite, that did not mean you agreed with what they all pretended to be or not to be.

The day had come on which he had broken up with you, announcing that tomorrow at the ceremony, he would choose Dauntless and leave your faction forever. Salty tears had rolled down your cheeks and then, after one last, passionate kiss which resulted in heated sex in his soon former apartment, he had left.

You had never heard of him again until the day it was your turn to choose a faction to live in.

The results of your aptitude test had indicated one thing—you did not belong in Erudite either. Whether it was your loose mouth that you were not afraid to use or the fact you despised learning and doing research, the one faction that had rather appealed to you was, for so many (and some of them inexplicable) reasons, Dauntless.

You had convinced yourself that you had no other choice. This was not who you were but it was what you wanted to become and when you sealed your fate by letting a drop of your warm blood spill on the steaming coals representing Dauntless at the Choosing Ceremony, your decision felt right—deliberating. Not once when you jumped on and off a train did you think about the one person who had broken your heart so long ago. A person that you would, undeniably, meet again soon… and sooner, than you thought.

Your injured yourself on your left knee when you landed on the hard gravel ground. The blood was running down your leg and calve, wetting your socks and shoes. Well… from now on, you would have to get used to pain and the red liquid.

“Listen up, initiates. I am Eric, one of your leaders.” But it was then you froze. His voice had not changed. Stern, commanding and slightly arrogant it echoed over the rooftops. Had he said he was a leader? Nothing less had you expected from him. You almost didn’t dare to look up—when you did, it almost felt like a fist clenched around your heart, making you gasp for air.

Eric’s curious and mocking blue eyes roamed over this year’s yield curiously. Most of them wouldn’t make it, they were too tender, too soft and lacked ambition and toughness. He did not need to train them to know this already. Eventually, his gaze wandered over a young woman with (Y/H/C) hair and (Y/E/C) eyes. Funny. She reminded him of you.

It took him a second to realise that his mind wasn’t playing a trick to him. You really had come to Dauntless.

The other initiates around you were still bickering and chatting happily. Soon, he would teach them proper respect and punish anyone who stepped out of line but for now, all he was able to percept was you. Gnashing his teeth, he turned to his colleague.

“Get them under control,” he mumbled grumpily. His speed surprised you. Within a second, he had reached you, wrapping his hand around your arms so tightly you winced in pain as he pulled you away from the rest of the initiates.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” He hissed.

“Becoming Dauntless? Let go of me!” You demanded, attempting to free your arm. Apparently, Eric’s muscles had turned to steel.

“Let go? I make the rules now and you don’t get to make requests here. You should have stayed in Erudite or even better, transferred to Abnegation.” The coldness in his voice was fake—it had to be. Surely, Dauntless had not turned him so… cruel?

“Eric… I know that we used to be a couple, I don’t think I’ll ever forget this. But that is no reason to treat me like vermin.”

The Dauntless leader scoffed. “This is how I will treat all of you, so you better get used to it.”

“Eric! Come on, I wanna get this over with!” His colleague called out, still attempting to calm the initiates.

Angrily, you glared at him. But what made it even worse was that you still had feelings for this crude and severe boy who had turned into a dangerous man in your new home.

He avoided you like a particularly contagious disease. He came by every day to watch the initiate’s progress but left the actual training to Four. During “Capture the flag”, he picked the weakest boy over you and even though you quickly managed to secure yourself a spot among the top ten in the rankings, he never bothered to exchange even a word with you.

And it hurt. It hurt so incredibly much you started to suffer. During fights, you got distracted easily, losing you points repeatedly and then, when the second half of training started, testing your mental durability and perception, you barely made it through the final test.

It was the day you were all supposed to celebrate becoming true members of Dauntless while all you wanted to do was curl up in the apartment you had been assigned to and cry yourself to sleep. Perhaps it had been a bad idea to come here, after all.

When Eric and you had broken up, it had not ended in a fight that had destroyed your relationship. In fact, you had fucked like animals before his departure and now you were supposed to believe that these feelings he had had for you never existed?

Loud voices erupted around you, music playing faintly in the background. There was a feast, with lots of alcohol and muffins and most of all, cheerfulness. The cafeteria was huge. The chances of spotting Eric were low and yet, when you got up to leave for you couldn’t bear the happiness around you anymore, it was him you ran into in the hallway.

“Congratulations,” he choked out dryly.

“I wasn’t sure you were going to let me pass, given you seem to hate me so much.” Like we never even mattered. Even though Four had warned you several times, you still hadn’t learned to keep your mouth shut. Talking to one of your leaders like that was a serious offence of Dauntless politics.

Eric took a deep breath. You were prepared for him to lash out and scold you but what he replied instead made you swallow.

“I don’t fucking hate you, (Y/N).” It was probably the nicest thing he had told you since your arrival in Dauntless.

He had looked like he had wanted to say something else but chose not to. You pondered over what it could possibly be when you suddenly heard the loud noise of footsteps in the hallway. An escort, maybe? Not at this hour, possibly?

Curious, you rose from bed. Overnight, your apartment had gotten rather cold. You were freezing in your panties and tanktop, still, you decided to peek out of the door only to find masses of Dauntless members heading to the pit to arm themselves. You could barely recognise them, for it was dark both inside and outside your apartment but their empty glances made you uncomfortable.

Something was wrong—terribly wrong, you could feel it in your very veins. Your heart pounding, you quietly closed the door again as to not raise any attention. Mere seconds later, you heard a ferocious knock on your door.

You swallowed thickly but before you could even decide whether you would open the late and probably unwanted visitor, he opened the door and started at you like a predator.

A hand clamped over your mouth to keep you from screaming, making you flail and attempt to scratch or bite your attacker. Where was your self-defence now that you needed it?!

“Stop struggling.” A familiar voice growled into your ear. Eric?! “Not one fucking sound. We’re gonna move through the opposite hallway so no one sees us.”

What was this supposed to be, a kinky roleplay, of some sort? You had done these quite a lot back when you had dated, only now the threat felt real. You realised with a start that Eric had the strength to kill you with his bare hands only when he dragged you across the hallway like a ragdoll, only to then push you into another room.

It took you a moment to realise that it was his apartment.

He shut the door close with his foot aggressively before releasing you. Gasping for air, you stumbled into the dark studio flat, muttering under your breath.

Your heart was beating like a steam hammer. You didn’t want to admit it but you were afraid of him. Eric had changed so much over the years you were unsure you still recognised him. But for now, it was anger that boiled in your stomach. It hurt how he treated you—it wasn’t like you had been in love, after all.

“What the fuck is this, Eric?”

“The tracker, were you injected?” He started without answering your question. His blue eyes were cold, like daggers twisting in your heart.

“What? What tracker, what the hell are you talking about?”

“That’s what I thought. You left earlier.” Was this what he had wanted to tell you? What was this all about? “It’s a serum. Erudite and Dauntless are working together to attack Abnegation, that’s where everyone’s going. They’re being mind-controlled.” And you had escaped this fate. Forced to kill innocents…

Swallowing thickly, you looked up at him, your fear returning with a start.

“Please don’t tell me you are part of this.”

Eric glared at you with his lips pressed together. There was no need to reply. Your heart skipped a beat.

“And now what? You can’t just keep me here!”

“Yes, I can. It’s either my apartment or death and I’m pretty sure you have a preference. At least I hope that you do after everything you’ve put yourself through during initiation.”

“For Fuck’s sake, just admit it! You still love me! Eric, you just kidnapped me and intend to keep me a prisoner in your own fucking apartment so Janine won’t kill me, tell me to my face that you don’t have any feelings for me anymore!”

“Fine! I do. Why do you think I tried to stay away from you? I’m not right for you, (Y/N). Neither are you for me. We have no future. You might even be a Divergent.” Divergents. You had heard about them in Erudite. Individuals who threatened the faction system and the government. You doubted they were as dangerous as Erudite made them out to be and yet, when you spotted the hatred in Eric’s blue eyes, you swallowed thickly. But there was more than just that. There was lust. Tension.

“Take your clothes off,” he suddenly commanded. Your eyes widened. He sounded like he always had during training, allowing no contradiction. Only this was different and, even if your common sense disagreed and begged you to resist, you could already feel your body reacting to him. Wetness pooled between your legs, along with the familiar tingling spreading in your entire body.

Your skin longed for his firm touches he used to pamper you with…

“Excuse me?” You choked out indignantly. “You haven’t properly talked to me in weeks! You treated me like shit and now you expect me to—“

His lips landed on yours before you could finish your outburst and even if you had wanted to, despite your training you were barely strong enough to stop him from tearing your clothes off your body. Your panties and tanktop were gone in no time. Greedily, Eric pushed you against his black leather couch, his hard body pressed against your naked skin. His hands came up to explore your curves, groping your breasts and cupping your buttocks with a growl, his lips never leaving yours.

His dominant kiss had you melt way too fast. The way his tongue slipped into your mouth to claim you never ceased to enchant you. By the time you felt his aching hard member against your thigh, you had already fallen into some kind of delicious trance.

You both knew this wouldn’t take long—this was going to pose a vent to your sexual frustration, the cure for all this time you had spent apart.

Eric pulled down his trousers hastily, lining himself up with your dripping cunt. Instinctively, you spread your legs wider to give him more access as you hovered in the air leaned against the couch. His body was all that kept you from falling; you had to claw your fingernails into his back when he thrust forward, burying himself deep inside you.

A pleasured moan escaped your lips. You had missed him so much…

Wasting no time, the Dauntless leader began to move frantically. His pace was all but calculated, he was as desperate to fuck you as you were to fuck him. Again and again, he slammed his thick cock into your pussy until he turned you into a moaning mess. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head, silent whimpers mixing with hearty screams.

“Fuck, I’m gonna cum,” he announced out of breath.

“N-not yet…” you chirped, unable to control your shaking voice. Eric understood. Never stopping to thrust inside you hungrily, his right hand travelled down to where your bodies met. With skilled and strong fingers, he began to fondle your clit like a marble, massaging, circling and teasing until you almost couldn’t take it anymore. Thrashing wildly against him, you came undone screaming his name, your walls convulsing around his throbbing member as he emptied himself inside you in the very same moment, twitching and spilling himself until he was utterly spent. Fireworks seemed to erupt inside you.

Panting, you both stilled after riding out your orgasms. You flinched, not expecting Eric would be so gentle as to rest his forehead against yours.

“Bedroom?” He whispered.

“Uh-huh.” You whined when he pulled out, his warm seed dribbling down your inner thighs.

He scooped you up in his arms like a bride, carrying you through his dark hallway. Yet, as soon as he had tucked you in tenderly, you felt something cold around your right wrist—and then, a suspicious click.

“Eric, what the fuck!” You exclaimed when you realised that he had handcuffed you to the bedpost.

“You’re my prisoner, I kidnapped you, remember?” He grinned, rolling back onto his back in a relaxed manner. “I know you too well, (Y/N). I won’t have you running off while I’m sleeping.”

“I hate you.” You spat, not meaning a single word.

The Dauntless Leader chuckled.

“I kinda missed you too.”

A/N: Guys, you can help me publish my first novel! It’s easy, it’s anonymous, you can do it from all over the world and it’s just 3€! Your help counts too, I’d appreciate it so much if you helped me fulfil my dream! ♥ ko-fi.com/sserpente  

[mysticsparklewings]

Bug Girl

My WIP Wednesday! piece is all finished!   (Warning: LOOOOOOONG description about the art process ahead!  ) I don't think it's terribly obvious for a number of reasons (at least not at first), but this piece is actually a bit of fan art/inspired by How to make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow, which I finished reading Monday night--Though I actually started this piece a couple of days before   There's a concept that gets brought up a few different times in the book of the main character Tiger imagining a "bug-girl" in a jar, usually to help visualize her emotions to us, the audience. This concept really resonates and stuck with me even before I finished the book, and thus I was compelled to draw it. Technically the way I see that concept in my head looks different from what I've done here, so sometime in the future I may take another stab at it, but for this time I wanted to strengthen the connection between the bug-girl concept and the book, so visually I modeled the overall aesthetic largely off of the book's cover; white lines and white dots on a dark blue background that has a slight gradient at the bottom. The gradient on the cover is more subtle and is more on the lines than the background itself, but I took artistic liberty on that to make my life a little easier. My original plan was to do the background with watercolor, do the lines digitally and print them out (since I had some kinks in the sketch I wanted to experiment with digitally instead of doing a lot of additional drawing and erasing) and then use my lightbox and a white gel pen to trace directly on top of the watercolor, then splatter away with some white ink. But of course, things can never be that simple. The way I see it in my head, the bug-girl has, well, bug eyes, but for this piece, I didn't want to lean too heavily into the "creepy" factor, given it doesn't really fit with the content of the book (which is a great read if you like realistically heavy YA novels, by the way) so I angled her head down and her hair covering her face to keep from having to make the decision on whether or not I wanted to go with that look. And additionally to do proper bug eyes (at least the kind I was imagining) would've involved a lot of tiny circle/cell shapes, and I imagine that would've made things feel too crowded or would have blended into the splatters/background in an uncomfortable way. Additionally, I was going to have her wings raised behind her, but after playing around with a few different references and positions in Photoshop (knowing full well I was not happy with the original wings from the sketch that I completely free-handed), I felt like this more asymmetrical, lowered position and dragonfly-type structure just looked better and fits better with some of the movements of the wings described in the book (using them to cover her eyes, etc.) which in most cases aren't technically plausible with normal bug wings. My first real problem was with the jar. Realistically, it needed to be tall enough for the girl to stand at full height at least. And in theory, probably a little bit higher so it would be more comfortable overall and so that in theory she wouldn't just stand up and be able to push the lid off. But I was having issues with the sizing because the jar could only be so big so that A. it would fit comfortably on my paper and B. if it was too tall, the empty space between the top of the jar and the girl would noticeably awkward. So I fiddled with that for way too long and ultimately, it's probably too short, but the size balanced is more comfortable to the eyes, I think. (I also added the cross-hatching to the lid to make it more obvious there was a lid since originally it just kind of looked like the jar had a very wide lip.) I also gave her a set of antennae, and after trying the concept of segmenting her whole body to be more bug-like (which was way too many lines everywhere) I decided to add some plates on the front of her forearms and calves. It's not much at all, but I didn't want to stick solely to traditionally "fairy" imagery since she's a bug-girl, not a fairy, but in this lines-only format, there was only so much I could do and still get the proper impact I was looking for. Speaking of which... I did a lot of swatching and testing of my various watercolors that I have on hand to A. get the colors I wanted right, B. practice my blending of two colors with more paint than water since I wanted very dark, opaque colors, and C. test if my lightbox would even work under the thick watercolor paper and the actual watercolor. However, I made two errors in judgment during the testing: 1. The areas I swatched to test were considerably smaller than the actual size of the area I wanted to cover and even with my biggest brush when I went to do a practice go I very quickly realized that was going to take an absurd amount of paint, time, effort, and I was very likely to run into some blending problems with the gradient. (So, in summary, half-pan-sized watercolors and mostly small brushes are not great for very large areas) 2. Once I realized the above, (and I had already done two very quick tests with alcohol markers and that idea almost immediately went out the window for the same issue) I had to switch course and ended up using some water-soluble pencils (one Arteza Woodless Watercolor Pencil for the dark blue and one Derwent Inktense pencil for the dark teal at the bottom) to lay down the color for the background and then wet them down to smooth out the color. Which turned out pretty nicely, especially once they dried. (I was a little worried at first since while still wet it was looking kind of patchy and weird ) The problem with number 2 is that after it had fully dried (aside from the paper curling pretty badly since it was in a sketchbook and I didn't think to tape the edges of the page down before taking water to it, which was mostly fixed pretty easily by wetting down the back of the page and sitting a very heavy box on it while it dried overnight) when I went to use the lightbox, the pigment from the water-soluble pencils was noticeably more opaque than the straight watercolor tests/swatched I had looked at previously. It wasn't so opaque that I couldn't see my lines underneath at all but it was opaque enough that a lot of the smaller details wear really hard to see. And thus I had a pretty big problem on my hands. What I should have done was trace the lines in black on the blank paper first so they would be more likely to show through the pigment in the first place and there's a good chance that would've fixed the problem, even if I still needed the lightbox to see those lines perfectly. But hindsight is always 20/20 so that knowledge didn't really fix the matter at hand. I knew pretty instantly that I didn't want to try tracing the lines onto another piece of watercolor paper and trying to color matter since I seem to always have majorly noticeable issues with that, especially when there's a gradient involved, and also because I knew when I scanned it in it would be fairly obviously there were two layers of paper instead of one because of how thick watercolor paper is. I also knew alcohol markers were out because, again, color matching issues with the selection available to me, and also from some of my much earlier testing with trying to get the specific gradient that I wanted. That left me with colored pencils. And thus I went through the five different sets I use enough to keep where I can easily access them (I have others I don't like as much that would've just been a waste of time) and started swatching colors on a piece of the same paper I had the lines on and then held them up to the background to color match as closely as possible. I ended up picking one dark blue and one dark teal each from both my Prismacolor and Polychromos sets since the blue from the Prismacolor was closer but the teal from the Polychromos was closer but they were both slightly off, so to keep the texture consistent I mixed both together for both colors. This ended up being a very good idea in hindsight because I finished off with a final layer of the Polychromos and that kept my white gel pen from having the problems it would normally have over straight-Prismacolor pigment. (Since Prismacolors are wax-based the wax usually clogs the pen tip very easily; the Polychromos are oil-based, so the oil created a slicker layer between the wax and the pen). And all I did was use my lightbox to see the black printed lines through the colored pencil as easily as possible and went back over them with my white Sakura Gelly Roll, then I went back and outlined the jar and the lid specifically with my white Uni-Ball Signo, since the ink is slightly brighter and the nib is larger. Once that was all done to my satisfaction, I cut out the girl in her jar and placed it on the watercolor background with some double-sided tape I picked up the day before from DollarTree, clipping a few edges so they'd be as flush with the edges of the paper as possible. And I figured that would be a better idea than glue because the glue had a very good potential of being very messy and leaving notable marks. The tape was just a safer bet. And fortunately, the paper laid pretty flat, save for a couple of spots I either missed because I applied the tape by lifting up the edges so I wouldn't totally lose my placement or up by some of the nooks and crannies that make up the ridges at the top of the jar that were just too small to do individually. And there is one spot where that tape wrinkled on me, but it's fortunately not terribly noticeable in the final product. Then I made a paper mask for the girl inside the jar and got to move on to the slightly more fun part; I dipped a paintbrush in some white ink (white ink as opposed to white watercolor because I was concerned the water part might cause some reaction to the existing watercolor background that I didn't want and I was a little concerned it would make the non-watercolor paper that the girl and the jar were drawn on warp) and started tapped it against another paint brush to get splatters everywhere. I masked the girl since I was pretty sure she'd blend in too much if she got splattered too. After the ink was dry, I removed the mask and went in with the white Gelly Roll again to make some stars here and there; mostly just because I wanted to since the original book cover only has dots. I left it at that for the night since it was almost 3 and I was tired, but I came back to it the next day and racked my brain for a bit since it felt like it was missing something. I ultimately ended up putting the mask back on the girl and used my pastel blue PanPastel to create a glow effect around her. After that, I scanned it and did make some minor adjustments in Photoshop (mostly color correction, but there were a couple of black lines of shadow around the edge of the jar since it was still a separate piece of paper on top of the other one at the end of the day. And here we are. It's still not perfection, but I am ultimately happy with it since I think I got the look I was after in the end. Plus, I think I capture the spirit of the original book cover's style pretty well ____ Artwork (c) me, MysticSparkleWings I do not own How to make Friends with the Dark or the cover art ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

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Set in a fantasy world of the semi socialist society Fey Alliance with magic, dick head dragon riders, benevolent necromancer, and even bigger dick head gods of mischief. The Zealous Servant is the story about a guy named Spayar who, basically, has to keep his crown prince of a bff from being murdered by his entire family by murdering them first. Honestly though Spayar just wants to take a nap and find a cute boy to kiss and not have to worry about his corpse potentially being dragged through the street after a war. Better win that shit then.

@barkingjester @golden-lionsnake @deadpool-scar-bro @bromeliadgoingdragon

So a thing of note here. There is zero alcohol drinking in the Alliance. It's got a lot of history in their culture as being a beverage of slave owners and the Alliance is SUPER anti slavery so in turn they don't drink except for some small areas. Instead most citizens of the Alliance do recreational drugs similar to weed or mushrooms or other opiates for the same reason they're anti alcohol. Plant based drugs was seen as a thing only slaves did and was very low class so because the Alliance is literally a country founded by freed slaves they kept their drug use roots. Not being able to handle your smoke has the same sort of social stigma in our culture as not being able to hold your drink and being an annoying/violent drunk. So if you want to smoke, you better keep your suit together and know when enough is enough or be labeled a high menace.

Also formatting is trash because Tumblr on iPad is also trash

Chapter 5: A Well Behaved Man

The day of Paja’s naming day it was like a switch had been flipped in the Garden. One day it looked as it had when Spayar had arrived save for a bit of construction and then he woke up and the entire Garden was different. Garlands covered nearly every plant, lights inside paper cups lined every pathway, every tree and bush had been forced into bloom by a faunamacer and all work had been suspended. The grounds of the Garden had been turned into a festival with cute animals to be pet by the children and games had been set up to participate in. A faunamacer had even been employed to make a living jungle-gym for people to climb on that would probably be gone in the morning. Several stages had been set up overnight for gymnastic displays and various rituals and bands.

And there was food everywhere. Pasta in more shapes than Spayar could comprehend covered in dozens of different sauces. Various roasted vegetables on sticks and mountains of fruit some he recognized and some he didn’t. But no meat. The only animals in the Garden were at the little petting station for the children. 

Spayar saw the food and all he could think was that the Nedalians must have been fairing better harvest wise than other parts of the Alliance. That or they had been stocking up specifically for this. He tried not to let that ruin the mood for him.

Von didn’t even seem to notice any of that and all he saw were the festivities. “I wasn’t expecting an actual party,” Von admitted.

“They just worship Lemp, they aren’t somber,” Spayar said.

A smile pulled its way across Von’s face. “This is cool. Let’s go see,” and he grabbed Spayar’s hand to go have breakfast. Spayar had no choice but to follow. He wasn't exactly happy about it. Von had decided that while he was in the Garden he was going to dress like a Nedalian man. Traditionally, because they lived in such a warm climate, Nedalians wore only what absolutely necessary to preserve their cultural modesty. That meant covering the chest, stomach, and back for women and the no shirts for the men but full pants.

Usually Spayar had no problem seeing men shirtless. The Nedalians who dressed like that didn't bother him at all. It was just Von. Standinh or walking around looking half dressed without a shirt. He looked almost at home in the Garden too with his summer bronze skin and sun bleached hair. He was doing it to make Helida like him more, and it was working. It also had the side effect of making Spayar forget what he was even thinking and sometimes even what he was saying. He was trying not to be miserable about it but when he had to worry about a coming Conflict being distracted by Von's abs was not exactly helpful.

Food for the entire day was already out in the morning as Von dragged him to the big paved courtyards for breakfast, being kept cool or hot by the appropriate elementally aligned warlock. They gladly picked at the offerings. Von was fond of the sweet pickles and honey glazed breakfast tarts made of custard and topped with berries. Spayar made sure he ate things other than sweets but he didn't know why he bothered. Von always pouted at him when he reminded him to eat properly and Spayar wasn't as immune to him as he thought he was. 

Before long the sun started to rise and they sought the shade of strategically placed awnings all over the Garden along with other Gardiens seeking their own respite from the heat.

They sat on the grass in front of a stage where a band was playing. Three wind players and a percussion person with a pair of hand drums. They were seated in the shade but playing to liven the mood. Around them the Garden was alive with people but most had done the same as them and were resting in the shade. Or the adults were. The children didn’t care about the heat and were still running around, playing the games, yelling happily or bothering the animals.

Spayar started when a man came and sat down next to them. Most of the locals save Helida ignored the two of them and everyone knew they were ’royal envoys’ with only the governing family knowing who they actually were. He was black like Spayar but not nearly as dark but from across the Sea. Most dark skinned people in the Alliance and the east had curly, kinky, wirey hair that could be brushed out into magnificent afro halos of hair. Typically west coast Shard peoples and beyond had wavy hair or greater loose curls. It was a way to spot a foreigner at a glance if they were darker skinned and didn't have proper peaked Feylon ears like this man didn't. He wore his hair close to his scalp and had a full beard dotted with traditional flower adornment of married men with children. If Spayar recalled it was two varieties for two children. “Prince,” he grunted with all the casualty of someone who wasn't afraid of someone of nobility. Spayar was mostly annoyed he didn't recognize them. He liked to think he knew everyone of the governing families but it was so easy to overlook the men of the Rosalia. They had little to no power or authority in matters of state and rarely made any waves because of it. That didn't make Spayar any less annoyed.

“You might have me confused with someone else, friend,” Von said with a joviel smile.

“Pretty sure I don't. Unless you're here calling my wife a liar?” he said mildly and gave Von a cool look with his pale gray eyes.

Von looked confused, “Not at all, Lord Necromonger, we just didn't recognize you,” Spayar said quickly. At least now he could place the man and also knew why he didn't know him.

“Funny that,” Ilnta Rosalia said and picked up a pipe from his side. “Care to share?” he asked with the same casual familiarity he'd been using all along.

“Depends,” Von said slowly. “What’s in it?”

“Just storm weed, mixed with some perfumes,” Ilnta said and leaned back on one arm. Spayar had a type but that didn't stop him from thinking Helida’s husband was a beautiful man. Maybe the Nedalians had the right idea with having them men folk go around without shirts on all the time.

“It’s like a mild version of modica,” Spayar told Von who looked confused. Storm weed was only smoked along the gut and Western provinces while modica, a smaller and hardier plant was used in the central Alliance to achieve the same effect. It was a fairly mild drug, easy to think through but lifted your mood pleasantly. Spayar had only heard of storm weed while serving time but the westerners always compared it to the more centrally popular modica.

“Then yes,” Von said with a smile. “Allow me,” and he reached a hand out. With a delicate twist of his fingers a spark jumped into the pipe and the weed started smoking gently. Ilnta took the first pull before handing it across Spayar to Von.

As Von politely took a pull he gave Spayar a look. He had no idea who this guy was despite Spayar naming his title. “What brings you here, Lord Ilnta?” Spayar asked when Von handed the curled pipe to him next.

“I like knowing what's happening in my Garden,” Ilnta said and rubbed one of his wide bangles. “Especially you two.”

“We’re just here for the party,” Von assured him. Spayar handed Ilnta the pipe back, his lungs full of smoke. 

Ilnta took a small hit and looked them both over. “No one comes to the Garden for parties. Come up with a better lie, your highness,” he said.

“You are,” Von said like a jackass and Spayar wanted to smack his hand across his face but knew that wouldn't help.

Ilnta looked from Von to Spayar and gave him a sympathic look. Why, Spayar had no idea. Was it all over his face? Great. “I live here,” he said. “My Governor asked me to make sure you were enjoying yourselves, and staying out of trouble.”

“The Governor is very hospitable,” Von said.

“Are you not enjoying yourself?” Ilnta asked Spayar.

”I keep business and pleasure separate,” was all he said.

Ilnta’s lip curled up at one side. “Very well d’aelar,” he said so respectfully that it made Spayar nervous. “We’ll see if we can't do something about that,” he handed the pipe back to Spayar. He didn't much like the sound of that. That sounded a lot like what Von said before they and their other friends had ended up stoned dancing on tables at a bar in Smoker’s Den. It had been fun but Spayar had been so burned out the next morning and in some strange man’s bed. It had turned out to be the son of Baron Hothrod, which hadn't been at all a pleasant morning leaving the manor in Assarus and had to walk all the way home from Fey’s Shadow to Bellringer in his clothes from the night before. Spayar tried to temper his ’fun’ after that. He cautiously took a drag of the pipe and Ilnta got to his feet.

“What was that about?” Von asked, lookimg after him as Ilnta walked off.

“I’m sort of afraid to find out,” Spayar said slowly.

“Let me have the last one,” Von said, holding out his hand for the pipe. Spayar gladly gave it to him as he kept his eyes trained on Ilnta where he was talking with a group of men.

“Try not to get too stoned tonight,” Spayar said, looking away from the group to Von. 

“Why not?”

“I don't think we really want to party like some Lemp worshippers.”

“You’re the one who keeps saying they're just people.”

“Yes, but first hand experience from serving time tells me that when people who live a regimented life style are allowed off their chain it can easily get out of hand,” he looked back at Ilnta.

“Don’t have fun on a naming day, got it,” Von said.

“That isn't what I meant-

Ilnta came back over with two men. One was older and clean shaven with features similar to Helida. Brother? Spayar knew she had one but not much beyond that. The other was bearded with a shaved head and a single red poppy woven into his beard. Spayar wasn't sure what was about to happen and it made him nervous. “Can we help you, gentlemen?” Von asked as he tapped the ashes of the pipe onto the ground.

“I heard you weren't here to have fun on my neice’s naming day,”said the clean shaven man with a full wide smile full of white teeth, arms spread. He had mischief in his dark eyes and Spayar was going to live to regret this. He already saw that in his future.

“Nonsense,” Von insisted. “We just… don't know how you do it out here.” Spayar knew that was the exact wrong thing to say when Ilnta and the man with the poppy also smiled the same smile Helida’s brother did.

“Well come then, we'll show you,” he offered a dark hand to Von. Von glanced at Spayar before taking it and was hauled to his feet. “There’s a exhibition starting real soon. It's better on this,” he handed Von a glass of bubbling liquid the poppy man had produced.

“Uh… I know you necromongers aren't warlocks but I can't drink,” Von said apologetically, ready to gracefully bow out of whatever nonsense this was. Thank the gods.

“It isn't alcohol, don't think we'd insult you like that,” he said nicely. “It’s dissolved.”

“You can do that?” Von asked, blue eyes wide.

“Won’t know if you don't try,” Ilnta said encouragingly.

Spayar got to his feet, took the drink out of Von's hand and knocked in back in two gulps. “I would prefer if you didn't hand him something we don't know.” He wasn't going to let his prince drink some mysterious liquid with who knew what actually in it. That and Ilnta seemed like the same sort of annoying guy as himself who refused to accept no as an answer and knew he could get away with anything as the husband of the Governor and High Necromonger. What a jackass. No wonder people said Spayar was annoying sometimes. 

“You drank it,” Helida’s brother said.

“I’m expendable, he's not,” Spayar said casually. “Let’s keep it familiar.”

“Hmm, I think that can be arranged.”

“Well we are here, we might as well do as the Nedalians do,” Von said helpfully.

“That’s the spirit,” Helida’s brother said and clapped an arm around Von's shoulder. Von just gave him an uneasy smile. “You stick with Od and we'll have a good time!”

“What’s this exhibition?” Spayar asked. He was already starting to feel whatever it was he'd drunk. It wasn't alcohol, he'd had that just to see what it felt like. This was more like mallium as a drink. Meaning he couldn't let Von anywhere near it. Von's favorite was mallium and he didn't need to be stoned and chasing after an equally stoned prince. That always led to disaster.

“Ever seen a contortionist?”

“A whats-onist?” Von asked.

“Someone who can contort their bodies into crazy positions,” Od explained. “That’s why it's better high,” he grinned.

“If you say so,” Von said slowly.

“Moddi, Ilnta, let's find something else for our guest since his friend was so eager to try it first.”

Spayar didn't like any of this. He also knew better than to stop any of it. If Helida had sent Ilnta to see how they were doing it meant she would approve of this. And that she expected her guests and perhaps future allies to participate in the way her own people did. That didn't make him feel much better. He went over to Ilnta’s side when Od led Von over to where adults were smoking and casually keeping children from getting their hands on the substances despite them just wanting to mimic the adults.

“Why are you doing this?” he quietly asked Ilnta.

“Doing what?” Ilnga asked casually.

“You know what I mean.”

Ilnta looked at Spayar, “You really must relax, friend. Your hair will go gray,” and he mimicked Od’s position on Von with him. “It’s my daughter's naming day. You think I care what you're doing here? About a petty royal dispute? Not even in the slightest. You two just look out of place. Sober, dressed up,” he glanced up a day down at Spayar’s clothes. Spayar rolled his eyes. Ilnta leaned in close to whisper into his ear, the sound of his voice making his ear tingle, “You’re not the only ones here.” Spayar didn't react. “So relax,” he squeezed Spayar's shoulder.

“That is the last thing I'm doing now,” Spayar said, giving him an exasperated look and trying his best to stay focused. “What was in that drink?”

“Calshoi oil from the south. Nice right?”

Spayar stared at Ilnta for several seconds. “I severely underestimated you.”

Ilnta grinned, his teeth a thin white slice against his dark lips, “Don’t feel bad kid,” he said, clapping Spayar firmly on the shoulder. “Everyome does. You'll be fine. Nothing bad is going to happen. Just relax. That's what she wants.”

“You must not know him because Spayar never relaxes,” Von declared, standing before them again with Od.

“Sounds like a challenge,” Ilnta said, squeezed his shoulder again and before Spayar could complain was directed across the field. Od spoke with Von the entire way but Spayar couldn't focus on what was being said. The calshoi was hitting him hard and so was whatever Von had taken. As the hottest part of the day broke people came out from there shelters where they'd been relaxing, smoking, and socializing, going to find more food, drugs, or some exhibition or band to loiter in front of. 

That made the rest of them in good company as Spayar and Von were led over to a low stage where two Nedalians, but not native to the Garden, were seated on impossibly thin stools wearing skin tight clothing covered I'm vibrant geometric patterns. What wasn't covered in fabric was painted in the same style. They waited until they'd gathered a crowd before a string player Spayar couldn't see started to play a quick bouncing beat. Spayar stood, unimpressed, as the women got off their stools, bowed to the small crowd and Spayar wasn't even sure. It looked like they folded themselves over each other and around in a way he could only describe as snake like. 

He ended up staring open mouthed at the way their bodies bent and twisted, limbs looking broken as they took impossible poses. They used each other and the stools as props and moved only to the poppy beat of the music. The longer he watched the more the calshoi took effect and their geometrically patterned clothes and painted bodies became even more exaggerated and impossible. He couldn't look away and now he was very glad he'd taken that drink from Von because Od was right. This show was way better on it.

Then almost as soon as it started it was over. Spayar was aware that it was the drugs distorting his feeling of time but he didn't mind. He clapped with the rest of the crowd and the contortionists bowed one more time to them before climbing back onto their stools to wait for the crowd to change to do it all over again.

“That was so cool,” Von said. “I’ve never seen anything like them.”

“Yes well the rest of the Alliance doesn't have the same good tastes as us,” Od said and was steering Von away. Spayar followed and grabbed the back of his belt just so they didn't get separated. Von didn't notice and was talking to Od. They arrived at another stage, this one with a full band of bright horn players and three sets of huge drums, all played by shirtless men. Spayar just stared and forgot what was going on. While in the shade it was still warm and they were playing high tempo music and jumping and stomping their feet so their skin glistened with sweat in the bright coastal sunlight.

“You alright there, friend?” Ilnta asked him when he stood, stupified.

The next words out of his mouth were only because he was high and only Von laughed at first, “Are any of them single?” Once it registered with their hosts they snorted.

“Afraid not. They're all married,” Od said teasingly.

“What a waste,” Spayar said which earned him more snickering. Even though it was true. What a waste of good looking men to be married.

“Do you dance?” Od asked Von.

“Not to this? I don't think. Spayar, do I know any eastern dances?” he poked Spayar in the shoulder, distracting him.

Spayar blinked at him. “Von, I don't know anything. I'm really high right now,” he said right to his face which just made Von erupt into a giggling fit so hard it got the others going and after a few moments the entire area of people around them were laughing for no reason other than they were all the same level of stoned and laughing sounded like a great idea. Spayar didn't understand what was so funny. He'd just said the truth.

Once their direct area of people had settled down a bit Od said, “Well show you one you don't know then,” with one of his big white smiles. Von just smiled and nodded and allowed Od to pull him to where people who hadn't been infected by Von's giggling were dancing to the rowdy music. 

“And what about you?” Ilnta asked him.

“What about me what?” 

Ilnta snorted, “Do you dance, d'aelar?”

“I do but I'm not nearly high enough for you to get to see,” Spayar said.

“That’s a challenge you don't want to give me, friend,” Ilnta said.

“No. I don't dance,” he changed his mind. “You’re not cute enough got that,” he added because if there was a cute boy around who wanted to dance with him he'd dance with them. But he'd already made up his mind that all the men in the Garden weren't attractive enough for him. Sober Spayar knew that was a lie. Sober Spayar had also made up his mind about that so that high Spayar wouldn't end up in some random guy’s bed. If he found a cute boy that is exactly what would happen and he needed to keep an eye on Von. He looked around. “Where’s Vondugard?” 

“Just there,” Ilnta grabbed her shoulder and pointed to where Od and Moddi were having the best time ever being high and attempting to show a high Von how to do what they were doing. Western dances were a lot more foot work than central or southern dances Von was practiced in. “Feeling relaxed?”

“Against my will, but yes,” Spauar grumbled.

“Good enough!”

Spayar ended up sitting on a bench and watching while the others of their group danced to the banging drums and wailing metal horns. He tapped his foot, bobbing his head to the beat but didn't participate other than that. Only when the band was done to take a break did Von stumble over to where he was. His eyes were a bit less shiny than before, more focused. “Were you over here the entire time, Spayar?” Von asked.

“Maybe,” Spayar said. While Von was coming down from whatever he'd taken Spayar was still up.

“That was fun but I really need to lay down,” Von complained.

“Of course, of course,” Od said. He was still up too. Spayar wasn't sure Ilnta had ever taken anything other than initial storm weed he'd shared with the two of them. “It’s chems so perfect for a break. After was when the Governor planned to host the gift opening,” he added. Then he looked at Ilnta, “It is chems now, right?”

“It is,” Ilnta said with a chuckle.

“Perfect. Let's go.” 

They were marched off to the buffet which had been refilled to some degree. Von just ate whatever was handed to him Od insisted he needed to try. It took Od exactly five seconds to discover Von's sweet tooth and Spayar watched with a sigh as Von ate a chems that was mostly sugar. Spayar just found some partially frozen fruit to help cool him down some more since he was wearing a shirt.

In the few seconds he looked away Od had given Von a suspicious pink cookie that when Spayar got one and smelled knew it wasn't just a sweet. He managed to grab the other half away from Von before he could eat the entire thing. “Hey! Spayar,” he complained.

“Just be sober for the gift opening,” Spayar ate the rest of his just so Von couldn't take it back and it was usually bad form to eat more than one of any laced food at a time. Either it was rude to take more than one or people thought you had a problem. It would keep Von fairly sober to pay attention to the gift opening. Wasn't good for Spayar's state but he'd rather be high than Von be high for this. 

“Fine,” was all Von said.

They picked at the buffet a bit more before adults started gathering up the children and taking them to a central location under a pavilion. That seemed as good an indication that something was going on. Ilnta directed them to where it was happening and left them to find a place to sit or stand. Spayar had to sit. Whatever he'd taken was not mixing well with the calshoi and he really wasn't happy about being vertical.

There was a mountain of presents for little Paja’s naming day. All shapes and sizes. Most in colored boxes but others in silk or painted canvas bags. Paja was only three with an afro held back by a jeweled head band and looked about to crawl out of her mother's arms to get at the gifts. Ilnta stood next to Helida with his hand on a young boy’s head who was the spitting image of him down to his storm gray eyes.

Helida said something about thanking everyone for coming and for the gifts for her daughter before putting her down. The little girl, with the help of her big brother and several of her friends, started opening all the boxes and bags. There was polite clapping or a little cheer each time she got something open. A collection of dolls soon formed an army off to the side and animal shaped toys and there was over a dozen potted plants that were either flowering or were decorative shrubs. There was also a fair amount of jewelry, all of made of wood or stone and brightly colored for a child’s taste. Spayar stopped paying attention somewhere around the twelfth doll and his attention was caught by a sheep shaped rocking horse he was sure was giving him a funny look.

Von nudged him and he started. What was he supposed to pay attention to? His eyes darted across the assembled faces to where Helida was crouched next to Paja and making her stand still long enough to pull her hair back some and pin it into place. When Paja could finally go back to her gifts Spayar squinted at the ornament and saw it was the pretty hair comb Von had bought at Tassa’s suggestion.

He patted the back of Von's knee to get his attention and offered a slightly raised hand. Von smacked the bottom of his fingers against Spayar's in a little moment of triumph. 

Spayar spaced out the rest of the gift opening but he did get startled into clapping with the rest of the crowd once the last gift had been opened. Von helped drag him to his feet. “How you feeling?”

Spayar blinked at him a few times. “Better than you.”

“Thats for sure!” he looked around. “Od, Od,” he waved at Od who was standing a bit away. “My babysitter has divined that I'm allowed to party again.”

Od turned his focus back on the both of them from here he was talking with a scary blonde woman with a red eye. “Oh yeah? Great!” No not great. So not great. “You still up, young man?” he asked Spayar.

“I think the calshoi might finally be wearing off. Don't give us that.”

“Awww, no fun. Very well,” he came around behind them both and looped his arms around both of their shoulders. “We’ll just have to find something else,” and he guided them away from the opened gifts back to the bar. 

The rest of the day passed in a haze of loud music, more food, and Od getting way more stoned than either of them. As night came lamps were lit, the children sent to bed, and harder stuff was brought out. Spayar had sobered up by then and had to stop Von from being convinced by Moddie to try slate. All their new necromonger friends did it instead. It didn't take longer after that for a good natured fight to break out. Said fight ended in three broken arms and a healer being called. Not a single man seemed to mind the broken bones either and just called each other school yard names.

Before it grew too late and who knew what else Od would convince the two of them to take Spayar begged off saying they were tired and needed to go to sleep. A sober woman waved Od away and let them leave. Spayar had to pull Von away.

They made it back to their guest rooms in one piece. Von was practically laid across Spayar's entire side babbling highishly about nothing. Or if Spayar cared to pay attention he was saying stuff about how great it was the Rosalia were going to help him kill his family.

Spayar dumped Von onto his bed once they got inside, still dressed as he was. Once there Von kicked off his boots but didn't even make it to the pillow and it was much too warm for a blanket.

"Goodnight Spayar," Von sighed contently, eyes closed, still high as could be.

"The stuff I put up with because of you," Spayar grumbled.

"I know," Von said dreamily, "but you love it," and he yawned thickly.

Spayar looked down at Von. By the deep, even, rise and fall of his chest Spayar could tell he was already asleep. No shirt and his skin still warm and glowing from the day in the sun. "Why Quen?" he asked the goddess of desire because in that moment he felt so weak looking down at Von laying sprawled out on the bed. Spayar could see his tan line between the deeply tanned, nearly golden, skin, and the pale shade of skin like that started at his pant line. "Why must you do this to me?" he looked up at the ceiling like she was looking down at him from there mockingly.

It'd be so easy to just do something. It was so tempting. So damn tempting. Curse Can'dhe for putting his fate in line with Von's. He had to have a strong will to be Von's friend and not just go crazy because yes, he did want his prince. In his current state he wasn't as strong as he normally was. It wasn't so easy to look past how wonderful he was, how adult he'd become while Spayar had been serving time. He knew he was better than this. Better than allow drugs to take advantage of his state of mind like this.

“I’m not doing it, Quen. Find someone else to ruin,” he mumbled and managed to stumble away from Von's bed. He squeezed his eyes shut as he did so he couldn't see him.

He made his way to the door and paused when he heard Von roll over. He did the stupid thing of looking back. Von was more laid out and Spayar could see the curve of his hips and spine, the softly defined shape of his hip bone pressing against flesh. He closed his eyes again. “Go away Quen,” he whispered even as he could practically feel her hovering over his shoulder, whispering in his ear. It was like he could feel her long nails dragging across his chest, tempting him. He wasn't sure what she was tempting him to do but that didn't matter to the goddess of desire. Spayar’s pain was enough of a necter for her.

He took a breath and walked out of the room. He locked the door behind him and went to his own room. He hated being in love.

[solastia]

Shadow Song | 1

We are the Shadow Knights. We stand for justice and truth. We bring retribution to those that defy that. And your name is on our list.

Pairing: Yoo Kihyun x Reader

Summary: Yoo Kihyun is an Assassin that’s been paid to take out the heir to a vast corporation. However, after a week of staking out his target, he finds he can’t pull the trigger. 

Word Count: 2,133

Genre & Warnings: Assassin Au, will be a mix of every genre, some angst/some fluff/eventually smut. Will have violence to some degree but nothing overly graphic. Monsta X being adorable and charming. 

Notes: This was just going to be one long one shot, but it was becoming too long, so I’m breaking it down into chapters. Enjoy! 

The light should be turning on in 5...4...3...2...1...

Yoo Kihyun smirked at the reliability of his latest target’s routine as the apartment lit up. He had it down to the exact second at this point. 

Her alarm would go off at 5:55 am, and she would hit the button three times before finally getting up at 6:05 am. She’d get ready and go for an hour-long jog. During this run, she’d only stop once for precisely eight minutes to give treats to dogs in the fenced off dog park. Afterwards, she’d head home to shower and eat before heading to work at 7:45 am. She’d stay in her office working until 6:15 pm, only leaving once to have a salad in the company cafeteria for lunch at 2:10 pm. She would be home at precisely 6:32 pm. From there, she usually didn’t leave the apartment. She’d cook dinner, then watch Netflix, read, or play with her little orange cat. After a quick five minute shower, she’d be in bed by 9:30 pm. And she conveniently left her curtains open at all times, making his job that much easier. 

Kihyun was beginning to wonder why she was a target, though. As of today, he’d been evaluating his mark for an entire week. He knew she liked her coffee sweet, knew that she always kept a book in her purse to read during lunch, knew that when a song came on that she loved she’d pick up her cat and dance around her living room. However, he hadn’t found a single shred of evidence that warranted her death. 

L/N Y/N was the CEO of Hekami Corp, the most substantial architecture company in the entire country. She’d inherited the position after her father passed away two years ago. There were rumors that she was one of the top five wealthiest people on the planet since her company worked globally. Only other family was a stepmother and stepbrother. He’d scoured everything from her bank accounts to every grade she’d ever gotten in school. He’d unearthed everything that could be found. The order had said that she was responsible for using her money and connections to fund all manner of underground dealings. Sex trade, drug trafficking, child labor. Kihyun hadn’t seen anything so far worth shooting her over except that she left dishes in the sink overnight. 

He was beginning to get that feeling in his gut. The one that he felt in the courtroom when he just knew that something wasn’t right. 

Have they been had? Had someone actually dared to use a Shadow Knight to do their dirty work? It was generally well known in the underground networks that while, yes, the Shadow Knights were technically Assassin’s, they only took out the worst of the worst. The guys that slipped through the cracks of the corrupt legal system. Hell, they were practically the Justice League with .300 Win Mags.

Kihyun found himself growing increasingly more agitated as he once again focused on his target. She seemed to be unusually chipper today, dancing around her kitchen as she made what appeared to be curry. He was pretty sure she’d put in too much powder and not enough water making him feel slightly triggered, but he managed to bury his irritation since there was nothing he could do about it. 

He actually felt himself blushing as the bottom half of her appeared from behind the kitchen counter and he realized she’d kicked off her pants somewhere along the line. He’d seen much, much more than that observing his previous targets, so he didn’t get why the sight of panties had him blushing like a schoolboy. No matter how cute she looked in the flimsy scraps of blue lace. He shook his head as if to clear all of his wayward thoughts and refocused on his task.

With his earpiece, he could hear her singing (if what she was doing could be called that) along with some music. He’d bugged her apartment on Sunday while she’d been at the cafe down the road working on her day off. There had been nothing much of interest from this either. No phone calls except when she ordered takeout, her cat Misha was talkative as hell, and she had a cute voice when she wasn’t singing. 

He set his gear down and sat back in the chair he’d set up on the rooftop opposite her apartment building. He chewed on his bottom lip as he contemplated his choices. He was ninety-nine percent certain that this target was an innocent, but he’d do one last apartment sweep to be sure. Then he’d go to the boss tomorrow with his suspicions. He sent a mission update to headquarters, took a short nap as he waited for her to go to bed, then made the familiar trek to her apartment. 

Kihyun let himself in using the key he’d made earlier in the week, closing the door with a barely audible creak. Misha the cat curled himself around Kihyun’s leg in greeting, recognizing him from earlier visits. He leaned down and scratched the cat’s ears a bit before pulling his night vision goggles down over his eyes. He crept around the apartment like a ghost, searching every visible cabinet, drawer, window sill, all the usual suspects for hiding suspicious information. Finding nothing in the living room or kitchen, he decided it was time to hit up the bedroom. This part was going to be tricky considering she was still home, but he had no doubt he could pull it off. 

He put everything back in its proper place, only complaining a few times about the layers of dust and drawers full of junk. Just when he turned to walk down the hallway, the light turned on, illuminating the female leaning casually against the wall with crossed arms. 

“The last Assassin they sent was cuter.”

“This is awkward,” Kihyun muttered as he lifted his goggles off. The errant thought that she was even cuter up close ran through his mind as he observed her. He wasn’t really sure where to go from here. He’d never been caught by surprise before. Does he try to make a run for it? Taze her? Throw the cat as a distraction? 

“First of all, ouch. Secondly, don’t worry I’m not going to hurt you...wait, the last Assassin? Are you saying there have been other orders on you and you’ve survived?” Kihyun asked in surprise. She merely sighed and gestured towards the couch. When they were both sitting, she began observing him from head to toe. He felt like she peering into his very soul, and he wondered what she saw. 

“You’re the sixth in the two years since I inherited. A couple were brave and tried to take me out in broad daylight, but security got ahold of them. The rest I’ve been able to pay off. So how much do you want?” She sighed wearily and pulled out her phone, bringing up the bank app. 

Kihyun grimaced as he processed this new information. He waved the phone away and with a frown of her own, she put it back in her pocket. 

“Do you have any suspicions as to who is giving the order?”

“I do.”

“And...?”

“And I haven’t found proof it’s them yet. Even if I do, I don’t know what I’ll do with it. They are...close to me. I never would have thought them capable of this.” She sighed, rubbing her forehead. Kihyun wanted to smooth the crinkles between her eyes. 

“Look, they made a huge mistake this time. They picked the wrong assassin for this. Yes, technically I...well for lack of a better description...kill for money. However, we only take out the people that deserve it. The people that are so vile they can barely even be called human.” He stared, observing every emotion shining through her eyes as he explained. 

“Are you guilty of the crimes of which you have been accused? Sex Trade, Child Labor, extortion, etc.?” He asked her calmly as he held eye contact. 

“No, of course not!” She looked genuinely horrified.

“Okay,” he responded breezily as he tapped his thigh to call Misha. 

“Okay? That’s it? So you believe me just like that?” 

“Mmmhmm.” He responded as he pets the purring cat. “To be honest, I’ve been looking into your case for a week now. I already thought you were innocent. This was just one last sweep before I reported back to my boss.”

“So without a shred of proof you’re just going to listen to me when I say I’m innocent? You’re not very good at this job, are you?” She laughs, the tension slowly leaving her shoulders as she recognizes he’s not going to hurt her. 

“On the contrary, sweetheart, I’m one of the best if not the best. Also, I can spot a liar in an instant. Perks from my day job. Speaking of, I have to get going. Can I leave peacefully, or did you want to try calling the cops or something?”

“The assassin is offering to let me call the cops on him? You really suck at this job. You let me go, so shouldn’t I do the same? Besides, Misha likes you, so you can’t be all bad.” She giggled, and he decides that was one of the most beautiful sounds in the world. Kihyun looked at her in wonder, grinning a bit as he shakes his head.

“What?” She huffed. 

“It’s just funny is all. You expect someone to scream or beat you up with a frying pan at least when the assassin word starts getting thrown around. You’re acting like I’m just some dude that showed up for a cup of tea.” 

“Would beating you with a pan help my situation? I have plenty.” She smirked. 

Kihyun chuckled. “Touche.” 

Kihyun pushes the cat off of his leg and stands up. His gaze roams her face as if it might be the last time, although he was sure he’d see her again. 

“I have to tell headquarters about this situation. Do you want me to help find your proof? I know you think it’s someone close to you that you don’t seem to want to do anything about, but you have to think logically. They’ve straight up hired someone to kill you six times. It doesn’t sound like they are going to stop anytime soon. I’m going to make a wild guess here. Stepmom and Stepbrother?”

Her sharp, indrawn breath was all the answer he needed. He sighed and nodded. “It’s almost disappointing that it’s so cliche. Did they not inherit anything?” 

“They got the main house and allowances. Very, very generous allowances. They don’t need to lift a finger for the rest of their lives. Unless they somehow think they’d inherit the business, there is nothing else to be gained from killing me.” 

Kihyun picked up on the keyword of somehow. “Are you saying they wouldn’t? Who would it go to then?”

“Until I have children of my own, it’s some distant cousin. Not really sure. The board keeps the information, and since I never planned on kicking the bucket anytime soon, I never bothered to look into it. I figured they’d probably show up asking for money sooner or later, and then I’d learn all about them.” 

Kihyun nods as he takes in this new information. He’d look more into it when he got a chance. 

“I’m going to head out, sweetheart. I’ll stop by when I learn more. I might even knock next time. Bye, Misha.” 

“You’re a weird assassin.” She grumbled, but he noticed she was fighting off a grin. Damn, he wanted to kiss her. 

NOPE NOPE. Stay on target. 

“Mmhmm. Also, you might want to try closing your curtains from time to time. Blue is definitely your color.” He threw in, chuckling as he closed the door on her blushing face. 

[fox-and-benedict]

[Fanfic, 100% OJ] Awkward

Series: 100% OJ / Suguriverse Words: 2000 Characters: Sora, Nath Originally posted: March 29, 2017 (link here) A/N: This is where I first started messing around with the characterisations for Sora and Nath, and you can start to see the elements slotting into place. It’s also the point at which my little series becomes incompatible with canon, because in canon Nath is very dead. As a result, all the various Suguri series stories from here on out will have an AU tag. Also, Sora is a complete space cadet but I adore her.

Sora was not ‘lost’. That would imply that she, one of the finest soldiers of the greatest war ever known, did not have a sense of direction, which would be a very dangerous implication to make. She just didn’t know where she was, or where she was going. It was an entirely different thing.

Hime had sent her out with a list of things to pick up from town. She hadn’t specified which town, of course. Or even which country. Not that Sora could have told the countries apart, anyway. Things had changed since she had last explored the world, and she hadn’t had a great chance to take in the sights even then. She’d been too busy getting shot at. What Sora did know was that Hime was quite fed up with trying to eat scoops of ice cream out of a coffee cup, and wanted some cutlery. She also knew that Suguri could not be trusted to buy cutlery at all; the grey haired girl had been sent out twice earlier that week in search of proper tableware, and had come back with pockets full of things that were ‘close enough’, in her opinion. Evidently, Suguri had dangerous opinions, because in her world a fork was the same as a spoon and one-and-a-half castanets was dinnerware for the entire family.

Still, since Sora was absolutely Not Lost and had in fact never been lost in her entire life, she thought she might take some time to explore. She had at least found a town, which was a good start. It had knobbly, cobbled streets, the kind so old that they were out of fashion even before the war began, and the shops all had puns in the name – terrible puns, it had to be said. Sora felt like every shop owner had been given a Christmas cracker joke and been told to get on with it. Every few paces there was a wrought iron lamppost. It was oddly comforting.

She had just finished walking along the High Street (which was the lowest point in town) and turned onto Eastgate (probably east, definitely not a gate) when something in a shop window caught her eye. Sora had never been one for window shopping. She just moved to her objective, completed it, and repeated until she could return home. Part of her realised that it wasn’t actually her that did it; it was a mindset, brewed in the military. One more way that the war had followed her into the future. It would take time to break it, but she had time. More than enough.

She drifted along, wondering if the roll of notes Hime had given her would stretch to lunch. She’d already walked past five vendors hawking street food, and been tempted by every one; there was something about sizzling onions that called to her on a deep spiritual level. It amazed her that there was food from so many cultures, all collected in one place – it felt like the boundaries she had grown up with, the hate that existed between people, had loosened so much. Before, she could never have imagined being able to buy pad thai, falafel and paella within mere feet of each other.

“You look hungry,” a voice said from behind her left shoulder. Deep, feminine, but a little rough. One of the sellers, perhaps. “Sora.”

Not one of the sellers. Not somebody who should know her name. Her muscles tightened, her hands curled into fists of their own accord. She’d had her guard down, she realised. Been lulled into a sense of security by this peaceful place. She pivoted, eyes flashing, to face the speaker.

There was no weapon being pointed at her. No body armour in sight. No comforting hum from a personal shield. A non-combatant. With that established, the details began to pop out at her: a loose white peasant shirt reined in by a cropped navy jacket, the arms hanging empty by the sides. A skirt long enough to trail across the cobbled streets. Blue-grey hair, blue eyes. A familiar face.

“Nath,” she breathed.

“Oh? You recognise me. Unexpected. Ah. I’m not here to fight. I would show you my hands so you can see I don’t have a weapon, but… Well, that’s not a concern,” she said, and grinned almost sheepishly: the face of a woman who’d made a bad joke, and knew it. “Let’s have some tea. My treat.”

***

“I thought everything from the world before was gone.”

The tea room was very quaint. Hime would have loved it. Clotted cream, scones and red chequered tablecloths seemed to sprout from every surface. In the corner there was a great, leathery armchair with a night-table and a stack of thick books next to it. Every time the door opened – not constant, but often enough – a bell tinkled to announce the new arrival. Nath had ordered them a plate of biscuits, and a pot of tea; true to her word, she didn’t ask for any money.

“So did I. Bits and pieces turn up, from time to time,” Nath replied. “Could you pour?”

Sora nodded, and took the pot. Her hands didn’t tremble, although she was a little nervous.

“I didn’t die after our fight. That’s the silver lining, of being like me. They just… picked up what was left, and put me back together again. As easy as that,” Nath carried on, lightly. “A few little things went missing. They called me Humpty Dumpty for a while.”

“Really?”

“No.”

Sora raised an eyebrow. She’d never met somebody who could tell a joke and yet remain utterly, uncompromisingly serious. When Suguri or Hime told one, their eyes would light up, the corners of their mouths would twitch. You laughed, and then they would laugh, and everybody would smile. With Nath, it was like she was just going through the motions of a joke without really understanding what they were for. Like somebody had told her to do it one day, and she’d never stopped.

“…Are any of the others still around?” Sora asked. The question seemed to burn on the way through her throat, and when she finished, she could feel a strange, empty dread settle where it had been. Was she scared that nothing else had survived of the world she knew? Or scared that old enemies still remained to haunt her? She didn’t honestly know.

“Maybe. I hear rumours, now and again. I don’t follow up on them.”

A non-answer. It was enough, for now. Sora breathed deeply, let the smell of Earl Grey hit her airways. It was nothing like tea she used to see the soldiers drinking, the stuff they brewed overnight in tins and that was bitter enough to make you vomit if you drank it too fast.

“How are you going to drink that?” she asked, pointing towards Nath’s teacup.

“...You aren’t going to help me?” Nath asked, blinking. Absolutely serious.

A moment passed. “That… was a joke?” Sora tried.

“Yes. Watch.”

Nath seemed to close her eyes in concentration, and something moved in one of the long, billowy sleeves of her shirt. Sora realised then why the arms weren’t tied at the wrists, as they usually were for people lacking limbs; a bit quietly floated out of the cuff, and began to zip around the table.

“Old world technology. Still works, mostly,” Nath said, as the bit hovered around her teacup. It shot out a green ray that Sora immediately recognised as a tractor beam, one of the last big jumps of technology in the war. It was impressive that they had miniaturised it so far.

“You didn’t get prosthetics?”

“I did. But they wore out, and there were no parts to replace them. Some technology has come backwards after all this time. Not too many people get their arms blown off anymore, so the new stuff is a lot worse.” The teacup hovered level to her mouth, and she took a sip. “I heard you were dead, by the way.”

Sora said nothing. It wasn’t as though the assumption was necessarily wrong. If somebody stopped moving, you called them dead, didn’t you? She had just happened to wake up again, millennia later. An easy mistake to make.

“I was asleep,” she said, finally. “For years, and years.”

Nath’s eyebrow raised the slightest fraction of an inch, but she didn’t pursue the question. Instead she took a biscuit and began to nibble it daintily, as if showing off the control she had over her bits.“I wondered, you know. If I was the only one having difficulty adjusting. Have you noticed? In this world, even the serious people smile and joke all the time. I tell jokes, and nobody laughs. I can’t get used to it,” she said, looking away from Sora’s face. A troubled expression flickered through her eyes. “Do you ever feel that?”

Sora nodded. Hime never seemed to stop teasing; she was always ready with a quip and a dry smirk. Even Suguri, who rarely laughed outright, always seemed to be warm and approachable, a smile in her eyes if not on her face. It was difficult to talk to them, sometimes. The silence was too big.

“What were you doing before I stopped you, by the way?” Nath asked.

“Buying spoons,” Sora replied, without a hint of irony.

“...You slept for years on end, and then you wake up to buy spoons? How mysterious,” Nath said, and her mouth creased into a smile despite itself. “Look for Market Street, on the other side of town.”

“I see,” Sora said, and stood up. “Thank you for the tea. And the directions. I should proceed to the objective now.”

“Mm. I don’t suppose we’ll meet again. Maybe that’s for the better. But it was good to talk to you, Sora. I didn’t think I would ever get the chance.”

Sora looked at Nath, then; saw her rounded shoulders, the wistfulness creeping across her face. She wanted to say something, but the air was heavy, and she didn’t know the words. What would Hime do in this situation, she wondered? She pictured her new friend, the impish grin, the assured way she went about everything, and she was struck with an idea so stupid that she had to act on it before she thought about it too hard.

Leaving herself no time for doubts, she lunged across the table towards Nath and shot a hand towards her face. Nath flinched, but too slowly; Sora’s fingertips brushed against her cool skin.

“Nath,” Sora said, holding up her thumb. “I have your nose.”

“...what?”

Sora wiggled her thumb, tauntingly. “If you want it back, you have to come and find me.”

Nath looked at her, dumbfounded. Then, she coughed: a cough that rolled itself into a low chuckle that sprang from the very pit of her stomach.

“You must be the strangest ultimate weapon I’ve ever met,” she gasped, her eyes crinkled at the edges. “Very well. I’ll find you and reclaim my nose some other day.”

“I’ll make some tea for you when you do. I’ll use my new spoons,” the blonde girl replied, grinning. Then she turned on her heel and left, still holding her thumb above her head.

Nath didn’t reply. She was too busy chuckling to herself. What kind of world was she living in, where two women who’d tried their very best to kill each other could turn around and drink tea, and play childish jokes on each other? A better one than when they’d first met, she decided. Better by far.

“Excuse me… Are you alright?” one of the waitresses said, passing by. She was young, much shorter than Nath was. Not sure how to deal with this strange, armless woman, chuckling to herself in a tea-room.

“Ah… Don’t worry about me,” Nath replied, with mirth still ringing in her voice. “I’m quite ‘armless.”

The waitress looked at her for a moment -- then slowly, uncertainly, began to laugh.

[artificialqueens]

just the two of us (hogwarts au) part eleven - shalaska - pureCAMP

A/N - i’d like to apologize for the wait, things have been crazy and as ive said 83675345 times, I’m moving house (on friday!! yikes) so im very busy. however, i finished!! <3

i want to formally dedicate this chapter (and any others) to the heartbreaking anon who told me this fantasy world helped them escape their real life tragedy with their mother. whoever you are, my heart goes out to you and i hope that you enjoy this. <3 <3 <3

Thankfully, Alaska’s stay in the infirmary was short lived. According to what Dela had told her, she’d passed out for twenty four hours, during which time the purple hue of her skin had faded back into her usual rosy pink complexion. The antidote had done wonders for her, meaning she wasn’t going to be stuck with a slight sensation of nausea or dizziness unlike the other champions. She’d stayed overnight, passed out, and would be out in just a short while, whereas Phi Phi and poor Kim were going to be sick for a little while longer.

“-she was never out of this place yesterday, I swear sometimes I had to push her right through the doors to make sure she left. She was definitely determined that you didn’t wake up alone.” Dela was saying, bustling around the room as she chatted away to Alaska. “She’ll be upset that she missed you waking up. Dedicated, that one.”

Alaska craned her neck to look at the sheer amount of gifts surrounding her. They weren’t all from Sharon, obviously – some were from Willam, Courtney, Jinkx, and even just a few random admirers from the school wanting to congratulate her on her win. Perhaps it was a little self-centred of her, but Alaska wouldn’t have minded waking up every day to flowers, chocolate, and little novelty magic gifts.

“Speak of the devil and she shall appear. Back again, Needles?”

Alaska sat up as Sharon entered the room, delighting in how her girlfriend’s face lit up at the sight of her awake. Despite looking messy – her robe was slipping off of her shoulders, her skirt was rucked up, exposing some of her pale white thigh, and her hair was completely dishevelled – the huge smile that entered her face upon spotting Alaska made her look impossibly beautiful. As quickly as she could, she drew up beside Alaska and took her hand in her own.

“I’m so glad you’re not purple anymore!” She greeted, her cheeks flushed as she tried to catch her breath. “I was beginning to think I’d have a purple girlfriend forever, and whilst purple is a pretty colour I prefer you when you’re your normal beautiful self.”

She paused, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. “I’ve just ran from Care of Magical Creatures, it was – it was chaotic.”

Alaska grinned, using her thumb to clean a smudge of mud from Sharon’s cheek. “Oh yeah? Anything exciting happen?”

“Of course!” Sharon enthused. “We’ve had this huge influx of Blast-Ended Skrewts and they’re so fun – I may have burnt my wrist handling one of them but they’re kind of ugly cute? I don’t know. But we had so much fun learning about their care and getting hands on! It’s been – it’s been so good.”

Alaska couldn’t help giggling. “Babe, slow down. I’m not going anywhere, you can breathe. Did you take care of your burn?”

Sharon shrugged. “Burns aren’t important. I’ll tell you what is important, though.”

“Oh yeah?”

“You!” Sharon was practically bouncing. “You won the first task! I knew you could do it, I told everyone you could. I’m so proud of you! Come here, get here now.”

Alaska swung her legs out of bed, springing to her feet so that she could meet Sharon’s lips and wrap her arms around her. Although she was still a bit weak, she simply clung to Sharon and allowed her strength to keep the two of them upright as they embraced. She was fairly certain that Sharon’s arms were the only reason she was still on her feet as she felt herself melt a little into the familiar touch.

“Listen, listen.” Sharon began, holding Alaska at arm’s length and forcing her to look up at her. “You and I are going on a proper date. I’m taking you out. Got it?”

Alaska nodded, smiling so hard her cheeks started to ache.

“And I mean a proper date.” Sharon continued. “I’m not going to break any rules to get us there, I won’t get drunk and fight anybody – it’s gonna be you and me, doll. You and me.”

If Alaska had been weak before, she was positively helpless now. Her heart felt swollen, thudding in the centre of her chest and threatening to burst right through her ribcage. A real date? What would that entail? Despite not knowing, the thought still sent her reeling with excitement. The idea of having Sharon to herself – not to be interrupted by Phi Phi, or Professor Visage, or any of their friends – was beyond belief.

“When?” She found herself asking, almost without realizing. “Soon?”

Sharon’s eyes were sparkling. “Tonight.” She breathed. “They’re opening up Hogsmeade so all the new kids can explore, and I’ve heard of this cute little place we can go. You down?”

“Are you kidding?” Alaska said. “Of course I am!”

The smile that made its way onto Sharon’s face was positively electrifying. Just like before, her whole face lit up with pure, unadulterated joy; an expression Alaska had missed seeing. It suited her more than she’d ever know. Alaska lifted a hand to brush a curl of displaced white hair away from Sharon’s face, her eyes zeroing in on the exposed gap in her front teeth.

“You’re so cute,” She murmured, her fingers threading through Sharon’s hair as her free hand pulled the Slytherin even closer. “Have I ever told you that?”

Sharon hummed appreciatively. “I don’t know… remind me again?”

“You’re so cute,” Alaska repeated. “You better hurry up and kiss me before I lose my mind.”

“As you wish, pumpkin.”

Sharon happily obliged, meeting Alaska’s lips first with a smile before actually kissing her. As always, they didn’t have long before they were interrupted yet again.

“Uh, ladies? I have patients here, you might want to stop doing that for a hot minute.” Dela chimed in, bouncing towards them with her usually bubbly attitude.

Alaska grinned. “Does that mean I can go?”

Dela considered her for a moment, before nodding. “Yes, I don’t see why not. Unless you’re wanting some safe sex pamphlets from me, I don’t expect I’ll be seeing either of you in here for a while.”

“Dela!” Sharon exclaimed, her pale cheeks colouring. “Oh my – okay, we’re leaving. Let’s go.”

Alaska couldn’t see her own face, but Sharon’s had turned a beautiful shade of flaming ketchup, the colour accented by her contrasting black and white hair. She began to gather up some of the gifts Alaska had been given, incanting some of them reversibly smaller so that they could be carried easily. Within minutes, the pair had gathered up everything and made their way out of the infirmary, Alaska noting with a hint of amusement that Sharon’s face was still scarlet.

Stepping out of the infirmary was like stepping back into reality – a quick transition from the warmth and quiet to the chatter and chaos of the school environment. Most of the students were on their way to dormitories or common rooms, or just meeting friends somewhere on the grounds, with lessons having finished half an hour or so ago. Alaska was glad to have escaped the between-lesson rush, despite now being one of the older ones with strength and status enough to push through the crowd of first and second years. It was a little quieter than she’d expected, but still loud and full of energy as always.

Sharon led the way through most of the students – they tended to part when they saw her – clearing a neat little path leading inside the castle walls. The biting autumnal wind ceased as they came inside, as did a lot of the noise. The quiet made it easier to converse.

“So… when are you taking me out?” Alaska flirted, batting her eyelashes and dragging out the end of each word unnecessarily.

Sharon laughed, her cheeks still flushed. “I was thinking at dinnertime? Whilst everyone else is eating, we’ll be able to go out and get ahead of the traffic.”

“I like it.” Alaska replied. “This is exciting. I feel like a real couple now.”

“Only the best for my champion.” Sharon smiled proudly. “Okay, bleugh, that was disgustingly cheesy. But you get it.”

Alaska nudged her elbow gently, careful not to knock anything she was carrying, and blew a kiss. In truth, it still hadn’t sunk in yet. Alaska – slightly scared of heights, so-called dumb blonde, terrible at potions, clumsier than a newborn deer, more unsteady on a broom than a drunken fifth year – had managed to win in the first Triwizard task. It didn’t seem real. Part of her was still convinced she had dreamt it all, and she’d wake up in her dorm after imagining it all, but the thumping in her chest was very much real. The feeling of the wind through her hair, the crowd screaming below. That was very, very real. It was pure elation.

Alaska was lifted out of her thoughts by Professor Visage, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and materialized in front of the pair. Thankfully, she didn’t look angry or serious, so Alaska was fairly sure that Sharon wasn’t in trouble, but then again she never knew with Sharon. If she wasn’t in trouble, there was still a chance she’d find a way to get herself into it. It was a polyamorous relationship – Alaska, Sharon, and Trouble with a capital T.

“Sharon! Just the witch I’ve been looking for.” Professor Visage greeted, rather cheerfully.

Sharon’s eyebrows rose. “I love hearing that. Makes my day, it really does.”

“Alright, Miss Sass, tone it down. Anyway, I was sent to come get you by Professor Ru, you’ve got a meeting with the two of us and Professor Lake.”

Next to Alaska, Sharon visibly deflated. “Well, shit. How long is it gonna take? I kinda have dinner plans tonight.”

Professor Visage thought for a moment. “Probably only half an hour, max. You’ll be out by four at the latest. That okay with you?”

Sharon nodded. “That’s perfect. Alaska, are you okay with carrying all this on your own?”

It took a few minutes to reshuffle everything so that Alaska could accommodate it, and with a few helpful charms from Professor Visage she ended up enchanting some of the gifts so they would follow her up to her dorm. Sharon pressed a fleeting kiss to Alaska’s cheek before following Professor Visage to the office she’d practically been living in, and Alaska continued on her way up to her dorm.

The common room was full of people when she made her way in, obscuring her face with all her gifts to avoid having to converse with anyone. Of course, she knew that many congratulations were in order and pretty soon everyone would want to say something to her, but if she could just dump everything in her room then she’d be more than willing to bask in the attention. Thankfully, the students seemed to notice this, and she made it up the stairs and into her room without any interruption.

She threw everything down on the bed, totally haphazard, and flung herself down next to it all. She’d have to sort through it all later – she could see flowers, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, and dozens of other tiny gifts. Despite lacking the energy to actually move and open anything, there were still a few cards she could reach and have a read through.

Alaska, I couldn’t be more proud of you. Now I get to brag that my girlfriend is beautiful, funny and champion of a world-renowned magic competition. I knew you could do it, pumpkin. I can’t wait to watch you snatch that trophy. I’ll be there cheering for you the way you’ve always cheered for me. Lots of love and kisses, Sharon.

Alaska hugged the card to her chest, fully aware of how stupid she must have looked. Sharon’s handwriting was impeccably neat, an almost traditional-looking script with short letters and high tails. Was it weird to even love somebody’s handwriting? Had Alaska really fallen that hard? It was disgusting.

To Alaska – you won some shit.                From Willam.

Short, sweet, succinct. If anything could sum up the Pureblood, it was that card, paired with her no-nonsense, printed lettering.

Willam’s card is stupid! Well done, girl!!! We were all rooting for you 100% and we’re so happy for you!!!! Keep it up babe!!!!!! Love from Courtney!

Another one perfectly encapsulating the essence of her friend. Courtney, little petite Courtney, practically was a human exclamation mark. It was no wonder every sentence ended with one – it only served to make Alaska read the words in her shrill Aussie voice.

You’ve made your school proud. I knew you would. Good job, Alaska. From Professor Visage.

There were so many – ones from Jinkx, from other students she didn’t know, even a few more teachers. Each one was touching, even if most of them were just insincere messages scribbled onto a piece of paper. The fact that people had gone through and made the effort to even give her a card meant a lot.

Forcing herself up from the bed, lest she got drowsy and dozed off again, Alaska sprang upwards after a couple of minutes and headed back out into the Ravenclaw common room, looking around for someone who could act as a distraction. Before she could find anyone, she felt a hand tap her elbow and a loud voice squawked at her from behind.

“Lasky! What’s up, girl?!”

It was Detox, the girl from Beauxbaton who she’d been paired with in Potions. Her makeup was almost obscenely colourful - a whirlwind of neon - but nevertheless it seemed to work with her larger-than-life personality and overall look. Alaska smiled brightly and turned to face her properly.

“Hey Detox! I’m good, I’m good, you?”

Detox nodded. “I’m great… Phi Phi is still in your infirmary so I haven’t had to deal with her rage yet. Can’t wait for that.”

Alaska winced. “Oh, Divine. She fought hard, though. It could’ve been anyone’s game.”

“True, true.” Detox mused. “Still, you’ve seen her temper. I’d avoid her, if I were you. I know she’ll try and seek out a fight.”

“Good call. I’m pretty sure Sharon would flip her shit if Phi Phi was anywhere near me anyway.”

She smiled at the memory, of how fiercely Sharon had defended her, both in her presence at the Three Broomsticks and in her Defence Against The Dark Arts class. It had only been a short while since those encounters; it was early November, and any last shred of summer had shrivelled up along with the leaves scattered around the grounds that crunched underfoot. Even so, it felt like they’d come a long way.

After all, that night in the bar was the night they made it official. Alaska cringed internally at their stupid declarations, but at the time it had been the perfect mixture of kitsch and camp and fun that the two shared. Nothing had made her happier than finally having a proper label on what had been uncertain for quite a few months.

For the last few months of their fifth year, just a little while after coming out, Alaska had become a little more daring. Flirty, if you will. When she noticed Sharon looking, she winked. Anytime Sharon made her laugh, she clung on that little bit tighter to her arm, and of course it had the desired effect. Things progressed, with Alaska excitedly updating Willam and Courtney at every turn, but it never quite got where she wanted to. They had kissed, sure – not like how they kissed after the Three Broomsticks, but still – and they were exclusive, but it wasn’t a relationship. They were both kind of suspended. Waiting for something.

“That’s probably a good thing!” Detox responded, zapping Alaska back into reality. “I don’t know what’s gotten into Phi Phi, at least you have someone to defend you. She was never that angry before she came here.”

Alaska frowned. Weird. “Maybe it’s just the stress of being in a whole new place and competing.”

“Probably.” Detox shrugged. “Anyway, she’d kill me if she knew I was saying this, but congrats on your win. You celebrating at all?”

“Going out for dinner with… Oh, there she is.” Alaska grinned, spotting Sharon’s head amongst the sea of Ravenclaws. Her green tie and distinctive hair made her stick out like a sore thumb.

She’d freshened up a little, that much was clear. Her hair had been brushed out and untangled, and her makeup reapplied – it always tended to come off during Care of Magical Creatures. Although she hadn’t changed out of her uniform, Alaska could tell she’d made an effort to smarten it up a little bit other than the rolled-up sleeves. In all fairness, it wasn’t like Alaska could expect full uniform compliance from Sharon this late in the game.

“Hey, you’re not allowed in here, Needles!” A voice yelled, indistinguishable from the mass of heads.

Sharon looked around a little, trying to spot who it was. “Do I look bothered?” She shot back, before shaking her head and moving towards Alaska. “There you are. Oh, who’s this?”

There was a dangerous edge to Sharon’s voice as she eyed Detox with suspicion. The Beauxbaton girl looked a little bit uncomfortable at the interrogation, and rightly so. Sharon’s words were innocent enough, but her tone was cold and her eyes were piercing.

For a fleeting second, she looked just like Lady Needles.

Alaska was quick to dispel the tension. “This is Detox. Don’t scare her away; she’s nice, I promise.”

Just like that, the fierce expression on Sharon’s face was gone. “If you say so. Detox, do you mind if I steal Alaska from you?”

Detox shrugged, still slightly put-out but doing her best not to show it. “You’re not really asking, are you? I don’t have a choice here, do I?”

Sharon laughed appreciatively. “No, you don’t. I’m afraid she’s mine and I have to take her, but if you have any complaints you can probably find me in detention.”

Detox cackled, and with that, Sharon took Alaska’s hand and began to lead her out of the Ravenclaw common room. The Slytherin was practically running, dragging Alaska behind her as she weaved through corridors and in and out of random hallways. It took a little while for Alaska to realize where they were headed, but soon enough she began to recognise her surroundings as the entrance to the Slytherin common room, leading up the dorms. Alaska hadn’t actually ever seen Sharon’s dorm room; she knew of the girls in it, but had never been aside. When they were younger, the group had always hung out in the Ravenclaw dorm, and in recent times Sharon had taken to staying in there rather than her own whenever she could get away with it. Maybe it was silly for her to feel that way, but Alaska was a little bit excited.

“I have someone I want you to meet properly.” Sharon told her, before stopping outside a tall black door. With some caution, she poked her head round, then flung the door wide open as she saw it was empty. “Come on in.”

The room was identical to Alaska’s, with the exception of the green bedding, which was a slight disappointment. Regardless, Alaska took it all in, noting that Sharon’s bed had the curtains drawn all the way around it, obscuring her small living area from the rest of the room. In one swift motion, Sharon parted the curtains and was instantly knocked to the floor by the same gigantic mound of fluff that had interrupted Alaska’s Ancient Runes lesson a short while ago.

“Sharon!” Alaska cried out, almost instinctively. The panic faded, however, when she heard Sharon half-laughing, half-groaning.

“Cerrone, must you always greet me like this?” She grumbled, stroking the black-and-white fur awkwardly with one hand. “Fat cat. Someone’s been feeding you too much. Alright, get off.”

She sat up and beamed cheerily in Alaska’s direction. “This is Cerrone, you saw him in the Pensieve. He’s fatter and older and stupider now.”

Alaska got onto her knees, joining Sharon on the floor to coo over Cerrone, who had flopped onto the rug and stretched himself out. He purred contently as Alaska started to stroke his side, smoothing some of the matted fur down.

“He’s such an attention whore.” Sharon said, distinctively proud. “Look at him. Purebred Kneazle, about eight years old. I’ve had him for five years now.”

Alaska smiled. “You rescued him, right?” She asked, watching as her girlfriend scratched her pet lovingly behind his ears.

“Yeah, I did.” Sharon sounded vaguely nostalgic. “You saw that he was pretty banged up when I found him. He was the only one I found that was alive. I had to save him somehow.”

It was admirable. Alaska couldn’t forget the image of Sharon she’d seen in the Pensieve – wide eyed, her clothes and skinny fingers stained with blood, clutching Cerrone to her chest like a lifeline. She’d been so young to be so courageous, standing up in front of so many people like that just for the life of one creature. It made sense now why Sharon had chosen Care of Magical Creatures as part of her options two years prior, even if it hadn’t at the time. Alaska remembered Willam cocking an eyebrow and saying, “you want to play in a fucking pig pen for an hour and get qualifications for it?!”

Of course, back when they were fourteen they didn’t have any ideas as to why she’d pick a subject like that, other than how much she enjoyed the outdoors. The knowledge suddenly dawning on her, Alaska smiled to herself as she continued stroking Cerrone.

“He’s saved me more times than I could ever save him.” Sharon broke the silence, gazing down tenderly at the overgrown cat. “Kneazles, they… they can detect dangerous people. People you can’t trust, people who might be evil. They get aggressive when they sense those kind of people, and protect their owner.”

She looked up at Alaska. “I can’t tell you the amount of times he’s lashed out at my mother. I owe him.”

Sharon went quiet for a minute, seemingly realizing the weight of her words, before lightening up a little bit. “That’s why I let him have so many treats. I guess it’s my fault he’s spoilt and lazy.”

Alaska grinned, leaning down to rest her head against Cerrone’s side. “I could just go to sleep here. I wouldn’t even complain if he clawed my face off.”

“Are you kidding?” Sharon laughed. “He loves you! He has good taste, this one. I approve.”

They spent a while on the floor with Cerrone, laughing and making obscene jokes of sore knees and old age. The whole situation, despite being completely new, felt familiar and strangely normal to Alaska. It felt like a domestic routine that she could easily fall into, and the thought made her heart flutter and break all at the same time.

Domesticity. It felt so natural with Sharon, yet the Slytherin girl had never experienced it before. She didn’t know what it was like to live amongst parents who loved one another, children who played together, a family that felt safe and secure. Alaska’s childhood had been so starkly different to Sharon’s. More than anything, she just wanted to bundle Sharon up in her arms and take her home.

She imagined introducing Sharon to her family. Willam and Courtney had met her family, and they’d all gotten along well, but she and Sharon had never really gotten to that stage. They were just friends, and then they were at an odd crossroads of flirting, and then they’d started dating and somehow Alaska had never found the time.

How would her family react to such an enigma of a person? Her mom would love Sharon, naturally. She was easily pleased with charm and good manners, and it wouldn’t take her long to get past her unconventional look. Then again, it was impossible to guess how anyone would react to Sharon. She was unpredictable like that.

It was around half past five when Alaska finally left, making her way back to her own dormitory as quickly as she could so she could change in time for her date. As she walked, her mind tried to mentally replicate her wardrobe and pick out what she could wear. As ever, her memory failed her and she couldn’t even conjure up a picture of a single thing she owned.

“Alaska!”

Both Willam and Courtney trilled her name in unison, springing up from Courtney’s bed where they were sat to smother her in a hug. Alaska laughed as her face was buried in a mass of blonde hair, clinging tight to her friends before managing to fight them off.

“I don’t have long, please don’t ruin my hair,” She teased, scrunching the mass on top of her head and starting towards her wardrobe. As expected, both blondes gave her the same expression; eyes wide, eyebrows raised, mouths open.

“Ooh, bitch!” Willam called out. “Got somewhere to be?”

Alaska grinned. “Sharon’s taking me out for dinner. Like, a real date.” She turned around, considering a few options in her wardrobe before pulling one out. “Does this say ‘classy girlfriend going on a dinner date’ to you?”

She wasn’t exactly sure why she was asking Courtney and Willam, of all people – Willam was the exact opposite of classy in her look and behaviour, and Courtney being part-Veela made anything and everything look classy, effortlessly. Between them they were absolutely useless.

“I like it. Doesn’t show off nearly enough body, but I guess that’s the point.” Willam mused, looking at the dress thoughtfully.

Courtney swatted at her. “Shut up! It’s really pretty, you should wear it.”

In all honesty, Alaska had forgotten that the little blue dress existed. She had maybe worn it once for some fancy party and then stowed it back on the wardrobe on the hanger, never to emerge again. It reached just above her knees, and was mostly plain aside from a few tasteful sparkling embellishments around the neckline. Sharon would like it – Sharon liked nearly everything she owned. After some scrutiny, she decided it was date-worthy and took it into the bathroom to change.

“ARE YOU HIDING HICKEYS FROM US IN THERE?!” Willam yelled indignantly as Alaska disappeared from the room. “IS THAT WHY YOU’RE IN THE BATHROOM?!”

Alaska laughed, banging her fist on the door to shock them both. “It’s called privacy, you voyeuristic slut!”

“Ooh, she’s got you there!” came Courtney’s response, before she emitted a yelp that indicated Willam had physically retaliated to the remark.

It took a minute for Alaska to get herself into the dress, contorting her body into unnatural positions to try and reach the zipper, but finally she managed. After that it was just a case of throwing on a touch of makeup and fixing her hair, and she was ready to go.

“Classy girlfriend going on a dinner date?” Alaska asked again, emerging nervously from the bathroom and presenting herself to her friends.

The reactions were somewhat mixed, but definitely positive. Courtney’s mouth dropped open, and Willam wolf-whistled appreciatively before nodding her approval. Alaska continued to post, rolling her hand to gesture for more in-depth feedback.

“I’ll bite. It’s hot.” Willam grinned wolfishly. “Trying to get laid or something?”

Alaska flashed her middle finger. “Bitch! You’re not even the first person to suggest that today.”

Instantly, the blonde’s eyes lit up, as if she were about to ask for more details she could inevitably taunt Alaska with. Thankfully, Courtney cut in before she could, exclaiming, “More like classy wife going on a dinner date! She’s gonna wanna marry you after this!”

-

On time for the first time in her life, Alaska met Sharon by the beginning of the walk into Hogsmeade at six thirty, the time they agreed on. Sharon must’ve come early, and was stood waiting for Alaska as she approached. Slowing down a little, Alaska allowed herself to appreciate the effort that it was clear Sharon had put in. Her hair was teased and fluffed up a little, swept over one shoulder, and her black dress was long, with a deep V-neck and full length sleeves. Her jacket was draped over one shoulder. As she got closer, she could see that Sharon was either wearing blush, or her cheeks were just pink, but regardless of which one it was, the little pop of colour made her look strangely cute. Alaska resisted the urge to pinch her cheeks.

“Well don’t you just look the Daily Prophet’s Witch of the Year,” She greeted her girlfriend, entwining their fingers and pressing a sweet kiss to her forehead.

Sharon leaned into her touch and smiled. “More like a page three witch with this neckline. I had no idea it was this low, I’m so sorry. You look absolutely breathtaking.”

“Please,” Alaska told her. “If you think I’m bothered about a low neckline, you don’t know me at all.”

Sharon swatted at her arm playfully before offering her hand, beginning the walk along the road to Hogsmeade.

“I almost never come this way,” Sharon commented. “I always use tunnels and passages. This way is so pretty.”

It wasn’t like she was wrong – the rapid approach of autumn had given the village an entirely new, warm aura. Fragrant leaves crunched under their feet, and bare vines curled along walls and archways, clinging like earth-borne snakes seeking warmth. Everything was awash in gold and orange and brown, the setting sun heightening the enthralling glow of the area. There was a slight chill in the air, as came with the threat of winter resting in the frosted laurels at the tips of the trees, but overall the atmosphere was soft and tinted with romance.

Noticing her slight shivering, Sharon stopped walking and took her jacket from her shoulder. “Put this on, you’re freezing. Come here.”

Smiling gratefully, Alaska slipped her arms into the warm leather, embracing the familiar scent of smoke and perfume that permeated the material. Like most of Sharon’s clothes, it fit Alaska perfectly. Touched by such a small gesture, Alaska squeezed her girlfriend’s hand and kept walking, soaking up as much as the evening as she could.

“It’s just through here,” Sharon pushed some brambles aside, moving out of the way so Alaska could go through first. “I know this bit is a dump, but the place is gorgeous, I promise.”

By now they had moved out of the area that was usually frequented by students – the shops, taverns, bars and the Shrieking Shack having long since been passed – and had moved more into the residential area, where many witches and wizards had chosen to isolate themselves from the muggle world and create their own community. It was only a few minutes further that they had to walk before a building began to unfold in front of them, the fancy scripting on the front reading The Artemisia.

“Sharon, this is… It’s beautiful.” Alaska murmured, staring around as she stepped inside. “How did you afford this place? How did you find this place?”

Sharon bit her lip, smiling. “Pumpkin, my surname is Needles… I can get us anywhere. And you’ll have to thank Raja for the recommendation, she told me about this place. Only the best for my champion. See, I did it again and I didn’t make any vomit noises. This is a real date.”

Alaska laughed. “You’re so stupid…” She leaned in for a kiss, softly pecking Sharon’s warm lips. “I can’t believe this.”

“Believe it.” Sharon responded, before smiling up at a waiter who had appeared before them.

“Sharon Needles?” He asked, cocking his head to the side. Sharon nodded. “Wonderful. We have your table all set up, if you can just follow me.”

Alaska shot Sharon an excited look, squeezing her hand a few times as they walked behind the waiter towards a privately laid-out table. Even the napkins looked as though they were more expensive than everything Alaska owned put together. Gold trimming? How was it possible for everything in this place to have gold trimming? It was luscious and a little bit ludicrous.

“And here we are,” The waiter spoke up again, pulling the chairs out for each witch to sit down and presenting two full glasses with his wand. “The Butterbeer is on the house. We hope you have a splendid evening.”

Sharon waited until the waiter had left the table before starting to giggle. Her efforts to hide it went amiss; the hands clapped over her mouth did nothing to subdue the shaking of her shoulders. Thoroughly amused just by the sight of her, Alaska reached across the table to grab one of Sharon’s hands as she started to laugh herself.

“I’m sorry,” Sharon managed, her shoulders still bouncing with suppressed giggles. “I just… splendid. We’re going to have a splendid evening.”

She managed to steel herself by avoiding Alaska’s gaze. “Splendid. What a great word. God, I haven’t drank Butterbeer in a while.”

Alaska watched as she took and sip and then pulled a face. “Shit. That’s sweeter than I remember. Is this shit made of sugar?”

The waiter returned moments later with two menus, Alaska running her nails along the thick leather cover before looking inside. Although trivial, Alaska thought it was actually kind of thrilling to be sat inside a restaurant like this, debating meals with Sharon and enjoying the atmosphere. For the second time that day, it hit her that Sharon probably didn’t do this very often, if at all. Alaska and her family went out for dinner a lot, especially around occasions such as Christmas and birthdays. Sharon, obviously, wouldn’t.

After having their orders taken, Alaska settled back into her seat, regarding her girlfriend with a grin. “So, is this where you take all your girls?”

Sharon laughed, the joke clearly taking her by surprise. “Oh, yeah. All my girls come here. This is where I bring all my hoes.”

“Are you calling me a hoe?!” Alaska exclaimed, mock offended.

Sharon shrugged. “Maybe. Why, you wanna act like one? Dress like one? Can’t say I’d mind.”

She stopped to fan herself with the menu. “We’re way too flirty this evening. Here was me thinking we’d have a nice celebratory date, and look what we’ve turned it into.”

“You started it.”

“You’re such a liar!”

“As if! You know you started it!”

“I didn’t start anything!”

“Yes you did!”

“Shut up or I’ll kiss you.”

“Shut up or I won’t kiss you.”

Alaska smirked, knowing she’d gotten the last laugh. Glancing up at Sharon, she saw the Slytherin had bitten back her lips in an attempt to visually draw attention to her silence, and was blinking innocently behind her lashes. The facade was anything but believable – maybe due to the fact that Alaska knew Sharon too well, and could identify the mischievous twinkle beneath her eyes – and she laughed at the idea that she’d fall for it.

“Okay, I’m already bored. You can talk now. Open your big mouth again.”

To her surprise, Sharon simply shook her head, remaining silent as she tapped her cheek with one finger. Alaska recognised her gesture and rolled her eyes.

“I didn’t realise it before, but you are a toddler.” She stated, leaning across the table to press a kiss to the spot she’d been tapping. Satisfied, Sharon’s face split into a grin and her cheeks went pink.

“And now I can talk. Honestly, I wish real curses were like that. Our curses are like,” She picked up her knife, waving it around as though it were a wand, “Extreme pain! Manipulation! Death!”

Alaska chuckled as she continued. “And then, in the old fucking Disney stories, it’s like,” This time she dropped the knife, simply pointing with her finger, “Sleep for a long time and get woken up by a kiss. True love will solve this one! A candle is your friend!”

Sharon pulled a face. “Anyway. I’m getting off track, aren’t I? I didn’t bring us here to sit and talk about fucking Disney curses. Some punk I am.”

“Who’d have thought it?” Alaska joked. “Sharon Needles, notoriously badly-behaved Slytherin – total Disney slut.”

“Oh, you bitch.” Sharon grinned. “I’ve never even seen a Disney movie.”

Alaska let her mouth drop open, widening her eyes to exaggerate her reaction. “You haven’t – but I – and you – Sharon! You’ve never seen a Disney movie?!”

“Alaska, when the fuck do you think I had time to sit down on a couch and watch fucking Disney movies?” Sharon asked, her voice light. “I spent my childhood rescuing a magical cat and hiding from evil parents. Which I suppose is ironically Disney-esque.”

Alaska shook her head in disbelief. “Okay, remind me that we’re watching Disney movies at some point. We’re gonna work our way through them. Your delayed childhood begins now.”

Sharon winced. “Oh, boy. I’m thinking of breaking my no-alcohol rule already. Goddammit, Alaska.”

“What happened to ‘my champion’, huh?”

Blue eyes met mocking green ones. “Don’t. Even. Start.”

[fanfiction-for-me]

Party in the House

It was a very busy afternoon in the Rad Youth residence, because that night we were having the first party that would introduce us to the world of music and Rock n' Roll. Every notorious band and solo artist we could think of was invited, and the disco room in our estate was set ready to have the time of our lives that night.

Why were we throwing a party, you wonder? Well, little more than a year ago ago we came together as a band when we found Davie on a Café playing guitar and singing. We immediately knew he was the one we were missing and he was integrated as the bassist. Sass and I already had some success and money from selling pastries and sweets back home, enough to move to the US and try to make it here (Ah, the ‘merican dream). It was always our life-long desire to form a band together, and every choice in our lives we had taken to achieve this.

Well, back to the story: after finding Davie and together with our incredible drummer Lila we worked our asses off like never before. It was pretty fucking hard and much tears, sweat and blood had been shed, but eventually we created something we were so proud of. After that we could only pray we get signed for a record deal, which eventually (another 3 horrible months of surviving on instant ramen), we did. What happened after was so unreal. Our debut single blew the fuck up; everyone wanted something from us, people worldwide went crazy overnight... We had made it! Soon we were building our humble home in L.A. at the same time we recorded our debut album. Everyone expected greatness and needless to say, we delivered. Our album sold billions of copies worldwide the first week of its release... something truly incredible for newbies such as us. And that brings me back to now: half a year into the craziness and we start touring in two days... so we’re throwing a party!

I still couldn't believe that less than a year ago Lila, Sass and I were looking for a bassist and a record company to get signed in and now we are a very famous and recognized rock band. Our luck was too much; we were still trying to get used to the whole fame thing and it was already happening. People screamed when they saw us walking on the street and asked us for pictures and autographs, our favorite bands knew who we were and wanted to meet us at our party and there were billboards of our tour on the streets and pictures of us in magazines. 

I was currently in my room, thinking about all this and trying to find a dress that would make me look even more gorgeous than I already am, with Sass, who was looking for some matching earrings for her outfit. I finally find this low-shoulder, long-sleeved bubble gum pink dress that was up the knee and splattered with black paint around the hem. It went just perfect with my hair, and I knew exactly the shoes I was going to wear: my high-heeled combat boots.

"Yo, Sass, look here, you like?" I grinned wide at her as I held the dress from the hanger and waved at it dramatically with my free arm.

"Cool dude", Sass laughed and gave me the thumbs up. "This party is gonna be mega epic"

I went inside my closet to put on the dress and talked loudly so Sass would hear me. "I know! Hopefully all the bands we invited come"

"Of course they will bro, everybody wants to meet us; we are like, the lucky noobs in the business"

"Yep, you're right. I'm worried though" I said as I walked out smugly out of the closet with my dress. "Ta-da", I turned as I wiggled my eyebrows at Sass.

"Be-ah-u-tiful my dear" she approved, "but why are you worried?"

"Well-", I walked over to my toilet case and started to take out makeup, the blow dryer, hairspray, earrings... "I dunno, I'm just afraid that I might not be able to contain my excitement and look like a fangirl around them. What if I like, spit my drink when I see Beyoncé, or squeal when Jared Leto walks into the room?" I violently brushed my hair to untangle it, and looked back in panic at Sass from the mirror.

"Oh, you're right. But, I guess we'll be fine. I know I'll probably cry when I meet My Chemical Romance, but you shouldn't worry about meeting 30 Seconds to Mars because you've already seen them in person before. You were paralyzed, but at least you were not going crazy. And if you do go crazy this time, you can fix it." Sass paused and I still looked at her a little uneasy. I'm still not sure if I can keep my fangirly-ness in control tonight.

"We are famous now, Chelita. I bet they will take the time to actually talk with us and hear what we've got to say to them, and not only because of that, but also because we are the hosts of the party, remember? So chill, and go crazy if you want to because I bet that even after that they'll think you are awesome."

I smiled at Sass. She could be overly sarcastic sometimes, but right now she was being honest. "Thanks dude, guess I will be able to handle it"

"Any time my dear". I just finished applying my lip gloss, when Lila and Davie burst into my room.

"Everyone ready to party?!" Lila screamed full lung; Davie following close behind, looking really hot.

"Fuck Yeah!" Sass replied.

"Davie! Show yourself baby" I clapped my hands and moved closer to where Davie was leaning against the wall. When I said that, Davie laughed and stood up straight, walking to the center of the room and jumping on the bed.

He was striking poses like a mad model. "What? Do I look hot today?" he asked with a fake ignorant tone, very conscious that he always looked gorgeous. We tried to not feed his ego for that reason, but today we were allowed to brag our looks because we all looked really good, and we were excited for the coming evening.

Davie was wearing a loose V-neck with cool motives which was way more expensive than you would've thought it was. He had gray aviator sunglasses on, his dirty blonde hair shining like the sun under my pink Christmas lights. His jeans were plain black and he was wearing a chain instead of a normal belt because that's how we roll. Ah, the benefits of being a rockstar: back then when we dressed this way we were looked down as weirdos but now we were setting trends. People can be very stupid.

"Get your butt off my bed David" we all hit him as we laughed and he cussed.

"I thought you wanted to see me!"

"Yeah, we have plenty time for that"

Davie got off the bed and looked down at us "Your turn to model" he chortled and pulled me up on the bed.

We all showed our outfits in between laughs and loud flattering comments. I wore my pink dress and my hair loose. I used to be a brunette but right before we released our album I dyed it Barbie blonde, and just to give it attitude I added a black streak over the longest bang, the one I usually wore over my eye. I really liked the contrast my hairstyle made with my pale face and my dark eyes.

Sass and Lila also changed their look, but it wasn't as drastic as mine. Sass wore a short black studded dress over shredded thighs and combat boots, the dark attire making the purple streaks over her black curls jump out. Lila was using metallic gold shorts, a fancy blouse that had many black and white sequins under an electric blue leather jacket which contrasted beautifully with her pixie orange hair, and of course combat boots. We love combat boots. Even Davie was wearing one of his many pairs.

After we finished modeling, we went downstairs to check everything was okay. The party area looked awesome; the ceiling was covered in disco balls and stage lights of every color. People were still setting the buffet, which was mostly fancy and tasty snacks, and an ice sculpture of the logo of our band stood huge over the center of the long table. The DJ was already playing some test music and the sound of it reverberated throughout the near rooms, making our chests thump to the rhythm of the bass. The bartender looked like he had everything set too. Elegance and Rock n' Roll was our theme; black and red roses that matched with the table mats and chair bows; the dance floor was wide and speckled over with glitter and petals.

In conclusion, everything was perfect. We were chilling around the busy party crew, waiting for our guests who will soon arrive, when the doorbell rang. We all froze for 5 seconds before running to see who was at the door. Our butler Sebastian opened it and it was our manager, Tom Kafer. We all groaned simultaneously, expecting it to be someone famous, but when we watch the door again, Kafer is waving someone in... Lady Gaga?

"Oh my God!" "Holy shit!" "I’m gonna flip!"

We were going nuts; Lady Gaga was in our house! But before we could get used to the fact she was there, Beyoncé steps in with Jay-Z. Then Rihanna. Then Adele. And Bruno Mars.

Aweeesome. I never thought I'd get to see these performers in real life, much less in our own home. We were still looking at the arriving guests in wonder when Kafer made us snap out of it.

"Guys, guys, guys!" he clapped on our faces until we looked at him. He looked pissed (as he does). "What are you doing here sneaking glances like little children? You're supposed to be in the room waiting for your guests and introducing yourselves! Move guys, quick, before they come in; move!"

We moved into the room in a daze. We could hear it was getting crowded by the minute inside. The stars started to come in and we introduced ourselves. Most of them seemed genuinely interested in meeting us, smiling and congratulating us for being "the next big thing at such a young age". Others even looked starstruck by us which was... strange. Soon, there were so many celebrities that we had to split in order to give them the proper attention.

I could see Davie was near the bar talking with Taylor Momsen, Lila was concluding with Katy Perry and Sass was welcoming Adam Lambert. I had just finished letting Fall Out Boy in, so I went over to Lila, who had already finished with Katy.

"So far so good, huh?" I nudged her arm with my elbow as we both contemplated the scene in front of us.

"Yep, our party is pretty awesome, everyone looks like they are having fun" she said with an air of proudness, then, a little down she added "too bad our potential boyfriends probably won't be able to come"

"Yeah..." I felt sort of blue now that she reminded me of the fact that Big Time Rush, one of my favorite bands, was on tour at the moment, and although we had invited them (well, technically, Kafer did), they wouldn't be able to make it because they had a show today. The gig was right here in LA, but they still wouldn't make it after they finished.

"Well, guess we'll meet them some other time... After our 6 month tour" Lila rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, hope James is still available after that" I added.

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"I have no idea, I'm just being paranoid."

"Well, don't be; I'm not. I'm pretty sure James will fall for you the minute he sees you" she teased with a wide grin.

"Ha-ha, you're right, and I bet Kendall will also think you're hot!" I laughed, "too bad they won't see us all dressed up and beautiful like we are now"

"Who knows? Besides, dressed up or not, we always look good cuz we are good looking" she concluded. Lila was right, we are hot. Who wouldn't like a pretty Latina girl? Well... I didn't actually look like a Latina much as Sass did, even less now that my hair was blond, and our spanish accent was only slightly noticeable (studying in a bilingual school for 15 years and then go out to live on the US does that to you).

Lila and I were wondering what song our Big Time Rush prospects could be performing when I almost fell backwards as I saw who was entering the room.

"30 Seconds to Mars!" I screeched and waved my hands frantically over my face. My favorite band was here to see us! Jared Leto, Shannon Leto and Tomo Milicevic entered the room with the confidence only a rock band as successful as them could have. I wish one day we will be like that.

"You have to go and talk with them!" Lila pushed me over in their direction and I almost fell over in my heels, but I managed to balance. I checked myself in my pocket mirror already knowing I looked cute; I did, and with that I walked over to the guys that had inspired me to dream bigger than I've ever imagined I could. I just hope my voice doesn't crack because my lungs feel empty on air.

"H-Hi" I uttered and, dammit, it didn't come out as steady as I wanted.

"Hello there" Tomo, the guitar player said and I almost squealed again.

"Um, I'm Michelle Oviedo the lead singer of Radioactive Youth... I-I'm a great admirer of your work, you have no idea- you-"

"We know who you are" Shannon said with an amused smile.

"You-you do?" my idols knew me? Oh, right! I'm famous... I didn't know they listened to my band though...

"Yes, and we are also admirers of your work. You've got a fine voice right there" Jared winked and signaled nonchalantly at me, but always serious and professional, and, holy hell, Jared Leto said he likes my voice!

"Wow, I don't know what to say and I wish I could stop blubbering because there are so many things I want to tell you and I just don't know what to start with because I love you so much and-"

"How about we start with a hug and then we can go sit and talk?" Shannon suggested, and with that I threw my arms around him and hugged him hard. 

Soon I sensed two other pair of arms wrap around me. It felt like that feeling you get when you finally get to your house after a long trip: at home and at peace. I swear I could've cried right there but I didn't want them to think I was weirder than they probably already thought I was, hugging them like a dork and shit.

I spent the next hour gone from the rest of my band and the party, talking with my life heroes about music, our lives and any trivial theme that came in the conversation. I couldn't appreciate what was happening around me because I was having such a great time with 30 Seconds to Mars. They were so funny and even greater than I thought they were. When I finally looked up, curious to know what my bandmates where doing, I could see they were probably having as much fun as I was.

Davie was chilling with the guys of Metallica... Metallica? Whoa, even they were here? Cool, though they look a little intimidated with Davie's over-excitement; poor guys. And holy shit, Sass was laughing at something with the guys of My Chemical Romance! They are Sass' favorite band and one of mine's as well; I'll make sure I go and say hi before the party ends. Lila on the other hand was... Where was she? I can't see her anywhere. Maybe she went to the bathroom or-

"MATE." someone painfully jabbed their fingers at both sides of my waist and with that I knew who it was.

"Oh, God! You know I hate that! I was looking for you, the guys here were-" I gestured to my favorite band before being interrupted.

"Mate!" Lila looked at me wide eyed and solemn.

"What?"

"Big Time Rush" she said unnerved.

"What? No, that can't be; they are in a show, you're seeing stuff-"

"Then who are the guys that are standing there on the doorway?" Lila signaled urgently at the entrance, an expression of lucidity and anxiety combined on her face. Over by the door were Logan, Carlos and our "future boyfriends", Kendall and James; shy expressions on their faces as they studied the space crowded with celebrities.

"How the-?"

"I don't know and I don't care either; they are here and we need to go and talk to them!" Lila grabbed me by my arm and almost dragged me with such a force that always made me wonder how something so tiny has such strength!

"I'm sorry, we need to go and see- you know, they-" I didn't know what to say actually. "I'll be back, just-"

"Go get that boy" Jared winked; smiling suggestively, while Shannon beamed, wriggling his eyebrow and Tomo cackled like a hyena at his expression. How the hell did Jared know I have no freaking idea (am I that obvious?).

I let Lila drag me to where the four good-looking fellows stood up, probably looking for a seat in the crowded place. Before we reached them and they could see us I stopped her. "Wait- how do I look?" I was nervous and insecure all over again. Most of the times I acted over confident and extroverted, because that's how your ideal lead singer should be, but deep inside I was still the shy awkward girl I've been trying to hide and tonight she was coming out pretty often. That made me feel frustrated.

She rolled her eyes "Great, beautiful, whatever; let's go!"

"Don't you want to know how you look?"

"Why?"

"To cause a good impression on Kendall"

"Chelle, they will think we are cute, believe me. And I'm pretty sure I look good; common, I'm wearing a decent outfit today and I have makeup on!" Lila looked at me with an impatient face and I decided to agree even though I was still not sure.

"Yeah, you're right"

"Okay, deep breaths mate and try not to faint".

Together we walked, trying not to fall or do die in the way, for the floor was already covered in the stickiness caused by the drinks dropped when trying to dance with them, and some of it was still wet. The lights were low and the music loud enough so that the boys wouldn't see us coming. Every step took us closer to them and made my hands colder. I could see now that Logan was talking with Kendall about something, Carlos nodding and pointing at what was probably the object of their talk, James stayed silent behind them, tapping his foot and moving his head to the rhythm of the music.

Lila cleared her throat when we were basically in front of them. "Hey, welcome to our party".

The four boys stared back at us and smiled, replying with four different enthusiastic "hey's". I was, on my part, still quiet, until Lila elbowed me so indiscreetly, that even the boys noticed.

"H-hey, um Big Time Rush? Welcome to our party, I am-"

"You're Michelle Oviedo! Better known as Chelle because that's how you like people to call you, right?" Carlos interrupted and damn, I am surprised he is equally excited to meet us than we are. Only Carlos wasn't nervous; does Carlos ever get nervous?

Taken aback, I started to talk again "Um, yeah I do-"

"I'm Delilah Carter, but you can call me-"

"Lila! Drummer right?" this time James interrupted, strong voice making me jump.

"We know who you all are" added Logan.

"We have listened to your album and it's really good" Kendall explained.

"You can't imagine how surprised we were when our manager told us we had gotten invited to your party" said Carlos.

"It's pretty cool to finally meet you"

"Everyone talks about you"

"Logan bought your album twice because I stole the first copy"

"When we saw the video of 'Rebel Generation' Kendall said that-"

Pinch me hard, someone! Was this really happening, or were the BTR guys fangirling over us (well, fanboying in their case) harder than Lila and I over them? We are trying to control ourselves but they just started bombarding us with nice comments! Well, if we did that I bet it would be less "I believe your live performances are neat" and more like "My ovaries explode every time I see you perform Love Me Love Me"; so, on the inside, I guess we are still the biggest fangirls. But we will never let them know that...

"Guys? Guys. Guys... GUYS!" Lila interrupted, looking all cheery and glowing.

"Yes?" the four answered at the same time and for a moment it felt like we were in their TV show.

"Do you want to meet the rest of our bandmates and- if you want- talk later?"

"Sounds great" and Kendall winked at Lila. She glanced back at me and mouthed something that seemed like "omigosh", and looked pretty stoked. I would've been too if James winked at me.

It was time to take action, so I moved next to Logan and James, while Lila was walking in front of us in between Carlos and Kendall. I still couldn't believe we were walking together with the guys of Big Time Rush; if I were seventeen years old again or just nine months ago and you would've told me this would happen, I wouldn't believe it. Our lives had changed so fast and we were definitely living the good life now; I'm so grateful for this moment that I'm not even wishing to be James' girlfriend or something, but just enjoying his and his bandmates' company. Besides, being his girlfriend would be too much luck and I think I already spent all the luck I have in getting to the top with my band.

Now that I was past the shock of the moment, I started to really look at the guys and I wondered... How the heck can they look hotter in real life? I mean, Kendall's eyes have always been beautiful, but here under the flickering lights of the dance floor they blazed a silvery green, and it was something hypnotizing to see. Logan's hair was lighter than I thought it was, and Carlos' smile made me want to smile as well. But James was otherworldly for me. He was everything: sexy, adorable, handsome... gorgeous. He stood a head over me and I swear all of his body was covered in muscles; gosh, he is so hot. He even smells like hotness! (Is that even possible?). It's getting a little warm inside my dress too; I just hope I don't start sweating.

I tried to distract myself by pretending I was looking for Sass or Davie, but my eyes couldn't toss the opportunity of staring at the beauty that was James Maslow, so they turned to see him only to realize that he was staring back. My dark brown eyes locked with his sparkling hazel ones for a second, before he flashed his straight white teeth in a very lovely smile. Was it possible that he was checking me out? I'd like to think maybe, after all, I am kinda cute. Even though I am still almost five years younger than him. Yeah, that's right almost five (four years and a half to be exact). It doesn't sound that weird to me though, because I am 18 and he is 22 right now, and that's not so bad, is it?

I tried to smile back, but my cheeks felt warm, so I guess I was blushing; great. Where are Davie and Sass? I'm humiliating myself here.

"Oh, there they are" said Lila. Davie and Sass where standing by the food table, talking to no one else but the guys from Black Veil Brides, and Sass kinda had a thing for the vocalist, Andy Biersack. She looked sort of annoyed at Davie though, and I bet it was because he was fanboying. Black Veil Brides is one of Davie's favorite bands.

"Let's go and say hi" I suggested. I was still ecstatic for being with Big Time Rush but that didn't stop me from being excited about meeting another band I love.

"Yo guys! These are Kendall, Logan, James and Carlos from Big Time Rush and they wanted to say hi" Lila caught our bandmate's attention and signaled to the group.

"Hello, nice to meet you" Sass replied, but I could see she was a little distracted with Andy laughing at CC's ridiculous dance moves on the background. Andy was pretty cute even though he was wearing all black and had his war paint on. It's possible, believe me, he has a baby face.

"'Sup?" Davie mumbled and turned around to slap hands with the four guys. Then, he addressed Lila and me "Hey, aren't these the guys that you were so sad 'bout that they wouldn't be able to come?"

We looked at Davie with a crazy "you are not supposed to say that in front of them" face. Seriously? Guess our secret was out now.

Lila and I could feel four pair of eyes watching us.

"We kinda like you too... We are Rushers." Lila explained.

"No way!" James grinned at both of us and I reddened more.

"Yeah way" I slurred and laughed a little. "We thought you guys wouldn't come; our manager-"

"Hey, do you have any booze here? My throat is drying up!" Andy called attention to himself with his low and loud voice.

"Sure, come with me" Sass grabbed him by the arm and took him to the bar. Nice to see she was feeling confident!

"Cool meeting you, Big Time..." Andy struggled to find the word.

"Rush" they all answered at the same time

"Oh, yeah. Bye!" and with that he left with Sass.

"Sorry about that" I told them.

"Meh, it's okay, as long as you girls know who we are, its fine" Logan winked. So it is true that he is the flirt of the band...

Carlos bumped Logan on the arm "Hey Loges, let's go and say hi to Selena" "Okay. Hope you girls don't mind being with these two dorks" he pointed a James and Kendall, who rolled their eyes at him.

"No, we're good, go and have fun; that's what we threw this party for!" Lila playfully slapped his arm and we both waved bye at him and Carlos.

Now we were alone with our Big Time Crushes.

"So... What do you want to do?" asked Lila.

"Well, I'm kinda thirsty, could we go for a drink?" suggested Kendall.

"Sure"

"James, you coming man?"

"No, thanks, I'll stay here"

I watched with dread and relief as Kendall and Lila left me by myself with the man of my dreams. We were finally alone; I'd never thought I'd actually be alone with him! But what am I supposed to do? I'm too nervous to think about something intelligent to say or ask so I'll probably stay silent until I figure something out, which will probably be in a long while and I'll bore him out and then bye bye opportunity to seduce James Maslow. All this time while I was panicking in my head, James had been answering a text, and now he was putting out his phone.

"So..." he started

"So...?"

"Cool party." James concluded.

"Yep" and thank God my brain had a question in mind, "-hey, I never knew how come you were able to arrive, I thought you had a show tonight at the House of Blues?" I was surprised that my voice came out casual. Well, it had to; after all, I was the hostess.

"We did, but it got cancelled"

"Mm, too bad"

"Yep, I was pretty excited for it. But being in your party is better, I would've been more upset if I lost this" he motioned around him.

"Really? Why?" I've got to say, I was genuinely surprised.

"Are you kidding? You're just new in this thing and you're already the rock band of the moment, or as Rolling Stone wrote 'the promise of Rock'" he made quotes in the air and chuckled.

"Right, that does sound attractive" I laughed. Did Rolling Stone really write that? "It does. Plus, I had already heard your music and I think it is really good. And I'm not a Rock type of guy!"

"Glad you like it" I smiled "Do you have any favorite song of ours? And don't say 'Rebel Generation' please, because everyone likes that song" I teased him and he chuckled at my comment; I was making him laugh, that was a sign that I wasn't boring him out so I immediately relaxed. Being with James was more comfortable than I thought it would be. I wasn't even noticing the way his lips moved when he talked, or even his large hands, or his beefy pectorals... Well, okay, I was, but which girl wouldn't?

"Well I have a few, besides 'Rebel Generation', of course" James looked at me, looking guilty as charged "' Your Sick Heart' has a great guitar solo and the drums in 'Solstice' are sick! But lately I've been obsessing with 'On my Mind'; that song is plain beautiful"

"You think so? I wrote that song!"

"You did? Well, no wonder why it's so amazing" he winked at me, and I hoped he didn't noticed how my breath came out a little shaky. That man could make my body respond in weird ways.

"Thank You" I responded modestly.

"Welcome; shall we sit?" James offered. I felt like I should tell him something about his band too, since he was flattering mine so much and also, I wanted to do it. We sat front to front on a small table that was next to a wall, far from the dance floor. For a moment we just looked at each other, smiling and shifting nervously, neither of us having something to say. Just when I was about to tell him how much I had liked their latest album, James spoke.

"I like your hair, it's unusual... and it suits you."

"Thanks, you know, I used to be a brunette..." I spoke, not really calculating why he would want to know that.

"Like me?" he questioned with a cocky grin, and as he did so, James flipped his hair with a movement of his head that almost made me start hyperventilating.

"Uh- yeah, sort of, mine was darker I think" I brushed my tips with my hands in a hurry out of a nervous habit.

"Why did you dye it?" I don't really know why would he want to know all that, but he seemed interested, so I answered.

"Well, I thought that I would need a more rock and roll-ish appearance if I was going to be in a band and I chose blond because I have always wanted to be blond for some reason; I thought it would suit me"

"It does," James agreed "but I bet you looked pretty with brown hair too"

He had me now. I didn't know how to respond to that, so all I did was grin at him and blush like the shy girl I was. James just looked at me in my eyes and smirked, a mix of self-consciousness and measured flirting. His perfect tanned face looked soft under the very faint light, and I wanted nothing more than grab him by the collar of his jacket and make out heavily with him. I instinctively bit my lip as I thought about his lips on mine. Big mistake, for we were still making eye contact. The moment I took in that, I stopped doing it, viewing down at my hands, bracelets making noise as they made contact with the table. James was almost in the same position as I was, and before I could steady myself and say something, I stared as his hands moved next to mine touching my bracelets too. If it were any other guy, I would've thought the move was totally random and weird, but since it was James Maslow, I thought it was the best thing ever, of course. My eyes moved up to his face only to see him still eyeing at me with a friendly expression. We stayed staring at each other, and just when his glare moved to my lips (which totally meant something! Right?), our golden silence was broken.

"CHELLE!"

I flinched as I heard my name and then stood up fast from my seat "What?!" to be honest, I was pissed.

"Help me! Please?"

"Excuse me for a minute James?" I said in a sweet tone that was a complete contrast to how yelled just now. James just mouthed a "sure", looking bewildered and slightly curious.

I took Davie a good 6 feet from James and lectured him "David Alexander Tscharke, I was having a beautiful moment back there with James freaking Maslow! What the shit is wrong with you, interrupting like that?"

"Whatever Chelle, I needed one of you; it's an emergency!" I have to admit, Davie did look worried... but I still wanted to kill him.

"Then why didn't you call Lila or Sass?"

"I can't find Lila anywhere; last time I saw her she was talking with a blond guy; Sass is with Andy and she told me that if I bothered her she would kill me!"

I sighed exasperated. Stupid Davie. "What's the problem?" I asked tiredly, hands on my hips. It wasn't the first time, or even the tenth.

"Well, I sort of accidentally knocked someone out."

"What the fuck Davie?" I couldn't help shouting; was he crazy? If someone heard about this it would be on the news and they would see us as a violent band! I'm also pretty sure James heard me, because I could see he was choking a little on his drink. Great, now he will think I have a potty mouth... Although I sort of do. 

"Davie, how the hell could that be accidental? Are you insane?" I whispered loudly.

"No! I swear- it really was an accident! I was on the bathroom releasin' the drinks I had taken, when this fat guy with a cam'ra comes and opens the door- I didn't knew it wasn't locked! He must've been a papzz though, cus he had a fancy lookin' cam'ra over his neck an' he snapped a picture of me! PEEIN'!

If I wasn't so mad at him, I'd laugh at what he just told me.

Davie continued his story "So my first reaction was to shoot my fist out right at his jaw, but he moved a litt'l, so the punch landed on his right temple"

"Goodness Davie, why would that be your first reaction?" that was a rhetorical question actually because I already knew the answer. Back when Davie lived in Australia, his house was located near the beach and also near the wilderness of the jungle. He had to know how to react fast to danger (specifically animals). This wasn't exactly dangerous, but it was an "act quickly" situation.

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" I couldn't find out why he would need my help.

"You're a woman, Michelle; maybe you could- I don't know- nurse him?"

I tried to give Davie my best death glare as I crossed my arms.

"Aw, common! Look, you can bring your boyfriend over there; he could help too" Davie pointed at James.

"He's not my boyfriend Davie, and in no way am I gonna ask him that!"

"Please! I need someone strong to help me move the guy; he's pretty fat!" Davie begged.

I decided to give in. After all, friends help other friends."Fine" I said curtly, and Davie punched the air in triumph. Ashamed, I made my way back to the table where James was fumbling with the edge of his glass.

"Hey, James? We need your help. Well, Davie does"

"What's wrong?" and I explained the whole story of how Davie had left a paparazzi unconscious for taking a picture of him while peeing. James snickered adorably at this, and in return Davie glared back, which made him shut up. I looked at Davie with narrowed eyes and he let it go.

"Okay then, I'll help you". We all moved together to the "crime scene", where a fat guy (he really was fat) lied thrown on the floor, camera at a side, looking dead to me. I sighed and moved to the floor to check if he was breathing. He was.

"He's not dead!" I informed. Davie sighed a breath of relief and James chortled, earning another glare from Davie.

"Stop that" I warned him again. He was being sort of rude, considering James was helping him.

"But he's laughing!" Davie protested childishly.

"Sorry" James apologized. He was too sweet.

"Don't worry James, I would be laughing too if this wasn't such a stupid situation" I looked at Davie as I made my emphasis and he frowned back at me. I ignored that. "Start moving him before anyone sees this" I ordered.

The two guys proceeded to do so; James shrugged out of his leather jacket to reveal a black button up shirt that hugged around his muscles perfectly. I gawked dreamily, but was interrupted by Davie's low whistle.

James looked between us, confused, and I threw one of the fancy soaps that were near the sink at Davie. The fucker just laughed hard.

"Ooookay... Are we gonna lift him?" James interrupted Davie.

"Yeah, yeah. You grab him by his feet and I grab his arms."

Davie and James started lifting the guy with a lot of effort, and I picked up his camera from the floor. I peeked throughout the pictures and even found some of myself! What was a paparazzi doing at our party anyways? Guess he got served then. After a few more photos I found what Davie was talking about: a picture of him peeing. Luckily, the guy hadn't captured his dick, but you could see the arc of pee coming out of him into the toilet. I couldn't hold my laugh any longer so I burst into mindless giggling.

"Michelle! Stop lookin'!" and with that said, he dropped the fat man on his head, leaving James struggling with him.

"Davie c’mon, you’re killing him! And don't worry, I already deleted it, see?" I showed him the camera. "Now go and carry the dude out".

Davie grumbled, but went back to help James out. I followed both of them as they made their way to the backdoor of our kitchen, enjoying how James' muscles tensed at the weight of the unconscious paparazzi. When we were finally outside, Davie and James laid the guy down against the wall, with his camera a top his belly.

"Phew" Davie breathed "thank you so much Chelle"

I coughed.

Reluctantly, Davie shook hands with James. "...thanks man" What's wrong with him?

"Welcome dude", James answered back.

After a small awkward silence, Davie talked "What do we do now?"

"We? You are going to stay out of trouble and far away from me! Bye." I left Davie with an indignated expression and went back to the party with James. Stupid Davie and his stupid troubles.

Coming into the room, I could see there were more people on the dance floor than sitting down. Sass was still with Andy, watching how he took out his lip piercing with his tongue only. Carlos and Logan were on the dance floor with almost everybody else. The guys from My Chem were sitting with their wives, and Jared, Shannon, and Tomo were playing with the chocolate fountain, those lovely men. It seemed to me that everyone was having a blast, though I couldn't see Lila anywhere and neither Kendall. They probably were together.

I smiled at the thought of me and my two best friends being with our dream boys. Sass with Andy, Lila with Kendall and I was here standing by James' side, his hand touching the back of my arm lightly. Could it be possible that we may have gained them as friends? Even if James had arrived late and Davie had interrupted our "talking", the night was still young, and I was going to make sure it was that way. All of a sudden, I felt more confident. I was finally starting to feel like the beautiful vocalist of the band that everyone wanted to meet.

"What do you wanna do?" James asked me, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Let's go and say hi to My Chemical Romance and AFI first, and then I'll tell you" I answered him with a wink. Yeah, I can feel the fire in me rising!

So we walked over to their sits, talking about our favorite music on the way. I realized James and I didn't share the same music tastes, but at least he really liked my band, and I was happy with that. We said hi to AFI and Davey Havok kissed my hand! After saying goodbye we went over My Chemical Romance. They were sitting with 30 Seconds to Mars (they knew each other from the scene) talking about something. I introduced myself only to be told that they too already knew who I was! It was all going swell until Shannon opened his mouth.

"Is that your boyfriend?" he questioned with a naughty smile, already knowing what the answer was.

"No, no! James is my- he is- James sings in a band called Big Time Rush!" my face was red like a tomato as I tried to explain. I glanced at James to see he was also shifting awkwardly in his feet.

"Yeah, I'm just a friend, right?" James looked at me with a reassuring expression. It calmed my shame a little.

"That's too bad you guys" Lyn-Z (Gerard Way's wife) said, "you would look really cute together"

"Yeah James, this girl here is golden" added Jared as he patted my arm and winked. I felt like I was back with my parents for some reason. Someone shoot me.

"Uh-yeah, I know that" and he smirked at me "but I've just met her this night Mr. Leto" James responded with a shy smile. Was he blushing? (also “Mr. Leto”- what a gentleman!)

"Oh, I'm sorry then, go and have fun" Jared grinned at James. I looked at him with a troubled expression. He eyed me and pulled me up to him.

"You'll thank me. He's pretty obvious, anyway" he whispered in my ear, with James still looking.

What did he meant with obvious? He was being obvious! Whispering in my ear in front of James! I wasn't mad at Jared (how could I ever be?), but I don't see how his comments could've helped.

With that said I excused myself and left before my idols could tell James that I wanted to date him. So much for feeling confident.

"Well...That was-"

"I know, I know... Forgive them. Rockstars aren't known for their great tact" I joked.

"Yeah I noticed" he sucked in a breath and huffed a laugh. Thank goodness he is laughing about it.

"So, um, you wanna go dance?" I heard James ask me.

At first I couldn't believe I was hearing him say that, but then I remembered who I was. Of course he would ask me. I have to keep reminding myself that maybe I am worthy of him.

We made our way to the dance floor, and started dancing to the melody of Neeyo's "Give Me Everything". I found Lila was dancing with Kendall, but they were more concentrated in joking about something than the actual dancing. Sass was trying to convince Andy to dance, playfully pulling him near the stage; they looked so cute together. Best of all, Davie was nowhere to be seen. I just hope he is not in trouble or something (and if he is I'm not going to help him).

We danced several songs, James and I gaining more confidence as each passed. By the fifth song he grabbed my hips and I placed my arms over his shoulders. I was melting, feeling the muscles of his neck; he was too sexy, and up this close, he smelled so good. We stayed like that for almost two hours, trying to keep a conversation surrounded by the loud music, giggling and smiling at each other. When we made eye contact his eyes sparkled with the lights, it was so magical I wanted this moment to last forever. Finally, I felt I couldn't stand dancing with my shoes anymore, so I informed James about it, and we sat down on the bar to grab a drink and chat.

We talked about everything: our careers, our bands (I finally got to tell him how great I though Big Time Rush was), our lives before we became famous (when I told him I had started to study Architecture in college he told me that would've been his career choice too; what a coincidence!), our hometowns, our family, pets, friends, and even school! Time passed fast by his side because it was spent so well. That's why when Logan and Carlos walked over to our table and told him it was 3:30 in the morning and that everyone was leaving, we were surprised. The place was almost empty save for a few bands (with drunken band members) and Big Time Rush.

"Let's go man, I just remembered gotta be somewhere at 9" sighed Carlos. He sounded tired.

"Okay then, go get Kendall, I'll meet you guys at the car" James waved him to where Kendall was, looking at something in his phone with Lila. James got up his seat and I did too. He grabbed my hands with his fingers delicately and squeezed them a little. "This was... fun" his smile grew as he said each word. "It was. I'm very happy I could meet you James, you're cool" and I swung our hands between us.

"I can say the same thing about you" and then he let go off my hands to take his phone out of his back pocket "We should keep in touch, you know, since you're going on tour for a long time... Is that okay with you?" he said this looking nervous.

Okay?! It was more than okay! "Yeah, I would like that too. Here, I'll give you my number" my fingers trembled as I saved my number, even after I had spent all of the evening with him.

"Sweet" James said as I gave him his phone back, "I'll call you- wait, are you going to be out of the US?"

"Oh yes, yes we are, but only a bit"

"Cool"

"Yeah" I smiled.

"Yeah... I suppose I have to leave now" and he leaned down to my level to peck my cheek, taking a second longer than normal. "Good luck and see you... some other day" and with a heart melting smile, he walked away, leaving my cheek burning where his lips had touched it.

Gosh, he is so perfect, and I had spent the night with that perfection! Not only that, but he asked for my number, and we had danced, and talked, and laughed, and-

"Hey, pretty!" Shannon Leto interrupted my thoughts, throwing and arm around my shoulder. I found myself surrounded by the three members of 30 Seconds to Mars.

"Your boyfriend left?" asked Tomo mockingly as Jared chuckled in my ear.

"Aw, you guys are unbelievable. I can't believe you're grown adults and still act like dorks" I pouted at the trio.

"We’re sorry" Tomo said with a more serious tone. "We couldn't help it when we saw you; ahh, young love... so beautiful" he put his hand together on his cheek like a princess. It was pretty funny.

"Yeah, you kids don't seem to realize how both of you want each other"

"Both?" I asked Shannon, but Jared answered.

"Common, he looked like he wanted to eat you and you... I'm surprised you didn't drool on his shoes or something" he laughed lightly.

"Shut up" I told them all. "Are you guys leaving?"

"Yes, we came to say goodbye" answered Shannon, and they all hugged me one by one before leaving.

This night had been great, and I'm still not tired of repeating it in my head; I'll probably keep on repeating it for a long time. I met my favorite band and many others that I love, including Big Time Rush, and I had clicked very well with James Maslow, whom had been my celebrity crush since my Senior Year. Thinking about that, it seemed too far away, when it had just been 2 years ago. If this is just the beginning, I can't imagine what the future has prepared for me and my band.

First album tour, here I come!